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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL -APRIL 24, 2006 8 F. Motion to Approve Ordinance No. 376 - Front Porch Zoninl! Ordinance Amendment . Mr. Lehnhoff stated in May, 2005, the City Council adopted an amcndment to the Zoning Ordinance that allowed covered front porches to encroach into the front setback under certain conditions without a variance. One of the conditions for approval was that the covered front porch could not be any closer than 30 feet to the front lot line. Howevcr, in certain parts of the City (e.g. Chatham neighborhood), many of the homes werc built 30 feet or less from the front lot line, which precludes many of the dwellings from constructing a front porch undcr the current front porch cncroachment ordinance. Although the 2005 amendment did increasc flexibility for many or the dwellings in the City, entire neighborhoods werc still unable to construct a front porch. In September 2005, the Planning Commission reviewcd a Zoning Ordinance amendment proposal to allow the construction of a front porch for homes that were closer than 40 feet to the front lot line in the Chatham subdivision. Based on a review of the minutes from that meeting, the Planning Commission was concerned with the proposal because it singled out a specific neighborhood and may not have resolved the issue for most of the dwellings in Arden Hills. At that time, staff was requested to revise the proposed amendment with the intent of resolving the issue for as many dwellings as practical in the City instead of an ordinance for a specific neighborhood. He noted he has not had any comments from residents who were not in support of this proposal. Councilmember Graut commended staff and the Planning Commission for their work on this Ordinance. He noted one of the driving forces behind this was the Chatham neighborhood and he lived on Chatham and if this did not require a 4!5ths vote, he would abstain from the vote, but he would be voting in favor of this. Mayor ApIikowski stated this ordinance affected the entire City and not just the Chatham neighborhood and she believed Councilmember Grant should not abstain from the vote. . MOTION: Councilmember Larson moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approvc Ordinance No. 376 to amend Section 6.C.2.d. of the Zoning Ordinance regarding covered front porch setbacks as proposed by Staff and recommcnded by the Planning Commission and to publish a summary of thc Ordinance in the official City newspaper. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (CONTINUED) Mayor ApIikowski explained to Councilmember Grant the insertion Councilmember Holden had requested. Councilmember Grant stated he wanted this wording to read: Councilmember Grant inquired about the financial funding resources clause in the vision and if the PIRC was asking for tax .