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Splitting up lots creating ill will St�f i'I lJneaG0�1 �T�h'�;F�PC�T �� 'T �#lJf., �fI�1��T� Last update: April 12.2007 — 9:35 PM �p�itt�� u� IOtS �r��i�� lii v�rill Tougher restrictions could slow the rush to divide older, large single-family lots. By Mary Lynn Smith, StarTribune Page 1 of 3 Art Muellerhas meticulouslytended his wooded 2 acres in Roseville since he built his house there in 1949. But his plan to carve out a cul-de-sac along Acorn Road so he can divide his property into four lots has some neighbors up in arms. Mueller says he wants to make the most of his property's prime real estate value, but his critics say he will destroy the rural setting of their neighborhood. "It's created some bad feelings," said Mueller, 82, a plain-spoken real estate developerwho will keep one of the four newly created lots for his house and sell the other three. "People just don't like change." It's a neighborhood feud that is erupting frequently in some of the more developed cities and suburbs in the metro area: Homeowners with larger tracts of land are chopping them up to maximize their land values. The bottom line for Mueller is that it's his land and his project meets city code. But Roseville officials, wondering whether they need to slow down what is commonly called lot splitting, imposed a 90-day moratorium on subdivisions to study the issue; it expires at the end of April. In the end, officials say, it's about finding the right balance between a homeowner's property rights and the rights of the neighborhood at large. "There's not a lot of open land anymore," said Julie Wischnack, Minnetonka city planner. "And the land that is open is either a lake, a wetland or there's an interstate in the way." Land rush It's not just a suburban issue. In 2002, St. Paul received 56 applications to subdivide lots. The next year, that number jumped to 106 and then to 114 in 2005, said St. Paul planning administrator Larry Soderholm. When the real estate market softened last year, it dipped to 95 requests. Minnetonka receives a steady steam of requests from homeowners who want to split their lots, Vi�ischnack said. "I see more self-developmentbecause people either are moving or retiring and they want to cash out," she said. "Very seldom will the homeowner continue to live in the house after they've subdivided [their land]." h�tp,r'��,s��rkr�hqan�-�+��t�+$b�: ��-prir�i?�tr�fv� I l I��.i?.�ilm� �� I�r'�UO�