05-11-1995 Reconvened Board of Review Packet

Home Browse Search

1995 West Farm Road Long Lake, MN 55356 May 9,1995 Orono City Council 2710 Kelley Parkway Long Lake, MN 55356 Dear Orono City Councilmembers; We are writing to you to officially protest the proposed market value on our home at 1995 West Farm Road which increased $51,500 (from $250,000 to $301,500). This represents a 20.6% increase in one year . We believe this is very unfair because of: 1) Recent appraisal by a recognized professional; 2) Unusability of much of the property; and 3) Comparable valuations of homes in our neighborhood. We purchased the property in August, 1990, for $243,000. Since that time, we have added a one car addition to the existing garage. Last year we completed a recreation room in the lower level which now gives us a 40% finished area on that level. The house was professionally appraised on November 12,1993, by Janice M. Fleming, SRA (MN License #4000193/NMI #03710) at $262,000. Her appraisal includes the garage addition and a partial completion of the lower level. The house sits on the north half of a two acre lot. The entire back area is very low; a portion of the southeastern comer of the lot is a designated wetland. There has always been drainage through the back yard from the culvert under North Brown Road. During the 1994 reconstruction of North Brown, the 12” culvert was replaced with a 15" culvert, which seems to have increased the flow of water through the back of the lot. During recent rains, the flowage of water has created unsightly drainage marks in the ground. Because the back half of the lot will not support grass growth, we are planning to seed the area in wikiflowers this spring. This will not make the appearance of the lot conform to surrounding lots in the development; however, it seems to be the only viable alternative to the weeds which have been growing there. Our lot cannot be developed any further because of the lowlands In the back and also because of the creek which runs alongside the eastern boundary of the property. The only viable area for expansion is on the east side of the property, and this is not possible because of the moratorium on development adjacent to the creek. We are further limited by the necessity of maintaining the alternative septic site. in the Fleming appraisal of 1993, it was noted that, "The subject suffers some adverse influence because it is adjacent to Brown Road, a somewhat busy thoroughfare, even though K is buffered with trees.” Since that appraisal. North Brown Road has been rebuilt to 9 ton spedfications which will undoubtedly increase the level of traffic. A bike path will also be added during the summer of 1995. The western boundary of the property is on North Brown Road, so we bear ttie brunt of the traffic and noise on that busy street. Nearby residents of other neighborhoods enjoy the convenience of city-maintained streets, city sewer, and water. However, the residents of West Farm Road all have private wells and septic systems which require regular maintenance. Since the road is also private, we help maintain it too.