02-16-2021 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, February 16, 2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. Libby asked what is the metric or premise that is based on. He noted there was a mention of garbage and recycling, and in most residential neighborhoods that do not have this kind of density would actually be street side because of the size of the vehicles that come in for waste management. He noted trying to compress vehicles into that interior would seem to be really restrictive. He wonders if they are borrowing from other metrics or reasons to do that, as these large vehicles are better off in the larger thoroughfare and in the front. Ressler noted this may be better suited for the discussion. Libby apologized and said he was asking a question so he had clarity. Ressler said it is natural for it to turn into discussion. Aziz Saddiqui with David Weekley Homes, Applicant, approached the podium. He is responsible for overseeing the entitlements and development for the Midwest and western pant of the country. He thanked the Planning Commission for all their feedback and perspective last September. He noted three major takeaways for him and were very important; first, the density count and how sensitive that issue was, as that conversation went on for about an hour and there was difficulty figuring out from 75 or 85 units versus 37 or 35 or 40 units. He said the magic number is 37 and they managed to get that, and that unit count contributed to the setbacks — he thinks the main one was Wayzata having 50 feet because the rest of the units along the stretch were 50 feet. With Willow and Kelley, he thinks they were able to achieve the 36. Addressing these three setback scenarios, the unit count, and to the comment about bringing the open area/play structure area to the internal part of the development and make it more warm and secluded for the community. He said they achieve many of the major bullet points they received and they continued to communicate with Barnhart. To further enhance — although the City did not push for it — they wanted to fence this community with ornamental fencing and provide perimeter landscaping around the entire area. He noted the company did consult with their landscape architect in regards to a comment about the large amount of snow, wind, and salt, and how that would impact the arborvitaes along Wayzata Boulevard. With the kind of setback in being more than 30 feet from the pavement, their architect believes the arborvitae will do well. Mr. Saddiqui said they are open to any suggestions or comments, and if that needs to be changed, they would love to accommodate that. He showed on screen a street -view from Wayzata and what one would be looking at while driving as they are 10 -foot arborvitae with a five-foot fence. To Mr. Libby's point about the reasoning behind why they need to flip the units — the company is not opposed to that — they felt for the homeowners, why not give them that sense of enclosed, one community if they are all facing that open area. He noted they are not opposed to flipping those units and it is open for discussion; they did provide one concept of that plan. Mr. Saddiqui said the company feels very strong because they improved the plans from the last meeting and are continuing to work on it. He thinks their elevations are very attractive today and noted they added a bunch of gables and character to the garage door, and are still trying to improve them. If they go back to the color scheme setup, they had an excellent call with the neighborhood and there were about 15-20 guests and many had questions. A majority of them wondered how the color schemes would work, if the entire community would be all grey, beige, etcetera. He showed a color drawing on screen and noted it helps everyone understand how the patterns and character of the buildings will work. He noted all windows are surrounded with the hardy board, the siding, and trim boards, with stone surrounds; he said it will support and compliment the neighborhood and they are feeling good about how this would turn out. As he said last September, they are introducing this product in June in Burnsville, and want to bring the same product to Orono. He added from the neighborhood comments, there was one person who felt very strong about where they were coming in and out on Kelley Parkway and Mr. Saddiqui feels they chose a very Page 24 of 38