Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/26/2024

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Regular Planning Commission Meeting Date: 09/26/2024 Primary Strategic Plan Initiative: 6. 1. Create a positive image for residential neighborhoods, business districts and key corridors. Information Title: PUBLIC HEARING: Consider a Variance to Horse Stable Setbacks at 17400 Baugh St NW Purpose/Background: The City has received a Land Use Application from Susan Arellano (the "Applicant") on behalf of John McAllister (the "Permittee") to request a Variance to Horse Stable Setbacks and a Home Occupation Permit for Commercial Dog Boarding under the business name "Sniffspot" at 17400 Baugh St NW (the "Subject Property"). The Applicant is seeking these permits to help bring the property into compliance with City Code. It should be noted that on September 17, 2024, the Applicant withdrew the part of the application requesting the Home Occupation Permit. Thus, Planning Commission's review is solely focused on the Variance. Notification: Staff attempted to notify property owners within 350 feet of the Subject Property, as reflected in the Anoka County Property Records, of the requests for a Variance and a Home Occupation Permit and the Public Hearing to be held by the Planning Commission. A notice of the Public Hearing was published in the Anoka County UnionHerald, the City's official newspaper. A proposed development sign was placed on the property. Time Frame/Observations/Alternatives: Subject Property The Subject Property is located along the west side of Baugh St NW, between 173rd and 175th Avenues NW, in the northwest corner of Ramsey. The Subject Property is zoned RR, Rural Residential, and is guided for Rural Developing land uses in the City's 2040 Comprehensive Plan. It is 1.74 acres in size and accesses Baugh Street to the east with a gravel driveway. Surrounding properties are similar in size and are also zoned and guided for Rural Developing land uses. Variance The variance is unique in nature because the stable was built before the property was subdivided. Chapter 10, Section 10-3 of City Code requires stables to be set back a minimum of 75 feet from the property line. The existing stable is only 21 feet from the property line, and it appears to have been built prior to 1977, according to aerial imagery. The property was last subdivided in 2004 through a metes and bounds split with Anoka County, so the property has never officially been platted. The properties to the south and west appear to have been part of the original pasture, according to Anoka County's aerial imagery from 1977, 1985, 1997, and 2005. Additionally, pictures provided by the Applicant, corroborated by a Staff site visit, clearly show the stable was built for the keeping of horses. The stable includes three horse stalls, a tack room, a wash bay, and an indoor riding arena. However, the keeping of horses cannot be considered legally non -conforming to the property because no previous property owner had submitted a sketch plan to document the keeping of horses on this property. Thus, the variance is needed for the Permittee to keep horses in the stable. It should be noted that Section 10-1(b)(4) of City Code provides additional regulations for the keeping of horses on properties in Ramsey. The Applicant and Permittee have complied with this section by providing the City with a detailed sketch plan, as required by this section. The City has granted administrative permission to the