Memorandum

To adopt Resolution 26-82 granting the requested setback variances for the property located at 406 Horseshoe Dr., subject to the following conditions:

1. The project must be completed in accordance with the plans submitted with the variance and residential design review applications. Any significant change to these plans, as determined by the Community Development Department, will require review and approval by the Planning Commission.
2. The proposed house and any attached structures shall meet a maximum setback of 83.7 feet from the Ordinary High Water Line of Lake Owasso.
3. The proposed house shall meet a maximum setback of 6 feet from the front property line. 
4. The proposed house shall meet a maximum setback of 29 feet from the rear property line. 
5. All necessary permits from the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District shall be obtained, if required, prior to commencing any construction activity on site, including grading.
6. Shoreland Mitigation is required. The Shoreland Mitigation Affidavit must be executed before the building permit is issued.
7. The variance approval is subject to a five-day appeal period. Once the appeal period expires, a building permit may be issued for the proposed project. A building permit must be obtained before any construction activity begins.
8. This approval will expire after one year if a building permit has not been issued and work has not begun on the project.

These actions are based on the following findings of fact:

1. The applicant proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner that is allowed in the R1, Detached Residential District.
2. Unique circumstances are present as stated in Resolution No. 26-82
3. The character of the neighborhood will not be altered or adversely impacted by the proposed variances.

To adopt Resolution 26-83 granting the requested height variance for the property located at 406 Horseshoe Dr., subject to the following conditions:

1. The project must be completed in accordance with the plans submitted with the variance and residential design review applications. Any significant change to these plans, as determined by the Community Development Department, will require review and approval by the Planning Commission.
2. The proposed building height shall not exceed 37 feet 11 7/8 inches as measured from the lowest finished grade, as defined, to the highest peak of the building.
3. All necessary permits from the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District shall be obtained, if required, prior to commencing any construction activity on site, including grading.
4. Shoreland Mitigation is required. The Shoreland Mitigation Affidavit must be executed before the building permit is issued.
5. The variance approval is subject to a five-day appeal period. Once the appeal period expires, a building permit may be issued for the proposed project. A building permit must be obtained before any construction activity begins.
6. This approval will expire after one year if a building permit has not been issued and work has not begun on the project.

These actions are based on the following findings of fact:

1. The applicant proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner that is allowed in the R1, Detached Residential District.
2. Unique circumstances are present as stated in Resolution No. 26-83
3. The character of the neighborhood will not be altered or adversely impacted by the proposed variances.

The applicant, Robert Thomas Homes, on behalf of the owners, has submitted a residential design review and variance applications for the construction of a single-family home on the platted lot located at 406 Horseshoe Dr.

The property is a substandard riparian lot located in the R1 District. The property is considered a substandard riparian lot because it does not meet the required lot depth of 125 feet. The applicants are proposing to demolish the existing single-family home and detached garage to construct a new single-family home with an attached garage. The proposed construction plans necessitate the following land use considerations:

1. Residential Design Review for construction of a new home on a substandard riparian lot.
2. A variance to Sec. 115-149 (a) (1) - Lakeside setback averaging for the property requires the home to be set back 118.05 feet (+/- 10’). The applicant is requesting a variance to construct the home with a lakeside setback of 83.7 feet. 
3. A variance to Sec. 115-155 (b) (3) (d) (1)  - Front yard setback averaging for the property to be set back 38.9 (+/-10'). The applicant is requesting a variance to construct the home with a front yard setback of 6 feet. 
4. A variance to Sec. 107-67 (e) (2) - The rear yard setback for the property is 30 feet. The applicant is requesting a variance to construct the home with a rear yard setback of 29 feet. 
5. A variance to Sec. 115-155 (b) (3) (b) - Building height is capped at 35 feet as measured from the lowest portion of finished grade to the highest peak of the roof. The applicant is requesting a height of 37 feet 11 7/8 inches. 
   

Site Description

The subject property is a substandard riparian lot located in the R1-Detached Residential Zoning District. The lot is 14,939 square feet, or approximately 0.34 acres, in size, with an average width of 179 feet and a depth of 85 feet. The property is considered a substandard lot because it does not meet the required lot depth of 125 feet. The lot's grade slopes lakeward from north to south, from an elevation of 900 at the driveway entrance off of Horseshoe Drive to 887 at the Ordinary High Water line (OHW). 

The existing home was originally constructed in 1964 and went through a residential design review and variance process in October of 2002 to construct a 362-square-foot addition on the western side of the home. The home unanimously recieved a front yard setback variance to be constructed 6 feet from the front property line, and an OHW setback variance to be constructed 93.6 feet from the OHW.  The current home has a foundation size of 1,717 square feet with a detached garage that is 530 square feet according to the most recent survey. Currently, the home is set back 6.2 feet from the front property line, 17.3 feet from the rear property line, and the attached deck is located 84 feet from the OHW. The existing detached garage is set back 6.2 feet from the side property line and 8.5 feet from the rear property line. 

Project Description 

The applicants propose to demolish the existing house and detached garage on the site, and construct a new 2,282 square foot house with an attached garage. The proposed house is approximately 100 square feet larger than the existing home and detached garage combined. The new home will be located largely in the same footprint as the existing principal structure, with more of the footprint extending north to accommodate the attached garage. 

Development Code Requirements
Residential Design Review for Substandard Lots

The Development Code requires residential construction to comply with certain design standards and setbacks. Those standards and the requested variances are summarized in the table below.

Development Code Sec. 115-155 (b) (3) (b) requires a maximum building height of 35 feet as measured from the highest roof peak to the lowest point at finished grade.

Development Code Sec. 115-155 (b) (3) (d) (1) restricts the front setback to 25 feet. But when the existing setbacks for the two adjacent dwellings exceed 25 feet, the setback is required to be the average of the two adjacent dwellings, plus or minus ten feet. Where there is only one existing adjacent structure which has a setback greater than 25 feet, then the setback is the average of 25 feet and the setback of the existing adjacent structure, plus or minus ten feet, but never less than a minimum of 25 feet. The property has one adjacent property that is setback 52.8 feet from the front property line. 

Development Code Sec. 115-149 (a) (1)  requires a minimum lakeside setback for new construction homes equal to the average OHW setback of abutting dwellings plus or minus 10 feet. When there is only one existing adjacent structure that has a setback greater than 50 feet, then the setback is the average of 50 feet and the setback of the existing adjacent structure, plus or minus ten feet, but never less than a minimum of 50 feet. The setback average for the property is 109.45 feet.

Development Code Section Sec. 107-67 (e) (2)  requires a minimum rear yard setback of 30 feet. 

Variance Requests

When considering a variance request, the commission must determine whether the ordinance causes the property owner practical difficulty and find that granting the variance is in keeping with the spirit and intent of the ordinance.

Practical difficulty is defined as:

1. Reasonable Manner. The property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the Shoreview Development Regulations.
2. Unique Circumstances. The plight of the property owner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the property owner.
3. Character of Neighborhood. The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood.

*Economic considerations alone do not constitute practical difficulties.

Applicant Statement

Below is a summary of the applicant's statement written by staff. Please see the attachments for the full statement provided by the applicants. 

The applicants state that, due to the undeveloped right-of-way that abuts the property on the western side, that area does not function as a traditional developed street frontage. Thus, the property becomes very wide and shallow due to its configuration. Combined with a substandard lot to the northeast, which skews the setback averaging to severely restrict the setback from the OHW, the buildable space on the site is tightly constrained by large overlapping setback requirements. Due to these requirements, the applicants state they have been required to think carefully about not only where a new home could be placed, but also how they could provide the space our growing family needs without creating a greater impact on the property or our neighbors.

The applicants' original proposal was for a variance of more than 10 feet, and state the changes they made to reduce the main-floor height back to the builder standard and reduce the roof pitch to 4:12 maintain a minimum practical relief necessary to create a safe, functional, and appropriately scaled home while balancing the constraints that prohibit the home from expanding out wider. The applicants considered reducing the roof pitch further to meet the 35-foot requirement, but believe that doing so would compromise the home's ability to safely manage snow accumulation and drainage through Minnesota winters. 

The applicants state that they also examined alternatives to the proposed building that included a larger single-story home, but determined that expanding the foundation would ultimately create a greater physical impact on the site and consume more of the yard. A second alternative that the applicants considered was to create a lookout rather than the proposed walkout. However, the applicants believe that the fill and regrading would create drainage challenges for adjacent properties and impact the floodplain. 

Staff Review

After reviewing the applicant's proposal, staff agrees with the applicant that a practical difficulty is present with respect to the requested setback and height variance requests:

1. Reasonable Manner. The property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the Shoreview Development Regulations. The applicant is proposing to use the property reasonably as single-family residential use, which is a permitted use.
2. Unique Circumstances. The plight of the property owner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the property owner.
   Setbacks: Due to the access point off of an unimproved City Right-of-Way, the lot faces unique circumstances that affect the placement of any home on this property. When examining all of the setback constraints together, the site has a total of around 1,600 square feet of buildable space, or about 10.7% of the lot in total. This inherently restricts the ability to construct a single-family home on the lot and therefore necessitates the three setback variances that the applicant is requesting. The front setback and OHW setback variances are similar in scope to the previously approved variances in 2003, which staff believes to be appropriate.
   Height - Staff believes that the topography changing from the north side of the home to the south by 7' and the design of the existing home having a walkout basement are unique to the property. With the removal of the existing home, the applicants are looking to use the same general area for the home. Requiring the property owner to have a daylight design would require additional fill and re-grading in a shoreland area. 
   
3. Character of Neighborhood. The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood. The character of the neighborhood will not be altered. The proposed house's location is consistent with the historic setback of a home on the property, and in keeping with the average of setbacks present in the neighborhood. The new home will be located in a very similar location to that of the previous home, with the front property line maintaining the same 6 feet that was approved previously in 2002; the setback from the OHW will be mostly maintained, with a difference of .3 feet closer; the setback from the side property line will be increased from 6.2' to 27.1'; And the rear yard setback will be increased from 8.5' to 29'. The applicant's request for an approximately 4' height variance would also not detract from the neighborhood character. Due to the grade change from the road on Horseshoe Dr to the foundation area, the approximately four-foot height variance would place the new home on the same roofline as the adjacent substandard lot to the northeast, thus maintaining consistency between the newest builds in the area. The grade change is also similar between the subject property and the adjacent home to the northwest. Combined with a 30' buffer due to the undeveloped right of way provides a substantial distance between the two homes and mitigates the potential visual effects of a taller home. 

Shoreland Mitigation

In accordance with Sec 115-156, a shoreland mitigation plan must be submitted for residential development that requires land use approval, including residential design review. A shoreland mitigation plan must include at least two of the following practices:

• Establish a vegetation protection area
• Establish a vegetation restoration area
• The use of natural color and materials on the exterior of the structures
• Removal of nonconforming structures
• Reduction of impervious surface coverage
• Other practices. At the discretion of the city manager, other restoration or protection activities may be approved as part of a mitigation plan provided they meet the objectives of this chapter.

As a condition of approval, a shoreland mitigation plan must be executed prior to the issuance of a building permit.

Public Comment

Property owners within 150 feet were notified of the applicant’s request. At the time of this report, no public comments have been received by staff.

To adopt Resolution 26-82 granting the requested setback variances for the property located at 406 Horseshoe Dr., subject to the following conditions:

1. The project must be completed in accordance with the plans submitted with the variance and residential design review applications. Any significant change to these plans, as determined by the Community Development Department, will require review and approval by the Planning Commission.
2. The proposed house and any attached structures shall meet a maximum setback of 83.7 feet from the Ordinary High Water Line of Lake Owasso.
3. The proposed house shall meet a maximum setback of 6 feet from the front property line. 
4. The proposed house shall meet a maximum setback of 29 feet from the rear property line. 
5. All necessary permits from the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District shall be obtained, if required, prior to commencing any construction activity on site, including grading.
6. Shoreland Mitigation is required. The Shoreland Mitigation Affidavit must be executed before the building permit is issued.
7. The variance approval is subject to a five-day appeal period. Once the appeal period expires, a building permit may be issued for the proposed project. A building permit must be obtained before any construction activity begins.
8. This approval will expire after one year if a building permit has not been issued and work has not begun on the project.

These actions are based on the following findings of fact:

1. The applicant proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner that is allowed in the R1, Detached Residential District.
2. Unique circumstances are present as stated in Resolution No. 26-82
3. The character of the neighborhood will not be altered or adversely impacted by the proposed variances.

To adopt Resolution 26-83 granting the requested height variance for the property located at 406 Horseshoe Dr., subject to the following conditions:

1. The project must be completed in accordance with the plans submitted with the variance and residential design review applications. Any significant change to these plans, as determined by the Community Development Department, will require review and approval by the Planning Commission.
2. The proposed building height shall not exceed 37 feet 11 7/8 inches as measured from the lowest finished grade, as defined, to the highest peak of the building.
3. All necessary permits from the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District shall be obtained, if required, prior to commencing any construction activity on site, including grading.
4. Shoreland Mitigation is required. The Shoreland Mitigation Affidavit must be executed before the building permit is issued.
5. The variance approval is subject to a five-day appeal period. Once the appeal period expires, a building permit may be issued for the proposed project. A building permit must be obtained before any construction activity begins.
6. This approval will expire after one year if a building permit has not been issued and work has not begun on the project.

These actions are based on the following findings of fact:

1. The applicant proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner that is allowed in the R1, Detached Residential District.
2. Unique circumstances are present as stated in Resolution No. 26-83
3. The character of the neighborhood will not be altered or adversely impacted by the proposed variances.