Laserfiche WebLink
MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br /> Monday, September 16,2019 <br /> 6:30 p.m. <br /> the benefit of this adjacent green space before the trail location but it is not their property. While that 6.3 <br /> foot setback may not seem onerous as a setback, it is narrow. <br /> Gettman asked what the average hardcover is in the neighborhood. <br /> Curtis stated many of the homes in the neighborhood are 40 or 50-foot lots so they will have a greater <br /> percentage of hardcover. <br /> Ressler stated the biggest issue right now is that the existing structure is 11 percent of the lot and 20 <br /> percent is allowed, but what is being proposed is 31 percent. <br /> Curtis indicated that is correct. Many of the encroachments would be reduced if the structural footprint <br /> was reduced. <br /> Thiesse asked if the Planning Commission should talk about the fence. <br /> Curtis stated HCRAA has asked that it be removed. <br /> Mr. Olsen indicated that is not right and that nobody has asked for the fence to be removed. <br /> Curtis stated if the property is to be redeveloped,HCRAA has indicated removal of the existing driveway <br /> encroachment and the fencing would be appreciated. <br /> John Quinlivan, Gordon James Construction,noted he has submitted a project narrative. There are <br /> currently 28 properties on Crystal Bay Road,with 24 considered lakeshore. All 28 properties have a <br /> unique challenge by having the Dakota Trail in their back yard and Crystal Bay Road on the lakeside. Of <br /> the 24 properties with lakeshore,this property is the widest property at 150 feet. There are approximately <br /> 11 lots that are 50 feet or less width, four lots have 60 feet or less in width, five have 90 feet or less in <br /> width,and three lots are over 100 feet in width. <br /> While the trail is owned by the Hennepin County Railroad Authority, it is managed by the Three Rivers <br /> Park District. Although there is approximately 50 feet from the center of the Dakota Park Trail to the <br /> properties on Crystal Bay Road,the park district only manages three feet from the edge of the trail. That <br /> has left the remaining 41 feet to be managed by the homeowners. There are currently lawns,fences, <br /> patios, driveways, sheds, and other structures that encroach into that 41 feet. To his knowledge none of <br /> them have had to be removed as part of redevelopment. If not for the homeowners managing the HCRRA <br /> property, it would be unkempt. There are also seven homes today that rely on the HCRRA land as the <br /> primary access to their homes. <br /> The homeowners have been working with Swan Architecture, TVL Studio,and Gordon James to come up <br /> with a plan that is compatible with what you would see in the neighborhood. The plan they came up with <br /> is not compatible because it has side yard setbacks of 30 and 32 feet. There are no properties all the way <br /> along the road that can come close to those setbacks. If this is approved as proposed,they would see that <br /> there are huge setbacks on both sides of this house. To bring structural coverage down to 20 percent, <br /> there would be approximately 50-foot setbacks on each side. If you look west, all of those lots are 50 feet <br /> wide. <br /> Page 12 of 24 <br />