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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, August 24, 2015 <br />7:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 8 of 13 <br /> <br />Gonyea indicated probably the upper 100,000s. <br /> <br />Walsh stated given the price of the lots and what it costs to construct a house per square foot, this will not <br />be a starter house no matter what. Walsh stated it really is more of what the Council is comfortable with <br />as it relates to how the development looks, whether there is room to park a car, the setbacks, and other <br />items like that. Walsh noted these will not be $200,000 homes and will probably be more $500,000 <br />homes. <br /> <br />McMillan stated smaller building pads would make the price of the house come down as well. <br /> <br />Gaffron asked if they could vary the lot sizes enough to have some 300-350 homes interspersed with the <br />600 homes. <br /> <br />Gonyea indicated that is not a plan he would like to pursue and that he would like to go with an <br />unattached product. Gonyea noted one of the main issues people encounter with attached units is the fact <br />that they are attached. Gonyea stated to mix the two may not be a great fit. <br /> <br />McMillan asked if every house will have a 3-car garage or whether it vary some. <br /> <br />Gonyea stated they will vary some but they will all have the option to have a 3-car garage or a 2-car <br />garage with a courtyard effect. <br /> <br />McMillan asked if the homes will basically have the same square footage. <br /> <br />Gonyea stated the homes would range from the low 2,000s to the low 3,000s, with another 1,000 square <br />feet of basement. <br /> <br />Printup stated one of the things the Council discussed last time was avoiding the cookie cutter look. <br /> <br />Gonyea says the City of Maple Grove has a point system that prohibits the same house being constructed <br />within a certain distance and requiring the facades to be different. Gonyea stated the goal is not to have <br />the same type of house right next to each other and that there will be a variety of plans available to the <br />property owners. <br /> <br />Levang stated she would encourage the Council to see the development that was done in Plymouth. <br /> <br />Levang asked how comfortable he is with the 4-unit townhomes. <br /> <br />Gonyea stated his preference would be not to have it but that they also have to work with the <br />Metropolitan Council. Gonyea stated in his view whatever townhome units go in there will need to <br />compete with Stone Bay <br /> <br />Levang asked if there will be quite a bit of green area around the development. <br /> <br />Gonyea stated standard setback to the back would be 50 feet and this is showing 30 feet, which is another <br />City ordinance that would need to be addressed with a variance. <br /> <br />Printup asked if there is another area in Orono that has 4-units.