(a) Purpose. Zoning variances provide a means to approve deviation from zoning requirements where practical difficulties exist because of conditions or circumstances unique to an individual property. The purpose of this section is to establish the procedures for requesting and the requirements for issuing a zoning variance.
(b) Authority. The City Council shall serve as the board of appeals and adjustments pursuant to the provisions of Minnesota Statutes, §§ 462.354, subd. 2; 462.357, subd. 6; and 462.359, subd. 4, as they may be amended from time to time.
(d) Initiation. A variance application must be initiated by the owner of land upon which a variance is proposed. If originally denied, a variance application for the same item may not be resubmitted until one (1) year after the original denial.
(e) Review. Zoning variances must be acted upon by the City Council. The Planning Commission must hold a public hearing and offer a recommendation on all zoning variances except those that qualify for hearing examiner review under § 2.10 of the city code.
(f) Conditions of approval. The City Council may impose conditions in the granting of a variance. A condition must be directly related to and must bear a rough proportionality to the impact created by the variance.
(g) Findings.
(1) Zoning variances may only be approved when:
(A) The variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the ordinance;
(B) The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan;
(C) The applicant for the variance establishes that there are practical difficulties in complying with the zoning ordinance. Economic considerations alone do not constitute practical difficulties;
(D) The property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by the zoning ordinance;
(E) The plight of the landowner is due to circumstances unique to the property not created by the landowner; and
(F) The variance if granted will not alter the essential character of the locality.
(h) If one or more required findings for the approval of variance applications under subsection (g) is for any reason held invalid, such invalidation shall cause § 2.85.04(g) as a whole to be invalid until amended. The City Council declares that, if one or more of its variance criteria are invalid, it would have adopted the standard or requirement from which a variance was sought without causing variances to become easier to obtain.
(i) Recording. A certified copy of the resolution approving a zoning variance must be recorded with the county.
(k) Use variance prohibited. No variance may be granted that would allow any use that is not allowed in the zoning district in which the subject property is located.
(l) Content. Zoning variance applications must include the following information, unless exempted by the Planning Manager:
(1) An application form and the signed consent of the property owner(s) or authorized representative.
(2) The required application fee as set forth in City Code Appendix A.
(3) Written documentation that includes:
(A) A complete project description;
(B) Specific provisions of the Zoning Code involved and the variance request details; and
(C) Why and how the request meets each of the variance findings in subsection (g) above.
(4) Scaled floor plan, site plan, and building elevations (where applicable).
(5) Certified survey showing the existing conditions on the property (if setback related).
(m) Notice. In addition to the notice requirements set forward in city code § 21.502.01, if the application pertains to a variance within the Floodplain District, notice shall also be given to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing.