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Item No: 5A Meeting Date: September 19, 2007 Type of Business: Public Hearing City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: Heidi Heller, Planning Associate Item Title/Subject: Consideration of a Variance Request to allow for a 2 foot Driveway Setback at 2925 County Road H2; Planning Case VR2007-002 Introduction: The applicant, Cory Mathiowetz, is requesting a variance to permit a driveway with a two foot setback from the property line. The applicant currently has a very narrow, 8.5 foot wide, dirt driveway about two feet off the property line, that has been in place probably since the house was built in 1940. In October 2006, a conditional use permit was approved for Mr. Mathiowetz to construct a new oversize garage. The new garage has been built, and the applicant would now like to replace the dirt driveway with a 13.5 foot wide concrete driveway. The house is setback 18.5 feet from the east side property line. In 2002, County Road H2 was reconstructed and concrete curbing was installed. The contractor placed each driveway curb cut in line with the existing driveways. The curb cut for this property was placed against the east property line, possibly due to the location of a stormwater drain on the west side of the driveway. The applicant would like the driveway to be fairly straight in from the street rather than having it immediately jog over five feet. The Public Works staff has said that the applicant could expand the curb cut slightly on the west side in order to keep the driveway off of the property line, but due to the stormwater drain, the expansion area is limited. The east neighbor’s property ranges from approximately two to six feet higher than the applicant’s lot, and the grade changes immediately at the property line, which causes much of the neighbor’s stormwater to drain onto Mr. Mathiowetz’s property. Because of this, the applicant would like to put a 3 foot wide rock/drain tile strip between the house and new driveway, rather than having the driveway right next to the house and allowing water to run against the foundation. Due to the existing curb cut being on the property line and limited ability to expand it, the location of the house on the lot, and the much higher neighboring property, the applicant is requesting to place the driveway two feet from the east property line. City Code requires that all driveways be at least five feet from the property line. Discussion: As with any variance application, for the Planning Commission to act favorably, there must be a demonstrated hardship or practical difficulty associated with the property that makes a literal interpretation of the Code overly burdensome or restrictive to a property owner. State statutes require that the governing body 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. A written statement was included with the application. The individual criteria, with responses, are as follows: