The City of Edina Planning Commission on May 28 recommended approval of three front-yard setback variances for 7202 Shannon Drive to allow a tear-down and proposed new home and a pool placeholder on a corner lot.

The variances were requested because lot-line rearrangements and later redevelopment of a neighboring parcel created unusually deep required street setbacks that make the property effectively unbuildable under the current code. Staff recommended approval, and the commission voted unanimously to approve the variances, subject to the conditions in the staff report.

Planner Chris Acker told the commission the request includes a 190.34-foot variance from the north front-yard requirement, an 87.88-foot variance from the east front-yard requirement and a 205-foot variance from the north front-yard requirement for a pool placeholder. Acker said those variances are necessary because nearby redevelopment altered the average setbacks used to compute street setbacks under city code. The staff report documents the existing house, a proposed replacement home and compliance with building coverage, hardcover and height limits outside the street-front setback areas.

Applicant Joshua Siegel, who identified himself and gave his address, said the lot is "a very large very large lot" and that the variance numbers look extreme only because of the lot configuration and surrounding development. "I think at first, it seems like the variance has extreme numbers, but it's a very large very large lot," Siegel said.

Commissioners questioned whether the code could be adjusted to avoid similar problems in the future. Acker acknowledged the setback method — which relies on the location of neighboring homes and averages adjacent setbacks — can produce unusual results when adjacent properties are reconfigured. When a commissioner observed the required setback could be larger than the parcel itself, Acker replied, "That's correct." The staff report says the condition was not created by the current applicant but by earlier lot reconfigurations and subsequent building placements, including a home at 5901 Lee Valley built in 2003 that wraps the subject parcel.

Staff recommended approval with conditions including: reliance on the survey and elevations date-stamped April 28, 2025; compliance with the environmental engineer's memo; and compliance with required permits. The BetterTogetherEdina public comment record included one comment not supportive of the variances.

The commission moved to close the public hearing after no members of the public testified in person or remotely, then approved the variance recommendation unanimously. The vote record in the meeting transcript shows commissioners Elkayer, Padilla, Smith, Day, Bornstein, Felt, Hahnemann and Chair Bennett voting yes.

The commission's action was a recommendation to the city for permits and building approvals; any building permit and subsequent construction remain subject to the conditions listed in the staff report and to required permits and inspections. The applicants also requested a pool "placeholder" to avoid returning for an additional variance should they later decide to install a pool; the placeholder approval does not obligate construction of a pool and will be governed by any future permit requirements.