Attachment 2 Letter from Allan and Angela Tolsma – June 9, 2015

Re Request for a Variance to build a deck

I am writing this letter in an appeal for a variance in order to build a deck in my backyard.

We purchased our home in October 2007 and moved in upon completion on February 28, 2008. At the time we purchased our home we had older children and we did not require a back yard. Today however we now have a 19 month old grandson and we are finding that our backyard is very dangerous and unsuitable for small children. At this stage in our lives our needs are different and we are going to be in this stage for a very long time as our 4 children range in ages of 20 to 28 with two of them married, so we are looking at a way to make the backyard work for our growing family.

It is impossible for us to build a retaining wall and level it that way because we have a garry oak in our back yard and it will kill the tree. We came up with the idea of building a deck so we can level out the backyard, build the deck around the tree and make it safe and useable for our grandchild, and useable in general; because of the growth in our family we do not have enough room for everyone on our small patio. We really don't want to have to sell our home right now, but we may have no choice because it is important for us to have a safe and useable yard for our grandchild and our growing family and we are not willing to put our grandson at risk of falling off the patio to the garden below and we don't want to have to keep him indoors all the time.

We are asking for a variance so that we can build the deck right up to our hedge. The hedge is about 3ft back from the property line because of the irregular shape of our lot. Behind the hedge is a park so it is not going to affect any one, and on the other side of it is the Aspen condo building and nothing will change with that because we are already exposed to them when we sit on our patio. Also, our neighbors' privacy will not be affected because their patio is on the other side and there is a tall hedge between us.

If we built the deck to the 10ft requirement we will have a small opening between the deck and the hedge and nothing will be able to grow there because it will be so shaded and it will just become wasted space and will make the deck so much smaller. Also, it will not look as good aesthetically for when the time does come for us to sell our home.

Thank you so much for your consideration to this request; I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

Angela Tolsma

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