01-14-2019 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO TRUTH-IN-TAXATION/CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, December 10, 2018 6:30 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 11 of 19 development patterns established. Based on feedback, the Council directed these areas, including Crystal Bay, Casco Point, Fagerness Point, and Navarre, change back to low density residential. Seals stated she has received a lot of questions regarding the definition of land use versus zoning from residents. The yellow urban low density says .5 to 2.2 units per acre but it is still a zoning area for one house per every two acres. Residents read it as .5 to 2 units per acre. Seals stated in her view the City needs to be better at defining that because the residents find it confusing. Barnhart stated he can understand the confusion. When a land use plan is developed, for all the districts that residential is allowed, the City has to provide a range per the requirements of the Metropolitan Council, which is where the .5 to 2.2 units per acre comes from. The next step with all of the requirements in the Comprehensive Plan is that Orono’s Code of Ordinances has to promote the Comprehensive Plan, which includes the zoning ordinances and zoning map. As a result of those requirements, the City has to develop a zoning district in the yellow area that provides for housing that fits within the City’s guidelines of .5 to 2 units per acre. Seals stated that yellow area is within that range so it is fine, but the resident felt that this is a pathway for the City to allow a bunch of houses. Seals stated she can see where someone can believe that. Walsh stated the City would need to change all the zoning regulations in order for more houses to be built in that area. As an example, near the fire station on Willow, that area was guided as 15 units per acre. Because there was no bus service or other public services/businesses in that area, the City felt it appropriate to reduce that density and subsequently rezoned that area. Barnhart stated the 2040 Comprehensive Plan shows lower density in that area at 3 to 10 units. Barnhart noted the majority of the changes to the density occurred along the Wayzata Boulevard corridor. In Navarre near Byerly’s, that area is now guided for commercial, but in the 2008 Comprehensive Plan it was guided for commercial or mixed use. The committee felt given the access issues and the rest of the neighborhood, it would be better to have just commercial. Most of the other changes are along the Wayzata Boulevard. In the northern portion of the community, residential land uses were introduced to the Kelley Parkway and Wayzata Boulevard areas. The parcels south of Lake Classen were not changed from Rural Residential. The City then has nine months to make sure the City’s zoning ordinance is consistent with the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. In addition, the City’s housing goals have remained the same. Staff will periodically look at that over the next ten years to see what type of growth is being experienced in the City, which may result in the City needing to update their housing study, which was last done in approximately 2006. The overall housing goal of the City is to provide opportunities for various types of housing, such as senior housing, affordable housing, and so on. In the Comprehensive Plan, the City is required to identify opportunity for 154 units of affordable for people making 80 percent or less of the average median income. That means that the City guides certain properties for the opportunity to develop that type of housing. Urban medium high density is 10 to 20 units per acre. Some of that is located in Navarre. Barnhart noted simply because it is guided for those types of development does not mean the City has to approve every project that is brought forward. Currently Orono has 639 units affordable for people making 80 percent or less of the average median income, which goes toward meeting the Metropolitan Council requirements.