01-06-2014 Council Packet Special Meeting

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Item #01- Special Council Meeting - 01106114 File #13-3638 & 13-3639 [Total Pages 99] Properties Analysis January 2, 2414 Page 2 Wetlands. Of the 67 lots, 21 lots include portions of wetland easements. Wetland easements on the individual lots constitute approximately 11 acres in total (See Exhibit D). However, there are also numerous small wetlands throughout the properties that are not protected via dedicated easements (See Exhibit C). Absent an actual delineation, these would appear to constitute an additional 2 acres, so that the dry buildable area in total is (163-11-2) about 150 acres, for an average dry buildable lot area of around 2.2 acres. Private Roads. The 1.5 miles (7900 linear feet) of private roads yields a road length of about 120 feet per homesite (79 00 / 67 = 120) with the average lot having about 240 feet of private road frontage. All except Countryside Drive are platted as cul-de-sacs with no segment platted for future extension to other roads or properties. However, Countryside Drive East and West were platted with a connecting corridor to allow the possibility of that becoming a future through road. It has been City policy to plat such corridors for future use where it makes sense - and the City's policy has been that if at some future date the neighborhood convinces the City to take over their private roads (which the City has strongly resisted to date) the City would require the road connections be paved and opened for use. Rural Character. The Dickey and Thompson properties were mostly open farmland prior to development, while the Coffin property was a mix of farmland and woods. There was a significant level of concern from Orono residents initially when the Dickey property was developed, as the 90 acres of open fields were not only very visible from surrounding roads but were located at the intersection of two major crossroads in the heart of rural Orono. The fear was that the rural character would be lost. Two -acre lots were then and since then have continued to be the typical development pattern in Orono's rural area. Only a very few rural -density developments have used clustering as a tool for preserving large areas of open space. In the Dickey/Thompson/Coffm properties there are no large areas protected from development; every two acres has a house on it. Years after the Dickey property was developed, perimeter tree buffers have naturally grown along stretches of Willow Drive, Watertown Road and Old Crystal Bay Road, and trees planted within individual lot by property owners have also helped to soften the view of what initially might have been described as "big houses scattered throughout a cornfield". Private Trails. Development approval of the Dickey and Coffin properties did include the developer's plan for a small number of interior trails to provide connectivity between the private roads and to Seven Nations Park. Per Exhibit E, these trails were intended to be maintained in a relatively natural state, and were intended to serve the residents in the subdivision (with the exception of the paved public trail developed by the City along the east side of Old Crystal Bay Road). The actual level of use and maintenance of these interior trails is unknown to staff. We do not have direct contact with whatever homeowners association exists; we assume there is at least an informal association that deals with the obligation of private road maintenance. Other Amenities. In keeping with the philosophy that each two -acre lot provides its own substantial recreation area, the City did not require a substantial dedication of parkland from these subdivisions. The 3 -acre Seven Nations Park parcel was intended to a great extent as preservation of a native American cultural site rather than as a `pocket park' to serve the