09-10-85 BZA Minutes 91 �
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE
GOLDEN VALLEY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
September, 10, 1985
The regular meeting of the Golden Ualley Board of Zoning Appeals was held
Tuesday, September 10, 1985, at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the Civic
Center, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota.
The following Board members were present:
Mahlon Swedberg
Margaret Leppik
Mike Sell
Donald Singer (alternate)
Absent by prior arrangement, Art Flannagan and Larry Smith.
Mahlon Swedberg, as Chairman Pro Tem, called the meeting tv order at 7 :30
P.M.
The first order of business was approval of the minutes of a regular meeting
held August 13, 1985, copies of which had previously been distributed to the
Board. Margaret Leppik moved to approve the minutes as written and presented,
second by Donald Singer and upon vote carried.
85-9-31 (Map 15) Residential
1545 Louisiana Avenue North
Thomas Conley
The Petition is for waiver of Section
3A.06(2) rear setback, for 3.0 feet off the
required 25 feet to a distance of
22 feet from the west lot line to
the proposed room addition, and for
Section
3A.06(1) front setback, for 1 .6 feet off the
required 35 foot setback from Olympia
Street and .2 (two-tenths) of a
� foot off the required 35 feet f rom
Louisiana Avenue as the house now
exists.
The petition was in order, consent had been obtained from all adjacent
properties. Mr. Conley was present. No adjacent property owners were
in attendance.
This is a corner lot with a 35 foot setback required on two sides. The existing
home is presently 38 feet from the west lot line where the room addition is
proposed. If approved, the room addition would be 22 feet from the lot line.
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Board of Zoning Appeals
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September 10, 1985
While from every appearance this side would appear to be a side lot line based
on the configuration of the lot as it relates to the Zoning Code, it is con-
sidered a rear lot line and requires 20 percent of the lot depth for setback
(25 feet) .
Mr. Conley explained his addition would add some room to the present kitchen
and dining area and the remainder is a three-season porch. This addition
faces the rear yard of the adjacent neighbor to the west; therefore, there is a
considerable distance between houses. The entire yard where the addition is
proposed is enclosed in a board-on-board privacy fence and it would not be very
visible to adjacent neighbors.
Mr. Conley provided the Board with photographs of his property.
Mike Sell moved to approve the waiver for the room addition as proposed and
also the waivers for the house as it now exists. Mike Sell noted as part
of his motion that this is a corner lot with two 35 foot setbacks required,
that if the setback was a sideyard, 15 feet would be required and the
addition when completed is 22 feet and Sell also noted the topography and
lack of any other space on the lot.
Margaret Leppik seconded the motion and upon vote carried unanimously.
85-9-32 (Map 10) Residential
1001 North Tyrol Trail
Gerald A. McCabe
The Petition is for waiver of Section
3A.06(3)a side setback, for 11 .5 feet off the
required 15 foot side setback to a
distance of 3.5 feet from the east
lot line to the proposed garage �
addition.
Mr. McCabe was present. Consent had been obtained from all adjacent properties.
No others were in attendance. Mr. McCabe had photographs of his home and he
described the existing house and the lot topography. The lot is an extreme
example of difficult topography and typical of this area. It slopes up
steeply to the rear and side and the present tuck-under garage is entered
from the side of the house. A large retaining wall at the rear and the
side provides for entry to the garage at a sharp right angle to the street.
Mr. McCabe described to the Board, in detail , the use of the present retair►ing
wall in conjunction with new footings and foundation to enclose the new
garage addition, which would be entered directly from the street.
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Board of Zoning Appeals
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September 10, 1985
Margaret Leppik asked if any construction would take place above the garage and
Mr. McCabe said "no", but there will be a facade to match the existing roof of
the house to retain the present architectural characteristics.
The Board also was provided with detailed plans which were examined and
discussed thoroughly. Mahlon Swedberg expressed his concern about the width of
the garage. Mr. McCabe said it was proposed to be built in the area within the
retaining wall and because of the extreme topography, it was needed to meet the
structural requirements. The garage was described as not actually having an
interior dimension in width of 26 feet as the retaining wall and foundation
are approximately two feet thick and additional construction where added to the
existing house, leaves an interior of about 23 feet.
Mr. McCabe noted the extreme topography up toward his neighbor to the east.
He noted that if the lot were flat the proposed garage addition may have some
impact but in this case the garage is tucked into the embankment and because
of the hill has relatively no effect on the neighbor and they approve of the
proposal .
The Board noted that at the very east edge of the garage it would also require
a waiver of 4.3 feet from the required 35 foot front setback because of the
curve of the front lot line.
Mahlon Swedberg questioned the use of two doors rather than one large door. Mr.
McCabe responded the purpose of two doors was for esthetics to preserve the
English Tudor characteristics of the home and the neighborhood.
At the close of discussion, Mike Sell moved to approve the waiver as requested
and in addition the 4.3 feet off the required 35 foot front setback at the
corner of the east lot line to the garage at its closest point.
In his motion, Mike Sell noted the extreme topography at the rear and sides and
no other reasonable alternative. Sell 's motion was seconded by Margaret Leppik
and upon vote carried unanimously.
85-9-33 (Map 20) Residential
9210 Plymouth Avenue
Robert Herchenbach
The Petition is for waiver of Section
3A.06(1) front setback, for 21 feet off the required
35 foot setback to a distance of 14 feet
from the front lot line on Plymouth Avenue
to the proposed garage addition.
The petition was in order, consent had been obtained from all adjacent
properties. No adjacent owners were present. Mr. and Mrs. Herchenbach
were present to explain their proposed garage addition.
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Board of Zoning Appeals
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September 10, 1985
Mahlon Swedberg asked the secretary and staff liaison, Lloyd Becker, if there
was staff background on this proposal . Lloyd Becker explained that the
Herchenbachs had a similar request before the Board in August of 1984. The
garage depth proposed at that time was 30 feet and it is now proposed at 22
feet. Last August and again with this application, Mr. Herchanbach noted that
the rear of his lot was unsuitable for building because his and other neighbors
sub-soil drain tile pumps discharge into the rear yards and they are low and
wet most of the time. Lloyd Becker explained that he and Assistant City
Engineer, Tom Snetsinger, had walked the property and the rear yards that
morning and they were very soft and very wet. It appeared that there is some
natural drainage from the rear yards to Gettysburg Avenue on the east but it is
quite flat and does retain water. There is a storm sewer in front of the
Herchenbacks on the north side of Plymouth. There is a short stub off this
sewer into the boulevard, but no connection to anything. The invert appears
too shallow to extend into the Herbhenbach property to be of any benefit.
Mr. Herchanbach explained that his present single-attached garage is very
narrow and he has no place for storage of lawn equipment or tools. He noted
that if it were possible to fill and build in the rear, he would have to build
a driveway along his east lot line and it would be 6 feet from his adjacent
neighbor's bedroom windows.
The Board discussed the present width of Plymouth Avenue. The right-of-way is
96 feet wide. The present blacktop is 45 feet wide curb-to-curb. There is
a 40 foot wide boulevard on the north side adjacent to the Herchenbach's front
yard and their home is another 36 feet beyond that. Appearance wise, if the
garage were constructed as proposed, there would be about 54 feet of green
area to the present curb.
Donald Singer noted that the house to the east faees Gettysburg and the house
to the west faces Hillsboro and it doesn't appear to him that the proposed
addition in front would seriously affect anyone. Esthestically, the effect
would be minimal .
Margaret Leppik questioned the loss of front windows and Mr. Herchenbach
explained there would be new window locations and each room would have glazed
area equal to what now exists.
Mike Sell noted that the proposed turn-around area in the yard was a good idea
because to back out onto Plymouth Avenue as is now required appears to be very
dangerous and inconvenient. Mr. Herchenbach concurred and said that really is
a problem during rush hour periods especially with General Mills traffic in the
area. Following continued discussion on the structural requirements to place the
garage as proposed, Margaret Leppik moved to approve the waiver as requested,
noting the drainage on the lot, the wide boulevard to the front and lack of any
other realistic a�ternatives. Margaret Leppik also noted the past custom of
the Board in approving expansion of single-car garages to double garages where
reasonable to upgrade properties to today's standards. Mike Sell seconded the
motion for approval and upon vote carried unanimously.
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Board of Zoning Appeals
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September 10, 1985
85-9-34 (Map 21) Residential
8360 - lOth Avenue North
Carl 0. Jacobson
The Petition is for waiver of Section
7 .05(D) for 10 feet off the required 10 feet of
landscape area along the east lot line
to allow blacktop to be installed for
a turn-around of trucks.
The petition was in order, consent had been obtained from adjacent property
owners and two had submitted letters recommending approval .
Mr. Frank Balma, of Northern Printing, was present to explain the proposal .
The present blacktop parking and truck loading area on the east side of the
building is in need of repair. Trucks are having a hard time turning around
and have run into the required 10 foot green areas along the loading docks.
Mr. Balma explained the waiver request is not for the entire length along the
east lot line, but only for the portion along the loading docks which begins
about 100 feet back from lOth Avenue.
Secretary Lloyd Becker, noted that since the energy crisis in the 1970's, many
industrial properties are having similar problems because transport companies
no longer use shorter semi-trailers of about 30 feet in length. It is more
fuel efficient and most truck lines use trailers of about 45 feet as a minimum.
This has created some problems in loading areas.
Lloyd Becker noted that the present lot does not have curb and gutter and if
the Board approves the waiver, it is suggested to require as a minimum concrete
curb and gutter along the east lot line extended out to lOth Avenue to provide
protection from erosion and trucks for the adjacent property owner and to pro-
vide a drainage gutter for water to the street.
Mahlon Swedberg said he originally felt very negative about this proposal .
However, now that it is clear that it begins at 100 feet back from lOth Avenue
and with an understanding of the truck trailer lengths now a problem, it
appears more reasonable. After further discussion of employee parking areas
and Mr. Balma having explained there is a very large area left on the lot to
the north that could be used for additional employee parking, Margaret Leppik
moved for approval of the waiver as requested subject to concrete curb and
gutter all along the east lot line to lOth Avenue. Second by Mike Sell and
upon vate carried.
After a brief staff update by Lloyd Becker, the Board adjourned at 9:00 P.M.
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Mahlon Swedbe g, Chairm Pro-Tem oyd G. ecker, Secretary