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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4I - 1994 Variance Report AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: SUBJECT: DATE: BACKGROUND: DISCUSSION: ALTERNATIVES: STAFF AGENDA REPORT 4 (L) DONALD RYE, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING 1994 VARIANCE SUMMARY REPORT FEBRUARY 21, 1995 Section 2-3-4 (H) of the City Code requires that a Summary Report be submitted to the City Council by the Planning Commission concerning all variances to applicants during the previous year. Attached is a copy of the 1994 Variance Summary Report. The report follows the format of previous reports and provides a clear picture of the types of variance considered by the Commission. The report notes the preponderance of side yard setback variances on substandard lots of record and suggests that an ordinance amendment to deal with this could be considered. On Monday, February 13, 1995, the Planning Commission approved the report and it is herewith transmitted to the Council. The Council has the following alternatives: 1. Refer the report back to staff and Planning Commission for additional specified information. 2. Accept report for filing. RECOMMENDATION: The recommendation is to approve Alternative 2. ACTION REQUIRED: 'VA94SR" -1- 16200 Eagle Creek Ave., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTIlNITY EMPLOYER 'f"" T ,. VA9o\RP FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Mayor and City Council Members, Planning Commissioners, City Manager, Frank Boyles, City Planner, Don Rye Assistant City Planner, Deb Garross Gina Mitchell, Associate Planner February 13, 1995 1994 Variance Summary: Section 2-3-4 (H) TO: Section 2-3-4 (H) of the City Code requires that a summary report be submitted to the City Council which discusses all variances granted the previous year. The summary provides statistical information on the types of variances granted, as well as trends that have become evident during the year. This Variance Summary is the fifth analysis of variances granted during a year's time. Please see the attached Figures 1-A, 1-B, and 2, and Appendices A-D for comparison. The 1994 Budget anticipated 40 variance applications for the year. The fee level in effect was $75. This would have provided $3,000 to the City. In actuality, there were 39 variance applications submitted in 1994. Of these, 34 were approved, three applications were withdrawn (two were refunded their application fee), and two applications were denied. These applications provided a total of $2,775.00 to the City. APPLICATIONS WHICH WERE DENIED: There was one variance application denied by the Planning Commission in 1994. There were several applications with multiple variances requested. On occasion, only parts of the variance requests were approved. Often the requested variances were inconsistent with the four hardship standards or past precedent. In many situations, the Planning Commission granted lesser variances then what was requested. Portions of two variance requests were denied by the Planning Commission and appealed to the City Council, one of which was approved. The City Council denied one of the two variance applications that went directly to them by means of an administrative land division. . APPLICATION DENIED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION: The variance that was denied by the Planning Commission was a request for a 2.77' side yard variance from the 10' side yard setback requirement. A single family home was built within Prior Lake in 1974, on a lot over 1 acre in size. The variance request was to allow reconstruction of an existing deck. This request was denied because there was no record of a building permit being issued for the existing deck, and approval of such variance would have legitimized a situation that was done illegally. 16200 Eagle Creek Ave., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER , - T , ,. / APPUCATION DENIED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION & APPEALED TO THE CITY COUNCIL: An application for a 15' lakeshore and a 9' side yard variance was requested for the reconstruction of an existing deck and walkway for a property developed within Eagle Creek Township. The Planning Commission approved the lake shore variance as requested, denied the 9' side yard variance, and approved a 5' side yard variance. The rationale for not approving the 9' variance was that there were other options for accessing the home which would not require a 9' side yard variance. The City Council approved this application as requested based upon findings and facts including the relocation of the entry of the home would change the design of the home and create an undue hardship for the applicant, and the four hardship standards had been met. The Planning Commission partially denied a variance request for an applicant who was seeking a 5' south and a 3' north side yard variance. The Planning Commission denied the 3' north side yard variance because it was inconsistent with an established policy of granting up to one 5' side yard variance for substandard lots of record. This request was appealed to the City Council, and the decision of the Planning Commission was upheld. APPLICATIONS REVIEWED BY THE CITY COUNCIL : An administrative land division and variance application was submitted for a property located on the Grainwood peninsula. The applicants were requesting 6 variances including: lot width at the 904 contour of Prior Lake and the front setbacks, as well as 5' side yard variances for each proposed lot. The City Council denied the administrative land division and variance requests based the fact that the applicants had reasonable use of their property in a similar manner as other lots in the area, and the division was not consistent with the intent of the Shoreland Management District. The City Council approved the requests for an administrative land division and 5 variances (3 lot width and 2 lot area) for a property located in a R-2 Shoreland District Zone. A patio and privacy fence encroached over the common property line, and a lot line adjustment was necessary to provide clear title to the properties. APPROVED APPLICATIONS: Although there were 34 applications approved, the result was 103 approved variances. On the average, 3 variances were approved per application. The majority of the approved applications contained side yard variances (27), lakeshore variances (18), front yard variances (14), minimum lot size variances (10), and impervious surface variances (10). There were 7 variances granted for minimum lot width and 4 variances for cul-de-sac length. There were 2 variances granted for: state highway right-of-way setback, lot coverage, the platting of streets without temporary turn arounds (Knob Hill), and minimum separation between dwellings and farm buildings. One variance has also been granted for each of the following: rear yard setback, required number of parking stalls, additional building permit beyond the four per quarter-quarter section, boat ramp width, and size of an accessory structure in the R-1 Zone. (See Figure 1-A, 1-B, and Appendix E for comparisons). Figure 2 represents the variance applications approved for improvements to properties. There were 15 variances for new single family home constructions, (6) new townhome constructions, (5) home additions, (5) decks, and (2) new garages. There was also one variance granted for the construction of a new business, parking lot, pole barn, and a pavilion. The rationale cited as the basis for variance approval included "not detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the community," "platted under a previous government unit," "precedent in the area," hardship of the ordinance," "substandard lot size," ''hardship of the , ,. site," "no increase in a legal non-conforming setback," "consistent with the character of the area," and "findings and facts." Of the 34 approved variances, 12 had conditions of approval attached to them. Five of these conditional variances required that gutters be installed or the roof line designed to control drainage. Five were conditional upon any significant trees lost be replaced. Two dealt with the removal of existing buildings. Five of the variances had a combination of two to six conditions attached to their approval. Many of these conditions applied specifically to the site in question, and few generalities of requirements were listed as conditions. An important part of this summary is to evaluate the zoning of properties that applied for variances in 1994. The majority of the approved variances were in the R-1SD district (70). Other zones included: R-1 (12), R-2SD (8), PUD (8), A-I (2), and R-2, B-2, and I-lone each. Seventy-nine (79) of the 103 variances approved, or 77% were for properties located within the Shore1and Districts of our community. Of these 78 variances granted in the Shoreland District many were to properties that were substandard in lot width and/or area. This is evident by the fact that all of the approved lot width, lot area, lot coverage, and impervious surface coverage variances were granted to properties located within the Shoreland District. Almost all of the front and side yard variances approved were for properties located in the Shoreland District. It should also be noted that the Shoreland District encompasses approximately one-third (1/3) of all the single family lots in the community, a majority of which were subdivided under township jurisdiction and annexed into the community. Another explanation for the number of variances within the Shoreland District is the scale of the improvements on these smalllakeshore lots. This represents a trend in Prior Lake towards larger homes, especially on lakeshore parcels. In many cases, applicants were proposing to demolish a small cabin to build a new single-family dwelling. This trend has led to an increase in variance applications. In order to allow for residential development or improvements on these substandard lots (which were subdivided with cabin use in mind) variances to the Zoning Ordinance will be necessary to accommodate single family homes of today's standards, and will be likely to continue. Side yard setbacks on substandard lots of record should be monitored in future variance summaries. In the past five years there have been 56 side yard setback variances granted. The Planning Commission has generally granted up to one 5' side yard variance for substandard lots of record. An amendment to the Zoning Ordinance is the optimum practice when it appears that variances from the standard will be a common place. The Planning Commission may want to consider such an amendment in the future. ~~-....,.---~~-~_._~.,.__...".'" ' , . ,. VARIANCES GRANTED IN 1994 FRONT YAAO SETBACK REAR Y ARC SETBACK LAKESHORE SEl'BACK SIDE YARD SETBACK STATE HIGHWAY SEl'BACK MINIMUM LOT SIZE LOT WIDTH LOT COVERAGE Note: More tnan one variance may have been Figure 1-A 8 4 11 15 14 9 8 '::::::::::::::::::::::::::.-. 5 18 12 :::.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:,:.:.:.:.:.:.::.:.:.:.::.:.:.:.:.:.:-:.:.:,:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.::.: 10 o o ::::::::::::;:::::. 4 2 5 ..., 5 5 :::::::::::::.1 3 '2 7 8 25 27 ~ 1990 1991 I ~ 1992 t.....J 1993 .1994 o I 5 10 15 NUMBER PER YEAR . Miscellaneous includes: installation of 5treets wilt10ut tempora/Y tum arcunds; additional dWelling unit per 1/4. 1/4 sectlon; reduction in tne number of par1<tng stBIls; boat ramp widtn; size of an accessory building in R-l Zone 20 25 30 I I VARIANCES GRANTED IN 1994 Figure 1-8 o o IMPERVIOUS SURFACE 0 :.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:,.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.: 4 10 SUBDIVISION ORD. 4 CUL-DE-SAC LENGTH SIGN ORD. 83-05 2 o o o o MISCELLANEOUS ~; 1990 . 1991 ~. 19921 11= I (<.:.:':.:.:':':.! 1993 I f:;;;;;;:;::::::;;:::; i i: 19941 DWEWNG/FARM SEPARATION ADD'L SFD IN RURAL AREA o 2 4 6 8 10 NUMBER PER YEAR 12 Note: More than one variance may have been * Miscellaneous includes: installation of streets without temporary turn arounds; additional dwelling unit per 1/4, 1/4 section; reduction in number of parking stalls; boat ramp width; size of accessory building in R-1 Zone t/)' wi - t- o: W ~i Q.O) 00) o:~ C. ZI 0-\ 1-0 w~ o z: <t <tl :Ea:C\J cn"~ I- t/)I ~ Z W ._ WOu. :EZ: W <tl > -I o 0:1 0: <tj Q. >1 :E :Ei -0 LLo: Ou.. t/) WI c..1 ~I en w :E o J: ~ :E <C:- u.LO - W- ....J (!J Z en ~ w z \ l en w <!:J <: 0:_ <:~ <!:J ~ w z en ::> o w z ::iff ....J w () en ~ ~ ,/ en w ~ o I z_ ~~ o I- ~ Z ~en en w z en~ ::::>- CO ~ W Z --------,------- ----,-- T en ~- U!:e. w o J / ,/ en z o I- B- O!:e. <: w ~ o J: ~ ) c: o > [ ~ c: ta C ... ta ,Q ~ (5 0- - .2 0) c: 32 ... ta 0- W W o 3 u z en ::::> o w z :5 -I W U en ~ -II I ---.---..,_.."" '----' APPENDIX A CITY OF PRIOR LAKE VARIANCES GRANTED IN 1990 TYPES OF VARIANCES: 1) Lakeshore Variances: 14 Ranqe: 15' to 50' Mean: 28.5' Mode: 25' 2) Side Yard Variances: 12 Ranqe: 2' to 5.8' . Mean: 4 . 4 I Mode: 5' 3) Front Yard Variances: 8 5 in Subdivisions Ranqe: 5' to 12' . Mean: 6 . 4 ' Mode: 5' 1 from Hiqhwar Riqht ot Way 2 from Center ine 4) Minimum Lot Size: 5 (31,160' sq. was an acreaqe variance) Ranqe: 120' sq. to 5,000' sq. (or to 31,160' sq.) Mean: 2,417.55' sq. (without 31,160' sq.) 5) Lot Width: 3 25' @ 904 50' @ Front Tract < 90' 6) Rear Yard Variances: 2 5' 14 ' 7) Lot Cover Variances: 6% 10% 2 8) Subdivision Ordinance 6-6-4 (A): 1 (Waiving frontaqe) 9) Section 4.1N4: 1 (Homes within 50') 10) Additional Home on a 40 Acre Site: 1 MEAN: Averaqe MOCE: Value Occurring Most Frequently APPENDIX B CI~Y OF PRIOR LAKE VARIANCES GRANTED IN 1991 ~YPES OF VARIANCES: 1) Lakeshore Variances: Range: 15' to 55' Mean: 3a.~' Mode: 44' 9 2) Side Yard Variances: Range: 2' to 6' Mean: 3 . 6 ' Mode: 2 . 5 ' 7 3) Front Yard Variances: 4 3 in Subdivisions Range: 6.5' to 30' Mean: 16.75' 1 from County Rd. Right of Way 4) Minimum Lot Size: 5 Range: 1927' sq. to 3,702' sq. Mean: 2,754' sq. 5) Lot Width: 2 15' @ Front 6) Lot Cover Variances: 3 Range: 4% to 9% Mean: 6% 7) Subdivision Ordinance 6-6-2 (E): 1 (Lengthening CUl-de-sac) MEAN: Average MODE: Value Occurring Most Frequently r . --.-- . APPENDIX C CITY OF PRIOR LAKE VARIANCES GRANTED IN 1992 TYPES OF VARIANCES: 1) Lakeshore Variances: 8 Ranqe: 14' to 137' Mean: 43' 2) Side Yard Variances: 26 Ranqe: 0.5' to 40' Mean: 4.91' Mode: 5 . 0 ' 3) Front Yard Variance: 11 8 in Subdivisions 1 from Highway Right-of-Way 2 from Center Line Ranqe: 0.1' to 76.5' Mean: 14 . 3 ' Mode: 5 . 0 ' 4) Minimum Lot Size: 5 Range: 55 sq. ft. to 32,610 sq. ft. Mean: 8,704.2 sq. ft. 5) Lot Width: 7 6) Lot Cover Variances: 6 Range: 0.58' to 67' Range: 4% to 11% Mean: 24.1' Mean: 8% 7) Subdivision Ordinance: 2 8) Ordinance 83-05: 2 section 6-6-2 (B) : 1 (Sign Ord. Variance) section 6-6-2 (I) : 1 9) Additional Density in Rural Service area: 2 MEAN: Average MODE: Value Occurring Most Frequently CITY OF PRIOR LAKE TYPES OF VARIANCES GRANTED IN 1994 Appendix D 1.) Front Yard Setback: 14 Range: 3.45' to 36.5' Mean: 8.64' Mode: 5' 3.) Lakeshore Setback: 18 Range: 9' to 75' Mean: 30.73' Mode: 25' 5.) State Highway Setback: 2 Range: 11' to 30' Mean: 20.5' 6.) Minimum Lot Size: 10 Range: 278 sq. ft. to 7,600 sq. ft. Mean: 2,019 sq. ft. 7.) Lot Width: 6 Range: 3.2' to 40' Mean: 18.56 8.) Lot Coverage: 2 Range: 1% to 1.2% Mean: 1.1% 9.) Impervious Surface: 10 Range: 0.4% to 7.4% Mean: 3.18% Mode: 1% 10.) Cul-de-sac length: 4 Range: 100' to 1,520' Mean: 545' 2.) Rear Yard Setback: 1 Mode: 4.5' 4.) Side Yard Setback: Range: Mean: Mode: 27 0.1' to 70' 8.46' 2_' .n Miscellaneous: 8 . Installation of streets without temporary turn arounds (2) . Separation between dwelling units and farm buildings (2) . Additional dwelling unit beyond the 4 units per quarter-quarter section (1) . Reduction in the number of required parking stalls (1) . Boat ramp width (1) . Size of an accessory structure in the R-1 Zone (1) MEAN: MODE: average value occurring most frequently 1 ". ' , ",---,--,,--_. T I " -,-----'~'