HomeMy WebLinkAboutPrice 07242023From:Carol Price
To:Melanie Curtis
Cc:CHARLES PRICE
Subject:2815 Casco Variance Requests: Comments for Council Mtg on 24July2023
Date:Monday, July 24, 2023 7:19:13 AM
Hello Melanie,
My review of the eight attachments to your email July 18, 2023 leads to the following
comments:
I don’t believe it is acceptable for this property to be granted a lakeside bluff variance
to add a deck and a shed/boathouse on the bluff when this is not in any way an “in-
kind” replacement of the previous retaining walls. Since little or no attention was paid
to replacing the damaged walls as they existed before the start of construction, these
new additions should be treated as new construction on the bluff, not as “in-kind”
replacement.
Attachment # 1: Shown on this survey: Drain rim: 959.8. Also shown is an elevation
of 958 between the drain and the wall system and lake, which of course means no
water will enter the drain. Proper grading will be required in this area to ensure the
surface water pickup will catch all the surface water in this area.
Attachment #3: Sheet 2. Gates Designs has indicated that the west end of the wall
(left in this drawing) is 957.4, which is far too low to support the earth in this area
which is 963 feet. It makes no sense that the highest elevation above this wall is
being left unsupported by over 5 feet. This Gates Design drawing is not signed by a
licensed engineer in the state of Minnesota.
Attachment #3. Gates Designs proposal to add a concrete slab and poured footings
with a boathouse and deck above does not contain a licensed engineer’s sign-off.
The original engineered design of the wall system did not include this boathouse and
deck, and therefore the loads created by this new structure have not been considered
in the engineer’s plan.
Attachment #4: A drain is shown on the east side of the wall structure, but there is
no drain shown for the west side. Both sides have outlets for drainage from the
bottoms of the retaining walls which MUST BE CONNECTED to pipes that will lower
this water to the lake. Without lowering this water in a pipe, the soil on the back of the
walls would get washed out by rainwater.
Attachment #8: The words in Paragraph 8 read “every third course”, but the drawing
shows header and deadmen every fourth course. Which is it?
Regarding the hard cover calculations, have the latest version of the hard cover
calculations been critically evaluated by city planners? Especially considering things
like the deck, shed, and landings on the bluff, A/C pads, window wells, and the
proposed expanded deck off the lake side of the house.
The engineer designed a wall and put his seal on it. The City received the design
based on the engineer’s seal without considering all of the design assumptions,
additional information requested, design provisions, design limitations, and quality
assurance requirements which the engineer has included in his design documents.
These are conditions placed on the design which, if ignored, make reliance on the
engineered design impossible. There are many such conditions included in Paul
Schimnowski’s design of the subject wall system. Three of the more significant
conditions are:
1.“Internal Compound Stability (ICS) has been calculated for this project by
Criterium. However, ICS is not a substitute for Global Stability Analysis which should
be performed by a qualified geotechnical engineer.”
2.“A qualified Geotechnical Engineer shall be consulted to verify the design
assumptions made by Criterium.”
3.“Additional information requested by Criterium-Schimnowski Engineers but not
available includes: geotechnical site survey and soil data.”
It is easy to see how failure to satisfy the conditions the engineer has placed on his
design may make the design unreliable, and holding the engineer responsible for
failure impossible. I suggest that the City require completion of the soil testing that
Paul Schimnowski requested to confirm his design assumptions.
I also suggest that the City require a Retaining Wall Completion Report as described
in Paul Schimnowski’s April 1, 2022 memo.
Regards,
Charles Price
Charles Price