Agenda - Planning Commission - 07/12/2018

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Regular Planning Commission 5. 1. Meeting Date: 07/12/2018 By: PeggySue Imihy, Community Development Information Title: PUBLIC HEARING: Consider Variance Request to Place a Detached Accessory Building within the Required Setback from the Ordinary High Water Mark of the Rum River at 15795 Juniper Ridge Drive NW (Project No. 18-123); Case of Rick and Diane Farrell Purpose/Background: The City has received an application from Rick and Diane Farrell (the "Applicant") for a variance to construct a detached accessory building within the required setback from the Rum River on the property located at 15795 Juniper Ridge Drive NW (the "Subject Property"). Notification: City Staff attempted to notify all property owners within 350 feet of the subject property of the request by U.S. Mail and published a notice of public hearing in the Anoka Union Herald, the city's official newspaper. Observations/Alternatives: The Subject Property is located within the R-1 Residential (MUSA) zoning district and is approximately 0.88 acres in size. The surrounding parcels are also zoned R-1 Residential (MUSA) and are of a similar size. The Subject Property is within the Wild and Scenic Overlay District, which has additional standards aimed at protecting the scenic qualities of the Rum River, including a setback from the Ordinary High Watermark (OHW) and restricted vegetative clearing activities. The Overlay District is created by Minnesota Rules, and requires that the City administer said rules. There are two significant materials standards of the Overlay District to consider with this request. • Minimum setback of 150 feet from the shoreline and 30 feet from bluffline (steep slope) • Clear cutting activities of significant trees are prohibited The home on the Subject Property is approximately eighty-nine (89) feet from the shoreline. However, it is considered lawful, non -conforming as it was constructed in the late 1970s and predates the standards of the Overlay District. There also is a 'pool house' on the Subject Property, which appears to have been constructed without a permit before the Applicant purchased the home and encroaches into the shoreline setback (about 77 feet from the shoreline). The Applicant originally proposed to construct a fourteen by twenty-four foot (14' x 24') detached accessory building approximately seventy-two (72) feet from the shoreline and greater than thirty (30) feet from the bluffline. After working with City Staff, the Applicant has amended their application and is now proposing to build the accessory structure approximately eighty-four (84) feet from the shoreline. The proposed location would require the removal of several trees; however, the structure would be more inconspicuous from the street in the proposed location as it would be within the treeline. There is a Scenic Easement in favor of the City and Anoka County encumbering a portion of the Subject Property (as well as the properties to the east and west). Staff overlayed the Scenic Easement with an aerial image for reference (see attached exhibit). It does not appear that the proposed detached accessory structure would encroach into the easement; however, without a survey of the Subject Property depicting the Scenic Easement and the proposed shed location, that cannot be definitively confirmed.