Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/22/2025

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C� Regular Planning Commission Meeting Date: 05/22/2025 Primary Strategic Plan Initiative: Create a positive image for residential neighborhoods, business districts and key corridors. Information Title: PUBLIC HEARING: Consider a Variance Request Related to Accessory Structure Setback Regulations (Project 25-106); Case of Dean Strande Purpose/Background: The City has received an application from Dean Strande (the "Applicant") for a Variance to the required front yard setback for accessory structures on the property located at 6819 164th Lane NW (the "Subject Property") Notification: Staff attempted to notify property owners within 350 feet of the Subject Property, as reflected in the Anoka County Property Records, of the Variance request and the Public Hearing to be held by Planning Commission. A notice of the Public Hearing was published in the Anoka County Union Herald, 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 at the northwest corner of 164th Lane and Nowthen Boulevard. The Subject Property is zoned RR, Rural Residential, and is guided for Rural Developing land uses. It is 0.66 acres in size. Surrounding properties are similar in size and are also zoned RR and guided for Rural Developing land uses. Based on Anoka County property tax records, the house on the Subject Property was built in 1964, ten years prior to the incorporation of the City of Ramsey. Historic aerial imagery from as early as 1965 shows the house, which faces Nowthen Boulevard and the driveway is connected to 164th Lane NW. Although the house faces Nowthen Boulevard, the property is addressed along 164th Lane NW due to the driveway connection. This makes the south side of the house the "front" yard, and the east side of the house the "street side" yard. The right-of-way of 164th Lane NW appears to have been obtained via a road easement, as none of the properties along that street have been platted. Similarly, the right-of-way of Nowthen Boulevard adjacent to the Subject Property appears to have been obtained in a similar manner, which reduced the area of the side yard east of the house. The Applicant purchased the property in 2012 and has been making improvements to the property, as time and finances allow, to comply with code requirements, improve the property's image, and improve the image of the neighborhood. One such improvement was repairing the existing septic system in 2012 to maintain the house's habitability, as sanitary sewer is not available for the Subject Property. Summary The Applicant is proposing to construct a fifty -foot by thirty-foot (50' x 30') detached garage on the Subject Property. The detached garage is proposed to be built closer to 164th Lane NW than the existing house, which creates the need for a variance. The Zoning Code requires accessory structures on RR -zoned property less than 2.5 acres to be no closer to the street right-of-way than the edge of the principal structure. The Applicant is proposing a front yard setback of 10 feet. This would reduce the need to extend the existing gravel portion of the driveway. The proposed garage meets the minimum 5-foot setback from the side and rear property lines and it meets all other applicable zoning requirements. When reviewing Variances, it is the Applicant's responsibility to prove practical difficulty in meeting all standards