01-11-2023 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Fischer and Members of the City Council FROM:Corrin Wendell, AICP, Community Development Director Chris Heineman, City Administrator DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 2023 RE: Villas of Gervais Lake Subdivision SUMMARY The purpose of this workshop is to review the background of the Villas of Gervais Lake subdivision and consider potential changes by the developer to the Preliminary Plat that would reduce or eliminate the requested variances. These options include: 1)Revised development proposal with public road & 7 parcels (Variance for 8-foot reduction of Lot Depth from 130 feet to 122 feet) 2)Revised development proposal with private road & 7 parcels (No variances required) City staff is requesting feedback from the City Council on which of these two options is preferred moving forward. Based on the feedback received by the Council, it is anticipated that the applicant would submit a Preliminary Plat application for the Planning Commission meeting on January 26. A Public Hearing would then be scheduled for the City Council meeting on February 8. BACKGROUND City staff was initially approached in March of 2022 by Sean Keats from Cara Builders, LLC about the potential subdivision of a 3.12 acre parcel located north of Little Canada Road and bordered by Edgerton Street to the east and Gervais Mill Park to the north. The parcel is in the R-1 single family zoning district and is the last undeveloped remnant of the Huot property. There are several unique circumstances related to this site including grade and topography changes of approximately 28 feet (884’ to 912’) on the south end and 20 feet (884’ to 864’) on the north end of the parcel. The north end of the parcel is also designated as a floodplain and may only be used for drainage and stormwater retention. In addition, site access is limited and Ramsey County will only allow a road at the north end of the parcel to maintain sufficient distance from the Edgerton Street and Little Canada Road intersection. These issues create practical difficulties, but it remains a prime residential development site. City staff worked with the developer on eight site plans before arriving at a layout that would work for the site with minimal variances. The initial site plan included 11 single-family lots and