November 21, 2006 CCP - Laserfiche WebLink

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LaKE ELMO PLANNING COMMISSi,,,4 STAFF REPORT Date: August 24, 2007 for the Meeting of August 28, 2005 Applicant: Richard & Eileen Bergman Location: 11459 601h Street North Requested Action: Variance to Allow a Second Accessory Building Land Use Plan Guiding: RAD Existing Zoning: RR Site History and Existing Conditions: The history of these sites is both lengthy (filling nearly 4 inches of City file space) and complex — nearly defying, description. It appears that the farmstead site, including the home and the barn, were what was referred to as the John Cody Farm prior to 1977. The farm is reported by 1977 City Council Minutes as 48 acres in area. It may have been much larger at some earlier point. During 1977/1978 Rossow (who had purchased the Cody Farm) applied for and received approval of a plat to create 9 five acre lots, with the balance of the Cody Farm apparently street right-of-way for a cul-de-sac that would access directly to Highway 36. There apparently was also some zoning action regarding some or all of the lot — likely rezoning to commercial from AG. Apparently the developer never followed through with the recording of the plat or the construction of plat improvements, and was advised by the City in 1984 that the plat approval was voided. City files also refer to litigation whereby the Court apparently voided some zoning action involving the property. It therefore appear that, by 1984, the original developers had no approvals valid for the 1978 plat that included this site. Nothing appears in City files regarding this site until 1991, where it appears a title issue arises with the house on the subject site. It appears that the developer had sold the house on 2 acres by unrecorded Contract for Deed prior to the 1978 plat when this area was zoned for a minimum 5 acres. During the later platting process an additional 3 acres was added to the house site to make it legal. Even with the added 3 acres, however, the barn was still not on the 5 acres conveyed. While we can locate no building permit records, a pole building of approximately 800 square feet area was constructed (likely without a permit) within the 5 acres that had been sold with the house prior to the applicants purchasing the property (appears on the 2000 air photo). Recently the Bergmans (applicant) acquired the entire Rossow holdings (failed plat) and the house/pole barn on the 5 acres. A portion the remaining Rossow land was subsequently included in the Sanctuary plat as Outlot F, — subject to a Conservation Easement or the Minnesota Land Trust.