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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br /> Monday, September 17,2018 <br /> 6:30 o'clock p.m. <br /> Barnhart stated this sketch plan proposes an apartment building on the vacant, former landfilled property <br /> on the west side of Orono and south of Eisinger Meadows,which was a preliminary plat for a townhome <br /> development. <br /> The site includes 13.6 acres of wetland, 5.2 acres of developable land, and 10.2 acres of buried <br /> construction materials. The application in 2016 contemplated future development of an apartment site to <br /> the south of the townhome development. However,those approvals did not include any specific plan and <br /> were not included in the calculations for density for the Comprehensive Plan, were not included in the <br /> preliminary plat,and were not included in any detail for the General Concept Plan. <br /> Approvals to complete this project will include a plat of an outlot for the building, a Comprehensive Plan <br /> amendment, and RPUD zoning. The applicant proposes a 4-story structure for 192 apartments/senior <br /> living. The building will be U-shaped,with the opening to the north. The height of the building has not <br /> been calculated but four stories typically exceed 30 feet in defined height. The notable feature of the site <br /> is a former landfill in the location of the proposed apartment building. <br /> Access to the site will be from the north and Wayzata Boulevard. A new street is proposed to serve both <br /> Eisinger Meadows and the proposed Eisinger Flats. The preliminary plat for Eisinger Meadows <br /> contemplated a new north-south public street. This street should terminate in a cul-de-sac meeting <br /> subdivision standards. <br /> A surface parking lot for 92 cars is proposed to the north of the building. City Code requires two spaces <br /> per apartment unit. Assuming 192 units, 384 spaces will be required. The sketch plan does suggest <br /> underground parking but the number of stalls has not been illustrated. <br /> As a proposed RPUD,the hardcover limitation would be 50 percent. The project is located within the <br /> MUSA. The sketch plan does meet most of the RPUD requirements. The private recreation has not been <br /> developed but it is anticipated to include the two areas shown on the sketch plan along with a network of <br /> trails. <br /> The proposed density of 19.8 units per acre exceeds the 2030 Land Use Planned density of 10 to 15 units <br /> per acre. Raising the density to 20 units per acre will be consistent with other apartment/senior living <br /> projects in the City and will add to the City's numerical buffer necessary to serve lower density areas with <br /> sanitary sewer. <br /> The Planning Commission should discuss the following: <br /> 1. Does the Planning Commission support the use of the property for a high-density residential use <br /> at densities greater than 15 units per acre? <br /> 2. Does the Planning Commission support a building higher than 30 feet in this location? <br /> 3. Are there any other issues or concerns with this proposal? <br /> Staff sees the value of a high-density development in this area since it offers the City the opportunity to <br /> provide other lower density areas with sanitary sewer. It is likely the neighbors in the area,however, <br /> would be opposed to high density in this location. In addition,the site will access directly onto Wayzata <br /> Boulevard. <br /> Page 14 of 22 <br />