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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING <br /> Tuesday,February 16,2016 <br /> 6:30 dclock p.m. <br /> Gaffron stated the site is generally open,with a majority of it being former cropland. There are a few <br /> mature trees located at the southeast and northeast corners where single-family homes once stood. The <br /> properly is very flat. The property also contains three distinct areas that have been delineated as wetland. <br /> Two of the three are proposed for preservation, while the third,which is a smaller depression and is <br /> delineated as a lower quality wetland, will be filled due to its location needed for the internal roadway <br /> system. Wetland mitigation will (ikely occur offsite but a final determination has not been made at this <br /> point. <br /> The applicants have also submitted a Conservation Development report. The runoff will be managed by <br /> creating two ponds and a filtration basin, with each discharging to the existing wetlands and then draining <br /> naturally westward per the existing area drainage pattern. The rate,volume, and sediment control are <br /> addressed in the applicant's plans. <br /> The applicant is proposing to remove all dead, damaged, and diseased trees. Any buckthorn on the site <br /> will be required to be removed. Any significant trees will need to be preserved where feasible. The <br /> landscape plan indicates 226 trees will be planted as mitigation and for screening purposes throughout the <br /> site. <br /> In order to prepare home sites for the proposed walkouts, lookouts, or full basements, a significant <br /> amount of excavation and filling will be necessary, including soil replacement for stability as well as <br /> adding significant amounts of fill to ensure adequate site drainage and to elevate homes above the high <br /> seasonal water table. <br /> The internal road system serving the development is proposed to be public. Due to the number of units to <br /> be served both initially and potentially in the future,the road system is intended to be public and has been <br /> designed to public road standards. The proposed road layout consists of a horseshoe configuration with <br /> two access points onto Old Crystal Bay Road. Each access point will be located directly across from the <br /> existing road/driveway accesses of the Orono Industrial Park. The two westerly ends terminate at the <br /> boundary with the Dumas property, with the intention being to provide access for future development of <br /> the Dumas property. <br /> Gaffron noted temporary cul-de-sacs will be constructed which can be removed at such future time the <br /> roads are extended. To avoid future neighborhood confusion, Staff recommends that the actual road <br /> construction extend past the temporary cul-de-sacs to the west property boundary and that barriers and <br /> signage be erected indicated the road potentially will be extended in the future. <br /> The applicant is proposing preliminary buffers. The Planning Commission should review the proposed <br /> berming and vegetative screening along the north, south, and eastern lot boundaries. The buffers are <br /> intended to provide screening from the adjacent roadways into private yards and mitigate tree loss on the <br /> site. <br /> As it relates to lot layout and lot standards,the layout is such that it takes into account the wetlands and <br /> the roads on three sides, the need to locate access points, and provide for future road extension to Dumas <br /> property. All of those factors have impacted the layout of the lots, which resulted in the horseshoe layout. <br /> Staff feels the latest plan is very refined and makes a lot of sense. <br /> The City Engineer has reviewed the plans and did not identify any issues that could not be resolved as <br /> part of the review process and final plat process. <br /> Page 10 of 30 <br />