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1205 Tonkawa Rd <br />Variance Application Narrative <br />After living on the property for more than 15 years and planning the construction of a new <br />home, our clients, the homeowners, are looking to replace their existing boathouse with a <br />new structure that (1) is not dilapidated or a visual nuisance to the views of the property <br />from the lake, road, and neighboring properties; and (2) provides greater enjoyment of the <br />lake as a recreational opportunity for themselves and their multi-generational family and <br />guests. <br />Their new home is already under construction on the property. No variances or conditional <br />use permits were required for that project. <br />The existing boathouse is a cinderblock structure built in the 1960s without a true <br />foundation. Over time, the Minnesota winters have caused the block walls to crack and the <br />columns at the open storage area to shift and lean, leading to concerns over the safety of <br />the structure. It has been the homeowners desire since purchasing the property to replace <br />this structure. <br />The purpose of this application is threefold. (1) To increase the allowable height of an <br />accessory structure by 1’-0” above the existing volume so that the lowest opening elevation <br />of the proposed boathouse conforms with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District’s <br />(MCWD) requirement of 933.5’ ASL. This is more stringent than the 932.5’ ASL provision of <br />the City of Orono for lowest floor elevation as we will discuss shortly. (2) to request a <br />variance from the 15’-0” fill bench requirement per section 78-1125(a) of the Orono Code. <br />And (3) to request a variance for plumbing in an accessory building. <br />Any grading that will accompany this project has been specifically designed to not only <br />enhance the natural character of the lakeshore, but also to ensure that no net addition of <br />fill will take place below the regulatory flood protection elevation. <br />1. Setback Variance (to allow building volume expansions within the average lakeshore <br />and 75-foot setbacks) <br />Without the MCWD provision, the boathouse as designed would meet all necessary <br />requirements of the City of Orono. The two key requirements for the boathouse from the <br />City of Orono are (1) the lowest floor elevation must be one foot higher than the 100-year <br />flood elevation and (2) the new structure must be constructed within the volume of the <br />existing structure (in kind replacement). In this case, the City requires a lowest floor <br />elevation of 932.5’ ASL which we could meet even as this means raising the floor above the <br />current elevation of 932.1’ASL. The roof height of the existing boathouse varies as it has a <br />sloping shed roof. Using the lowest height of the existing roof (940.77’ ASL) as our <br />88