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04-28-98 BZA Minutes 1604 Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals April 28, 1998 . The regular meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals was held Tuesday, April 28, 1998, in the City Hall Council Conference Room, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, MN. Chair Shaffer called the meeting to order at 7pm. Those present were: Chair Shaffer, Members Polachek, Sell, and Swedberg, and Planning Commission Representative Groger. Also present were Staff Liaison Mark Grimes and Recording Secretary Eve Lomaistro. I. Approval of Minutes - March 24, 1998 MOVED by Swedberg and seconded by Sell to approve the minutes with the following corrections. Page 1 - the meeting was held in the Golden Valley Employee lunch room (not the Council Chambers); page 2 - fifth paragraph, last sentence, 'Shaffer asked if there is curbing and was told no' is to be deleted. Motion carried unanimously to approve the March 24, 1998, minutes as amended. II. Election of Chairperson Shaffer turned the meeting over to Grimes who called for nominations for chairperson. Swedberg nominated Sell. Polachek seconded the nomination. No other nominations were . made. MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Polachek, to accept by acclimation the nomination of Sell as Chairperson of the BZA for a one-year term. The motion carried unanimously. III. The Petitions: 4343 Avondale Road (Map 10) (98-4-6) Jim and Jane Vauahan Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(C)(1) Side Yard Setback -- 2.1 feetoff the required 15 feet to a distance of 12.9 feet for the existing structure at its closest point to the west property line. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a conforming addition onto the rear of the house. Jim and Jane Vaughan were in attendance. Staff Liaison Grimes told the Board the proposed conforming addition is located on the east side of the house. The variance is for the house at its closest point to the property line on the west side. Swedberg stated that this is an administrative matter because the house was sited incorrectly . when it was built. . . . Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals April 28, 1998 Page 2 1605 MOVED by Sell, seconded by Swedberg, and motion carried unanimously to approve the variance as requested. 1414 Tyrol Trail South (Map 10) (98-4-7) James W. and Martha J. Abbott Ladner Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) Front Setback - 8 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 27 feet for the proposed addition facing Tyrol Trail; and Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(B) Rear Yard Setback - 8.8 feet off the required 38.8 feet to a distance of 30 feet for the proposed addition at its closest point to the east property line. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a living addition onto the east side of the house and an addition and upgrading to the front of the house. James W. and Martha J. Abbott Ladner were in attendance. Mark Grimes explained that this property had been granted a variance in January, 1997, which has now expired. The only difference from the previous request, which was approved, is that the applicants are asking for an additional one foot into the front setback. This would allow the side door into the garage to open properly. Shaffer stated that he had approved it last time and that the plan works well with the neighborhood. Swedberg agreed that the one foot difference is not significant. Ladner said he had a letter of support from a neighbor which he gave to Grimes. MOVED by Shaffer, seconded by Polachek, and motion carried unanimously to approve the variances as requested. 6717 Plymouth Avenue North (Map 15) (98-4-8) Roy W. Kelly Request: Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) Front Yard Setback - 9.5 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 25.5 feet for a proposed covered porch and living addition onto the front of the existing house; and Waiver of Section 11.21, Subd. 7(C)(3) Side Yard Setback - one (1) foot off the required 10 feet to a distance of nine (9) feet for a proposed addition onto the east side of the house. Purpose: The applicant is proposing to tear down the existing front porch and construct a new porch and living space onto the front of the house and living space onto the east side and rear of the house. Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals April 28, 1998 Page 3 1606 Roy Kelly was in attendance. . Mark Grimes stated that the request is self explanatory. He said this is a very narrow lot, only 50 feet, with little opportunity for expansion without a variance. Grimes said that homes on either side of the proposed property are actually set closer to the front property line. Grimes said that staff is concerned about the outside stairway, attached to the garage, in that there are no handrails constructed as part of it. He said the City's Inspection Department should review and finalize this situation before the permit is issued for the new construction. Groger asked if the proposed roof over the walkout is in the setback. Grimes answered yes, by one foot. Sell asked about the stairway. Kelly answered that he had constructed the stairway but had not finished it. He said the handrail should be constructed and he has no problem getting it done. Grimes asked if the stairway was originally inside and Kelly said yes, there was a pull-down stairway, which was not practical, so it was moved outside. Swedberg asked about the use of the attic space and Kelly answered that he is a builder and the space holds his building supplies and is not used as living quarters. Swedberg asked about the proposed deck to the front of the house. Kelly said the deck is the . entry into the house which has rails and a roof over it. Swedberg stated that the front yard is sensitive, but in this case justified due to the added curb appeal. He said the design is nice and the interior is more useable with the additional square footage. . Sell stated that Kelly's house is small and the houses on each side intrude more into the front setback than the proposed request. MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Shaffer and motion carried unanimously to approve the requested variances subject to the applicant constructing the garage stairway handrails which are to be inspected and finaled by the Inspections Department. 221 Janalyn Circle (Map 9) (984-9) Richard and Theresa Sands Request: Waiver from Section 11.21, Subd. 7(A) Front Yard Setback - 9.14 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 25.86 feet for the existing structure at its closest point to Janalyn Circle. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a conforming addition onto the rear of the house. Grimes reported that the proposed conforming addition is located to the rear of the house and the variance request is for the existing house facing Janalyn Circle. He talked about the . driveway needing retaining walls to provide safe and reasonable access to the property, and said the Engineering Department approved of the retaining walls with conditions. Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals April 28, 1998 Page 4 . Sell stated that Janalyn Circle was rerouted at one time. He added that although this property is close to downtown, it is a very nice neighborhood and a neat house. 1607 MOVED by Polachek, seconded by Groger, and motion carried unanimously to approve the variance as requested. 5400 Glenwood Avenue (Map 8) (98-4-10) Minneapolis Crisis Nursery Request: Waiver from Section 11.46, Subd. 8 Yard Requirement - 18 feet off the required 25 feet to a distance of 7 feet from the north property line because of parking in the required green space; and Waiver of Section 11.46, Subd. 9 Front Yard Requirement - 22 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 13 feet for the existing parking lot at its closest point to Glenwood Avenue on the southeast side of the property; and Waiver of Section 11.46, Subd. 9 Front Yard Requirement - 21 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 14 feet for the lack of greenspace, due to parking in the setback area at the southwest corner. . Purpose: The applicant is proposing to construct a conforming addition onto the rear of the building. Dennis Cornelius, a member of the Crisis Nursery's building committee, and Courtney Kuch, architect, were in attendance. Grimes explained that this organization appeared before the BZA in March of 1978. The variances approved at that time have now expired. He said the request is slightly less than what was originally approved, in that the garage in the rear has been eliminated, as well as two parking spaces along Glenwood in the front. Grimes noted that there would still be adequate parking with the eliminated of these two spaces. He said the construction plans have changed since the last review, but the square footage has not. Groger stated that the east driveway is still tight. He asked if it could be widened, comparable to the other driveway. All BZA members agreed that the driveway is too narrow. Kuch stated that there is curbing on the street but not on the driveway. Shaffer pointed out that this is a good time to widen the driveway. Grimes added that it would be an advantage for the school, too. Kuch agreed to take a look at it. Members agreed that paving on the lot should get as close as possible to the recommended 24 foot width required for a driveway. Grimes asked about the elimination of the garage and Cornelius responded that the van would be parked on the lot. Kuch commented the organization has hired a service to maintain the lawn; and therefore, there is no lawn equipment on site. . Shaffer believed the trash enclosure would look as if it were sitting on a hill, and too prominent, once the retaining wall was constructed to the rear of it. He asked if it could be located Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals April 28, 1998 Page 5 1608 elsewhere. Cornelius answered that a vehicle picks up the trash and needs direct access to it. Shaffer said that although the trash enclosure may look nice at first, in subsequent years it won't look so nice. Sell suggested that the trash enclosure be moved to the east a bit. Shaffer added in that case, the retaining wall would not need to bend. Sell continued by saying the trash enclosure could be even with the curb line and still have a straight shot for the truck. Shaffer added that some landscaping around the retaining wall would be helpful. Kuch stated that there will be a landscape plan. Grimes commented that this project will go before the Building Board of Review and a landscape plan would be required. Shaffer said that the trash enclosure could be buffered with plantings. Grimes stated that the BZA could include that in a decision. . Grimes asked the representatives if the exterior building materials, for the addition, would match the current building. Kuch answered yes. Swedberg stated that this proposal was discussed at some length the last time it was before the Board and acknowledged that this is the best building for the site. MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Polachek and motion carried unanimously to approve the requested variances subject to the applicant making its best effort to widen the driveway to 24 feet on the west side, and the trash enclosure moved more to the east side of the property. IV. Other Business Shaffer announced that this would be his last meeting as a BZA member. He said he had been . appointed to the Planning Commission and if elected its Vice-Chair, would then be the Planning Commission Representative to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Shaffer noted that he will be replaced by Bob Lang. The Board thanked Groger for his service to the BZA. Also noted was that all members of the BZA had been reappointed for another year. Grimes announced that the Commission dinner is on May 26, 1998, which conflicts with the next BZA meeting. He suggested that the BZA change the May meeting to the next night, May 27, 1998. The Board agreed to hold its regular May meeting on Wednesday, May 27,1998. V. Adjournment Chair Sell adjourned the meeting at 7:45pm. ~~. Mike Sell, Chair ~~ Mark Grimes, Staff Liaison .