Eagan council approves variance for Sheehan rebuild at 4742 Oak Cliff Drive with encroachment condition

The Eagan City Council on Aug. 4 approved a variance allowing homeowners Nancy and Pat Sheehan to rebuild a single-family home at 4742 Oak Cliff Drive with greater lot coverage than normally permitted.

The council approved a request to exceed the plan development maximum building coverage of 20% by roughly 4 percentage points to allow a 2,228-square-foot single-family home and a 652-square-foot attached garage on the lot. City planner Mike Schultz told the council the proposal increases building coverage from 13.9% to 23.9% and that the additional coverage equates to about 466 square feet.

Melissa Wodby, project development manager at Lindstrom Restoration and general contractor for the rebuild, said the Sheehans chose to rebuild rather than sell after a September 2024 fire and that they have lived on the property for 28 years. "They have been in the community and on this property for 28 years and would like to continue to be there for as long as possible," Wodby said. She said the design increases first-floor space to allow for aging-in-place features, including larger clearances and a main-level primary bedroom.

Staff and the applicant noted the lot contains a pond that reduces the buildable area. Mike Schultz explained that the city’s buildable area calculation excludes most of the pond: "the buildable area is essentially the lot area minus 90% of the ponding area," he said, describing the method used to determine lot coverage. Because the pond reduces the effective buildable area, the proposed footprint exceeds the nominal 20% maximum when calculated under city rules.

Public Works staff recommended, and the council included as a condition of approval, that the applicant obtain an encroachment agreement with Public Works before issuance of a building permit for existing retaining walls and a patio that approach or extend into the utility/drainage easement. Staff noted a 15-inch stormwater pipe feeds the pond and that the pond outlets via 12-inch and 18-inch pipes; Russ (staff) estimated that the additional impervious area from the project would cause a very small rise in pond level — "less than an eighth of an inch," he said — and characterized that impact as within engineering safety factors.

Neighbor Craig Reitlinger, who lives across the street, spoke in favor of the variance and said restoring the lot to a home would improve neighborhood appearance. The council moved to approve the variance with the encroachment-agreement condition; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

The council and staff referenced a December 2024 council decision on a similar variance at 1574 Rustic Hills Drive as a recent precedent for approving building-coverage increases to facilitate aging-in-place modifications. The applicant and staff said a redesign, if the variance were denied, would add design and engineering costs and extend an already lengthy timeline for returning a home to the lot.