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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBZ Packet 08.11.22If you need accommodations for the meeting please contact Rachel Juba at (651) 762-6304 or rjuba@ci.hugo.mn.us, thank you. Agenda Hugo Board of Zoning Adjustments and Appeals Thursday, August 11, 2022 Hugo City Hall 6:30 PM A. ROLL CALL: Arcand, Petty, Weidt B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. February 24, 2022 C. PUBLIC HEARING 1. Philip and Mary Watkins, 13345 Homestead Avenue North. Variance request from the rear yard and side setback requirement and for an addition to an attached garage. Variance request for the attached garage to exceed the square footage allowed. D. NEW BUSINESS E. OLD BUSINESS F. ADJOURNMENT Minutes for the Board of Zoning Meeting of Thursday, February 24, 2022 Chair Weidt called the meeting to order at 6:38 pm. PRESENT: Petty, Weidt. ABSENT: Arcand. STAFF: Rachel Juba, Community Development Director Emily Weber, Community Development Assistant Approval of Minutes for the BOZA Meeting of January 27, 2022 Board Member Petty made a motion, seconded by Weidt to approve minutes for the meeting of January 27, 2022. Ayes: All. Nay: None. Motion carried. Public Hearing: Ranell and Dan Tennyson – 12582 Ingersoll Avenue North front yard and shoreland setback variances to allow the reconstruction of an existing accessory building. Staff provided a background on the request submitted by Ranell and Dan Tennyson located at 12582 Ingersoll Avenue North. The applicants are requesting two variances for the reconstruction of an existing accessory building on their residential property. The variance requests include the building setback to be 6.9 feet from the ordinary high water level of Sunset Lake, where 100 feet is required by ordinance, and the front yard building setback to be 19.8 feet from the east property line, where 40 feet is required by ordinance. Staff analyzed the requests based on the criteria outlined in the City Code. Staff stated that there are practical difficulties in meeting the building setback requirements and that the strict enforcement of the ordinance would cause undue hardship because the property owners would not have a building area for an accessory building without the granting of variances. The variance requests meet the spirit and intent of the City Code and would not change the essential character of the neighborhood. It is in staff’s opinion that the applicant meets all requirements necessary to approve the shoreland and front yard setback variance requests for property located at 12582 Ingersoll Avenue North. Staff recommended approval of the two variance requests. Chair Weidt opened the public hearing at 6:34pm. No one spoke. Chair Weidt closed public hearing at 6:35pm. February 24, 2022 BOZA Minutes Page 2 Motion by Petty, seconded by Weidt, to approve two variance requests submitted by Ranell and Dan Tennyson, for property located at 12582 Ingersoll Avenue North, to allow a building setback to be 6.9 feet from the ordinary high water level of Sunset Lake, where 100 feet is required by ordinance, and a front yard building setback to be 19.8 feet from the east property line, where 40 feet is required by ordinance. Ayes: All. Nay: None. Motion carried. Adjournment Board member Petty made a motion, Chair Weidt seconded, to adjourn at 6:39 pm. Ayes: All. Nay: None. Motion Carried. Respectfully Submitted, Emily Weber, Community Development Assistant Agenda Number D.1 CITY OF HUGO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT PLANNING AND ZONING APPLICATION STAFF REPORT TO: Hugo Board of Zoning Adjustments FROM: Rachel Juba, Community Development Director SUBJECT: Philip and Mary Watkins, 13345 Homestead Avenue North. Variance request from the rear yard and side setback requirement and for an addition to an attached garage. Variance request for the attached garage to exceed the square footage allowed. DATE: August 8, 2022, for the Board Meeting on August 11, 2022 ZONING: Rural Residential (RR) REVIEW DEADLINE: September 18, 2022 1. DESCRIPTION OF REQUEST: The applicants are asking for variances to construct a 1,120 square foot addition to their 1,350 square foot attached garage. There are three variance requests. The first request is to allow 2,470 square feet for the attached garage, where 1,113 square feet is allowed by ordinance. The second request is to allow the rear yard setback to be 35 feet from the property line, where 40 feet is required by ordinance. The third request is to allow the side yard setback to be 12 feet, where 20 feet is required by ordinance. The property is approximately five acres and is located within the Rural Residential (RR) zoning district. 2. LEVEL OF CITY DISCRETION IN DECISION-MAKING: The City’s discretion in approving or denying a variance is limited to whether or not the proposed project meets the standards in the Zoning Ordinance for a variance. The City has a higher level of discretion with a variance because the burden of proof is on the applicant to show that they meet the standards in the ordinance. 3. ANALYSIS: A. Surrounding Land Use and Zoning Watkins Variance – 13345 Homestead Avenue North Page 2 2 The surrounding properties are zoned Rural Residential (RR) and are classified as Large Lot Residential (LL) in the 2040 Land Use Plan. The surrounding properties range from one to ten acres in size and are occupied by residential homes. 4. VARIANCE STANDARDS: The Board must review the requested variances with the standards outlined in Section 90-38 of the land use regulations. Staff used these standards to review the variance request and finds the following: (1) Law. The variance as requested is permissible by law. The proposed variance is permissible by law. (2) Practical Difficulties. The applicant for a variance shall establish that there are practical difficulties in complying with the provisions of the zoning regulations. The term “Practical Difficulties” as used in the granting of a variance means: a. Reasonable Use. The property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning ordinance and; Attached garages and accessory buildings are allowed in the RR zoning district. Attached garages are allowed to be 1,000 square feet plus 25 percent of the amount by which the footprint of the house building exceeds 1,000 square feet in size. In this case the total amount allowed would be 1,113 square feet. This property would allow 2 accessory buildings for a total combine square footage of 3,500. There are no accessory buildings on the property. The applicant is requesting to construct a 1,120 square foot addition to the existing 1,350 attached garage. The applicant received a variance in 1995 for the existing 1,350 square foot garage. The applicant has stated that they would reduce the allowed square footage for an accessory building by as a condition of approval of the variance. The applicant is proposing to use the property in a reasonable manner. b. Unique Circumstances. The plight of property owner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the landowner and; The property is unique in that it is a 5 acre parcel in a zoning district that has a minimum lot size of 10 acres. The house is on the very east side of the property about 550 feet from Homestead Avenue North. The property has several large trees on the property and the applicant does not want to cut down or disturb. There are wetlands on each side of the driveway. The septic system is located on the west side of the home in the front yard and the property slopes to the north, north of the house. There is an area that does not have trees, south of the driveway and west of the house, but this area is where the property drains to a wetland and the applicants stated they do not want to block drainage on their property by locating an accessory building in that area. Watkins Variance – 13345 Homestead Avenue North Page 3 3 The applicant has stated that the best location for additional storage space is to add on to the west side of the existing attached garage. It is the staff opinion that this condition has been met because of the location of the several large trees, wetlands, slopes, septic system, and drainage areas. c. Character of Neighborhood. The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood. The accessory building ordinance discourages having accessory buildings located in front of the house. The setbacks in the ordinance are designed for 10 acre lots and this property is 5 acres. The property has screening on the south and west lot lines from adjacent properties. The addition would not noticeably change the character of the area. It is in staff’s opinion that there are practical difficulties in meeting the RR setback requirements and the square footage requirements for attached garages. The property owner is proposing to use the property in a reasonable manner by constructing an addition. The location of the several large trees, wetlands, slopes, septic system, and drainage areas make it difficult to find a good place for an accessory building without grading to reroute drainage and removal of trees. Given the location of the proposed addition and the existing vegetation on site, the approval of the variance request would not noticeably alter the character of the neighborhood. (3) Spirit and Intent. The granting of the variance would be in keeping with the spirit and intent of this chapter and with the policies of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The spirit and intent of the attached garage ordinance is to not have the attached garage dominate the look of the front of the house. The proposed addition would be relatively small and well hidden, so as to not dominate the look of the house. The accessory building ordinance discourages having accessory buildings located in front of the house. The proposed addition would be meet the spirit and intent of the accessory building ordinance. The spirit and intent of the ordinance for a side yard setback is to require a minimum amount of space between buildings and the property line. It is the staff’s opinion that there would be a reasonable amount of space between the addition and the property line, although a portion of the addition would encroach into the rear and side yard setback. (4) Prohibited Use. The variance, if granted, shall not have the effect of allowing any use prohibited in the district. Attached garages are permitted in the RR zoning district. (5) Hazard Consideration. The variance, if granted, shall not permit a lower degree of flood protection than required by this chapter. The variance shall be determined the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief, and the variance shall not be issued within any designated regulatory floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result. Watkins Variance – 13345 Homestead Avenue North Page 4 4 The property is not located within a FEMA designated floodplain. (6) Septic and Well Compliance. The sewage treatment system and water system of the subject property is in compliance with city and state codes. The property is served by well and septic systems. Any future septic system installed must comply with city and state codes. 5. CONCLUSION: It in staff’s opinion that the applicant meets all the criteria necessary to approve the variance requests, with the condition that the total allowed square footage for accessory buildings is reduced to 2,143 square feet, where 3,500 square feet is required by ordinance. 6. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the variance requests subject to the conditions in the resolution. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Location Map 2. Resolution 3. Site Plan 4. Applicant’s Narrative and Documents 132nd Street North Homestead Avenue North13345 Homestead Ave N Location Map Hugo, MN Site Roads Hugo Border Parcel Boundary ¯0 200Feet1 in = 200 feet Document Path: S:\Mapping\Emily\LocationSite Maps\2022\13445 Homestead Ave N.mxdSite 28 ft40 f t 35 ft 12 ft RESOLUTION 2022-____ APPROVING VARIANCES FOR PHILIP AND MARY WATKINS IN THE RURAL RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT 13345 HOMESTEAD AVENUE NORTH WHEREAS, Philip and Mary Watkins have requested approval of variances from the side and rear setback requirements to construct an addition to the existing attached garage. The applicants have also requested approval of a variance for the attached garage to exceed the square footage allowed. See Attached WHEREAS, the Board of Zoning has reviewed said variance at a duly called public hearing on August 11, 2022, and recommends approval with the following conditions: 1. A variance is approved to allow 2,470 square feet for the attached garage, where 1,113 square feet is allowed by ordinance. 2. A variance is approved to allow the rear yard setback to be 35 feet from the property line, where 40 feet is required by ordinance. 3. A variance is approved to allow the side yard setback to be 12 feet, where 20 feet is required by ordinance. 4. The total allowed square footage for accessory buildings is reduced to 2,143 square feet, where 3,500 square feet is required by ordinance. 5. The building additional shall meet all building code requirements. 6. Prior to the issuance of a building permit, a grading plan shall be reviewed by the City Engineer to determine all drainage will remain on the property. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUGO, MINNESOTA, that it should and hereby does approve the variance requests for side and rear setback requirements to construct an addition to the existing attached garage. ADOPTED by the City Council this 15th day of August 2022. _______________________________ Tom Weidt, Mayor ATTEST: __________________________________ Michele Lindau, City Clerk Watkins Variance 13345 Homestead July 2022 Written by Philip and Mary Watkins Front Yard Back Yard proposed addition location Level elevation off existing floor sighted West over front yard (notice swing set disappears) Thank you !