07/09/2001 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • Saddle Club July 9, 2001 page 3 5. Advisability of creating two double frontage lots in the Oaks of Lino development to the north, and 6. Screening of those Oaks of Lino lots, including agreement by those lot owners. These two items result from the second access, connecting to Kildeer Drive. City staff directed the developer to include this connection. It is not advisable to have a single access off Old Birch St. to serve 46 homes. That would not provide reliable emergency access. In addition, our subdivision ordinance prohibits cul de sacs greater than 500 feet long. The primary reason for such a regulation is emergency access. In addition to that safety concern, there is the urban design and transportation planning question of proper traffic circulation. In neighborhoods with one access road, all traffic must use that one route. All traffic going in and all traffic going out travels that one route. This creates problems, particularly at peak times. Traffic is so concentrated that congestion results. The problem becomes worse when traffic from all the cul de sac neighborhoods empty out onto one main roadway at the same time, concentrating traffic even more. It is not so much the number of vehicles as the fact that they all have to go the same way together —they are all forced to be in the same place at roughly the same time. Providing additional routes to use disperses traffic, spreads it out so that all the cars aren't all in the same place at the same time. Double- frontage lots are not ideal, but we must weigh the various factors, including the safety and transportation planning issues summarized above. The Oaks of Lino lots in question are 922 and 998 Aspen Lane. Both lots are about 250 feet deep. The houses are close to Aspen Lane on the north side. Both lots have ponds between the houses and the southern property lines. The developer has informed City staff that the owner of the eastern lot (998 Aspen Lane) brought up a desire for a berm as a screening device. There is not enough land between the road, trail, and the property line for a berm. In addition, trees will not live on a small berm. If the property owner is willing to grant an easement to allow a larger berm that would be mostly on his property, a berm becomes a possibility. Perhaps the better alternative for screening is vegetative plantings such as trees and shrubs. Note that the traffic on the new road will run parallel to the rear lot line, so headlights will not point at this lot. Vegetative screening can eliminate this issue for the other lot, especially since the house is several hundred feet from the road.