08-13-07 Agenda Item 4C - Laserfiche WebLink

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Statement in Support of Variance Request Planning Case 07-016 3441 Lake Johanna Boulevard (Rear-yard set-back) August 6, 2007 Members ofthe City Council: I am writing to provide the Council with relevant information regarding my variance request for a reduced rear-yard setback. The request for a rear-yard setback reduction from 30 to 18 feet is tailored to accommodating my proposed new home construction. My property at 3441 Lake Johanna Boulevard has physical features which render it both desirable from the standpoint of a site for a home, and also challenging with respect to the actual siting of a dwelling. Accordingly, I have selected for my architect a nationally-recognized expert in design of homes for sloping lots, and his firm has done a commendable job in developing a very practical and site-conscious design, appropriate for both the property and the neighborhood. In contrast to my architect experience, my dealings with the Planning Commission have been in most part quite unsatisfactory. Although the Commission members were successful at the fust hearing in determining which side of the lot is the front and which is the rear, at the second hearing they were still wedded to the curious insistence that an attached garage must be at least 30 feet from the rear property line, although a detached garage can be constructed as close as 10 feet to the same line. If the Planning Commission members had taken the time to visit the site, or study carefully the survey maps provided in support of my variance application, it would have become readily apparent to them that my property's significant change in elevation from west to east (27 ft) compels a logical person to conclude that the only practical location for a garage is the western- most portion ofthe lot, nearest Fairview Avenue. That is precisely why the garages for the three houses immediately to the north are all located less than 20 ft from their rear property lines, and why the existing garage on my property is located 8 inches from the property line. Constructing a garage set back from Fairview Avenue at least 30 feet, as required by the Zoning Code, would require: . tremendous amounts of fill be hauled in; . a high retaining wall be constructed on my property's northern border . loss of the only existing level section of side yard. I had thought that surely the variance process was intended to avoid the forcing of such undesirable outcomes, and that the Planning Commission would be appreciative of carefully- developed, site-sensitive plans. Alas, my confidence in the former has been dissipated by my experience with the latter. The Commission appears quite fanatically insistent on the uniform application of Zoning Code provisions upon all properties in the City, without regard to serious consideration of any physical conditions present.