CC MINUTES 03271979 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Sopcinski concluded his presentation with reports on the Board ' s consideration of the Kenzie Terrace Report, New Brighton ' s Compre- hensive Plan and a work session on the proposed Sign Ordinance. Mr. Hansen was present and prefaced his request for an additional variance, which would permit him to construct his home according to plans drawn up by a new architect, with "a public apology for his own ineptness" in presenting his original proposal which he felt had resulted "in a misunderstanding of his request" . He pre- sented current plans for the house which had been revised so that the building will be moved away from the lakeshore and will require only a five-foot front yard- variance to build. These plans will place the dwelling within the original rear yard setback of 22 feet from the lakeshore on which the Council had originally based its approval but only 20 feet from the street in front as compared to the required 25-foot front yard setback required by the City Zon- ing Ordinance.. Mr. Hansen defended this variance by saying all other homes on that particular cul de sac are built at least a foot closer to the street than he is requesting. He added that all his neighbors had indicated approval of his current plans . Mr. Soth reiterated his March 15th opinion that it would be advisable for Mr. Hansen to repeat the required procedure for granting a vari- ance and that this should include a Public Hearing at which Mr. Hansen ' s neighbors would be given the opportunity to voice their reaction to the proposal. He then read the section in the City . Zoning Ordinance which seemed to permit the deck proposed to be built on the back of the house within five feet of the lot line which in this case would be the lakeshore. There was some concern that the front yard might be cut down to the extent that the snow storage Mr. Hansen had agreed to on his property might, with exceptionally heavy snowfalls , end up "almost in his kitchen sink" , but a majority of the Council indicated they would be willing to have Mr. Hansen apply for the five-foot front yard variance. By moving the home back from the lakeshore and possible flooding, they felt they were averting a possible charge of city negligence for allowing the home to be built too close to the lake. Councilman Letourneau however indicated his inability to "come to grips" with the request for an additional variance in the face of the latitude he saw allowed Mr. Hansen in the variances he had recently been granted. He was also concerned with cutting down the front yard on such a small cul de sac and the potential for problems with the City ' s snow storage in that area. The legal ramifications of the proposed crisis intervention letter , proposed by the Chemical Abuse Information Committee to be presented for signing in front of officers who are responding to domestic con- flict, were explored with Mr. Soth and Donna Stauffer, Chairman of the Committee. Mr. Soth reiterated the concerns of his letter of March 20th that having the police urge a family member sign a letter in his presence indicating a willingness to seek help in a crisis situation in which abuse of alcohoz or drugs by a family member is suspected to be a contributing catse might be viewed as coercion, and the giving of names of such individuals to the Committee might