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Variance Standards Worksheet <br /> <br />A variance cannot be approved unless the Planning Commission and City Council <br />find that the following standards have been met. Please provide a response as to <br />how/why your project will meet these criteria. Use additional sheets if necessary and <br />consult with the Planning Director at your Pre-Application Meeting if you need <br />clarification on the intent of any of the below standards. <br /> <br />Variance #2 – Sec. 11-030 (3) The number of parking stalls as required for a 9-12 <br />school <br /> <br />1) Practical difficulties <br />The site is limited in area and abutted by the Rice Creek wetland to the east. The <br />Ordinance requires a stall per classroom and one stall for every 4.5 students. The <br />school is already does not meet the required number of spaces needed. This <br />calculation would require 488 onsite parking spaces and the site currently only has <br />426, creating a deficit of 62 parking spots. With the proposed additions, the school <br />would need to meet 517 parking stalls. The school plans to use an existing practice <br />field as a new parking lot to create new spots along with expanding the existing <br />parking lots to create 496 parking stalls total. The proposal would lower the deficit to <br />21 spots under the city parking requirement. <br />2) Reasonable use <br />The proposed parking lot additions will be approximately the same percentage short <br />as the site currently is. The school sells permits to students to park within the lot, <br />limiting the number of students who drive to school already. <br />3) Applying to property <br />The school site is limited in area and has no direction to expand. The School plans <br />to turn an existing practice field on the north side of the site into a parking lot, carve <br />out areas of the site to create parking spots, as well as expand out several other <br />parking lots beyond the setbacks to gain as many parking stalls as possible. <br />4) Character of the locality <br />The project will not change the local character. The site already has several large <br />parking lots, the largest of which will become smaller because of the construction <br />project. It will also provide a larger parking lot by Rice Creek Park the community <br />may use. <br />5) Consistency with Comprehensive Plan <br />The School is a permitted function within the R-1 Zone. The site is currently fully <br />used and is looking to try to create as many off the street parking stalls as possible.