04-25-05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION - MARCH 2, 2005 4 Beverly Sabot, 4367 Lexington Avenue, stated it was difficult to make the turn into the . driveway with the speed limit of 40 mph on Lexington Avenue, She noted there the Rodziej's had teenage drivers and this was a safety issue. Roger Sabot stated two huge mature trees would need to be removed if they widened the driveway, He noted the driveway was not wide enough for two cars to go in and out comfortably, He believed the driveway was 22 feet. He stated they were the first owners after the people who originally built it. He noted putting in two additional driveways would not take out any substantial vegetation. Chair Sand noted for safety purposes, it might be safer to eliminate the existing driveway and put in the two new driveways. Ms. Rodziej stated in that type of a situation, they would have to go past their garage and would need to turn around to get into their garage, She noted they also had recreational vehicles where it would be difficult to get into the driveway if the existing driveway was eliminated, Commissioner Zimmerman asked if they had talked about a turnaround. Ms, Rodziej stated tonight's meeting was the first time they had heard about a turnaround. Chair Sand asked if this were to be approved, who would approve the geometry of the driveway to ensure it was angled properly onto Lexington, Mr. Hellegers replied the City Engineer and/or the Ramsey County Engineers would need to work out the geometry of the driveways. . Commissioner Bezdicek stated more driveways on a busy road were more dangerous. Ms, Rodziej stated they would enter in the center driveway and exit out the other driveway. Mr. Sabot replied they felt they could get into the traffic on Lexington Avenue faster with their proposal. He expressed concern that the speed on Lexington Avenue would increase, which will also make the existing driveway unsafe. Ms. Sabot noted most of their vegetation was removed when the sewer system came through. Mr. Sabot indicated they wanted to preserve their large trees, Commissioner Thompson stated the natural tendency would be to take the first driveway. She expressed concern that if these homes were sold at some point in the future, the new owners may not be as cooperative. Letter from Leonard E. Gallus, 1104 Amble Drive, dated February 21, 2005: ~'L I need to have further information to understand how an extra 12' x 100' driveway extension starting by my backyard, and angling across the front of the property and connecting (0 the existing driveway will help the Sabots to access Lexington Ave. They still can only turn to the right and go South at any of the driveways. .