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� Lake Minnetonka Conservation District Regular Board Meeting February 8, 2006 Page 3 waters that are navigable for smaller boats; knowing that a bridge will have impact to some individuals. With regards to the application at hand, LeFevere stated the a hardship exists as the inlet waters are a dead-end to a dock use area that may not be navigable due to existing vegetative wetlands and conversion of lot lines. Therefore, the Board must decide if granting the variance is reasonable and the request provides for the least impact. Berns questioned whether the granting a variance for dock length and an adjusted dock use area was more appropriate than granting a bridge length and adjusted bridge use area variance. LeFevere stated that the public hearing notice was published for a bridge application rather than a dock application. If the Board were to determine that a dock was more appropriate for this site rather than a bridge, this would require the re-publishing of this application and a new public hearing. Gross asked Harper if there was a dock use area for both the main and peninsula properties. Harper stated that there are separate dock use areas for both sites. Skramstad opened the public hearing at 7:40 p.m. He asked the applicant to provide further background on their applications and to address questions and comments raised by Board members. Ms. Nancy Blair, 5501 Village Drive in Edina, addressed the Board and provided a brief history of the surrounding property and current plans for the bridge construction. The construction of the bridge was described as being picturesque with accompanying landscape. Gross asked the applicant if the LMCD would see construction plans of the bridge and if there was objection to raising the bridge to allow for public access to this wetland area for unrestricted watercraft. Mr. Randy Ketcher, contractor representing the Blair's, stated that he could not enter the inlet in a rowboat last fall due to the emergent vegetation in this area. Although he did not have construction plans, he stated the construction of the bridge would be cedar and would be similar to the dock currently installed. Nybeck stated that one issue the Board needs to understand was that the dock currently installed from the main shoreline does not comply with LMCD Code because it is outside of the authorized dock use area for this site. Seuntjens encouraged the applicant to consider installing one bridge for multiple sites in the immediate area to minimize the impact on the wetland area. Mr. John Erickson, 1620 Shadywood Road, stated that he was a neighbor of the Blairs and he provided some historical background. He supported the application and encouraged the Board to approve it. There being no further comments, Skramstad closed the public hearing at 8:06 p.m. The Board discussed the following options: 1) granting the request as requested, 2) granting the request with