HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-05-12 Thomas Soller Public Hearing Comment p.L .., klA6 Comr L -
May 9, 2011
\r1)wt 1�� sc /J9
14829 North 50th Street S j s o Pm
Stillwater, MN 55082
Mr. Eric Johnson, City Administrator
Oak Park City Hall
14168 Oak Park Blvd. North
Oak Park Heights, MN 55082
Dear Mr. Johnson,
The last time you invited us to a 7:00 P. M. meeting of your
planning commission it was to review your plans to put your
water tower in our front yard. After sitting for two hours listening
to an important discussion about the color scheme of a
proposed bank we were allowed to speak. So I think you can
understand why i won't be attending this meeting. But I would
like to review a little history of the prison and the current
lighting.
When we built our house in 1975 we sat in our kitchen and had
a view that went for miles up the river and into Wisconsin. The
prison hog farm had been converted to a wildlife reserve
teaming with wildlife. Then the Corrections Commission
decided this was a natural place to put a prison. The truth was,
they admitted later, that there were very few neighbors to resist
them.
For six months, twelve hours a day, they moved dirt. When they
finished there was a twenty -foot high wall of dirt sitting on the
property line 80 feet from our front door. Funny how it was
never mentioned in any of the public hearings. They sprayed a
little seed and hay on the hill full of washouts and that was the
last we heard from them,
As the years passed we filled the washouts and planted the hill
with native grasses, trees, and shrubs. The bank originally
blocked the view of the lighting. In time the bank settled and
the lights hts m i
came into view.
g But the trees and bushes we p !anted
now block a lot of the Tight. When the leaves are down there
are 19 lights shining in our direction. On a snowy, overcast night
you could sit in our kitchen and read a newspaper. We have
never seen the stars since the lights were turned on.
This indicates to me that the current lighting is very inefficient.
I'm certainly not asking you to increase the height of the bank.
I am asking you to continue to respect the vegetation we have
planted and to avoid damaging it when you are spraying
herbicide and burning the grasses.
I am also asking you to put your lighting on the outer perimeter
of the parking lot pointing down and toward the prison instead
of out and toward the neighbors as it seems to be now.
All in all the prison has been a very good neighbor the last 34
years. As I've said before, it could have been a Wal -Mart.
Yours Truly,
.
Thomas E. Soller
t
. _ -..:0ii„,.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
ON APPLICATION FOR
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AMENDMENT
RELATED TO LIGHTING ELEMENTS OF PROPOSED
PARKING LOT SECURITY UPGRADE DESIGN
AT THE OAK PARK HEIGHTS MINNESOTA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
LOCATED AT 5329 OSGOOD AVE N.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
CITY OF OAK PA" HEIGHTS
WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Planning Commission for the City of Oak Park
Heights, Washington County, Minnesota shall hold a public hearing, at the direction of the
City Administrator, upon the application of the Minnesota Correctional Facility for a
Conditional Use Permit Amendment related to lighting elements of proposed parking lot
security upgrade design at the Oak Park Heights Minnesota Correctional Facility, located at
5329 Osgood Ave. N., City of Oak Park Heights, County of Washington and State of
Minnesota, as follows:
Washington County GEO Code: 04- 029 -20-41 -0003
The public hearing shall be held before the Planning Commission on Thursday, May 12,
2011 at 7:00 o'clock p.m. at the City Hall, 14168 Oak Park Blvd. N., Oak Park Heights,
Minnesota 55082. All written and oral comments will be considered.
Review of the fins "I • ; and recommendation of the Planning Commission is anticipated to
be held by I - City uncil on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 7:00 o'clock p.m. at the City Hall
Dated I ' 27 , i . y i April, 2011
BY o ' 11 E : , ri ' COUNCIL
Ai
E tom' ' . -ff. , ty Administrator