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3.2. BASR 09-24-2002 Item #3.2 City of Elk River MEMORANDUM TO: Board of Adjustments FROM: Chris Leeseberg, Planner DATE: September 24, 2002 SUBJECT: Case No. V 02-05 Request by DeAnna& Dewayne Leseman for a Rear Yard Setback Variance. Request The applicant requests that a variance be granted to allow two decks to be within the 20 foot • Rear Yard Setback.The rear yard setback would be reduced from 20-feet to 10-feet. Attachments • Location Map • Applicant's Narrative • Site Plan • Aerial Photo • Photos of Subject Property • Partial Floor Plan • Option A Location 13102 Elgin Dr. NW Lot-13 Block-1,Meadowvale Heights 2nd Addition Zoning/Land Use R1c, Single Family Residential/ MR,Medium Density Residential • Memo to Board of Adjustments September 24,2002 Page 2 Existing Conditions The subject property is approximately one quarter-acre in area. The property has an extreme slope to the rear from about the mid-point of the house. The home has two existing patio doors on the rear of the house. Behind the house is a terraced retaining wall to provide for some useable level yard space. The nearest structure is approximately 70-80 feet away. Overview As was stated by the applicant's narrative, they purchased the house,which was a model home, and had no input into the design of the home. The deck will be located on the rear side of the house and will be 25-feet wide by 14-feet deep. The proposed deck would encroach approximately 10-feet into the setback. With the size of the lot and the house, the house could not have been brought forward far enough to make room for more than a five foot wide deck. Due to side yard setbacks, the opportunity to place the deck on the southwest side of the house, off of the living area,is also not possible without a variance. During a typical site plan review,the planning staff verifies with the survey that the proposed house meets all required building setbacks. Once the site plan review is approved, the building permit application is then turned over to the Building and Zoning Department. • They review all applicable building code issues and construction matters. It is not city staff's responsibility to review or approve house designs/layouts. If certain problems are noticed, staff will try to bring it to the attention of the builder or owner. For the applicant to be given the right to enjoy a deck, they will need to be granted some form of a variance. Analysis Staff has looked at alternatives to the deck placement to limit the amount of setback encroachment. The applicant does have the option (Option A) of placing some type of circulation deck (a "catwalk") along the southeast side of the house to a bigger deck on the northeast side of the house. The applicant did state they were satisfied with the grade change of the property when they purchased it, assuming they could build decks off the rear of the house. In order to grant a variance from the literal interpretation of the ordinance,the following five conditions must be met: 1. Literal enforcement of the ordinance will cause undue hardship. Literal enforcement would not allow the applicant to build a deck wider than an average of 4-feet. • S:\PLANNING\Case Files\V 02-05 Leseman\V02-05.DOC Memo to Board of Adjustments September 24,2002 Page 3 • 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. The contractor designed and built a model home that was too large for the lot and/or placed the patio doors in a location that would not yield a moderate size deck. 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. Other properties have the ability to construct decks,in practical locations directly off of living and/or dining areas, as allowed by the ordinance. Option A would place the deck on the side of the house,which would not be directly off of the living/great room area, and would be accessed via a four foot wide"catwalk". Although it may not be in the desired location, the applicant would then be allowed a deck of useable size. 4. The special conditions and circumstances are not a consequence of the petitioner's own action or inaction. Although the homeowner is responsible to make sure the purchase of a home will fit their needs currently as well as for the future, the contractor poorly designed the home's layout and size. This was done prior to the petitioner purchasing the home. 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 properly is located and will be in keeping with spirit and intent of the ordinance. The request would not adversely impact other properties in the vicinity. Recommendation Option A would require little to no variance. Staff recommends that Board of Adjustments approve reduction of the rear yard setback from 20-feet to 15-feet to allow construction of a "catwalk" to a deck to the rear/side of the house with the following condition: 1. THE PORTION OF THE DECK ENCROACHING INTO THE TYPICAL 20-FOOT SETBACK SHALL NOT BE CONVERTED TO A THREE/FOUR SEASON PORCH OR AN ADDITION TO THE HOME. • S:\PLANNING\Case Files\V 02-05 Leseman\V02-05.DOC ,, 'V -0 1S 5-- 0 V r . (31411111‘ ',,,''') 0 0) * H-7- 1 „ 1 , ,J, i_ i(r) , ,\() ry HI , iii ' o l hi ` Ali •I •• w 193RD AVE\U - l SITE q 0",44141aIlli 4T, 44, • ; Rtil ��ti 79 ��' go A III, illi Ab Amillik WNW 4, ' iffllerll111 ___ • Illimm 41lassii ,,Almmemo ji ► ♦♦ ♦i_ ■Iminia 0 I 4 , /7"1"ft'"----------- y 1.....L,' I _ ,I,_.,;'_,,,,947'-' _________ nui 1 _di:x:±,,-17 ., lom.... 1 • .1, Location Map El N River Case Number V 02-05 DEANNA & DEWAYNE LESEMAN • Dewayne & DeAnna Leseman 13102 Elgin Drive NW Elk River, MN 55330 763/241-7464 Variance Request • Literal enforcement of the ordinance would cause undue (unnecessary, unavoidable, extreme) hardship. Our home was a completed model home when we purchased it. The builder installed two patio doors, one on each level, in the same location entering the backyard. The builder also installed the deck header board under the upper-level patio doors. We had no say in where the patio doors were installed by the builder. The home was also built in line with the adjacent homes/garages. If the builder would have moved the house up further on the lot, it would look out of place and impair the site lines of the neighbors' homes. • Our concern with the slope in the backyard was diminished with the knowledge that we could build a functional deck off the patio doors, and be able to enjoy the pond and wildlife to the south of our property. Our clear intent upon purchasing the home from the builder was to install a deck in the near future. We have no reasonable options to build a deck elsewhere on our property. We cannot build a comparable deck on the southwest side of the house, in an attempt to use the sliding patio doors, due to the limited amount of property and the utility variance on that side. Building the deck on the northeast side would require either a 38 foot walkway from the patio doors along the back of the house, or major structural changes to the existing house in order to move the patio doors. Moving the patio doors would also place the deck off the master bedroom, making it less functional. • The hardship is caused by special conditions and circumstances which are peculiar to the land and the structure involved and which are not characteristic of or applicable to other lands or structures in the same district. The physical hardship is caused by the 6-to-1 slope on the southeast side of our property, and the fact that our house extends much further back on the lot than many of our neighbors. The combination of the moderate to severe slope, along with the short distance of only 27 feet from the back of our house to the property line, make • the land difficult to utilize in any way other than by a deck. • Many neighbors in our area have gentle slopes in their backyards and much more property. Therefore, they spend much of their time enjoying their well-designed backyards, where we are unable to. e The literal application of the provisions of the Ordinance would deprive the applicant of rights enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of the Ordinance. Many of our neighbors have decks in their backyards. If we are unable to build a functional deck, we will be deprived of our rights to enjoy this portion of our property. • The special conditions and circumstances are not a consequence of the petitioner's own action or inaction. Our home was a completed model home when we purchased it. The builder installed both sliding patio doors prior to our initial viewing of the home. We had no say in where the patio doors were installed by the builder. 411 • The variance will not be injurious to or adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the City or the neighborhood wherein the property is situated and will be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Ordinance. Our deck will not impose on any neighbors' property use or enjoyment. The home behind us is 34.5 feet from the property line on the north corner, and 93.5 feet from the property line on the south corner. Our intent is to build a functional deck in order to enjoy and use all of our property. We have no intention of enclosing the deck at any time. Approval of our variance will allow us to enjoy our property in a similar fashion as our neighbors. We have verbal support from our immediate neighbors for our variance request. Respectfully, 1/, /0 2, Dewayr R. Leseman Date • A/ OS ki !DZ. DeAnna M. Leseman Date .1] • .:. „0,Qh s.,t., z .`. 6g 9F m ,.., .. 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