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4.1. BASR 08-28-2001 L • City of Elk River MEMORANDUM TO: Board of Adjustments FROM: Michele McPhersorY, Director of Planning DATE: August 28, 2001 SUBJECT: Case Number: V 01-06 Request by Henry & Shirley Hanson to Reduce the Setback from the Bluff Request The applicants request that the setback from the bluff line of the Elk River be reduced from 30 • feet to 10 feet to allow construction of a walkout rambler. Location 18897 Waco Street Attachments • Location Map • Letter from Applicant • Site Plan • Aerial Photo Zoning/Land Use R1b, Single Family Residential (1 acre lot, unsewered)/MR, Medium Density Residential Overview The subject property is located east of Waco Street,above the Elk River floodplain. Located on the property is an existing single-family dwelling with no garage. The property is flat,and mostly wooded,although the northwest corner is more open with"volunteer"trees. The area of the 1111 Board of AdjustmentsN 010-06 August 28,2001 Page 2 • Analysis Staff refers the Board of Adjustments to Section 900.40 of the Zoning Code for the five standards to consider when reviewing a variance. The standards relate to the condition of the property. A variance may be granted only if it meets the following five conditions: 1. Literal enforcement of the ordinance will cause undue hardship. 2. The hardship is caused by special conditions and circumstances,which are peculiar to the property and the structure involved and which are not characteristic of, or applicable to, other lands or structure in the same area. 3. The literal application of the provisions of this ordinance would deprive the petitioner of rights enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of this ordinance. 4. The special conditions and circumstances are not a consequence of the petitioner's own action or inaction. 5. The variance will not be injurious to or adversely affect the health,safety or welfare of the residents of the city or the neighborhood where the property is located and will be in keeping with spirit and intent of the ordinance. The applicant has outlined their position on the variance request, citing a number of health- • related reasons. The primary reason for the request is for the desire to construct a walkout basement in a new home. Without massive grading,the best location for such a structure would be adjacent to the bluff overlooking the floodplain of the Elk River. However,the property is large enough(10 acres),that the home could be constructed in the open area in the northwest corner of the property without a basement and would meet many of the desires,especially for light, that were cited in the applicant's letter. The purpose of the setback from the bluff of a river is to preserve the vegetation to prevent erosion of the bluff into the adjacent waterway thereby maintaining the channel. With a walkout rambler,grading will need to occur to expose the area of the walkout. The applicant has stated that the porch,which will be the closest portion of the dwelling to the bluff,will not require a foundation. This is an incorrect statement. At a minimum,it will require footings,which are typically 50 inches deep, as it cannot be cantilevered from the dwelling structure. While the granting of the variance would not likely adversely affect adjacent properties or the main channel of the Elk River,there is not sufficient hardship for the granting of the variance. The site is large enough for the construction of a dwelling without impacting the bluff or the regenerated forest area. The northwest corner of the site would provide ample room for the construction of a sprawling rambler dwelling that would include the spaces identified to be located in the basement in the applicant's letter. In addition,the lack of trees would increase the amount of sunlight available to the applicants. The use of prairie plants instead of lawn would reduce the maintenance necessary. • S:\PLANNING\MICHMC\PLREPRTS\V 01-06.doc Board of Adjustments/010-06 August 28,2001 Page 3 • Recommendation While staff is sympathetic to the applicants'plight and health issues,the request does not meet the standards necessary for the granting of the variance. 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We begin by protesting that we do not have a shoreline of any consequence. A channel, dug in the 1920's as part of a Camp Cozy Resort project, runs through our property. There were several of these channels dug into the flood plain of the Elk River. The Elk River proper is well south of our property. (see attachments) Over the past 45 years, the channel has filled with silt and fallen logs. It is no longer the water filled creek it used to be. It is not suitable for boating or any other type of recreation. The channel swells with water in the spring when flooding occurs and becomes a dry creek bed in the summer. It acts like an overflow for the Elk River. When the Elk River has high water the water backs up into the channel and when the water is low it dries up. Basically it is a flood plain. For these reasons we find the bluff/hill restrictions unfair and frankly unjust. We could clearly understand these restrictions if we owned land on a lake, on the Mississippi River, or even the Elk River proper. We acquired this property nearly 50 years ago. There is an established driveway (lined on both sides with 50 year old spruce trees)that comes into the property. Presently, a cabin sits in the proposed building site. This is a large cleared area that has been maintained as a yard for the cabin. Building in this cleared area would mean minimal tree loss and would be the best plan for the driveway coming into the property. Forty years ago the property was ravaged by oak wilt disease and many trees were lost. Since that time the trees have made a nice comeback and are now well established trees. Meeting a thirty foot setback from the hill would mean moving the building site across the cleared open space and into this regenerated forest. Basically, all the trees would have to be cut down to make room for construction crews and the building site. The site would look like a farm field. To us, that would be a terrible tragedy. So many people have commented to us, after driving by the farm fields, how beautiful our wooded areas are and how precious they are these days. It would be a terrible waste to destroy these trees. Because we don't feel this shoreline restriction is just, and to best protect the existing trees, we request a ten foot setback from the hill. This places the building site in the cleared area. A 16' x 16' porch will be built onto the back of the house. This porch will not have a foundation. With a 10 foot setback, the back of the porch would be 10'from the hill, the foundation would then be 26'from the hill, and the front of the house would be 56'from the hill. The house is 30'deep. We are both Senior Citizens. Unlike young families who want a large backyard, we do not want any backyard to care for. We want to keep the property in its natural state except for the immediate area around the house. Any ground disturbed by construction would be replaced by maintenance free shrubs, trees, and flowering perennials. We will • call in a landscape designer to help us with this process. We want to blend in with the natural areas. We also request permission to build a walkout basement for the following reasons: We request this variance because we need, not just want a walkout basement. In 1992, Shirley was diagnosed with crippling arthritis. We presently live in Eden Prairie in a multilevel home. It has become increasingly impossible for Shirley to take stairs of any kind. So,we decided to build a retirement home on our Elk River property (a one level home). A home with little or no stairs. This also includes stairs into and out of the home. We know the main flight of stairs inside the home between the house and basement is unavoidable. But, a chair lift can be installed to overcome this problem. The house has been planned with declining health and age in mind. it is an open concept plan with wide doors that are wheelchair friendly. Attention has been paid to other details such as the lever door handles which are easier to grasp than traditional door handles. We are Senior Citizens without children to rely on. We are on our own and so we have planned this house to fit our health needs. A place to grow old or should we say older in. We feel we need the walkout basement for personal safety. A place we can walkout on grade rather than use stairs. A place we can drive a motorized cart or a riding lawn mower to—to load and unload, to bring items in and out of the basement. This basement will be more than a basement. It will have a room for our computer and an exercise room (important for maintaining joint flexibility and lessening stiffness for 111 Shirley), a woodworking shop (Henry's hobby) and a family room (to house our toys— we have a jukebox, a pinball machine, a popcorn machine and an old player piano which Shirley plays on occasionally to keep her fingers limber). This big old piano could only be moved in from the outside—it would never go down a staircase. Eighteen years ago, Henry was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration. He has lost the center vision of the left eye and is slowly losing the center vision of the right eye. Twelve years ago, Shirley was diagnosed with Glaucoma. We both require a lot of light—as much light as possible with these eye diseases. We need to have lots of big windows to bring lots of light in from outdoors. This is especially true in the basement. A walkout with large patio doors and windows would give us much needed light. Shirley is also concerned about her safety and feels only a walkout would meet her physical needs. She worries about being in the basement for one reason or another (exercising, playing the piano, on the computer) and having a medical emergency or god forbid, a house fire of some type. She feels she may be trapped if she needed to exit the building quickly. The chair lift would be too slow. Walking out on a level grade still works for her and would be the safest way out. We do not want your pity or sympathy, but we do hope you will appreciate the efforts we have made to make this home fit our health needs. As we age, we wish to be self-reliant and independent and not a burden to society. We feel this walkout basement is not just a wish on a wish list but something we truly need for our safety and well being. • • In summary, our main goals are to be maintenance free as much as possible, to have easy access in and out of all parts of the building, to preserve as many trees as possible and to keep the integrity of the land. With your help we can achieve these goals. Thank you. pAtg-fALed vO tL ..(;p dal -d /6 orteva_ ateied a,-/ed oitzv,d6( Jeetiice_ yU 0 ! to • • Iyl I IV oz. JI vv c V 4, Y r l (,1 CQ 1 ' 0/ °. (Pi 0 (u -Z- i.... �i Z u i o f I°o v o x t. 0 348.48 p cH" A I 00 '.-I w 1 IQ O C .o V • ,y y i 348.48 C" .. a I; ti ru P$ I c CO o • y O ( o L h n I— o 348.48 — o O O N88°3700"E • 0.Z I a 8 N 88°37'00"E ��\�. C ill n ti O Or————70i:720---‘ — �, I -„- y = S I I Y. O I '. .\ It \ II D w e GI 2 I H 111 ni O C. 2 I y I 323.38 II��-6 Hb I I. I N 88°37'00"E I D ' (n o• I i � m I h w • 1\\ 1 X W O O • -ei CI ti I O I "v., ,n∎ o''•1 O n0 I 338.95 • 'P+. 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