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#2490 -V anEeckhout Sketch Plan <br />May 12, 1999 <br />Page 6 <br />The Rural Land Use Policies clearly indicate that the rural area will not be urbanized, i.e. it won't <br />be provided with urban services and it won't be expanded by rezoning. The City has held fast to this <br />policy except for a few unique cases, i.e. Sugar Woods on Brown Road North ( the short story on this <br />was: provided with sewer to preserve trees, rezoned to prevent annexation); and the sewering of <br />existing rural neighborhoods where septic systems were not a viable long-term alternative. <br />There are two innovative options Planning Commission might consider for developing this property, <br />that may be consistent with the City's rural area goals: <br />A. Based on the proximity to the creek, this is a sensitive Shoreland area. As was done with <br />Little Orchard on Maxwell Bay, it may be reasonable to allow the developer to prove how <br />many lots he could develop under our rural standards (by actually doing septic testing and <br />reworking lot layouts as necessary), then allow that number of lots to be developed with <br />sewer. This preserves the rural density while eliminating potential pollution from septic <br />systems near the creek. <br />B. To go one step further, the city might allow the number oflots that could be developed using <br />septic systems, to be developed via a sewered PRD by clusteri!!'.:: the home~i+""' 11ear the <br />existing residence and leaving the majority of theproperty as preserved open space. This <br />could potentially cut down on the costs of road and driveway construction while yielding <br />homes that all have views of and access to the creek. <br />Either A or B might be accomplished without rezoning, but both would require a MUSA <br />amendment. While the Little Orchard MUSA amendment was found acceptable by Met Council due <br />to proximity to Lake Minnetonka, a similar case would have to be made for this site. <br />Planning Commission should provide applicant with direction as to the rezoning and sewering <br />issues. No vote is required. However, this application will be forwarded to Council since it <br />proposes a rezoning which is a policy decision that only Council can ultimately make.