08-20-2012 Planning Commission Packet

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, ivlunicoae rage i or� . Sec. 78-5. - Purpose. . (a) Guiding principles. , ., , . . .. . . . .� ., .. ��) The city is growmg in populafion from a rural agricultural community to a rural . . ., _ , . _. .� residential comrriunity.�Use_of land for residential purposes is"`considered primary uvith .._., . . , , other uses`viewed as supporting�fhis use. While present commercial or industrial . activity, where consistent virith residential use and other guiding principles, will be protected by ordinance or conditional use permit, it is not the intention to expand or � allow all such commercial or industrial activiry to a degree where it conflicts with the primary residential use and the other guiding principles.:The-:continued use of land for farming and similar purposes will be,pr.otected by ordinance orconditional use permit where sufficient;acreage.allows such.use to continue virithout conflict:with expanding - . __. residential use. . (2) The maintenance of open space and the avoidance of overcrowding of land is a basic guiding principle in this plan. In addition to avoiding the ill effects of excessive, intensive land development, it is the policy to also avoid the threat to public health which occurs-with excessive crowding of private sewage disposal systems on substandard building sites. �3) The city has recognized that many of the open space policies which have previously provided the basic direction of the land use policies have proven to be inadequate. It - is now clear that on-site disposal systems must not be allowed on any site of less than �� two acres. It is now clear that the physical characteristics of the city make the extension of public services such as sewer extremely expensive and almost impossible in some areas. The city and other governmental agencies have learned that the premature development of open areas can be costly and disastrous to the environment. (4) Of paramount importance to the citizens of the city and to the citizens of the metropolitan area is the preservation of Lake Minnetonka and the wetlands that � provide the only practical system of filtration and purification of the stormwater so vital to the preservation of Lake Minnetonka and the groundwater supplies in the area. The disastrous effects of intense residential and commercial development within the city, and especially in those areas adjacent to Lake Minnetonka and the wetlands, are painfully evident. The adoption of additional regulations, rezoning of certain areas and � the creation of larger lot sizes in unsewered areas is mandatory in order to protect the safety, health and welfare of the citizens of the city. �5) The guiding principles of maintaining open spaces, avoiding the ill effects of overcrowding, avoiding premature development, avoiding the future pollution problems which are inherent in any plan to intensely develop land adjacent to wetlands and Lake Minnetonka, and the need to change some allowedpuses in order p,;�.Cny'a ,,:i-w,.� to preserve the quality of the groundwater supplies in the area were recognized in the comprehensive municipal plan adopted on December 2, 1974, and the amendments to the comprehensive zoning chapter and map adopted by the council on December � 19, 1974. The principles established in the 1974 comprehensive municipal plan were further reinforced by the 1980 Orono Community Management Plan adopted by . Resolution No. 1338 on November 23, 1981, and the 2000-2020 Orono Community Management Plan adopted by Resolution No. 4723 on November 13, 2001. The http://library.municode.com/print.aspx?h=&clientID=13 094&HTMRequest=http%3 a%2£.. 7/18/2012