5.1. SR 08-15-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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REQUEST FOR ACTION TO ITEM NUMBER Ci Council 5.1. AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY Communi Develo went Au st 15, 2011 erem Barnhart, Pla.nnin Mana er ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By ~. Request by City of Elk River for Ordinance Amendment to Robert Thistle, Interim City ~~` Chapter 30 -Land Development Regulations, Article VI - Administrator Zoning, Division 2, Administration and Enforcement, REVIEWED BY Subdivision II -Appeals and Variances, Case No. V 11-02 - Public Heari ACTION REQUESTED Adopt the draft ordinance amending section 30-635 related to variances. BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION The Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision on a variance case in June 2010 that, in summary, stated that if a property has a reasonable use, a variance should not be granted. This effectively made variances very difficult to approve, if not impossible, as most properties have some use. For example, a setback variance necessary for a room addition would not be approvable because the property already hosts a house. In response, in 2011 the Minnesota Legislature amended the variance standards, adopting a standard closely resembling the standards in use by Minnesota Counties. The League of Minnesota Cities prepared a draft ordinance for its members' use. The ordinance as drafted incorporates those standards, recommendations by the League, and our own ordinance. The main portion of that document is the cleaned up ordinance. Exhibit A of the attached document shows the strikethroughs and additions of the existing ordinance. The City Attorney reviewed the draft ordinance in late July. The Planning Commission held their review on July 12, 2011 and no concerns were voiced. FINANCIAL IMPACT None ATTACHMENTS ^ Planning Commission staff report ^ Draft ordinance Action Motion by Second by Vote Follow Up N:\Depaztments\Communiry Development\Planning\Case Files\OA\OA 11-03 Ciry of ER -Variances\OA 11-03 Variance to CC 8-15-1 l.docx