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� , MEMORANDUM Date: February 15, 2012 From: Christine Mattson, Planning Assistant Mike Gaffron, Assistant City Administrator/ Long-Term Planning RE: Driveway easement serving 2550 & 2580 Fox Street through 2530 Fox Street City staff has been asked about the possibilities of either moving the driveway that currently bisects 2530 Fox Street and serves 2550 & 2580 Fox Street to a different location, or relocating the driveway access from Fox Street to Fox Run (private road) and avoid crossing 2530. Staff is unable to give a definitive answer as to whether relocating the existing easement driveway is possible or feasible. Moving the driveway from its current location to the easterly edge of the property poses a number of concerns and questions that would have to be addressed: • The owners of 2550 & 2580 Fox Street must be willing participants in changing the driveway location. If they are not willing, then the existing location must remain. • There is a "Manage 2" Classification wetland on the property which would require the establishment and improvement of a new 25' wetland buffer around the entire wetland (affecting all three properties) if grading for a new driveway occurs (City Code also requires a 20' structure setback from the buffer which might or might not come into play). The wetland would have to be delineated to determine the wetland edge. Variances would be required because of the necessity of an additional driveway crossing of the wetland, which potentially could be denied because such impacts could clearly be avoided by not changing the existing situation. Additionally, the Flowage and Conservation Easement that has been in place since the original plat of Beau Marais in 1986 generally prohibits the creation of a driveway crossing. • The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) would necessarily be involved. City staff does not know MCWD's position regarding creating a new wetland crossing given the factors applicable to this request. • Any new crossing of the wetland at a narrow point would be on 2550 or 2580 Fox StreeYs property. It appears there are many mature pine trees along that easterly lot line of all three involved properties. There is a potential that many of these would have to be removed in order to construct a new driveway and wetland crossing. Although the City doesn't currently have a tree preservation ordinance, there could be some potential issues, especially if the property owner to the east at 2420 Fox views them as a buffer to his property. • Topography indicates there is an approximately 10 foot change in grade from the eastern property boundary to the wetland. No grading is allowed within 5' of a property line. Is there room for grading to establish a new driveway and any potentially needed retaining walls between the easterly property line and the wetland buffer? In 1995 when the preliminary plat application was reviewed for subdivision of Lot 1, Beau Marais into a north lot and a south lot (zoning application #2029 / preliminary plat resolution #3577) several driveway scenarios were presented. One of the scenarios at that time was to access the new lot (2530) from the private road Fox Run. The Fox Run homeowners at that time were not interested in allowing additional driveway traffic onto that road. We do not know today whether that position is still prevalent. They do not have to allow additional users. Further, City codes would demand an upgrade of that private road to a current rural private rural road standard of 24' in paved width in order to serve a fifth or sixth home should 2550 or 2580 be added to it. City staff would support the concept of 2550 and 2580 accessing Fox Run, but recognize that there may be additional impacts that would have to be addressed (new joint easements, different wetland impacts, etc.).