05/26/1998 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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The property at 7306 24th Avenue North is a ten and one -half acre apple orchard on the eastern edge of Lino Lakes. I have owned this property since 1982 and it has been used for agricultural purposes continuously for over 100 years. It is a clean and well kept property. To my knowledge, it is the only apple orchard in Lino Lakes. We are licensed by the State of Minnesota as a "Minnesota Grown" orchard. Apparently and unbeknownst to me, the Zoning Ordinance restricts farms of under 20 acres to two accessory buildings with maximum combined square footage of 5,000 square feet. I lease 10 acres of land one - eighth of a mile north of this farm where I grow apples, pears, pumpkins and produce cut firewood, which I supply to the Anoka County Parks Department campgrounds and sell from this orchard. Surrounding my property are farms which are over 20 acres and not subject to the restrictions of this ordinance. It is absolutely vital to the business of this orchard to construct a new storage and sales building. The business of producing fresh market fruit is very competitive and in order to survive, we need to have quality storage facilities and sales areas. The addition of this building will not in any way adversely impact the surrounding properties. In fact, the recent demolition and removal of an old deteriorated corn silo shed have improved the appearance of the orchard and helped to make way for what will be a quality structure about the size of a two and one -half car garage, located alongside of the existing barn. We have made a considerable investment and a personal commitment to be good neighbors in this City and we appreciate your consideration of this request.