10-25-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 12, 2015 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 12 of 37 9. #15-3774 MICHAEL STEADMAN ON BEHALF OF IRWIN JACOBS, 1700 SHORELINE DRIVE, PRELIMINARY PLAT (continued) The Planning Commission also recommended that the City Engineer have a safety expert provide a review of traffic safety issues and address safety concerns such as ingress/egress to Shoreline Drive, speed of construction, traffic on Heritage Lane, etc. The Consulting City Engineer’s office has indicated they do not see any significant concerns and that construction work does not appear to impact any public street. Gaffron stated the neighbors feel the construction will impact them due to the narrowness of the road and have an impact on the quietness of the neighborhood. Gaffron stated in front of the Council tonight is a significant amount of information, and if the Council is looking for more definitive information, Staff can provide that. Gaffron stated the option that the neighborhood would like access coming through the Jacobs property is not practical and Hennepin County does not look favorable on that driveway serving as the construction access. The Planning Commission did look at a number of documents that were provided by the applicant, including a letter from a grading contractor who suggested that slopes in the range of 10 to 12 percent would not be reasonable for a temporary construction access. There are some steep slopes and bluffs that the developer’s engineer can address. Staff is not supporting or recommending a second access coming from the south and in Staff’s view Heritage Lane remains the best access. The applicant has discussed with Staff how the City determinations of building height and number of stories rely on the use of existing grades. As a result, the revised grading plan shows that Lots 1 and 2 are proposed to be graded to create building pads and establish new existing grades as part of the development improvements. Those grades likely will not be established until the homes are being constructed. An updated Conservation Design Report was submitted prior to the September Planning Commission meeting and is included in the Council’s packet. The Conservation Design Report states that the existing drainage patterns will generally be maintained, the wetlands will be preserved and buffered, with the exception of the small wetland within the Heritage Lane right-of-way, and a vegetation management plan for the invasive species observed onsite will be implemented. There will be tree preservation areas along the perimeter of the site, including the bluff areas. The trees existing on the subject parcel range from poor to good health. The majority appear to be in good health. Dead trees will be removed from the lots if they are within grading areas or if they pose a safety hazard. There will be 110 trees removed for the construction of the extension of Heritage Lane and the new cul- de-sac. Within individual lots, tree clearing will be avoided to the extent possible, but due to the lots being located within the maple basswood forest, a certain amount of tree clearing will be unavoidable. Building pad footprints have been selected to take advantage of natural clearings and existing flat grades whenever possible. Due to the proposed house locations within the forest, all positive views will remain, with the residences protected from view by the large trees. The rolling hills onsite will further assist with the protection from negative views.