PC Minutes 17-18Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 5, 2017
they’re there so the consistency in the signage I think is important. Alright I’d entertain a motion
if no one has any other comments. Commissioner Madsen.
Madsen: The Chanhassen Planning Commission recommends that the City Council approve the
attached sign plan criteria for Medical Arts Buildings Phase I and II and adoption of the attached
Findings of Fact and Decisions.
Aller: So I have a motion. Do I have a second?
Randall: Second.
Aller: Having a motion and a valid second, any further discussion?
Madsen moved, Randall seconded that the Chanhassen Planning Commission recommends
that the City Council approve the attached Sign Plan Criteria for Medical Arts Buildings
Phase I and II; and adoption of the attached Findings of Fact and Recommendation. All
voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
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Aanenson: These items are going to the City Council on September 25.
Aller: Yes so those of you present or at home that would like to follow this item it’s before the
City Council on September 25, 2017 and again the documents that have been provided to the
City and that were just voted on are available to you on the website. Moving onto our second
public hearing.
PUBLIC HEARING:
20 HILL STREET: VARIANCE FOR A GARAGE ADDITION WITHIN THE FRONT
YARD SETBACK.
Aller: For the record we received a couple of attachments to the application package that was
previously received and those consist of several emails and if you could address those during the
presentation that would be great. They are being read and considered and are being made part of
the package.
Aanenson: Thank you Chairman, members of the Planning Commission. So this item too unless
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it’s appealed would stop here. Otherwise it would go to the City Council also on the 25 so
there’s a number of days to appeal this decision. So the applicant, Sather Design Build, on
behalf of Steven and Beth McAuley are requesting a variance to expand their garage. The house
is located on 20 Hill Street. It is zoned residential single family. It’s 15,000 square foot
minimum lot area, 30 in the front, 10 on the sides, 25 percent hard cover, 75 foot lake setback
and the 30 foot bluff setback. So the house is steep towards the back and you can see the change
in grade. It does have a 22.7 percent lot coverage. It meets the setback. The house was built in
1961 with a 25.5 front yard setback. It has an existing garage which I’ll show you in a minute
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Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 5, 2017
and an existing detached one car garage with, that’s set back 2.8 feet from the front setback and a
3 foot side setback. Because of the steepness of the lot and the way it’s setting on there, there’s
no way to put anything else to the back of the lot to make it work. You can see here that as it
goes deep back here it’s impossible to try to find another spot so this is the existing detached
garage and this is the location for the proposed garage. So the closest point here as I mentioned
was just over 2 ½ feet and then the proposed addition would maintain that same line and not go
closer to the house so it’s kind of closing that gap between the house and the existing garage so
the existing garage is dangerous to access in the winter and that’s existing. I’ll show you a
picture of that in a minute. It’s dangerous to access in the winter and the current garage on the
lower is access means is better than being used, it’s kind of being used for storage so two all
season garage stalls is we believe a reasonable use. The short driveway limits parking options
and again we talked about the topography so converting the one car garage to the two car garage.
You can see now this is the single car garage so this is where the new space would be coming in
and this is the existing garage here with the steep slopes. So again as I mentioned steep slopes.
The configuration of Hill Street mitigates the impact, or mitigates the ability to move the street
forward. We can go back to that. So here you are. You’re close here then coming out that steep
curve. Maybe if I go back to the location of that house you can see how you come in here. So
this is 101 over here but this is the end of that street coming in to the garage and then a separate
one going down to the driveway as you can see here. So I did attach, the staff is supporting the
recommendation for the additional garage. Again if you look at that this situation, maybe if I go
back to the very first slide you can kind of see how this access, this is kind of splitting it here but
this is how you come in off of this street here. Hill Street with 101 further away but it’s, really
there’s not a lot of options on the lot so the staff is supporting that. I did give you letters of
support from 4 neighbors that were supporting the variance. All in favor of it. Again the staff is
supporting it too. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have and this is a public
hearing.
Aller: So the applicant will lose the off street parking and the view would change and be
modified if for whatever reason Hill Street’s re-centered or modified or changed.
Aanenson: Yeah and engineering looked at that. Probably not likely to happen but.
Aller: And that was the question, should it happen.
Aanenson: Yep, should it happen.
Aller: I guess the flip side is, is if that happens then at least them have some off street parking.
Aanenson: Yeah so the Rust’s who just sent a letter also are remodeling their house. They’re
that first house coming directly off 101. It’s that last one that, before that you can access off of
101 and their’s is pulled closer too. It’s steep in the back of those lots so there’s not a lot of
options along there.
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Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 5, 2017
Aller: Any other questions of staff at this point? Commissioner Weick.
Weick: Just following up on that. I had a, it’s on page 5 of 7. I just don’t understand that
bottom paragraph of, is the front yard is not their front yard or I don’t understand how that
works.
Aanenson: Well it’s excess right-of-way that’s you know, so probably you know so the City
granted the 20 foot Hill Street you know to access those properties.
Weick: Yeah.
Aanenson: So it’s one of those things that the structure’s been there for a number of years.
Probably won’t ever improve that street beyond that. You wouldn’t want to give them direct
access onto 101. That would not be, and actually with the change in grade like I say the Rust’s is
the last house to do that and that’s kind of a quick turn down from there too so don’t see those,
that changing at any time in the future. It’s kind of like some of those anomalies in Carver
Beach. It’s going to be that way.
Weick: Yeah, okay.
Aanenson: Not the best but that’s what we’re going to go forward with.
Weick: Okay. I just, okay.
Aanenson: That was a good question.
Aller: Any additional questions of staff? Okay, if the applicant would like to come forward or
his representative would like to come forward and make a presentation at this time they may do
so.
Steve Sather: Hello, my name is Steve Sather and this is Steve McAuley our client and I’m here
to answer any questions. I might also add, I’ve known this family a long time because we built
on this home even before they bought it. I put a kitchen on. Put a rear family room so they made
a big investment and they’ve got 3 boys and they plan on staying in the community so the car
thing is a big deal and there’s no place to park in the street without causing problems and that
steep little storage driveway. Steve’s been talking about this for years and I said it’s going to
take a variance but, and we’re just, we’re trying to leave that front corner, which would be the
southeast corner where it is and then just expand the garage into the house and make it an
attached garage. They’d still actually have to enter it from the exterior because that’s a bedroom
but, and not pushing it back any further. You know there’s a hill there so just, it’s not really
even really a big two car garage but it just gives them a chance to park two cars in there.
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Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 5, 2017
Aller: Can you address for those individuals at home watching and, we get these reports and we
see them and we’re there but when we’re looking at the steepness of the existing garage when
people say well they already have one so could you describe the difficulties that you have with
what is the proverbial slippery slope.
Steve McAuley: Yeah absolutely. You know so clearly during the winter times that’s a tough
spot. I have hit my house multiple times just even trying to get out of that garage so when you
look at the size of that space and the actual garage itself, I mean it’s a severe slope. Any kind of
snow or ice condition whatsoever good luck getting out. So that’s obviously not a very feasible
garage concept. I do have as Steve said 3 boys that are getting closer to driving age. As I said
there’s no parking on Hill Street whatsoever. There’s turnarounds right in back of us that quite
frankly gets used as parking so I just see ourselves down the road wanting to stay with this
house. Obviously as Steve said we’ve done a lot of improvements to it. This is for us at least the
last phase to be able to get an extra car in there and not have to use that sloped garage.
Steve Sather: I might add Steve had mentioned as that steepness goes down it doesn’t level out
at all. It goes downhill right to the door and during some of our building projects and that house
in the rear materials, I’ve literally personally slid all the way down when the sun comes out and
just melts any snow that’s up in the street it runs right down to that garage and there’s just no
way to get into it. It’s really shoe horned in there.
Steve McAuley: I don’t like to use it. My wife never uses it so she has, wants to have nothing to
do with it.
Aller: Any questions of the applicant or Mr. Sather? None, okay. Thank you very much
gentlemen.
Steve Sather: Thank you.
Aller: Okay, this is a request for a variance so we’ll have a public hearing on it. Any individual
wishing to come forward and speak either for or against this item may do so at this time. And
again for the record we have received correspondence from several of the neighbors which will
become part of the package and has been read and reviewed. Seeing no one come forward I’ll
close the public hearing and open it up for discussion and action. Comment. Commissioner
Randall, pretty straight forward.
Randall: It is. Very straight forward. Great use of the space. I think the variance is needed
there for these people to enjoy their property.
Weick: I think it improves right. That’s hopefully what we try and do is improve the value of
the property and without you know any objection clearly from the neighbors, it seems to fit all
those things right?
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Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 5, 2017
Aller: Well I think more importantly here it’s not for economic reasons but the value, the
intrinsic value and the use of the property.
Weick: For sure.
Aller: Is going to be increased and for my purposes it just seems to make sense. That’s what I
like to look at and once we get through the technical aspect of obviously it’s a unique property.
He came to the property in that position. That it’s not for solely economic purposes and, but it’s
not going to change the character of what is existing along Hill Street there and in fact the, what
we have before us is the testimony of the neighbors indicating that they don’t feel that it’s going
to change that character either so I will be voting in favor. Any other comments? Okay, would
someone like to make a motion?
Weick: I will.
Aller: Commissioner Weick, sure.
Weick: The Chanhassen Board of Appeals and Adjustments approves a variance request to
allow for the conversion of a non-conforming detached garage to an attached garage via a nine
foot eight inch wide expansion within the front yard setback subject to the conditions of approval
and adopts the attached Findings of Facts and Decisions.
Aller: So I have a valid motion. Do I have a second?
Undestad: Second.
Aller: Having a motion and a second, do I have any further discussion?
Weick moved, Undestad seconded that the Chanhassen Board of Appeals and Adjustments
approves a variance request to allow for the conversion of a non-conforming detached
garage to an attached garage via a nine foot eight inch wide expansion within the required
front yard setback, subject to the following conditions of approval and adopts the attached
Findings of Facts and Decisions:
1. The applicant must apply for and receive a building permit.
2. The structure must comply with the Minnesota State Building Code.
3. The closest point of the expanded garage must be at least 2.8 feet from the front lot line.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
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