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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 9 - Lake Elmo Village Area AUAR 5 Year Update Draft 8-1-141 Lake Elmo Village Area Final Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) Five-Year Update – Technical Memorandum August 1, 2014 Introduction The Village Area AUAR covers approximately 1,275 acres surrounding the existing downtown Lake Elmo (commonly referenced as the “Old Village”) and centered on the intersection of State Highway 5 and County State Aid Highway 17 (Lake Elmo Avenue). The City of Lake Elmo adopted the Village Area Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) in May of 2009. The AUAR assesses the potential environmental impacts of four development scenarios, three of which are based on the Village Master Plan accepted by the Lake Elmo City Council in April of 2007 and one scenario based on the City’s 2005 Comprehensive Plan. The overall development expected within each scenario ranged from 600 residential units to 1,600 units. All scenarios anticipated 300,000 square feet of commercial space, 150,000 square feet of office space, and 200,000 square feet of institutional space. Since the AUAR was adopted by the City, there have been no development proposals approved by the City within the study area. The City has reviewed sketch plans for new residential subdivisions, however, and expects to process at least three residential plats within the AUAR area in 2014. Prior to moving forward with development proposals, the City adopted a series of amendments to the Lake Elmo Comprehensive Plan, the most significant of which was a complete update to the Land Use Chapter of the Plan approved in 2012. This chapter includes a section devoted to the Village Planning Area and incorporates an updated land use map that follows closely with the scenarios studied under the Village Area AUAR. Of the four development scenarios included as part of the AUAR, the land use plan approved by the City adheres closely to “The Village Master Plan – AUAR Scenario B” in terms of the general arrangement of land uses and total residential unit counts. Minor differences between the adopted land use plan and AUAR Scenarios are noted in the land use section below. In addition to amending the City’s Comprehensive Plan to support future development, the City completed a major infrastructure project to extend regional sanitary sewer service to the southern limits of the Village AUAR area. This system has been deigned in accordance with the assumptions used in the final AUAR. Purpose This technical memorandum serves as the update for the Lake Elmo Village Area Final Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) adopted by the City of Lake Elmo on May 5, 2009. This update is prepared under the provisions of Minnesota Rule 441.3610 Subpart 7, which requires an update every five years until full development of the AUAR area is complete. The updated information and review of mitigation items in the AUAR update follow the standard Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) form. Where applicable, comments for each item have been provided when there is an update from the final AUAR document. Responses to questions are only provided when there has been a change or update 2 from the 2009 AUAR. Whenever “no change or no need to update” is indicated, refer to the original documents to review the original response. The information in this memorandum for updates or modifications to the AUAR follows the outline in the original AUAR including any comments or updates to the mitigation strategies. Information and analysis in the 2009 AUAR is presumed to still apply, unless new information or analysis is included in this update. Where maps convey the same information as maps in the 2009 AUAR, the same figure numbers are used. The 2009 Village Area AUAR is available for review on the City’s website at www.lakeelmo.org. 1) Title. No change. 2) Proposer. No change. 3) RGU. No change. 4) Reason for AUAR Preparation. No change. 5) Project Location. No change. 6) Development Description. The description of the development scenarios (Scenario A, B, C and D) have not changed. The Village Area Comprehensive Plan Amendment adopted by the City [Exhibit 1] is consistent with Scenario B. The land use categories defined as Potential Future Redevelopment, New Mixed Use Development, and New Civic/Institutional Development on Table 6-1 and referenced elsewhere in the document have been combined into one general land use category on the approved land use plan called “Village Mixed Use Development”. All other assumptions concerning commercial, office, and institutional development remain unchanged. a) Development Timeline Update. The following actions have occurred that roughly follow the tentative timeline for the Village development process identified in Table 6-5 of the AUAR: Event/Activity Date Completed (or Update) Selection of development scenario. Develop and adopt financial policies for paying for development Develop and adopt Village Comprehensive Plan amendment Develop and adopt Village Zoning code and subdivision requirements Develop capital improvement plan for the timing of public improvements Get formal developer commitment to provide financial guarantees for sewer to the Village Order forcemain to the Village to serve new development 3 Begin construction of forcemain Negotiate developers agreement with developers for new development Develop new infrastructure to support development in new Village Begin new Village development along east side of Village Revisit fiscal policies, capital improvement plan, revisit land use controls through zoning when needed to clarify and improve 7) Project Magnitude Data. a) The adopted Comprehensive Plan Amendment for the Village Planning Area [Exhibit 1] identifies a range of 900-1,100 new housing units within the AUAR area. Of these 800 are planned as unattached residential units, while another 200-300 units will be attached residential units within the planned mixed-use development area. This allocation of units includes a slightly higher number of unattached units than identified in Scenario B, while keeping the overall range of planned residential units consistent with this development scenario. b) Development activity in the AUAR Area. The following developments have been submitted to the City for review and comment as either a concept or preliminary plan to date: Development Number of Residential Units Wildflower at Lake Elmo 145 Village Preserve 97 Easton Village 217 Village Preserve South 104 Total Reviewed to Date 563 All of the above projects are single family residential subdivisions and it is expected that most of these development projects will submitted for preliminary and final plat consideration before the end of 2014. The City has not received any formal applications for other residential development or commercial, office, and institutional space. 8) Permits and Approvals Required. The permits, review, and approvals required in the previous Table 8-1 still apply, although in some cases the regulations applicable to that permit, review, or approval have been amended. Any project proposer in the AUAR project are will need to be aware of current regulations. 9) Land Use. a) Comp Plan adoption. The City adopted an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan on December 17, 2013 specific to the Village Planning Area. The plan generally adheres to the land uses identified in the Village Master Plan, which was used as the basis for three of the scenarios 4 studied as part of the AUAR. The plan further calls for 900-1100 new housing units within the planning area, which correlates closely with Scenario B in the AUAR. b) Airport zoning. The City of Lake Elmo has engaged in conversations with the Metropolitan Airports Commission, MnDOT Aeronautics, Washington County, and other effects parties over the past year to discuss the adoption of an airport zoning ordinance for Lake Elmo. The City is interested in adopting an ordinance specific to the City of Lake Elmo that addresses the issues identified in the AUAR. The City has been working with developers to ensure that the Regulatory Protection Zone (RPZ) remains free from development; the Village Land Use Plan further guides all land within the RPZ for open space. c) Zoning ordinance update i) LDR and VMX. The City adopted revisions to its Zoning Ordinance in 2013 to add urban residential districts and a Village Mixed Use district to the City’s list of zoning districts. The future zoning of the Village Area will include LDR – Low Density Residential and VMX – Village Mixed Use for new development/redevelopment areas while the remainder of the Village will retain either RS – Rural Single Family or PF – Pubic Facilities zoning. Area that are guided for open space will be zoned for rural or agricultural purposes. ii) Tree preservation and protection. The City adopted a Tree Preservation and Protection Ordinance in 2013. The City now requires that developers either protect trees during development or replace a certain percentage of the trees that are removed. iii) Landscaping and screening. The City further refined its landscaping and screening ordinances in 2014 to specifically address the minimum levels of landscaping expected for future projects and to require screening and buffering between incompatible land ues. iv) Design review process. The City adopted the Lake Elmo Design Standards and Guidelines Manual in 2013. The manual specifies standards and guidelines for the design of mult- family, commercial, and business park developments. v) Specific development standards. The City has been incorporating specific development standards into the City Code to clarify the requirements for certain types of developments. Where appropriate, the City has been including standards to address specific requirements from the AUAR Mitigation Plan. d) Reed park expansion. The AUAR identifies a large area immediately to the east of Reid Park as a primary ecological area. The areas that are designated as such have been guided for open space/parkland in accordance with the Village Area Land Use Plan adopted by the City. 10) Cover Type. No change 11) Fish, Wildlife, and Ecologically Sensitive Resources. No change. 12) Physical Impacts on Water Resources. No change. 13) Water Use. No change. 14) Water-Related Land Use Management Districts. No change. 5 15) Water Surface Use. No change. 16) Erosion and Sedimentation. No change. 17) Water Quality – Surface Water Runoff. a) The City previously prepared a supplemental document to amend Item 17. Water Quality: Surface Water Runoff in the AUAR and its Mitigation Plan in November of 2010. The amendment was designed to clarify the standards that will be used to address storm water volume control. When the AUAR and Mitigation Plan were completed in 2009, the City had not adopted its Local Surface Water Management Plan and Surface Water Management Ordinance. The AUAR Mitigation Plan noted that the City would address stormwater runoff volume management requirements through its Surface Water Management Plan update. The City has completed its Local Surface Water Management Plan update and adopted Ordinance No. 08-016 to regulate stormwater management in the City on June 16, 2009. The City therefore amended the AUAR and Mitigation Plan to require that land development activities meet the requirements of the City’s ordinance. The City completed a second ordinance amendment to the Storm Water and Erosion Control Ordinance in 2011 to adopt the same standard for volume control as the requirement in the Valley Branch Watershed District rules. b) The City is currently participating in a project with the Washington County to study transportation issues along the Lake Elmo Avenue corridor. A significant part of this study includes an analysis of the storm water issues in and around the Village area. This study is looking at potential regional solutions to existing storm water issues, and will be identifying specific proposals for regional ponding facilities. 18) Water Quality – Wastewater a) In 2014, the City completed a major infrastructure project to install the Village Force Main sewer system form the I-94 Corridor to a new lift station immediately to the west of Reid Park on land owned by the City. This system is now operational; however, to date there are no projects connected to the system. The City continues to work with land owners and other affected parties to development plans for further extensions of the sanitary sewer system into the Village Planning Area. 19) Geologic Hazards and Soil Conditions. No change. 20) Solid Wastes; Hazardous Wastes; Storage Tanks. No change. 6 21) Traffic a) The following are transportation projects that have been completed by or will be under construction in 2014: i) CSAH 5 (Stillwater Boulevard) has been restriped from a two land section to a three lane section with a center turn lane throughout the Village. This project also included the installation of a pedestrian island with signage at the Lake Elmo Elementary School crossing. ii) CSAH 15 Corridor Study. The City of Lake Elmo is participating a project led by Washington County to study potential improvements to CSAH 15 (Manning Avenue). iii) CSAH 17 Corridor Management and Safety Improvement Project. The City of Lake Elmo is participating a project led by Washington County to study potential streetscape improvements to CSAH 17 (Lake Elmo Avenue). b) Cooperative project for Lake Elmo Avenue stop lights. The County has received funding through MnDOT to install traffic signals at both segments of CSAH 17 that intersection CSAH 5 in the Village. This project will be completed by the end of 2014. c) Transportation plan update. The City updated its transportation plan in 2010 as part of its decennial Comprehensive Plan update. This plan included the Village Parkway minor collector road and other transportation improvements that were anticipated with the AUAR. 22) Vehicle-Related Air Emissions. No change. 23) Stationary Source Emissions. No change. 24) Dust, Air, and Noise Impacts. No change. 25) Sensitive Resources. No change. 26) Visual Impacts. No change. 27) Compatibility with Plans. No change. 28) Impact on Infrastructure and Public Services. No change. 29) Cumulative Potential Effects. No change. 30) Other Potential Environmental Impacts. No change. 31) Summary of Issues. No change. Mitigation Plan Update 7 • All elements of the Mitigation Plan continue to remain in effect. The City will continue to address the Mitigation Plan as it updates its Planning documents and zoning regulations and as land use development plans are review by the City. Exhibits a) Lake Elmo Village Land Use Plan Update (2013)