5.5. SR 07-18-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Barnhart, Jeremy From: Thorndal, Joe P. Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 12:03 PM To: Anderson, Dana; Barnhart, Jeremy Cc: Bell, Paul; Ives, Troy; Johnson, Eric; Lemke, Pete; Scott, Kevin; Westberg, Chad Subject: 6/14 Meeting Regarding CUP for The Thai Buddhist Center Attachments: http_webl-elkr.ci.elk-river.mn.us_weblink7_docview.pdf June 14, 2011 City of Elk River Planning Commission Subject: Case No. CU 11-08 Request for Conditional Use Permit Devin Peterson of Peterson Construction On behalf of Thai Buddhist Center, 10863 208 Ave NW, Elk River, MN 55330 All Members, As a longtime resident of Elk River and the owner of property directly adjacent to the subject property noted above, we must strongly object to this request for a conditional use permit. We have watched the clearing of the woods and the massive modification to the property that has already taken place. We have exxperienced huge functions with hundreds of people next door on a regular basis. We have been concerned and wondered about the environmental impact. And until now we have remained silent. But with the steadily increased use of the property next door that we have seen, we can no longer remain silent. We must object to the proposed use of this property as it will directly impact our family and our ability to peacefully enjoy our home. We moved to Elk River precisely for that reason, namely to peacefully enjoy our home in what has been up until now a very private area. If we wanted to live next to a business or a church we would have done so. We urgently request that this commission stand up for our family and our neighbors and reject this permit. And we offer the following in support of this request. 1. The area is zoned residential. Stated simply, this request is not for residential use. 2. The property already has signage for the center that we feel is inappropriate for a residential area. 3. In spite of current signage, we've experienced several occasions of strangers coming up our drive, walking to the back, and literally looking in our windows, mistakenly thinking it was the "Center" next door. 4. While the mistakes made by users of the center are objectionable, it's perfectly understandable. And in fact the people that have done this have been very polite. We haven't had a serious problem as of yet. However the increased use is a concern, and we would find additional signage in our cul-de-sac even more objectionable. 5. The impact on our neighborhood is extreme. On weekends when the 'Center' has what ever functions they have, the property hosts what appears to be hundreds of people. Along with the hundreds of people are literally a hundred or more cars. This is no exaggeration. There are speeches being made, they have gongs, and spend a good portion of the day on the property. Regarding number 5 above, I would like to make clear that these are very nice people that are polite and well behaved. And if it were an occasional party or celebration we would have no objection. But such is not the case. These functions take place often and what is being conducted next door to our home is a business. Or a church. Or call it what you may. But it is certainly not typical use of residential property and we strongly object to it's continuation. It will directly impact the value of our property in a negative way and it also impacts the ability of the entire neighborhood to peacefully enjoy their homes.