Keith Paap Email 06-13-2019
Meuwissen, Kim
From:Walters, MacKenzie
Sent:Friday, June 14, 2019 10:03 AM
To:Meuwissen, Kim
Subject:FW: 3617 Red Cedar Point Road - Proposed Variance
Kim,
Please add this email to the public record.
Thanks,
-MacKenzie
From: Keith Paap <keith@paap.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2019 3:29 PM
To: Ryan, Elise <ERyan@ci.chanhassen.mn.us>; Tjornhom, Bethany <BTjornhom@ci.chanhassen.mn.us>; McDonald,
Jerry <JMcDonald@ci.chanhassen.mn.us>; Coleman, Julia <JColeman@ci.chanhassen.mn.us>; Campion, Dan
<DCampion@ci.chanhassen.mn.us>
Cc: Frances Paap <fpaap@imagineps.com>; Aanenson, Kate <kaanenson@ci.chanhassen.mn.us>; Walters, MacKenzie
<MWalters@ci.chanhassen.mn.us>; Gerhardt, Todd <TGerhardt@ci.chanhassen.mn.us>
Subject: 3617 Red Cedar Point Road - Proposed Variance
Dear Chanhassen City Council,
We attended the city council meeting the evening of June 10, 2019 for clarification around the proposed
variance regarding the property at 3617 Red Cedar Point Road. We would like to thank the council for
discussing some of the concerns the neighborhood has brought up in this variance and not taking immediate
action on something that could have long lasting effects on the neighborhood. We live on the end of Red Cedar
Point Road and travel past this section on a daily basis.
There are two items of serious concern we would like to address, the first is the driveway dimensions for off-
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street parking which were approved/recommended to council on Tuesday May 21by the planning
commission; the second is the lack of supplied drawings from the applicant's appeal. After going through the
original drawings it is evident the front setback variance originally approved will not be adequate to keep the
applicant or neighbors safe.
This street is only 15 feet wide curb to curb, and there is not enough space for two cars to safely pass each
other, or to pass a parked car in this section of road. Plowed snow and garbage containers placed along the curb
can make this street even narrower. That makes having adequate off street parking an important option. We
have lived on Red Cedar Point Road for 11 years and have had numerous situations where we could not get past
a blockage to get home. Not providing adequate off street parking will simply introduce additional obstacles on
this same stretch of road which should really be marked for no parking. Just a couple weeks ago the crews
working to clear that lot parked along the edge of the street and our waste service did not come down to pick up
our container. When we called them about service they indicated the road was blocked so they continued on
their route. Hopefully we would not get the same response if we were relying on emergency services! We feel
there are reasonable alternatives to the proposed house and driveway which should be addressed and discussed,
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and any house planned should be designed based on the available lot space that provides off street parking that
will not block the road.
The second concern is the lack of supplied drawings from the applicant. The meeting felt like a forum for the
applicant to throw out comments which were not backed up with facts. Hand written notes applied at the time
of the meeting on a paper plan which were unreadable. The only reason we did not submit an appeal to the
planning commission recommendation was that we felt the applicant had made a good faith compromise to the
street setback with an average setback from the curb at 16 feet, only to turn around at the council meeting and
change course on that compromise. The conversation during the session with the applicant felt like a bait and
switch tactic to a very serious subject. We would like the Planning Commission and the City Council to take
the neighbors concerns as serious as they are. In the 11 years we have lived on Red Cedar Point Road we have
not witnessed this number of neighbors opposed to a site variance proposal. The applicant indicated they would
be a single occupant with grown children that would visit rarely and had small cars. However this is a decision
that will have long lasting impacts far beyond the current living situation of this one applicant.
This variance is currently listed on the consent agenda. However no updated plans have been provided on what
would be approved in such a quick motion and vote. We would request this be deferred to old business so that
the council could review and discuss the updated plans and compare that against what was recommended by the
planning commission and feedback from the neighborhood. We appreciate your time to read our concerns and
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look forward to the next city council meeting on June 24.
Keith and Frances Paap
3601 Red Cedar Point Road
Chanhassen, MN 55331
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