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Request for Variance from Setback Requirements for Property 1486 Arden Oaks Drive, Arden Hills, MN I (. For my property on 1486 Arden Oaks Drive, Arden Hills, MN, I hereby apply for a variance that would allow me to build a garage on the property that is set back 20'. This variance would allow me to build a garage in front of the existing garage. The plan is to dig out the driveway so that the new driveway and the new garage would be only about one or two feet above street level. The roof of the new garage would be flat and only two to three feet higher than the existing "landing" in front of the garage, thereby blending in with the existing property and its front yard and reducing any potential impact on the overall "look" of the individual property and the street in its entirety. According to the contractor I intend to work with, a new garage should be put in front of the existing one, not underneath the existing one, because the back wall of the existing garage is at the same time the outside wall of the basement, first and second floor of the house - the closer the back wall of a lower level garage is to this existing outside wall, the more the structural integrity of the entire house is endangered. Putting a new garage 20' in front ofthe existing garage would reduce potential problems for the building structure itself to a minimum and would still leave a driveway that would be long enough for visitors to park in front of the new garage instead of on the street. Reasons underlving my request for a variance (numbers in brackets refer to the hardship criteria set forth in the Arden Hills Zoning Ordinance, Section VIII, 4, and Minn. Stat. 462.357 Subd.6): My current garage is built exactly on the setback line of 40'. The North-facing driveway (including the city property bordering the street) is approximately 52' long. With the exception of a small flat "landing" of a few feet immediately in front of the garage entrance, the entire driveway has a steep incline of just over 8' (i.e. an incline of approximately 16%), which makes a reasonable and safe use of the driveway at temperatures around 32 degrees and below impossible [1, 2]. I acquired the property in the summer of2003. In Fall of2003, in order to mitigate any problems that the driveway posed for visitors to the house, I had a contractor build a concrete staircase (with railing) from the street to a landing next to the garage, with a walkway to the house, which has ensured a safe access to the house for pedestrians ever since. We inquired into the possibility of installing a heated driveway, but had to realize that due to the slope of the property, this would result in additional/new problems such as the build-up of ice dams at the curb and in the street. Thus, after three (mostly mild) winters, we still have not been able to find a satisfactory and safe solution for using the driveway itself: We use a lot of salt, combined with traction grit, and clean the driveway even if less than half an inch of snow has fallen. While cleaning the driveway, we have to wear shoes with metal spikes to prevent us from falling and to give us the necessary traction on the driveway (once a neighbor whose shoes did not have such spikes helped me clean the driveway; he was sliding up and down the driveway to an extent that made him rather uncomfortable and probably regret his