The Friendship House located at 3123 8th Avenue South is proposing to construct a parking lot on a parcel that is located across 8th Avenue South from the Friendship House. They are proposing to access the parking lot from South 31st Street and exit utilizing the alley.  The site development ordinance Section 6-1200 requires that the alley be paved from their exit to the nearest street, which is 8th Avenue South.  The Friendship House is seeking a variance from this requirement.  Attached is a letter from the Friendship House, a letter of support from the Southside Task Force, an existing site plan and a proposed site plan.

The requirement to pave alleys that are used for commercial access is in place to prevent gravel from being dragged onto city streets and decrease the maintenance in alleys used for commercial purposes. The length of alley that would need to be paved is approximately 50 feet. Variances are typically based on hardships such as physical limitations. There is no physical limitation that would prevent the alley from being paved. Engineering is recommending denial of this variance.

The Council may:

• Approve the variance which allows the applicant to construct a parking lot without paving the alley; or
• Disapprove the variance. If the variance is not approved, the alley would be required to be paved in order for the applicant to utilize the alley for access from the parking lot.

The administrative cost of the variance is offset by the application fee.

Staff recommends that the City Council deny the variance from the site development code for the paving of the alley.