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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – June 3, 2020 2 located along New Brighton Road and there are multiple curb cuts currently providing access to the property. The topography of the lot is relatively flat along New Brighton Road, but then slopes down significantly to a pond located on the easterly half of the property. The elevation change from New Brighton Road to the pond edge is roughly 15 feet. The pond occupies approximately 1.3 acres of the site leaving 1.5 acres of developable land. Associate Planner Hartmann reported since 2017 the Subject Property has had three (3) previous development applications reviewed but not approved. The first application was submitted in April, 2017; the developer was requesting to subdivide the subject property into four (4) lots, however, the former landowner and the applicant couldn’t agree on a sale price and the applicant withdrew their application. In January, 2018, a different applicant submitted an application requesting to subdivide the subject property into four (4) lots. On April 23, 2018, the City Council considered the application for a Preliminary Plat, Final Plat, Comprehensive Plan Amendment, and Variance. The City Council voted to deny this application because the proposal was not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan designation of the property as Public and Institutional. Associate Planner Hartmann commented at their May 29, 2018 meeting the City Council approved a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Preliminary Plat and Variance at the subject property. The Comprehensive Plan Amendment changed the designation of the property from Public and Institutional to Very Low Density Residential. The City Council approved a Preliminary/Final Plat request would have created three (3) single-family residential parcels on the existing lot. The proposed project never came to fruition and the property was voluntarily foreclosed. Associate Planner Hartmann reviewed the surrounding area, the Plan Evaluation and provided the Findings of Fact for review: 1. City Staff received a land use application for a request for preliminary plat and variance at the Subject Property 3246 New Brighton Road. 2. The property at 3246 New Brighton Road is located in the R-2 – Single and Two-Family Residential Zoning District and is guided as very low density on the Land Use plan. 3. The subject property is currently comprised of the former Lake Johanna Fire Station 1 building, a detached garage, and parking areas. 4. The subject property is 3.12 Acres. 5. The applicant has requested a Preliminary Plat in order to subdivide the property into four (4) single-family residential lots. 6. The adjacent properties to the north, east, west and south are zoned R-2 District and are guided for Low Density Residential uses in the Arden Hills 2040 Comprehensive Plan 7. A single-family detached dwelling is a permitted use for the lots in the R-2 district where the Subject Property is located. 8. The applicant has requested a variance from Section 1130.07, Subd. 2 of the City Code, to allow a lot width of 81.75 feet, or 3.25 feet less than the minimum 85-foot requirement for the R-2 District. 9. Approximately one-third of the properties within this block that have lot widths less than the required 85 feet for the R-2 District. While, the majority of the lots on this block are 85 feet wide or greater, few have the depth or area of the four lots proposed in the redevelopment.