#22 - 8012 Hill Trail Variance - Laserfiche WebLink

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December 5, 2023 City of Lake Elmo Planning Commission 3880 Laverne Ave. N. Lake Elmo, MN 55042 Re: Variance Renewal Request re: 8012 Hill Trl N., Lake Elmo, MN 55042 Dear Planning Commission Members: This letter is to provide you with information and documents for purposes of considering our request to revive the variance we were granted via Resolution No. 2022-064. This relates to the impervious surface area requirement applicable to the above property, as governed by Section 154.800 Shoreland Management Overlay District, Subd(C)(3), at table 17-3 Shoreland Standards, capping impervious lot coverage on an unsewered lot at 15%. As a brief history, after Resolution No. 2022-064 was passed, our builder at the time, Zawadski Homes, began collecting detailed bidding information from subcontractors in order to price out the project they had designed for us. Despite our requests for cost information during the pre-application design process, we were told that the variance would need to be obtained first. As it turned out, the project turned out to be cost-prohibitive. We are committed to staying in Lake Elmo and staying in our house, preserving as much of the original house as possible (rather than rebuilding completely). To move forward, we decided to switch builders and re-design the project with a builder that would help us make cost-effective decisions throughout the design process. Doing so allowed us to cut the total cost significantly, however, it did take a significant amount of time. The original builder was also an applicant for the variance we were granted via Resolution No. 2022- 064. As we (Anne and Dan Stoudt) are not in the business of construction/renovating homes, and with this being our first and only experience seeking and obtaining a variance, we were unaware of the need to take action to extend the variance once it became necessary to switch builders and start the design process over from scratch. With the original builder no longer involved in the process, no one was carefully monitoring the deadline mandated by Resolution No. 2022-064. As a result, the one-year deadline attached to Resolution No. 2022-064 came and went without our awareness. Now that we have finalized a new, doable plan to add onto our home to make it suit the needs of our family, we are applying a second time for a variance, for the exact same reasons.