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Mounds View Planning Commission June 7, 2000 Regular Meeting Page 33 Commissioner Laube stated that there would still be cases of this nature, and he would prefer to be able to control them to some extent. He noted a previous application the Commission had considered, in which the resident had a very small house, and had requested to construct a very large garage on the lot. He advised that this type of proposal would be allowed. Planning Associate Ericson stated that this was correct to a point, in that the property owner could have a 900 square-foot garage, per se, which on that applicant’s lot, with that particular house, would have been a very large garage, however, staff would hesitate putting anything in the Code that would be based upon the square-footage of the house, because this would be even more difficult to administer from staff’s perspective. He indicated this made more sense in the footprint, however, it would be much more difficult to administer. He suggested it might be tied to the size of the lot, up to a point. Commissioner Laube pointed out that if the house was 600 square feet, you could increase that by one and a quarter to one and a half percent. Planning Associate Ericson explained that this would generate more conditional use permits, and the City was attempting to avoid that if at all possible. He stated that if a 900 square-foot garage was acceptable, although he was no proponent of building an imbalanced lot, however, perhaps they could indicate that anyone could have this size of a garage, which would be fair. He stated that he would not think it would be fair to state that a neighboring property, which has additional square-footage in their house should be permitted to have a larger garage. He stated that he would propose this provision be eliminated completely, and all property owners be permitted to have 952 or 1,000 square feet. He pointed out that if they could not meet the 20 percent rear yard coverage requirement, this would be legitimate cause for a conditional use permit. Chairperson Peterson stated that there were a wide variety of lot sizes in Mounds View, and there are many substandard lots, some of which have only the smallest single car garages, which are not very attractive on the current market. He stated that the Commission should ensure that what is done is practical for all residents who wish to improve their property. Planning Associate Ericson stated that staff would survey the surrounding communities to determine what they allow, and would attempt to determine how other cities handle conditional use permits for sheds and garages, and to bring this information before the Planning Commission at their next meeting. He requested the Commission members contact staff prior to the meeting with any thoughts or suggestions they may have, so that they can proceed with this matter. Commissioner Thomas inquired how these issues might impact a house with living space above an attached garage. Planning Associate Ericson stated that these properties could potentially be affected. He explained that properties could only have one garage, and sometimes that is a hardship for properties with attached garages or lots on which the garage could not be further expanded. He stated that this discussion would not change the fact that there would be attached garages, and that the only option for someone with an attached garage, if there is no room to expand, is to convert that to living space, or build a new garage.