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ATTACHMENT D ATTACHMENT AATTACHMENT B Attachment E 38 WHEREAS, City Code §1009.04 (Variances) establishes the purpose of a variance is "to 39 permit adjustment to the zoning regulations where there are practical difficulties applying to a 40 parcel of land or building that prevent the property from being used to the extent intended by the 41 zoning;" and 42 WHEREAS, the Variance Board has made the following findings: 43 a. The proposal is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Roseville 2030 Comprehensive 44 Plan encourages the City to promote preservation, replacement, and addition of trees in the 45 community, as well as to promote well planned and coordinated development. The Variance 46 Board finds the proposal to construct a modest, well thought-out, designed, and situated home 47 on the lot at 907 Burke Avenue that preserves numerous trees and installs the maximum number 48 of trees consistent with tree planting standards, is consistent with these Comprehensive Plan 49 Policies. 50 b. The proposal is in harmony with the purposes and intent of the zoning ordinances. The intent of 51 §1011.04 Tree Preservation and Restoration in All Districts is to preserve as many trees as 52 possible and to replace those trees removed. In 2014, however, §1011.04 was amended to 53 include stricter standards. Three of these standards, inclusion of all non-invasive trees, a 54 replacement multiplier effect, and a mandatory replacement or a required fee have made 55 development of single-family homes on wooded lots challenging. The Variance Boardhas 56 reviewed the proposed plan by the Whitcomb’s and finds the proposed home, and its tree 57 removal, to be designed in good faith and meets the intent of §1011.04. 58 c. The proposal puts the subject property to use in a reasonable manner. The Variance Board 59 finds the proposal makes reasonable use of the subject property given the professionally 60 prepared tree preservation and home placement plans. The new home is not excessively large, 61 complies with all other Code requirements, and limits removal to 6 of 22 trees. In light of this, 62 the Variance Board finds, in this instance, the requirements of §1011.04.J.8 to be overly rigid, 63 limiting home design and placement on a wooded lot. Furthermore, the Variance Board views 64 the consequences of §1011.04.J.8 to be burdensome for single-family residential construction, 65 no matter how well-intentioned this requirement was when adopted. 66 d. There are unique circumstances to the property which were not created by the landowner. The 67 unique circumstance of this request is more directly related to the requirements of §1011.04 of 68 the Zoning Code than it is to a unique characteristic of the property. However, one could 69 observe that having a wooded lot is a unique circumstance for a residential lot in Roseville. That 70 said, §1011.04 and the heightened requirements of §1011.04.J.8 amended into Code in 2014 71 create unintended consequences for single-family homeowners with wooded lots. Although the 72 Whitcomb’s are removing just 6 trees, three are heritage trees that have a 2 to 1-inch multiplier. 73 The end result of removed trees versus preserved trees is a requirement to plant 77 caliper 74 inches of trees or 26 trees 3 caliper inches in diameter. While planting 26 trees may appear to 75 be unassuming, the process is cumbersome when combined with the process of building a new 76 home and the fee for not seeking out lots to plant the trees is overly burdensome for a residential 77 property owner’s home construction budget. Lastly, and maybe more importantly, the proposed 78 home cannot physically be built anywhere else on the property to avoid removal of the heritage 79 trees that are causing the replacement figure to be so extensive. 80 e. The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. The Variance 81 Board has determined the requirements of §1011.04, and more specifically §1011.04.J.8, were 82 not developed, nor intended, to be unreasonable or burdensome to single-family home owners 83 building homes on vacant wooded lots. With that said, this variance seeks allowance to plant 3 Page 2 of