11-14-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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AGENDA ITEM Prepared By: mcc Reviewed By: J. Barnhart Approved By: 1. Purpose. This application is regarding variances to facilitate an administrative boundary line adjustment between 2941 and 2967 Casco Point Road following the split between the two of the property in the middle (2965 Casco Point Road). The variances include hardcover and guest house lot area. A CUP is also requested for the guest house. 2. MN§15.99 Application Deadline. The application was received on January 4, 2022, and considered to be complete on January 21st. The 60-Day review period has been extended and now expires on May 21, 2022. 3. Background/ Summary. The applicants own the properties on either side of 2965 Casco Point Road (formerly the Swenson property). The Swenson lot is nonconforming in area, width, and hardcover. When the property was offered for sale in 2021, the Abbotts and Oares purchased it jointly. They hope to split the property and combine each abutting piece with their own lots. They are proposing to maintain the existing buildings - the existing home will become part of the Oare property and the detached garage will go to the Abbott property. An administrative boundary line adjustment (officially called a Subdivision Exception) can be completed by staff and recorded by each of the owners to combine and move the lot lines if no new non-conformities are created or an existing non-conformity is not increased. They have applied for the Subdivision Exception application (#LA21-000078) with the hope that the requested variances will be granted and the lot can be split between the two parties. Hardcover Variance: Although the 3 combined lots currently exceed 25% (27.4%) the applicants are proposing a total net decrease in hardcover of 813 square feet. The applicants have revised their request to further reduce hardcover overall. The hardcover for the new combined Abbott parcel will have 26.8 % hardcover, and the new Oare property will have 25.6%. The present situation was not contemplated by the ordinance, where a third lot is absorbed into two existing lots. Guest House Lot Area Variance: The Oares wish to maintain the full functionality of the existing “Swenson” home to serve as a Guest House. A guest house use in the LR-1C district requires a minimum lot area of 1.0 acre in addition to a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). The resulting lot area for the Oare property is proposed to be 0.73 acre. They are requesting a lot area variance from the guest house acreage requirement as part of this application. 4. Planning Commission Vote and Comment. On February 22nd, the Planning Commission held a public hearing. There was considerable discussion surrounding the lot area variance to support a guest house CUP. The Commission seemed to generally support the application in spirit based mostly on the applicants’ proposal to remove one very nonconforming lot. However with the technical criteria of a practical difficulty not being met, they were not able to support the variance. Additionally, the Commission did not support the requested hardcover levels. As a result, following the public hearing the Planning Commission voted 5 to 0 on a motion to deny the requested variances as applied. 5. Public Comment. Comments from the neighbors were received and are attached as Exhibit E. Item No.: # Date: 11 April 2022 Item Description: #LA22-0000, Tim & Leslie Oare and John & Michele Abbott 2967 Casco Point Road (Oare) + 2941 Casco Point Road (Abbott) – Variances & CUP Presenter: Melanie Curtis Planner Agenda Section: Planning Department Report