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Tahni Cullen <br />6137 151st St. N. <br />Hugo, MN 55038 <br />612-296-9091 <br />tahni.cullen@hotmail.com <br />May 11, 2021 <br />Hugo Planning Committee: <br />My husband, Joe Cullen, and I (Tahni Cullen) are unable to attend the public hearing to consider the <br />request from Oneka Lake Reserve LLC, 12928 Jody Avenue North in Hugo regarding the proposed 6.7 <br />acre development that would be constructed behind our property on 6137 151st St. N. We are requesting <br />that our letter be read in our absence expressing our concerns about this project. <br />We have lived in our home for 16 years, and not only have we enjoyed the beauty of the natural habitat <br />that has steadily grown up over the years while the property has gone undeveloped and become home to a <br />variety of wildlife—along with the bonus of privacy it has offered—but we have a very acute, potentially <br />life-altering concern. We have a 15-year-old son with profound special needs. He is nonspeaking and <br />autistic and the massive disruption both visually right out our backyard and particularly the noise of <br />clearing and construction will pose a mental and physical health crisis for our family. <br />Autism can not only affect speech, socialization and communication, but it can cause an extreme need for <br />adherence to schedule, routines and sameness. It can lead to sensory processing disorder, and loud noises <br />or unusually-pitched noises are debilitating for the individual, especially at long durations. In the case of <br />our child, this discomfort can lead to anxiety, persistent vocalizations and severe self-injurious behavior to <br />his face and head, which has landed us in the emergency room a handful of times. He will not just <br />willingly wear noise-cancelling headphones, for instance, or just be conditioned to “deal with it.” <br />We understand that literally in our backyard on the other side of the fence, the developers would need to <br />be digging a substantial trench to extend the pond and then there would obviously be months for tree <br />clearing and construction. This is a crisis-waiting-to-happen for our family. I don’t put that lightly. <br />We have had to homeschool our son since January of 2020 because he could not handle the activity and <br />noise of public special education and was hitting his head dangerously every day (and then Covid, and he <br />cannot tolerate mask-wearing). He is at home virtually 24/7 and it is his only haven, along with our <br />backyard and swingset. Imagine being exposed to noise that you could not bear all day, every day for <br />extended periods of time. That is what is at stake for our family with this potential development. <br />We have witnessed our son meltdown if someone is getting a tree pulled out and chipped up down the <br />street from the noise he hears, and even in hearing the far-away pitch of a tornado siren test. This <br />construction right past our backyard would be unfathomably debilitating for our son and family given that <br />he has no place to go all day long. We are at home. <br />Please consider voting no on this new development. We stand with our fellow neighbors in wanting the <br />habitat and privacy buffer to be preserved that has been there for years, and we implore you to consider <br />the personal physical and mental health crisis that awaits a vulnerable disabled teenager and our family. <br />Thank you, <br />Tahni and Joe Cullen