04-19-2010 Planning Commission Packet

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� EXHIBIT D-2 Analysis of Individual Property Change Request 4. Site Location: 2940 Sixth Avenue North Property Owner: Susan Seeland/ Stonegate Farm, Inc. . Request: Add property to MUSA, provide municipal sewer to the property, re-guide for urban density housing. Analysis This 23-acre property on the north side of County Road 6 is currently guided for rural residential development and is not proposed to be re-guided, nor is it being incorporated into the MIJSA. The properties that are being reguided for higher density in northern Orono are limited to specific sites that abut new Highway 12. The only change in the Comprehensive Plan Update between the 2020 Plan and the 2030 Update that affects this property directly is the expansion of the designated Water Service Area to include this property. Municipal water service was committed as part of a preliminary plat approval granted in January 2008, which has since expired. Discussions regarding whether this property should be allowed to develop at urban densities with urban services took place in the context of the proposed subdivision a few years ago. The conclusion at that time was that while City water would be provided, expansion of the MUSA to allow for a sewered urban-density development at this site surrounded by rural uses would not be appropriate. Further, extension of the MUSA to allow development of this non-Shoreland property with sewer at rural densities would be in conflict with Met Council guidelines for sewered development which require such development to accomplish a net density of at least 3.0 units per acre. Sewage Treatment On-site Is Feasible At the public hearing on April 7 the property owner indicated the City had denied the use of a"current technology" on-site sewage treatment system which forced her to scrap the project. In fact, the City granted preliminary approval based on the use of a cluster septic system in which each residence would have its own collection tank, followed by a common sand filter and drainfield. The system component that the City disallowed was a proprietary filter system requiring extensive ongoing maintenance and which has a relatively poor record of being maintained in its history of various installations throughout Orono in recent years. Why This Property Should Not Be Urban The fact that sewer lines exist across County Road 6 has no bearing on sewer"availability" to this property; the proximity to sewer has not been the sole driving factor in determining where to expand Orono's urban area. In reviewing this specific site, it has vacant farmland to the north guided in the Medina Comprehensive Plan for Permanent Rural use. Property to the east in Orono is guided and zoned for 2-acre single family Rural Residential Use. Property to the west across Homestead Trail is developed for rural residential use but is guided for future acquisition by Three Rivers Park District as an addition to Morris T. Baker Regional Park. Property to the south and west across CR6 is guided, zoned and developed with 2-acre rural lots. To the southeast is the Orono Ice Arena (guided Institutional and zoned Rura1 Residential). Re-guiding the property to urban residential use would not be in keeping with its current or intended surrounding land uses.