04-12-2004 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

septrtlion from adloining homes arc now commanding very high prices among these new buyers. Tht current zoning has not and will not alter this occurrancc. The current toning does not acknowledge or deal with this reality. Another factor is that as the land value increi.ses, the new buyers demand proporticmately more eipensive new homes on that land. This has led to the widespread demolition of a great and ever increasing percentage of all lakeahore homes in Orono and the Lake Minnetonka area Many beautiful homes have been lost to this Inevitable desire. Some beautiful and perfectly maintained properties have even been intentionally allowed to fall into disrepair and neglect Uijiwtiiy Iticlr complete destruction and rcpiacanciit by new houses. In order to actually enforce and carry out the current two acre mimmura, the City would have to forbid any re building and/or replacement of the overwhelming miyority of existing homes in these zuning areas. Only a very small hwidful of the currently existing properties possess the required two or more acres of dry land. The City does not truthfully intend to render the overwhelming majority of these valuable exi.sling piopcitics coinpictcly unbuildshle and worthless to fliture owrurri. Does the C!ity intend to prevent all new consiruclion in these neighborhoods? Ihis is certainly nut what has actually been liippcning. This would lead to the great majority of these existing properties being vacant rod uninhabiUhle sub-standard tots every lime anything liappcns tu the exialing houses. Over enough lime, nearly all homes will siifTcr fires, storm n^cct, and eventual functional obsolescence. Stnci application of (he two acre lot miniiiUim would prevail all new or rcplacaDait constniction on the m^ority of properties in (huno and lead to toully vacant, unusable, and wofthlesa properties over time. This clearly was not the intent of the lot size minimum, hardcover, am! setback mniiieiiienls. Ihcse were intended to protect and enhance the property oworni* ei\joymcnl and value, not forbid rod totally destroy it Specifically around Lake Minnetonka, wc have all witnessed many larger p rop erty owners who are very attached to their land and very much wish to sell It intact and undivided, only to find that much mailer adjouiing properties are selling for as much or more than their own larger property. Often sel' ng much faster aial more easily. Hven when a seller manages to find one of the very few buyers who desire and can liTord a larger undivided acreage, the seller rarely reccivc.s the tnie underlying fair value for (heir property. Then some later owner docs subdivide that same property and obtains a wildly higher value for the exact same property. The fact is that over time largo properties usually are subdivided regardless of zoning. Someone always manages to obtain subdivision eventually. Ihis leaves all of the previous sellers who cither did not subdivide, or were fo^idden to subdivide, cheated out of this very significate value of their |>ropcrty. 'Hiis is completely unfair and, in actual fact and result, docs not hold everyone to ihc same zoning requirements and enforcement a.s fairness and equal treatmeni demand In addition, the current requirements were established when only individual sewer septic systems were being used by each and every property in llicsc portions of Orono. Now these areas have installed costly city sewer service (paid by these same property owners based on their specific Int size) to all properties, specifically to prevent the efferts on the liike and groundwater that potential lii^r density would cause or wor' ;n. Unce the city sewer system was luslallcd. it changed die situation dramatically and affected dm juatincalion for Ihc imposition of these old zoning rcquircmcnls. The runolTfroin building roofs, driveways, terraces, and similar hardcover is not the major cause of water quality pn>hlems. Thc.se surfaces do not cunCain or endlessly bleed major pollutants. The major problems are obviously caused by homouwncni who cuntinuously sraolher their homes, lawns, and gardens with evay kind of toxin, pollutant, herbicide, pesticide, and fertilizer known to mankind. One such owner's behavior can easily do far more damage tu the water quality, groundwater, and area residents than huge amounts of clean hardcover ever could, llic aitioiinl of additional natural vegetative filtering that such abusive behavior would roquirc to mitigate is far more than any of the codes provide. There thmild he far less emphasis on lot size, setbacks, and hanicover and far more emphasis on harmful owner behavior I believe the City of Orono should change the 7onmg requiremmis to allow all larger property owners to subdivide to a degree which will match the actual surrounding properties, and in (his way sto|} depriving the larger property owners of their true underlying property value. The City .should change the zoning to prevent (he nearly universal iiced to obtain multiple and extieme variances for any changes tu the overwhelming majority of all P.5 P.fc