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07-24-18 BZA Minutes Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals July 24, 2018 A regular meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals was held on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, at City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota. Chair Nelson called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Those present were Members Nelson, Orenstein, Perich and Planning Commission Representatives Angell and Brookins. Also present were Planning Manager Jason Zimmerman, Planning Intern Amy Morgan, and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. I. Approval of Minutes— June 26, 2018, Regular Meeting MOVED by Perich, seconded by Orenstein and motion carried unanimously to approve the June 26, 2018, minutes as submitted. II. The Petition(s) are: 4325 Golden Valley Road Brittanv Owen, Applicant Request: Waiver from Section 11.72 Fences, Subd. 3(A)(1) Front Yard Fence Requirements • 2 ft. taller than the allowed 4 ft. of height along the front yard (west) property line. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a fence. Morgan referred to a location map and aerial photo of the property and explained the applicant's proposal to build a 6 ft. tall fence in the front (west) yard along Kyle Place. She stated that the Zoning Code allows fences in front yards to be 4 ft. in height and added that this property has two front yards with the primary access to the house located on the north side of the property. Morgan noted that the applicant has stated that the unique circumstances in this case are that the property has two front yards and there are privacy and potential security issues. Morgan stated that staff feels that the proposal is reasonable and the circumstances unique to the property are not caused by the landowner. However, staff is recommending denial of the requested variance because a 6 ft. tall fence would impact the character of the locality as there no other properties in the area that have fences in the front yard. She added that there are alternative options in this case as well. A 4ft. tall fence could be built in the front yard, or a 6 ft. tall fence could be built at the 35 ft. setback along the west property line. Perich asked about the reasoning behind only allowing 4 ft. tall fences in front yards. Zimmerman said he thinks the reasoning is that the City does not want walls created in front yards and in some cases there could be visibility issues. Minutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals July 24, 2018 Page 2 Brookins asked if the driveway location makes a yard a front yard, or if it is a front yard because it is along a street. Zimmerman stated that all properties along street right-of-way are considered to be front yards. Angell asked about the distance from the house to the west property line. Morgan said it is 45 ft. from the house to the west property line. Nelson asked what the fence requirements would be if the west side of this property was considered to be a side yard. Morgan said a fence in a side yard can be 6 ft. in height. Nelson asked the applicant if she has considered any alternatives. Brittany Owen, Applicant, handed out additional photos of her property and a list of neighbors' signatures stating they are supportive of the proposed fence. She explained that she will lose approximately 1,200 square feet of the yard if they build the fence at the 35-foot front setback and that she has dogs so she is concerned about them jumping over a 4 ft. tall fence. She stated that the area along the west constitutes to them a back yard. She added that the main reason for building a 6 ft. tall fence is privacy because there is a bus stop at the corner of her property. She stated that the day before she purchased this house her real estate agent told her that someone was trying to gain access to the house so she is also concerned about safety. Nelson asked the applicant if it was always her intent to build a fence. Owen said yes, and explained that she didn't realize the west side of the property was considered to be a front yard. Nelson opened the public hearing. Seeing and hearing no one wishing to comment, Nelson closed the public hearing. Nelson said she is sympathetic with corner lots and this request seems reasonable because the west side of the property feels like a side yard, but she is concerned about the character of the neighborhood with a 6 ft. tall fence in the proposed location. Perich agreed and said he is struggling with the precedent they would be setting. He said that he would feel better about the request if a taller fence was proposed along Golden Valley Road instead. Angell agreed and noted that there are many corner lots in the City. He stated that the proposed fence could be moved back 35 ft. and there would still be a large fenced in area. Brookins said he is also sympathetic with corner lots and the topography in this case, but he agrees that approving this proposal might set a precedent. MOVED by Brookins, seconded by Perich and motion carried unanimously to deny the request to allow a fence 2 ft. taller than the allowed 4 ft. of height along the front yard (west) property line. Minutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals July 24, 2018 Page 3 2081 Indiana Avenue North Mark Neal, Applicant Request: Waiver from Section 11.72 Fences, Subd. 3(A)(1) Front Yard Fence Requirements • 2 ft. taller than the allowed 4 ft. of height along the front yard (west) property line. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a fence. Morgan referred to a location map and aerial photo of the property and explained the applicant's proposal to build a 6 ft. tall fence in the front (west) yard along Legend Drive. She stated that the Zoning Code allows fences in front yards to be 4 ft. in height and added that this property has three front yards with the primary access to the house located on the east side of the property. Morgan noted that the applicant has stated that the unique circumstances in this case are that the property has three front yards and that the western front yard looks and acts like a back yard. She added that staff is recommending approval of the requested variance due to the unique circumstance of having three front yards and the location of the house on the property. The applicant's request is a reasonable request in order to increase privacy and limit road views, and the requested 6 ft. tall fence will not change the views or character of what is already there. Brookins asked how far away the curb is from the west property line. Morgan stated that there is approximately 9 ft. of right-of-way between the curb and property line along Legend Drive. Mark Neal, Applicant, stated that he recently purchased this house. He said he has dogs, there are safety concerns, and that a 4 ft. tall fence might not contain children or dogs. He added that there are also additional safety concerns because there are three ground level doors on the back of the house so he wants to make his back yard safer. Nelson asked the applicant if he has considered other alternatives. Neal stated that the only other alternative would be to build a fence that wouldn't meet his needs. Nelson asked the applicant when he purchased the house and if it was always his intent to install a fence. Neal said he bought the house five months ago and he intended to install a fence and use the area to the west as a backyard as it was meant to be. Perich asked the applicant if he considered building a 6 ft. tall fence at the 35 ft. front setback line instead of where he is proposing. Zimmerman noted that this proposal is different from the previous proposal because this property has a considerably smaller area to build within and this property has three front yards. Nelson added that there also aren't any other houses around this one. She stated that this request is similar to the previous request, but the size of the yard and the impact to the neighborhood is not as large. Minutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals July 24, 2018 Page 4 Nelson opened the public hearing. Seeing and hearing no one wishing to comment, Nelson closed the public hearing. Orenstein stated that the orientation of the house and having three front yards is unique, and the fence is not obtrusive so he is supportive of the variance request. Angell agreed that having three front yards is unique and that the envelope they have to build a fence in is smaller than in the previous proposal. Perich agreed that this is a reasonable request. MOVED by Perich, seconded by Orenstein and motion carried unanimously to approve the variance request to allow a fence 2 ft. taller than the allowed 4 ft. of height along the front yard (west) property line. III. Other Business Zimmerman informed the members that George Maxwell has resigned from the Board of Zoning Appeals. IV. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:28 pm. ��.�. ; 11�i�� � � Nancy Nelson, C r Li Wittman, Administrative Assistant