04-12-2004 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 12, 2004 7:00 o'clock p.m. 20. STUDY REGARDING DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS — ORDINANCE NO. 7 • 3RD SERIES, continued) Moorse explained that Gaffron's prior explanation was accurate in that over the last month or so as staff and Council informally discussed development issues, it became more clear that there were major concerns about implementing the goals of the Comprehensive Plan related to the areas guided to higher density residential development. Those informal discussions came together over the past month into a more focused concern, which also coincided with the occurrence of developer discussions in the same time fraine. Moorse continued that the City may not be in a position to deal with such a development when the City is unclear at the City Council or Planning Commission level about the vision for development, the densities the City is looking for, or the affordability issue. Sansevere asked Mr. Johnston if the Hwy 12 fill material could be placed on the property under a moratorium. Mr. Johnston indicated, in his experience with most cities, that would involve getting permission for these quantities of dirt from the watershed and MnDNR, questions of whether there is mining involved and about stockpiling problems. Gaffron clarified that the Orono process involves a Conditional Use Permit application for greater than 500 cu. yds.of fill taking two months to process, and also includes a watershed application. • Acting Mayor White summarized the public comments, listing their concerns about lack of meeting notification and collaboration, that the moratorium would not gain them more than the traditional PUD process would provide, that the delay would translate into higher costs for fill if the Hwy 12 road project material was not available at a later date, that Brenshall should be allowed be make application as they have intended with no moratorium imposed and, finally, issues of affordability in Orono. Acting Mayor White asked Moorse and Gaffron to comment on what is gained by the moratorium, but continued by stating that he believes that by zoning the James' site for high density the property owner has received a financial windfall though acknowledging that the City probably did not collaborate with the property owner at the time of rezoning. He commented that the City has a pending development application and defended the City's need to respond quickly. Acting Mayor White expressed his hope that the study can be accomplished as soon as possible and may not interfere with the coordination of the Hwy 12 fill. He acknowledged the impact of seeing Stonebay under construction and wondering if that is really what is the City's vision. He also agreed with the developer's comments about the difficulty of providing affordable new construction in Orono. Acting Mayor White concluded that he supports imposing the moratorium and supports the staff in their development of more regulatory controls, if needed, to provide more clarity for development. Moorse pointed out that there will be opportunities for collaboration during the moratorium process and offered to look at any good solutions proposed by Brenshall Homes as part of the study process. • Also, he stated that bringing in a Sketch Plan prior to the Council going through the study process could involve a lot of time in itself. Moorse observed that the clarity expected from the study process Page 16 of 20