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O~her Proiects: Within the past few years, the Planning Commission and City Council have reviewed town home projects such as Rose Villa, Rosetown Ridge, and the Grandview Townhome project. All have been required to install concrete curb and gutter at the time of development. Earlier this year, Westwood Village Townhomes II went through an improvement project on their grounds that included utility work, resurfacing of drives and parking areas, as well as the addition of concrete curb and gutter. Homeowner's View Point: The homeowners in Westwood Village III feel strongly that their townhouse units are single family houses, only attached. They also feel that their driveway is a single family driveway, only attached and as such, should be treated the same as the R-1 and R-2 zoning district driveways, which do not require concrete curb and gutter, In their letter of explanation, the Westwood Village III homeowners have indicated their feeling that the installation of concrete curb and gutter would detract from the aesthetics of their site, would make snow removal more difficult, and could impact the surface water drainage flow on the site, Certainly another impact is the additional cost of the concrete curb and gutter. Appeal Process: From the staff's perspective, the code requirement for concrete" curb and gutter around the periphary of the parking areas seems clear; the staff has no discretion with this requirement. The homeowner's association respectfully disagrees with the staff interpretation and is appealing this decision to the City Council. The City Code provides for an opportunity to appeal a staff interpretation of the code to the City Council. The code also states that the City Council may refer such an appeal to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation, which has been the City's past practice. Alternative Actions: In reviewing this appeal, the City Council could consider four scenarios: 1. Concur with staff's interpretation of Section 1004.01 d (requiring curbs), 2. Decide that Section 1004.01d of the code does not apply to the Westwood Village III situation. 3. Direct the staff to modify the ordinance. 4. Determine that the ordinance is consistent with the City's long range goals but that the applicants need assistance in meeting these standards in terms of additional time or financial help. One possible source of financial assistance would be the creation of a housing improvement area authori"zed by Minnesota State Statutes. Such housing improvement areas can be used for a number of housing needs and improvements within the district. The City can use special assess~ents to finance these improvements through the 2