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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br /> Tuesday,January 19,2021 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> Libby thinks Kirchner made a very good point and that is there is very little shoulder here and there <br /> actually is a significant amount of Hennepin County right-of-way beyond the pavement and beyond <br /> County Road 15. If a turn lane is coming from the east going west on Heritage Lane which is just a block <br /> over,the amount of distance over and above what was already the right-of-way would be relatively <br /> insignificant on the private property. Having dealt with Hennepin County right-of-way acquisition as he <br /> just did with the Tanager Bridge,Hennepin County is obligated by law to compensate fully even small <br /> portions of partial takings and he thinks that if there was a possible consequence of having to have that <br /> land for safety, if any portion of a private property needs to be taken, it is relatively small. It would be <br /> very difficult to realize it being more than a couple of feet beyond the right-of-way that Hennepin County <br /> already owns and has the right to use for a right turn lane. <br /> Barnhart understands the comment and noted the property owner has made it very clear that she does not <br /> want to give right-of-way. He thinks that the onus is on the Applicant to come up with a plan that does <br /> not require any additional. <br /> Bollis asked if Staff has any opinion on whether or not the Planning Commission should be requiring that <br /> turn lane. They have heard plenty about what Hennepin County thinks but asked do they think from a <br /> Planning Commission position they should be requiring that as a body. <br /> Barnhart said that would probably be the first one that the Planning Commission has required in many, <br /> many years; he cannot think of another situation where they required an improvement on a County Road <br /> right-of-way. While this seems like a big subdivision, it is a 5-6 lot subdivision and is not a huge number- <br /> generator;yes, recognizing that Shoreline Drive already has an uncomfortable level of traffic,he does not <br /> think from a solely clinical examination of the impact that they would normally require a turn lane here. <br /> Chair Ressler knows the Planning Commission has talked about this but he is hearing that what starts out <br /> as a recommendation from the County may turn into a requirement at the time of permitting; however, <br /> that is not something that is usually fleshed out at the time of discussion. <br /> Barnhart thinks in this situation with the comment about the turn lane, it is appropriate for the Applicant <br /> to examine that and work with Hennepin County with this type of scenario, and would their solution be <br /> sufficient rather than waiting to the final step which is the permit. What they are recommending from a <br /> Staff level is that the City Engineer's comments,the County comments,the watershed district approvals; <br /> those are all subject to the approval of this. If any of those fall apart,the preliminary plat goes away. He <br /> can appreciate Mr. Dean's comment that they want all of this nice and tidy in terms of finishing all the <br /> engineering and that is ideal. Typically,that does not happen and they do a lot of these through the <br /> approval and he is constantly amazed by the engineering committee and how they can solve problems <br /> creatively. While the County has an idea in their mind of how this works, Barnhart looks forward to any <br /> solution that the Applicant's team puts together. <br /> Chair Ressler noted the feedback he is hearing from the Planning Commission is that he doesn't think <br /> anyone is opposed to having a turn lane in place. The proposed plat as it stands right now does not have it <br /> so they have it on the record and it is noted as such. He stated they have understood that Orono City code <br /> does not define the 1,000-foot cul-de-sac measurement as a straight line or a total road line, whatever they <br /> want to call that linear,and perhaps that is something they want to look at defining. He knows they do <br /> not do a lot of developments but that could be viewed two different ways. Chair Ressler's personal <br /> feedback on that would be it probably would be a straight line if there were not wetlands there so that <br /> Page 13 of 28 <br />