Agenda - Council - 10/13/2026 - Laserfiche WebLink

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(612) 337-6100 (612) 339-6591 100 Washington Ave S. 1 Suite 1300 Minneapolis, MN 55401 siegelbrill.com September 3, 2026 Via Email (planninaacitvoframsevmn.aov) Members of the City Council City of Ramsey 7550 Sunwood Drive NW Ramsey, MN 55303 Re: Rum River Retreat Project #26-106 Our File No. 32858 Dear Mayor Heineman and members of the City Council: SIEGEL BRILL PA ATTORNEYS AT LAW We represent Paul and Stephanie Olson, who own and reside on the 35-acre parcel located at 5750 177th Ave NW. Our clients' property is immediately adjacent and to the west of the parcel on which Sundance Woods, LLC, ("the Applicant") proposes to create 15 lots consisting of 14 new homes and one existing home ("the Project"). On your agenda for September 8 is an application for approval of a preliminary plat and a requested variance for the Project. For the reasons outlined below, those requests should be denied. To be approved, a proposed preliminary plat must be in conformity with the requirements of the City Code. See Sec. 117-614(a). The proposed preliminary plat for the Project fails to comply with Code requirements in two ways. First, it includes a cul-de-sac that exceeds the 600' maximum permitted length for cul-de-sacs. Second, two of the proposed lots violate the minimum 200' depth requirement, and there is no proper basis for granting a variance from that requirement. The proposed cul-de-sac violates the 600' maximum length reauirement The Subdivision Ordinance, and specifically Sec.117-614(c)(7), provides that "[t]he maximum length of cul-de-sac streets shall be 600 feet[.]" Neither the project narrative nor the staff report provides the length of the proposed unnamed east -west cul-de-sac that is part of the Project, but from the proposed preliminary plat it appears that that street is over 1,100 feet in length — i.e., nearly twice the maximum allowable length. Recognizing the non-compliance of the proposed cul-de-sac, staff informed the Applicant it would need a variance from the 600' maximum rule. The Applicant accordingly applied for the variance and staff noticed the required public hearing. Staff also prepared a draft resolution approving a variance from the cul-de-sac length limit for the Planning Commission to consider.