04-11-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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15. LA21-000076 – YARDSCAPES, INC., LINCOLN DANFORTH, 1720 BOHNS POINT ROAD, VARIANCES City Planner Laura Oakden gave a presentation on the item, noting the Applicant is proposing to reconstruct a failing concrete retaining wall within the 75’ lakeyard setback. She showed a survey on screen of the proposed and existing wall. The property abuts Lake Minnetonka with a large slope along the shoreline and is currently vacant. Ms. Oakden said the new proposed walls will be boulders to match the walls of the neighbors to the north. Most of the walls will follow the same footprint as the existing walls. There is a slight variation in the first 30 feet of the wall abutting the northern property; The Planning Commission held a public hearing on February 22, 2022 and voted 5 to 0 to approve the variance request. Staff recommended approval of the variance with additional landscape screening. City Council is asked to provide direction to Staff for drafting a resolution. Mayor Walsh shared that he walked the property. He asked the home owners’ representative if he did the work on the structure on the property. Lincoln Danforth, representing the home owner Christian Park, replied in the negative and believes the home owner did it himself. Mayor Walsh asked about electrical, concrete, stonework, framing, and roof work. Mr. Danforth did not know who did those and noted there is a boat house around the side where the house structure is. He has not been down to see it since there was work done. LA21-000076 – YARDSCAPES, INC., LINCOLN DANFORTH, 1720 BOHNS POINT ROAD, VARIANCES – Continued Mayor Walsh stated there is a brand-new boat house there and he wondered who did it because no permits were pulled, it is not allowed, and it was built in the middle of the night in the wintertime. Mr. Danforth has not been down there since any work was done so he cannot comment on the boat house. Tonight his part is regarding the retaining wall. In 2017, his company did the landscaping on the house next door noting they had permission to repair some failing walls at that time. The engineering is already done as well as drainage and he does not know why the concrete system has an irregular jog outward and whether it was done for structural purposes or extra support at the time. Mayor Walsh said it almost relates to the boat house. The City Council has had people with small boat houses or storage shacks that want to move them and the City has never allowed that, even a foot in the floodplains. Rather, the City Council has had the Applicants raise the structure without going bigger or taller. The problem Mayor Walsh sees in allowing the Applicant to straighten out the walls to make it look better is allowing them to do something that others have not been allowed to do. When there is hardcover, foundations, and structural coverage in the 0-75, they must live with the formation that is there. He noted they must follow like-and-kind and the same footprint as is present currently. The City Council discussed wall integrity, width of the footprint, and like-and-kind. Mr. Danforth asked to go back and revisit what can be done regarding the wall. Johnson moved, Crosby seconded, to table LA21-000076, 1720 BOHNS POINT ROAD, VARIANCES. VOTE: Ayes 3, Nays 0.