05-25-2022 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MAY 259 2022 Road D for Desoto ROW private access point. That being said, this is with full acknowledgement that the trip generation and traffic study from the development show clearly that the additional access is not warranted, and that this is at the specific request of the City of Little Canada. " The Community Development Director reported that the City is reviewing a major subdivision application for approval of a Preliminary Plat from U.S. Home, LLC, Lennar, to construct a 178-unit townhome community. She stated the public hearing was held at the May 11, 2022 Council meeting, and at that time, Council voted to table the item to see if Lennar was able to address traffic flow concerns. Based on Council discussion and public comment, Lennar has provided an updated preliminary site plan to show additional circulation to address concerns about traffic, city road connections, and internal connections within the private streets of the development. The Community Development Director gave an overview of the updated proposed development and reviewed how Vanderbie Street is planned to be extended north to connect with County Road D, and an internal street will now also run along the entire west side of the development and connect to County Road D. The Public Works Director addressed a previous question regarding the sewer lines. He explained that there is a 12-inch sanitary sewer main that runs east -west along Allen Avenue that is collecting much of the sewage from a good portion of the east side of the city; and then takes it across the freeway into to a Metropolitan Council interceptor. He stated that he and the City Engineer determined that it is large enough to handle the new development. ' Keis stated that one of the big issues is traffic, and asked if traffic studies have been done. The City Administrator stated that Ramsey County required a traffic analysis which was in a previous staff report. He noted it is a study that anticipates the traffic counts, not an actual study which cannot be done until after the project is done to count the actual vehicles. Melissa Duce, Lennar, stated that they are trying to address some of the concerns heard from the neighbors. She explained that the City had planned for Vanderbie Street to be connected to the north even before I-694 was constructed. She stated this is an important connection between the neighborhoods for all tax- paying residents. She explained that any public right-of-way that is being created and constructed by the Developer, will be paid for by the Developer, so no residents will be assessed. She explained that the Developer is responsible for any damage to existing roads during construction. She explained that this type of issue is typically addressed in a development agreement. Bob Barth, WSB, stated that the traffic study was required by Ramsey County, and stated the surrounding road networks are adequate to handle the additional traffic. He explained that models show there would be about 70 trips each in the morning and evening. He stated that design elements in the roadways can be used for traffic calming. He stated the three intersections Torkelson clarified that no specific traffic studies have been done on the Allen Avenue intersections or Vanderbie and Labore Road. He stated that this does not paint the picture for the actual intersections that will be impacted by the new traffic. He noted that this area was originally guided as single-family residential, so having the Vanderbie connection all the way to County Road D would have a different impact as single-family housing versus the density that is being proposed. 5