[Mpls] Accessory Units - Legalize them

[Dan McGuire]

gemgram wrote:

>   Even though Minneapolis promised to change zoning law to allow such 
> houses to be built, not one of the Met Council grants have been 
> claimed due to the incredible red tape one must swim through to build 
> such a unit in Minneapolis.

Jim,
    Could I claim any of that Met Council money for the carriage house 
we built last year?  We have a 80' lot that was originally plotted as 
two lots so the city thinks of our new "carriage house" as a single 
family.  The zoning folks tried to talk us out of putting it on the back 
of the lot - "don't you want it in line with the other houses on the 
block?"
    This site plan,  which evolved after several other proposals were 
rejected, required a variance because our 1923 house was only 3' from 
the new lot line instead of 5', never mind that there is about a dozen  
houses within a block that are only 3' or less from the lot line.  I'll 
spare readers the details of the year and half of trips and calls to 
zoning to get a building permit; suffice to say they weren't 
enthusiastic supporters of the investment we made in our community.   
Sandy Colvin Roy and folks in her office were helpful and at least 
encouraging even though there wasn't a lot they could do to really make 
things easier.  The net result is that we reduced overall building 
footprint,  increased green space, significantly reduced impervious 
area, improved the aesthetics of the lot by tearing down the dilapidated 
1923 garage and chicken shed and replacing them with a new building that 
fits the block, and got the room we needed for our growing kids and part 
of their extended family.
    I would rather have built the carriage house in a different design 
that would have extended over the 'lot line' and even further maximized 
the space but am generally pleased with the result. 
    I
    Those that object to this concept of housing seem to be existing 
rental property owners and or folks who live in an area that already has 
significant rentals mixed with single families.  The rental property 
owners seem to view carriage houses as competition when it is really a 
quite different 'product.'  My friends in SE who are opposed to carriage 
houses see them as just another unit squeezed into the space that they 
think is already too crowded with students.  One way to address both of 
these points would be to require carriage house properties to be owner 
occupied.

Dan McGuire
Ericsson