Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/10/2024

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3. People can be courteous and try to plow their snow only to the side of the driveway that is on the interior side. With the Zoning Code update in 2023, Section 106-303 was created allowing driveways to be constructed in those platted drainage and utility easements,provided they do not impede the flow of water. This provision was intended,primarily,to address the standard practice of a driveway crossing the front platted easements though applies throughout the entire property. Planning Commission Discussion The Planning Commission discussed the Council's request at its meeting on August 22. Some Commissioners stated that they would like to keep the current rule in place. There was openness by some of the Commissioners to explore a reduced setback to some distance less than five feet,but not to zero. One Commissioner stated that he would be fine with a zero setback so that a property owner could use all of his/her property. Consesnus of the Commission is that they would review any reasonable variance request to recede the setback when there is a true practical difficulty in meeting the regulations. Variance Requests A variance is a deviation from the Zoning Code site design standards for a good reason. These reasons are based around no other practical reasonable place to construct something. State Law authorizes a set of"practical difficulties" in justifying a variance. Typically, a variance is requested before construction. During the review process, consideration of various options, impacts, and potential mitigation are discussed to come up with the best possible outcome. The City Council expressed concern that the standard process may be burdensome financially and procedurally for requesting a driveway variance. The land use application fee is $500 and is used to cover the administrative costs of setting up the application. A$500 review escrow is also required. The escrow covers the variable costs such as public hearing publication costs, mailing costs to surrounding property owners and residents, staff time to prepare the report(including Public Works' crew time to place the public notice signs), and recording costs (should a variance resolution be approved). Other applications types have greater escrow requirements ranging between$1,000 and$3,000. Staff believes the current costs and procedures are justified in the case of a driveway. The newspaper publishing costs are approximately$90 with mailed notices approximately$20. Total staff time on most variances can be 3-5 hours. A driveway variance can be more impactful to neighboring residents than if a shed were constructed closer to a property line. Additionally,the variance process is supposed to be public and transparent in the event that the modification of a rule is being requested. If the desired outcome is that the rule is seen as burdensome,the rule should be changed. Zoning Permits In 2023,the City Council did away with zoning permits for driveways. They did not actually result in homeowners obtaining permits and complying by the setback requirements. The permit fee of$25 did not cover the cost of inspecting a driveway. Staff does not recommend reisntituting the zoning permit requirement. Timeframe: 30 minutes Funding Source: The costs associated with this work are a part of staffs normal duties. Responsible Party(ies): Todd Larson,planning manager Outcome: