6.4. HANDOUTS 08-16-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

determined that the expansion of the garage was a reasonable use of the property and that the request met the other requirements of the statute. Specifically, as reflected in the City Council Resolution, the City found that "the proposal is reasonable" and with respect to "undue hardship," that "[t]here is an undue hardship due to the topography of the site, width of the lot, location of the driveway and existing vegetation." The plain language of the statute and our precedent compel us to reject the City's invitation to adopt Rowell's interpretation of "undue hardship." The statute provides that to prove "undue hardship," the variance applicant must show that "the property in question cannot be put to a reasonable use" without the variance. Minn. Stat. § 462.357, subd. 6. Notwithstanding this language, the court of appeals concluded that "[t]his provision does not mean that a property owner must show the land cannot be put to any reasonable use without the variance." Rowell, 446 N.W.2d at 922. The court of appeals essentially rewrote the statute to mean that a municipality may grant a variance when the "property owner would like to use the property in a reasonable manner that is prohibited by the ordinance." Id. at 922. Although the Rowell "reasonable manner" standard has been used for over 20 years, we simply cannot reconcile that standard with the plain language of the statute. The Rowell standard is also inconsistent with our precedent. In support of the application of a "reasonable manner" standard for determining "undue hardship," Rowell cites Curry v. Young, 285 Minn. 387, 173 N.W.2d 410 (1969), for the proposition that a variance is "required where a setback requirement would force a property owner to build a much smaller structure." Id. at 922. The version of Minn. Stat. § 462.357 in effect 13