05-24-1993 Council Minutes2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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r I strictly controlled development within the 2 acre and 5 acre rural residential zoning districts. Development with private septic systems and wells has been carefully regulated, and with the exception of the Highway 12 corridor which was the subject of a comprehensive plan amendment in 1988, urban development has not been allowed to expand into the rural area. Although the 1980 Comprehensive Plan indicated that the State of Minnesota had dropped plans for relocating an expanding Highway 12 through Orono, recent requests by outstate interests have revived discussions about rerouting or upgrading Highway 12. While it is the City's intent to provide for the necessary safety upgrades to Highway 12, a future rerouting of Highway 12 through rural Orono would not be in keeping with the 1980 Comprehensive Plan, and would require significant revisions to the plan. The City is currently in opposition to any Highway 12 changes which would necessitate major resoning within the City. B. Semmge Treatment Policy Plan The sewage treatment" r'^'als for Orono continue exacting as stated in the 1980 Comprehensive Plan. These Include provision of an adequate safe level of sewage treatment and waste water disposal for all properties in the Cityi the protection of Lake Minnetonka as well as other surface and groundwaters from sewage effluent pollution} and achievement of these goals within the financial capabilities of the City and its citizens without becoming an intolerable burden on landowners or taxpayers. The City continues to maintain that the urban and rural service areas are fixed, and that the existing rural area will not be urbanized. The 1988 Comprehensive Plan Amendment regarding the Highway 12 corridor resulted in a determination that certain properties abutting Highway 12 and directly adjacent to the totally urbanized City of Long Lake, could not realistically be expf.« ted to be developed to rural standards. The rurally zoned areas within the Highway 12 corridor that were subsequently redesignated for urban development had experienced virtually no rural development due to their location and characteristics inconsistent with the character of the majority of rural property in the City.* That amendment strictly defines the urban uses allowable within the redefined corridor. As a result of the 1988 amendment, approximately 275 acres or 3.5% of the are^ of the City zoned for rural development, was allowed to