01-20-2009 Planning Commission Packet

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a � #09-3393 875 Wayzata Boulevard January 14,2009 Page 6 4. The e�sting rural area will not be urbanized. Orono's Community Management Plan is not a , staged growth plan. The urban service area will not be expanded into the nual area. Municipal urban services will not be extended into the rural area or across open, rural lands.Rural land uses and rural land use,density will be maintained at a level to ensure fhat private on-site sewer systems will operate satisfactorily and that rural wetlands and drainageways will not be � overloaded with storm water nutrient pollution." �After due consideration the Council ultimately favored the 2007 amendment, making the following findings in favor of the conversion from 2-acre minimum SFR to allow 9 SFR units at a density of 1.4 units per acre (the property is designated as Site E in that amendment): `Basis for Amendment. The 2000-2020 CMP indicates that to more closely approach the development density goals established by Metropolitan Council, Orono has defined certain azeas of the City where conversion from planned Rural densities to planned Urban densities is appropriate. These are areas where provision of urban services can be efficient, cost-effective, and have the least negative impacts on the City's environmental goals and on surrounding development. In defining where urban areas should be located, the City considers proximity to existing higher density development; proximity to existing municipal sewer lines with available capacity; proximity to existing urban services; adjacencyto existing transportation corridors; and location high in the watershed to limit stormwa�er impacts. Site E was not identified for change from Rural to Urban in the 2000-2020 CMP. Further, the 2000-2020 CMP establishes a number of policies which generally do not support the conversion of Rural land to Urban status. However, certain factors that suggest such a change is appropriate for Site E include: . • 1. The properiy is essentially an "orphan", with relatively little relationship to the _. .. . development that sunounds it, i.e. it is surrounded on three sides by transportation . corridors (Old 12, New 12, Luce Line Trail); it is topographically disconnected from the . primarily single family residential uses to the north; and it abuts a cemetery on the south.' This lack of connectivity to surrounding residential areas makes use of�the site for�a "family friendly"neighborhood unattractive and poorly marketable at best. � 2. The potential for non-residential institutional,public or private uses for the site under the .current Land Use Plan and low-density zoning, is limited by the size of the site, and - vehiculaz access limitations. � � 3. Vehicular access to the site has limitations due to existing and future expected traffic patterns and adjacent roadway�configurations, suggesting�that a-low intensity residential � use should be favored over potentially higher-intensity uses that might be available via a. - . conditional use permit. 4. The property is at a location highly visible to traffic entering Orono from the east. Development at this site might be considered as a `main entrance' to Orono, and as such will inherently set a tone as to the character of the City, and therefore a visually low- intensity use of the site should be strived for. � 5. The property abuts the Luce Line Trail, which as it traverses Orono has a completely different feel than it does in Plymouth to the east; a rural feel rather than a suburban feel. Development of lugher density or high-visual-profile residential uses on Site E would be out of character with the surroundings. 6. Residential development at a density of 2 or more units per dry buildable acre would be inconsistent with existing and expected residential development surrounding the property. While the property in Long Lake to the north is zoned to allow up to 4 units per acre, it has developed in the past with a wide range of lot sizes and at a substantially lower density than it is zoned for.