01-20-1998 Planning Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CtTYOF OPONO nlciEdo^i £§ Dave and Pat Spilseth 3233 Casco Circle Wayzata, MN 55391 612 471 7152 Dec 31. 1997 iJAN 6 199Q Dear Planning Commission, We are the next door neighbor to the North of the Silas property. Unfortunately, we are unable to attend tonight ’s meeting since we made travel plans over this date several months ago. We realize we have voiced the following points in prior meetings, however since some time has elapsed since this issue was last tabled, we would appreciate it if you could read these points again in lieu of our absence. We wish to oppose the variance request of Steve and Elaine Silas (3235 Casco Circle) for construction of an 80 ’ long , 4’ high retaining wall within 2’ of our property line. We ask that the planning commission uphold the Orono city code which states that the wall must be 5’ from our property line. Our reasons for opposition are as follows: ** Moving the wall will add at least 175 square feet and possibly up to 400 square feet of hardcover. Elaine Silas has indicated to me that they are already at the edge of the hardcover limitation. She said excess hardcover is the reason that the shared fence and the shared driveway that we have used for the last 17 years had to come out. which we allowed with no compensation offered or given to us. ** The Silas house is quite large for the lot size, with the roof line well above the adjoining homes. With the now 4’ elevated driveway our house looks very crowded In. Moving the retaining wall even closer would accentuate that effect even more. ** Rain run off and the mud,sand and salt that comes with it would go on our property as it has during the construction. ** Snow removal would be difficult to do without pushing the snow off the retaining wall onto our property. ** Eventually the wall will need maintenance. This could necessitate bringing a fork lift or other equipment in on our lawn. ** If a vehicle or person falls off the wall into our property, would we be liable? *• Orono has not normally allowed “90 degree turn in" garage in our area. A "straight drive in" garage would be more consistent with the Orono and the neighborhood. A “straight drive in” garage would create less hardcover. ** We appreciate the Silas access problem; however, we feel that an experienced builder should have known the driveway was much too narrow before building it not after building it and then trying to place the burden on the neighbors. We commend you for volunteering your time for the benefit and betterment of Orono. Thank you for your attention in this manner and we look forward to meeting you at the planning commission meeting on Monday night. Sincerely,