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Community Development Director Frolik advised that when the Planning Commission reviewed <br />the first townhome plan for the Ramsey Town Center, it became clear the driveways would not <br />always work as outlined in the Town Center Zoning District. She indicated Staff was directed to <br />work on changes to the Zoning District. She indicated Assistant Community Development <br />Director Trudgeon has worked on changes and Staff is proposing the following: <br /> ~ Measurement of front yard setback. Currently, residential units within the Town <br /> Center can have a maximum front yard setback of 20 feet. However, the code is silent on <br /> how the setback is measured. Staff is proposing that the front yard setback for residential <br /> units is measured from the front of the residence to the edge of the sidewalk. Therefore, <br /> no unit could be further than 20 feet from the edge of a sidewalk. <br /> <br />25-foot required length for driveways of residential units with attached garages. <br />Other portions of the City Zoning Code require 25-foot long driveways in order to ensure <br />adequate parking for town home units. Staff is proposing to amend the Town Center <br />Zoning Doe to reiterate the need for 25-foot long driveways. Staff also proposes to insert <br />language that will allow for driveways to be as short as 20 feet in length if the garage and <br />driveway are located in the rear of the building and the front door to the residential unit <br />faces a public street or a private street that provides for parking on at least one side. In <br />these instances, driveways must be a minimum of 20 feet in length and served by a <br />private road that is at least 24 feet wide. <br /> <br />Allowing for a greater front yard setback for residential units with garages that are <br />front-loaded. As mentioned previously, all residential units can have a maximum 20- <br />foot front yard setback. In cases where the driveway and main entrance are in the front <br />yard, this maximum 20-foot setback conflicts with a driveway length standard of 25 feet <br />desired by the City and contained in other parts of City Code. Therefore, Staff is <br />proposing that when the attached garage and main entrance are contained in the front of <br />the unit, the maximum setback allowed is 30 feet. This different standard will allow <br />these units to meet the 25-foot driveway length requirement. <br /> <br />Community Development Director Frolik noted that all of the proposed amendments are <br />consistent with what the Planning Commission approved as part of Ramsey Town Center 2na <br />Addition. She stated Staff recommends approval of the amendments to the Town Center Zoning <br />District. <br /> <br />Citizen Input <br /> <br />Chairperson Nixt opened the public hearing at 7:44 p.m. <br /> <br />Chairperson Nixt stated after going through the Town Center review and the first plan, it is <br />interesting to see what changes Staff came up with in writing. He asked if Staff feels these are <br />workable throughout the Town Center. <br /> <br />Planning Commission/March 11, 2004 <br /> Page 7 of 18 <br /> <br /> <br />