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CITY of HUGO COMMUNITY 12-18 -2020 DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO: Hugo Board of Zoning and Planning Commission Members. FROM: Resident, Richard Degnan, 12160 Falcon Ave. N. SUBJECT: Proposed Development, 4990 121 ' St. N. and 12165 Everton Ave. N. Sketch Plan submitted by Laura and Jared Drengson, dated: 12-02-2020 Dear members, My name is Rich Degnan. My family and I have been residents of the city for thirty-seven years. My wife, Cindy and I reside at 12160 Falcon Ave. N. located in the Southwest section of the city. Our three grown children along with seven grandchildren also remain in their hometown of Hugo. When we built our home we were looking for space away from the populated area of White Bear Lake. Back then, Falcon Ave. N. was a dead end gravel road that paralleled Hwy. 61 and the rail line next to it. The long trains would rumble North at a pretty good clip rattling the pictures on our walls. We would walk the open fields to the north with very few houses in site. Good country living, but close to town. It did not last for long as others followed and a housing development was established on the old Gallivan farmland. And the boom was on. We've seen many changes to the area most noticeably the substantial increase in traffic and the home density within the area. We were fortunate enough to secure a one acre parcel of land surrounded by neighboring properties with the same. As you may or may not know this area of the city is zoned R-1.One acre minimum lot size per unit. I am writing you today in an effort to ensure it remains R-1 without exception. A recent sale of a ten acre parcel directly abutting our property to the west has prompted an interest to develop this parcel into a housing project. The proposed sketch plan by the developer in my opinion does not meet the criteria required to proceed without substantial changes to the submitted sketch. Aside from the destruction of century old oak trees and towering pines on the property, the location of a retention pond on the property is an issue. It appears the developer has neglected to adhere to the R-1 zoning in this area. My understanding is the developer is in negotiation to purchase an additional four to five acres to justify the lot sizes indicated on the plan by calculating the GROSS acreage owned to satisfy the required one acre per unit for R-1 zoning. The City of Hugo's 2030 LAND USE PLAN, Chapter 4, (VLDR) Very Low Density Residential section specifically states: Maximum Density ONE unit per NET acres. NOT GROSS acres, NET acres. Gross acres are generally defined as the entire parcel. While NET acres tend to be calculated based on usable land area plus the streets. That being said, in the definition any portion of the property restricted from use as in