HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.c. Ordinance Review - Sideyard SetbackCITY OF ROSEMOUNT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING DATE: January 14, 2004
AGENDA ITEM:. Ordinan
ce Review— Sideyard Setback AGENDA SECTION:
Discussion
After discussion of a variance appeal in December the City Council requested discussion on side yard setbacks
for single family properties. Staff has surveyed other communities in the metro area and that information is
provided. We have also compiled some schematic drawings that attempt to show varying alternative setbacks.
The memo attached provides some information to the Council for the discussion.
PREPARED BY:
Kim Lindquist, Community Development Dir.
AGENDA NO: 2C
ATTACHMENTS:
Memo, Survey, Schematic Drawing
APPROVED BY
H
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
Jamie Verbrugge, City Administrator
FROM: Kim Lindquist, Community Development Director
RE: Side Yard Setback Requirements
DATE: January 8, 2004
On December 22, 2003 the City Council voted to uphold a variance appeal which requested a 5'
side yard setback to permit construction of a 3 rd garage stall on an existing single family lot. The
property was located along Upper 149 Street West and is zoned R -1, Low Density Residential.
The current standards for the R -1 District are:
side yard setback 10'
front yard setback 30'
rear yard setback 30'
lot size 10,000 sq. ft. or 12, 000 sq. ft on a corner lot
lot width 80' or 95' on a corner lot
The city also has an R -lA zoning district. The zoning ordinance standards are the same with the
exception of the side and rear yard setback requirements. The side yard setback for the R -lA
district is 10' for two -story buildings and 5' for single story buildings, regardless of whether it is
a garage side or house side. The rear yard setback also is reduced from 30' to 25'. This zoning
district was applied to older areas of the community, specifically areas developed prior to 1980.
The reduced standards were drafted in part to recognize non - conforming situations and helped to
bring some aspects of the site development into compliance. The R -IA ordinance was drafted in
the early 1990's.
Staff has surveyed other communities to see what their setback standards are, particularly for side
yards. We received 28 surveys from various communities; please see the attached spreadsheet. Of
the 28, nine communities indicated that they had a side yard setback below 10'. At least six of
these communities are older more developed communities and would have a development pattern
set earlier in their development history. Sixteen of the 28, including some of the 8 with a reduced
side yard setback variance, indicated that they have some relaxation for the garage side of the
residence. Therefore, in total, 22 communities had either smaller side yard setbacks than
Rosemount's current standard or had a reduction for the garage side yard setback. Most of the
reductions were to a 5' setback although there were some variations depending upon the
community. The communities of Eden Prairie, Golden Valley, Hastings, Lakeville and
Minnetonka do not allow any reduction for garage side yard setbacks. Their side yard setbacks
are typically 10' although some require a 10' minimum with a 25' or 30' total.
Staff has some reservation for reducing side yard setbacks in the R -1 zoning district. This is the
district where new construction is occurring and most typically, have 3 -car garages constructed. It
doesn't seem prudent to give new construction the "bonus" especially since many of the new
homes are large, as compared to existing residences, and the added separation is desirable. One
option the council may wish to consider is using a modified R- 1 A zoning district to address pre-
existing development conditions. The R -lA district already permits 5' setbacks for single story
structures, regardless of use. We would need to clarify the district as it relates to 1 % story
structures as that is not currently addressed in the ordinance. After amendment, additional
sections of the community could be rezoned R -lA to permit the relaxed standards. While this
suggestion may aid some neighborhoods in obtaining 3 -car garages, staff would not expect that
the ordinance would be applied universally. Again, as new construction occurs and home
massing continues to increase, staff believes that greater setbacks should be built into the platting
process.
Another option to the council would be regulations similar to Lakeville. Lakeville side yard
setbacks are 10' but for lots platted after 2/16/99, additional setback requirements apply. The side
yard setbacks are 30' and 50' for rear yards. While we are not advocating such extreme setbacks,
regulations could be drafted that permit a 5' side yard setback for the garage side on lots dated
before a specific date. After that date all side yard setbacks would be 10'.
Of course a third option for the Council is to maintain the existing regulations without change.
These ordinance regulations have been in effect for some time and property owners and future
buyers have the ability find out future "add -on" opportunities under the current conditions. In
most cases the desire for greater side yard setbacks is aesthetic, in that there is a desire to provide
more open space and building separation. This effect can soften the effects of development;
provide a different type of rhythm in the development pattern than experienced in other areas.
A relaxed setback standard may also raise issues of accessibility to easements and also some
enforcement issues. Side yard easements are 5'. With a structure set at the 5' setback line, the
overhang from the structure can be up to 2 %2 ` into the setback, and easement area. Work that
may need to occur within the easement, generally private utilities or localized drainage would be
more difficult. Another aspect the Council should be aware of relates to code enforcement and
exterior storage. My previous experience indicates that people tend to stack or store items next to
their garage, out of their sight but not always their neighbors. This may result in items being
stored within the easement, or even over the property line as 5' does not accommodate many of
the items people typically store outside.
Staff is requesting direction from the Council.
0
O
>,
LOT Li NE--
RESIDENTIAL SETBACKS
APPLE
BROOKLYN
BROOKLYN
EDEN
FALCON
GOLDEN
ROSEMOUNT
ANDOVER
VALLEY
BLAINE
CENTER
PARK BURNSVILLE CHAMPLIN
EAGAN
PRAIRIE
EDINA
HEIGHTS
FRIDLEY
VALLEY
HASTINGS
FRONT YARD SETBACK
30'
35'
30'
30'
35'
30' T 30'
30'
35'
30'
30'
35'
35'
20'
REAR YARD SETBACK
30'
30'
30'
30',
25' or 30% of
lot area
30' 20'
15'
25'
25'
30'
25% of lot
depth
20% of lot
depth
20'
10' minimum
SIDE YARD SETBACK
10'
10'
10'
10'
10'
7.5' 10' 10'
10'
25' combined
10'
5'
10'
12 -15'
10'
35' adjacent
17.5'
SIDE YARD SETBACK
to street
20' corner lot
7.5' 10'
10'
10'
5'
corner lot
IS THERE A REDUCED SIDE YARD
=
SETBACK FOR THE GARAGE SIDE
NO
Y es 6 '
Y es 5'
Y es 5'
3'
g es 5
Y '
Y es 5 '
no
Y es 5 '
no
es 5'
Y�.
no
10,000 interior
-
11000 interior
9,500 interior
10,000 interior
MINIMUM LOT SIZE FOR SFD
12,000 corner
11,400
12,500 corner
10,000
10,500 corner
11,475 12,000 corner 10,000
12,000
13,500
9,000
10,000
9,000
10,000
9,000
80' interior 95'
80' interior
80' interior
75' interior 90'
80' interior
75' interior
MINIMUM LOT WIDTH FOR SFD
corner
85' corner
90' corner
80'
corner
85' 90' corner 80'
85'
85'
75'
90' corner
75'
80'
75'
(1) Golden Valley - when in rear yard
garage setback is 5' from rear or side
propert line
(2) Brooklyn Center - as close as 5' on
other side if there are no doors, windows
or other opeings on the side less than 10'
(3) Burnsville - 5' if there is 15'
separation between buildings
(4) Burnsville - reduced front yard
setback down to 20' for front
porches /additions up to 120 sq. ft.
(5) Burnsville - reduced rear yard
setback do to 20' for 4- season porches
and other habitable living space up to
300 sq. ft.
(6) Maple Grove - not less than 5' on any
one side and not less than 15' total
(7) Lakeville - for lots of record
established after February 16, 1999,
additional setback requirements apply.
Side yard 30' and rear yard 50'
(8) St Louis Park - 5' less than average
of existing, homes 150' each direction
RFSIDFNTIAI SFTRAC.KS
INVER
WHITE
GROVE
MAPLE
NORTH ST
ST LOUIS
ST PAUL
BEAR
HEIGHTS
LAKEVILLE
GROVE
MAPLEWOOD
MINNETONKA
NEW HOPE
NEWPORT
PAUL
OAKDALE
RICHFIELD
PARK
PARK
SHOREVIEW
LAKE
FRONT YARD SETBACK
30'
30'
25'
30 -35'
35'
25'
30'
30'
30'
30'
F
30'
30'
30'
20% of lot
40' or 20 % of lot
REAR YARD SETBACK
30'
30'
depth
depth
25'
30'
30'
40'
25'
25'
30'
30'
30'
10' minimum 30'
SIDE YARD SETBACK
10'
10'
combined
10'
10'
6'
10'
5'
5' or 7'
5'
10'
10'
10' minimum 30'
20 -25' if on
30' corner
SIDE YARD SETBACK
10'
5'
combined
corner
10'
9'
5'
12'
9' or 6'
lot
5'
10'
IS THERE A REDUCED SIDE YARD
yes 5' if
SETBACK FOR THE GARAGE SIDE
yes 5'
yes 5'
no
yes 5'
unattached
no
yes 5'
no
detached 2'
no
yes 5'
yes 5'
11,000 interior
MINIMUM LOT SIZE FOR SFD
12,000
12,500 corner
10,000
10,000
22,000
9,500
9,100
7,800
9,600
6,700
7,200
9,000
10,000
10,500
85' interior 100'
75' interior
MINIMUM LOT WIDTH FOR SFD
85'
corner
80'
75'
80'
90' corner .
70'
65'
80'
50'
60'
75'
75'
80'
(1) Golden Valley - when in rear yard,
-
garage setback is 5' from rear or side
property line
(2) Brooklyn Center - as close as 5' on
other side if there are no doors, windows
or other opeings on the side less than 10'
(3) Burnsville - 5' if there is 15'
separation between buildings
(4) Burnsville - reduced front yard
setback down to 20' for front
porches /additions up to 120 sq. ft.
(5) Burnsville - reduced rear yard
setback do to 20' for 4- season porches
and other habitable living space up to
300 sq. ft.
(6) Maple Grove - not less than 5' on any
one side and not less than 15' total
(7) Lakeville - for lots of record
established after February 16, 1999,
additional setback requirements apply.
Side yard 30' and rear yard 50'
(8) St Louis Park - 5' less than average
of existing homes 150' each direction