08-12-2004 Planning Comm. Agenda

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During the process o1'replacing the existing walls, we believe that it is necessary for human safety to build up and increase the amount of flat terrain between the buildings and the retaining walls. For example, the yards behind units 21-27 measure approximately 5 feet between the buildings and the existing walls, and the elevation of those yards goes from between 921 and 922 to 919 in that short 5 foot space of gnound. (See elevation figures on survey.) These yards are very unsafe. We are aware of numerous occasions where people have slipped down the banks while merely walking behind these units. Luckily, we have not yet had any serious injuries (only scrapes and bruises), but we are very concerned about what could occur (broken bones or worse). In addition. to being dangerous, these yards are not usable for either pleasure or maintenance. As just mentioned, it is risky to simply walk behind the units, let alone attempt to fill a bird feeder or tend to plants or flowers. It is not at all possible to sit on a lawn chair in those yards. As for maintenance, it is extremely dangerous to use a ladder for window cleaning or gutter cleaning, since the space required to erect a ladder does not leave adequate space for a person to safely get onto and off of the ladder. We also do not have adequate space for lawn care. Therefore, for safety reasons, we are requesting a variance of the shoreline setback ordinance for the replacement walls. As you can see on the enclosed survey, the engineer has increased the back yards in those areas to a safer distance of approximately 10 feet between the buildings and the proposed retaining walls. In addition, the space between the existing walls behind units 1-15 has been increased from one foot to approximately 5 feet, which will add stability to the wall. For both erosion/environmental and safety reasons, we believe it is crucial to construct new retaining walls behind units 17-19 and 39-43. The slope of the land behind units 17-19 is such that erosion has begun to take place. A drop-off of the land begins about 3 feet from the building, which does not allow ample room for safely walking in that area. (See photos D-F) As a matter of fact, lawn maintenance people and their lawn mowers have gone down. that embankment several times. Advance Surveying proposes constructing a boulder wall approximately 10 feet from those two units. The area behind units 39-43 has the most severe problem. (See photos K-Q) The land begins to drop off so closely to the buildings that the residents of unit 43 are not able w step off their patio without fear of falling down the embankment. The entire strip of land behind these units is so narrow, that a person walking there feels the necessity to place their hands on the walls of the building for stability, especially when trying to walk around the air conditioning units. Many people have slid down that hill, including people who were there to find solutions for this situation. Again, we have been very lucky that no one has yet been seriously hurt. In spite of the fact that we have attempted to correct the problem with bringing in earth and planting/seeding the area, the erosion problem continues to get worse, and the narrow strip of land becomes narrower. We fear that without a retaining wall, we could end up with. the earth being eroded from under the patios and building, which would have disastrous results. Advance Surveying has proposed atwo-tier wall to correct this serious problem. For these reasons, we ask for a variance of the shore impact zone.