11-25-2013 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, November 12, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 16 of 36 (8. #13-3638 and 13-3639 SOURCE LAND CAPITAL, LLC (PAT HILLER) O/B/O GRANT WENKSTERN (LAKEVIEW GOLF), 405 NORTH ARM DRIVE, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT AND SKETCH PLAN REVIEW, Continued) Onsite preliminary septic testing is being conducted at the present time and the vendor is going through the results and identifying areas throughout the site that will work for septic. Hiller stated in addition they are also working on a subsequent design that will look a little different than what is before the Council tonight based on the septic sites. Hiller stated in his view the open space and septic sites will be approximately the same but will be in a slightly different layout. Hiller stated once all of that is completed, they will be able to determine the exact number of lots. Hiller stated they have also met with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and they have indicated they would like to be an active partner in the development of the property. The Watershed District has done projects like this in the past and they have experts on the types of vegetation that would work in this climate. The idea is to restore the areas with native grasses that will not be developed. In the end the hope is to make it a more beautiful site than what exists right now. Hiller stated they are also looking at filter ponds to improve the water quality of the runoff going into the bay. Another option is to bring water in from the City of Minnestrista to avoid the need to dig 59 wells. Hiller indicated they will continue with septic testing and survey work. Printup asked if the 59 homes is the best case scenario. Hiller stated that would be the maximum number and the actual number will be based on the septic site testing. Mayor McMillan opened the meeting up for public comment at 8:45 p.m. Paula Johnson, 580 North Arm Drive, stated as it relates to the reguidance of Lakeview, it should be pointed out that this is not a five or ten acre parcel but 130 acres and that it is the last big piece of land in Orono that is not developed. The requested guidance would significantly impact the residents and would undermine the intent of the Community Management Plan. Johnson indicated she has read the City’s Community Management Plan and the consultant’s recommendations. Johnson stated she respectfully disagrees with the consultant’s findings. The consultant states, in part, that the existing land use designation no longer provides a viable use of the land for the private property owner, that the owner is restricted from an economically viable use, and that this is an inherent burden. The consultant does not cite data or statistics of whether other alternatives were considered. Johnson stated her comments are confined to the Community Management Plan and the lack of attention by the consultant on the salient portions of the plan and the impact on the plan that the reguidance would have. From the beginning pages that lay out the goals for each section, the Community Management Plan and Lakeview seem to be inexplicitly linked. Johnson stated she would like to point to the foremost guiding principle, which is that the goal of Orono’s planning is to protect and preserve Lake Minnetonka, its water quality and recreational assets. Johnson commented the Lakeview property is all of those. Lakeview drains into North Arm and Forest Lake and is within the 100-foot overlay of Lake Minnetonka on two of its three sides. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 11/25/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 11/12/2013 [Page 16 of 36]