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CASE <br /> <br />REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO EXCEED FENCE HEIGHT <br />RESTRICTIONS; CASE OF AL KEMPF <br /> By: Community Development Director Sylvia Frolik <br /> <br />Background: <br /> <br />Mr. A1 Kempf resides at 5220 St. Francis Blvd. N.W. As part of the T.H. #47 improvement <br />project, Mr. Kempf lost several mature trees that were located between the front of his home and <br />the highway. Mr. Kempf has stated that those trees acted as a noise and visual buffer from the <br />traffic. Mr. Kempf approached City Staff regarding constructing a 6 foot privacy fence across <br />the front of his property to replace the buffering effect previously provided by the trees. Mr. <br />Kempf was informed that front yard fences are restricted to decorative fences not exceeding 4 <br />feet in height. On September 7, 2000, the City received an application from A1 Kempf for a <br />conditional use permit to exceed the 4 foot front yard fence height restriction. The following <br />items are enclosed for your information: <br /> <br />a) <br />b) <br />c) <br />d) <br /> <br />Site location map <br />Site Plan <br />Proposed findings of fact <br />Proposed conditional use permit <br /> <br />Notification: <br /> <br />In accordance with State Statute, Staff attempted to notify all property owners within 350 feet of <br />the subject property of the request and public hearing. <br /> <br />Observations: <br /> <br />As stated above, front yard fences are restricted to 4 feet in height. One concern with front yard <br />fences is that they do not obstruct visibility of the house numbers from the public road, especially <br />for emergency situations. <br /> <br />On a site visit, it became apparent that Mr. Kempf is proposing to locate the fence approximately <br />2 to 3 feet into the highway right-of-way. If the fence were placed on the front property line, it is <br />highly likely that some of the trees that did survive the highway improvements would be <br />damaged. Staff consulted Mr. Keith VanWagner in the Mn/DOT Permits Division. He indicated <br />that Mr. Kempf would need a permit from Mn/DOT in order to locate the fence as proposed, but <br />it is highly unlikely that such a permit would be granted. Mr. VanWagner stated that as an <br />alternative, Mn/DOT may consider allowing the establishment of some additional vegetation in <br />the highway right-of-way. <br /> <br /> <br />