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�,ARENr�HILLS <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> DATE: November 9, 2011 PC Agenda Item 3.B <br /> TO: Planning Commission <br /> FROM: Meagan Beekman, City Planner <br /> SUBJECT: Expansion of Nonconforming Structures Discussion <br /> Request Action <br /> Staff is seeking direction on how to proceed with this discussion item, including feedback on <br /> whether the revision is necessary, and if so, comment on how the language might be improved. <br /> Background <br /> At the February 22, 2011, joint work session the City Council and the Planning Commission <br /> discussed several possible zoning code amendments. One such discussion item was the <br /> allowance of certain types of expansions of nonconforming structures. At present, the City Code <br /> allows for the repair, replacement, improvement, and maintenance, but not the expansion, of <br /> nonconforming uses and structures. While this regulation functions well for the vast majority of <br /> commercial uses in the City, it can make small improvements to nonconforming single-family <br /> homes difficult, because any expansion requires a variance. Applications such as these make up <br /> the majority of the variance applications that the City processes. It is possible for the City to <br /> adopt changes to the Zoning Code, similar to the Front Porch Ordinance, which would create <br /> circumstances where certain types of development could occur without the need for a variance. <br /> One of the most common issues that arise when residents call to inquire about home <br /> improvements is that their houses are already considered legally nonconforming; they were <br /> constructed during a time when setbacks were not as great as they are now, and any expansion of <br /> City of Arden Hills <br /> Planning Commission Work Session for November 9, 2011 <br /> ! P:IPlanninglPlanning Cases12011111-022-Zoning Code Amendment-Expansion Ordinance(Pending)111-09-11 PC Work Session-Exapnsion <br /> Ordinance.doc <br /> Page 1 of 3 <br />