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structure encroaches within the 50 -foot setback from the Karth Lake OHW by as much as 20.3 feet at one point. The new dwelling will include a series of dormers on the second story along the front side of the structure. The dormers on the dwelling would not increase the volume within the front yard setback as the former dwelling had similar features. However, to complement the house, the attached garage would be increased in height and also include a dormer, extending to the front of the garage itself. The dormer is purely decorative and would not be an occupied space. While a majority of the garage, including the raised roof, is outside of the setbacks, the portion within the 6.4 feet front yard encroachment would be noticeably enlarged by the addition of the dormer. While the City allows legally nonconforming structures to be rebuilt on the existing footprint with a similar volume, Section 1350.04 states that nonconforming buildings shall not be enlarged to occupy a greater area or height that augments its nonconformity. Thus, a variance is required to allow the dormer to be constructed on the second story of the garage. When the home was originally constructed in 1979 it met both the front and shoreland setbacks at the time. The front yard setback appears to have been 30 feet at the time, since most of the homes in this area are setback similarly. In addition, Karth Lake has increased in depth dramatically over the years due to the absence of adequate drainage out of the lake. A water pump has since been installed to stop the encroachment of the lake into the surrounding properties. The result of this geographic anomaly is that the homes around the lake have lost between 20 and 30 feet of property, making most of them non -conforming. Had the lake not risen the applicants home could have simply been rebuilt to meet the front and shoreland setbacks and the dormer would not have become an issue. Staff has included an aerial photograph of the property from 1953 that indicates the water level change (Attachment B) The applicant has submitted a letter addressing the variance criteria, a survey of the property, and elevations of the dormer (Attachment A). Also attached is an aerial photo and photographs of the site (Attachment B). 2. Site Data. City of Arden Hills Planning Commission Meeting for April 8, 2009 I '.'Metro-inet.us lardenhiIWPlanningOanning Cases 12fN 999-008 Much Variance (pending)1040809 - PC Report - Yauch Variance.doc Page 2 of 7