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City of Arden Hills Planning Commission Meeting for January 3, 2024 P:\Planning\Planning Cases\2023\PC 23-023, 1666 Oak Avenue – VAR Page 6 of 9 Provision 5 of Subd. 2(E) sets out findings required for the approval of a building permit for a covered porch. The Applicant has provided the required information, and it is included as Attachments E and F. The proposed covered porch meets the setback and zoning requirements as established for covered porches, meets the design guidelines established in the Zoning Ordinance Procedure Manual, and is integrated into the principal structure through proposed exterior materials and the roof design. There is also a provision that a covered front porch in the 40-foot front yard setback shall not be converted to a four season porch. The Applicant’s proposed covered porch addition would meet the requirements established for a covered porch addition but because the principal structure is nonconforming and does not meet the requirements for the expansion of a nonconforming structure, a variance is required. 4. 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. 5. Variance Requirements – Section 1355.04, Subd. 4 The Applicant requests a variance to construct a covered front porch addition to the existing principal structure that would impede on the required front yard setback 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. The variance request for 1666 Oak Avenue is for a proposed covered front porch addition. The Subject Property is zoned R-1, Single Family Residential District and is guided as Low Density Residential on the Land Use Plan.