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Item No: 5A Meeting Date: August 3, 2005 Type of Business: Public Hearing City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: James Ericson, Community Development Director 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 Porch Addition at 5323 Jackson Drive; Planning Case VR2005-009 Introduction: The applicants, Greg and Elizabeth Newman, are requesting variance approval to construct a porch addition to the front of their home at 5323 Jackson Drive. A variance is needed in this case as the addition would encroach into the prevailing front yard setback, which is identified on this block as approximately 48 feet—18 feet more than the typical front setback. The porch would encroach approximately four feet into the prevailing setback. 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 5323 Jackson 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 Jackson Drive has been determined to be approximately 48 feet. The applicants would like to add a six-foot front porch to the part of their home that is set back approximately 50 feet from the street, bringing the building 44 feet to the property line, an encroachment of 4 feet. Variance Considerations: For a variance to be approved, 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 the case of Mounds View) 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: