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Sherburne County Habitat For Humanity M,.&,•,g^ Serving All Of Sherburne County October 22, 2004 Elk River Planning Department 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River, MN 55330 Subject: Lot Rezoning, Split,and Variance Request For Habitat For Humanity House Habitat For Humanity is an ecumenical housing ministry dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness. To date, we have built over 175,000 houses worldwide. We rely to a great extent, on donations of land, building materials, and labor to provide safe,decent, housing to families who otherwise could not afford one. The Sherburne County Chapter Habitat For Humanity was founded in 2002 intent on building affordable housing in Sherburne County, one house at a time. To date, we have only built one house. It is located in Livonia Township and was completed in 2003. Since our founding,we have been looking for an affordable lot in Elk River. It seemed a hopeless task as few leads always ended in land costs that placed it way beyond our reach! In September of this year, our luck changed. Thiry and Jerry Minor of Elk River,offered to donate a very nice lot in Elk River. It is in an area of modest homes, and it looks like a perfect fit for a Habitat house. There are three changes that will be required before we can build a single family house on this lot. The first is that it must be rezoned from C-3, highway commercial to RI-A, low density residential. The lot in question is located behind Highway 10 commercial property with residential houses abutting to the south and across Yale Avenue to the west. This lot is too small and definitely not suitable for commercial development. The lot is part of a 3.63 acre commercial parcel which has no buildable land left other than the eight- tenths acre that has been donated to Habitat For Humanity. Splitting the eight-tenths acre lot from the 3.63 acre commercial parcel and rezoning it for residential use is the best use for adjoining property owners and for the City of Elk River. We are also requesting that a variance be granted to allow HFH to build on this eight-tenths acre lot where two and one-half acre lots are now required. When the abutting residential lots were developed, one-half acre lots were considered acceptable for a private well and septic system. Indeed, existing wells and septic systems of the houses in the immediate vicinity of this lot have functioned satisfactorily without injuring or adversely affecting the health, safety or welfare of the residents of the City or the neighborhood. It is our firm belief and that of our septic system consulting firm that soil conditions, lot size,and gentle slope will support a healthy water supply and highly functional septic system for many years. We are asking for the same consideration regarding lot size as adjoining property owners were granted when they built their houses. We do not believe this is an unreasonable or precedent setting request, because we are a charitable nonprofit organization asking for special consideration,and this is the last buildable lot in the area that does not have access to City water and sewer. We really need your support in this request to get our start toward affordable housing in Elk River. Thanks in advance for supporting us in this endeavor. Sincerely, Vance Zehrin r Sherburne ounty Cha er Habitat For Humanity 554 Third Street, Suite 200, Elk River, MN 55330 Phone 763/241-9536 Fax 763/241-8454