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Item No.: 21 Date: February 12, 2024 <br />Presenter: Natalie Nye <br />Presenter: Planner <br />Section:Community Development <br />Report <br /> <br /> <br />Title: LA23-000062, Peter Eskuche, 4423 North Shore Drive, Variances <br /> <br /> <br />1.Purpose: <br />This application is regarding variances from average lakeshore setback and bluff setbacks in order to construct <br />a new home. <br />2.MN§15.99 Application Deadline: <br />The application was received December13, 2023 and considered to be complete on December 26, 2023. Staff <br />has administratively extended the deadline an additional 60 days per State statute and therefore the 120-Day <br />deadline will expire on April 24, 2024. <br />3.Background: <br />The applicant is proposing to demolish the existing home and construct a new home in a similar location. The <br />subject property is a lake lot that also fronts on a channel. The property contains bluffs along the lake and <br />channel frontages. The subject property is subject to lake setbacks along the southern and western property <br />lines as well as bluff setbacks. There are two different bluff setbacks from the top of the bluff, a 20-foot bluff <br />impact zone and a 30-foot bluff setback. No structural improvements are permitted in either setback. Grading <br />is not permitted within the bluff impact zone. The existing home is nonconforming as parts of the home and <br />driveway are located within the bluff setback and within the bluff impact zone. The average lakeshore setback <br />is determined by the neighbor to the east and is a flat setback of 107.6 feet from the OHWL. The existing <br />home encroaches into the average lakeshore setback on both the south and western areas of the home. The <br />proposed home requires an average lakeshore setback variance and variances from the required bluff setbacks <br />due to the proposed placement. <br />The proposed home has been pulled farther away from the bluff than the current home, but still requires <br />substantial grading within the bluff and new retaining walls within the bluff setback. The proposed driveway is <br />located within the bluff setbacks and require variances. Due to the sensitivity of the bluff, Staff does not <br />support the application as applied. The applicant’s choice of home design, location, and amenities lead to <br />further encroachments within the bluff setback and bluff impact zone and are out of convenience for the <br />chosen home design. <br />4.Analysis: <br />Sec. 78-1211 defines a bluff as: <br />Bluff means a topographic feature, such as a hill, cliff or embankment, having the following characteristics <br />(An area with an average slope of less than 18 percent over a distance of 50 feet or more shall not be <br />considered part of the bluff): <br /> (1) Part or all of the feature is located in a shoreland area; <br /> (2) The slope rises at least 25 feet above the ordinary high water level of the water body; <br /> (3) The grade of the slope from the toe of the bluff to a point 25 feet or more above the ordinary high water <br />level averages 30 percent or greater; and <br /> (4)The slope must drain toward the water body. <br /> <br />AGENDA ITEM <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />190