St. Paul Park planning commission recommends council approve CUP for second garage at 945 Lincoln with engineer review

The City of St. Paul Park Planning Commission on May 11 recommended that the City Council approve a conditional use permit allowing a second two-stall garage at 945 Lincoln Avenue, with a condition that all city engineer comments be addressed at the building-permit stage.

Mister Sparks, speaking as planning staff, said the existing house has a single attached stall garage and a backyard shed; the applicant proposes removing the shed and constructing a roughly 500-square-foot detached two-car garage. "This situation is the textbook reason why you would grant that CUP," Sparks told commissioners, noting that although the zoning district generally allows one garage and one shed, the CUP provision exists to allow a second garage in cases where size and setbacks can comply with code. He said the combined garage area (existing ~280 sq ft plus the proposal) would remain under the city’s 1,024-square-foot maximum for garage space.

Commissioners asked about impervious surface and drainage. A commissioner noted that the R‑1 district currently has no maximum impervious percentage; Sparks said other districts do regulate impervious cover and that the city could consider revising standards in R‑1. On grading and drainage, Sparks said the building-permit review — including the city engineer’s site review — will require the applicant to demonstrate appropriate grading away from structures.

A construction representative for the applicant described the site and mitigation steps and told the commission the yards at the rear naturally drain away from neighboring houses: "We're not gonna be flooding the neighbors," the representative said, adding the proposed driveway will match existing hardscape and that gravel is not allowed in that location. He also described using a fiber-added concrete mix and sealers to improve driveway durability in local weather.

Chair and other commissioners emphasized they wanted any city engineer comments handled as a condition of final approval. With that language added to the draft resolution, a commissioner moved to recommend approval and the chair seconded; the motion carried with all in favor.

Next steps: the commission forwarded its recommendation to the City Council for final action; the commission’s recommendation requires the applicant to address city engineer comments during the building-permit stage before the project proceeds.