03-27-2002 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Al & Cindy Mentes 3058 Greenbrier St. Little Canada, MN 55117 December 27, 2001 The Honorable Michael I. Fahey Little Canada City Center 515 Little Canada Rd East Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 Dear Mr. Mayor: As relatively new residents of Little Canada, allow me to introduce my wife and I: Cindy and Al Mentes. We purchased the home at 3058 Greenbrier St. and moved in March 30, 2001. As long time residents of St. Paul proper, we are very much looking forward to the wide-open spaces and relative quiet found in suburbia. I can't imagine that you receive too many letters from new residents simply introducing themselves. Frankly, it is the introduction we have received from the City of Little Canada that leaves us frustrated, bewildered and motivated to put our concems in writing. We thank you in advance for your consideration and hope that you can help us. In an effort to objectify and simplify the issue, the following represents the chronological highlights of our effort to build additional garage space on the property, which was first and foremost the reason why we purchased it. • On November 14, 2000, I happened to be in the area and noticed that the house at 3058 Greenbrier St. was for sale. My wife and I had been house shopping the St. Paul suburbs for the explicit purpose of attaining additional storage (i.e. garage) space. • Shortly thereafter, I contacted my real estate agent, Mr. John Hutchinson, instructing him to contact the listing agent and the city of Little Canada relative to the matter of adding a detached garage measuring 30' X 40'. Enclosed is a letter from Mr. Hutchinson detailing the communication that his office had with various representatives of the city on this subject. • Subsequent to Mr. Hutchinson's initial inquiry, I followed up and spoke to Mr. Steve Westerhaus. Mr. Westerhaus was very helpful, suggesting that he was familiar with the property, saying that although our plan required a conditional use permit, he didn't think that there would be a problem. • Before we made an offer on the house in late January, my wife called Mr. Westerhaus to further substantiate the likelihood that building the additional garage would be permitted. We obviously felt confident enough about the prospect, given all of the optimistic information we had received, to buy the house. The fact of the matter is, we would have never offered nor closed on the property if we had the slightest doubt about the additional garage. I would rather not belabor the surprises and disappointments (which include two hip replacement surgeries) since we moved in. Suffice it to say that the process has been grueling and the results unacceptable. We are hard pressed accept explanations and opinions that relate to "character and scale of the neighborhood" as final or even fair. If there are not hard and fast specifications, a 16,000+ square foot back yard seems ample enough to support a 1008 square foot garage, somewhere, somehow! EXHIBIT E - APPLICANT CORRESPONDENCE