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Request for Variance Lot 1 Block 1 Auditor's Subdivision No 90 to St. Paul and the western 2 of Lot D. 25 feet We seek a variance of the sideyard set back requirements on the east side of the lot in order to attempt to save the large 20" diameter elm tree on the west side of the lot. This tree is located approximately 10 feet inside the western border of the lot. Please refer to our survey of the lot, which is Exhibit A of to this request, to see the location of the tree. Without a variance we would have to remove the tree because it would be located within the southwest corner of the garage foundation of the house we propose to build on the lot. See Exhibit B of this request which is the Site Plan for the proposed house. Waiving the sideyard set back requirement on the east side of the lot would enable us to shift the house about 10 feet to the east. Based on information provided by City Forester Linda Trefoil, the resulting distance between the tree and the garage foundation is likely to be sufficient, though not guaranteed, to save the tree. This request for a variance is compatible with the city's standards for granting a variance as set forth in the zoning ordinance 9-15.03. Our lot is an unusual shape in that it narrows in width from 106 feet in the south (front) to 73 feet in the north (back). The adjoining property owners a City of Falcon Heights to the east, the University of Minnesota to the north and the Schoctel°residence to the west. The neighbors to the west would benefit from the tree being saved and there appears to us to be no impairment to the property of the city or the University would result from granting the variance. Finally, saving the tree would not be detrimetal to the public health, safety or welfare but rather would promote it. We therefore request that you grant the variance to the sideyard set back on the east side of the lot.