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Ma~ 15 05 02:29p Kath~ Alexander 952-473-8222 May 13, 2005 To Mike Gaffron & the Planning Commission - I regret that I am not able to be at the planning commission meeting on the 16 th and wanted to re-cap some of the thought process in the design of 920 South Brown Road. It is a very small lot in the area in comparison to the lots surrounding it. The need for lot size and ~idth variances alone stand strong to represent a hardship in needing consideration for a side yard variance. In my 18 years of working in cities in the Minneapolis area -this hardship alone has gotten sideyard setback variances granted in many other communities. I would ask you again to give careful consideration to smaller side yard setbacks that would be , proportionate to the lot. In re-considering t11e design for a house at 920 S. Brown Road, I have walked the lot and looked at the two neighboring houses , views and lay of the land. The house itself is design~ to stay small. The prospective buyers are empty nesters and want a compact footprint -2118 sq. ft.-with a . main floor Master Bedroom. This will be a one level home with a walkout basement. The real issue is -where does the garage go if it is to attach to the house? The buyers would really prefer an angled garage to minimize its protrusion to the front and side. This wilJ not work without 15 ft. side yards. The landscape dictates that a tuck under will not work. A front facing garage would cover more than 50% of U1e face of the house and trulv look like a tract home on a beautiful piece of la1id. An L-shaped garage will work but al~o may overpower the house depending on how set back from the house it can be. It also dictates that the garage must be kept on the north side of the lot due lo the grnde of the land and driveway. This appears to be the best solution based on city requirements. I would ask you to consider granting a variance on one side of the lot to 18 IL instead of the normal 30 ft. required in this zone. Since the lot itself and the lot width require variances in order to even pull a building pennit, this seems like a logical & fair variance lo grant based on the hardship of the small lot in a 2 acre zone. Thank you for your time & attention to this matter. Sincerely p.2 RESIDENTIAL BUILDING DESIGN Kathryn Alexander 401 EAST LA.KE STREET W.AVZATA, MN 55391 ... (952) 473-8777