04-16-2018 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Monday,April 16,2018 6:30 o'clock p.m. setbacks. Setbacks for the parking spaces on the west side are shared with the lot to the west and a 20- foot setback is impractical and counter to the goals of sharing parking spaces. The building has a proposed defined height of 29 feet. This defined height meets requirements and is lower than the Lofts across the street and the senior housing project next door. During the sketch plan review, some comments were received regarding the height of the building and its impact of blocking views from the condominium building. The applicant has provided a sketch showing the height differential between the subject building and the adjacent Stonebay condos. The apartments will consist of one, one-plus, and two-bedroom units. The site plan includes two driveways onto Kelley Parkway. There is no access to Wayzata Boulevard. One of the accesses already exists and is shared with the medical office to the west and is on the property line. The second access is generally 155 feet west of the northeast corner. This driveway does not line up with the driveway across the street. It was recommended during the concept plan review that the driveway line up with the drive on the north side of Kelley Parkway. From Staff's perspective, it is not critical that the drives line up since the two drives in question are used almost exclusively by city employees and one of the drives is primarily an entrance only. If the driveway is shifted to the east, it appears it will impact stormwater retention options. Parking includes 54 surface stalls and 72 underground stalls. Parking requirements equal two spaces per dwelling unit. Assuming 56 units, 112 spaces would be required per City Code and the applicant is showing 126 parking spaces. Fourteen of those spaces are shared with the medical office building to the west. A trail along the south property line is anticipated as part of the Stonebay project. Preliminary plans by Hennepin County for the upgrade of Wayzata Boulevard include a trail along the north side of Wayzata Boulevard. The applicants should expect that a trail will be required along their south boundary,with a possible connecting link to Kelley Parkway along the west edge of the stormwater pond. RPUD standards include a requirement for 10 percent of the site being dedicated to private recreational purposes. The plans do not show any private recreation and the discussion during the concept plan review involved payment of a fee in lieu of the private recreational requirement. It was originally anticipated that the stormwater from the site would be collected and diverted to the large, regional pond to the east. However, based on new stormwater requirements,the stormwater will be collected and treated on site through three rain gardens along the south and east property areas. The property is not within the Stormwater Overlay District, but if developed as an RPUD, it would be subject to a maximum hardcover per lot of 50 percent. Hardcover is proposed at 55 percent. A portion of the hardcover consists of the shared parking and dumpster enclosure along the west side. To date Staff has received one written comment in opposition to the zone change. Barnhart stated the Planning Commission should address the issues outlined in the staff report. Lemke asked if there was consideration for a walkway along the south or the north. Page 14 of 21