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From:JAMES AND BECKY LAMBETH To:Matthew Bachler Subject:Planning Case 18-002 - 3655 Hamline Avenue North - Minor Subdivision Date:Friday, March 09, 2018 7:42:00 AM Good morning Matthew, Thanks for your letter to me yesterday afternoon. On behalf of all our Planning Commissioners, I would like to thank you and your staff for all your hard work preparing the information that enables us to conduct thorough and effective monthly meetings. The City Council will be making a final determination on this particular Planning Case at their next public hearing. Notwithstanding the yet-to-be published minutes of Tuesday night's Commission meeting, I hereby submit for consideration a summary of and elaboration on my viewpoints as expressed at the Commission meeting regarding park fee assessments and why I feel they should apply to each of the proposed subdivided properties. The existing home located on the current property, which is proposed to be subdivided, was built about 90 years ago (1928). In that time, and to this day, it has never been assessed a park development fee. In January of this year that parcel of land, including the existing home, was supposedly sold to the Applicant - Wonderful Home Builders, LLC , who is proposing to subdivide that parcel of land into 2 lots, build a new home on one of the newly subdivided lots, and renovate the existing home on the other lot in order to sell (or lease) it as a newly fabricated, code compliant and ready-for-occupancy unit. The Subdivision Code requires developers of subdivisions to either dedicate a percentage of the tract for park land or pay $6,500 per residential unit. This is, or should be in my judgement, applicable to this particular case. During our Commission meeting on this requested approval, you explained that it had become the practice of the City to waive park dedication fees for existing structures located on newly approved subdivisions of land. Regardless of all that, our Recreation & Parks division will none the less be impacted by the new occupants of both residences, not just the one, so accordingly each lot should therefore be assessed the fee required to compensate the City for the said impact on its P&R operations. I recall that upon proposing a revision to the approval condition language regarding this assessment, one or more of the Commissioners were reluctant to endorse, without comment or explanation. And although the vote to approve the Minor Subdivision request was unanimous, I maintain that the Applicant should pay the required park development fee of