2022.8.15 Letter to Hon. E. RyanSANFORD I PIERSON
T HONE I STREAN
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
August 15, 2022
Hon. Elise Ryan
City of Chanhassen
7700 Market Boulevard
P.O. Box 147
Chanhassen, MN 55317
SENT VIA EMAIL
an@ci.chanhassen.mn.us
Re: City of Chanhassen Planning Case #: 2022-03 (Gayle Morin Addition)
Property Owner: Dianne G. Morin Trust
Applicant: Civil Site Group
Property Address: 1441 Lake Lucy Road, Chanhassen, MN 55317
Dear Mayor Ryan:
www.ssmnlaw.com
James A. Sanford'
Christopher J. Pierson
Jeffrey W. Thone
Courtney M. Strean
Andrew J. Meyer'
Kirby C. Graff"
Matthew W. Simenstad
Cassandra M. Kuebler
Of Counsel
John H. Brennan
With respect to the above Application For Development Review and request for rezoning
d subdivi ansion with variances, our firm represents Don and Nancy Giacchetti and Jeff and Patti
Dahl, who are neighboring property owners residing respectively at 6679 and 6675 Lakeway
Drive, Chanhassen, MN 55317. For a host of reasons already well established in the record, I urge
Council to deny the Application.
I have reviewed the record along with other materials provided by my clients. I will not
repeat here the voluminous detail contained in the record because I trust you and your fellow City
Council members will review it thoroughly and I know Mr. Giacchetti will make a thorough
presentation at the Council meeting on August 22. Suffice it to say that for various reasons,
including but not limited to those summarized below, approval of this application at this juncture
would be arbitrary and capricious and would pose potentially serious threats to my clients' homes
and property.
• Despite the expansive record, analysis of the effects of the proposed subdivision and
development is incomplete, largely because it is based on admittedly incomplete and
possibly faulty data. As noted in numerous places in the materials submitted by opponents
of the Application, Applicant's geotechnical contractor admitted in its February 21, 2022
Geotechnical Exploration Report that its technicians could not accurately locate the
locations and ground surface elevations of their soil borings because they could not get a
GPS signal. So, those elevations could be off by meaningful amounts. Furthermore, it
appears the borings went only to 14.5 feet instead of the specified 20 feet, the borings were
taken in winter when groundwater is likely frozen, and sometime after sampling at least
some of the bore holes filled with water. So the data underlying critical conclusions about
groundwater and groundwater management are mere rough estimates — this when the
S A N F O R D, P I E R S O N, T H O N E & S T R E A N, PLC tel: 952.404.2100 I fax: 952.404.2111 � 1905 East Wayzata Boulevard � Suite 220 I Wayzata, MN 55391
' Admitted in Wisconsin
" Admitted in North Dakota
potential effects of mismanagement of groundwater could prove devastating to neighboring
properties especially when considered in light of some of the other facts noted below.
• Significantly, if the City approves the current plan to install an artificial biofiltration drain,
then the Giacchetti home would be 4.4 feet below the "Low Floor Elevation" point of the
adjacent designed and engineered ponding features. Additionally, the City's Surface
Water Management Plan adopted December 12, 2018 requires at least 3 feet of freeboard
between a building elevation and adjacent ponding features. If the current plan were
approved and constructed, the existing Dahl home would only have 2.31 feet of freeboard
and thus be 0.69 feet short of the required 3 feet freeboard level, and the Giacchetti home
would be 7.4 feet short of the required 346ot level. It would seem this project as proposed
violates the City's own freeboard requirements and creates immense potential for flooding
of these homes.
• Wetland A, as clearly shown in the drone video (or pictures therefrom) being submitted by
Mr. Giacchetti, is larger than shown in the maps and aerial photos previously submitted.
• It is unsettling that my clients apparently did not receive proper hearing notice from the
Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District.
As you can see, the Giacchettis and Dahls will very likely suffer real and immediate harm
if Council approves the Application of Civil Site Group. Approval will leave them little choice
but to resort to other means, including but not limited to litigation, to enforce their rights and
protect their homes from damage or destruction.
As indicated below, I am sending copies of this letter to the other members of Council and
Senior Planner AWaff,
enc.
cc: Council Member Dan Campion
Council Member Lucy Rehm
Council Member Haley Schubert
Council Member Jerry McDonald
Sharmeen Al4aff
Kevin Teppen
Chad M. Halbur
Don & Nancy Giacchetti
Jeff & Patti Dahl
(dcampion e,ci.chanhassen.inn.us)
(lrehm cr,ci.chanhassen.nui.us)
schubert@cl.chanliassen.nin.us
(jmcdonald cr,ci.chanhassen.mn.us)
(saljaff a,ci.chanhassen.mn.us)
(kteppen e,ciyilsite rou .com)
(CHalbur cr,conierstonetrust.net)
(don.giacchetti c@tactsolutions.com)
(blueskiesmkt a,gmail.corn)
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