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Mounds View City Council March 12,2012 <br /> Regular Meeting Page 5 <br /> neighborhood. Each of her neighbors supported the garage as it was built. She noted the size of <br /> the garage was consistent with the design of the house. She felt her lot did have a practical <br /> difficulty and should allow for a larger garage due to the larger size of her lot. She requested the <br /> Council be flexible and allow for the additional storage space. She noted there were three other <br /> homes within 350 feet of her home that had a second garage that was as tall or taller than her <br /> garage. <br /> Mrs. Downing stated the garage and its incompletion caused a financial difficulty to her family. <br /> The couple has been unable to refinance their home because the project was incomplete. In <br /> addition, if the roof and front portion of the garage had to be removed, this would cause yet <br /> another financial hardship and delay the completion. This would decrease the aesthetic value of <br /> the garage as well. She requested the Council reconsider the request and approve the variance. <br /> John Stacey, 8000 Woodlawn Drive, indicated he assisted Mr. Downing with the trusses on his <br /> garage. He did not have any issues with the garage or its height. He felt the house height and <br /> garage height were uniform. <br /> Dan Larson, 8046 Woodlawn Drive, stated he did not object to the garage. <br /> Tom Carlson, 8051 Woodlawn Drive, agreed with the comments thus far. He did not object to <br /> the garage height. He felt the buildings were similar in character and did not feel the need to <br /> make a change in its height. <br /> Mike Reed, 2208 Lois Drive, felt the City Code of 2007 should be followed as that was when the <br /> permit was approved. <br /> Hearing no additional public input, Mayor Flaherty closed the public hearing at 8:00 p.m. <br /> Council Member Mueller requested further information regarding the differences between City <br /> Code in 2007 versus 2011. Planning Associate Heller indicated the 15 feet was measured <br /> midway between the peak and the eave. However, a steep pitched roof would allow for a taller <br /> garage. To simplify this measurement, the overall maximum garage height was changed to 18 <br /> feet. <br /> Mayor Flaherty indicated the Downings had a great deal of support from their neighbors. He <br /> stated the Downings understood they were not prepared for the Planning Commission meeting <br /> and asked for the tone of that meeting. Planning Associate Heller stated the Planning <br /> Commission did not support the request because it was a variance after the fact. City Code was <br /> not followed and changes were made to the plans without being submitted to the City. The vote <br /> of the Planning Commission was 6-.1. <br /> Mayor Flaherty commented the original permit was taken out in 2007. He questioned how long <br /> this permit was viable. Planning Associate Heller explained building code allows for the permit <br /> to remain in place for six months, so long as work was being done on the site. The Building <br /> • Official can grant extensions through a written request. She indicated the Downings had <br />