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7930 Sunnyside Road Variance Report <br />May 20, 2015 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br /> <br />c. The applicant proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by this <br />Title or the City Code. <br /> <br />The property owner’s detached garage is behind the house and used for space to park vehicles <br />inside and for storage. The applicant is requesting to keep the driveway that is just wide enough to <br />be able to safely drive past the house. The entire length of the driveway would have the 2 foot <br />setback so that it’s a straight driveway leading to the garage. <br /> <br />d. Unique circumstances apply to the property which do not apply to other properties in the <br />same zone or vicinity and result from lot size or shape, topography or other circumstances over <br />which the owner of the property since the enactment of this Title has had no control. The unique <br />circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant. <br /> <br />This house was originally built in 1953 with an attached garage. In 1971, the owner remodeled <br />the single-car attached garage into a family room, and the following year built the existing two-car <br />detached garage behind the house. At that time, the Village of Mounds View allowed the <br />driveway to be installed with the reduced setback with the neighboring property owner’s consent. <br /> <br />e. The variance does not alter the essential character of the neighborhood. <br /> <br />The applicant’s neighborhood consists of larger sized lots. The new concrete driveway will be a <br />nice improvement to the property and would only improve the look of the property from the street. <br /> <br />f. The variance requested is the minimum variance which would alleviate the practical <br />difficulties. Economic conditions alone do not constitute practical difficulties. <br /> <br />The 3-foot variance is the minimum variance needed in order to have a driveway wide enough to <br />safely drive past the house. <br /> <br />g. The Planning Commission may impose such conditions upon the premises benefited by a <br />variance as may be necessary to comply with the standards established by this Title or to reduce <br />or minimize the effect of such variance upon other properties in the neighborhood, and to better <br />carry out the intent of the variance. The condition must be directly related to and must bear a <br />rough proportionality to the impact created by the variance. <br /> <br />Staff has no suggestions for conditions for the variance request. The Planning Commission may <br />add conditions as they see applicable. <br /> <br />Public Hearing: <br />As with any requested variance, this application requires a public hearing. Staff mailed notices to <br />all property owners within 350 feet of the applicant’s property and a notice was published in the <br />Sun Focus newspaper on Friday, May 8, 2015. Staff has not received any comments or <br />questions as of May 15, 2015.