Laserfiche WebLink
the lake. There is currently a drop off down to the water so the only option to do <br />this correctly is to either construct a wall or cut away and remove fill to create a 3 <br />to 1 slope. It would be much less impact to the land and surrounding areas to <br />construct these walls rather than cut away material and change the contour of the <br />land. <br />Boat House <br />In January I purchased this property with a VA Loan. With a VA Loan, they <br />require zero money down but are very strict with minimum property requirement <br />compliance. The VA told me I had to remove the stairs to the lake and the boat <br />house due to the bad condition they were in, or I needed to have them rebuilt by <br />closing which was not an option. I was able to obtain a “Minimum Property <br />Requirement Waiver” for the stairs because it would have been more of a hazard <br />to not have them at all. They were not willing to budge on the boat house due to a <br />safety concern. I called the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and asked them <br />if I tore down the boat house if I could rebuild it, they said that was fine but I had <br />a limited timeframe to do so. I tore the boat house down and found out later that <br />this decision was a function of the City of Orono, not the MCWD. Fortunately, <br />there is still foundation there and a cutout in the hillside that shows the exact <br />footprint of the boat house. Unfortunately, this does not match the 20~ish year- <br />old survey. I do not have a desire to rebuild a boat house to the size that is on the <br />old survey, so I am asking to rebuild like kind with the current foundation that is <br />still present. If this is not allowed, I will have to build a retaining wall to hold back <br />the earth, the previous boat house walls were achieving this function. <br />I am humbly asking for your consideration in the approval of this project. I <br />have shared my plans with the neighbors on both sides and they plan to share <br />their positive opinions with the city staff when necessary. <br />Practical Difficulty Criteria <br />1. The variance is in harmony with the general intent and purpose of the <br />ordinance. The general intent is to create a safe and secure access to the <br />lake for all while ensuring careful measures have been taken in accordance <br />with city guidelines. <br />17