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' MINUTES OF THE � ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING � : • Monday,February 13,2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. (9. #12-3540 CHARLES TRUWIT AND PAULA PICARD, I105 FERNDALE ROAD WEST, Continued) Curtis noted Staff did receive an e-mail today that has been distributed to the Council from an adjacent property owner. McMillan asked where that property owner is located. Curtis illustrated on the overhead the location of that property. Bremer noted the concern relates to headlights and privacy. Rahn asked as it relates to the 5-foot setback, what the next level of distance is. Rahn asked if the 5-foot conflict is only for the last 10 feet. Curtis indicated it is and that it is closer to l2 feet. The lot line was adjusted in the past to reflect a chimney on the adjacent home. Today there is a carport that goes to the property line on the subject property. Rahn asked whether 10 feet is required there or 30 feet. Curtis indicated it is a 30-foot setback since it is a two acre zoning district. The proposed home is consistent with the home's current footprint. Tom Owens, Attorney-at-Law, stated he would like to supplement Staf�s review with five additional points. Before the Council tonight is an application seeking these variances because the plans in 2009 had one key oversight; namely,the driveway near the house lacks two features to make the driveway safer and more practically useable. The plans were drawn up in 2008 and modified several times in 2009. Those plans were drawn up for a hypothetical buyer. Owens stated his second point is that the findings made by the City Council in June 2009 all apply to this application with one exception, which is that instead of a slight decrease in hardcover, there is a slight increase from 31.5 percent to 36 percent. The third point is that the only genuine issue before the City Council is whether the hardcover change is reasonable and whether it will alter the essential character of the locality. The applicant urges the City Council to find that the request is reasonable. The subject property is surrounded on three sides by water. The property located at l 101 West Ferndale was granted hardcover of 52.6 percent in 1995 for a replacement residence. In addition,the dwelling and lot nonconformities and parcel configuration are truly unique to this lot, which means that whatever the Council does tonight will not set a harmful legal precedent. It is extremely unlikely that another homeowner will come before the Council and make a similar request. Owens noted the legal landscape has changed recently and the bar for variance approval has been considerably lowered by the MN Legislature. The practical difficulty standard allows the property owner greater latitude. - Page 10 of 22