11-09-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, November 9, 2015 7:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS (continued) As a result of their engineer's findings, the neighborhood has tremendous concern that this application has not been thoughtfully reviewed and examined and the City Council has not been given all the facts that they need in order to make an informed decision. Byrnes noted this is the last large piece of land on Lake Minnetonka to be developed. Byrnes noted there are three lots to be developed, with a fourth lot containing the house to be developed at some point in the future, but yet there has been no discussion about what the long-term plan will be. The residents want to make sure the City is very thoughtful concerning the long-term development of this parcel and that in their view not enough evaluation has been done. Byrnes noted there has also been discussion about Hennepin County not allowing access for an alternative access. Byrnes requested the City Council do their due diligence and confirm that. Byrnes noted there has been no formal denial of access for the entrance from Shoreline and that Hennepin County has not reviewed it or made a decision on it. Byrnes stated when Hennepin County conducts their reviews, they can make a recommendation but cannot necessarily enforce it. Byrnes stated the idea that someone cannot turn off of Shoreline is not a de facto decision and that he would encourage the Council to discuss that with Hennepin County. Todd Erickson, Professional Engineer, stated he has been involved with developing property since 1997 and that he has a wide range of experience. Erickson indicated he usually works for the developer but that he has been hired by the homeowners association to review this application and the issues that were raised. Erickson indicated he did provide the association with a document that basically identifies his findings and the issues associated with the application. Erickson indicated he went through and analyzed what had been given to Staff and did a cursory view of the City's ordinances. The document has also been supplied to the City Council. The number one item is the length of the cul-de-sac, with no variance application being submitted, which is a concern. Erickson noted the bulk of the items identified were the length of the cul-de-sac and no documentation on how that road could eventually go through in the future. Erickson noted Orono's ordinance also states a maximum number of ten homes can be on the cul-de-sac and that there was very little discussion of that. The number two item is the drainage and how to deal with that. Erickson stated both of those items were basically left out of the application. The number three item relates more to the stormwater, specifically as it relates to the infiltration area, which relates back to the disturbance of the site. Erickson stated it is his opinion the number of trees to be removed would be more than double than what was stated by the developer for that portion of the project. In addition, the developer will be filling in a wetland off of the road right-of-way, which will take some extreme gymnastics to get that through the Watershed District. Erickson noted there really has been no discussion about that and no mitigation plan has been submitted. Other items basically relate to the tree survey, the impact of the ponding area and the infiltration practices. The developer's plan did not identify the number of trees involved or the installation of the retaining wall. Erickson stated typically that type of retaining wall requires geogrid or extra structural reinforcement which also was not identified on the plan. Page 6 of 24