Title
RESOLUTION REVERSING THE PLANNING COMMISSION’S DECISION TO APPROVE APPLICATIONS FOR MINOR SUBDIVISION AND VARIANCES TO LOT AREA, FRONT, SIDE AND REAR YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENTS IN A MU-N ZONE DISTRICT AT 518 AND 526 NORTH 6TH AVENUE EAST.
Body
CITY PROPOSAL:
RESOLVED, that the city council of the city of Duluth hereby finds as follows:
a) Jayson Sundvall (the “Applicant”) is the owner of the property located at 518 and 526 North 6th Avenue East in Duluth, Minnesota legally described on Attachment 1 (the “Property”) upon which Applicant has applied for a minor subdivision of the parcel and lot area, front, side and rear yard setback variances for existing dwelling units on the property, for the purposes of Chapter 50 of the Duluth city code (the “Code”);
b) Pursuant to the Code the Property is zoned as Mixed Use-Neighborhood (“MU-N”), and as applied to the Property, a minor subdivision per Section 50-37.5.D; and the minimum lot area for a parcel is 4,000 square feet for a one-family dwelling on a parcel and requires a front yard setback of 20 feet, side yard setback of 5 feet and rear yard setback of 25 feet (see Code-Table 50-15.2-1);
c) On February 20, 2020, Applicant submitted an application for a minor subdivision and variances to allow the two existing dwelling units to be established on separate parcels to be created through the subdivision process as reflected in city planning commission file no. PL 20-020 and PL 20-021;
d) Pursuant to section 50-37.5.D of the Code, in order for the Applicant to be eligible to receive a Minor Subdivision, the Applicant and the Property must meet or otherwise not violate the criteria set forth in Section 50-37.9 D of the Code:
e) Pursuant to section 50-37.9 of the Code, in order for the Applicant to be eligible to receive a variance to allow the for reduced setbacks, the Applicant and the Property must meet or otherwise not violate the criteria set forth in Section 50-37.9 C-M of the Code:
f) At its regularly-scheduled meeting on April 14, 2020, conducted virtually via WebEx pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13D. 021,the planning commission held a duly-noticed public hearing on the application and at the conclusion thereof and in consideration of the file no. PL 20-020 and PL 20-021 and the testimony adduced at the public hearing, the planning commission approved the granting of the variances applied for as complying with the requirements of the Code and meeting the standards for variances as set forth therein.
g) On April 24, 2020, the city clerk received an appeal from Mark A. Baker (see Attachment 2) requesting the city council reverse the planning commission’s decision to approve the minor subdivision and variances;
h) On August 19, 2019 at its regularly-scheduled meeting the Duluth city council considered the above appeal and, based on the entirety of the record before the planning commission and the city council, the city council finds as follows:
RESOLVED FURTHER that the council finds that the grant of the minor subdivision requested would result in lots and structures on lots which violate the requirements of code and therefore the appeal of the grant of the minor subdivision to the Applicant by the planning commission which is the subject of this appeal is hereby approved and the approval of the minor subdivision is denied.
RESOLVED FURTHER that the council finds that the grant of the variances requested by the Applicant are due to circumstances created by the property owner or the property owner’s predecessors in interest and the need for the variance is not due to the exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of the Applicant’s property or other conditions unique to the property, that existing conditions of the Property do not constitute a practical difficulty, and the proposed variance is not reasonable, and therefore the appeal of the grant of variance is hereby approved and the grant of variance is hereby denied.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: The resolution reverses the planning commission’s decision to approve Jayson Sundvall for a minor subdivision and variances at 518 and 526 North 6th Avenue East.
City Council Appeal Received: April 24, 2020
Complete Minor Subdivision Application Received: February 20, 2020
Complete Variance Application Received: February 20, 2020