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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes 2 July 18, 2006 Page 2 1 Assistant City Manager Moore-Sykes reported Staff was contacted by Mr. Loren 2 O'Brien, CEO, Building Fasteners, about proposed renovation plans to their building for 3 additional office space. The renovation plan also calls for parking expansion to relieve a 4 tight parking situation. To achieve more parking, Building Fasteners proposes to 5 encroach approximately ten feet west into the side yard adjacent to Anthony Lane 6 South. Mr. O'Brien suggested they would add four to seven parking stalls in the front of 7 the building (south side) for walk-in clients. Mr. O'Brien is very interested in keeping his 8 business in St. Anthony. 9 10 Assistant City Manager Moore-Sykes mentioned the City asked Staff to explore the 11 feasibility of constructing on-street angle parking along the main portion of Anthony 12 Lane South approaching this area. Staff researched this option and determined this 13 portion of Anthony Lane South is very busy, bringing traffic to the area from 29th 14 Avenue and County Road 94 during the morning rush hour and relieving the area in the 15 afternoon. The proposed on-street parking would create additional problems traffic 16 flow. 17 18 Assistant City Manager Moore-Sykes stated a variance is required because the City's 19 Ordinance restricts parking within ten feet of a front lot line in this zoning district. 20 Variances as granted by the City Council allow modifications to the dimensional 21 requirements of a particular zoning district. Statutorily, City Council has the authority to 22 grant variances when performance standards as required by the Zoning Code cannot 23 be met due to unusual physical site characteristics, called a hardship. 24 25 Assistant City Manager Moore-Sykes explained that Section 1665.06 outlines the 26 requirements that must be addressed to qualify for a variance and the process by which 27 a variance is granted. Subdivision 3 states that no variance will be granted unless 28 evidence presented discloses that strict enforcement would cause undue hardship if: 29 the property cannot be put to a reasonable use without the variance; the circumstances 30 causing the hardship were not created by the owner; the variance, if granted, will not 31 alter the essential characteristics of the locality; economic considerations alone are not 32 the basis of the hardship; the circumstances causing the hardship are unique to the 33 individual lot; and the granting of the variance is in keeping with the spirit and intent of 34 the zoning Code. 35 36 Assistant City Manager Moore-Sykes reported findings of fact indicate the warehouse 37 and related office uses of Building Fasteners, as it currently exists, does meet permitted 38 use criteria of the ordinance but does need to provide an additional eleven parking 39 spaces to comply with the City's Zoning Code requirements for parking in this district. 40 41 Assistant City Manager Moore-Sykes stated property use and parking needs have 42 changed over time. The building originally built in 1981 and previously known as Hub 43 Warehouse, met the required parking spaces for the business at that time. Mr. 44 O'Brien's business has required additional staff to accommodate the needs of his 45 business. As a result, increased parking spaces are required based on the number of 46 employees on the largest shift.