PUBLIC HEARING: Consider Request for a Home Occupation Permit for Matt's Plumbing Solutions Located at 5565 164th Ave NW; Case of Matt Ariola

Through the code enforcement program, the City learned of a home based business being operated on the property located at 5565 164th Ave NW. Upon receipt of a notice of violation, the business owner submitted a Home Occupation Permit application for Matt's Plumbing Solutions.

Staff attempted to notify all Property Owners within 350 feet of the Public Hearing. A Public Notice was also advertised in the Anoka Union.

The applicant owns and operates Matt's Plumbing Solutions.  The business currently operates out of a 1,596 square foot detached accessory building on the Subject Property and has three (3) non-resident employees.  The Subject Property is just under three (3) acres in size (about 2.92 acres) and is in the R-1 Residential (Rural Developing) zoning district. 

City Code Section 117-351 (Home Occupations) states that home occupations are permitted in detached accessory buildings as long as there is at least 400 square feet of accessory building space reserved/maintained for the primary residential garage.  There is an attached garage on the Subject Property that satisfies this requirement. 

Also, per 117-351, on properties less than three (3) acres, there shall be no more than one (1) non-resident employee that works on the Subject Property.  The applicant has stated that he has three (3) employees; however, only one (1) employee works on the Subject Property (office/administrative work). The other two (2) employees are plumbers that do not work on the Subject Property, but they do come to the Subject Property up to three (3) times per week to drop off and/or pick up paperwork.  Per the Applicant's submittal, all work is conducted off-site with the exception of the administrative/office duties.

In addition to the Home Occupation standards, Section 177-355 (Residential Development Off-Street Parking) states that commercial vehicles and equipment shall be stored in the side or rear yard only and shall be screened to a degree of fifty percent (50%) at ground level view from the public right-of-way and adjacent properties.  Motor vehicles and equipment are required to maintain a fifteen (15) foot setback from side and rear property lines.  Finally, on parcels two (2) acres or larger but less than five (5) acres, there shall be no more than eight (8) items stored outside on a property.

The property presently exceeds the maximum allowable number of items stored outside.  During a site inspection on August 27, 2013, Staff noted fourteen (14) items outside, which included a combination of personal use and commercial use vehicles and equipment.  The Applicant has provided a list of items will be removed from the Subject Property no later than September 6, 2013, which would bring the property into compliance with the allowable number of items stored outside.  The commercial vehicles/equipment that the Applicant has outside on the property include a twelve (12) foot box truck, an f450 service truck, a sixteen (16) foot trailer, and a twenty (20) foot trailer.  There is also a bobcat and a small loader that the Applicant states is stored in the detached accessory building while on the property.

There appears to be sufficient space to park/store both commercial and private use vehicles and equipment in compliance with the off-street parking regulations.  However, some corrections are necessary to accomplish this.  Commercial equipment and vehicles need to be parked/stored in the side or rear yard of the property and must be at least fifteen (15) feet from the property line. The Applicant has stated that a privacy fence would be installed from the corner of the attached garage to the side lot line that would satisfy the screening requirement.

Much of the materials used for the business are presently stored in a Quonset style detached accessory building.  According to the Applicant, the structure was existing when he purchased the property; however, it had a membrane surface that was torn and weather beaten.  The Applicant replaced that with steel siding that closely resembles that of the larger detached accessory building and the home.  The structure is larger than 120 square feet and thus, a building permit should have been obtained (there is no evidence of a permit for this structure).

Alternatives:

Option #1: Recommend approval of the home occupation permit.  There are several matters that need to be address by the Applicant, including reducing the number of items stored outside on the property, obtaining the required permits for work already completed, and relocation of commercial equipment and vehicles to the side/rear yard of the property.  However, each of these could be fairly easily remedied and done so in a timely matter.  While there are three (3) non-resident employees, the intent of City Code is to limit how many non-resident employees work on the site of the home occupation.  Only one non-resident employee actually works on site, the other two (2) only come to the property three (3) times a week to drop off and/or pick up paperwork and do not conduct any work on the property.  Concerns have been raised regarding noise generated from the business including sawing/cutting and beeping from a truck(s) backing up.  The Applicant has disarmed the alarm when the service truck is put in reverse and has reiterated that other than administrative tasks, there is no work related to the business that is conducted on site.

Option #2: Recommend denial of the home occupation permit.  This matter was originally brought to the City's attention through the code enforcement program.  Concerns have been raised related to noise, commercial vehicles and equipment on a residential property, and allowing commercial operations at all in a residential neighborhood.  While Staff has not heard excessive noise being generated on the property, that does not mean it has not or is not occurring (possibly just wasn't occurring at the time Staff inspected the site).  The Applicant has reiterated that there is no work related to the business conducted on the property.  The City's off-street parking ordinance does allow one to bring commercial motor vehicles and/or equipment to their residential property under certain criteria and while certain corrective actions are needed to comply with this ordinance, it seems like they could be accomplished fairly easily. 

Option #3: If the Planning Commission identifies other measures that it believes would help mitigate any concerns related to this request, it could direct Staff to modify the Home Occupation Permit to include those conditions prior to action by the City Council.

All costs associated with this request are the responsibility of the Applicant.

While Staff understands come of the concerns that have been raised, based on the ordinances currently in effect, Staff would recommend approval of the request contingent upon compliance with the Staff Report dated August 29, 2013.

Motion to recommend that the City Council adopt Resolution #13-09-148 adopting Findings of Fact #0917 relating to the applicant's request for a home occupation permit;

-and-

Motion to recommend that City Council adopt Resolution #13-09-149 approving a home occupation permit to operate a plumbing business on the property located at 5565 164th Ave NW based on Findings of Fact #0917 and contingent upon compliance with the Staff Report dated August 29, 2013.