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Page 1 of 10 <br /> <br />PC Agenda Item – 3A <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />DATE: October 8, 2025 <br /> <br />TO: Planning Commission Chair and Commissioners <br /> <br />FROM: Elena Fransen, AICP, Senior Planner <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Planning Case #25-011 – No Public Hearing Required <br /> Applicant: dREamodel, Inc. <br /> Property Location: 3254 Hamline Avenue North <br /> Request: Variance <br /> <br />Requested Action <br /> <br />dREamodel, Inc. (“The Applicant”), on behalf of the property owner, has requested a variance <br />from the required rear yard setback for decks in the R-1 Zoning District to build a new, larger deck <br />in place of an existing deck at 3254 Hamline Avenue North (“Subject Property”). To construct the <br />proposed deck, the Applicant is requesting a reduced rear yard setback of 8.8 feet rather than 24 <br />feet as required by city code. <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />1. Existing Site Conditions <br /> <br />3254 Hamline Avenue, the Subject Property, is zoned R-1, Single Family Residential District. It <br />is designated for Low Density Residential in the 2040 Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The Subject <br />Property is the site of a single-family dwelling. Surrounding parcels to the north, east, south, and <br />west are also zoned R-1, Single Family Residential District and designated for Low Density <br />Residential Uses in the Future Land Use Plan. <br /> <br />The Subject Property was originally developed in 1939 with additions constructed in 1956 and <br />1975. A detached garage was constructed on the property in 1956. The single-family dwelling was <br />constructed with an 8.8-foot rear yard setback, which does not conform to the current Zoning Code <br />standard for a principal structure minimum rear yard setback of 30 feet. In 2024, a building permit <br />application was submitted for a proposed attached garage addition at the front of the principal <br />dwelling. The proposed addition complied with the criteria in Section 1325.03 Subd 2. D. for <br />permitted additions to single family nonconforming dwellings. The building permit was approved <br />administratively and the addition was constructed. <br /> <br />The Subject Property is a riparian lot with frontage on Lake Josephine, which is defined by the <br />Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a General Development Lake. The property is <br />subject to the Shoreland Regulations in the City’s Zoning Code.