Hugo City Council Letter (POST-EDIT).pdf

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City. This was our first home. While the townhome off of Flay needed some love, Hugo was what we were buying into and making our home. Then in 2015, when we could afford to step up in house quality and corresponding mortgage, we quickly jumped on the chance to move into a townhome in Waters Edge. Why? While it was nicer and slightly bigger to meet our growing needs, it had an outstanding view of the water retention ponds. I mean gorgeous views of the lakes, perfectly framed in with the cast iron classic streetlights on Oneka Parkway. However, two years later we had to sell and move out west for three years. When we got the chance to move back to Minnesota we didn't hesitate to come right back to Waters Edge! We could have gone anywhere, but to us Hugo was home. As I said Lydia grew up in Ham Lake, and I grew up in Kansas City, but Hugo is where we want to be. Hugo is our home. When we got the chance to buy another townhome in Waters Edge it was off of Fanning Drive. The seller's agent said to us on the phone "You can't beat this view in all of the association! It's breathtaking!" Lydia and I felt that was a hard bar to clear, given we had a "lake view", but have to say, after living here for 4 years and counting, she was right. My townhome faces the Everton lot in question. It is the view directly out of my living room, front door, and third story master bedroom suite. can't tell you how many mornings I have gotten up and opened my curtains, just to admire the view. From the horses that run on both lots flanking the proposed solar farm, to the fog that blankets the landscape in the early mornings. I gave the City Planning Commission, one of my many countless pictures that I have taken of the fields across from me. It truly is remarkable to have that sort of untouched beauty to look at every day. This is not a boast, but Lydia and I have the means to buy a bigger house somewhere else, but we have chosen to stay here for no other reason than we love it here, we love it simply for the character of the neighborhood, its aesthetics, and its views. We love it so much, we in fact attempted to put an offer on the property in question, back in 2021, but never got real reciprocation from the listing agent. As people with real estate backgrounds, we are aware of how much a home with a view means to people. We all know the saying about real estate that "Its all about location, location, location". People are willing to pay a premium to have a nice backdrop surrounding their house and a nice neighborhood. I am not talking about property values here, I am talking about the fact that it deeply matters to people where they live and what they are looking at, and people are willing