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STAFF REPORT To: Chair and Planning Commissioners From: Kim Moore-Sykes, Assistant City Manager Date: October 18,2011 Subject: 3701 Chandler Drive —Variance to Front Yard Setback Requested Action: Public Hearing with the Planning Commission Date Application Received: September 27, 2011 Property Address: 3701 Chandler Drive Zoning District: R-4 60-Day Expires: November 25, 2011 Waiver Letter Required: Yes Date Sent: No X Future Action: City Council Approval Background. Staff met with Mr. Alan Plutowski,Trossen Wright Plutowski Architects,PA, to discuss a renovation project at Chandler Place. The property owners are proposing to construct a porte cochere to provide a canopy over the drop-off area at the main entrance to the facility for the safety and convenience of the residents and visitors. Because the building is built up to the property line, the property owners are seeking a variance in order to move forward with this proposal. The City Code states that the front yard setback for an R-4 principal structure is 30'from the property line. Staff reviewed the property file and found that Chandler Place was built in 1966,ten years before the City codified its Zoning Ordinance. Since there were no regulations in place to prevent the owners at the time from building at the property line, the current owners have a practical difficulty if they want to build a porte cochere and are required to seek a variance for their project. Analysis: The property owners are responsible for demonstrating why the strict enforcement of the Ordinance would cause practical difficulties for them by preventing the subject property to be used in a reasonable manner; that the plight of the landowner is due to circumstances unique to the property and not created by the landowner; that the variance if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality; and that economic considerations alone are not the basis of the practical difficulties (City Code §152.245(C)). In the written statement from the applicant, Mr. Dan Cayemburg,the project manager for Chandler Place, stated that strict enforcement of the front yard setback would allow an issue of safety to continue to exist F:\ lanning\Staff Reports\201 1\101 82011 3701 Chandler Dr front yard setback variance c stf rpt.dotm10182011 3701 Chandler Dr front yard setback variance c stf rpt.dotm