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PUBLIC WORKS Wayne Sandberg, P.E., Director, County Engineer Frank D. Ticknor, P.E., Deputy Director January 5, 2022 Rachel Juba Community Development Director City of Hugo 14669 Fitzgerald Avenue North Hugo, MN 55038 Comments on Oneka Commons Concept Site Plan Dear Rachel, Thank you for the opportunity to review and provide comments on the application for the concept site plan for the property located at the intersection of County State Aid Highway 8 and Trunk Highway 61. Our development review team has reviewed the plan and offers the following comments. The site plan proposes a mixture of commercial and residential apartment buildings, and proposes a new right-in/right-out access point located approximately 550 feet west of the intersection of CSAH 8 and TH 61. CSAH 8 is currently classified as an “A-Minor Connector” roadway. The Washington County 2040 Comprehensive Plan contains access criteria for county roads related to spacing, sight lines, and availability of local road connections. The County would not allow any new access onto CSAH 8 between TH 61 and the existing median opening. New access onto CSAH 8 at the existing median opening would be allowed but will require a County Access Permit that would require some minor signing/striping work. The City should be aware that a traffic signal may be required in the future, which would include city cost share proportional to the number of legs of the intersection which are owned by the City. It may be beneficial for the city to require a traffic study as a condition of development, in order to determine if traffic signal warrants might reasonably be expected to be met. The site drawings indicate a roundabout on the northwest of the plan that is located approximately 300 feet from the access to CSAH 8. Additionally, the drawing indicates a proposed gas station entrance that is located approximately 120 feet from the CSAH 8 access. While access to the city street is a City decision, the County is concerned regarding the proximity to CSAH 8. The access location could cause impacts to the future signal and the proposed roundabout. The City should look to provide access to the gas station solely off of Victor Path, the frontage road that is planned south of CSAH 8. We also recommend that the City or developer provide a traffic study that provides information on potential queue lengths at the roundabout and for the northbound approach to CSAH 8. The County prefers a trail on the south side of CSAH 8 as opposed to the sidewalk the plans show. Washington County recommends that the proposed facility along CSAH 8 should be built 10 feet in width with a minimum boulevard between the trail and the roadway curb of 10 feet, matching the existing trail on the north side of CSAH 8.