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The applicant has indicated that the property owners intentionally designed a modest and compact home to fit into the general character of the neighborhood. At the time the land use application was submitted, staff believed the setback measurements would be taken from the street and alley line, not the public easement line, and the narrative submitted by the applicant regarding the variance request reflects this understanding. Plan Review Other than the one variance request to encroach into the required secondary front yard setback, the proposal is in conformance with all other zoning requirements for properties in the R-2 District. A full evaluation of the proposal was presented to the Planning Commission at their September 3, 2014, Regular Meeting. The staff report to the Planning Commission regarding this case is included in Attachment F. Variance Evaluation Criteria On May 5, 2011, the Governor signed into law new variance legislation that changed the review criteria City’s must use when evaluating variance requests. The new law renames the municipal variance standard from “undue hardship” to “practical difficulties,” but otherwise retains the familiar three-factor test of (1) reasonableness, (2) uniqueness, and (3) essential character. Also included is a sentence new to city variance authority that was already in the county statutes: “Variances shall only be permitted when they are in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the ordinance and when the terms of the variance are consistent with the comprehensive plan.” Therefore, in evaluating variance requests under the new law, in order to find a practical difficulty, cities should adopt findings addressing the following questions: • Is the variance in harmony with the purposes and intent of the ordinance? • Is the variance consistent with the comprehensive plan? • Does the proposal put property to use in a reasonable manner? • Are there unique circumstances to the property not created by the landowner? • Will the variance, if granted, alter the essential character of the locality? As was the case before the new legislation took effect, economic considerations alone cannot constitute a practical difficulty. Furthermore, the new law clarifies that conditions may be imposed on granting of variances if those conditions are directly related to and bear a rough proportionality to the impact created by the variance. City of Arden Hills City Council Meeting for September 29, 2014 P:\Planning\Planning Cases\2014\PC 14-026 - Variance - 1830 Noble Road\Memos_14-026 Page 3 of 6