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Mitlyng Design, LLC www.mitlyngdesign.com Ashley Mitlyng, AIA 612-267-5413 James Mitlyng 612-558-0198 7 September 2016 Re: Variance Request, Project 16-017 Dear Mayor & City Council Members, The neighbors adjacent to the property at 1536 West Edgewater Avenue have concerns about the variance request. Maureen Shannon & Ray Conroe live at 1528 West Edgewater Avenue, just east of the property under review. Although, they are not thrilled with the encroachment toward their property for reasons of loss of natural light and less privacy, these are quality of life issues that may not be quantified in this discussion. Their quantifiable concerns do belong in this discussion, mainly the severe drainage flow that this area between properties directs. Over the 33 years that Maureen & Ray have lived in their home, they have built -up and continued to maintain erosion control in order to protect their home from water intrusion. Along with the previous owners of 1536 Edgewater Avenue, they created a swale and surrounding plantings in order to direct the water flow and slow down its pace. In addition to the landscaping work, they had to rebuild their garage wall and garage floor because of the damage the water had caused. The Kindlers were probably not aware of the delicate balance that has been struck between these 2 homes and have already created erosion issues by tearing out plantings that helped filter and direct the water. Maureen & Ray had water in their garage as recently as the end of August. By bu ilding into this area, the need for a drainage and erosion plan will be even greater to the two properties. Any current water intrusion into the garage levels will be more troublesome with less site area to direct the water. The variance request is for an encroachment of the side yard setback. This encroachment would be 1’-7” into the required side yard setback. The interior of the proposed garage would be 22’. We are appreciative of the design since it reuses the existing garage stall space. Yet, we wonder if any thought was given to minimizing the width of the garage to 21’ or just enough to exit & enter vehicles . Depth could be added for storage by building out toward the street. Without further study including an approved landscape drainage plan & ground water table height, it is difficult to tell if the space left between the