Agenda - Council - 05/11/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attn: Planning Commission To whom it may concern, I am writing in regards to my neighbors, John & Jodell Seaman and the upcoming hearing concerning the retaining wall they built this past summer near the walking trail that runs through our neighborhood. My husband, Tim, and I are supportive of the Seaman's retaining wall. Many of our yards have had a lot of erosion and runoff from the yards flowing down onto the path. The Seaman's wall not only looks clean and tidy, it actually helps keep dirt, weeds and debris from washing out into the path. Before we chose to build our home in the Brookfield 8th division, my husband and I walked that trail multiple times. We saw that many people had built retaining walls or brought in landscaping boulders and rocks. We saw people had done up landscaping all the way to the edge of the path. We talked with the realtor from Capstone builders and were told that we would own the land on both sides of the path with a couple feet or so of easement. But there was never once a mention of it being called a floodplain. We pay property taxes to own all of that property and now we are told two years after the purchase that we can't actually do anything on most of the property we pay for. For the city to now try to punish the Seaman's for landscaping their yard when it has never been an issue with other homeowners who have done similar landscaping projects on their properties along the same pathway is very suspicious and frustrating. It is also selective enforcement of a rule. So if you require one family to remove their landscaping, you'd have to do the same for every family who has already invested in landscaping projects along the path. We ask that you reconsider the easement policies that are being unequally enforced through the neighborhood and allow the Seaman's to keep their retaining wall. Sincerely, Karalynn and Tim Tyler, 7323 168th Circle NW Ramsey Copy of Previous Council Case