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Zoning File #1434 <br />August 14, 1989 <br />Page 2 of 3 <br />2. Mr. Barr acquired the property in April 1979. There are no <br />complaints on file regarding the use of the garage area as a <br />dwelling, until the recent variance request. During that <br />variance procedure, neighbor Ian Booth expressed concern <br />about a rental usage of the property. <br />3. The applicant in his letter of request, Exhibit B, notes <br />that in the past he has occasionally had someone living <br />above the garage as a security measure. He also notes that <br />in the past he has rented out the main house for the winter <br />months while he was wintering in Florida. His future intent <br />would be to maintain the dwelling unit about the garage <br />strictly as a non -rental guest house. <br />4. Section 10.20, Subdivision 3 (G) requires a conditional use <br />permit for this guest house use. The standards require that <br />"all regular lot requirements shall be met by the guest <br />house". The City in the past has presumed this to mean that <br />there shall be twice the required zoning district acreage, <br />and that sufficient setbacks shall be maintained as if the <br />lot could be potentially split (i.e. where a 10' side <br />setback is required, maintain 20' between the two <br />structures). <br />The existing lot area is .81 acres. .'his is a � acre zone. <br />Applicant is attempting to purchase the 0.17 acre vacant <br />parcel to his immediate west, but has nit succeeded to date. <br />The existing garage/guest house is 10' from ..e principal <br />residence, hence the 20' setback also would be impossible to <br />attain. <br />Discussion - <br />Given the nature of this guest house over the garage which <br />serves the principal residence, the requirement that the guest <br />house meet a double side setback may be inappropriate from the <br />standpoint that the garage structure legally exists in its <br />current location, and cannot readily be moved to meet the setback <br />standard for a guest house. Also, given the existing lot size, <br />it would be impossible to reasonably subdivide the garage/guest <br />house onto a separate parcel. The intent of having the guest <br />house meet all lot requirements is presumably to protect <br />neighboring properties from a high -density development. In this <br />case, the dual purpose of the existing garage structure, coupled <br />with the fact that it is 50' or more from all property lines, <br />would suggest that continued use of the guest house would have no <br />significant visual impact on the neighborhood. <br />