06-03-1999 Council Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Attachment Page 3 However, it also has resulted in some Orono residents concluding that a 'cornfield castle' plopped on every 2 acres, does nol functionally preserve open space or the 'rural vistas' that the 1980 Plan sought to protect. Clustering is probably the next (last) step to take in order to preserve what open spaces are left. But clustering septic systems in our clay soils could result in inadequate treatment and system failures due to groundw'ater mounding, etc. which could be avoided by developing with sewer. in hindsight, we might have developed the 80 acre Dickey property into 37 half acre lots on 20 acres near the intersection of Willow and Watertown, and preserved 60 acres of open fields via permanent covenants. We would have needed sewer to do it. We might have needed to adopt some density incentives to make it economically attractive to developers. We would have created a Plymouth-type development in order to preserve some of our rural character. The saving grace in all this is that, over time, say 20-25 years out, the cornfield castles will disappear behind mature trees as they have in the developments created 3 decades ago such as Webber Hills, Long Lake Country Club Addition and Cygnet Place. So, if we think that there will be pressure to bring sewer to Rural Orono. it would make sense to establish some rational basis for making future decisions as to when and where. For discussion purposes, here is a possible priority ranking to consider: Prioi ity 1 Properties that abut the shoreline of Lake Minnetonka Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Properties that abut other Orono lakes Properties that abut City-protected tributaries (Long Lake Creek, Painter's Creek, etc.) All other properties within the Shoreland Overlay District ^nh<;tanHflrd developed lots not covered by Priorities 1 thru 4 Priority 6 Conforming de^'eloped lots not covered by Pnorities 1 thru 4 Priority 7 New development not covered by Priorities 1 thru 4 Priority 2 New development using clustering that permanently preserves blocks of open space i