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Regular Council Meeting <br /> April 24, 1990 <br /> page 4 <br /> • 1 Ririno was advised by legal counsel that the City Code could be interpreted <br /> 2 so only one criteria must be met in the requirements. He noted that there <br /> 3 are several examples of where variances were granted. One of the examples <br /> 4 he cited is located at 3508 Silver Lake Road where the garage is constructed <br /> 5 forward of the neighboring home. He stated that the Hance home. on Silver <br /> 6 Lake was also given a variance despite objections of a neighbor and the home <br /> 7 at 3302 Belden was granted a variance prior to the tornado. <br /> 8 <br /> 9 Pirino indicated he has tried to compromise by offering to lower the height <br /> 10 of the garage by two full courses of block or more to satisfy the objections <br /> 11 of the neighbors. He also indicated a willingness to build a privacy fence. <br /> 12 He received no response from the neighbors. <br /> 13 <br /> 14 Pirino felt the Code was ambiguous. He reviewed the alternatives available <br /> 15 to him for the location of a garage. One of them was to build the garage <br /> 16 on the back of his lot which would result in a two hundred foot driveway. <br /> 17 He felt this would result in problems with snow, snow storage and water. <br /> 18 If snow or water collected near the foundation of the house he could have <br /> 19 water problems as he is planning on adding a patio and a bedroom to the back <br /> 20 of the house and having a walk out. <br /> 21 <br /> 22 Pirino anticipates he will incur some problems with the financing he has <br /> 23 secured for the construction. The financing is based on a plan with an <br /> 24 attached garage on the front of the house. -He is concerned he will be left <br /> • 25 with a house for which he cannot obtain' a loan. <br /> 26 <br /> 27 Mrs. Pirino stated they had received verbal approval for installing the garage <br /> 28 footings from the Inspector. She said they relied on his authority, knowledge <br /> 29 of the Code and that they placed faith in him. They thought they had approval <br /> 30 to continue. <br /> 31 <br /> 32 The City Manager gave the timetable of events in his April 10th memo which <br /> 33 had prompted the Public Works Director to issue a stop order on the construction <br /> 34 of the garage early in March. The City Manager indicated that the project <br /> 35 was allowed to proceed with the understanding on the part of ,the applicants <br /> 36 that finishing the block work on the garage would be at their own risk and <br /> 37 could be ordered out pending the outcome of the variance request. <br /> 38 <br /> 39 James McNulty, 2921 33rd Avenue N.E. , is the neighbor directly east of the <br /> 40 Pirino property. While he served as Mayor of the City of St. Anthony, McNulty <br /> 41 observed -that the interpretation of the ordinance was identical to the inter- <br /> 42 pretation that is being used in this situation, except the distance was forty <br /> 43 feet rather than thirty feet or in line with adjoining properties. <br /> 44 <br /> 45 McNulty noted that he had no objections to the Pirino proposal after seeing <br /> 46 the drawings earlier in the year. He was advised that the structure would be <br /> 47 in line with adjoining properties. He felt that lowering the foundation of the <br /> 48 garage would serve no useful purpose as it would do nothing for the view nor <br /> 49 for the westerly breezes. McNulty was. of the opinion that the Pirino's were <br /> • 50 putting an oversized house on an undersized lot. He noted that many changes <br />