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REC f <br />DEC 3 a 205 <br />Gormans Restaurant <br />11011 Stillwater Blvd. <br />Lake Elmo Mn. 55042 <br />December 30, 2005 <br />Mr. Charles Dillerud <br />City of Lake Elmo <br />This letter was hand delivered to the city of Lake Elmo office on Friday December 30, 2005 <br />Dear Charles, <br />I have received your response dated December 27, 2005 and I respectfully disagree with your <br />conclusion. Adding a drive up window to our existing restaurant will not make ours a fast food <br />restaurant. 'You will note in the letter that I gave you from the washington county health <br />department, that they, along with their approval of our plans for the addition of a drive up area, <br />the classification of our restaurant will not change. Our "Food Establishment" classification is for <br />restaurants whose main mode of operation is table service. These establishments may provide <br />drive up or take out service, but this is not their main mode of operation. The "Fast Food" <br />definition is "a food establishment in which the patron orders and receives the food at a counter or <br />provides its food via delivery or take out only." Surely all of the existing Lake Elmo resraurants <br />including Gormans are violating the zoning ordinance just by preparing our meals for take out. I <br />have also delivered our meals to various locations possibly another violation. Please do not <br />misunderstand ---- I don't want any fast food restaurants to locate in Lake Elmo either. Adding <br />the approximate 230 square feet addition to our existing restaurant to accommodate a portion of <br />my existing business, will not make me a fast food restaurant. Gormans would become a <br />convenient full service restaurant with accessible take out food pick up ability. It seems to me <br />that the city could create a "GB-FF" zone that only fast foods could locate in. Currently no land <br />is zoned that way making it clear that those businesses could not locate in the city of Lake Elmo. <br />As far as the city setting a precedent I rather doubt that the other four restaurants in Lake Elmo <br />would be adding a drive up window to their facilities. If so on a case by case basis the city could <br />look at the possibility. Some would probably have to eliminate a portion of their existing parking <br />spaces and in doing so they would possibly not meet the cities parking requirements. We are not <br />going to loose any parking spots. Just because our restaurant would have a drive up doesn't <br />mean a fast food could "buy me out" and operate there. Gormans has a GB zone and they would <br />need a GB-FF zone. Good luck to them in re -zoning the parcel. In Lake Elmo there are currently <br />two full service banks operating with drive up available. To me they are still full service banks. <br />According to the Lake Elmo Municipal Code sect. 200.01, subdivisionDl� have the opportunity to <br />appear before the board of adjustment to be heard. Please inform me of the earliest opportunity <br />for this to happen. The relief that I am requesting is that the board would allow us to proceed <br />!with our proposed expansion to accommodate our customers <br />r <br />