05/18/2015 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Monday,May 18,2015 6:30 o'clock p.m. Gaffron stated about the only thing the Planning Commission can do at this point is to include a statement in the final plat saying that this is the recommendation for that piece of land. Landgraver stated the other part is who is going to be responsible for that outlot now and into the future and what they will be allowed to do with it. Landgraver stated the Planning Commission would like to see some firm language on that and whether it is going to be in a conservation easement or land trust. Leskinen stated a conservation district is with the City and a land trust is with the state. Gaffron stated given the history of the parcel and the recent discussions, he does not believe the applicant would be willing to give an easement of any type over the outlots at this point. Stickney stated he cannot at this point. Leskinen noted it was presented in the beginning as a land trust but that she is more concerned with protecting the woods. Leskinen noted a motion was made to table the application. Lemke seconded the motion. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. (Recess taken from 9:12 p.m. to 9:17 p.m.) 5. #15-3731 RENEE WIXON,4505 WEST BRANCH ROAD, SKETCH PLAN REVIEW, 9:17 P.M.—9:35 P.M. William and Renee Wixon, Applicants, were present. Gaffron stated this is a sketch plan to create a second 2-acre lot from a parcel that contains 4.71 dry acres, of which 3.90 acres is contiguous and 0.81 acres is separated by a creek and wetland that traverses the property from west to east. The property is located in the RR-1B District, which allows for single-family residential use with a minimum lot size of 2.0 acres and 200 feet lot width. The property does not appear to meet the minimum standards for subdivision. City Code requires two acres of dry buildable contiguous acreage in each lot. The property abuts a creek that enters the site at the northwest corner of the property, winds its way through the southerly portion of the site, and then exits to the east where it enters Forest Lake Bay of Lake Minnetonka. In addition,there is a delineated wetland that extends outside the defined drainage easement. At the point where the creek separates the dry buildable land at the southeast corner of the site,the wetland is approximately 50 feet in width. It would be inconsistent with past City practice to allow credit towards the 2-acre contiguous dry buildable requirement for two areas of land separated by a 50-foot wetland corridor. Gaffron stated under a standard subdivision process, each proposed lot must contain a minimum of 2.0 acres of contiguous dry buildable land. This requirement has to do with septic systems and the City has typically not granted variances to the noncontiguous land. The applicants have provided two conceptual lot layouts for consideration. Neither layout meets the requirement for both lots containing 2.0 acres of contiguous dry-buildable land. In each layout,the proposed new easterly lot contains less than 2.0 acres north of the creek/wetland that traverses the Page 25 of 37