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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday March 13, 2017 <br />7:00 o'clock p.m. <br />Tom Goodrum, senior planner for Westwood Professional Services, stated he would first like to talk <br />about the neighborhood and then talk about the design of the property and why it is an appropriate use for <br />the site. <br />Goodrum indicated they did send a letter out to everybody within 350 feet following the Planning <br />Commission meeting and that they received one letter back from the neighbor behind the property. <br />Goodrum stated they did correspond with that person and that they will be meeting with that neighbor on <br />the site tomorrow to speak with him about the impacts. Goodrum stated that neighbor basically would <br />like some more information on the project. <br />Goodrum stated when Mr. Ugorets purchased the Freshwater building, he was excited about the recent <br />improvements in Navarre and went ahead and made improvements to the Freshwater building. Goodrum <br />commented this area is becoming a popular place to be and that Mr. Ugorets has received a number of <br />positive comments about how nice the Freshwater building looks. <br />Goodrum noted there currently are not a lot of housing choices available in this area. Goodrum stated <br />they do not have a specific housing type in mind at this time for the site and that they are open to what <br />best meets the needs of the neighborhood. Condominiums or market rate apartments are an option. <br />At 15 units per acre, the density is within Orono's Comprehensive Plan. In addition, Mr. Ugorets owns <br />an additional 12 acres of land. If those 12 acres are added to this property to this site, the density would <br />be five units per acre. Goodrum noted they are using approximately12 percent of the land for building. <br />Goodrum noted his office, Westwood, does have a traffic division within their company and that they will <br />be taking a more in depth look at the traffic impacts. <br />Crosby asked what percentage of the property is wetland. <br />Goodrum stated the wetlands for this property are on the edge of the site so it would only be a small <br />percentage. Goodrum stated he would estimate it at under 10 percent. Discussions have been had with <br />the Watershed District and they were able to walk the property. Goodrum indicated they will be meeting <br />the Watershed District's requirements and that they were pleased with the approach being taken to the <br />property. <br />Goodrum indicated they also met with Hennepin County and they looked at the best access point for the <br />site. Hennepin County indicated they were fine with combining access to this site with the Freshwater <br />site. Goodrum stated based on their experience, the development would have a very small impact to the <br />flow of traffic but that they are prepared to submit a formal traffic study. <br />Goodrum stated when they were designing the sketch plan, they wanted this building to be <br />complementary to the Freshwater building because they do not want it to have a negative impact to the <br />office building. Being proposed are similar type features to the Freshwater building, especially as it <br />relates to the height. The front of the Freshwater building is 30 feet, the height of this building is 30 feet <br />in the front, and the penthouse steps up another nine feet in the back corner on the far side of the property. <br />Goodrum stated the purpose of the penthouse is to provide beautiful views, meet market demand, and to <br />match the height of the Freshwater building, which is 54 feet tall from the back. <br />Page 4 of 8 <br />