HomeMy WebLinkAboutre property and what they would like to do November 4, 2014
To Whom It May Concern/City of Orono,
I am writing this letter to share my hopes for the property I recently purchased, 960 Ferndale Road
West.
I have lived at an adjacent property, 905 Ferndale Road West,for over 17 years, and have watched the
960 property deteriorate for much of that period. "960"was on the market for at least a few years and I
watched patiently hoping a nice new neighbor would buy it and "clean it up." Unfortunately no one
came along.
Finally this summer l decided I needed to do something,so I put in an offer that was accepted by Wells
Fargo, which had foreclosed on the property. I am now looking forward to turning it into attractive
looking property more suitable for the neighborhood.
I have already taken steps to do so. For example,almost immediately after closing I:
1. Cleaned up the landscaping along Ferndale(removing substantial amounts of buckthorn and
dead arborvitae),
2. Removed most of dilapidated hand installed dock slips (the rest soon),
3. Removed a neglected, rusted mailbox,
4. Painted the garage, changing the color to an earth tone from glaring rust color, and
5. Repaired and painted structural damage to the eave at the front of the garage.
In addition, since closing, my lawn service has been mowing the yard weekly and taking care of the
leaves.
I would like to continue to take steps to beautify the property and hold it for the long term. I have had
extensive discussions with Excel energy about burying the overhead service that currently interFeres
with the view of Browns Bay [for both 960 and 980 Ferndale (the neighbor to the west)].The poles along
Ferndale are not particularly good looking either. Previous residents of 980 paid to have this done years
ago. I'll need to coordinate with Mediacom, Century Link and Orono, but my hope is to have this done
next spring.The cost to me is not insignificant, likely over$25,000.
I have also talked to Gary Kraemer of John Kraemer and Sons about tearing down the existing house,
removing the asphalt driveway and parking area and returning it to a more natural setting. I would be
happy to submit a landscape plan for beautifying the property in the event I proceed to tear down the
house.
To ensure there was sufficient, attractive space for a future residence, I talked with Mike Gaffron to
determine what the city needed with regard to setbacks. Because the property is a fairly narrow
peninsula with some steep slopes and a pond, it was critical to understand my options before tearing
down the house. Mark Gronberg conducted survey work to determine location of the ordinary high
water(OHW) mark and identified the building pad with a 75 ft. setback from the OHW mark.When I
purchased the property it was represented that the building pad would be a 35 ft. setback from the
edge of the wetlands, as defined by the wetlands delineation done by Anderson. In our meeting with
Mike Gaffron, he indicated that the wetlands were part of Lake Minnetonka and the setback without a
variance would have to be 75 ft. from the 929.4 contour. Gronberg has now located the 929.4 contour,
which represents a more restrictive building pad. I would hope that at a potential future date when I, my
kids or a party whom I may sell the property to elects to build a new home on this site,the council
would consider a variance from the 75 ft. setback because of the unusual circumstances with this
p ro pe rty.
In my discussions with Mike about setbacks and the tear down, he mentioned that the city requires the
removal of any outbuildings if the primary residence is torn down. I'll admit, I was very surprised and, as
you can imagine, disappointed when I heard this considering the time and money I had already invested
to make the garage look nice and prepare it for use. It is a double deep garage with a new roof, and
newly painted and repaired exterior which I had planned to use.
The three things I am requesting from the City of Orono are as follows:
1. Lot line rearrangement per the attached Gronberg survey, making some minor changes which
better line up with the lagoon frontage with the lot lines of both 905 and 960.
2. Permission to tear down the house and leave the detached garage in place for my ongoing use.
3. Verification that the future building pad will be at least as large as shown on the attached
Gronberg survey.
Thank you for considering my request. I look forward to discussing any questions you may have.
Best regards,
John Brooks
905 Ferndale Road West
612-860-5919
Orono,MN Code of Ordinances Page 1 of 1
Sec.78-1432.-Time of construction.
No accessory building or structure shall be constructed on any lot prior to the time of construction of the principal building to
which it is accessory.At the time of demolition of the principal building,all nonconforming accessory structures must be removed.
Accessory structures,which comply with this title,are allowed to remain contingent on a signed agreement stating the following:
(1) Applicants agree to obtain a building permit for construction of the replacement residence within 60 days of demolition;
to begin construction on the new residence within 120 days of demolition;and to complete all exterior work within one
year of building permit issuance and interior work within two years of building permit issuance.
(2) In the event that any activity described in item(1)has not been accomplished within the defined timeframe,the
applicants shall remove the accessory structures at the applicants'expense,or the applicants shall apply for an extension
of this agreement.
(3) If one of the item(1)events occurs and the applicants fail to perform their removal obligations per item(2),the applicants
hereby agree as follows:
a. The city may enter upon the property and remove the accessory building(s).
b. The city may assess the costs of removal to the property.
(4) The agreement shall be binding upon current and future owners of the property,and shall be filed within the chain of
title of the property.
(5) Fee owner(s)of the property, if not the applicants,consent to the execution of the agreement and to its terms,as shown
by his/her/their signature(s)upon the document.
(6) Applicants shall indemnify and hold harmless the city,the city council,and the agents and employees of the city from and
against all claims,damages,losses or expenses,including attorney fees,which the city,city council and agents and
employees of the city may suffer or for which it may be held liable,arising out of or resulting from the assertion against
them of any claims,debts or obligations in consequence of the performance of the terms of this agreement.
(Code 1984,§10.03(9)(A);Ord.No. 13 3rd series,§1,5-24-2004)
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