08.b2a Furey Letter to City CouncilStatement by Thomas Furey, co-owner of 23375 Lofton Avenue North
We purchased the cabin at 23375 Lofton Avenue North in Scandia in the spring of 2016, as part
of our planning to have a wonderful place for our children to grow and gather through their
transition to adulthood with partners and children of their own. We have enjoyed becoming a
part of the Bone Lake Neighborhood. We want to continue to be a part of Bone Lake’s continued
improvement in both natural appearance and water quality. The changes we are requesting will
improve our property and improve Bone Lake. We are remodeling our cabin, and the deck for
which we are requesting a variance is the minimum change needed to integrate the house to the
lakeshore.
We are requesting that the Scandia City Council approve the variance as proposed and
recommended by the city planner prior to the August 3 planning commission meeting. This new
deck will accommodate us who can age in place and welcome a growing extended family. The
deck we are requesting is the minimum needed to provide safety, usability and accessibility. The
property drawing before and after, and the images above show the transition to an integrated and
cohesive home and deck. We are proposing removal of a combination of patios and deck,
building a single, accessible deck.
The requested variance is the minimum action required to eliminate the practical difficulty.
This is the minimum action to provide a safe, accessible, and usable deck.
1. Safety. The deck we propose will include 48 square feet within the Scandia City
Planning Commission recommended setback from the ordinary high-water line.
Note the blue highlighted area. This area will have no same-level access, creating
an area difficult and unsafe to maintain. The minimum deck for safety is to extend
to the upper retaining wall.
2. Usability and accessibility. The deck is the minimum needed to provide
circulation and access for us and future generations to age in place with a 4 foot
pathway.
3. Appearance. A proposed rod rail railing will further reduce the lake viewshed.
4. Stewardship. We have transformed the property with native shoreline well beyond
the minimum recommended. The DNR recommends a buffer of at least 50% of
shoreline, but more than 70% of our shoreline is a native plant buffer. We will
further augment with trees and shrubs to obscure the deck from the lake view.
Tom Furey and Mary Kenning’s Commitment to Stewardship
About 4 years ago we applied for and were awarded a cost-share grant to transform our property
into native prairie and shoreline. This transformation includes 70% of the shoreline and 40% of
the upland area. Before completing the native planting, we cleared away many obstacles near the
lake including a fire barrel, flag-pole and multiple cement blocks. The native plants at the
shoreline are restoring and expanding the shoreline as roots of the native plants prevent the soil
from eroding into the lake. In just 4 years, the native plants have extended the ordinary high
water mark. In addition to the native grasses and flowers, we have added more than 10 native
trees and shrubs including chokecherries, viburnum, serviceberries, dogwoods and
chokecherries.
I don’t want to toot my horn loudly, and am not yet looking for committee assignments, but I
will be working hard for years to come to improve Scandia.
I plan to continue to be a water steward on our own property, adding native tree and shrub
plantings and more and maintaining it for years to come. We are excited to be hosting our first
family wedding and as part of the celebration our daughter and son-in-law will be choosing and
planting a native tree on the property to commemorate the occasion. This tree will replace the
tree located in the area of the new deck. We want to make our lakeshore property a welcoming
place for our children and hopefully grandchildren for years to come.
In addition to our own property, I have volunteered extensively to improve land and water
quality for the Scandia area. I plan to increase my commitment to water stewardship as I
transition someday soon to retirement. I would like to highlight a few things I have done to
improve the beauty and water quality of Bone Lake and the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake
Watershed District.
I am a Minnesota Water Steward. With the certification, I have committed to at least 50
hours per year volunteering in water stewardship, with virtually all those hours focused
on improving the quality of the Bone Lake.
I have been a member of the CLFLWD Citizen Advisory Council for more than 2 years.
I am currently vice president of the Bone Lake Association.
I have begun the exploratory process to create a gravel bed tree nursery to propagate and
plant native trees and shrubs around Bone Lake and Scandia at-large. This project was
put on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic but will get back on track soon.
I have volunteered to be the CAMP volunteer for Bone Lake in 2021, taking water
measures every two weeks throughout the summer.
We are dedicated to the health of Bone Lake and we plan to continue to protect and improve
Bone Lake for years to come.