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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br />Tuesday, February 16, 2021 <br />6:00 o'clock p.m. <br />Applicant has explored staggering the blocks a bit instead of having them in a straight line, particularly <br />Blocks 8, 7, 6, and 5. <br />Mr. Rausch said they could definitely stagger 6, 7, and 8; 7 could sit back and obviously it gets tighter <br />between 5 and 6 and they are trying to keep a separation there. He noted 8 gets a little tight, but maybe <br />there could be something done with 7 to create some relief from Wayzata Boulevard. <br />Bollis said he is not in love with that view from Wayzata Boulevard of the backs of the units and a big <br />straight line of units. <br />Mr. Saddiqui said the goal is, it is almost like a gridlock, as they are locked with the setbacks of 50 feet <br />from Wayzata Boulevard and that is the line they need to work with. Anything they do gets pushed and <br />cramped into the back area. He noted they are really in a tight spot from all corners in there. He said <br />given what they have, the company thought this is the best they could come up with, but are open to <br />suggestions to improve and make it better. <br />Bollis said on the landscaping plan, he appreciates what was done on Highway 12 with the idea of fencing <br />and screening. Personally, he would prefer something more like they are doing on Kelley where it is a <br />little more of a natural look, rather than a fenced line with arborvitaes. <br />McCutcheon thinks this is a lose -lose instead of a win-win, so they must compromise somewhere; he <br />noted he could look at this next week and have a different opinion. From a safety point of view and flow, <br />Amazon is such a big part of everyone's lives now and he tends to agree with the builder's design, as it is <br />safer and flows better. He thinks of kids trick -or -treating and the sense of community, and said they <br />deserve that right, too. He understands on Willow Drive it will be different, but he thinks it is a <br />compromise. <br />Ressler has looked at this three times now and always tries to come up with constructive criticism because <br />just saying one does not like it doesn't work. He said they want to make this work and need to provide <br />feedback on what they think works. The Commissioners have done a nice job of providing that <br />constructive feedback and he thanked them for that. Some of Ressler's concerns, he recognizes they have <br />an issue here where if they reduce the density any further, they have to now reallocate that somewhere <br />else, and that is a real problem. The other hard part is whether they are creating a problem by avoiding <br />another; regarding snow removal, when they have those setbacks or cushions there is relief, but when they <br />tighten those boundaries it can create problems. He noted it does not look like there are a lot of places to <br />put snow. As far as where the traffic goes, it is a tough spot because any of them who have spent time in <br />that area during school times, it is a really tough area to get in and out of. Psychologically, it is difficult <br />to think about adding another 37 homes to an area that can already be congested at different times. He <br />said that is difficult because what is his constructive criticism about that; they add more traffic to Kelley <br />Parkway and it is guided to. He does not think there is a better place to put the entrance, if they put it out <br />on Willow it relieves Kelley Parkway but now there is a problem on Willow. He recognizes that and does <br />not have a better idea. He has concern over the setbacks and agreed that Wayzata Boulevard is the <br />identity of the community and he recognizes that things like McDonald's and gas stations are also part of <br />that as it is an urban area. What the Planning Commission cannot do is change that, but they can provide <br />feedback on what the future will look like, if there is proper screening being provided. Ressler said one <br />of the illustrations provided was hard to tell the scale because it did not look like 9 feet unless it was a 3 - <br />foot man and a 2 -foot dog. His constructive feedback would be to better understand the scale to help the <br />Planning Commission and City Council feel more comfortable about what that really is. His question is if <br />Page 28 of 38 <br />