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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION <br />Tuesday, February 16, 2021 <br />6:00 o'clock p.m. <br />Erickson moved, Libby seconded, to approve LA21-000004, 1150 Pine View Drive, Conditional Use <br />Permit. VOTE: Ayes 7, Nays 0. <br />4. LA21-000006 CITY OF ORONO, 365 OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD NORTH, <br />COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT — METROPOLITAN URBAN SERVICE <br />AREA (MUSA) EXPANSION (STAFF: JEREMY BARNHART) <br />Barnhart said the City of Orono is considering relocating its public works facility and to do so it needs to <br />amend the Comprehensive Plan specifics to the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA) and needs to <br />amend the CUP to expand sanitary sewer into an area that is not served by sanitary sewer. He showed a <br />map of the City and showed the proposed expansion into a parcel of land just south of Highway 12 shown <br />in red, off of Old Crystal Bay Road. The Planning Commission may recall this property was for sale by <br />MnDOT for a couple of years and the City purchased it last summer for the purpose of a public works <br />facility. When considering an expansion of the MUSA they are generally concerned about impact to the <br />existing system and if the system can support that type of improvement. The City Engineer has reviewed <br />the proposed/anticipated volume of water to be generated and treated on the site and feels comfortable <br />that the existing system can support it. He said there will be necessary expansions to that system, a <br />sanitary sewer line and a new lift station will likely be necessary to pump the waste from the facility into <br />the system just north of Highway 12. The project will likely include a normal kitchenette or breakroom, <br />some restrooms, and perhaps 1-2 wash bays. Barnhart noted the final plans have not been determined but <br />that is what Staff anticipates. In terms of impact to the system, the main increase will likely be the future <br />use of the existing public works facility which is directly to the east. They have not identified a use for <br />that and the zoning of that property is the same as the zoning of the subject property, which is a <br />residential -type property and does allow City public works facilities as a permitted use. He noted there is <br />an extra public hearing requirement but it is not technically a CUP. Staff has reviewed the standards for <br />expansion of the MUSA which is contained in the Comprehensive Plan, which does anticipate expansions <br />of MUSA from time -to -time. There are basically 6 priorities where the City Council could support a <br />change or an amendment. For this project, there is not a failing system on the property, it is not adjacent <br />to other property that needs to be served, it does not fit the top five criteria for priority, so it is a lower <br />priority in terms of what the Comprehensive Plan spells out. Barnhart pointed out that the <br />Comprehensive Plan established those priorities based on private residential use primarily, and private <br />other development secondarily; public development for public services was not considered in terms of <br />drafting the priorities. As with any proposed expansion of MUSA, Staff's worry is whether this is <br />creating or establishing a precedent — does it just snake the argument easier for anyone else to expand the <br />MUSA boundary into their property? As the Planning Commission knows, the goal has been since the <br />1980's to keep urban densities around specific areas such as Navarre, Highway 12, but also more <br />importantly, keep density away from the lakeshore but also provide sanitary sewer along the Lakeshore to <br />help preserve the water quality of the lakes. Barnhart noted they wanted to avoid expansion into the area <br />shown on screen as those are lower density rule areas and did not want to extend sanitary sewer into those <br />areas. He does not think this expansion, while it is into a more rural area, is precedent setting because it is <br />for a public use and public service for the community. Staff is recommending approval as proposed. <br />Bollis asked if this decreases the sewer density with this proposal. <br />Barnhart replied that this has no impact on the sewer density because it is not a residential use. <br />Kirchner said regarding the City Engineer's comments, does that opinion include if there were a wash bay <br />and vehicle washing or is that specific to restrooms and a kitchen. <br />Page 7 of 38 <br />