DEEPHAVEN PLANNING COMMISSION
TUESDAY AUGUST 16, 2005
7:00 P.M.
Page 1
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Dyb called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Chairman Dan Dyb, Commissioners Walter Linder, Jeff McKinney and Bob Werneiwski
ABSENT: Commissioners Joan Budd, Kent Carlson and Warren Nelson.
OTHERS PRESENT: Council Liaison Kim Crockett and Zoning Coordinator Gus Karpas
Motion by Commissioner Werneiwski, second by Commissioner McKinney, to approve the minutes of July 19, 2005 as presented. Motion carried 4-0.
SHOWCASE
EVENT PERMIT: Western Construction,
Brad Chazin, Western Construction, presented the request. He explained he is requesting a permit to put his home in the Remodeler’s Showcase.
Chairman Dyb opened the public hearing. Hearing no public comment the hearing was
closed.
ACTION: Motion by
Commissioner Dyb to recommend that the City Council approve the special events
permit request to allow
SPECIAL USE REQUEST: Nancie Johnson, DDS –
Neil Weber, Weber Architects, presented the request. He said the property is currently under extensive interior remodel and that the request before the Commission was for some minor exterior alterations. His client would like to place a sixty-four square foot entry vestibule on the east side of the building to provide a covered entryway. In addition the applicant would like to construct a dumpster enclosure and a deck to provide a platform for exiting the rear of the building. He said the intent was to match the existing brickwork and to repaint the rest of the building.
Chairman Dyb opened the public hearing. Hearing no public comment the hearing was closed.
Commissioner McKinney likes the plan and feels the project is an improvement. He asked about the plans for handicap accessibility. Mr. Weber said they would like to connect the ramp to the raised deck and direct it towards the vestibule.
Commissioners Dyb and Linder were supportive of the request.
Commissioner Werneiwski was supportive of the request and asked what was currently being done with the second floor. Mr. Weber said the upstairs has been repainted and carpeted and that a tenant who previously occupied the lower level is using two thirds of the space.
ACTION: Motion by Commissioner McKinney to recommend that the City Council approve the special use request to construct the new vestibule entryway, the entrance deck on the rear of the structure and trash enclosure. Commissioner Dyb seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0.
VARIANCE:
John Woelffer,
Nancy Woelffer presented the request. She said they would like to replace a detached garage, which was destroyed in a spring storm.
Chairman Dyb opened the public hearing. Hearing no public comment the hearing was closed.
Zoning Coordinator Karpas discussed his recommendation and pointed out that the Planning Commission and City Council have been consistent is requiring a minimum setback to allow for construction and maintenance. He feels a five foot setback along the side yard would be sufficient to allow for that.
Ms. Woelffer expressed concern about the pine trees located between the garage and the street. She thinks that moving the garage over would hard them.
Commissioner McKinney supports the request and noted the property has always had a detached garage. He agrees with staff that the side yard setback be increased to five feet.
Commissioner Linder requested background information on the precedence for requiring a minimum setback. He asked if the location of the trees would encroach into the driveway. Ms. Woelffer said they might and commented that the trees and an eighty year old hedge provide screening on the property. Commissioner Linder said he was supportive of the request with a side yard setback of five feet.
Commissioner Werneiwski asked about the tree located to the rear of the proposed garage and whether pushing the garage back to meet the front yard setback would affect it. Ms. Woelffer said they want to remove that tree because it’s not that stable and continually loses branches. Commission Werneiwski is supportive of the request per staff’s recommendations that it have a minimum side yard of five feet and that the garage meets the required front yard setback.
Chairman Dyb commented that the proposed location of the garage is consistent with the neighborhood and that it would make no sense to try and locate it elsewhere on the property.
ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Weirneiwski to recommend that the City Council approve the variance request per staff’s recommendation that the garage comply with the thirty-five foot front yard setback and that a minimum five foot setback be maintained along the south side yard to permit construction and continued maintenance of the structure. A hardship exists in that the existing garage was destroyed leaving the property without a garage and the proposal is in keeping with the character of the neighborhood. Commissioner Linder seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-1. Commissioner McKinney voted nay.
Commissioner McKinney wanted to state for the record that he supported the request subject to increasing the south side yard setback to five feet, but did not support a requirement to comply with the front yard setback.
VARIANCE:
Mike Miller,
Ben Arnold presented the request. He said the request would add space to the existing structure to accommodate his client’s extended family. He said the proposed addition would be constructed over the existing garage, which has already been granted a variance.
Chairman Dyb asked Mr. Arnold his relationship with Mr. Miller. Mr. Arnold said he is the applicant’s construction advisor.
Chairman Dyb opened the public hearing. Hearing no public comment the hearing was closed.
Commissioner Werneiwski asked the applicant why the previous request to build a partial addition was withdrawn at the Council. Mr. Arnold said the proposal was not in the best interest of his client. Chairman Dyb asked who owned the property. Mr. Arnold said that Todd Gorr currently owns the property, but there was a closing scheduled for the upcoming Friday.
Commissioner Werneiwski believed the Commission should follow staff’s recommendation to approve the encroachment into the lake setback but to deny the encroachment into the required side yard setback.
Commissioner McKinney asked if there would be an overhang on the proposed second story. Mr. Arnold said there would be a decorative eyebrow, but that it could be removed if necessary.
Commissioner Linder agreed with Mr. Werneiwski that the Commission follows the recommendation of staff.
Chairman Dyb asked for a summarization between this request and the one recently approved by the Commission. Mr. Arnold said his client would gain one bathroom and the bedrooms would be larger. He said Mr. Miller did not realize the size of the bedrooms in reality when he looked at the plans on paper. Once he understood the sizes, he did not want the proposed addition because it would not meet his needs.
Chairman Dyb discussed the stairway and said it did not look as though they were usable for an elderly relative due to their configuration. Mr. Arnold said the stairs would be reconfigured within the existing house to make them elderly friendly.
Chairman Dyb said he feels the home, as it exists, has been shoehorned onto the property in such a way to take advantage of the best lake view. He said the Planning Commission and City Council have been very accommodating to Mr. Gorr and Mr. Miller on the development of this property. He thinks that Mr. Miller fell in love with the view, but not the house and is trying to make it fit his needs. He commented that the requests on this property have become continuous and never ending. He has a hard time believing that Mr. Miller was not aware of what Mr. Gorr was proposing the last time this came before the Planning Commission.
Mr. Arnold said he advised Mr. Miller against the previous addition because he didn’t want his client to waste money on something he knew he wouldn’t like.
Chairman Dyb commented that envelope is already being pushed on the property and agrees with the other Commissioners that staff recommendations be followed approving a variance for the lake setback, but denying the proposed encroachment into the required side yard.
Commissioner McKinney agreed with the other Commission members.
ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Dyb to recommend that the City Council approve the variance request to construct a second story addition over the garage of an existing non-conforming structure which encroaches twelve feet into the required lake yard setback. A hardship exists in location of the existing structure and there would be no further encroachment than which has historically been in place. Commissioner McKinney seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0.
ACTION: Motion by Commissioner Dyb to recommend that the City Council deny the variance request to construct a second story addition over the garage of an existing non-conforming structure which encroaches nine feet into the required side yard setback. The applicant has not demonstrated a clear hardship for further encroachment into the required side yard and design alternatives exist which would accomplish the intent of the applicant. Commissioner McKinney seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0.
Council Liaison Crockett discussed items addressed by the City Council. She said the Council approved the Special Events Permit requested by Flynn Construction. The Council did change the parking area to the City Hall parking lot instead of the dirt lot by the Paddle Tennis court.
She briefed the Commission on the work being done to change the lake setback for the properties located along the back bay. She informed the Planning Commission that the Council was expecting Commission review and a recommendation on what the setback should be. The Council will then hold public hearings on a new ordinance.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion by Dyb to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner McKinney seconded. The motion carried 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gus Karpas
Zoning Coordinator