City Council Packet 09-15-2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

If our requests for variance are approved, we will continue to be in alignment with the plan and not create an appearance of inconsistency as the city's targeted Urban Service Area Expansion takes shape. While the Comprehensive Plan does support single-family uses, it also relies on zoning standards to ensure orderly and consistent development. The proposed structure, exceeding both ADU and accessory size limits, is inconsistent with those implementing standards. Therefore, the request is not fully aligned with the Comprehensive Plan. Variances may be granted when the petitioner establishes that there are practical difficulties in complying with the zoning ordinance. Practical difficulties means that: The petitioner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning ordinance; After reviewing both applicable Elk River Municipal Codes and the relevant portions of the City of Elk River comprehensive plan, we feel that both of our requests for variance contained in this narrative, propose to use our property in a reasonable manner. In relation the ADU portion of our request, while we will exceed the square footage limit for ADUs by approximately 600 square feet, it is a result of efficient use of space and will not be noticeable to neighbors or passersby. We desire to exceed the physical footprint restrictions by approximately 148 square feet, which adds 3 linear feet to the length of the building. We feel that this small increase to the total size of the structure would not create a building size that would be noticeably different from others in our neighborhood and would at the some time dramatically improve the visual appearance of our property and our ability to store items indoors. Reasonable use of the property exists without a variance. The ordinance allows both an ADU up to 1,000 sq.ft. and accessory structures up to 2,500 sq. ft. Designing and constructing to standardized building dimensions is understandable, but this also can be achieved by reducing the size of the building from 47' to 44' therefore falling within the allowed square footages. The property can accommodate these uses within ordinance limits and exceeding them is not necessary to achieve reasonable use. 4. The plight of the petitioner is due to circumstances unique to the property not a consequence of the petition's own action or inaction; and As we considered this criteria, the challenge we have is the unique size and shape of our attached garage. We purchased our home in 201 1 and our 2.S stall attached garage was part of the original owner's build. This restricts our ability to build a more standard sized building and potentially increasing the cost to build. The size of the attached garage is not a unique property condition but a result of the home's design. Variances cannot be granted solely because of personal preference or building economics. Many properties in Elk River have smaller or larger garages; this condition is not unique and does not justify exceeding code standards. 5. The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. We have lived in our home for 13 years and 7 months. If approved our property and it's structures would remain consistent with those of our neighbors. However, the external physical appearance of our property would be improved Page 87 of 556