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September 23,2005 Mayor Barbara Peterson Orono City Council '-Orono Planning Staff City of Orono 2750 Kelley Parkway P.O. Box 66 Crystal Bay, Minnesota 55323-0066 -tP S’ ? ^005 Cl rv 0.=^ •jRoi'jo Dear Mayor and Council Members: 1 am writing this letter as a resident of Navarrc/Orono for the last 9 years, with great concern about the development Navarre area. I am interested in the appropriate development and planning for this region. The proposed expansion of the Narrows Saloon with outdoor seating is obviously a critical issue in this development, and I believe that you should vote against this current proposal. While there is already much information for you to review, I ask that you also consider the following points in advance of your meeting on October lO"’, 2005 v/hen you will vote on the current proposal. 1.Is this an appropriate use of the B-1 zoned space at county road 15 and 19? The B>1 zoning (which I believe is appropriate for this area) is designed for businesses and services that serve the local community, and are necessary for the residents of that community. In the current size of the space of 2174 square feet, the occupancy rating is 145 people, this is appropriate for filling this description. With the expansion to 5011 square feet (an increase in space of 130%), with occupancy of 265 people, it is clearly not designed Just for the 7547 residents of Orono, or the 614 residents of Minnetonka Beach, or the 1717 residents of Spring Park, our closest neighbors. At one of the meetings, the owners stated that their main intention with the expansion is to change this into more of a family restaurant. For this amount of space, there would definitely be some attempt at a regional draw from areas outside of Navarre/Orono. This regional draw is especially evident given the fact that the owner’s intent is to remove the wall between the old and new space to enlarge the central room, making more room for the “National Acts” that they advertise on their website. The City’s Comprehensive Plan states that “limited commercial areas will be provided for neighborhood service businesses. The primary function of Orono’s commercial areas will be to provide those retail, commercial and service businesses which are directly necessary to serve Orono’s urban and rural DRMCMHI-23-(IS-|»g*l