Laserfiche WebLink
Previous attempts to split lots in this area have resulted in comments about density[2][7] as well as <br />being less willing to split "when there is currently reasonable use of the property."... which there <br />certainly is. In 2006 [7] a development with 3695 and 3685 New Brighton Roadwas proposed with <br />less density (it included the same total number of houses, but included 3695 New Brighton Road as <br />well) and there were significant concerns about it - many are the same now, but worse. <br />The future use plan labels this area "low density residential". As platted with drainage, easements, <br />and wetland, it will/could be 3 houses, all 15 feet from each other. That's not low density and <br />certainly doesn't fit with the neighborhood - where, during summer, people can barely see <br />neighboring homes from their back yards. <br />These lots are extremely skinny - lot 2 is functionally 66 feet wide. It flares at the road by way of <br />including the easement to meet the minimum road width rules. It's only actually 31 feet wide at the <br />road if you remove the lift station easement. Lot 2 isn't much wider in the back and has even less <br />functional road frontage if you take out the wetland (with only a couple feet of unencumbered land <br />abutting the road isn't easement of some sort - lot 2's driveway runs right through the city lift station <br />easement). The fact the original property is being squeezed so much that they have to 1) move <br />their driveway, 2) change the orientation of their home so it fronts Thom drive, and 3) still rip off a <br />deck to meet minimum side setbacks[1] speaks to this overdevelopment. <br />These three properties will average .6 acres - with the smallest two are under half an acre and the <br />biggest being largely made up of wetland and need-to-be-constructed retaining ponds. [3] The <br />smallest lot includes the proposed, smaller, lift station easement and is still 45% easement by land <br />area (leaving less-than-R2-lot-size-minimum about 10.5k sqft buildable land, in two sections) and <br />lot 1 is being 74% easement or wetland (or 11.3k sqft of buildable land, split into 3 sections). <br />This is compared to the average property size on New Brighton Road from near the corner of E2 ot <br />the train tracks is 1.32 acres.. all but 3 larger than .9 acres (and those are .62,.69 and .81 acres). <br /> If you include adjacent properties on Thom adjacent to property the average is 1.25 acres. Lot 2 <br />and 3 would set the new standard for smallest properties on NBR by a large margin and be less <br />than 1/3 the size of the average property. While they fit the R-2 minimums, they are too cramped <br />for the area, don't fit in at all, and the myriad of issues uncovered in this email are directly due to <br />the overdevelopment of this parcel. <br />The planning commission has historically cared about keeping lots similar in size and has felt that <br />cramming houses in is not in the best interests for the city. Denied case PC 07 005, also involving <br />Richard Kotoski, involved creating lots roughly the size we are talking about by splitting 2015 Thom <br />Dr.... which has adjacent properties much smaller than 3685 does. With the denial of that case, <br />specifically, the commission stated that "Density was not the objective [of the city]" and that <br />"reasonable use exists in its' current state" <br />Further, the current planning commission has said "Given the wetland and protected drainage <br />areas, a significant area of Lots 1 and 2 could not be built on." [1] and Tim, himself, said in a <br />previous application for development that much of the lot [3685] was lift station or wetlands and "to <br />look at the entire square footage was misrepresenting the fact that there was space to build on <br />and[or] there was room to encroach into his back area" [7] He is right -- even though the raw sqft <br />exists, this is not a property that should have 3 homes on it. <br />Easement: <br />The lift station has been around long before the current owner owned the property. <br />The easement and lift station have been there well before Tim bought his property. <br />The 2007 attempt to place one additional house on 3685 New Brighton road resulted in