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I I I Council Meeting Minutes February 11, 1986 Martinson explained that the residents' attitude toward whether or not the variance ought to be granted is significantly differ- ent if the impact is on Silver Lake Road, rather than on their rear property; doesn't believe the issues he raised changed sig- nificantly in terms of whether or not their is a hardship and the underlying issues, but it would be more palatable. Gunderman stated that a viable alternative may be to go to a four-story building and place it as close to Silver Lake Road as possible; Martinson disagreed, stating he understood there would be steps in the building, beginning with one story on the west and ending with four stories on the east. Gunderman suggested having four stories in a smaller building, that building being closer to Silver Lake Road; Martinson was not sure how the residents would feel about that type of a project. Schmidt stated he couldn't recall when council received both viewpoints in a more professional manner, which speaks highly of the residents, the developer, and the people working for and with them and commended all the people involved. With regard to the question of a four-story building and needing another variance, Schmidt believes it is the city's posture to find if a hardship is here for the variance, weigh that against what the intrusion to the residents is going to be, and then decide whether the granting of a variance is in order. Schmidt questioned whether it is the 36-foot building that is an intrusion to the neighborhood versus the variance, because the pond limits the parking area and that necessitates the purchase of additional land to pick up what cannot be used; that can be found by this council to be the basis of a hardship and would justify the granting of a variance. Looking at the other side, Schmidt doesn't see, recognizing the visual impact to the neigh- bors, the building as the intrusion because that is permitted within the existing zoning code. Martinson stated the intrusion that raises the objection is the 36-foot building within 50 feet. Schmidt commended people for trying to balance those feelings, recognizing that it is the variance that gives the council, as well as the residents, the opportunity to exercise some leverage with the developer, and it is then left to a judgement call of what is really reasonable in terms of trying to modify the plan and trying to take into consideration the impact on those neigh- bors. What we have heard is that the movement of the footing of the building 15 feet away, the architectural materials that are going to be used to soften the impact from the other materials that were being proposed, a reduction in the windows that would view toward the neighbors; the question is whether that is the so-called reasonable balance and that's all that can be attain- ed, given the attempts made within the last two weeks. At some point a decision needs to be made. Page Fourteen