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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 13 of 19 employment and housing but the Metropolitan Council expects each community to provide some opportunities for growth. Walsh stated the Metropolitan Council requires the City to have a plan that it will accommodate X number of new homes. That does not mean the City has to approve those applications and the Metropolitan Council cannot tell the City to approve it. Walsh noted the City had an area that was guided for 8-10 units an acre, but the City Council only approved it at three. Because it was guided for a higher number, the City had to approach the Metropolitan Council and get their approval to amend that. Dankey asked what commonality there is between the City’s density and what the City receives from Hennepin County because of that density. Barnhart stated the density number, which in certain areas of the city is guided at three units per acre, and the services the City receives is why that number is important. Orono does not have their own sewer treatment plant. When the MUSA was brought into the city in the 1960s, Orono started serving the lakeshore lots. There are some costs to extending that pipe and providing that service, which at the time was a pretty dense area. Orono also has some areas along the lakeshore that consist of larger lots. The City still wants to provide sanitary sewer to those areas with the goal of preserving lake quality. The Metropolitan Council looks at all those areas where sanitary sewer is provided, they look at the average growth in the area, and at the anticipated growth. Currently the Metropolitan Council expects the City to maintain an average overall of three units per acre in order to be included in the MUSA. Walsh commented the Metropolitan Council says that the City has to be at an average of three units per acre. If the City goes below that average, it is not cost effective and the Metropolitan Council will not approve it. The area where the Orono Preserve was developed was originally zoned at six to eight units per acre and the City dropped that to three units. That then brought the City to around 3.02 units per acre, which gave the City less opportunity to be flexible on other sites. In addition, the City has an area over on Wildhurst where one side had access to MUSA but the other side did not. The new homes would be close to the shoreline so the Council felt it was important to give them the ability to have sewer and water from an environmental standpoint. Walsh stated the City wants to have some room to accommodate lower density that requires sewer by allowing some higher density in certain areas. Barnhart stated that average is required because there is a service that is being provided and there is a cost to that service. Seals asked whether the City could say no if they provided their own sewer services. Barnhart stated it would be a challenge given the low tax rate the City has. Rief noted Orono’s sewer rate is higher because there is a lower density on the MUSA. Walsh stated the City also made a decision to keep the area more rural.