5.1. SR 07-05-2005
Item 5.1.
13065 Orono Parkway
Elk Rivec ~1N 55330
June 29, 2005
File: 226-050C
The Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of Elk River
13065 Orono Parkway
Elk River 11N 55330
RE: JIM RAN ALA PROPERTY ON UPLAND AVENUE
Dear Council Members:
As you will recall, Mr. Raivala appeared at the Open Mike portion of the June 20, 2005 City
Council meeting discussing the issue of the sidewalk along Upland Avenue. Mr. Raivala's
property is part of an Auditor's Subdivision and a portion of his property description goes to
the centerline of Upland Avenue. The City would have prescriptive rights to rebuilt the
roadway in this area, but does not have the legal right to add a sidewalk behind the curb line.
On June 20, 2005 prior to the City Council meeting that Mr. Raivala appeared at, I met him
on his property to discuss the various options and to detennine exactly what he would like
to see happen. Since that time, I have had conversations with the Planning Department and
several phone conversations with Mr. Raivala. We have come up with three different
options for dealing with the sidewalk issue. They are listed below in a priority ranking
provided by Mr. Raivala:
1. Lot Split
Mr. Raivala's property shown on the attached exhibit is approximately 0.61 acres. In
discussing the size of the property with the Planning Department, it appears that Mr.
Raivala has enough property to split off a 15,000 square foot lot on which his existing
home resides, and have a large enough parcel remaining to create a buildable lot. The lot
that is split for a fuUIre home site would then provide additional right-af-way along
Upland Avenue to allow the sidewalk to be built. The City does have excess right-of-
way which is basically green space on 5th Street at the north end of Mr. Raivala's
property. If necessary to create enough total square footage for the created lot, the City
could exchange some of this green space for the right-af-way along Upland Avenue.
The Planning Department has indicated that even if the site needed a variance to the
setback for building purposes, they could support the variance, given the close proximity
Phone: 763.635.1000
Fax: 763.635.1090
www.ci.elk-river.mn.us
1vIr. Raivala Property
July 5, 2005
Page 2
of Mr. Raivala's home to the right-of-way line. Often times, new homes constructed in
old neighborhoods like these are given variances so they appear to conform with the
standards in place when the bulk of the neighborhood was developed.
2. No Lot Split - No Sidewalk
Mr. Raivala's second option would be not to split his property and not to have the
sidewalk constructed along his property line, at least where the City lacks easements. It
should be pointed out that this area is not in front of his existing home. In front of his
existing home, the City does have all the right of way it needs to construct the roadway
and the proposed 6-foot sidewalk immediately behind the curb.
3. City Purchase of Excess Property
Mr. Raivala's third option would be that the City would purchase the remnant of his
property including additional right-of-way along Upland Avenue. Rather than purchase
just the right-of-way, Mr. Raivala's preference would be for this third option to split off a
15,000 square foot lot for his current home to reside on, and sell the remaining portion
of his property including the additional right -of-way along Upland Avenue to the City.
This option may be of interest to the City in that it would provide a small green space in
the neighborhood that has several trees on it and views of Lake Orono.
I will be in attendance at your Council meeting on July 5, 2005 to discuss these three options
further. I have informed Mr. Raivala and have provided a copy of this memo to him and
assume he will be in attendance at the meeting also. I am looking for City Council direction
on how staff should proceed with this issue.
Sincerely,
T ~
City Engineer
S:\EngineerImprovProj\2005 Improvement Projects \Pavement Rehab 2005\07 05 05 cc memo Raivala.doc
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