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Page 3 of 6 feet. The current structure is located approximately twenty (20) feet from the side yard property line. The Subject Property is a legal non-conforming lot, as the required side yard setback for corner lots was ten (10) feet when the property was built in 1953. The proposed garage addition would be setback 7.82 feet from the Northwest side yard property line. According to the applicant’s application, the proposed addition would be setback approximately twenty-seven (27) feet from the existing curb line. The proposed garage addition would conform to front and rear setback requirements. According to the Applicant, this request for a decreased side yard setback minimum would have no impact on the neighborhood character because the existing neighborhood includes a number of garage additions and has a variety of different garage and housing styles. In their application, they cite the challenges of building the proposed garage addition on a non-traditionally shaped lot as a practical difficulty and argue that the decreased side yard setback will be used in a reasonable manner consistent with the purposed and intent of the City Code. 2. Variance Review The role of the Planning Commission is to determine and consider how the facts presented to them compare with the city’s articulated standards. The Commission should base their decision on the facts presented and then apply those facts to the legal standards contained in city ordinances and relevant state law. Neighborhood opinion alone is not a valid basis for granting or denying a variance request. While the Planning Commission may feel their decision should reflect the overall will of the residents, the task in considering a variance request is limited to evaluating how the variance application meets the statutory practical difficulties factors. Residents can often provide important facts that may help in addressing these factors, however, unsubstantiated opinions and reactions to a request do not form a legitimate basis for a variance decision. The Planning Commission may impose conditions when granting variances as long as the conditions are directly related and bear a rough proportionality to the impact created by the variance. For instance, if a variance is granted to exceed the front setback limit, any conditions attached should presumably relate to mitigating the effect of the encroachment. 3. Variance Requirements – Section 1355.04, Subd. 4 The Applicant requests a variance to construct a third stall addition to the side of their existing garage that would impede on the require side yard setback on a corner lot in the R-1 Residential District. The Planning Commission will need to make a determination utilizing the following variance findings and criteria on whether there are practical difficulties with complying with the zoning regulations. If the applicant does not meet all the factors of the statutory test, then a variance should not be granted. Variances are only permitted when they are in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the ordinance. 1. Purpose and Intent. The variance request shall comply with the purpose and intent of the provisions of the City’s Zoning Regulations and with the policies of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.