05-08-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION April 17, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 12 McCutcheon wished the applicants luck and said parking could be revisited later if it would become a problem. But otherwise, he is in favor of it. Erickson said Long Lake started requiring dumpster enclosures in the early 1990s and it's gotten to be accepted over time. He thinks that should be a model as to what we should be looking for in this or other restaurant locations. He feels that should be part of the requirement for not just this location, but any other restaurants that come up. Kirchner said he would struggle with looking at this application and trying to apply an enclosure when we have other existing businesses, restaurant businesses within the City. A broader discussion for potential ordinance review rather than trying to apply it to one singular application is appropriate. Bollis said he would be supportive of seeing if the trash site became a nuisance and if so, possibly requiring an enclosure. McCutcheon moved, Kirschner seconded, to approve LA23-000016, 2160 Wayzata Boulevard West, CUP. VOTE: Ayes: 6, Nays 0. 6.LA23-000017 MURPHY & CO. DESIGN, 746 TONKAWA ROAD, VARIANCES Nye said the applicant is proposing to renovate the existing home at 746 Tonkawa Road including demolishing a detached, non-conforming garage and constructing a new three-car garage nearer the street. Because the proposed garage has its garage doors facing the street the setback requirements increase from 10 to 30 feet. The proposed garage is 10 feet from the rear property line. The applicant is requesting variances for rear-yard setback for the accessory building from 30 feet down to 10 feet and an additional variance for driveway width to allow a 34-foot driveway with where 20-foot is the maximum. The applicant is also requesting a variance from overall hardcover. They are proposing to remove hardcover primarily through the removal of the existing driveway to bring the total down from 35 percent to 32 percent which is still over 25 percent. The applicant has identified the significant topographical changes on the property as a practical difficulty. There is a steep grade change from the street to the house making the current driveway unsafe, especially in the winter months. Constructing a new detached garage closer to the street alleviates those issues. Staff is in agreement with the listed practical difficulties and is supportive of the overall hardcover reduction. Staff recommends approval, however, would like the Planning Commission to discuss the need for a three-bay garage versus a two-bay garage. A two-bay garage could further reduce hardcover and reduce the requested variance for the driveway. The applicant is available to answer questions. Dan Demeules with Murphy and CO Design, 235 Lake St. East Wayzata, spoke as the applicant. The goal of the clients is to keep the house in its existing location reusing the foundation and the main floor. They will be adding a new story to create enough bedrooms for the family. The existing garage is closer to the house than is allowed by current code and has a very steep driveway. Moving the garage will make a safer driveway and entrance to the road, he said, adding there is a lot of precedent for garages right up to the street including a closer one just to the south. We are trying to reduce hardcover as much as possible.