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CUP ANI i /009 ilr_. (i residential property owners that may want hold a garage or yard sale to sell their merchandise in a more visible location. As noted above, the outside sales would occur for three days a week for about six months a year and only during daylight hours. Based on the materials submitted by Mr. Halverson, city staff is unable to determine if there is a "demonstrated need" for the proposed use as the City Code requires. The nearest farmers market to Mounds View is held at the Shoreview Community Center on Tuesday evenings during the summer and I am not aware of any nearby flea market or outdoor sales lots such as Mr. Halverson is envisioning for his site. It is certainly possible that the selling and buying merchandise from the parking lot of Robert's would be popular and successful for those involved with the transactions. If Mr. Halverson finds sellers and buyers that want to use his site, that would demonstrate a need for his proposal. Variance Considerations: For the City to approve a variance, the applicant needs to demonstrate a hardship or practical difficulty associated with the property that makes a literal interpretation of the Code overly burdensome or restrictive. Minnesota statutes require that the governing body (the Planning Commission, in this case) review a set of specified criteria for each application and make its decision in accordance with these criteria. These criteria are set forth in Section 1125.02, Subdivision 2, of the City Code. The Code clearly states that a hardship exists when all of the criteria are met. The criteria are as follows: 1. Exceptional or extraordinary circumstances apply to the property which do not apply generally to other properties in the same zone or vicinity, and result from lot size or shape, topography or other circumstances over which the owners of the property since the effective date hereof have had no control. A variance to have additional outside sales area is unique request. Staff is not aware of any other business or business operator having asked the City for increase in outside sales area since the City adopted the current code standards. The City Code limits the amount of outside sales area to 30 percent of the floor area of the building on the site. The somewhat exceptional or extraordinary circumstances involving this property are the proposed hours of operation for the activities on the property. The applicant wants to have the outside sales in the early part of the day to use the existing parking lot while it gets little use from the bar and restaurant. He proposes to end the outside sales activities by 1:30 to allow for clean up of the parking lot before the evening and night time use of the property.