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November __, 1995 <br />Metropolitan Council <br />Mears Park Centre <br />230 East Fifth Street <br />St. Paul, Minnesota 55101 <br />Subject: Comprehensive Plan Amendment - Proposed MUSA Revisions <br />Dear Members of the Council: <br />TTie City of Orono is requesting approval of an amendment to the MUSA boundary. The amendment <br />will make possible construction of municipal sewers to serve 10 existing residential neighborhoods <br />comprising 189 existing homes and four vacant lots on a total of ___acres.. Each neighborhood has <br />been found to have a significant number of non-conforming septic systems that, although not necessanly <br />failing, must be replaced to meet State and Orono standards. Additionally, 56 acres of land owned by <br />the Orono School District as part of their main campus will be added to the MUSA to accomodate ftiture <br />school needs including a proposed ice hockey arena. <br />Six of the ten residential neighborhoods are within Orono's designated Shoreland District, located within <br />1000' of either Lake Minnetonka or Long Lake. One-fourth of the 189 residences are on lakeshore lots. <br />A majority of the ten neighborhoods have potentially severe limitations for the replacement of septic <br />systems. All were originally developed prior to Orono's 1975 rezoning which henceforth required <br />minimum lot sizes of 2 acres for new residential development. Two acres of dry buildable land is <br />considered by Orono as the minimum individual lot area necessary to accommodate septic systems on <br />a long-term basis. The average lot size in these neighborhoods is 1.3 acres, or just 65% of the <br />minimum area requirement. <br />Background <br />In 1975 the City of Orono emharked on a journey to enhance and preserve the water quality of Lake <br />Minnetonka. Orono's plan to accomplish this goal is many-faceted, including. <br />- preserving existing wetlands to enhance stormwater runoff quality <br />- strict lakeshore setback regulations and limitations on hardcover percentages to <br />maximize infiltration of runoff <br />- limitations on development density in the upper watershed areas to no more than 1 <br />dwelling unit per 2 acres <br />Orono has experienced great success in each of these areas over the last two decades. Wetlands have <br />been protected and enhanced by private propeny owners throughout the City, and virtually no wetland <br />acreage has been lost by filling or draining. Strict enforcement of setback and hardcover regulations <br />has resulted in a substantial green buffer along the majority of Orono's 40 miles of Minnetonka <br />lakeshore. And with 80% of Orono's land area zoned for Single Family Residential use with 2-acre and <br />5-acre minimum lot sizes, development of the rural areas of the City at low densities has continued at <br />a slow but steady pace.