05/16/1979 P&Z Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

Page 6 ,Planning and Zoning Commission, May 16, 1979 onto 7 or 8 lots, and that area would be screened. No trees on Lantern Lane are planned. The townhouses are in clusters and not in rows. Mr. McLean asked if they were going to handle the parking question that the planner had brought up. The design is apparently on the sketch plan but it was not put on the one made available to the Commission. The environmental impact study will be done if there is acceptance. There may be another ponding area necessary on the west side in the lake area. Mr. Blackbird did not know if Rice Creek Watershed will require it or not, but Mr. Gotwald believes they will. The existing ponding area is the natural low area. Mr. McLean asked if all road sections are standard city roads; Mr. Blackbird said they were, and the cul-de-sacs are larger than normal. Mr. Shearen suggested that perhaps duplexes could be added as a buffer and thus lower the density of the area. Mr. Blackbird indicated that they would rather keep it a townhouse complex, and that density figures would not be altered much if duplexes were used. There is a 4.1 average household figure used here. Mr. McLean asked if there had been any planning on lighting and so on. Mr. Black- bird said that it hadn't been looked into yet for the cul-de-sacs. Mr. Reinert was concerned with the pumping in regard to the health and safety of the residents and wanted to know what was being planned in regard to this deficiency, which he felt was very serious. Mr. Blackbird said the fire hazard is not that great because it's so close to the lake, and water can be pumped up directly from the lake. Mr. Reinert felt that with that large a development, the problem should be worked out before anything further is done on it. Mr. Blackbird felt that after the land has been bought it would be easier to handle; but Mr. Reinert felt it shouldn't wait until the problem exists, but plans should be made now and the problem worked out. Mr. Gotwald is apparently looking into this matter involving the water system, and taking into consideration what should be done. Mr. Reinert felt this is going to tax it to the maximum already. Mr. Gourley suggested that the Commission should ask Mr. Gotwald for specific information on this. Further discussion was held on the water situation: water storage, wells and the fire protection situation. Mr. Heath brought up a question on population density -- if we set 4.5 or 5 as a density, would that limit the capacity to build? Mr. Blackbird indicated that it was all related to the people per household density question. He felt individual homes and townhouse densities would be the same. He sees single people buying homes, and so on. He felt family size was question- able, and that a large family would not buy this. The 5.-- units per acre plan is based on this one mile; it doesn't mean that there are only 5 units per one single acre. Park area should be included in calculations as well. He said Lakeville is presently considering 140 units in a 20 acre parcel, yet they say their limit is 4.8. Mr. McLean asked about tot lots. Mr. Blackbird said there were some corners ideal for tot lots and there would be one for each cluster unit. It was considered for the lake shore but they were concerned about children falling in the water, and so it was changed. They would not be open to the general public, but it would actually be up to the townhouses to decide, as it was private ownership. There is a park dedication made already. Mr. Johnson brought up a situation with Rice Lake Trails, platted by Orrin Thompson, in which land allo- cations were broken down by single family housing and townhouse lots. He cited some figures on density, and pointed out that they do breakdowns, not by a whole plat, but by the units individually. Mr. Blackbird agreed that this was done in this case. There was some further discussion. Mrs. Anderson had some information on density from the planner. Mr. McLean noted that most of it related to R-1. Mr. Blackbird was asked if he was going to get together with the homeowners group; he indicated that he would. Mr. Reinert felt that the initial plat proposal had been pretty poor, and felt that if it had not been questioned, they would have gone ahead and developed; he hoped Mr. Blackbird would continue to express