03-20-2017 Planning Commission Packet

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f FILE#17-3909 March 20,2017 Page 4 of 5 City Code Sec. 78-123 provides additional parameters within which a variance may be granted as follows: 8. The special conditions applying to the structure or land in question are peculiar to such property or immediately adjoining property. The condition of having a lot that is mostly within the 0-75'lakeshore setback zone is unique to this and the two adjacent properties to the south which have homes located on a narrow sliver of land between the street and the lake.The vast majority of developed properties within the LR-1C district do not have this condition. 9. The conditions do not apply generally to other land or structures in the district in which the land is located. The code standards applicable to this property apply to all other property in the LR-1C District. However, most other properties in the the LR-1C district do not have the limitations imposed by close proximity to Lake Minnetonka to which the applicants' property is subject. 10. The granting of the application is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right of the applicant. The property owner wishes to replace the existing home in substantially the same location and footprint as the existing home, while increasing the size of the home by adding second-story living space in the area of the existing one-story garage. Whether these expansions are necessary for the preservation of a substantial property right is for the Planning Commission and Council to consider. 11. The granting of the proposed variances will not in any way impair health, safety, comfort or morals, or in any other respect be contrary to the intent of this chapter. In the opinion of staff,granting of the requested variances would not impair health,safety,comfort or morals and would be in keeping with the intent of the zoning code. 12. The granting of such variances will not merely serve as a convenience to the applicant, but is necessary to alleviate demonstrable difficulty. In the opinion of staff, granting of the variances will alleviate a practical difficulty created by the shape and location of the lot which cannot be resolved except by the granting of variances. The Commission may recommend and the Council may impose conditions in granting of variances. Any conditions imposed must be directly related to and must bear a rough proportionality to the impact created by the variance. No variance shall be granted or changed beyond the use permitted in this chapter in the district where such land is located. Variance Analysis The size,shape and orientation of the lot in relation to the lake makes it impossible to build on the property without variances.Variances were granted in 1970 for the original construction of a home on the lot,and an additional variance in 1981 allowed construction of the existing attached garage. In 1991 a variance was granted for the existing second-story deck located on the lake side of the house; a deck is not part of the new home application, although a grade-level patio similar to the existing patio is proposed. A variance application was submitted in 2016 for addition of a second story above the existing garage. Prior to Planning Commission review, that application was put on hold (later withdrawn) when the owners and their builder concluded that drainage issues for the existing house could not be resolved through remodeling. The current application, for replacement of the existing house and garage in the same location as the existing, resolves the drainage issues,and accomplishes the desired added living space,within virtually the same footprint as the existing home.