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. . . 1742 Hartford Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55116 65 1-699-8612 December 29, 2005 Planning Department City of Arden Hills 1245 West Highway 96 Arden Hills, MN 55112 RE: 1401 Skiles Lane Minor Subdivision My wife and I own the property at 1401 Skiles Lane (PIN 34-30-23-21-(055). We bought the property at the end of November, 2005 and love the neighborhood, the location and the lot. The lot is covered with oak trees and a number of other varieties of trees. TIle zoning in this area is R-I, with a minimum lot width of 95' and a minimum lot area of approximately 14,500 sq. ft. The current lot is 195' x approximately 182' with an existing house that is mostly on the west 100' of the lot. The area of the cnrrent lot is 35,527 sq. ft. We would like to subdivide the lot and create one vacant lot (on the east side) that is 95' x 182' (17.280 sq. ft.) and a second lot with the existing house that is tOO' x t82 (18,237 sq. ft.) on the west side of the lot. Our plans are to rehab the existing house and sell it and then build a new house for ourselves on the new lot. A portion ofthe existing house straddles what will be the new property line. We plan to remove the portion of the house (approximately 150 sq. ft.) that straddles the new property line. To "make up" for the loss of the 150 sq. ft. we will be adding on to the rear of the existing house. The new east side of the house will be approximately 3.9' from the new property line. We will be requesting a sideyard setback variance since we do not meet the \0' sideyard setback requirement for the R-I zone. By doing the above, we end up with two legal size lots and will need the one variance for the sideyard setback. We will also be able to preserve all of the trees (of which there are many) on the west side of the property and all but 2 or 3 trees on the ea.st side of the lot. Our second option is to move the entire existing house about 20' to the west, thereby removing the need for a variance because we would meet all of the lot and setback requirements for R-t zoning. The cost of moving the house is comparable to removing a portion of the house and then adding on to the house. The disadvantage to moving the house is that it will be very disruptive to the property and would likely result in the removal of many of the trees on the site. Our overall goal is to minimize disturbance to the property. We bought the property because we like the house and the property and like the character of the neighborhood. We want to do everything we can to respect the character of the lot and of the neighborhood white rehabbing the old house and building a new house. Oak trees are very sensitive to root disturbance and compaction, so we are hoping to do as much site work and excavation as possible in the winter while the ground is frozen, which would minimize the site disturbance and soil compaction.