Mack_narrative_3.3.23Re: 6621 Minnewashta Parkway
Keri and Cordell Mack
March 3, 2023
Variance Application
City of Chanhassen
Practical Difficulty (Updated 3.3.23)
Honorable Plan Commission, City Council Members and City Planner:
We appreciate the continued diligence and feedback pertaining to our Variance Application
for our home at 6621 Minnewashta Parkway. In light of the Planning Commission’s January
meeting recommendations and with ongoing engagement with the City Staff, we have made
several accommodations to the project.
Our December 16, 2022 project narrative includes various functional limitations of the site
and property, including the challenges with safety, lack of on-street parking, concern entering
/ exiting the location, and excessive road speeds. Those facts and considerations remain
unchanged; however, considering the feedback received and desire for collaboration the
following accommodations have been made in our plan:
• Reduced the overall hardcover from our original as with Planning Commission at
32.13% (6.00% over current hardscape) to what is currently proposed at 28.57%
(2.44% over current hardscape).
• Accepted City Staff’s recommendation to migrate backyard patio to decking material.
• Removed all encroachments in the right-a-way.
• Complied with statutes pertaining to living on a Collector Road and included a
turnaround consistent with City Engineer’s notes.
• Shifted the entire home to the South on the South Utility Easement line to maximize
the set back to the North (and further accommodate space for snow removal).
In addition, we looked at several different home designs and configurations, and we
concluded that as it relates to the home aspect itself, there are several practical challenges as
a family that limit design flexibility.
• The home is planned to have a four (4) car garage largely due to the lack of storage (no
basement level in the home design due to height restrictions) and no available street
parking. Recall, there is no parking on Minnewashta Parkway, and City Staff estimated
in commentary that it is reasonable for a homeowner to have street access for parking
of up to four (4) to six (6) vehicles. As such, the driveway in front of the fourth stall
also serves as a parking spot as well.
• Need for aging in place home design with owner’s suite located on main level.
• We have balanced these needs with other sacrifices throughout the home whereby we
eliminated a robust office / work from home space, formal dining space, and normal
in-home storage.
While we recognize a desire to fully comply with the current hardcover percentage as
recommended by the Planning Commission, we believe if not for living on the Parkway and
need for the turnaround, we would generally meet that recommendation with only 62 feet of
hardcover above existing (when the turnaround is not included).
As noted in our December and March narratives, this property is challenged both in terms of
actual home planning (height restrictions, lack of storage, etc.) and accommodating the
Parkway (lack of on street parking, need for turnaround, etc.). If each accommodation (home
and driveway) is reviewed for the underlying practical challenges, we believe the combined
outcome of a minor variance (.28 percent) above exiting hardscape is reasonable and fits the
circumstance of practical difficulty.
Existing
Property
Proposed -
January 2023
Proposed -
March 2023
Hardscape 5,800 7,132 6,341
Total Lot 22,194 22,194 22,194
% of Total 26.13%32.13%28.57%
Impact from Turnaround / Collector Road:
Turnaround Coverage 479
Est. Hardscape w/o Turnaround Coverage 5,862
% of Total w/o Turnaround Coverage 26.41%
% Variance over Existing -0.28%
Sq. Ft. Variance over Existing (62)