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Mounds View Planning Commission June 1, 2011 <br />Regular Meeting Page 2 <br />________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />4. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda <br /> <br />None. <br />______________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />5. Planning Cases <br /> <br />A. Consideration of Variance Requests to allow for one-foot driveway setbacks <br />at 5330 and 5332 Raymond Avenue; Planning Case VR2011-001 <br /> <br />Planning Associate Heller explained the applicant, property owner, Michael Kinyon, is <br />requesting variances to permit the new driveways at five of his side-by-side duplexes to have one <br />or three foot setbacks from the north and south property lines. Mr. Kinyon will be adding <br />attached garages to the rest of his duplexes, one on each end of the building, along with new <br />driveways to replace the existing gravel. The lots are all 100 feet wide so only a single car <br />garage will fit, but the owner would like to make the driveways wide enough for two cars to park <br />next to each other. Most of the tenants have more than one vehicle, and with the current narrow <br />driveways, they either park or drive off the driveway, or they have to move cars around when <br />someone is leaving. Since there is no overnight parking on the streets in Mounds View, all <br />vehicles must be in the driveways. <br /> <br />Associate Heller stated the east side of Raymond Avenue has 14 side-by-side duplexes on <br />identical 100 foot wide lots which causes issues when owners want to add additional space or <br />more than a one car wide driveway to these properties. The applicant, Mr. Kinyon, owns ten of <br />the duplexes on Raymond Avenue and received variances for reduced driveway setbacks in 1995 <br />and 2008 when he added garages to his other duplexes on the block. Another duplex owner on <br />this block received a reduced setback variance in order to add living space closer than 10 feet to <br />the property line. Due to the lots being rather narrow for side-by-side style duplexes, the <br />applicant is requesting to place the driveways one foot or three feet from the property lines. City <br />Code requires that all driveways be at least five feet from the property line without a variance. <br />The request is being made in conjunction with the street improvement project. This would <br />assure that the proper sized aprons are installed to align with each new driveway. <br /> <br />Associate Heller indicated the City was responsible for reviewing the practical difficulty of each <br />request. Staff notified all surrounding properties of the variance request and no input was <br />received. <br /> <br />Chair Stevenson expressed concern about the protection of the lift station. He questioned if the <br />lot located at 5374 had enough space for a driveway given its close proximity to the lift station in <br />front of the house. <br /> <br />Associate Heller stated this address would have the narrowest driveway and would run within <br />two feet of the lift station. She noted that a guardrail surrounds two sides of the equipment and <br />would offer protection, but that she would ask the Public Works staff if they felt something <br />additional needed to be installed.