KEVIN L. BRAUER

17522 37^TH STREET

MCLOUTH, KANSAS 66054

HOME: 785-832-1028

CELL: 785-423-0358

December 18, 2004

City of Lawrence

Office of the City Clerk 6 East 6^th Street

P.O. Box 708

Lawrence, Kansas 66044

RE: Letter of Exception to Ordinance No. 7841

City Commission of Lawrence:

This letter is requesting exception to Ordinance No. 7841, which establishes a temporary building permit moratorium. I purchased the property addressed 917 Ward Street, Lawrence, KS at the beginning of October 2004 with the intention of demolishing the abandoned house and replacing it with a new 3 bedroom home. This operation requires the demolition of the original house prior to the issuing of the building permit for the new one. The demo permit was applied for October 6, 2004. Ordinance No.7841 establishes the cutoff date for the building permit as October 26, 2004 which did not allow time to receive the demo permit let alone tear down the house and apply for the new building permit. The existing house was in too poor of condition to rehabilitate, making it more reasonable to replace. My plan prior to the initial purchase was to replace the house, which when applying for the demo permit I made clear to the permit office. Unfortunately, my contacts in that office weren't aware of the potential passing of this ordinance. The ordinance does state, "replacement of existing structures, or parts thereof, shall be allowed during the moratorium"; however, the replacement house would have a larger footprint because of going from a two-bedroom house to a three-bedroom.

The exception I'm requesting is the ability to obtain a building permit for the new replacement house. I thank you for the consideration and hope it is apparent how this operation will benefit Lawrence by getting rid of an unsightly and uninhabitable house and gaining a new three-bedroom home that a starting-out family can enjoy.

Thanks again,

Kevin L. Brauer