04-10-79 BZA Minutes �-
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MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETIPJG OF THE
GOLDEN VALLEY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
April 10, 1979
A regular meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals was held Tuesday,
April 10, 197g at 7:30 P.M. at the Golden Va11ey Civic Center, 7800 Golden Valley Rd.
GoTden Valley, Minnesota.
The following Board members were present:
Glen Christiansen
Larry Smith
Mike Sell
Jody Sehlin (Alternate)
Herb Polachek (Alternate)
Members absent by prior arrangement: Mahlan Swedberg `(death in family)
William Forster (Europe)
The Secretary called the meeting to order and upon nomination, motion seconded,
and vote, Glen Christiansen assumed the Chair for the meeting.
The first order of business was consideration of the minutes of the meeting held
March 13, 1979• Glen Ghristiansen reviewed the minutes, copies of which had
previously been presented to tRe Board. There being no comments, additions or
corrections, it was moved by Sell , seconded by Smith to approve the minutes as
written and presented. Upon vote the motion carried.
79-3-2 (Map 23) Residential 222 Hanley Road Loren & Adelgund Fransen
The petition is for waiver of Section
3.07 of the Zoning Code (continued from March 13, 1979)
Loren and Adelgund Fransen were present. Mr. Fransen had reviewed his prese,nt
proposal (which is now to construct the attached garage to the front) with his
adjacent property owners and all had given their signatures approving the present
proposal .
Mr. Fransen explained that having received a deferral from the Board last month
(March 1979) he met with his contractor and neighbors and explored every reasonable
alternative for constructing his garage. The best possibTe solution he believed
was the one he now was presenting to the Board.
Mr. Fransen's home is 41 feet from the front lot line on the side of the house
he proposes to build on. Mr. Fransen would like to utilize the six feet, he is
now further back than required plus an additional 15 feet by waiver and bui }d
forward to within 20 feet from the front lot line to the proposed garage. He
exptained and the Board members noted that there are some differences in front
alignment of adjacent properties, that there is a considerable amount of large
pine trees and bushes screening this area and that the street' as it runs to the
North, curves and reduces the rigid alignment. Mike Selt stated that, to the best of
. h�s;.�recollection, in the 9 years he has served on the Board of Zoning Appeals,
he has never voted for approval of a front setback anywhere near what is requested
however, he said it appears that all alternat.ives (front, side and to the rear)
had been explored and he felt the man is entitled to a garage.
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Board of Zoning Appeals
April 10, 1979 page 2
Jody Sehlin saw no other feasible alternatives and if the garage is designed
and constructed properly in conjunction with the house, the proposal should be
a reasonable solution and not detrimental to adjacent property owners.
Mike Sell moved to: grant a waiver of Section 3.07 (1 ) of the Zoning Code for
15 feet off the required 35' front setback to a distance of 20 feet from the
front lot line to the single car garage as proposed. Motion seconded by Smith
and upon vote, carried unanimously.
79-4-$ EMap 13) Multiple (P.U.D.) 5610 Laurel Ave. S. Richard F. Sachs
The petition is for waiver of Section
4.04 of the Zoning Code for 7 spaces off the required 87 inside
spaces for Parking.
The petition was in order. Present for the meeting were Mr. Ted Goldman and
Mr. Richard Sachs, no adjacent property owners were present.
Jody Sehlin reviewed previous meetings of the Planning Commission on this proposal
which is a P.U.D. Mr. Sachs reviewed their entire proposal noting they had com-
plied with all suggestions of the Planning Commission and felt it was a most
desirable structure.
Mike Sell asked for a clarification of the requirements for inside parking and
the necessity for a waiver, as it appears with the parking provided inside,
combined with all the outside, there appears to be twice as many spaces as there
are living units.
The Secretary explained that this proposat is a Ptanned Unit Development, a
parking waiver can only be granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
The building has 65 units and 80 inside parking spaces, however, some of the
units are 2-bedroom and some are 3-bedroom, therefore in accordance with the
zoning code, fhose units require additional parking. The addition of seven more
spaces outside explored, however the loss of the planned green area and land-
scape did not appear to warrant creating seven more spaces.
The Board reviewed a rendering of the building and site as approved by the
Planning Commission.
Larry Smith said he was extremely impressed and noted that all the parking as
now provided, there could be 2 spaces for every unit and with the landscape as
shown, he wouTd be hesitant to remove any green area for a few additional parking
spaces.
Glen Christiansen congratulated the proponent on the fine architecture and land-
scape planning, noting that he has always been extremely hesitant on any proposal
to grant any parking variances. Christiansen also called attention to the advant-
ages of inside parking in this part of the country.
Larry Smith moved to grant the waiver as requested, seconded by Jody Sehlin,
upon vote, motion carried unanimously.
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Board of Zoning Appeals
April 10, 1979 Pa9e 3
79-4-9 (Map 14) Light Industrial 7105 Medicine Lake Road (300 ft. East of
Nevada Ave.) K.B. Development
The petition is for waiver of Section
5.05 of the Zoning Code for 40 ft. off the required 50 ft. green area
along the West lot line.
Present for the meeting were Mr. James Benson of Boblett Realty and Development
and Mr. Farnsworth. Also present was Mrs. LuciTle Gregerson, the adjacent property
owner to the West.
The petition was in order and it was noted that Mrs. Gregersen had indicated on
the petition she did not approve of the proposal .
Mr. Benson of Boblett Associates made the presentation on the proposed building.
He described this and other offers to Mrs. Gregersen for her home, noting it is
compl_etely surrounded by lndustrial zoning and in all probability will become
Industrial when sold. Mr. Benson noted that this Open 'zoning adjacent to
fndustrial puts an extreme hardship on the development of any building as it
requires a 100 ft. setback from the West lot line and one-half of this setback
(50' ) to be green area. The building as proposed is more than 100 ft. back,
however they have proposed a green area of 10 ft. along the West lot line which
is what would be required if Mrs. Gregersen's property were zoned Industrial
as it may very well be in the future. This configuration allows for provision of
all parking as required on the site for office and warehouse portions of the
building.
Mrs. Gregersen explained why she did not want to sell at this time and also stated
that all offers were for the land only and this did not provide sufficient funds
to even consider being able to move and provide similar housing as she now has.
The Board cautioned Mr. Benson that they did not approve of the manner he described
Mrs. Gregersen's home, his comparison and reasans for the land values considered
for purehasing her home. Glen Christiansen� stated that the citizens of Golden Valley
and their well being is of priroary consideration and would not be put second to
any industrial developer. Mr. Benson apologized profusely, noting he was presenting
a factual description from a developer's standpoint of the considerations and
determinations used for property.
Mrs. Gregersen presented the Board with several pictures she had taken of the
property to the West of her home, the filiing station site now used by Egan � McKay,
several semi-tractors are stored on the site in the green area and generally the
entire site needed a cleanup. This is why she wanted no waiver granted and desired
the 50 ft. of green area maintained between her home and the proposal .
The Board directed the Secretary to inform the Building Inspector of the area to
the West of Mrs. Gregerson's home so corrective action can be taken.
Mike Sell reviewed the parking requirements with the developer and it appeared,
according to the site plan and figures as shown, there were actually seven more
parking spaces than required and proposed eliminating the 11 spaces shown along
the West lot line, establishing four additional spaces on other areas of the site
and for now, deveioping the required 50 feet of green area as required.
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Board of Zoning Appeals
April 10, 1979 page 4
Sell diagrammed this on the site plan. He drew a line at the 50 ft. setback
beginning from the North lot line and South for a distance of 125 feet and then
at that point providing a radius West to a distance of 30 ft. from the West lot
line and carry this 30 ft. distance the remaining distance to the South ]ot line.
This area so outlined would be green area until such time as Mr. Gregersen's
home and property was rezoned.
This was explained and thoroughly considered with Mrs. Gregersen and she was
agreeable to this proposal .
Mike Sell moved to deny the waiver as requested and to approve a waiver as
follows:
50 feet of green area to be established along the West
lot line beginning from the North lot line and South for
a distance of 125 feet and then a radius curved to the
West lot line to a distance of 30 feet from the West
lot line and then from this point a 30 foot green area
be established to South lot line.
Larry Smith seconded this motion.
This line as described was drawn on the site plan. The plan was designated
Exhibit "A" by the Chairman and it was signed and dated by Glen Christiansen,
Acting Chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals, Mr. James Benson of Boblett �
Associates and Lucille Gregersen of 7125 Medicine Lake Road. This is the
approved plan for development of this proposal and its conditions are require-
ments to be used for any building permit.
The Chairman called the vote and upon vote it was unanimous to approve the
requirements providing for the green area along the West lot line as described.
7g-4-10 (Map 1D) Residential Lot 1 - Anderson Div. (Southwest corner)
23rd � Winnetka Ave. N. Mark E. Anderson
The petition is for waiver of Section
3.041 of the Zoning Code for 4,250 sq. ft. off the required
18,750 sq. ft. tot size and for 46 feet off the required
150 foot frontage to a lot width of 104 feet at 23rd Ave. N.
3.02 to allow a two-family dwelling in a residential area.
Mark Anderson was present to explain the request. The petition was in order.
Glen Christiansen said this was a considerable request for waivers from the
Zoning Code and none of this magnitude had ever been granted for a two-family
dwelling.
Mr. Anderson in reviewing the history of this lot and the adjacent property,
stated his Grandfather, Earhart Anderson, has been trying to deve}op this area
for 16 years, agreement with other adjacent owners to work out development has
not been possible. The present lot he seeks to build a two-family dwelling on,
seems to be the only financially feasible solution as the lot requires con-
siderable work and construction would require costly compaction or piling.
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Board of Zoning Appeals
April 10, 1979 page 5
The Board asked the Secretary to determine from fihe staff or City Attorney
what is required to allow development of parcels that are landloeked.
The Board discussed other alternatives for this lot with Mr. Rnderson, such as,
developing it as single family and possibly utilizing one of the homes to be
sold and moved from Rhode lsland Ave. Mr. Anderson said he would look into
alternatives and would also proceed with the idea of developing the remaining
property.
Mike Sell moved to defer any action on this request. Herb Polachek seconded
the motion and upon vote, motion carried.
There being no further business to come before the Board, it was on motion,
duly seconded, and upon vote carried to adjourn at 9:45 P.M.
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G en Christiansen, Acting Chairman Recording cretary, Lloyd Becker