City Council Packet 09-15-2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

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To whom it may concern, would like to introduce my husband and I. We have lived in Elk Riverfor 15 years and in our current home for 13 years and 9 months. We have three children, Leo (14), Gabe (12) and Agnes (11). We are currently preparing for my husbands disabled sister and his recently retired father to move in with us. I am a career public servant and have worked for Hennepin County Community Corrections for nearly 18 years and my husband Josh is a disabled Veteran who has been a stay-at-home dad since 2011. It is important to us to have our family close and be able to assist them as they age and prepare a home with us that preserves their independence and dignity. My sister-in-law has both physical and cognitive disabilities that have created greater challenges as she ages. She has limited use of her right hand and growing issues with balance. These challenges have been present since birth due to a stroke that happened during delivery. Our goal is to be able to use our space in an efficient manner that allows for the inclusion of wider hallways to accommodate wheelchairs or other mobility equipment, a residential elevator if needed and ample space to prepare our familyto be able to remain at home until their passing. Our desire is to build a 40' x 50' steel clad building. Of this 40' x 50'structure, 30' x 40' of the footprint would contain garage space. The other 20' x 40' portion of the building's footprint would contain an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). This portion of the footprint would have a first and a second floor to create privacy for our family members as they transition to living with us. Additionally, as they age, we want to make sure that if they need care or have mobility issues, we can safely and comfortably accommodate medical equipment or the use of wheelchairs or other mobility equipment throughout the space safely. There are two specific reasons we are requesting a variance. The first and most important reason we are requesting a variance is to exceed the 1,000 square foot limit of the Elk River Municipal code for an Accessory Dwelling Unit. Our goal is to have 2 floors of available living space for the 20' x 40' portion of the footprint we identified above forthe ADU. This would exceed the limit by 600 square feet of living space. The second reason is that with the approximate dimensions of our attached garage (24' x 27' roughly 648 sq ft, measured on the exterior of the garage) we would only have 1,852 square feet available to build an approximately 47' x 40'structu re. As you can imagine this odd measurement could impact cost as we build. One of ourgoals in building this structure is to have adequate space to store our recreational vehicles, boats, our bobcat and other items that currently are parked in the open. Page 119 of 556