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Commission approves traffic-access variance but denies parking setback for 6821 Weimer Road conversion
Summary
The commission approved a traffic-access variance to permit ingress/egress from Weimer Road to serve a proposed religious assembly at 6821 Weimer Road, finding it safer than using Raspberry Road; it denied a separate variance that would have allowed parking within the primary front setback, citing safety and code consistency concerns.
The Urban Design Commission on March 11, 2026, considered two design variance requests for 6821 Weimer Road, where an existing childcare structure is proposed to be converted to a religious assembly.
Staff presented two variance requests: (1) a traffic-access variance to allow ingress and egress onto the local street (Wymer/Weimer Road) rather than a collector, and (2) a parking-and-setback variance to permit parking within the primary front setback. Staff recommended approval of the traffic-access variance and recommended denial of the parking/setback variance after concluding that several code standards would not be met, including visibility and community-safety related standards.
Staff told the commission the site has a legal nonconforming driveway entrance (approx. 132-foot width as verified in a 2025 nonconforming determination) and that parking in the front setback could cause vehicles to back into the right-of-way during peak use. The staff report also noted there were no agency objections and no public comments from the Sand Lake Community Council or members of the public.
The petitioner’s representative, Peter Briggs, said the petitioner had no objection to staff’s findings: they supported the traffic-access variance approval and accepted staff’s recommended denial of the parking/setback variance. Briggs said the site could accommodate roughly a dozen on-site spaces depending on layout and that existing conditions currently allow about 14–16 spaces with tandem parking.
Commissioner Lenegg moved to approve the traffic-access variance, saying the nonconformity determination and staff findings supported access from Weimer Road and that it may be safer than routing access to Raspberry Road. The commission approved the traffic-access variance (recorded as yes in favor, 0 no, 0 abstaining).
Commissioner Foland moved to allow parking within the front setback but stated he did not intend to support that motion; commissioners generally agreed the parking/setback variance did not meet key approval criteria (sight lines, consistency with the comprehensive plan, and public-safety considerations). The parking/setback variance failed (recorded as 6 no, 0 yes, 0 abstentions).
Next steps: the applicant may reconfigure the site to provide on-site parking that meets setback requirements or pursue other code-compliant solutions.
