04-10-08 Planning Comm. Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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NORTHWEST ASSOCIATED CONSULTANTS, INC. 4800 Olson Memorial Highway, Suite 202, Golden Valley, MN 55422 Telephone: 763.231.2555 Facsimile: 763.231.2561 planners@nacpla nning.com MEMORANDUM TO: Little Canada Planning Commission FROM: Stephen Grittman DATE: April 4, 2008 RE: Little Canada - R-1 Zoning District Amendments FILE NO: 758.10 - 07.07 Background and Analysis As a part of the larger Zoning Ordinance update, the City has been working on amending the R-1 Zoning District to address the potential development of the remaining single family areas in the City. As has been seen in recent subdivision requests, the development of these parcels has been quite controversial for surrounding neighborhoods, as the last vestiges of private land are built on. For most of these projects, development means the loss of woodlands, concerns over historical or potential drainage problems, new traffic concerns, and other related issues. The proposed R-1 Zoning District has resulted from a series of workshop discussions between staff, Planning Commission, and City Council. Options considered included the creation of a separate zoning district for undeveloped land, broad changes to lot size and density, and other considerations. The proposed regulations are a sort of hybrid of these ideas. The proposed language creates a new set of lot size standards that will apply to newly platted lots, but retain the previous standards for existing lots of record to avoid non-conformities as much as possible. There are some new standards that will apply to all R-1 lots under this language, including impervious surface standards and tree preservation requirements. In addition, a definition of buildable lots is proposed to include a requirement that the subject lot can get its access directly from the street on which it fronts, without the use of easement across another property. 39