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SEVERANCE DAMAGES TO THE REMAINDER <br />Severance damage (reduction of market value to the remainder) was considered by the appraiser. <br />Access Changes <br />The proposed project includes the closure of Oxford Avenue NW, which is the subject's street, between TH 10 to <br />the north and 5th Street NW to the south. Due to the closure of Oxford Avenue, the subject's proposed acquisition <br />includes the installation of a new driveway that provides the subject access to 5th Street NW that borders the <br />subject to the south. The new driveway will utilize the Oxford Avenue right of way and will tie into the subject's <br />existing driveway. The proposed driveway to 5th Street NW will provide reasonably convenient and suitable <br />access to the subject property and would have no negative severance damage to the subject's remainder. <br />Garage Severance <br />The alignment of the new driveway will be altered to reflect the boundaries of the existing highway right of way. <br />The existing driveway encroaches onto the highway right of way to provide a direct east/west alignment to Oxford <br />Avenue and the subject's garage. The proposed driveway will have a west-northwest/east-southeast alignment in <br />the after condition. <br />Due to the changes in the driveway alignment that will no longer have the same orientation as the subject's garage, <br />access to the garage is anticipated to be diminished to the point it will no longer be accessible by vehicle. <br />However, the current condition of the garage is extremely poor and has impacted the utility and function of the <br />garage such that it is no longer viable to be used for vehicular storage. This is supported by the appraiser's <br />observations at the time of inspection that indicated the tenant was not using the garage for vehicle parking. <br />The garage offers minimal contributory value to the subject property based on its current condition. Furthermore, <br />the garage is encroaching across existing highway right of way, which eliminates the ability to construct a new <br />garage in the same location. There would not be adequate space to build a new garage in a similar location north <br />of the home within the site boundaries and be compliant with setbacks. Furthermore, repairing the existing garage <br />is not believed to be feasible given the extreme level of deferred maintenance and apparent damage to the integrity <br />of the structure. The appraiser has concluded the only remaining utility of the structure would be for ancillary <br />storage uses, which do not require a specific driveway alignment for access. Due to the poor condition of the <br />structure, which includes large holes in the roof, storage uses are significantly limited as well. <br />The appraiser has concluded that there are no severance damages to the subject's garage structure due to the <br />acquisition of Parcel 229C. <br />Rental Severance <br />The length of the subject's driveway will increase significantly, from an existing length of approximately 50 feet, <br />to a proposed total length of approximately 190 feet, which includes the turnaround area. The property is currently <br />being utilized as a single family rental property. This use is common in the market area and based on reported <br />rental market conditions, appears to be a viable and financially feasible use of the property. <br />The proposed change in driveway length is anticipated to result in an increase in maintenance costs to the property <br />owner (landlord), including snow plowing and other maintenance. These maintenance costs are typically passed <br />on to the tenant based on lease terms in the market area for single family properties. The appraiser has interviewed <br />local market participants as well as other property managers/landlords familiar with single family rentals to <br />determine the appropriate rental impacts, if any, to the subject property based on the proposed driveway changes. <br />Three market participants were interviewed including a local realtor/property manager from Elk River that has <br />extensive experience in the single family rental market. Two additional property manager/landlords with single <br />family rental experience were also interviewed to provide an adequate sampling of data. <br />The property managers suggested that the significant increase in driveway length would likely result in increased <br />maintenance expenses for the rental property. These expenses are often passed onto the tenant; however, rental <br />rates are directly tied to the pass through maintenance costs, which would tend to have a negative effect on the <br />achievable rental rate for the property. <br />S.P. 7102-135RW C.S. 7102 (10=3) 902 Parcel 7102-902-229C Page 45 <br />