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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 16, 2011 11 Councilmember Holmes stated she wants to know the dollar amount per the average resident and would also like to see what staff feels they need in the budget. 3.D Garage Amendment Discussion City Planner Beekman explained that at the February 22nd Joint Planning Commission and City Council work session, there was some discussion about changing the Zoning Code to allow detached garages in the front yards of riparian lots. At that time, Staff was directed to move forward with drafting possible language that would allow lakeshore lot owners to construct detached garages in their front yards under certain circumstances. Staff has prepared such language and would like Council's feedback on how to proceed. This language was shared with the Planning Commission and the members were generally in favor of the language. There was also some discussion about this pertaining to non lakeshore properties that were particularly narrow, but the general consensus was that this language was what they wanted. Proposed language: A. Detached accessory garages may be located in the front yard (between dwelling and street) of a lakeshore property provided all of the following are met: 1. Detached garages shall not be located within the minimum front yard setback. 2. Color and roof material of detached garages shall match or complement the existing primary residential structure, and shall conform to all other requirements for the zoning district. Councilmember Holden asked if there would be any height restrictions on the garages. She referred to problems with people living in "carriage type houses" and she would like to restrict the height to no more than 15 feet with no variances allowed. Ms. Beekman responded the City cannot make an ordinance that doesn't allow people to apply for a variance. But, she added, a height variance would be difficult to obtain because of the standards required to qualify for a variance. As far as the existing structures that exceed the 15 foot height, she explained that there has been some inconsistent interpretation by staff over the years of the height restrictions, but those issues have since been worked out and the definition of height in our ordinance is now quite clear. Councilmember Holden questioned the number of outbuildings allowed and wondered if a boathouse would be included in that limit. Ms. Beekman stated that a boathouse is considered an accessory structure and would be counted as one of the two allowable outbuildings. The intent of this ordinance amendment is to allow residents to build a garage to address storage issues which seems to be a big need on lakeshore properties. Councilmember Holmes asked if Staff had included through lots (street frontage on both ends of the lot) in their consideration for this amendment.