01-16-2018 Planning Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday,January 16,2018 6:30 o'clock p.m. 8. 18-4002 JOHN PATCH,2745 KELLEY PARKWAY,CONCEPT,7:55 P.M.—8:40 P.M. Barnhart stated the applicant is requesting comments on a sketch plan for a proposed amendment to the Community Management Plan and Zoning Map to develop the 2.55 acre parcel into an apartment building. The applicant is proposing to construct a 56-unit apartment building. The units include 1, 1+, and 2-bedroom units in 2.5 floors. Parking will be provided via a surface lot and an underground garage. Staff is comfortable with the proposed parking. A portion of the surface lot will also serve the adjacent medical office building to the west. Access to the site will be via Kelley Parkway in one of two driveways,one of which is shared with the medical office building. The building is U-shaped and 2.5 stories tall, fronting on Kelley Parkway. The defined height of the building is proposed to be 30 feet. The property is located within the MUSA district. The net development density based on 56 units would be 21.9 units per acre. The highest density anticipated by the Comprehensive Plan is high density residential at 10 to 15 units per acre. In order to meet work force housing goals in the Comprehensive Plan and the desire to move density away from areas where it is currently guided; i.e.,the Navarre area, reguiding the property may benefit the City in the long-term. To support the development as proposed, Staff anticipates rezoning to an RPUD. The RPUD district standards indicate an RPUD site must be at least five acres in area but does allow for smaller sites under specific conditions. Those conditions are outlined in Staff's report. It should be noted that the Council has recently approved and supported three smaller RPUD developments so that rezoning the Kelley Parkway parcel to RPUD would not be inconsistent. The site is adjacent to the Stonebay Development and Staff anticipates the need to incorporate this project in some form to the aesthetics of Stonebay to meet the RPUD size requirements. A trail along the south property line is anticipated as part of the Stonebay project. Preliminary Hennepin County plans for the upgrade of Wayzata Boulevard include a trail along the north side of Wayzata Boulevard from Willow Drive to Old Crystal bay Road. Final determinations have not been made as to whether or exactly where that trail will be located. The site is currently open and is very flat. There are no wetlands mapped on the property. No stormwater ponding is proposed for the site. In reviewing the adjacent medical office, it appears that stormwater detention is provided via the large stormwater pond east of this site but this will need to be verified. The property is not within the Stormwater Overlay District, but if developed as an RPUD, it would be subject to a maximum hardcover per lot of 50 percent. Municipal sewer and water utilities are available in Kelley Parkway to serve the property. The proposed conceptual site plan includes a 2-1/2 story building with a defined height of 30 feet,which is significantly lower than the Stonebay Lofts across the street. It is assumed that some filling will be necessary to raise the overall elevation of the site in order to accommodate the underground parking and to avoid potential water table issues. That fill will determine the final height of the building and will need to be determined. The building setbacks meet the minimum RPUD standards but the shared parking lot to the west does not meet the minimum 20-foot setback. Access is proposed to include two accesses onto Kelley Parkway, with no access to Wayzata Boulevard. The proposed Kelley access point does not appear to be directly across from the curb cut on the north side Page 13 of 17