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06-14-94 BZA Minutes 1329 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS I June 14, 1994 The regular meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals was held; Tuesday, June 14, 1994 at 7 PM, City Hall Employee Lunch Room, 7800 Golden Va 11 ey Road, Gol den Va 11 ey, Mi nnesota. The following Board members were present: .chair Mike Sell, Emilie Johnson, Herb Polachek, Larry Smith, and Mahlon Swedberg. Also present was Mark Grimes, Staff Liaison. Approval of Minutes - May 10, 1994 MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Smith and motion carried u'nanimously to approve the May 10, 1994 minutes as submitted. -----~----------~--.~-------------------_._-_._---~-~------------ 1015 Quebec Avenue North (94-6-12) Robert L. Sorensen Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A and B). Subd. 7(A) requires a 35 foot front setback and 7(B) requires a rear setback of 20%. The house is non-conforming from both the front and rear setback requirements. I Waiver of Section 11.90 4(C)(4) says that when a previous variance has been granted a new variance is required for any new construc- tion or activity. Purpose: To allow for additional living space and an addition to the garage. I The petition was in order and consent obtained from adjacent property owners. Mr. Sorensen was present to answer questions. No other persons interested in this request were in attendance. Staff Liaison, Mark Grimes gave a brief report indicating that Bassett Creek Drive to the south of their home along the creek is a "paper" street. Since this street is not used for traffic purposes but only for utilities, the front yard setback requirement is being asked to be waived. ' A variance for a previous addition had been granted bY the BZA. Since the pro- posed addition will not come any closer to the street or creek than the existing house, the BZA looked favorably upon the request. MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Smith and motion carried unanimously to approve the petition by waivers of Section l1.21,Subd. 7(A and B) for a setback from Bassett Creek Drive of 8.7 feet off the required 35 foot street setback and 8 feet off the requi red 22 foot rear yard setback (20% of depth of lot). Al so granted was waiver of Section 11.90 4(C)(4). 1330 Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals June 14, 1994 Page Two 2505 Byrd Avenue North (94-6-13) Joseph and Jane Amberg I Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(C)(2) sideyard setback. The home is currently nonconforming by 7.3 feet on the south side and 2.4 feet on the north side. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a 12' x 161 deck off the back of their home. The petition was in order and consent obtained from adjacent property owners. Mr. Amberg was present to answer any questions. No others interested in this request were present. Staff Liaison, Mark Grimes gave a brief report describ- ing the variance request noting that the house does not meet the current sideyard setback requirement of 15% of the lot width on both sides of the house. The house was built in 1957. In order to add the deck to the rear of the house, the two sideyard setback variances must be granted. The proposed deck is conforming. ",_.._ '...'L'_' Because the house was placed on the lot in 1957 so"as not to meet current requirements, the Board felt that the variance is justified to allow further improvement to the property. MOVED BY Smith, seconded by Polachek and motion carried unanimously to approve the petition for waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(C)(2) for a sideyard setback variance of 2.3 feet off the required 12.7 feet on the north side of the house and 7.3 feet off the required 12.7 feet on the south side of the house (The sideyard setback requirement is 15% of the width of the lot.) I 2605 Scott Avenue No. (94-6-14) John and Pamela Woodruff Request: Waiver of Section 11.65, Subd. 5(A) ShorelandManagement Standards - 50 foot setback requirement from the ordi nary hi gh water mark. The footings for the structure are 29 feet from the high water mark requiring a variance. Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) front yard setback of .19 feet. Pu rpose: To allow for the construction of a second floor deck wtih a portion. The petition was in order and consent obtained from adjacent property owners. The Woodruff family and their builder were present to answer any questions. No others interested in the request were in attendance. Staff Liaison, Mark Grimes provided a staff report describing the requested variance. He indicated that the specific request is a setback variance from the City's Shoreland Management Zoning Overl ay Di stri ct. The proposed deck and exi sting structure I do not meet the current Shoreland Management setback requirements which is 50 feet. Staff have also been working with the Woodruff's because the house is below the 100 year flood elevation. Normally, additi~ns to houses below the 1331 I Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals June 14, 1994 Page Three 100 year flood elevation are not permitted. The City st~ff worked with the MN DNR and the Bassett Creek Water Management Organization to allow this type of construction that will have minimal impact on the flood hazard in the area. (The deck will be built on three pilings that will be driven into the ground. The deck itself will be nine feet above ground elevation.) MOVED by Polachek, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to approve the waiver of Section 11.65, Subd. 5(A) Shoreland Management Standards to allow for the construction of a deck to within 29 feetoLthehigh.water mark of Bassett Creek. (The required setback is 50 feet.) In addition, a waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) for a front yard setback of .19 feet off the required 35 feet. (It was noted by the BZA that the existing house is .19 feet closer to Scott Avenue North than required by code.) 2509 Parkview Boulevard (94-6-15) Kurt L. Larson Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A and C). Subd. 7(A) is necessary because the proposed garage will be 5.5 ft. into the front setback. Subd. 7(C) is required for the full 12 foot side yard setback. Waiver of Section 11.21, Sub. 12(A) states that detached accessory buildings shall be located wholly to the rear of the house or main building. The proposed garage is being placed approximately 6 feet to the front of the home on the west side making it nonconforming. The house is currently nonconforming and he wants to build a two- stall, detached garage. I Pu rpose: The petition was in order and consent obtained from adjacent property owners. Mr. Larson was present to answer any questions. No others interested were in attendance. Staff Liaison, Mark Grimes gave a report describing the requested variance. There was a concern regarding the proposed sideyard variance setback for the existing house. The deck actually goes over the property line to the north. It was determined by the BZA to not deal with thesideyard setback variance because of the encroachment of the deck over the property line. Mr. Larson said he would be dealing with his neighbor about this issue. Member Swedberg asked why the detached garage could not be placed in a con- forming manner in the rear of the yard. He said that access to the rear of the yard would not be difficult. I Mr. Larson responded by stat i ng that he di d not want .to T.emoveany.treeso.r relocate the kennel in the rear yard. He also does not want a long driveway to the rear yard. He said that he would eventually convert the lower level toa family room. Attaching the garage to the house would also cause difficulties because the house is a split level. After some discussion with Mr. Larson, Mr. Larson agreed to amend his request by moving the garage to the same setback as the house. This would require that 1332 Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals June 14, 1994 Page Four the distance between the house and garage be less than the required 10 feet and the sideyard setback be less than 5 feet. Mr. Larson agreed to come back to the BZA in July with a revised plan. MOVED by Smith, seconded by Swedberg to table the vari ance requests unti 1 the July 12th meeting of the BZA. The motion carried unanimously. I 400 North Meadow Lane (94-6-16) Don a 1 dB. Vall ey Request: Pu rpose: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 8(A and C[2]). The front setback is for 12.10 feet off the required 35 feet and the side setback is for 3.30 feet off the required 15% of the yard width or 12 feet. Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 12(A) states that detached accessory buildings shall be located wholly to the rear of the house or main building and must be at least 10 feet from the main building. the detached garage is located along side the house. To construct an addition on to the rear of the home. The petition was in order and consent obtained from adjacent property owners. Mr. Valley was present to answer any questions. No other interested persons were in attendance.. Staff Liaison, Mark Grimes gave a brief staff report indi- cating that this is an older home in the neighborhood and, therefore, does not meet existing setback requirements. Mr. Valley would like to build an addition on the rear of the existing house. There was some concern about the condition of the existing garage. Mr. Valley noted that this garage will be removed and replaced with a new garage. Member Swedberg said that when the existing garage is removed in the near future, that it then be placed in a conforming location on the lot. MOVED by Polachek, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to approve the petition for a waiver for: 1) Section 11.21, Subd. .7(A) for a street setback of 12.10 feet off the required 35 foot, 2) Section 11.21, Subd. 7(C) for a sideyard setback variance of 3.3 feet off the required 12 foot set- back (15% of lot width) and 3) Section 11.21, Subd. 12(A) which states that an accessory buil ding must be placed totally to the rear and at 1 east 10 feet from the house (the proposed addition will be 5 feet from the existing garage). Member Swedberg requested that the existing .garage, when moved, be placed on the lot within the required setbacks so it is conforming. I 4212 Poplar Drive (94-6-17) Bruce and Sara Monick Request: Pu rpose: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) states the front setback shall be 35 feet; the proposed building will be 15 feet from the front setback. I Waiver of Section 11.90, Subd. 4(C)(4) states that when a previous variance has been granted a new variance is required for any new construction or activity. To construct a gazebo 15 feet from the north property line. 1333 Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals June 14, 1994 Page Five I The petition was in order and consent obtained from adjacent property owners. Mr. and Mrs. Monick were present to answer any questions. Several other neigh- bors were also present to speak on the Monick's behalf. Staff Liaison, Mark Grimes gave a brief report and discussed the previous variance on this site. MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Smith and motion carried unanimously to approve the waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) for a street setback of 20 feet off the required 35 feet setback noting that Poplar Drive will not be widened in the future and that a similar variance had been granted on the site. Also approved was Section 11.90, Subd. 4(C)(4). 2324 Kewanee Way (94-6-18) Michele S. Sayers Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) which required a 35 foot front setback. The home is currently nonconforming with a 30 foot front setback and will need a 5 foot variance. Purpose: To construct a 16' x 20' screened-in porch onto the rear of the home. I The petition was in order and consent obtained from adjacent property owners. Ms. Sayers was present to answer any questions. No other persons interested in this request were in attendance. Staff Liaison, Mark Grimes gave a brief report. He noted that many of the houses along Kewanee Way were placed 30 feet from the street rather than 35 feet. However, no official variance was granted permitting this encroachment. It was indicated by the BZA that it was the intent to allow more rear yard by getting the house closer to the front of the lot. The rear of the yard has a very steep slope giving up that that restricts the amount of useable backyard space. The house and proposed addition are con- forming except for the front yard setback. MOVED by Smith, seconded by Polachek and motion carried unanimously to approve the petition for a waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) for a street setback of 5 feet off the required 35 foot setback. 2107 Noble Avenue No. (94-6-19) Michael Welch Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) which requires a 35 foot front setback and 35 feet from any street or road right-of-way line. The front setbac~ off of Noble is 33.14 feet and the addition of the garage will make the street setback off Ordway 26 feet instead of the required 35 feet. Purpose: To construct a second stall to the existing one staff garage. I The petition was in order and consent obtained from adjacent property owners. Mr. and Mrs. Welch were present to answer any questions. No others interested in this variance were present. Staff Liaison, Mark Grimes gave a brief staff report indicating this home is located at the intersection of Nobel Avenue and Ordway and that variances would be needed from both streets to build the garage addition. 1334 Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals June 14, 1994 Page Six Mr. and Mrs. Welch said that the existing one-car attached garage will have to be removed because the slab is sinking. The existing garage was built after the house was built. A new, attached two-stall garage is proposed in its place. I Member Swedberg commented that this expansion to a two-car garage is a reason- able request and that it would not cause traffic problems in the area. MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to approve the petition for a waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) for the fOllowing: 1) 1.86 feet off the required 35 foot setback from Noble Avenue and 2) 9 feet off the required 35 foot setback from Ordway. Other Business At the direction of the BZA, staff has suggested changes to the Zoning Code as related to the expansion of uses that have already been issued variances. The BZA agreed with these proposed changes that will now be reviewed by the Planning Commission. In Summary, these changes are as follows: 1) The BZA may grant variances for solar collectors when there is no reasonable alternative on the site. I 2) After a variance has been granted to a building or site, this variance is only for the specific conditions outlined in the variance approval. If there are changes to the variance approved, the BZA would have to reconsider the variance. 3) This change states that if after an initial variance has been granted, future building permits for construction that are oonforming may be granted without an additional variance. Adjournment ~~ The meeting was adjourned at 8:10PM Mike Sell, Chair I