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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-02-2003 MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION July 2, 2003 -- 7:00 P.M. REGULAR MEETING AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approve Minutes a. June 4, 2003 4. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda CITIZENS: BEFORE SPEAKING, PLEASE COME TO THE PODIUM, AND GIVE YOUR FULL NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE MINUTES 5. Consideration of a Variance Request for a Reduced Parking Lot Setback at 2402 County Road I Applicant: Stephen Farrell Planning Case: VR03-004 APPLICANTS: YOUR ATTENDANCE AT THIS MEETING IS REQUESTED. PLEASE NOTIFY THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AT 763-717-4020 IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND. 6. Next Planning Commission Meeting: July 16, 2003 7. Adjournment to Agenda Session AGENDA SESSION 1. Review Minutes: June 18, 2003 2. Staff Reports 3. Chairperson and Planning Commissioners’ Reports Item No: 5 Meeting Date: July 2, 2003 Type of Business: Public Hearing and Commission Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: James Ericson, Interim City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Public Hearing and Consideration of a Variance Request for a Reduced Front Yard Parking Lot Setback at 2402 County Road I Planning Case VR03-004 Introduction: The subject property is a small, commercial lot improved with a two-story office building at the southwest corner of County Road I and Greenfield Avenue. The property is zoned B-3, Highway Business Commercial and is designated as Neighborhood Commercial in the Comprehensive Plan. The variance request would allow the property owner to expand the parking lot by an additional two parking stalls toward Greenfield Avenue, reducing the permitted setback from 10 feet to 2 feet. Discussion: Soon after the building at 2402 County Road I was completed and occupied, staff began receiving complaints from residents regarding tenants and clients from the office building parking on Greenfield Avenue, overflowing from the parking lot. After a series of meetings on the subject, the Planning Commission recommended and the City Council approved a parking restriction on the east side of Greenfield Avenue, 350 feet back from the corner, except the area directly across from the office building. The No Parking signs have been installed and have been effective in eliminating parking in front of the single-family dwellings. Mr. Steve Farrell, the owner of the office building, was not in favor of the parking restriction. Variance Considerations: For a variance to be approved, there needs to be demonstrated hardship or practical difficulties associated with the property that makes a literal interpretation of the Code overly burdensome or restrictive to a property owner. State statutes require that the governing body (the Planning Commission) 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 individual criteria are as follows: a. Exceptional or extraordinary circumstances apply to the property which do not apply generally to other properties in the same zone or vicinity and result from lot size or shape, topography or other circumstances over which the owners of the property since the effective date hereof have had no control. b. The literal interpretation of the provisions of this Title would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of this Title. Farrell Variance Report July 2, 2003 Page 2 c. That the special conditions or circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant. d. That granting the variance requested would not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this Title to owners of other lands, structures or buildings in the same district. e. That the variance requested is the minimum variance which would alleviate the hardship. Economic conditions alone shall not be considered a hardship. f. The variance would not be materially detrimental to the purpose of this Title or to other property in the same zone. g. The proposed variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property or substantially increase the congestion of the public streets or increase the danger of fire or endanger the public safety or substantially diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood. Criteria Responses: a. The exceptional or extraordinary circumstances associated with this lot, as identified in previous variance resolutions, are that the development potential of the lot is restricted by its size, the County’s taking of ten feet of right of way alongside County Road I and by the City’s corner lot setback requirements. b. While it can be argued that the literal interpretations of the Code do not deprive the property owner of rights enjoyed by others, the posting of the No Parking signs has in fact limited Mr. Farrell’s ability to utilize on-street parking. c. While Mr. Farrell does ultimately control the number of vehicles parking on the lot and while he was aware of the parking limitations when he purchased the property, Mr. Farrell did not design the building or site plan and had anticipated utilizing on-street parking for overflow purposes. d. Granting the variance would not confer on the applicant any special privilege in that other commercially-zoned properties have been awarded reduced parking setbacks in unique situations. e. Approving a variance from the approved 10-foot parking lot setback to a 2-foot setback is the minimum variance to alleviate the hardship in that two additional parking stalls could be added to the lot. f. The variance would not be materially detrimental to the purpose of this Title or to other property in the same zone in that the variance would serve to minimize the amount of on- street business parking associated with the businesses at 2402 County Road I. g. The variance would not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property or substantially increase the congestion of the public streets or increase the danger of fire or endanger the public safety or substantially diminish neighborhood property values. Farrell Variance Report July 2, 2003 Page 3 Recommendation: Open the public hearing and consider the testimony of staff, residents and the applicant. If the Commission believes all of the criteria have been satisfactorily addressed and there are no reasons to deny the request, staff would recommend approval of the attached resolution, Resolution 732-03. _____________________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk/Administrator Zoning Map MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 732-03 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION APPROVING A VARIANCE FOR A REDUCED FRONT-YARD PARKING LOT SETBACK OF 2-FEET AT 2402 COUNTY ROAD I, REQUESTED BY PROPERTY OWNER STEVE FARRELL; PLANNING CASE VR03-004 WHEREAS, property owner Stephen Farrell has applied for a variance from the front yard parking lot setback requirements to allow for a parking lot expansion to within two (2) feet of Greenfield Avenue right of way at 2402 County Road I; and, WHEREAS, 2402 County Road I is zoned B-3, Highway Business Commercial, and is legally described as follows: Lot 30, Block 3, Greenfield Plat 2, Except the North 10 Feet thereof; County of Ramsey, State of Minnesota WHEREAS, the Mounds View Planning Commission has reviewed the following documents regarding this proposal: 1. Planning Application 2. Zoning Map 3. Location Map 4. Site Plan 5. Staff Report WHEREAS, a public hearing was held on Wednesday, July 2, 2003, regarding this variance request; and, WHEREAS, the approved front yard parking lot setback for this lot is ten (10) feet and the parking lot is actually eleven (11) feet from the Greenfield Avenue right of way; and, WHEREAS, Mr. Farrell would like to add two additional parking stalls to his lot to alleviate parking difficulties and to limit the amount of on-street parking occurring on Greenfield Avenue, however such an expansion would require a reduction in the approved setback to two (2) feet; and, WHEREAS, the purpose of the variance provision in the Zoning Code is to give relief to property owners when the strict enforcement of the zoning code requirements imposes a hardship thereby restricting the improvement of property due to practical difficulties brought about by unique or extraordinary features of the physical property that are beyond the property owner’s control; and, Resolution 732-03 Page 2 WHEREAS, according to Section 1125.02, Subdivision 2 of the Mounds View Municipal Code, the Planning Commission is to review a standard set of criteria, of which all must be satisfied, in order to grant a variance to the Zoning Code. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Mounds View Planning Commission hereby makes the following findings of fact related to this request: 1. Exceptional or extraordinary circumstances DO apply to this property in that the development potential of the lot is restricted by its size, the County’s taking of ten feet of right of way alongside County Road I and the City’s corner lot setback requirements. 2. The literal interpretations of the Code deprive the property owner of rights enjoyed by others in that the posting of No Parking signs has limited Mr. Farrell’s ability to utilize on-street parking to serve his business’ needs. 3. While the applicant is wholly responsible for the volume of parking on his lot, Mr. Farrell did not design the building or site plan and anticipated utilizing on-street parking for overflow purposes. 4. Granting the variance would not confer on the applicant any special privilege in that other commercially-zoned properties have been awarded reduced parking setbacks in unique situations 5. Approving a variance from the approved 10-foot parking lot setback to a 2-foot setback along Greenfield Avenue is the minimum variance to alleviate the hardship in that two additional parking stalls could be added to the lot 6. The variance would NOT be materially detrimental to the purposes of the Zoning Code or to any property in the Business Commercial zoning district in that the variance would serve to minimize the amount of on-street business parking associated with the businesses at 2402 County Road I. 7. The reduced setback would NOT impair a supply of light or increase congestion, nor would it increase the danger of fire or endanger the public safety or diminish property values. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Mounds View Planning Commission, based upon its review of the documentation, testimony presented at the public hearing, and the identified findings of fact, does hereby approve the request for a variance to allow a two-foot front yard parking lot setback along Greenfield Avenue, subject to the following: 1. The applicant shall submit three copies of a detailed site plan showing the proposed parking lot expansion at the time the building permit is requested. Adopted this 21st day of May, 2003. _____________________________________ Gary Stevenson, Chairperson ATTEST: _____________________________________ James Ericson, Interim City Administrator (SEAL) PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting June 18, 2003 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Acting Chair Miller at 7:04 p.m., June 18, 2003. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Roll Call Members Present: Commissioners Song, Miller, Zwirn, and Johnson Members Absent: Commissioners Scotch, Stevenson, and Hegland Also Present: Community Development Director Ericson ________________________________________________________________________ Index to Minutes Page Planning Case CU03-003 2 Location: 5220 Edgewood Drive ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Approve Minutes a. May 7, 2003 b. May 21, 2003 MOTION/SECOND: Zwirn/Song. To Approve the Planning Commission Minutes for May 7, 2003 and May 21, 2003 as Presented. Ayes – 4 Nays – 0 Motion carried. ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda None. ______________________________________________________________________________ Mounds View Planning Commission June 18, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 2 ________________________________________________________________________ 5. Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit Request for an Over-Sized Garage at 5220 Edgewood Drive. Community Development Director Ericson indicated that this is a request for an oversized garage at 5220 Edgewood Drive. He then indicated the dimensional requirements of the Code have been met and Staff is recommending approval. Director Ericson indicated that the garage would be 1,148 square feet and that is within the allowed accessory structure limitations based on the backyard area. He then indicated that the applicants have a demonstrated need for the garage as they have a 35-foot RV that they would like to park in the garage rather than in the driveway. Director Ericson read the stipulations contained in the Resolution recommending approval. He then indicated that this item would be on the Council’s agenda for public hearing on Monday, June 23, 2003. Acting Chair Miller asked who would verify whether there was a violation of the CUP requirements. Director Ericson indicated that Staff acts upon complaints of neighbors and, if there was one, then Staff would determine what the situation is and follow the appropriate procedure. Commissioner Johnson asked for clarification on the power line requirement, as he had not seen that required before. Director Ericson indicated that power lines do not usually run across a building like in this situation. He then indicated that Staff checked and that is the required spacing. Commissioner Zwirn asked for an explanation of why the height of the garage is measured to the midpoint of the trusses and where that measurement would be. Commissioner Johnson drew a diagram of the point where the trusses are measured. Commissioner Zwirn asked how high the apex of the roof of the house is. Mr. Goettsch indicated that the height of the garage and house are almost the same. Commissioner Zwirn asked if the new configuration of the garage would allow room to pull into the garage. Mr. Goettsch indicated that there is room to pull the vehicles into the garage. Commissioner Zwirn asked if the concrete slab would be removed. Mr. Goettsch indicated that he would be adding on to the existing concrete slab. Mounds View Planning Commission June 18, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 3 ________________________________________________________________________ MOTION/SECOND: Johnson/Zwirn. To Approve Resolution 731-03, a Resolution Recommending Approval of a Conditional Use Permit Request for an Over-Sized Garage at 5220 Edgewood Drive. Director Ericson indicated that this matter has been set for public hearing this Monday, June 23, 2003 in an attempt to expedite this matter. Ayes – 4 Nays – 0 Motion carried. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. Next Planning Commission Meeting: July 2, 2003 ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. Adjournment to Agenda Session There being no further business before the Planning Commission, Acting Chair Miller adjourned the meeting at 7:20 p.m. (The meeting immediately adjourned to the Agenda Session) Respectfully submitted, Jim Ericson Community Development Director Transcribed by: Joan Lenzmeier TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.