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. . . Memo to Planning Commission Planning Case #02-28 Pagc 3 of6 B. City Requirements Section VIII, D, 4, c and d, of the City's Zoning Ordinance state that, "Adherence to the provisions of this ordinance is required, except for special cases which arise because of the configuration of a particular parcel. The condition shall not have been created by the landowner. A variance or variances may be granted from specific provisions of this ordinance because such land factors as length of a side of a lot, the shape of the lot or the unusual terrain prohibit reasonable development equivalent to that which would be permitted without variance on a similar size lot located in the same district. but which lot has no unusual configuration. Economic conditions alone shall not be grounds for a variance. In no case shall the granting of a variance impair the health, safety, comfort and general welfare of the public, nor will it be contrary to the intent and purpose of the Comprehensive Plan, the official map or this or any other ordinance of the City. " Variance Findings Minnesota State Stature 462.357, subd. 6, requires that cities consider the following five matters when hearing requests for zoning ordinance variances. L Are the circumstances for which the variance is requested unique to the property? Yes. The combination of the Side Yard Corner Setback area, grading of the property, and the unique orientation of the building create a situation where the applicant does not have a viable site for an accessory building. There is one other location on the lot which appears to have enough space for a shed, however, this location would not work because the area is lower than most of the surrounding property and experiences some ponding after precipitation. Also, the terrain in the southeast comer is slightly contoured and mushy which would not be a good place to locate a shed. 2. Would granting the variance be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the City's Zoning Ordinance? Yes. The Zoning Ordinance was intended to create reasonable restrictions on properties in the City. When these regulations are fashioned typically they envisioned uniform rectangular lots with houses lined up in a row. However, since the Zoning Ordinance does uot consider unusual orientation of buildings and water drainage issues on properties, it is not always reasonable to enforce the Zoning Ordinance to its full extent. Enforcing the zoning ordinance to its full extent would mean that the applicant could only place a shed in those areas inside of the required setbacks. Since this leaves a small portion ofthe rear and side