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Zoning File #2339 <br />February 13, 1998 <br />Page 2 <br />2. Does not provide for potential future 'through' road to Birch Lane. <br />3. Does not meet long-established City subdivision standards for serving 3 lots. <br />4. Does not provide public road frontage for the adjacent vacant lot to the west, which will <br />undoubtedly be built on in the future, and which currently gains access via an easement. <br />5. Requires the granting of back lot area variances for Lots 1 and 2. <br />Two factors which also support the idea of a through road to Birch Lane include: <br />1. Can be designed to have relatively minimal hardcover impact. <br />2. Has potential to eliminate a number of driveway accesses directly to County Road 51 . <br />Discussion of Neighborhood Access Concern <br />Please review Exhibit H, which depicts the access for the surrounding neighborhood. Birch Lane <br />is a tiny City road extending eastward from Baldur Park Road. Birch Lane serves 11 existing homes, <br />although its right-of-way is only 20' in width and the pavement is even narrower. Representatives <br />of the Long Lake Fire Department have indicated to staff that Birch Lane in its current condition is <br />a hazard for fire fighting. They indicated they did damage to a fire truck when responding to a gas <br />leak on that street, due to the lack of maneuvering room. In essence, Birch Lane not only serves as <br />the primary access to 7 homes that front on North Shore Drive, but also as the primary access for 4 <br />additional homes which face North Arm Bay. <br />Four additional homes directly east of the end of Birch Lane, are served by a single shared driveway <br />extending northward from North Shore Drive. 1 he northeasterly of these 4 homes has been <br />demolished, leaving a vacant lot directly adjacent to Render’s proposed Lot 1. <br />In staffs opinion, the City would be best served in the future by extending Birch Lane eastward to <br />Tonkawa Road. This would not only provide direct road frontage for the lakeshore lots, but would <br />result in the elimination of long shared driveways seiving the center most lots, and would greatly <br />enhance emergency vehicle access as well as City maintenance access. <br />If sufficient right-of-way can be gained from the currently proposed subdivision, there still is a 300' <br />gap to get to Birch Lane. Obviously, this right-of-way would have to be obtained at some future date <br />in order to make the complete east-west connection. However, if the City does not take adequate <br />right-of-way during the current plat process, such a connection will be that much more difficult in <br />the future.