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� To: Mayoi• Craig Klausing Members of the City Planning Commission City Council Members From: John and Cindy Ridge �� Roseville. MN �5113 '��c Date: Nov. 5, 2007 .-. Dear Mayor Klausing, Members of the City Planning Commission and City Council, At the Wednesday, Nov. 7 Planning Commission Meeting, one of the items on the agenda is a discussion of redevelopment of the Firestone building on the Har Mar Mall property. We live immediately to the east of Har Mar Mall and are greatly interested in any future development of the Mall area. When Har Mar management did not renew leases of some of the stores over the summer, it became apparent that some changes were going to take place. After a July 29th article in the Mpls. Star Tribune reported that the former Backyard Bar and Grill would be demolished to make way for a"national full-service family restaurant," I wrote a letter to City Manager, Bill Malinen, to let him know of some past history nearby residents had when Cub Foods moved into Har Mar Mall (A copy of that letter is attached). To surrunarize, Har Mar Mall already exceeds the 25% maximum development cap for the property by 3.4% (the figures in the city document are even higher!). The Firestone building and the Backyard Bar and Grill building count towards the 25% development. Any demolition on the site would force Har Mar Mall to conform to the 2�% development footprint. (When the Cub store was going to go in, Har Mar's original plan included demolishing the space where a HomePlace store had been located and build a 75,000 square foot store. Cub Foods was forced to use the current (HomePlace) space and open a smaller 59,000 square foot store). In 2000, the former management company, Bradley Management, sought to use "restrictive non- use easements" which include Snelling Avenue and County Road B in their calculations of the Har Mar Mall lot size. Please do not allow the current manaaement company to fud�e the numbers to suit their e��ansion needs. The proposed use of the Firestone area as a restaurant and two retail stores appears that it would increase the size of the development footprint and therefore, should not be allowed. Delivery vehicles currently are routed past the apartment building located on the northeast corner of the Mall property and then alongside the homes to the east of Har Mar Mall, including our home. The noise is unbearable when our windows are open in the summer, and often trucks idle in place, contributing to diesel fumes in our yards and homes. Nearby residents are not in favor of increased delivery traffic, trash pickup, litter and cooking odors that would accompany a