11-13-2001 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGIONAL BLUEPRINT (Robin Caufman, Planning & Technical Assistance, 6S1-602-I4S7) The Metropolitan Council ’s Regional Blueprint (see Figure 2) designates the developed area of Orono closest to 1 Jkc Minnetonka as Urban Area (2,894 acres within the existing MUSA), surrounded by Urban Reserve (7,306 acres outside current MUSA). The older sections of the city designated as Urban have developed at higher densities and include a variety of uses including commercial, industrial, public, opci' space and higher density residential development. The non-urban part of Orono is tnappropnat* «y designated Urban Reserve given the following circumstances. The issue of future urban in the area was addressed in the late I970's when the Council agreed to size the interceptor serving Orono for very limiled urban growth. As a result, the interceptor does not have the capacity to serve as much expanded urban area m the city, therefore the Urban Reserve desigrution is inappropriate. Additionally, because the city has been committed to ’’small lot” permanent rural since the I970’s and has developed accordingly, it is not feasible for the city to meet the Regional Growth Strategy’s permanent rural density guidelines. While the city is inconsistent with the current Regional Growth Strategy because it is not proposing to plan for Urban Reserve, its plan is reasonable given past practice and previous agreements. Thmfore, the Coimcil should; .low the city of Orono to put its Comprehensive Plan into cffcci. The Council ’s Rural Issues Work Group is studying the issue of rural density and will be adopting r:w p ':cies in 2002 that wnll address communities like Orono that are inconsistent with both Urban Reserve and Permanent Rural policies. The City will continue to work towards meeting the Council's forecasts by increasing densities where appropriate and where regional system capacity exists. Orono’s comprehensive plan proposes to meet the Council ’s housing goals and works towards meeting Council ’s forecasts. The plan indicates that the city will work with neighboring communities to meet the regional housing needs. Land Use and Local Urban Service Area and Development Staging Generally, the city accepts the Council employment forecasts for 2020. However, the population and household forecasts are slightly less (2.6% and 6%) Uon the Council forecasts. The city calculated household and population forecasts by looking at the number of future homes that each parcel could support based on zoning and natural development constraints, such a.« wetlands and soil suitability. The result was a lower household forecast than the Council. Comparison of City and Connell Forecasts Orono 7,285 7,800 9.050 9,300 Council 7.285 7,750*8.450 9,550 Orono 2,613 2.826 3,400 3,762 Council 2,613 2.900* •3,400 4,000 J O 13;.,* Sit Orono 1,220 1,350 1,350 Council 980 1,200 1,350 1,350 •• CouiKil forecast was 2,900 households; actual U. S. Census count was 2,766. This is 4.6% less than forecasted The city provided a map that analyzes the development potential based on lot size, current land use and environmental constraints, such as wetlands (see Figure 6). The map shows that there is only one remaining parcel larger than 40 acres in developable land in the Urban Reserve area of Orotx). There are 8 lots betiveen 20 and 40 acres in size and 30 parcels that are 10 to 20 acres in size. Several of these parcels arc near existing urban development and urban services, providing limited potential for future infill development. The remaining 962 parcels designated as urban reserve are less than 10 acres, with over 90% being less than 5 acres. This analysis shows that previous development patterns, supported by the limited sewer capacity to the city, has