8.2. SR 05-06-2013 City of
Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION
River
TO ITEM NUMBER
Mayor and City Council 8.2
AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY
General Business May 6, 2013 Jeremy Barnhart,Deputy Director,
Community Operations &Development
ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By
Authorization to Initiate Rezoning for Yale Street Area Cal Portner, City Administrator
REVIEWED BY
ACTION REQUESTED
Authorization to initiate a zone change to the official zoning map and Comprehensive Plan amendment.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
A property owner on Yale Street, Patricia Bruchert,has requested to split her lot into two parcels. Mrs.
Bruche owns lots 3 and 4 of Mississippi Heights, a plat recorded in 1976. At some point in the past,the
lots were formerly combined and a new split requires formal action.
Combined,the two lots are 2.79 acres. To be consistent with the R-1a zoning designation of the
property,both new lots would need to be 2.5 acres and include 160 feet of frontage on a public road. As
proposed,both lots would require variances from the lot size and lot frontage requirements. Without
completing formal review of a variance application not yet received, a variance for this situation would
not be consistent with the city ordinances regarding variances and the state enabling legislation. In
particular, the variance would be inconsistent with the general purpose and intent of the ordinance and
variance is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan (Sections 30-365 (b) 1-2).
Staff and the property owner have discussed options over the past week,including the following:
1. A variance from the lot size and frontage requirement.
2. Rezone the subject property to meet the lot size and frontage requirements.
3. Rezone the neighborhood to R-1b. As part of this rezoning,it will be necessary to amend the
Comprehensive Plan to include the subject neighborhood in the urban service district.
Staff recommends option 3 as the best long-term solution. It addresses concerns with the ability to
subdivide for all neighborhood parcels,it addresses long-term septic system location issues and viability,
and it removes a "nonconforming" status from the property,which may improve long-term property
options,including refinancing.
Area residents will likely object to the expansion of the urban service district. Over the long term,
however, staff sees this as a long term solution to the development pressure in the area, as suggested by
the increasing desire to subdivide, and the character changes envisioned by the Focused Area Study. The
Focused Area Study identifies the need to connect Yale Street to Yale Court to the north,to facilitate
future access to controlled intersections.
N:\Public Bodies\Agenda Packets\05-06-2013\8.2 sr Yale St rezone 5-6-13xf.docx Na
The actual staging of water and sewer expansion would be decided by the City Council and the
development community;as water and sanitary sewer is not yet available. At its closest location, utilities
serve the Greater Minnesota Credit Union at 17035 Yale Court, approximately 350 feet from the nearest
residential property in the neighborhood.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENTS
• Letter from Pat Bruchert,dated April 29, 2013
• Mississippi Heights Plat
N:\Public Bodies\Agenda Packets\05-06-2013\8.2 sr Yale St rezone 5-6-13Yf.docx
APR 2 9 2013
Mr Mayor-John Dietz, and whomever else I need to write a plea to,
I am writing this letter after hearing from my realtor that I am not being allowed to split the empty
lot off of my main home. For over 40 years my husband and I kept the primary residence lot and
the empty lot next to it mowed, cleaned up, grass and trees planted and thriving, knowing that
we could use that lot as an investment for when we retired. We always knew we would need to
sell and downsize into a smaller home when we got old together. We paid our taxes on time,
even though each year they rose from $300 a year to what it is today, $3466. We believed that
Elk River was a place that respected and appreciated the people who wanted to make it their
home.
My husband of 37-1/2 years died March 7th of this year. One of the things he wanted me to do j
was sell the house and the empty lot so I could pay off the medical bills and find a smaller senior
citizen friendly home, medical-debt free. I contacted a realtor to begin the process. He went to
the Sherburne County recorder and tax offices and was told I couldn't split the lot off. I was
heartbroken. You have to know how much that extra money means to me, it means I can pay off
Sill's medical debts and move into something I can handle. By not allowing this to happen,
don't know how I can sell the combination of the two lots into one big one, when the rest of the
homes up the street, along the river, are all smaller. It doesn't make sense or seem fair.
don't understand why the neighbor on the other side of my empty lot has the same size lot
(112' frontage, then back to the Mississippi) but I can't do anything with mine. The house next to
our residence has 77' of frontage. The lot my home is on is 141'.
Why doesn't Elk River want the additional tax revenue of having my 141' lot and splitting off the
112' empty lot?
I walk down our quiet little street, and see many houses on lots that are smaller than what my
empty lot frontage is, all going back to the river. Right at the intersection of Yale Street NW and
167th Ave NW there is a home on a lot that is 80' wide. The next 4 houses up Yale Street are all
111' frontage, and they all go back to the river.
Why am I being forced to combined the lots I own, when the entire street is already developed
and have much smaller lots? I urge you to take a drive down our little street, to see each home
that has thriving young families, who love living on the river, so they can drop a fishing line in
whenever they want, teach their kids the joy of living next to the Mississippi, have kids and pets
who have space to live the good life we all dream about. The lots are not overly wide, but they
do extend back to the river, so they are quite long. From the road you can't really tell how long
the lots are. My two lots are well above flood level.
Please reconsider the zoning of my two lots, to better reflect the development in our
neighborhood. To increase tax revenue for Elk River. To be fair.
Thank you for your consideration.
Pat Bruchert
1
Eik River To aeshn
Sherburne County, Minnesota
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