04-12-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 8, 2021 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 13 of 24 26. LA21-000014 – MARK RAUSCH AND AZIZ SADDIQUI O/B/O UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS AND DAVID WEEKLY HOMES, NW CORNER OF WILLOW AND WAYZATA BLVD., COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT, ZONE CHANGE, PRELIMINARY PLAT, AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN APPROVAL – RESOLUTION NO. 7177 – Continued and they are open even at this point in time, if the Council decides to flip the building – he thinks the street will be an issue the way the stubs will come out, and they circulated that plan, it did not look that great, so they went back and revised it. The Planning Commission thought the same thing as David Weekley Homes and more importantly, as a home owner, what would they want to see if they are living there. That is what is really comes down to. Walsh likes the sidewalks, safe walking, the streets are wide enough, and they want it to be livable. He thinks it makes a lot of sense to have things, not unlike across the street when looking at all of their public areas, they are all in the middle rather than the outsides. Mr. Saddiqui said one comment from the Stone Bay neighborhood meeting was that a play structure does not serve well in their community. If the Council is open to any other structure such as a pavilion, he is open to that idea. For now, they just left it with the play structure to perhaps target single parents, young couples, or retirees. If the play structure does not work out, they are open to changing that. Crosby believes at Stone Bay they have some type of gazebo. Johnson asked the price point on these homes. Mr. Saddiqui answered currently they are shooting between $440,000-$470,000 and are still about $40- $50,000 below Stone Bay but they feel very good about where they are at. Initially they thought of around $390,000-$410,000 but in the last 7 months the prices have skyrocketed. Crosby likes the things the Applicant has done and thinks they are being about as accommodating as one can. They have reduced the density and he likes that the center is the attraction. Johnson thinks that Staff was saying if this gets built and people complain about seeing garages, they warned the Council. Crosby said he is not as concerned with people driving by but the people that are living there. Walsh said if one is at the Orono Orchard stoplight, they see everyone’s garage all the way down the road. Crosby is thinking more safety of the neighborhood and he thinks it is well done. Barnhart noted all the roads will be privately maintained, the utilities will be constructed by the developer but the City will be maintaining those, and the fees are outlined for the trunk and other connection fees. Staff put together a resolution for approval and are looking for feedback on some of those issues in terms of the density and the design of the project. Johnson thinks it is a good idea to connect that trail.