HomeMy WebLinkAboutComments for Agenda Item 18Rick 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