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<br />accommodations for them. <br /> <br /> Applicable Regulations <br />(The applicant’s responses are italicized with staff’s notes after.) <br />Variances may be granted when the petitioner establishes that the variance satisfies all five of the criteria <br />described below. The variance is: <br />1. Is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the ordinance, and <br /> <br />After reviewing the criteria for Accessory Dwelling units (ADU) in Chapter 30 of the Municipal Code and consulting with <br />Chris Leeseberg, Sr. Planner with the City of Elk River, we feel that our variance requests would improve the <br />appearance of our property and would not permit a structure that appears inconsistent with the Municipal Codes and <br />goals defined therein. <br /> <br />The intent of the ADU ordinance is to ensure accessory dwellings remain subordinate to the principal <br />residence and to preserve neighborhood character. The proposed ADU is approximately 60% larger than <br />allowed, which undermines this intent. The accessory structure limit also exists to avoid oversized <br />outbuildings. Approval would conflict with the ordinance’s stated purpose. <br /> <br />2. Is consistent with the City of Elk River comprehensive plan. <br /> <br />When considering if we meet these criteria, I have reviewed the Elk River Comprehensive Plan available online and feel <br />we are in alignment with the plan. <br /> <br />Our property is currently zoned as R-1a and is defined as follows “This district is intended for primarily rural residential <br />with accessory agricultural uses where conditions are suitable”. In the Targeted Urban Service Area Expansion portion <br />of the plan beginning on page 26, our property moves to an R-1b, defined as follows, “This district is intended for low <br />density single-family residential development. Subdivisions utilize on-site sewage disposal systems and private water <br />wells. Density in this district is limited to one single-family residence per gross acre.” <br /> <br />If our requests for variance are approved, we will continue to be in alignment with the plan and not create an <br />appearance of inconsistency as the city’s targeted Urban Service Area Expansion takes shape. <br /> <br />While the Comprehensive Plan does support single-family uses, it also relies on zoning standards to ensure <br />orderly and consistent development. The proposed structure, exceeding both ADU and accessory size limits, <br />is inconsistent with those implementing standards. Therefore, the request is not fully aligned with the <br />Comprehensive Plan. <br /> <br />Variances may be granted when the petitioner establishes that there are practical difficulties in complying with <br />the zoning ordinance. Practical difficulties means that: <br />3. The petitioner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning <br />ordinance; <br /> <br />After reviewing both applicable Elk River Municipal Codes and the relevant portions of the City of Elk River <br />comprehensive plan, we feel that both of our requests for variance contained in this narrative, propose to use our <br />property in a reasonable manner. <br /> <br />In relation the ADU portion of our request, while we will exceed the square footage limit for ADUs by approximately <br />Page 6 of 52