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34 <br /> - -2- <br /> For your convenience, we have attached a copy of our Petition and <br /> its cover letter dated March 12, 1999, and also the relevant <br /> sections of the minutes -of the May- 18 and May 25, 1999 meetings of <br /> the Planning Commission and City Council respectively, from which <br /> we have taken the above quotes. <br /> We offer the following reasons for submitting this current Petition <br /> for an extension of time to proceed with our plans to build a home <br /> on the lot we now own: <br /> 1 . We were unable during the summer of 1999 to sell our New <br /> Brighton home, leaving us in the financial predicament of having to <br /> make payments on two mortgages. Our original plan was to sell our <br /> New Brighton home and live temporarily in our newly acquired home <br /> at 4008 Fordham Drive while we built our new home on the adjoining <br /> lot, using the approximately $180, 000 equity from the sale of our <br /> New Brighton home. In fact, at one time last summer we were <br /> negotiating with a potential buyer of our New Brighton home, but <br /> negotiations came to an end when the buyer lost his job. <br /> At that time we revised our plans as follows : <br /> 2 . We decided for financial reasons, namely two mortgage <br /> payments,. to sell our newly purchased house at 4008 Fordham Drive . <br /> Even before advertising it on the open market, we agreed to sell it <br /> to David and Mary Lindman, our neighbors just down the street 'at <br /> 3928 Fordham Drive. We were able to complete that sale on November <br /> 1, 1999, after the Lindmans sold their home. <br /> 3 . Because November was too late to begin building, we had no <br /> choice but to postpone the project until spring of 2000 . During <br /> this past winter and spring, we have been involved in the time- <br /> consuming process of working with Planning & Design, Inc. to draft <br /> a suitable house plan. <br /> That process has finally met with success; with a plan now in hand <br /> we are ready 'to begin building within days of receiving a building <br /> permit. We have already. lined up a $154, 000 home equity line of <br /> credit from Firstar Bank, St. Anthony. branch,. <br /> Even though it came to our attention only recently that the Village <br /> has a policy regarding expiration of variances (Section 1665 .06 <br /> Variances, Subd. 6) , following your granting of the petition in May <br /> 1999, the financial pressure of too much indebtedness left us <br /> little choice but to delay building until one or the other of our <br /> two homes sold. As noted above, we closed on the Fordham house on <br /> November 1, 1999 . <br /> • To date, our investment in the lot and other items related to this <br /> project is close to $50,000 . <br />