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June 28, 2005 . Ms. Heather Worthington City Administrator City of Falcon Heights, Minnesota Dear Ms. Worthington: I am in receipt of your letter dated June 8, 2005 regarding the proposed use of the property located at 1871 Larpenteur. As I was unable to attend the June 23, 2005 meeting at City Hall, and I will be unavailable to attend the Planning Commission meeting on June 28, 2005, I wish to make my comments to you in this email communication. Please ensure that these comments constitute a part of the official record upon which the city's decision will be made. I have several concerns regarding the proposed use of the property located at 1871 Larpenteur. Among them are the following: 1) When the property was used as the Garden View Cafe, I was almost involved in two traffic accidents, when on-street parking caused two different drivers to round the corner both too fast and too wide. When parking limitations were imposed on the street, this public safety issue literally vanished overnight. I am now concerned that a requested variance for parking, if it is to approve a plan with too little parking, would re-create this dangerous situation. Restaurant customers parking on Lindig would not be a welcome addition to our street or a public safety benefit. 2) I have dealt with many different types of restaurants in my business, and the cooking odors emanating from certain types of restaurants with specialized cooking requirements, including oriental restaurants, can be overpowering if they are not required to install and maintain appropriate ventilation equipment. I would hope that establishment and maintenance of appropriate air quality would be considered with any permit application. 3) When we moved into this neighborhood, the subject property was used as aloes-volume flower shop and garden nursery, and we made certain assumptions about the continued use of this property. Among those was an assumption that certain things about the property, including its future use, would inevitably change, but that the essential character of the property would not. I now see in the public hearing notice that the proposed use of this property would require not one, but six, variances. Thus, it would be difficult to argue that the proposed use of the subject property is similar to its past uses, and we are disappointed that our city officials would consider such wholesale changes to the permitted use of a single commercial property in what is essentially a residential area. We are therefore not in favor of the proposed use of the subject property, and would not willingly accept the proposed variances. Please ensure that these comments are memorialized in the official record pertaining to the application for the subject property. Sincerely, John Reik 1782 Lindig Street Falcon Heights, MN 55113 32