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Administrative Variance Report December 3, 2003 Page 2 2) Application Review – Many cities allow the Community Development Director to grant administrative variances. In some cities, the request is reviewed by three members of the staff, and yet in others by “qualified staff”. 3) Requirements for Approval – White Bear Lake, MN, and a few other cities require written consent to the variance from adjacent landowners. Many cities require that the City or the applicant notify the adjacent neighbors and allow ten to fourteen days for the neighbors to respond. In addition, many cities require that the neighbors be informed of the decision made. If neighbors object, the applicant needs to apply for a formal variance. These requirements are in addition to proving a hardship and meeting the variance criteria, as evaluated by staff. 4) Denial and Appeals – All cities will allow a resident to apply for a formal variance if Staff denies the request. The applicant may also appeal to the Planning Commission if they disagree with conditions required by Staff. 5) Fee Requirements – There was a wide range of fees charged for administrative variances. The range went from $15 in White Bear Lake, MN to $227 in Boulder, CO. For a formal variance, Mounds View charges $150 for properties in R-1 and R-2 districts and $325 for properties in all other districts. Recommendation: Staff is seeking input from the Planning Commission as to whether the Commission is interested in developing a process for administrative variances. If interested, please direct Staff to further investigate the possibility or begin writing a code amendment. If the Planning Commission chooses to recommend a code amendment, decisions must be made by the Commission in regards to the five topics addressed above. Respectfully submitted, Kristin Prososki Planning Associate