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03-25-97 BZA Minutes :1495 I Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals March 25, 1997 The regular meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals was held Tuesday, March 25, 1997, in the Golden Valley City Hall Council Chambers, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, MN. Chair Polachek called the meeting to order at 7pm. Those present were: Chair Herb Polachek; Members Robert Shaffer, and Mahlon Swedberg, and Planning Commission Representative Paula Pentel. Also present were Staff Liaison Mark Grimes and Recording Secretary Eve Lomaistro. I. Approval of Minutes - February 25, 1997 MOVED by Pentel, seconded by Swedberg, and motion carried unanimously to approve the minutes of February 25, 1997, as submitted. II. The Petitions are -- 4316 Glencrest Road (97-3-6) Leslie Baken and Mike Schock I Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(C)(2) Side Yard Setback - 6.6 feet off the required 11.6 feet to a distance of 5 feet for a proposed garage and living addition on the west side of the existing structure. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a non-conforming addition onto the west side of the house. Leslie Baken and architect Robert Gerloff were in attendance. Staff liaison Mark Grimes stated that the owners are proposing to add a three-level addition onto the west side of the existing garage area. Above the garage would be living space and a screened-in porch. The third level would be for a bedroom addition. The neighbor to the west is concerned about potential drainage problems. The applicant has submitted a letter from an architect discussing this issue. Staff asked the City's Engineering Department to check the site and verify if there might be a drainage problem. They commented that it doesn't look like there would be a problem with drainage, but is uncertain until the snow melts. The applicants have agreed to work with the neighbors and the City to resolve the drainage issue. I Grimes concluded that there is a lot of topography on the lot. 1496 Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals March 25, 1997 Page 2 Herb Polachek asked the applicants if they had any comments and Baken answered I that she had no comments at this time but would answer questions. Grimes asked if the entire screen porch and garage come off and Baken answered yes. Paula Pentel indicated her approval of removing the screen porch and garage. Mahlon Swedberg asked if the neighbors knew that the City Engineer visited the site to look into the drainage issue and the applicants said yes. Grimes stated that he is confident that there is no problem. In addition, the building inspector would see the property during the building permit issuance process and reevaluate. Robert Shaffer asked if there is a retaining wall. Baken answered yes, it is on the property line on the west, down most of the hill. It is not clear who owns it and it does not appear on the current survey. Grimes stated that walls are not considered construction. Shaffer stated that he has no problem with the request. Swedberg stated that the topography is such that it slants down and limits the location of a garage. I MOVED by Shaffer, seconded by Pentel and motion carried unanimously to approve the waiver from Section 11.21, Subd. 7(C.)(2) Side Yard Setback for 6.6 feet off the required 11.6 feet to a distance of 5 feet for a proposed garage and living addition on the west side of the existing structure. This would allow for the construction of a non- conforming addition on to the west side of the house. 5400 Glenwood Avenue (97-3-7) Minneapolis Crisis Nurserv Request: Waiver of Section 11.46, Subd. 8. Yard Requirements - 18 feet off the required 25 feet to a distance of 7 feet for the lack of adequate green space on the north side because of parking in this area; and Waiver of Section 11.46, Subd. 9. Front Yards - 31 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 4 feet for the lack of green space on the southeast side because of parking in this area; and Waiver of Section 11.46, Subd. 9. Front Yards - 21 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 14 feet for the lack of green space on the southeast side because of parking in this area; and I I I I Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals March 25, 1997 Page 3 1497 Purpose: To make the lot legally nonconforming so that applicant can construct an addition(s) to the rear of the building. Connie Skillingstad, Executive Director of the Minneapolis Crisis Nursery and Courtney Kuch of RSP Architects were in attendance. Staff Liaison Grimes stated that the applicant owns the building, but Grisis Nursery is still headquartered at a building in Minneapolis. This particular building needs renovation before it can be occupied by infants and children. The proposed addition would be used for play and sleep areas and administrative offices. An accessory garage, to be constructed at a later time, would house the nursery, van and be used for temporary storage. The Planning Commission has already approved a request to amend a Conditional Use Permit for this site but recommended that the accessory garage be moved to another location on the lot. Planning staff talked with the Inspections Department to clarify if this accessory garage is in violation of any code ordinances. It was determined that the code is vague on this kind of structure in all the City's zoning districts except residential. Both the Planning staff and Inspections staff believe that the accessory garage is not in violation of setbacks and would be allowed to be constructed where noted on the site plan. It will be up to the City Co"uncil to determine whether this accessory building should remain or be located elsewhere on the site. The required variances for this lot are due to parking areas in required green spaces on the southwest and southeast side of the building. A variance is also needed off the north property line due to the parking area being in the setback. He indicated that the parking would be located toward the Meadowbrook side. Grimes added that there is a drop off there next to the property line. Grimes concluded his remarks by stating that the property owner across Glenwood and the neighbors on each side are concerned about additional parking on the east side and prefer that parking spaces not be added there. Staff believes that the two spaces in question could be deleted without causing a hardship. The parking code is not specific in this case. Pentel stated that she is okay with two less parking spaces but she is concerned abOut the trash being too close to Meadowbrook. She suggested that the trash location be moved and that it be enclosed. She added that the Planning Commission talked about attaching the garage to the back of the building. Grimes stated that the applicants prefer not to attach the garage because windows would be sacrificed to do so. He added that the garage should be at least 10 feet from the property line. 1.498 Pentel suggested the garage be built in the east corner, not blocking the school. She also stated her opposition to accessory buildings, especially without fencing, but believes the two uses of parking a van and storage are compatible. Pentel asked Skillingstad if the loss of two parking spots would be a hardship to which she answered no. Shaffer asked where people enter the building. Skillingstad answered from the west side, from the north, which is handicapped accessible, and from the lower level. Pentel and Shaffer both recommended that the garage be placed anywhere on the east side of the property. Grimes asked if the applicant would consider moving the garage to the east and providing a new plan to take to the City Council. Kuch felt that this was a possibility. Grimes added that by having an updated plan to take to the City Council, the garage could be built whenever the applicants wish. Pentel asked if the trash would work next to the garage on the east. Kuch answered I that one would need to negotiate steps to empty trash in that location or would need to . use the side door where there is a ramp. Pentel stated that the garbage could be secluded on an open site or pulled up to the building. Polachek asked the applicant if she had anything to add to which she answered no. MOVED by Pentel, seconded by Shaffer and motion carried unanimously to approve the variances as requested eliminating the one regarding the two parking spots. III. Other Business There was no other business. IV. Adjournment Chair Polachek adjourned the meeting at 7:25pm. ~e~ Herb Polachek, Chair -- I Mark Grimes, Staff Liaison