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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2022-112 As Approved Pro-Tech Draft Variances ResolutionCity of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota RESOLUTION IMU. 2022-112 Motion By: Nichols Seconded By: Vehrenkamp September 22, 2022 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THREE VARIANCES FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 7591 COMMERCE STREET (PID 26-119-23-11-0020) (CITY FILE NO. 22-048) WHEREAS, Tom and Dan Gleason of Pro -Tech A site plan and conditional use permits to allow for th property legally described as follows: SEE A T TA CHMEN T A to Repair ("the applicant") request approval of a expansion of their auto repair business on WHEREAS, the proposed site plan requires approval of the following three variances: 1. A 23 ft. wide drive aisle for the southern drive aisle where a width of 26 ft. would otherwise be required. 2. A 5 ft. setback for the western drive aisle where a setback of 10 ft. would otherwise be required. 3. Expansion of anon -conforming parking area to allow 6 spaces where 4 were approved previously. WHEREAS, the Planning Commission reviewed the site plan, conditional use permits, and variances at a duly called public hearing. WHEREAS, the Planning Commission recommends approval of all but the variance to allow a width of 23 ft. for the southern drive aisle. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CORCORAN, MINNESOTA, that it should and hereby does approve the request, subject to the following findings and conditions. 1. Approvals are granted based on the application materials received by the City on August 2, 2022 and August 11, 2022 unless otherwise amended in this Resolution. 2. The requested variance to allow the southern drive aisle to have a width of 23 ft. where 26 ft. is required is approved based on the following findings: a. There are practical difficulties in complying with the Zoning Ordinance. The 26 ft. drive aisle width standard was contemplated for back-to-back 90-degree parking, and the Ordinance does not contemplate the use of different styles of parking perpendicular to each other. A drive aisle width of 23 ft. is reasonable to support parking as well as circulation of vehicles and pedestrians on the site, especially since the 90-degree parking is perpendicular to parallel parking spots. It does not appear that the request is primarily economic based as this area of the site has limited options to expand the drive aisle width. Further, the effective drive aisle as the site is used today is 19 ft. Therefore, the proposed width of 23 ft. will reduce Page 1 of 7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota RESOLUTION NO. 2022-112 September 22, 2022 the existing nonconformity and bring the site closer into compliance with the Zoning Ordinance's standards. b. The conditions upon which the petition for a variation is based are unique to the parcel of land for which the variance is sought and were not created by the landowner. The placement of the building and presence of mature landscaping near the south property line create physical conditions unique to the site that limit further expansion of the drive aisle width without needing a variance from the setback requirement. The drive aisle width standard was not adopted when the placement of the building was decided, and this change in City Code was not foreseeable to the property owner. Therefore, the need for a variance is not the result of circumstances created by the landowner. c. The granting of the variation will not alter the essential character of the locality. The variance will increase the existing 19 ft. drive aisle to 23 ft. and will allow Pro -Tech to keep more vehicles on site rather than depending on the public street for overflow parking. d. The proposed variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the ordinance. The general intent of the 26 ft. drive aisle width is to safely accommodate two-way traffic and pedestrians. The City Engineer confirmed a 23 ft. drive aisle width is enough to safely support two-way vehicle traffic as well as provide safe passage for pedestrians on the site. e. The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Granting the variance allows Pro -Tech to improve and expand their business within Corcoran. This result aligns with the vision of the Comprehensive Plan as ProJech's presence in the community provides local employment and diversifies the tax base. Granting the variance accomplishes the City's goal to support and promote existing, viable businesses that are responsive to the needs of the growing community. The proposed variance does not conflict with the light industrial land use designation which is "intended to provide a full range of industrial, manufacturing, warehousing, and similar uses with limited outside storage." f. The City identifies the following condition of approval to address the impact of granting the variance: i. The applicant must stripe the parking lot to clearly define the parking spaces and drive aisle. 3. The requested variance to allow a 5 ft. setback for the western drive aisle where 10 ft. is required is approved based on the following findings: a. There are practical difficulties in complying with the Zoning Ordinance standards. Allowing the western drive aisle to remain will facilitate safe circulation of oversized and emergency vehicles within the site. Without granting the variance, the drive aisle would need to be reduced in width or removed sacrificing its utility for internal vehicle circulation. Presently, the drive aisle is not setback from the property line, so a 5 ft. setback will reduce the nonconformity and bring the site Page 2 of 7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota RESOLUTION NO. 2022-112 September 22, 2022 closer into conformance with Ordinance standards. The 5 ft. setback will allow the drive aisle to be increased in width to 20 ft. to provide a necessary turnaround for emergency vehicles without placing the drive aisle too close to the building. The primary motivation for the variance appears to be based on the need for internal circulation of oversized and emergency vehicles and does not appear to be primarily motivated by financial considerations. The requested variance is reasonable since a practical turn -around alternative for emergency vehicles does not exist. b. The conditions upon which a petition for a variation is based are unique to the parcel of land for which the variance is sought and were not created by the landowner. There is a 30 ft. distance between the western fagade of the building and the western property line. A 10 ft. setback is required to comply with City Code and a 20 ft. drive aisle width is required to comply with Fire Code. Without the variance, the drive aisle would go directly up to the building which creates a safety concern and a conflict with an existing service door on the western fagade. The situation is not created by the landowner since the 20 ft. drive aisle width and 10 ft. setback were not foreseeable to the property owner when the original building placement was determined. It would create a hardship to require the applicants to move the existing building further away from the western property line in order to accommodate the Zoning Ordinance and Fire Code without a variance. c. Granting the variation will not alter the essential character of the downtown industrial district. The drive aisle is already in use today and implementing a 5 ftm setback would reduce the existing effects on the neighboring property. The property to the west has an existing fence and mature landscaping that provides screening between the two properties. d. The proposed variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the Zoning Ordinance. The setback is required to keep vehicle traffic separated from a shared lot line and protect drainage patterns between neighboring properties. In this instance, both goals can be accomplished with a 5 ft. setback. The closest the proposed drive aisle would be to the neighboring building is roughly 26 ft. when a minimum separation of 30 ft would otherwise be required. A 26 ft. separation is sufficient in this instance to meet the City's goals. e. The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Granting the setback variance will allow Pro -Tech to improve and expand their business within Corcoran. The variance is consistent with the vision of the Comprehensive Plan as Pro-Tech's presence in the community provides local employment and diversifies the tax base. Granting the variance will accomplish the City's goal to support and promote existing, viable businesses that are responsive to the needs of the growing community. The variance does not conflict with the light industrial land use designation in the Comprehensive plan which is "intended to provide a full range of industrial, manufacturing, warehousing, and similar uses with limited outside storage." Page3of7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota REOULU I I®N No. 2022-112 September 22, 2022 f. The City identifies the following conditions of approval to address the impact 01 granting the variance. i. The applicant must remove the portion of the western drive aisle that has encroached onto the neighboring property to the west. ii. The applicant must restore the portion of land that was impacted by the encroachment of the drive aisle. iii. The applicant must enter into an encroachment agreement with the City to allow the drive aisle to be located within the drainage and utility easement. 4. The requested variance to allow 6 nonconforming parking spaces with a setback of 20 ft. where 4 parking spaces were approved in the 2000 site plan prior to the City 's adoption of a 50 ft. setback is approved based on the following findings. a. There are practical difficulties in complying with the Zoning Ordinance. The Zoning Ordinance does not allow for the expansion of a nonconforming use. However, it is reasonable to allow the variance as this area of the parking lot is subject to a 20 ft. setback regardless of the number of striped parking stalls, and the area reasonably accommodates 6 vehicles presently. While increasing the number of approved spaces from 4 to 6 is technically an expansion of a nonconforming use, the setback in this area of the site is not changing; therefore, the nonconforming setback will not be further intensified. The motivation behind the requested variance seems to be primarily based in convenience for customers so that parking is near the office. The primary motivation of the variance does not appear to be financially based. b. The conditions upon which the petition for a variation is based are unique to the parcel of land for which the variance is sought and were not created by the landowner. The previously established location of the building and parking areas in relation to the property line creates a physical condition unique to this property. Adding parking spaces near the office that meet a 50 ft. setback will cause a conflict with other established parking spots and the eastern drive aisle. The building and existing parking locations were determined long before a 50' parking setback from the front property line was established and the change in setback was not reasonably foreseeable to the property owner. Therefore, the constraining conditions were not created by the landowner. c. Granting the variation will not alter the essential character of the locality. Officially approving 2 more parking spaces subject to a 20 ft. setback within the same area originally approved for 4 more spaces will not alter the essential character of the downtown industrial neighborhood. Since the parking area is not striped, the space regularly accommodates 6 vehicles presently. There is existing vegetation along the front property line that successfully screens most of the parking and vehicle headlights from the surrounding locality. Formally delineating the proposed 6 parking spaces is unlikely to disturb the surrounding properties if Page 4 of 7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota RESOLUTION No. 2022-112 September 22, 2022 additional landscaping is installed to screen the 2 newly approved parking spaces. d. The proposed variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the Zoning Ordinance, The 50 ft. front setback was established to retain visible green space and rural character. Formalizing 2 more parking spots at a 20 ft. setback will not reduce green space in this portion of the site, particularly if more vegetation is added to meet the screening requirements for parking. Adding 2 nonconforming parking spaces is not in conflict with the rural character of Corcoran. e. The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Granting an expansion of the nonconforming parking area by 2 spaces will allow Pro -Tech to improve ir business within Corcoran. The variance is consistent with the and expand the vision of the Comprehensive Plan as Pro-Tech's presence in the community provides local employment and diversifies the tax base. Granting the variance will accomplish the City's goal to support and promote existing, viable businesses that are responsive to the needs of the growing community. The variance does not conflict with the light industrial land use designation in the Comprehensive plan which is "intended to provide a full range of industrial, manufacturing, warehousing, and similar uses with limited outside storage." f. The City identifies the f the variance: ing ollowconditions of approval to address the impact of i. The applicant must stripe the parking spaces to avoid further unapproved expansion of the parking area. ii. The applicant must install landscaping to accomplish the screening requirements in Section 1060.070 for parking areas with 4 or more spaces. 5. The approving resolution must be recorded with Hennepin County prior to release of the applicant's escrow account with the City. Page 5 of 7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesotewl a RESOLUTION NU. 2022-112 VOTING AYE ® McKee, Tom ❑ Bottema, Jon ® Nichols, Jeremy ❑ Schultz, Alan ® Vehrenkamp, Dean September 22, 2022 VOTING NAY ❑ McKee, Tom ❑ Bottema, Jon ❑ Nichols, Jeremy ❑ Schultz, Alan ❑ Vehrenkamp, Dean Whereupon, said Resolution is hereby declared adopted on this 22nd day of September 20220 ATTEST: Mich�lie Friedrich —City Clerk Tom McKe ayor City Seal Page6of7 City of Corcoran County of Hennepin State of Minnesota RESOLUTION INUm 2022-112 AttachIV" tA Lof 2, Block 1, COUNTRYSIDE PLAZA, Hennepin County, Minnesota, according to the recorded plat thereof. September 22, 2022 Page 7 of 7