01/17/2012 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMTSSION MEETING Tuesday,January 17,2012 6:30 o'clock p.m. , The site is located within two hardcover zones. The proposed new driveway will encroach into the 0- 75foot zone by 184 square feet,but such encroachment is allowed by City Code. The applicant has reconfigured the driveway slightly to minimize intrusion into the 0-75foot zone as much as possible. Hardcover within the 75-250 foot zone is limited to 25 percent of the zone area. Existing hardcover within the 75-250 foot zone is calculated to be at 25.8 percent. Existing hardcover is comprised of 929 square feet of house, 1,783 square feet of driveway, 83 square feet of sidewalk, and 285 square feet of deck. There is currently no garage on the property. The proposed hardcover is calculated to be 30.4 percent of the zone,which is a 4.6 percent increase from the existing hardcover percentage. This increase is the result of the added garage and a significantly different arrangement of the hardcover as the property's driveway would be completely relocated off of the county road on to Baldur Park Road.The revised driveway location does make sense given the garage must be oriented towards Baldur Park Road due to the location of the prominent lake shore and the narrow width of the lot. The applicants are proposing 1,960 square feet of structural coverage,which is below the 2,079 square feet allowed on the lot. Gozola noted the proposed improvements are all outside of the floodplain for Lake Minnetonka. The structure complies with the City's height restrictions and will be just under 26 feet tall from ground level to the tip of the roof. There are no lakeshore setback issues with this application. The property owner is seeking to expand the existing home into a size allowed by code. All expansion is proposed to be located in conforming locations.Due to the width of the lot and the location of the primary lake shore across North Shore Drive,the only logical and viable location for a garage is off the rear of the existing home. In Staffs opinion,the garage being proposed is as small as it can get and still be considered a two-car garage,which is required by Code, so the applicants are not seeking more hardcover than is necessary to comply with code with regards to the garage. In looking at the driveway,the closest access point to the proposed garage location is off of Baldur Park Road, so the proposed new driveway is a reasonable proposal that will limit overall hardcover while simultaneously eliminating an access point on to the county road. The existing home is legal nonconforming to the western side yard setback. In speaking with the applicant, he indicated the location,size, shape and volume of the existing home within the nonconforming area on the lot will not be changed.Any changes within the nonconforming area would require a variance, and such a request has not been reviewed in conjunction with this application. As a condition of approval,the applicant should be required to maintain all aspects of the legal nonconforming structure within the setback. The applicant would like to discuss with the Commission the potential for a 140 square foot patio on the North Shore Drive side of the lot. The patio was not officially requested at the time of the application. Hennepin County has indicated support for relocation of the driveway from North Shore Drive to Baldur Park Road. The applicant will be required to meet the recommendations of the City Engineer. Page 5