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LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 7, 1987 PAGE 7 Pusuant to published notice, Acting Mayor Armstrong opened up the public hearing at 8:30 p.m. This subject has previously been discussed at the City Council meetings of 2-•17-87 and 3-3-87. The purpose of the public hearing is to consider a variance to the 1986 Rural Residential Cluster Development Standards which if granted would allow Phase II of the Lake Elmo Heights Development to be platted under the 1979 Rural Residentail Cluster Development Standards. Bruce Folz passed out the resolutions approving the Lake Elmo Heights First Phase plat and the Hammes Country Vista plat. Folz felt the Lake Elmo Heights cluster plan development resolution should have been written like the Hammes Resolution. Based on the City's ordinance when going into a cluster plan, you have to identify the ownership of what you are doing and not to allow density transfers. It has been the City's policy to identify this for their protection and the owners protection. There is a clause in the Hammes Resolution stating that Outlot A, which is the residue part, will be converted to no more than six residential lots under the present zoning ordinance. The reason for that is the contract which protects the owner if the City changes the ordinance and protects the City if the owner wants to come and change the contract. This provision was omitted in the Lake Elmo Heights resolution which has created the problem. Bruce Folz stated that part of the hardship is they have invested a significant amount of money, spent a lot of time planning and intending to do this last year on the reliance of the approval of the entire 145 acre tract. The letter written by Attorney Don Raleigh to the City stated that they received preliminary approval of the concept plan and sites the statute under which the moratorium was adopted. It further stated that if you disagree with this please respond otherwise they would assume the City would follow the statute. This letter was not responded to in writing. City Administrator Overby responded that he verbally told Don Raleigh that the moratorium would not prevent Phase I from proceeding. Bruce Folz added that the Developers Agreement covered the physical improvements such as road construction and the drainage improvements and did not include anything about the density. The Lake Elmo Heights resoluton did not include the outlet. The reason it didn't become an outlet was they refused to make this outlot because of the tax situation. As soon as they define this in a plat as an outlet Washington County Assessors note it is no longer Ag farm land and the taxes go up. Dan Novak, former Planning Commission member, stated he was opposed to the development because of loss of rural atmosphere, lack of preliminary plat approval, poor soils, granting of variances is unnecessary to the two changes (elimination of transfer of density and change in density from 7 per 40 to 4 per 40) made in the comprehensive plan.