09-19-2016 Planning Commission Packet

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. • 16-3855 September 14, 2016 Page 3 of 10 based on the 0.5 units per acre (i.e. 2-acre lots) knowing that it is not a `given' that cities will allow the higher density in those areas. The fact that the Low Density Residential range extends up to 2 units per acre does not mean that a developer will be allowed to develop at the this denser end of the range. Within the areas of Orono included in the Low Density Residential land use category and within the defined Rural Area are two zoning districts, LR-lA and RR-1B. Each contains historically- developed neighborhoods with densities in the range of 2 units per acre. It was and is the City's intent to preserve these historic neighborhoods within a rural setting. Preservation of that character has been accomplished to date by not rezoning or re-guiding to more closely match the existing lot sizes, because that would potentially allow for infill development which would change the character of the neighborhood. The Low Density Residential guiding for 0.5-2.0 units per acre accommodates this existing development, but does not force the City to allow new development at the higher density end of the range. It has not been the City's intent to begin creating new pockets of higher density within the defined Rural Area. The City has no obligation to provide every developer the `highest and best use' of a property. Comparison to Su�ar Woods. The application materials suggest that the overall proposed development is similar in density to Sugar Woods, which is directly to the west across Brown Road. When comparing apples to apples, we would not exclude the wetland buffers from the density calculation. Noting that Sugar Woods had no wetlands and therefore no wetland buffers, the comparison is as follows: Sugar Woods: 25 lots on 32.1 dry buildable acres = 0.78 units/acre 690-740 Brown Road N.: 25 lots on 23.8 dry buildable acres = 1.05 units/acre Sugar Woods was approved for a rezoning from RR-1 B 2-acre minimum to R-1 A, 1-acre minimum in 1988 - four years prior to Orono having a defined Shoreland Ordinance or Shoreland Overlay District. That rezoning was pursuant to the 1988 Highway 12 Corridor Study and Comp Plan Amendment which included that property but not any properties along the east side of Brown Road. The lot sizes in Sugar Woods, which was platted as a Planned Residential Development (PRD) range from 0.71 acres to 1.41 acres and average 0.92 acres. The overall density including 5.78 acres of open space preserved in outlots and including the interior road system, is 0.78 units per acre. It should be noted also that the stormwater pond at the NW quadrant of Brown Road and Wayzata Boulevard was designed and constructed to manage the stormwater runoff from the Sugar Woods neighborhood. Development of 690-740 Brown Road at an overall density greater than 0.5 units per acre in the defined Rural Area that is zoned LR-1 A and guided for Low Density Residential would be inconsistent with the current zoning and land use plan. Per Map 3B-1, Sugar Woods is not in the defined Rural Area; 690-740 Brown Road is in the defined Rural Area. The proposed development would require a CMP amendment to reguide from Defined Rural to Defined Urban. Met Council and Densitv. There are two pertinent density-related factors with regard to the Metropolitan Council's policies and expectations that will impact this proposed development: 1) Met Council's metro-wide expectation (read this as a directive) that new sewered development will be at a density of at least 3.0 units per acre; and 2) in approving Orono's 2008-2030 CMP, Met Council took into account that Orono guided specific carefully-selected properties for higher density sewered development (3-7, 7-10, 4-15 and 10-15 units per acre) in order to offset the long-planned sewered development at low densities in the Shoreland areas. In effect, the