Commission Letter_AWES_FoxHill_9_12_22September 12, 2022
To:
The Chairman and Members of the Chanhassen City Planning Commission and Fox Hill Neighbors,
My name is Maria Awes and my husband, Andy, and I are eager to come before the Commission in just a
few weeks to discuss plans for our lot at 581 Fox Hill Drive. We have been hard at work over the past
several months with Denali Custom Homes and Alliant Engineering to develop and then revise a plan to
subdivide the land into three additional lots while also maintaining a lake lot of our own on which we
hope to build a home.
581 Fox Hill is a beautiful piece of property and it is our heartfelt desire to keep it as such while also giving
more families the opportunity to live in such a wonderful community. My husband and I have lived in
Chaska for the past 17 years and raised our two kids in the Eastern Carver County School District. We
couldn’t have had a better experience and are eager to stay in the same community while moving into
our next chapter of life.
We weren’t able to be at the last meeting, but have watched the meeting online and have worked
diligently to address concerns that were brought up at that time, primarily having to do with the
percentage of tree canopy being maintained. I wish we could have been in attendance, as there is a lot I
would have said.
The key issue that we were asked to take a second look at was whether or not more tree canopy could be
maintained. To address this, we did the following:
• Met with the city arborist, Jill Sinclair, to discuss the project in general terms and
followed her recommendations to re-examine the storm water drainage systems for
each lot in order to save more trees
o The result is an additional 3 % of tree canopy.
• Developed a plan with the MN DNR to reforest Butternut trees
o The result is this tree species will now be able to thrive in a more hospitable
environment far into the future.
• Developed a proposal for the City of Chanhassen to consider a smaller private access
road rather than the currently required full-size road in order to save more tree canopy.
While we were just told on 9/9/22 that the City’s public works department and the fire
department would not support this option, which is very disappointing, we think it’s
important to point out what the positive impact on the tree canopy could have been,
because we spent time and money exploring this, as the Commission asked us to do, in
an effort to save more trees. And, this option would have had a very significant, positive
impact on the woods.
o If approved, the private access road we proposed would still have been of an
appropriate size to allow emergency vehicles necessary future access and would
have saved an additional 4% of the tree canopy.
o Worthy of discussion is the fact that If the City and its departments could
acquiesce to overwhelming neighborhood demand for the elimination of the
road requirement entirely, 8% of the tree canopy would be saved – for a total of
46% across the entire subdivision.
▪ As we are told, neither of the two neighbors on the lake side have any
intention of selling their homes in the near future. It is frustrating as the
homeowner that we are required to build – and to pay – for the
development of a ‘road to nowhere’ at the expense of the trees; essentially
a public works improvement that the City doesn’t have to pay for. Unlike
larger subdivided plots with massive neighborhoods being built where
such costs are more easily absorbed, the City is asking for a road that only
runs between two homes and will cost tens of thousands of dollars and
may never connect to any other roads.
▪ All homes that are part of our subdivision proposal will be thoroughly
accessible on Fox Hill or Carver Beach Road. We believe that should the
other lakefront homes south of us sell in the future, there are other
options for accessibility that could be explored, including improvements to
the existing private road. Also, to even trigger road improvements on
those properties, not only would someone have to purchase those lots,
they would also have to go through subdivision - and the shape of those
lots could make that challenging, meaning this road may very well never
connect to the stub on Big Woods Blvd.
▪ If we must build the road, can the City share in this cost? Respectfully, it
seems that we’re being unfairly penalized for this road, twice: monetarily
and in public opinion. It is expensive, and we are prevented from being
able to save more tree canopy (8%) which would please us and the
neighbors. Holding money is escrow indefinitely for a future build is also
not an attractive option for us, a couple putting two kids through college.
• Increased the overall amount of tree canopy being saved – all of the above being said,
we did what the Commission asked and we are excited that we have been able to come
up with a new plan that means the total tree canopy being saved will now be at least 38
percent – which is 3 percent more than the previous proposal presented in July of 2022.
64 additional caliper inches of trees will now be saved.
It is one thing to talk about tree canopy and tree preservation in theory – it is another to see how
many trees are being saved with your own eyes. We are inviting you to do just that. Please
venture out to 581 Fox Hill and take a look.
There is a huge swath of land where trees will go untouched which has now been marked off,
and additional trees will be saved in other areas. The building pads for the three additional lots
have been marked with fluorescent green ribbon. The pink ribbon along the back side of the lots
indicates the boundary of our development work. In addition to the extensive amount of trees
that would remain untouched on the lake lot, all trees not encircled with green ribbons would be
saved. This is an area roughly 215’ by 135’.
Some other things we would like to point out that can’t be understated.
o This property has been earmarked for subdivision previously as part of the City of
Chanhassen’s comprehensive plan for the area, and there are actually stubs for utilities
in place already for these homes. The City previously stubbed 4 sanitary and water
services in anticipation of the development of this property.
o The number of homes being built on this existing property is less than the number of lots
on the shorter side of Fox Hill opposite of us – and far fewer than were built on Big Woods
Boulevard in the same length of space.
o Tree canopy is not the same as total number of trees – we are actually saving almost HALF of all
the trees on the property - roughly 46.8 percent of them, to be specific - which is a lot when
considering how much clearing can take place during subdivisions.
o The City of Chanhassen has parameters in place that allow for a lesser percentage of tree
canopy to be maintained during the subdivision process than the goal of 55%. We are
abiding by all such rules and we are the property owners of this parcel, and should be able
to proceed in accordance with the law and its provisions.
o Despite what was said in the last meeting, not everyone in this neighborhood opposes
this project. In fact, we have spoken with many people directly adjacent or on
neighboring blocks who support this project wholeheartedly.
We look forward to seeing you in person and thank you for the opportunity to revisit our plan
and come up with the best possible path forward for all involved.
Thanks,
Maria and Andy Awes