Donald and Katherine Carmen are settling into a home on Sweeney Lake. The single-family house was built in 1968 and sits much closer to the water’s edge than modern building statutes allow.
Zoning standards have changed since the home was built more than 50 years ago, but there’s a process through the city to make exceptions.
The family is hoping to build a 14-foot by 21-foot deck — the current deck is 8 feet by 30 fee. So the family brought their variance request to recent by Golden Valley’s Board of Zoning Appeals.
Jean Rudelius, neighbor and sister to Katherine Carmen said the existing deck allows the family to “put chairs out and stare at the lake.”
“What we’re trying to do is to create a situation where we could get a table out, have family members able to eat outside, look at the lake, that kind of thing,” Rudelius said.
According to Rudelius, the slope makes it difficult to put tables and chairs on the lawn.
This would bring the deck to 29.3 feet from the water; much closer than the current 75-foot rule. To comply with local and state ordinances, the family is asking the city of Golden Valley to accept a variance.
Golden Valley City Council will ultimately determine whether the city accepts the variance, but the Board of Zoning Appeals offered their stamp of approval at a March 26 meeting.
The Carmens had to prove the property had “practical difficulties,” per state legislature. The city asked them to explain that their need is reasonable, that their property is unique and the circumstances were not the result of landowner action.
In their application, the homeowners said they wanted “to be able to eat and grill on the deck overlooking the lake” and said because of where the lot is located, there is “virtually no useable outdoor space to entertain” far enough from shore to satisfy the current lakeside laws.
“Any proposal for being able to enjoy an outside lifestyle on our property, i.e., the construction of a porch, patio, gazebo, and of course, deck, would require a variance,” Katherine and Donald Carmen wrote.
They stated they bought the house in December and spoke of a desire to “do some plantings” to reduce runoff. Rudelius assured board members the family was very eager to comply with whatever shore-preserving actions the city required.
Finally they had to demonstrate their deck would not “alter the essential character” of the neighborhood.
“We are aware of the need to keep the appearance of the house, from the lake, consistent with other homes and believe that a wider deck, running the length of the [living room], is aesthetically similar to other houses on the north side of the lake,” the homeowners wrote. “Many of the homes near mine on [Sweeney] Lake have large decks that span the lakeside of their homes and do have stars to access the back yard. The decks are wide enough to have tables/grills, etc.”
Board Chair Nancy Nelson agreed with this description of the area.
The board voted 5-0 to approve the variance.
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