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Home My WebLink AboutRE: landscaping/tennis court /_`>`A.S � ,�� , �,�"..�� ,�' * CLABK cT. WINSLO ' 4�2o IDS TowER MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 55402 � � ��G December 5, 1996 Ms. Jeanne Mabusth City of Orono r. iJ. isOX 6b Crystal Bay, MN 55323 Dear Jeanne, Last fall Grady Newman and I proposed a landscaping and tennis court project for the Bohn's Point circle for which we would pay for the majority. I want to pass on what we learned in response to a few questions/objections which developed. Increased liabilitv - I had my i��surance agent Marsh McLennan examine the question of increased liability with Chubb Insurance. Their liability and casualty supervisors at the head office said they saw no measurable increase in liability from adding a tennis court. As property owners, we already have liability risk from any use (permitted or not) of the circle land and the road. Unanimity of Co-owners - Lindquist and Vennum researched Minnesota law and court cases. In their opinion a majority is sufficient for action. The��are willin� �o write �rono as to their iud�ment. Regardless of the above, because two owners object to the project, it is being dropped. Sincerely, ^^ ,� /I � � ' G.— ��,�,�� - � �!L� �o� �� ,o o� � _ �� C ITY of ORONO ,� �,'�'r��, �, �� ` !� ;� Municipal Offices � "� �;, �` ,� i.., �'ti',� ��.� �� i� Street Address: Mailing Address: ��C'EggO� 2150 Kelley Parkway P.O. Box 66 �� " Orono, MN 55356 Crystal Bay, MN 55323-0066 September 4, 1996 Clark Winslow 1595 Bohns Point Road Wayzata, Minnesota 55391 Dear Clark: Thank you for your letter of August 29th reviewing the scope of the tennis court project and the survey of property interests in Lots 10 and 11, Auditor's Subdivision 349. As I noted in our earlier phone conversations, such a project would require variance approval by the City as a tennis court is considered an accessory structure. Orono code requires that a principal structure be located on the same property as the accessory structure. The code does not address the shared use of an accessory structure by multiple land owners of an undeveloped lot. Your letter reveals that you have not heard from Mike Cashman(.22 interest)nor Randy Green(.11 interest). From your letter, I gather you have already received negative responses from some other land owners. This may be of issue for the City in the filing of the formal variance application. Staff may need to consult with the City Attorney on this matter. In earlier conversations I had assumed that the property owners contacted had voiced approval of the proposed improvements. Your covenants may define the number of votes needed to confirm an action on the part of the joint land owners, unfortunately, at this time, I am not certain how this may affect your application. My hope is that by the time of the filing of the variance application you will have unanimous approval of all land owners. We have also discussed some of the information needed to accompany your variance application as follows: 1. Survey/site plan locating all improvements and plantings. 2. Topographic information locating existing and proposed contours. 3. Tennis court structure must meet the 35' setback from all lot lines or a second variance would be required. 4. Elevations of structure. Telephone (612) 473-'7357 • FAX 473-0510 Clark Winslow � September 4, 1996 Page 2 5. Copy of covenants that govern joint or shared ownership of Lots 10 and 1 l. If the City Attorney is asked to review the matter of negative votes, it would be helpful to have a copy of the covenants. The filing deadline for the October 21, 1996 meeting is Friday, September 27, 1996 (before 12:00 noon). Please contact my office if you have any further questions concerning my comments. Sincerely, �(�'��.�= Jearine A. Mabusth Building & Zoning Administrator JAM/ch Enc. 'iQ�l� 2 ; �,� ""��,� August 29, 1996 Ms. Jeanne Mabusth Building&Zoning Administrator City of Orono Box 66 Crystal Bay, MN 55323 Re: Auditor's Subdivision 349 Lot 10 Dear Jeanne, Following our telephone conversation a few weeks ago, I am writing as a project coordinator for the majority of owners of the above property on Bohn's Point. We are � requesting Orono's approval to rebuild the tennis court that was once on this property ' along with the appropriate landscape improvements. Dale Gustafson will be working with us on the project which we wish to complete this fall. The interior end of Bohn's Point, known as the Circle, is divided into two privately owned ��,+_�. L.nt �? i�th� road an�Lot 1 n i� thP arPa insidP the road circ;le. We wish to rebuild the tennis court inside the road circle. Lots 10 and 11 are owned in the same proportion by the ten land owners at the end of the Point. The names of the owners and their proportionate ownership interests in Lots 10 and 11 are listed in the attached table. I have discussed the project with nine of the ten owners. Mike Cashman, who owns the empty lots at 1725 and 1665, is at his home in Colorado and has not responded yet to my messages. I've discussed the project with Randy Green but have been unable to reach him this week as he is probably on vacation. Of the remaining eight owners, seven of eight are in favor of the project. This represents 57% of the 68% for which I have responses. In regard to financing the project, although nearly all are willing to participate, Grady Newman and I will pay the balance needed to complete the project. In respect to grounds maintenance, we plan to hire a gardening service which we will all pay for as we do now, sharing the expenses related to the Circle. Regarding maintenance of the tennis court, we will follow the same procedure or a smaller number of us (the more active users)will agree to be responsible. 7eanne, we appreciate your review of this matter and hope we can complete the project this fall to be ready for play ne� spring. I�ind regards, � , � ; /J � i `/ �� /Z.lJii` �f�'��1:-�l;^'� Clark Winslow 1595 Bohn's Point Road Wayzata, MN 55391 BOHN'S POINT CIRCLE OWNERSHIP FRACTION OF DECIMAL ADDRESS NAME CIRCLE OWNED EQUIVALENT 1625 Clark Winslow 1/9 0.1 1 1600 Connie Sween 1/9 0.1 1 ' 1629 Randy Green 1/9 0.1 1 1635 Steve Moseley 1/27 0.04 1640 David Dunlap 1/9 0.1 1 1645 Pat Halloran 1/27 0.04 1 f55 Grad�� Newman 4/27 0.15 1665 Mike Cashman 1/9 0.1 1 — ' 1700 Robert Owens 1/18 0.06 1720 Dennis Anderson 1/18 0.06 1725 Mike Cashman 1/9 0.1 1 - ! �I CASHMAN HOLDINGS, INC. 641 EAST LAKE STREET' • SUI7'E 234 WAYZATA, MINNESOTA 55391 TELEPHONE: 612 476 7844 • FACSIMILE: 612 476 7848 September 9, 1996 + � '. . ,, SEP Mr. Cla k Winsl 1595 �hns Po� it Road Waykata,Mi esota 55391 Dear Clark: I have given thoughtful consideration to your proposal to build a tennis court on the common area (the"Circle") at Bohn's Point. I also aclrnowledge and respect the fact that other common owners may support your proposal. I have a number of issues regarding construction of a tennis court on the property,but my main objections are: 1. I believe that such use of the property would not enhance its value and in fact detract from it. Creating an additional hard cover area on a small lot, containing no building and a road surrounding the space is, in my view,very unappealing. I believe it would be the main focal point of entry into the neighborhood. I have a significant investment in Bohn's Point and intend to increase that commitment. I believe your proposal would devalue that investment and detract from the common property. 2. Placing a tennis court on the subject property will subject all of the owners to increased liability exposure. I am unwilling to accept that increased exposure. Clark, I am certainly willing to discuss other proposals to enhance the appeal and beauty of the common area,but I regret I cannot consent to your proposal. Sincerely, \ � 1 �Q.,� �-�, Michael W. Cashman MWC:ja c:09090842 cc: Ms. Connie Sween Mr. Randy Green Mr. Steve Moseley Mr. David Dunlap Mr. Pat Halloran Mr. Grady Newrnan Mr. Robert Owens Mr. Dennis Anderson �/1�Is. Jeanne Mabusth SEF 6 September 12, 1996 Mr. Clark alVinsloyv 1595 Bo�ns Po,ifit Road �n� .-,.,+ � nnin 'ccnta �+r�i�Q1 vvuj��u�, ,::,, '�7d ,�., Dear Clark: After several conversations with you, I felt I should express in writing my objections to building a tennis court on the Circle on Bohns Point. Because of these objections, I am against the tennis court proposal. My main objections are: 1) My home is the most directly affected by the building of this tennis court. It will be almost literally in my front yard. No matter what "play times" are enforced, I will be affected by the noise and activity a tennis court creates. Because the Circle is directly in front of my home, a tennis court will change the view from my home and the feeling of privacy and openness I now enjoy. 2) Because I have been selling upper bracket real estate for 10 years (and nine homes on Bohns Point), I believe this tennis court will � a t �_ �,........,. •� 'a.. n�gaiiveiy aifiec� tha rea� esta�a vaiuc o� Tiij� i iv��ic uci.aua8 i� i�� i�2�t proximity. A privately owned court is one thing - a neighborhood court sited in an open central area would have a negative real estate impact on all of our homes in my professional opinion. 3) I am very concerned about the increased liability a tennis court would create for the homeowners. 4) I feel strongly that hard cover regulations are in place to protect areas like our Circle. They exist to discourage or stop overbuilding on a property to preserve increasingly precious existing land. The tennis court would consume a very large portion of the Circle and therefore be very intrusive. The Circle is open land that has provided all of us with additional privacy because there are no structures or building sites on it. I value that privacy over any proposal to build a structure on this land. Mr. Clark Winslow September 12, 1996 Page 2 Clark, I would be more than willing to discuss ideas in terms of landscaping, etc. that will help to beautify the common area. Because of the reasons I have outlined above, I can not support your proposal for a tennis court. Sincerely, . �_ Connie Sween CS:ja C:0912040U cc: Mr. Michael Cashman Mr. Randy Green Mr. Steve Moseley Mr. David Dunfap Mr. Pat Halloran Mr. Grady Newman Mr. Robert Owens Mr. Dennis Anderson ✓�As. Jeanne Mabusth