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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br /> Monday, September 21,2020 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> more green space and softens the approach,which the Commission likes. At the same time, by not <br /> centralizing and reducing the number of units, it can also be a burden because in this case they're <br /> spreading out the units and the total is less,but the effect is more because they're not centralized. Chair <br /> Ressler tries to stay open-minded because this is a new concept and new concepts have followed trends <br /> and that is how they get established. He knows it's difficult to see and while looking at the plan, it looks <br /> daunting as there is no softening or trees proposed. To summarize, Wayzata Boulevard is a very busy <br /> road and represents Orono...he thinks the 50 foot setback is probably his feedback for that area. He noted <br /> 36 feet is agreeable on Kelley Parkway and Willow Drive, reluctantly. To summarize, because they're <br /> talking about less units but more sprawl,he'd like to see a larger setback and that may be a problem for <br /> the development, but that is his personal perspective. <br /> Gettman noted what the Applicant is hearing loud and clear is that the concept of setbacks, and he asked <br /> if they can put a different type of unit with the other units. Specifically, can they mix a higher density <br /> building within there somewhere, especially as they play around with the outlot, and even potentially with <br /> commercial on the first floor and units above. Rather than trying to shove or piecemeal things around,he <br /> suggests trying to think out of the box as far as literally mixing and matching different things to come <br /> before the City Council with. <br /> Mr. Saddiqui said with all due respect,they are not trying to shove anything anywhere; they are proposing <br /> what they think works best given the parameters they have in Orono. On a parcel of this size,they cannot <br /> mix the product...it would have to be substantially larger parcels and this is a very tight amount of <br /> acreage to have 2 or 3 different types of product mixed. <br /> Gettman noted it's not mixing it just to mix it, but rather to get the most out of the area. <br /> Barnhart said he thinks they're giving good feedback in terms of what they'd like to see, but noted they're <br /> getting into the weeds a bit. He said now the Applicant takes the feedback and either chooses to make <br /> changes for the Council or they want to hear what the Council has to say. He said they should pull back a <br /> bit on some of the detail comments because he feels they got the message out in terms of what they'd like <br /> to see with the setback. Frankly, it's not suggested to introduce commercial or even a mix of units here, <br /> the Council has already suggested that the 20-25 units is too high and they'd like to lower that so that is <br /> what the Applicant is trying to do. At the sketch plan level, he feels they've gotten good feedback and <br /> they can leave it at that. <br /> Mr. Saddiqui said they will use the two setbacks Mr. Ressler mentioned as a guideline and they'll see <br /> what they can come up with and try to address the outlot, as well. <br /> Libby concurred with Kirchner on the setbacks for the two thoroughfares for Willow and Wayzata, he <br /> thinks they need to be set back and they're fortunate to have someone in law enforcement who deals with <br /> these issues on a technical basis with cause-and-effect. He said he likes several things he heard and <br /> always greatly admires people with a compass of staying for the long-term and people who have a <br /> commitment to high fit and finish when it comes to architectural design and style, and he compliments the <br /> Applicant for that. He said he'd also like to support Chair Ressler's comment,with all of Mr.Barnhart's <br /> hard work on the 20/40 Comprehensive Plan,which brought from a 20 year old plan and kept the <br /> integrity of what countless people in Orono believe and enjoy, which is the rural setting versus an urban <br /> setting. He noted the plan is different but that doesn't make it bad, and it satisfies something very <br /> important: Orono needs housing. If this is quality housing that people like and want to buy, it's <br /> Page 25 of 27 <br />