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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.a. Garage TA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Planning Commission Regular Meeting: May 26, 2020 Tentative City Council Meeting: June 16, 2020 AGENDA ITEM: 20-33-TA Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment to Section 11-2-15: Single Family Detached Dwelling Requirements to Modify the Maximum Area of Attached Garages. AGENDA SECTION: Old Business PREPARED BY: Anthony Nemcek, Planner AGENDA NO. 6.a. ATTACHMENTS: Excerpt from the May 12, 2020, Planning Commission Meeting Minutes; Sample Ordinances APPROVED BY: KL RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to Recommend the City Council Approve the Text Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance Modifying the Single-Family Detached Dwelling Requirements Regarding the Maximum Allowable Size for Attached Garages. SUMMARY Over the past several years, City staff has received building permit requests that included attached garages that exceed 1,000 square feet, the maximum allowed by the zoning ordinance. Most commonly these have come from new construction on larger lots in the RR-Rural Residential zoning district. Staff has reviewed the ordinances of other communities as they relate to the maximum area of attached garages. Following the discussion that took place during the May 12 public hearing, staff is recommending an amendment to the zoning ordinance to allow the footprint of attached garages to be no more than 50% of the gross floor area of the house (living area and garage combined), up 1,500 square feet. This would ensure garage space is accessory to the principal use on the site, in this case the single-family detached dwelling. Anyone wanting to build a garage larger than 1,500 square feet would need to go through the variance process. May 12, 2020 Planning Commission Meeting The proposed text amendment was discussed during the Planning Commission’s public hearing on May 12, 2020. Generally, the Commission was agreeable with the idea of updating the maximum area of attached garages, but the Commission felt the language in the ordinance could be clearer. Additionally, the Planning Commission felt that the 2,000 square foot limit might be too high. Finally, the Commission discussed allowing larger garages through a conditional use permit. Staff is apprehensive in using the conditional use permit process as neighbors often think if there is a lack of local support the permit will be denied. As the Commission is aware, if the CUP standards are met, the permit should be approved. It seems unlikely that there would be standards that are ambiguous enough that the outcome would be uncertain. The Planning Commission voted to continue the public hearing to the May 26, 2020 meeting to allow staff the opportunity to refine the proposed amendment. 2 BACKGROUND Legal Authority. Text amendments are considered legislative actions. In such cases, the City has a lot of discretion in its deliberations and the outcome of the request. Discussion. Following the discussion that took place during the Planning Commission’s public hearing, staff discussed refinements to the proposed amendment that would reflect some of the feedback provided by the Commission. The first change from the first draft ordinance amendment is that the maximum area for the footprint of a garage is reduced from 2,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet. This square footage is enough to accommodate a 4-stall garage while also allowing some additional storage or shop space without having to construct additional partition walls to separate those areas from the area used for parking vehicles. In the past, staff has required that suggestion in order to comply with ordinance standards. The second change is to the wording of the proposed amendment. Originally, staff had proposed The maximum allowable footprint for attached garages is 1,000 square feet or 50 percent of the total footprint of the principal building (garage and living area combined), up to 2,000 square feet, whichever is greater. Staff is proposing that the ordinance be amended to: The footprint of an attached garage is a maximum of 1,000 square feet but can be increased up to a maximum of 1,500 square feet so long as the garage does not exceed 50 percent of the gross floor area of the principal building (garage and living area combined). Staff initially was not going to add the 1,000 square foot maximum since houses in Rosemount are required by ordinance to contain 1,000 square feet of living space. However, there are many houses that were built prior to the ordinance adoption and we don’t want to unintentionally reduce the amount of permitted attached garage space on those houses. Staff recognizes that the writing is awkward but there are two differing points to make, most houses will be able to have 1,000 square feet of attached garage and those houses larger can go up to 1,500 square feet so long as the structure’s living space remains larger than the attached garage. If a property owner wishes to exceed the maximum expressly allowed by the zoning ordinance, they would have to go through the variance process which would require a public hearing, and findings would need to be made with regards to a decision to grant or deny a variance. The proposed amendment leaves in place all other lot standards such as required setbacks and the maximum lot coverage, which may end up being a bigger limiting factor when considering a larger garage. Text Amendment. Staff is recommending the following amendment to 11-2-15: Single Family Detached Dwelling Requirements. F. All single-family dwellings shall be required to provide at least two (2) attached enclosed garage parking spaces no less than four hundred forty (440) square feet in area and no less than twenty feet (20') wide in either direction. The maximum allowable size for attached garages is one thousand (1,000) square feet in area. The footprint of an attached garage is a maximum of 1,000 square feet but can be increased up to a maximum of 1,500 square feet so long as the garage does not exceed 50 percent of the gross floor area of the principal building (garage and living area combined). CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION Because there is not an application tied to this proposed amendment, the City is not held to the 60-day rule to take action on this item. Staff believes that the Commission’s comments have been incorporated into the proposed amendment. Therefore, if Commissioners are comfortable with the proposed ordinance language, staff is recommending approval of the Amendment. If not, the Commissioners should provide staff further direction and modifications to the draft ordinance would be made. 5.a. Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment to City Code Section 11-2-15: Single Family Detached Dwelling Requirements to update the maximum area of attached garages. (20-33-TA) Planner Nemcek gave a summary of the staff report for the Planning Commission. Commissioner Reed inquired about more clarification on the proposed change to the ordinance, indicating at written the draft is not clear. Nemcek stated that the specific language is needed if we want to permit some larger garages for larger homes. All other setbacks and hard surface coverage requirements would need to be met. Commissioner VanderWiel inquired how many applications come to the City for this specific request. Nemcek stated that the City gets about one application request per year. VanderWiel inquired why the City wouldn’t use the CUP process because the proposed change to 2,000 square feet seems rather large for most areas in Rosemount. Community Development Director Lindquist stated that if the applicants meet the CUP conditions they would be approved for the permit. The CUP process involves a public hearing and if the neighbors are opposed then they feel like they can persuade the City to not approve the request, which is not the case if conditions are met. You would also need a rather large property in order for this to be approved. Chair Kenninger questioned what happens if someone came in today with the request, what would happen. Lindquist stated that staff would work with the resident to change the plan since a variance would be hard to support. Commissioner VanderWiel stated by using the CUP we could at least have a say in how the garage would look to prevent it from looking like an eye sore. Commissioner Rivera stated that seeing that this topic doesn’t come up very often we could change the code in order to not clog up the system with unnecessary future applications. Lindquist stated that staff will take another look at this and maybe the proposed square footage number needs to change. Commissioner Freeman stated that there could possibly be a lower number that would work. The public hearing opened at 6:57 pm. Public Comments: None. MOTION by Kenninger to close the public hearing. Second by VanderWiel. Ayes: 7. Nays: 0. Motion Passes The public hearing was closed at 7:00 pm. Additional Comments: None. MOTION by Kenninger to continue item to the May 26, 2020 Planning Commission Meeting. Second by VanderWiel. Ayes: 7. Nays: 0. Motion Passes City Standard Woodbury Shall not exceed 1,000 square feet or 50 percent of the main floor area of the principal building, up to 2,000 square feet, whichever is greater. Exception: When garage space exists beneath garage space, only the area of the larger space shall be used to calculate the area of the garage space. If the garage spaces are equal in area, only one of the areas shall be calculated. Apple Valley The area of an attached garage shall not exceed the combined area of any living space located on the first floor of the primary residence. Plymouth 1,000 sf, but greater can be allowed via CUP Maple Grove 1,000 sf Lakeville 1,000 sf Eagan The area of an attached garage shall not exceed the footprint of the living area of the house.