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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRe: survey-1990 � C ITY of ORONU Post Office Box 66•Crystal Bay,Minneaota 55323•Municipal Officea � � - � � On the North Shore of Lake Minnetonka June 25 , 1990 Bill Kallberg 1015 Linden Lane Mound, MN 55364 Dear Mr. Rallberg: Thank you for your call of June 25th. I am enclosing copies of the survey from our files, and my rough calculation of your hardcover. Also enclosed is a hardcover worksheet, and a zoning variance application. The survey only indicates the proposed location of the house, and does not verify the location of the house "as built". The building plans on file for your house indicate a 5' x 8' deck with stairway leading to the ground. The recent porch and deck addition would appear to be unapproved increases in hardcover above the 25� limit, and may in fact be less than 75' from the lake. Based on the above, your building permit application should include an updated as -built survey. You should have your surveyor certify the exact location of the house on a Certificate of Survey, and show all existing hardcover on the property. Because it appears very likely that the construction in question does not meet the setback or hardcover standards of the zoning code, your options would be as follows: l. Remove the unapproved construction. 2. Apply for a variance. I am enclosing a copy of the variance application for your use. Once your building permit application is submitted with the updated survey, we wi 11 verif y whether a 11 pertinent code standards are met, and if not, we will contact you to meet to discuss the variance procedures should you wish to apply. BUILDING&ZONING-473-7357 • ADMINISTRATION&FINANCE-473-'7358 • PUBLIC WORKS-473-7359 ASSESSING FAX-473-0510 Bill Kallberg June 25, 1990 Page 2 If you have any questions, please contact me 473-7357. Because of the requirement for a survey, we will extend the deadline for a building permit application to July 15 , 1990 . Sincerely, A ~ � Michael P. Gaff Assistant Planning & Zoning Administrator Enclosures : Hardcover Worksheet Survey Variance Application cc: Jeanne Mabusth, BuiTding & Zoning Administrator Lyle Oman, Senior Building Inspector Bruce Vang, Field Inspector MPG/lsv D �� �' 1015 Linden Lane �����,� Maund (Drono), MN 55364 July 13, 1990 City of Orono `��''� 1 6 i�9�; Post Oftice Box 66 Crystal Bay, MN 55323 Attention: City Council Chairman Dear Mr. Chairman, I am writing this letter in the hope that you can give n�e some relief or assistance in Nhat I believe is an overly-restrictive requirement. In 1986, my wife and I maved to Orono after 23 years in Bloomington. We purchased a modest home on the shore of Lake Minnetonka's Forest Lake. We aere really excited about this move, because we had had a cabin near �nandale and wanted to 6e able to enjoy lakeside living every day, instead of just on weekends. This hoa►e had been built in 1978 or 1979 after the original building on the site had bu�ned to the ground. Hecause the lot is rather narroN at the lake, the house was positioned sideways on the lot, with the long sides (front and back? parallel to the side lotlines. The construction af this house included a concrete patio on the walkout lower level with a wood deck above it on the upper level, �th fiacing the lake. The lot slopes moderately downward trom the street to the house, levels slightly along the house, and then slopes rnore steeply froa� the house to the lakeshore. There is extremely little area on the lot that could be even considered as level, Mhere one could place outdoor furniture and be able to set a beverage container without spilling the contents. This Spring, in order to more fully enjoy our property out-of-doors, we decided to screen the patio area under the existing upper-level deck and add a small t8'x10' ) wood deck extension on the lake side of the concrete patio. The edge of the patio is almost two feet above the ground and the ground slopes sharply down firom there, so_ r� can make much hetter use of the space where it was hard to grow grass or maintain natural ground cover. My real problem is that I did not c�sider that this little open-slat wood deck would be a problem and innocently omitted applying for a permit. The construction was discovered hy one of the Building and Zoning personnel who Nas on my property for an unrelated issue. I now find out that I'm supposed to not only have a building permit, but possibly need a variance. The deck may extend into the 75� lakefront =one, but I need a certificate of su�vey to show this. A simple measurement would shoN this, but I am p�esumably not to be trusted to tell the truth, even though a City inspector would come out to verify it anyM►ay. The City of Orono has on file only a marked-up copy ofi the original plat ot survey showing "proposed house. " I have ccmtacted the surveyor who did that and they have no "as-built" survey. I was unable to locate the contractor who built the house, so got in touch of the person who owneti the property in 1978 and had the house built. He assures me that an Orono inspector was on the �ite during construction to verifiy that the house was placed accarding to code and gave app�oval. There was never any mention to him a�ut an "as-built" survey. This person also assured me that the patio and deck were constructed at the same time as the house. Because of the steeply sloping lakefront yard, this person or another owner before us terraced and landscaped the lower half of the area bet�en the house and the lakeshore across the full width of the lot. If I had been the person building on this property, I think I would have done a lot of things differently, such as placing the house further back to allow for modifications, possibly placing it at a different elevation, doing a better job of grading to restrict velocity of surface drainage. I now am informed that an ordinance on hardcover allows 0 Izero) hardcover within 75* of some specified shoreline. There is already some hardcover that was placed by previous owners that is beneticial in protecting an atherwise steep slope from erosion (which is just as important as filtering the runoff water through gra5s). It doesn't seem right to �ae to include slatted de�ks in the definition of "hardcover", especially if the deck is placed over an area that is hard to keep covered with grass and subject to soil erosion. I have �rouble talking to anyane at City Hall abatt this because I work outside the Metro area and they can*t return my long distance call if they happen to be out or �isy when I call. The point ot all this is that the fees for surveys, permits, variances, consultants, etc. will far outwei9h the cost of this little deck. It seems that the ordinances involved are intended to prevent or discourage property owners from making useful, attractive improve�ents to their lakefr�t yards. After all, if I didn�t want to enjoy the lake every day from my lakefiront yard, I would be living somewhere else. My neighbor to the Satth has considerable "hardcaver" in the 75' zone and has such a tall house that my sunlight is restricted, but no one seems to have ever worried about that. I Nould appreciate it if you rrould reach me by telephone during the work day. My number is 507-451-2480 (Owatonna Public Utilities>. I am sending a copy of this to Mike Gaffron, so he knows that I am trying to get something worked out since his letter of .Iune 25, 199@. Yours truly, i���� William C. Kallberg cc: �ce 6afifron, ,Ass't Planning & Zoning Administrator Tos Mark Bernhardson, City Administrator From: Michael P. Gaffron, Asst Planning & Zoning Administrator Dates July 16, 1990 Subject: #1015 Linden Lane, Request by William C. Rallberg Please review Mr. Kallberg's letter, and my letter to him of June 25th. Brief ly, Mr. Ral lberg constructed a deck in his lakeshore yard without permits, which Lyle recently found. My letter of June 25th explains the process for obtaining a permit and notes that there is a possibility that a variance will be necessary. The applicant is requesting "relief" and apparently does not want to bear the cost of an as-bui lt survey or a variance. The attached documentation verifies that a variance was granted in 1977 to construct a new home, per a site plan labeled the "preferred plan" which then was revised by the applicant with a proposed location over the sewer line. The inspections department subsequently required a 10' setback from the City sewer. This might have pushed the house right up to the 75' setback, but there is no as-built survey to verify the final location of the house. Interesting to note is that the inspection record clearly shows that the person who built the house did not call for a footing inspection. There is no verification in the file that the City ever verified that the house was placed according to , Code or gave approval, as Rallberg alludes to, although we also have no documentation that the location wasn't checked. Because this case is similar to many we have been encountering lately, my recommendation is that Mr. Rallberg be advised by you or the Mayor that he should follow the procedures outlined by staff in the letter of June 25th. lsv � 'w. • 1 � CITY of ORONO Post O�ce Box 66•Crystal Bay,Minnesota 55323•Municipal Offic� � On the North Shore of Lake Minnetonka • ' s • August 8, 1990 N�r-.--William C-.-�llberg "��1015 L i nd e n L an� �� ��s- Mound, MN 5S3b-4 r Dear Mr . Kallberg, In response to your letter dated July 13, 1990, I have reviewed with staff the issues you have outlined in your letter. I understand your apparent frustration regarding Orono' s hardco ver and setback regulations. These regulations are enforced when property owners propose structural impro vements to their property. The City has a long history of limiting the amount of encroachment in the 0-75 foot lakeshore setback zone, and has occasionally in the past required people to remove structures that were built without appropriate permits. Additionally, the City has often concurrently required greater reductions in hardco ver in cases where proposed additions or remodelings would exceed the hardcover limits. To specifically address your concerns, I would like to make the following responses: House Location - It is our understanding that when this was constructed in 1978 the City required that the house and decks be located to meet the 75 foot lakeshore setback. As a result of this, the original owner chose to place it as he did. Survey - Unfortunately the issue of the survey requirement is more than just the location of the house, as any structural improvement to a lakeshore property would require that a survey of your hardcover also be done. After the Fact V ariance - I am sure that the additions you made to the house seemed relatively minor, however, they do require building permits. Had you applied for such permits, the issues now brought to your attention after the fact could have been dealt with prior to your expenditure of time and money on this project. BUILDING&ZONING-473-7357 • ADMINISTRATION&FINANCE-473-7358 • PUBLIC WORKS-473-7359 ASSESSING FAX-473-0510 • � _ Mr. William C. Rallberg August 8, 1990 Page 2 Although these requirements may seem excessive for such a small addition, the City has on several occasions encountered persons who, even when told to stop and get a permit, have continued working on their improvements, in the mistaken belief that once construction was completed, the City would be more likely to allow the improvements to remain even if they didn't meet code requirements�. If the City allowed this to continue, people would begin to ignore the regulations to an even greater degree, which would defeat the whole purpose of limiting structure and hardcover in the 0-75 foot zone. In order for your requested impro vements to be given full consideration in the same manner an many other similar requests throughout the community, I would encourage you to provide the necessary survey and hardcover information. If it is determined by staff that your impro vements do not meet zoning code requirements, you certainly have the option of applying for a variance , as have literally dozens of other lakeshore homeowners. If however , the variances required and you do not feel that it is worth the time and expense to apply for one, I recommend that you have the improvements removed, since they would in that case constitute a violation of the City's zoning code. • In your letter you indicated that you had a difficult time with the City staff in dealing with this matter. It is my understanding you have only had one opportunity to talk ,to them and they remain at your disposal for a phone call or appointment. Please feel free to contact either Mike Gaffron, Jeanne Mabusth or Mark Bernhardson our City Administrator, to discuss your project in detail . They would be happy to review past applications where r�sidents have constructed similar projects in which the City required the same things that are being required of you. Sincerely, J mes R. Grabek Mayor cc: City Council Mark Bernhardson, City Administrator Jeanne A. Mabusth, Building & Zoning Administrator �.,�Ic€ Gaffron, Asst. Planning & Zoning Admin. - - - -- � CITY of ORONO , Post Office Box 66•Crystal Bay,Minneaota 55323•Municipal Offices • � � • � � On the North Shore of Lake Minnetonka September 28, 1990 Mr. William C. Kallberg 1015 Linden Lane Mound, MN 55364 Re: Construction without building permits at 1015 Linden Lane Dear Mr. Kallberg: Early this summer the City became aware of work done on your property without building permits. Since you have been notified of the problem, there has been correspondence between you and the City, with the last correspondence being on August 8, 1990 from Mayor Grabek. As of this date, the City has not received a building permit or variance application, nor has an inspection been scheduled to verify removal of the deck and screen porch. � This letter is to inform you that the construction must be removed or a permit or variance application (if required) must be submitted bef ore 12 :0 0 noon on October 2 6, 19 9 0 (dead 1 ine f or November 19, 1990 Planning Commission meeting). If this deadline is not met, the City may issue citations. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at my office. Sincerely, . �y�,� lyL� O Lyle Oman, Senior Building Inspector LO/tln Enclosure - Variance Application cc: Jeanne A. Mabusth, Building & �oning Administrator Michael P. Gaffron, Asst Planning & Zoning Administrator Bruce Vang, Building Inspector BUILDING&ZONiNG-473-7357 • ADMINISTRATION&FINANCE-473-7358 • PUBLIC WORKS-473-7359 ASSFSSING FAX-473-0510 1�1� Linden Lane � ������ ��� ���� Mound tOrono) , Mfy 553b4 ��_�rl\>'�,._'LJ October id, 1?�� [�LSL��- -�-- City, ofi Orono Rost Offiice Box 66 �9� OCT 2 2 Crystal Bay, MN 5':1��� , Attention: Lyle Oman, Senivr Suilding Inspector Dear Mr. Oman; . I am writing this to respectfully request an extensian of time to submit required applications for the deck that I placed on my property earlier this ye�tr without obtaining a permit. I have been in ' contact with the Land 5urveyor that did the original Rlat of 5urvey for my property to find out if they had ever done any further survey work and to obtain an estimate ofi the cost of a "hard cove�-" survey. I have learned that the cost would be as much as ��0Q�.0�, as they have na record of doing an "as-built" or post-costruction survey. This makes my littie �275. 00 deck suddenly very expensive, afite� also a�ding ''in tfie permit fees and other charges required by the City of Orono. I would like the time to locate a survey that was required to be done in 1986 as a part ofi my mortgage process when I was prepar- ing to -purchasc* the property. The mortgage has been transferred twice since then and I don* t know where the o�iginal .i9gb survey, if any, might be. I� I can find it, I believe I can arrange for. a less expensive Certificat� of Survey. In that case, I, need to know if you will accept certification from a Registered Civi1 Engineer or a Registered Architect in lieu of a Registered Land Surveyor. If I cannot prepare the necessary application fiorms fior submitta}. by noon on November �I, 1990, I will remvve the deck unti<1 such time as I can make proper application. I will call you , at your office on Thu�sday, October 25, 1990, 6etween 8:00 and 9e�0 a. m. , to verify this request. I truly appreciate your patience in allowing me as much time as you have in ti�is matter. f�ess�ectfully yours, % William C. allberg