Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/06/1997

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I ! I I I I I I I I I I I I ! I I I Zoning Administrator Zoning Commission City Council 15153 Nowthen Blvd. NW Ramsey, MN 55303 David Hansen 2079 Dudley Ave. St. Paul, MN 551108 April 5, 1997 Sylvia Frolik and other City of Ramsey Administrators, Attached is our application to build a 36x~,ft. pole barn on our Christmas tree farm located a quarter mile west of Ramsey Boulevard on 155th Ave. NW. We have talked with neighbors about our immediate and long term plans (see letter and signatures), as well as the Ramsey zoning administrator, traffic engineer and building inspector. We have taken everyone's suggestions and included them in this application and plan. Not everything can go on the form and site plan so we hope this letter gives enough additional background. We assume relevant information will be put into the final permit. Since we do not live in Ramsey and there has not been buildings on the property we hope we are doing this right. Our Christmas tree farm has been here since our father and grandfather started it in 1952. Our hope is that it will remain in our family with future generations. Besides being an enjoyable work experience for us and our children it is a natural resource for the neighborhood, which perhaps explains why everyone we asked to support our application was happy to do so. We see the proposed buildings as a way to continue our tree farm into the future, with public use being basically the same as it has been for the past 45 years, but meeting today's needs. The pole barn will allow us to store and protect our tractor, tools and machinery throughout the year, as well as provide a sheltered space to repair things. Just having electricity and a place to get out of the rain will be a major benefit. Immediate neighbors will benefit because our machinery will no longer be stored outside. In addition, we would like to use the building as a shelter when families come to cut their Christmas trees. Over 300 of our customers are from Ramsey, and they along with the others have wished there was a place to get out of the wind, cold and snow. Most of our sales take place on weekends, totaling only 10 days of the year from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Families usually set aside a specific day to get their tree and if it happens to be bad weather they still come, but wish the outing were more enjoyable. Bad weather such as last Thanksgiving weekend's rain and sleet makes it miserable for customers and workers, and the shelter of a barn would be appreciated. It comes down to the fact that people today expect more service and have a lower tolerance for discomfort! We propose locating the barn 100 feet from the road so it is barely visible, screened behind the 45 year-old Norway pines. Everyone seems to agree that a neutral brown color is best so it blends into the woods. The location was selected because it is an open area and no trees will need to be cut down for the building. From our perspective it is close enough to 155th Ave. NW and unlikely to be vandalized, compared with being totally hidden in the middle of our 40 acre forest. At the suggestion of the traffic engineer we would like to relocate our middle entrance so that it aligns with Traprock St. This will provide a safer, less confusing situation for traffic on 155th, Traprock and our property. The building inspector explained that if customers will enter the barn, the roof must have a load rating of 40 lbs., which we were planning anyway to avoid possible snow damage. We also talked with the parks and trails planner about our building