2022-07-27 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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I am requesting an encroachment agreement to be put into effect so that I may place a raised garden on the front side yard of my property. The reason I wish to place it there is the majority of my property is surrounded by older growth trees and gets very little sun throughout the day. The place I have selected is the only area that gets the consistent sunlight needed to grow garden vegetables. And it is because of that consistent sunlight last year that all of the grass in that area of my property died during the drought we experienced that summer. This prompted me to seek an alternate solution to maintaining that portion of my property. My plan is to use decorative rock around the garden and plant drought resistant plants and/or shrubs which will look nice and allow me to use less water for future maintenance. I have worked with city employees to assess the location and I have been informed that they will be recommending the encroachment agreement not be approved. While I disagree with their recommendations I do respect their opinion and the authority of the council and I will abide by whichever decision you reach. I designed the garden to be completely modular so that it can easily be disassembled to a position that would be out of the easement area within an hour. If there would ever require any work to be done on the utilities in the area in question digging equipment would be required and any garden dirt would easily be moved in the same manner as the soil already covering the utilities. Utilities that are buried underground as these are, almost never require emergency repairs unless a catastrophic incident would occur. The utilities located in the area in question are electric and phone/cable so that would eliminate the possibility of there being a water main rupture that the garden could potentially be in the way of. As well as the unlikelihood of these utilities needing to be serviced, they are not main line utilities and only service my house specifically. The neighbors utilities that are at the same junction box run in a different direction and would not be affected by the garden placement. All mainline utilities run through the Road Right of Way which the garden would not interfere with. In addition to these reasons it is my understanding that any costs that the city may incur in one of these extremely rare scenarios would be my responsibility and would not affect the city budget. Additionally, I feel like the large trees and their root systems immediately adjacent to the garden would present a much larger problem to city workers or contractors should a need to work in that area arise. I feel that I am not asking for special treatment as I have identified several other properties in Centerville which have gardens or hardscapes, including large boulders, located in a fashion similar my proposed position; or that are located within the Road Right of Way which I have been informed is similarly almost never allowed by the City. Below are a few addresses I have found for your review. Please note that I am not identifying these properties for future concerns if my encroachment agreement is not approved but only to show that I am not seeking special treatment. 1. 1659 Lakeland Cir. 2. 1681 Lakeland Cir. 3. 1814 Main Street 4. 1915 Eagle Trail. 5. 1953 Eagle Trail. 6. 1955 Eagle Trail. 7. 1934 72nd Street. 8. 7261 Mill Road. 9. 7262 Centerville Road. 10. 7248 Centerville Road. 11. 7291 Old Mill Road.