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Item No: ___05A <br /> Meeting Date: July 1, 2020 <br />Type of Business: Planning Case VR2020-003 <br /> <br /> <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br />To: Mounds View Planning Commission <br />From: Jon Sevald, Community Development Director <br />Item Title/Subject: PUBLIC HEARING; Resolution 1120-20, Variance to <br />Reduce Setbacks for a Parking Lot, Located at 4749 Old <br />Highway 8 <br /> <br />Introduction <br />Ace Supply Company proposes to expand their customer parking lot into the front yard, <br />requiring a Variance to reduce the front yard setback, from 40’ to 0’. The parking lot would be <br />about 10’ behind the trail, and 25’ behind the curb of Old Highway 8. <br /> <br /> <br />Discussion <br />Currently, the building has two tenants; Ace Supply (front) and Minvalco (rear). The property <br />has parking on the north, west, and south sides of the building. The north parking lot is nearest <br />to the businesses’ entrances, and used by customers, employees, and semi-trucks. The <br />applicant proposes to add a customer parking lot within the front yard, requiring a Variance to <br />reduce the front yard setback, from 40’ to 0’ (the building has a 37’ front yard setback). The <br />new parking lot would be nearest to the front (main) entrance. Currently, the majority of <br />customers use the north side-entrance, which is not ADA accessible. <br /> <br />Ace Supply applied for the same Variance in 2005, which was denied by the Planning <br />Commission (Resolution 793-05), then appealed, and denied by the City Council (Resolution <br />6544). The reasoning was that the request did not demonstrate a sufficient Hardship to warrant <br />approval of the Variance. <br /> <br />In 2011, Minnesota Statutes were amended, replacing the term “undue hardship” with “practical <br />difficulty”. The intent when approving a Variance is to answer “yes” to the following questions; <br />(1) is the Variance reasonable; (2) do unique circumstances exist; and (3) would the Variance <br />alter the essential character of the neighborhood. The 2011 amendment made it easier to <br />support a Variance, but the intent is that Variances are only supported if the three questions can <br />be answered in the affirmative. <br /> <br /> <br />Analysis <br />Parking Setback 1 Min Req Existing Proposed <br />Front (east) 40’ 37’ 0’ <br />Side (north) 5’ 0’ 0’ <br />Side (south) 5’ 5’ 5’ <br />Rear (west) 5’ 4’ 4’ <br /> <br />1 City Code, Section 1104.01, Subd 4(3) I-1 parking areas and loading docks)