08/10/2005 P&Z Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

Planning & Zoning Board August 10, 2005 Page 8 APPROVED MINUTES backside of his property line. He expressed concern about increasing the size of the road and asked why there were no sidewalks within the development. He noted it was difficult to go south on Lake Drive, especially on Fr idays and expressed c oncern about this new development adding to that problem. He asked for a list of the builders from the developer, which the developer had indicated he would provide. Chair Rafferty asked everyone to keep th eir comments to two minutes or less. Ken Dufresne, 940 James Street, stated the area was heavily wooded and strongly recommended the City require the builder to ut ilize as much of the existing vegetation as possible. He indicated if they utilized this property, it would be less impact on the existing neighborhoods. He asked the builder to use some restraint as to how they cleared land. He noted this would st and very well with the neighborhood. Joann Lahlum, 931 Lois Lane, expressed concer n with respect to traffic and the proposed semi-fore being put in at Lois Lane. She asked how would people access the four businesses and Public Park without doing a “U” turn or going down Lois Lane. John Humenansky, 989 Lois Lane, requested they deny the rezoning change and wait for a suitable development that incorporated the R-1 designation. He stated future plans for Lake Drive were currently unknown and traffic coming from the north would either have to make a “U” turn or go through the nei ghborhoods to get to the businesses, which would change the character of the neighborhood. He stated a major flaw in this plan was that there was no exit to the north. He di d not believe there had been enough study on the traffic flow and they did not have en ough information to pass this tonight. Brenda Talley, 963 Lois Lane, stated on Lois Lane the traffic was slow, but it was “hilly” and it was difficult to see. She expressed conc ern for the safety of the children in the neighborhood with these types of site lines. She expressed concern about accessing Lake Drive and the increase in traffic. She noted with additional stoplight s and stop signs this increased her commute time and she was require d to get to her employment within 30 minutes after she was called. She expre ssed concern about the density of the development. She expressed concern about the trail location and the possibility of increase in crime. She requested there be a nother option for the traffic. She stated she felt like they were getting squeezed out. She expressed concern about medians being put in Lake Drive. She asked if there was the possibility to shift the school zoning district because right now she had to send he r children to Forest Lake. Betsy Friesen, 975 James Street, expressed conc ern about the traffic. She stated they needed to consider the infrastructure first a nd not last. She noted Street A would be an uncontrolled intersection until Vicky Lane had been addressed. She stated it was very difficult to get out onto Lake Drive, especia lly on Friday nights. She noted the City needed to get a handle on the traffic and plan for the future, instead of planning backwards. Kevin Kuznia, 1018 Lois Lane, proposed to keep the Lois Lane neighborhood the way it was. He noted right now traffic was minimal. He stated if people knew they could go down Lois Lane to get to another connection, it would increase traffic and safety issues.