2025-06-03 P & Z Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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733 Marquette Avenue, Suite 1000, Minneapolis, MN 55402 Planning Report DATE: June 3, 2025 TO: Centerville Planning & Zoning Commission FROM: Phil Carlson, AICP, Stantec ADDRESS: 7239 Main Street REQUEST: Variance Ï Deck Encroachment in Easement OWNER: Joshua Markum Builders, Inc. APPLICANT: Markum J. Olson PID: 15-31-22-44-0080 INTRODUCTION The owner of the single family lot at 7239 Main Street, Joshua Markum Builders, is proposing a new home with a deck that would encroach into the existing sewer easement on the south side of the property. They are requesting a variance to allow the deck to encroach. The criteria for considering a variance include whether the use is reasonable and whether there are circumstances unique to the property, not created by the landowner, that make it difficult to meet the ordinance. A deck on a home is certainly reasonable; encroaching in a utility easement is not. The proposed deck is 10 ft deep and 27 ft wide. With construction of a new home and deck there is considerable latitude in the design and placement of the new structures and therefore it would be up to the owner, architect, and contractor to design the site so that this kind of conflict does not happen. A homeowner is not guaranteed a deck of a certain size. It appears that a deck 17 ft wide could be built that would not encroach in the easement, illustrated to the right. The City Engineer has reviewed the application and notes that the deck would be 5 ft or less from the sewer manhole, which would likely necessitate removal of the deck if/when that manhole needs to be replaced Ï which it will at some point. Record plans for the sewer were not available as of this writing but the sewer pipe is likely at least 8 ft deep, which would require at least a 10-ft-wide excavation area around the structure to replace it. 20