PL PACKET 05182004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MEMORANDUM DATE: 05/11/04 MEETING DATE: 05/18/04 TO: Chair Stromgren & Planning Commission Members FROM: Susan M.H. Hall, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: 3201 32"d Avenue NE Requested Action: May 18, 2004 is the public hearing for three variances that John and Joan Lovelette are requesting for the construction of a new home at 3201 32nd Avenue NE. The City Council will review the requests at their May 25 meeting. Background: The petitioners plan to demolish an 80-year-old home currently on the property and build a new, two-story 2,783 square foot home. The subject property measures 50 X 175.The variances necessary to complete the project include a square footage variance as the subject property's lot size is under the minimum lot size of 9,000 square feet, at 8,750 square feet. Therefore, the petitioner is requesting a 250 square foot variance for this requirement. In addition, minimum lot width is 75 feet; the subject.property's lot width is 50 feet. Therefore, the petitioner is requesting a 25-foot variance for this requirement. A third variance being requested by the petitioners is for floor area ratio (FAR). The floor area maximum is 30 percent of the lot, or 2625 square feet in this case. The proposed home would exceed the floor area ratio requirement by 99 square feet with the lot measuring 8750 square feet and the proposed floor area calculated by the City's Building Official at 2724 square feet. (The plan shows 2752 square feet on the first and second floors.) The variance to meet the City's FAR requirement would be in the amount of 99 square feet. The basement level and garage square footages are excluded from the FAR calculation. The petitioners have submitted the attached survey, which depicts new home's footprint on the lot. It appears to meet the required setbacks on all sides. In addition, the new home appears to meet other code requirements, such as height. As far as the square footage and lot width requirements, precedence for cases like this has been the City Council has approved such requests .because of the unique circumstances and limitations surrounding the smaller lot size. The FAR requirement is another issue. The reason for the requirement is to limit the mass of a structure. Last year the City Council took the garage dimension out of the FAR calculation to make the FAR not as stringent. Attachments: • Variance applications • Survey • Plan