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08-26-14 BZA Minutes Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals August 26, 2014 A regular meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals was held on Tuesday, August 26, 2014, at City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota. Chair Johnson called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Those present were Members Johnson, Maxwell, Nelson, Perich and Planning Commission Representative Blum. Also present were Planning Manager Jason Zimmerman, and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. I. Approval of Minutes — July 22, 2014 Regular Meeting MOVED by Nelson, seconded by Perich and motion carried unanimously to approve the July 22, 2014, minutes as submitted. II. The Petition(s) are: 116 Ottawa Avenue South Saw-Mehone Tebedqe, Applicant Request: Waiver from Section 11.21, Single Family Zoning District, Subd. 12(A)(3) Accessory Structure Side Yard Setback Requirements • 2 ft. off of the required 5 ft. to a distance of 3 ft. at its closest point to the side yard (south) property line. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a detached garage. Request: Waiver from Section 11.21, Single Family Zoning District, Subd. 12(A)(3) Accessory Structure Side Yard Setback Requirements • 5 ft. off of the required 5 ft. to a distance of 0 ft. at its closest point to the rear yard (southwest) property line. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a detached garage. Zimmerman referred to a survey of the property and explained the applicanYs proposal to construct a new detached garage in the south corner of the property. The proposed garage would be 525 square feet in size and would be located 3 ft. from the side yard property line and 0 ft. from the rear yard property line. He stated that the total amount of accessory structure space on this property would be 999 square feet and that the Single Family R-1 Zoning District allows 1,000 square feet of accessory structure space. Minutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals August 26, 2014 Page 2 Johnson said he understands that the applicant has told staff he would like to revise his plans. Zimmerman said yes, and stated that the applicant would now like to propose a garage addition to the front of his existing attached garage, similar to the next item on the agenda. Johnson asked the applicant if he is still interested in pursuing the variances he has requested. Saw-Mehone Tebedge, Applicant, said he would like to pursue the variances as he requested them, only if his other option is not acceptable. He reiterated that he would like to do the exact same garage addition that is being proposed in the next item on the agenda. Zimmerman suggested the Board change the order of the agenda and discuss the next item before this request. The Board agreed to come back to this item. 1411 Tyrol Trail Carolvn Berman, Applicant Request: Waiver from Section 11.21, Single Family Zoning District, Subd. 11(A)(3)(b) Side Yard Setback Requirements • 6.45 ft. off of the required 12.5 ft. to a distance of 6.05 ft. at its closest point to the side yard (east) property line. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a garage addition. Request: Waiver from Section 11.21, Single Family Zoning District, Subd. 11(A)(1) Front Yard Setback Requirements • 18.8 ft. off of the required 35 ft. to a distance of 16.2 ft. at its closest point to the front yard (south) property line. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a garage addition. Zimmerman referred to a site plan of the property and explained the applicanYs request to construct a garage addition with deck space above. He stated that the applicant currently has a small, one-stall tuck-under garage and that the proposed new garage would be 6.05 ft. from the side yard property line, and 16.2 ft. from the front yard property line. Perich asked if the applicant is proposing to build on top of the proposed 8 ft. extension toward the front. Zimmerman said yes. Blum asked Zimmerman if he has heard from the next door neighbor regarding this proposal. Carolyn Berman, Applicant, handed out letters of support from four of her neighbors. She stated that the existing garage is original to the home which was built in 1939. She said there really isn't anywhere else to expand on this property. She stated that in this neighborhood there isn't a strong, definite visual line where the houses line up with each other, so what she is proposing will have less of an impact, and will fit with the Minutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals August 26, 2014 Page 3 character of the neighborhood. She stated that the original house is 23 ft. from the front property line and because of the proposed projection of the garage addition, the before and after will look very similar. Nelson asked Berman if she had considered other options. Berman stated that with the way the house is situated on this corner lot, what she is proposing is really her only choice. Maxwell stated that the unique features of this property are the size, the fact that it is a corner lot, and that there is currently only one garage stall. He asked if there are any other unique features. Nelson added that the existing home is already located in the front setback area. Johnson opened the public hearing. Jim Ladner, 1414 Tyrol Trail South, stated that the street curves quite a bit, and the houses are not in one continuous line, but are staggered. He stated that two-stall garages are common and that this is one of the only homes in the area without a two-stall garage. He said it would be great to see the cars go in the garage, rather than on the driveway. He added that there are other garages in the area located much closer to the property lines than what the applicant is proposing, so what is being proposed will be consistent with other properties. He urged the Board to grant the requested variances. Seeing and hearing no one else wishing to comment, Johnson closed the public hearing. Berman referred to a plan of the proposed garage addition and stated that one of the reasons for coming forward with the addition is that she needs to be able to walk in front of a car in order to get into the door, and there will need to be room to maneuver. Nelson asked about the City's regulations regarding cars parked outside of a garage. Zimmerman stated that there is no limit to the number of cars a person can have, but that they are required to be parked on a paved surface. Nelson stated that the Board tries to allow for finro-stall garages when possible. She said the issues in this case are being caused by the fact that this is a corner lot. She said she would be in favor of granting the requested variances because it is in harmony with the intent of the City's ordinances, it is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the neighbors are in favor of it. She added that the unique circumstance in this case is where the house was originally placed on the lot. Perich agreed that the proposal is reasonable. Johnson questioned what the dimensions of the portion above the proposed garage would be if it were built as living space, rather than deck space. Berman said she would not build living space above the entire proposed garage space because it would block the bedroom windows. Maxwell noted that if the space above the garage was entirely living space, the increased setback and articulation requirements would probably apply and additional variances would be needed. Minutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals August 26, 2014 Page 4 Blum stated that the City hears a lot about maintaining the character of a neighborhood, and is it pretty clear that most homes have a two-stall garage. He added that the property would be more conforming with a two-stall garage. MOVED by Maxwell, seconded by Perich and motion carried unanimously to approve the following variances: • 6.45 ft. off of the required 12.5 ft. to a distance of 6.05 ft. at its closest point to the side yard (east) property line to allow for the construction of a garage addition. • 18.8 ft. off of the required 35 ft. to a distance of 16.2 ft. at its closest point to the front yard (south) property line to allow for the construction of a garage addition. The Board continued its discussion of the variance requests for 116 Ottawa Avenue South. Tebedge, Applicant, said the variances he is requesting would allow for a garage to be constructed in his back yard in order to store his collector cars, however, a garage in that location affects his property more than any other property in the neighborhood. He discussed the grade of his property and stated that his original plan was to extend the garage forward closer to the front yard property line, but that would require a larger variance. He stated that the house was built in 1946. It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms with only an 18 ft. x 21 ft. two-stall garage without much room for storage, and that for a house this big, the existing garage is not adequate. He noted that he could build a detached garage in other locations, but they don't make sense. Nelson asked how close the existing house is to the front property line. Tebedge said the house is 35 ft. from the front property line and that he would like to change his variance request in order to build an addition just like the previous proposal. Nelson asked Tebedge if he could build a garage in the back yard (northwest corner). Tebedge said yes, but then he would have a long driveway, and he might go over the amount of impervious surface he is allowed to have. Maxwell asked how often the "milestone" cars are taken out of the garage. Tebedge said they are not taken out at all. Maxwell noted that the applicant could build a garage without a driveway. Tebedge said he could also build a detached garage in the front yard, but that would look terrible, and it is not what he wants to do. He reiterated that he wants to add on to the front of his existing garage. Johnson asked Tebedge if he would like the Board to vote on the variance requests he submitted, or if he would like to pursue variances for a different proposal. Tebege stated that if he can't do the garage addition toward the front, then he would have to come back to the Board with his original request, but ultimately he would like to ask for the front yard variances. Minutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals August 26, 2014 Page 5 Maxwell suggested the Board discuss the proposal that the appiicant really wants to pursue. Zimmerman noted that the Board can discuss the applicant's new proposal; however hearing notices mailed to the neighboring property owners were for the proposal as shown on the agenda with the garage in the back yard. Perich agreed that the Board should discuss the proposal that is before them. Nelson asked Tebege if he could store his cars in another location. Tebege stated that it costs a lot of money to store cars elsewhere. Nelson said the Board is sensitive about granting front yard variances. She added that two-stall garages are very typical in Golden Valley even with larger homes. Tebege stated that there are many houses in his neighborhood that have three-stall garages. Maxwell encouraged Tebege to think about any unique circumstances with his property in order to justify the variance requests. Johnson added that he doesn't want to imply that the Board will like another proposal better than this one. Maxwell suggested this item be tabled rather than withdrawn. MOVED by Maxwell, seconded by Perich and motion carried unanimously to table this proposal to the September Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. III. Other Business No other business was discussed. IV. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm. � � � °� ���� W`i Andrew Johnson, Chair Lisa ittman, Administrative Assistant �;