Laserfiche WebLink
To: Orono City Planning Commission <br />From Scott & Kara Hutton <br />1835 Shadywood Road <br />Orono MN 55391 <br />952.471.9549 <br />Re. Request for Hardship Variance to our Hardcover exposure <br />We wish^ to apply for a variance to our hardcover exposure. This was brought to <br />our attention when we received notification that we were in violation of the city <br />ordinance building code, when we had a shed moved to our property. And although <br />this has not been the most timely response and inquiry we do wish to be good <br />citizens of the city of Orono. <br />Kara and I have been blessed with a little girl however the road to child rearing does <br />possess Its hills and valleys. Kara was on bed rest for 2 months and now with Alana’s <br />arrival she has colic. This has been the reason for our tardiness with this request; <br />please do not perceive this as a lack of desire to address this compliance issue. <br />Our desire to remodel our home and enhance the livability and value started when <br />explored our options to increase our single car garage Into a 2 car garage. We had <br />purchased the property in 1992 and decided that financially we could accept the <br />additional cost associated with the remodeling project. <br />We at first had hoped to have a 2 car detached garage in front of our home it would <br />allow us to have increased our square footage in the home add a bedroom, remove <br />our driveway, and have additional storage in our garage. This was our initial request <br />to city planning and we were told that we would not be able to build a detached <br />garage in front of the house. Our primary reason that we preferred this scenario was <br />that it accomplished several other goals. <br />Address the elevation issue. When we purchased the property, we underestimated the <br />issues regarding our property elevation and slope. During winter melting and <br />summer showers we had water entering into the fiont of our garage and into our <br />living area in the basement. This was not disclosed in our purchase agreement but <br />had to have been noticed. <br />Create a more natural landscape. Since our house is set back much farther from the <br />road, we would eliminate the need for a long driveway. It would also allow us to <br />landscape, with wild flowers gardens. <br />Sound Damping. The garage would also act as a sound barrier to the traffic on <br />Shad^ood Road. Perhaps had we known; we may have requested a variance to the <br />building code, but that is history. 1 might add though many citizens are-unaware of <br />how to properly approach local governments regarding issues of this matter, this <br />includes myself. <br />Our second scenario was our current design ofour home. A modified rambler with a <br />2 car tuck under garage. This scenario was much more costly and did not address all <br />->f our storage i.ssues. However we believe it to be aesthetically pleasing and very <br />' !■ -o <br />'