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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes <br /> November 15, 2011 <br /> Page 5 <br /> 1 Chair Jensen noted it is not likely that the proposed development would have gotten this far <br /> 2 without the City Engineer's approval and requested that the City Engineer provide a summary to <br /> 3 staff and the City Council that explains the design premise of the drainage and how it complies <br /> 4 with MWMO regulations. He requested clarification regarding the height of the proposed <br /> 5 facility. <br /> 6 <br /> 7 Mr.Nelson explained that the facility is four stories from the ground up but the ground is <br /> 8 depressed from the southerly neighbors by four feet, making the building 3.5 stories from the <br /> 9 neighbors immediately to the south. <br /> 10 <br /> 11 Chair Jensen asked if the developer has encountered anything related to environmental issues in <br /> 12 the ground. <br /> 13 <br /> 14 Mr. Nelson advised that they had a Phase 1 survey done on the site and they are not aware of <br /> 15 anything that showed up during this testing. He stated there are ground water issues on this land <br /> 16 where you will get water at 15' or 20'. He indicated they are trying to get above the water table <br /> 17 that showed up during the tests. <br /> 18 <br /> 19 Mr. Bronk stated that there were no issues related to soil conditions during the Phase 1 <br /> 20 environmental testing. <br /> 21 <br /> 22 Chair Jensen responded to the questions regarding valuations on land use by indicating that the <br /> 23 Planning Commission does not get into a judgment of whether one project next-to-another _ <br /> 24 creates a change in value. He stated that the proposed project has been deemed appropriate for <br /> 25 the site and the Planning Commission is looking at whether this plan today meets the recent <br /> 26 guide plan amendments passed by the City in 2000 as well as the various updates last approved <br /> 27 in 2010. He added that the applicant is not asking for a lot of additional amendments or <br /> 28 variances in order to accomplish construction of the facility. He stated this area of the <br /> 29 community has single family residences that were reviewed as part of the City's land use plans <br /> 30 and it was deemed that the zoning of the existing homes would not be changed. He added that a <br /> 31 different land use category that allows higher density was applied to this site, in this case R-4, <br /> 32 which allows for the creation of a bigger building. He advised that the City's notification <br /> 33 process requires the City to notify property owners of record within 350'of the site. <br /> 34 <br /> 35 Ms. Sullivan requested copies of the Phase 1 environmental reports on the Autumn Woods <br /> 36 property as well as the proposed assisted living facility site. <br /> 37 <br /> 38 Chair Jensen requested that the applicant provide these reports to residents as well as to the City <br /> 39 Council and City Engineer. He also asked if the applicant wished to comment regarding the <br /> 40 question of building row houses on the site. <br /> 41 <br /> 42 Mr. Bronk stated he did not wish to comment. <br /> 43 <br /> 44 Chair Jensen indicated that an assisted living facility requires a bigger building than row houses. <br /> 45 He stated that adding an assisted living facility to the Autumn Woods campus made sense to the <br /> 46 City related to the comprehensive guide plan approved by the City. He added it may be possible <br />