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<br />3301 Silver Lake Road, St. Anthony, Minnesota 55418-1699 <br />Office: (612) 782-3301 • Fax: (612) 782-3302 • www.savmn.com <br /> <br />Our Mission is to be a progressive and welcoming Village that is walkable, sustainable and safe. <br /> <br />Single Family Residential <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />This is an all-encompassing topic, and is related to pressure on the nature and intensity of the use <br />of traditional single family residential properties are being used. For some time, housing <br />affordability (and aging populations) have resulted in a push for accommodating accessory <br />dwelling units. This accommodation has been adopted in a number of locations, but has been <br />rejected in many others. The primary support has come from the two directions mentioned above <br />– affordable housing options, and desire to care for aging relatives. Detractors cite the inability to <br />manage the longer-term uses of accessory dwellings, and whether they create de facto two-family <br />units in single family neighborhoods. <br /> <br />A second consideration is the changing way that residential properties are being used, particularly <br />driven by Covid-related work-at-home demands. Many single family property owners struggle <br />with reasonable work/office space that was not contemplated when their home was built – <br />complicated when more than one adult works from home. While return to office trends are <br />increasing, others are not, and some speculation exists that many firms may retain all or partial <br />work-from-home requirements. <br /> <br />Related to the work-from-home movement is the desire of residents to grow into their homes as <br />families (or unique usage needs) require more space. St. Anthony residency is a coveted thing, <br />and neighborhood stability can rely on long-term residency. Accommodating growing space <br />needs can, or may be, a growing issue for the community both now and in the future. <br />Apart from use, there are practical changes that are likely to impact how we may see building and <br />site design in residential areas. These include aspects of housing maintenance, especially as rental <br />occupancies increase in single family areas. Solar installations on single family property can be an <br />issue for neighborhood aesthetics. Each of the issues mentioned here may also impact stormwater <br />management as pressure builds to increase hard-surface uses on residential land. The purpose of <br />this discussion is to examine the City’s interest in considering options or changes to the long- <br />standing zoning regulations that apply to single family property.