2022.11.21 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hugo City Council Meeting Minutes for November 21, 2022 Page 9 of 10 Rosemary Place Sketch Plan Community Development Assistant Max Gort explained the applicant, Summit Management LLC, had applied for a sketch plan review to construct a 90-unit apartment complex on the west side of a 12.96-acre property, of which 7.75 acres are buildable. The property is located south of Rosemary Way North, north of Frenchman Road/CSAH 8, and east of Festival Foods. It was in the general business district and guided for commercial use in the 2040 Land Use Plan. a sketch plan review was a way for an applicant to get feedback and unbinding comments on a plan, prior to formal submittal for approval. Gort showed an ariel view of the site. He provided information on the surrounding uses and presented the general layout of the apartment buildings and parking. He talked about property constraints that included a 50-foot-wide utility transmission line easement and approximately six acres of wetland, primarily on the east side of the property. The parking was shown to have three major access points, two on Rosemary Way and one on the private road to the south. He said staff would like to work with the applicant to minimize speeding and cut-through traffic in the straight and long parking lot area. The building was proposed to be brick and steel siding with earth tone colors and would need to meet the multifamily design guidelines as the project moved forward. Gort explained that for the applicant to construct the apartment on this property, they would need to apply for a zoning amendment and comprehensive plan amendment to allow for high density residential. The applicant was proposing to fill some wetlands on the property to increase buildable acreage to nine acres. The wetland replacement plan had not yet been approved by the Technical Evaluation Panel. Gort provided an update on the comments from the Planning Commission meeting held on November 10, 2022, and from the EDA meeting held on October 18, 2022. He requested City Council provide comments to the applicant regarding the potential change in zoning and land use designations, the use of the non-buildable portion of property, and the overall site design. Applicant Mark Lambert said he appreciated the opportunity to have a sketch plan discussion. He said they started in Hugo in 2018 with Hugo Estates (formerly Twin Pines Mobile Home Park), and recently received approval for an expansion there. He provided background on the apartment site plan stating the property went back to the bank in 2012, and they had apparently been trying to sell it for the past five years. He said it had been difficult obtaining forgotten documents and chasing down old surveyors and engineers to figure out what had already been done. Lambert felt it was a difficult site with nothing being straight and having the utility easement and a bunch of wetlands on the site. He said he could have planned it around the utility corridor but settled on the west side, putting the building in the center. He talked about the commercial component of the site and said he felt the area was more suited to be residential now. Miron asked about pedestrian connections that would add to the existing businesses and agreed that a commercial use would likely to be looking for something closer to the county road. He asked Gort about the private road. Max explained the road behind the commercial buildings was a private road. Community Development Director Rachel Juba added there was a commercial association that managed the private road. Lambert was aware he would have to work with them and possibly do a traffic study.