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Planning Commission Meeting —Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance Revisions — Work Session #1— February 5, 2025 <br />An FAR of 1 could be represented in a few different ways. It could be a one story building that covers <br />the entire lot (a 1:1 ratio), a two story building that covers half the lot (a 2:1/2 ratio which equals 1), <br />etc. An FAR of 2 means there is twice as much floor area as lot area — a two story building that covers <br />the entire lot is an example of this ratio. See the Met Council's example graphic below: <br />FAR: 1 <br />1 story covers 2 stones cover 4 stones cover <br />whole rot 112 of the rot 114 of the lol <br />ff1�4 <br />a' . <br />2 stares cover 4 stones cover 8 stones cover <br />whole tot 112 of the tot 114 of the tot <br />Because there is a great deal of variability between building shape and size with the same FAR, <br />regulating the form may be better served by using a combination of three other standards already in <br />the zoning code: setbacks, height, and lot coverage. <br />Corner Side Yard Setbacks <br />Staff and the City Council have indicated a desire to examine the current standard for corner side yard <br />setbacks in residential districts, due to the number of variances that have been requested (and <br />granted) in recent years. <br />Corner lots have two yards that face streets. In Arden Hills, the shorter of the two street lot lines is <br />determined to be the front yard, while the longer of the two street lines is determined to be the corner <br />side yard. For all residential districts, the setback requirement for the corner side yard currently <br />matches that of the front yard at 40 feet. Variance requests to reduce the corner side yard setback <br />generally come as property owners look to expand their homes into this area. <br />An examination of a number of other communities in the metro area shows that most of those <br />researched have a reduced corner yard setback in relation to the front yard — though this is not the <br />case for three communities immediately adjacent to Arden Hills. The reduced corner side yard is <br />anywhere from 1/3 to 2/3 the size of the front yard setback, as shown in the table below: <br />8 <br />