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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.09.95 Planning Packet I .' . . . AGENDA PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MAY 9, 1995 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVE MINUTES March 14, 1995 - Regular April 11, 1995 - Regular a. b. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS a. 7:00 PM - Preliminary Plat of prairie Creek Third Addition - Situated North of Akin Park Estates and East of Silver Springs in Section 13 - b. 7:30 PM - Schematic Plan of Deer Meadow PUD - 35 Acre, 89 Lot Residential Neighborhood Situated North of Hill Dee and West of County Road 31 in Section 14 - c. 8:00 PM - Variance Request from Leroy P. Foley - 20340 Eaves Way - Build a Storage Shed 12 Feet in Height in Rear Yard d. 8:10 PM - Variance Request from Farmington School District - Erect 2 Storage Sheds, 10 Feet in Height at the Middle School Ballfields - e. 8:15 PM - Variance Request from JIT Powder Coatings Company - Construct a 40 Foot Opening onto Eaton Avenue in Industrial Park and to Plant Evergreen Trees in the Street Right of Way to Help Screen Loading Dock 4. DISCUSSION a. Revised Site Plan - Vermillion River Housing - Situated North of City Center and West of Railroad Right of Way 5. ADJOURN . . . 1 . AGENDA REPORT PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MAY 9, 1995 7:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVE MINUTES 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS a. 7:00 P.M. - preliminary Plat of prairie Creek Third Addition prairie Creek Third Addition is situated north of Akin Park Estates and east of Silver Springs in Section 13. It is a 68 single family lot subdivision which is a continuation of the development proposed in the prairie Creek PUD. The plat contains 3200 feet of new streets. The longer of the two streets, Embers Avenue, is a neighborhood collector street 80 feet in width. Embry Avenue traverses a hill between Akin Park Estates and a low area which contains the neighborhood park in the Second Addition. It has been reduced to fifty feet in width in an attempt to disturb as little of the hillside tree cover as possible. Retaining walls at the rear of the proposed housing pads have been introduced to further reduce hillside regrading. The minimum lot area in the plat measures 75' x 135' for a total of 10,125 square feet. Drainage and utility easements are five feet in width along side and rear lot lines and ten feet at the street right of way line, except where storm sewers are underground. In three locations the utility easements are 10 feet along the side lot lines. The landscape plan shows 24 Colorado Spruce utilized as boulevard plantings. They are not generally recommended for right of way use and may be substituted by species which adjoin. It is recommended the Developer specify single stem river birch and substitute river birch for the six paper birches that are indicated. In general, the landscape plan is well done as it includes, after the indicated changes, eight tree species. The comments from the Soil and Water Conservation District commend the use of retaining walls along the steep slope, but comments later indicate manufactured block as the way to proceed. However, the specifications clearly indicate fieldstone. This has been used very successfully in communities to the north and, therefore, any recommendation for approval should except the reference to prefabricated offset walls. The other recommendations shall be incorporated as outlined. The Developer worked closely with the engineering staff when the PUD was submitted. A review of this data will be available at the Public Hearing. Recommendation Send the preliminary plat to the City Council with a recommendation that it be approved with the recommended changes. . . . b. 7:30 P.M. - Schematic Plan of Deer Meadow PUD Deer Meadow PUD is a 35 acre, 89 lot residential neighborhood situated north of Hill Dee and west of County Road 31 in Section 14. This schematic plan has been reviewed once by the Planning Commission and the Developer has responded to that input by producing a substantially improved document. The purpose of the PUD is to avoid meeting the minimum lot size for all lots while maintaining a lot density close to normal residential area densities in the R-l District in Farmington. Most plats are developed at slightly more than 2 units per acre whereas Deer Meadow is proposed to include 2.56 units per acre. The Commission was interested in keeping lots adjoining Hill Dee neighborhood reasonably close to those densities. Typical lots in Hill Dee are 15,000 square feet. The lot sizes in Deer Meadow adjoining Hill Dee range between 21,600 and 9,300 square feet. The smaller of these are in the low lying level area on the eastern one half of the site. These lots measure 72 by 130 feet. The smallest lot in the plat, also in the eastern one half, measures 68 by 125 feet, or 8500 square feet. This is situated on the northern edge of the property adjoining the City of Lakeville. Lots in the southwestern corner of the plat, in the sloping land area, are all larger than the minimums permitted in the R-l District. Another concern of the Commission was the dependence of this PUD on one access. Approximately 900 trips per day can be expected to enter the intersection of 180th Street West and pilot Knob Road from this development. The recommendation of the Commission followed in this plan shows an extension of Euclid Avenue from 182nd Street West into Deer Meadow. The road does not line up directly with the existing Euclid Avenue and the City Engineer will determine if the indicated "S" curve will work. This discussion assumes that Lot 5 in Hill Dee will be purchased and an access developed. At the time Hill Dee was originally developed in Lakeville Township, no thought was given to access to adjoining property. The first plat of Hill View, approved by the City of Farmington, did require the dedication of a street outlet. However, in order for this outlet to be used, the City purchased a triangle of private property prior to the development of Terra Addition. The developer of Terra Addition improved this access when the plat was built. The difference between the Euclid Avenue extension into Deer Meadow and the Euclid Street extension into Terra is the cost associated with acquiring the house on Lot 5. The precedent established during the 1970s with regard to connecting neighborhoods was not followed in the acquisition of two homes for the Spruce Street entrance into East Farmington last year, largely because Spruce Street was indicated as a collector street in the case study developed by the Design Center at the University of Minnesota in 1993. The submitted plan raises questions about the need for condemnation contrasted with the developer negotiating for the lot as a condition of development. A very small wetland has been identified on the site and it has been avoided by the current proposal. It is located in Outlot B which will also be used as a NURP pond with maintenance access provided by a 20 foot wide driving lane. A second ponding area is to be located in Outlot A adjoining County Road 31. Both outlots will be dedicated to the City as a part of its stormwater management system. Parks have not been recommended within the plat because of the Euclid Avenue access directly into the existing Hill Dee park. 180th Street West is recommended as a neighborhood collector street that will connect long range with Everest Path as it extends >. . northward from TroyHill. A review of engineering aspects of the PUD will be available at the public hearing. Recommendation Send the PUD to the City Council with the recommendation that it be approved subject to resolution of Euclid Avenue with the City purchasing Lot 5 and the Developer improving the street as a part of Phase I in the Deer Meadow subdivision. c. 8:00 P.M. - Variance Requested by Leroy P. Foley, 20340 Eaves Way Mr. Foley is requesting to build a storage shed 12 feet in height in the rear yard of this property. The request is based upon the same lack of information about storage shed heights as the School District request which was discussed last month and will be approved this evening. Both projects were initiated by those who were not informed of current requirements. The approval of a one foot variance can be justified by the fact that it would be difficult to tell the difference, especially if the storage shed is placed in an open playfield. Can the same be said for a 3 foot variance on an average residential lot? The site needs to be visited by Commission Members as the storage shed was under construction at the above address before the Building Inspector stopped all work. The 9 foot high limitation on storage sheds was established for reasons associated with adequate light and air. Any number of other judgments could be made about an acceptable height. A question for the Commission to settle is how tall is too tall? . Recommendation Give the previous question some thought after viewing the storage shed in question. d. 8:10 P.M. - Variance Requested by Farmington School District The School District's request to erect two storage sheds, 10 feet in height, at the Middle School Ballfields. Recommendation Approve the requested one foot variance for the storage sheds because of their location in a large, open, recreation area. e. 8:15 P.M. - Variance Requested by JIT Powder Coatings Company JIT wishes to construct a 40 foot opening onto Eaton Avenue in the Industrial Park and to plant evergreen trees in the street right of way to help screen the company's proposed loading dock. Recommendation . Approve the requested variance for an increased width of 8 feet based upon a similar variance granted to a competitor in the Industrial Park last year. Also approve the request for evergreen plantings in the right of way because they will help screen the loading dock from view. , . .. . ~ . . 4. DISCUSSION a. Revised Site Plan - Vermillion River Housing This discussion essentially involves a rearrangement of open space ponding and driveways for a plat and POD which was approved by the Commission in January. It subsequently went to the City Council for a public hearing and was approved in. concept on February 6th. "It was the consensus of the Council that the staff prepare a resolution approving the plat." This was not done because the developer focused attention upon potential clean up grants in aid from the PCA and did not sufficiently complete construction documents to prepare cost estimates on which to base a Development Agreement. In the meantime, the developer decided to change the POD plan by changing the two 45 unit apartment buildings into one 43 (senior) and one 49 (family) unit buildings and to increase the number of townhouse units from 6 to 8. The total increase in units on this site amounts to 4 units, but since a more detailed analysis of the site area increased it by 19 one hundredth's of an acre, the site density dropped from 20 to 19.3 units per acre. The reason for the discrepancy between the allowable 18.2 units per acre in an R-3 POD and those in the plan is the 300 square feet per unit bonus for garage parking. . The site plan has changed inasmuch as the townhouse units were reversed to allow the living room windows to open into a settlement pond rather than onto the railroad right of way. The traffic circulation plan has also changed to include the townhouse units, and one ponding area within the loop drive. This change also places the stormwater or NURP drainage in one pond rather than two. If the changes are acceptable, the Commission needs to forward a recommendation to the City Council endorsing the revised layout. During the January meeting, the Commission recommended rezoning the area north of the City Center site from B-3 to R-3, recommended approval of the Rosebrier Apartment (Vermillion River Apartments) POD, and forwarding the preliminary plat of Vermillion River Housing to the City Council with the recommendation for approval. None of the above recommendations will be acted upon until the Development Agreement is prepared. Recommendation Forward a recommendation to the City Council which endorses the changes indicated in the PUD subject to the preparation of an acceptable landscape plan. {Jt~ If! 1J,~ Charles Tooker City Planner cc: file .