10-17-22-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Page 4 of 5 Driveway Access Section 1325.06, Subd. 1 (B) – Access of the Zoning Code requires “any residential lot, which has frontage on both a local street and a collector street or a major or minor arterial (as defined by the Comprehensive Plan of Arden Hills), [to] gain access only from the local street.” The Applicant is requesting a variance from this provision to construct a future driveway off Snelling Avenue—a collector street, instead of Ridgewood Road—a local street. As proposed, the driveway off of Snelling Avenue would have a 10% slope. The Applicant has stated that from the street to the garage there is an elevation change of 20 feet which would make it a safety concern to have their driveway access off of Ridgewood Road. Structure Setbacks In the R-1 District, the minimum front and rear setback requirements are 40 feet and 30 feet, respectively. The minimum side yard setbacks on an interior lot are 10 feet on each side with a combined total side yard setback of 25 feet. The Applicant is requesting a 17 foot front-yard setback variance—abutting Ridgewood Road —to allow a future dwelling to be built 23 feet from the front property line. The Applicant is also requesting a 15 foot rear-yard setback variance—abutting Snelling Avenue—to allow a future dwelling to be built 15 feet from the rear property line. The Applicant is not requesting a side yard setback variance. This parcel by definition is considered a through lot because it has “A pair of opposite lot lines on two substantially parallel streets and is not a corner lot. On a through lot, the determination of whether the street frontage is to be considered a front yard or rear yard shall be as subject to the provisions of this Code.” Section 1325.03, Exceptions to the Minimum Requirement for All Districts states for a through lot that “The administrator may determine that one of the front yards may be deemed a rear yard and shall determine appropriate rear yard setback regulations. Factors to be considered shall include topography, location of structures on the lot, location of structures on adjacent lots, and the type of streets or thoroughfares abutting the lot.” Preliminary Analysis of factors: • There are no existing structures on the lot to be used in evaluating orientation for determining the front or rear yard. • The adjacent structure to the north faces east towards Snelling Avenue and the structure to the south faces west towards Ridgewood Road. • Ridgewood Road is a local road and as required by city code this would be the designated roadway to obtain access to the Subject Property. • In comparison to a corner lot, the city code states the shortest street lot line is the front lot line. From the analysis of city code and factors to consider on a through lot, city staff has determined the front yard of this through lot to be Ridgewood Road because it is abutting the local roadway with the shortest street lot width, and Snelling Avenue to be the rear yard as the lot line most nearly parallel and most remote to the front lot line.