Comments for Agenda Item 18 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Rick Rohrer 1424 Baldur Park Road Wayzata, MN 55391-9303 July 12, 2020 Mayor Dennis Walsh and City Council City of Orono 2750 Kelley Parkway Orono, MN 55323 Sent via e-mail Subject: LA19-000084, Sketch Plan for 1350 Baldur LLC. Dear Mayor Walsh and City Councilors: I reviewed the council packet for the meeting of July 13 and found this as item 18 on the agenda. I live on Baldur Park Road, and am interested in any development that takes place on our little peninsula. I would like to make the following comments on the subject sketch plan. Things I like: 1. The cul de sac would be great. I have to back my boat trailer in from the corner of Birch Lane and Baldur Park Road and dodge around parked cars and other obstacles on the way to where I park it. A cul de sac would make this much safer and easier. Things that concern me: 1. The lots that are proposed are significantly undersized and would not be in keeping with the character of our lakeshore. They threaten the integrity of the neighboring wetlands, and provide little assurance that the floodplain would be preserved. 2. I understand all land beyond 1376 Baldur Park Road on the peninsula’s tip belongs to the same party. Like the planning commission, I would like to see the overall plan for all of this land so we can understand the full impact of its development. 3. I attach two aerial photos of the subject property, dated 2000 and 2018 (following pages). In the indicated areas, you can see that sometime in the interval a wetland has been filled and what looks like five rental docks have been installed. I don’t know if these changes were properly permitted, but it seems unlikely to me. My question is: Can we trust this landowner? If not, then why should the city grant any variances? Cordially yours, Rick Rohrer