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Item No: 5A Meeting Date: July 5, 2006 Type of Business: Public Hearing City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: Heidi Heller, Planning Associate Item Title/Subject: Public Hearing and Consideration of a Request for a Variance to Encroach into the Front Yard Setback to Allow for the Construction of a Front Entry and Porch Addition at 2764 Laport Drive; Planning Case VR2006-005 Introduction: The applicants, Lawrence and Mari Okoro, are requesting variance approval to construct a front entry and covered porch addition to the front of their home at 2764 Laport Drive. A variance is needed in this case as the addition would extend into the prevailing front yard setback, which is identified on this block as approximately 52 feet - 22 feet more than the minimum front setback. The addition would encroach approximately nine feet into the prevailing setback. The Okoros would like to expand the inside front entry space and add a covered front porch instead of the current small concrete steps. The Okoros have elderly family members who stay with them for extended periods of time, and due to their physical difficulties, entering the home with the small front step and entry has proven to be very difficult for them. This split- entry style of home typically has very limited entry space both inside and outside the front door. Discussion: Setback requirements are addressed in Section 1104.01 of the Zoning Code. Each zoning district is listed with the corresponding front, side and rear setbacks. In an R-1, Single Family Residential district, the typical building setbacks are as follows: Front, thirty (30) feet; Side, ten (10) feet; and Rear, thirty (30) feet. The Code also addresses the issue of “prevailing setbacks,” which is applicable for the home at 2764 Laport Drive. The Code states that, “Where principal buildings in existence on lots within the same block on the same side of the street have front yard setbacks different from those required, the minimum front yard setback for any new principal buildings shall be the minimum front yard setback in existence for any one lot. In no case shall the front yard setback be less than thirty feet (30').” The prevailing setback for homes on this block of Laport Drive has been determined to be approximately 52 feet. The applicants would like to add a 10’x14’ front entry and porch to the part of their home that is currently set back approximately 57 feet from the property line (the property line is 15 feet in from the edge of the street). This addition would bring the building up to 43 feet from the property line, an encroachment of nine feet.