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Home My WebLink Aboutltr/memo to homeowner Melanie Curtis From: Melanie Curtis Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 9:49 AM To: 'Roseanna.bradford@gmail.com' Cc: Mike Gaffron; Christine Mattson Subject: 2480 Cobblestone Ct Attachments: admin@ci.orono.mn.us_20110516 153337.pdf; admin@ci.orono.mn.us 20110516_153404_ 001.jpg; admin@ci.orono.mn.us 20110516_153404 002.jpg; admin@ci.orono.mn.us_ 20110516_153404_003.jpg; admin@ci.orono.mn.us_20110516_153704.pdf Good morning Roseanna As you know, after you met with us on Friday I needed to do a more extensive review of the file for your property to determine whether or not you can construct a deck or porch on the south side of your unit. I looked into the file and spoke with Mike Gaffron yesterday. It appears that there are a number of issues which will prohibit construction of any structure which exceeds your allowed cantilevered encroachment of 30"outside of your lot line. The area shown in yellow on the attached site plans is a wetland buffer mitigation area required by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) to make up for wetland &wetland buffer encroachments from your unit and the one next door. Your unit is shown in red. When your home was constructed, the City's required wetland setback was 26-feet for structures. Since that time our Codes have been revised to require a 25-foot buffer and a 20-foot setback from the buffer—essentially a 45-foot setback from the wetland. As a point of reference, the gray shaded area on site map #2 reflects the MCWD's required 35-foot buffer. Unfortunately what I believe this leaves you — regardless of the HOA requirements/allowances— is a deck 5.5 feet in depth from the edge of your home as we discussed on Friday. If you would like a better understanding of the history on this issue I encourage you to call Mike Gaffron at 952.249.4622. There are City and MCWD applications which include wetland buffer mitigation and setback variances, re-platting and other approvals you can seek in order to construct a larger deck, however it is my opinion that it would be quite expensive, require survey(s) and possibly wetland delineations and approval would not be guaranteed. I can review this with you from the City's perspective if you wish but I would also encourage you to speak with James Wisker at the MCWD as well. I do have some good news... I spoke with Mike about the incomplete rain garden, yard and thistles surrounding your home. He indicated that it is the City's intent to complete this portion of the project with funds from the development letter of credit. This would include completion of the final wear course on Cobblestone Court as well as the associated, required landscape improvements. We will not complete the final wear course on the road at this time until the next two units are constructed, however we can complete the landscape improvements at this time. Please contact Mike to discuss this process. Hopefully the attachments will help you a little with the background and reasoning behind what was done and approved. Please feei free to contact Mike Gaffron or me if you have any questions. Melanie Melanie Curtis Planning & Zoning Coordinator City of Orono 2750 Kelley Parkway Orono, MN 55356 Direct Dial: 952.249.4627 Fax: 952.249.4616 Planning &Zoning Office 952.249.4620 Email: mcurtisCaaci.orono.mn.us Website: www.ci.orono.mn.us 1 l �—� � �� ; 0 „ �\, CITY of ORONO �� Municipal Offices r� �,��1��, D., Street Address: Mailing Address: "�'�� ,� 2750 Kelley Parkway P.O. Box 66 .� ��`�,i ��'�;�C' Orono, MN 55356 Crystal Bay, MN 55323-0066 �kESH�g August l, 2011 Rose Anna Bradford 2480 Cobblestone Court Long Lake, MN ��356 Re: Follow-up to July 27 meeting Dear Rose Anna: This letter is to follow up our meeting last Wednesday, and to bring up some issues that did not come to light until after we met. A question was raised at our July 28 staff ineeting as to whether revisions to the plat of Stonebay would be subject to the current wetland ordinances rather than those in effect at the time of the original subdivision. The City Attorney noted that typically a new subdivision by state statute is not subject to any subsequent code changes for 2 years after final plat approval. The plat of Stonebay Sixth Addition was approved in June 200� and filed in November 2005, so the 2-year `grace period' is long past. The City adopted new wetland ordinances in August 2005 that eliminated the 26' setback requirement but established a requirement for wetland buffers of a width dependent on a `wetland protection classification', plus a 20' structure setback from the buffer. The City has not imposed the new wetland ordinances on the ongoing development of vacant Stonebay building lots; to do so at this time would likely render a number of lots unbuildable or very limited. There are no provisions in the Stonebay PUD Development Agreement that extend the grace period or that specifically allow development of existing lots under the wetland rules in place at the time the subdivision was approved. However, we intend to allow build-out of the remaining vacant lots under the original rules. The consensus among staff at our meeting Thursday morning was that revisions to the plat which expand the perimeter footprint of an individual lot or group of abutting lots into an adjacent commons outlot, should be subject to today's wetland rules. A question was also raised at that meeting regarding the appropriateness of going down the path of re-platting the perimeter boundaries of individual townhome lots to allow customization, regardless of the logic in support of doing so for any given site. The impact of this for adding a deck to the south side of 2480 Cobblestone Court is as follows: - A re-plat to expand the lot boundaries to accommodate a deck addition may encounter opposition from the standpoint that it would be precedent-setting for a townhome development situation ("if one person gets to re-plat, everybody will want to re-plat"). Telephone (952) 249-4600 • Fax (952) 249-4616 www.ci.orono.mn.us Follow-up August 1,2011 Page 2 - The adjacent wetland is mapped as a "Manage 2" wetland protection classification, which requires a 25' wetland buffer and a 20' setback from the buffer, for a total of 45' separation between the wetland and any portion of structure (or overhang). - The building permit survey shows the house set back 3' from the south side lot line. Along the south side of the house in the area of the existing patio door, separation between the wetland and the house is about 48'. - Under today's City ordinances, even if the MCWD buffer mitigation area can be relocated, a deck extending from the area of the existing patio door could not extend more than 3' out from the house without requiring a variance to the City's requirement for a 20' setback from the buffer. A deck extending 12' out from the house would require a 9' buffer setback variance. - The code contemplates allowing `buffer flexibility' (revising the depth of required buffer) in situations where existing structures are located in an area that would be required for establishment of a buffer. That is not strictly the case here, and would not be applicable. - It is questionable whether the Planning Commission and Council would find that the "practical difficulties" necessary to grant a variance are present. One of the considerations is whether the situation requiring the variance was created by the property owner. Because the area of the integral deck originally contemplated for your townhome (and all other townhomes in Stonebay) as a matter of choice was constructed as interior space rather than as a deck, this test might not be satisfied. To summarize, a variance is not guaranteed even if you do work things out with the MCWD and even if your Homeowners Association agrees to re-platting. After the staff discussions last Thursday, it seemed that I should follow up with you. Please feel free to call me if you want to discuss this further (9�2-249-4622). Sincerely, . � Michael P. Gaffron Assistant City Administrator