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Home My WebLink About03-05-1974 Planning Commission MeetingCITY OF ORONO " MINUTES ; ,._Special Meeting of the Planning Commission, March 5, 1974. 7:32 P.M. Chairman :,VanNest opened the Public Hearing at 7:32 P.M.' for consideration of a rezoning, a variance, and a street r• vacation for I.D.S. Properties on the S. W. corner of County ' Road 15, and 19 �h 1 = The Zonvng Admigistrator presented the Notice of Public Hearing;! the Affidavit of Publication and the Certificate of MalI1ng to effected property owners. A Y T The Zoning Administrator explained the request which in � ar vo'lved an 83,000,sq. ft. gross leasable shopping center - on.6.69 acres; 5.27-acres of ,which are currently zoned commercial. I.D.S. has requested a variance of 35' on =ff its S. E. corner and a 40' variance on the S. W. corner, �: of. the shopping center. The office building requires a a' ',• .variance to al low,a 33' building in a zone which allows 30 ! ..,structures and a variance' ar i ance ' for the location of a commerc i,a'I parking . lot in a resi dent i a l district. .,•.' The following persons appeared and were given an op'por- tun i ty to be heard: f `` *� ti The proposed - shopping center would increase traffic by 5 Don Holstad times;_its present amount. This would create the need for: -'�,f�our Lanes on County Road 15. What does Orono plan on a r '* do i,ng;;a (?ut the traffic prob_I em? Fire protection i s also another problem which undoubtedly has not been properly ` ,y explored. 4 What would be the effect of the new I.D.S. shopping center,. Mrs. Jackson on` the businesses on the north side of County Road 15? *` President of the Navarre Commerce Association - The Navarre Cliff Bjork. s: business people are 100 %,behind the I.D.S. proposal. r Since there is great concern about -t-he increase in traffic that t 4 I.D:S. shopping center might generate, it is important to Mr. Terry Schneider a.. point out that with controlled ingress and egress points, -the yr . �! for improving pos�/(bility traffic efficiency in the Navarre _ }` area is greatly increased. How many tenants would the pro p osed s ho in g center hold? pp Mr. Donald Holstad ' There would be the major tenants, such as grocery store, Brad VanNest drugstore, restaurant, and then 17 to 22 smaller shops. Orono needs the I.D.S. shopping center. He has talked Stan Straley with two to three hundred people in the area and most ,;•. .people approve,lot,. the. project. At the present time, they are doing their shopping elsewhere. r , No matter what we`do in the Navarre area we cannot keep -= � P CI i ff Bjork the traffic level at the present level. Our alternative: " Nh r �'is strip development. The sum total effect of this part- > icular project'. is positive because it will provide close ,r y • t' . - .. sY tipe� "fie . .. 1, . .. _• , t #.' fi All shopping for the people in Orono. Why is Kelly Avenue shown as a through street? I.D.S. would be willing to*go along with` most any- thing that Orono would want regarding Kelly Avenue. If a cul -de -sac were created, it would create access, problems for the people on the north end of Kelly Avenue. There is also a problem with emergency ve- hicles, etc. "'Have you taken into account the increase water flow from this area if the shopping area was constructed? It seems that the.City Engineer and the I.D.S. Engin- eer should investigate this problem of run -off. The Planning Commission has discussed their concern regarding the drainage West 'into Lake Minnetonka and. they have considered the possibility of rerouting the flow east into the marsh on the other side of the Fresh Water Biological Institute. 'If the water were to flow as it does now, there is some question about existing easements and the ability of the culvert to handle the increased flow as-suggested by Mr. Lowe. The Minnetonka Watershed District has the expertise to review this portion of the application and their rec- ommendation should be followed. For 8 years, we have not had anything on the corner of County Road 15 and 19. This is a shame. I Five on Kelly Avenue, and I feel that it should be .closed off because of the hazards that it poses to the } children along the street. `} What, is the estimated cost of -the project? The overall projected cost for the shopping center and the office building would be approximately $3,000,000. I am;not against the shopping center, but has the Planning Comm"ission'considered the increased cost of public services? On a commercial project of this sort, the City of Orono would come out ahead. In his discussions with the Chief of Police, Jerry Ross, ,it was mentioned that this particular project might create the need of one more policeman. If this project were to create the need for Orono's own fire department,'perhaps we'd be better off in the long run since �s.. . "L, youdundoubtedly lead to lower insurance rates. Also *didn't ";•;> the city of Orono hire a policeman this past year just be- cause of the residential growth in the City? • Strict controls should be established regarding the Mary Watson. k; - problem of sedimentation, erosion, and other environ- mental concerns. - �X This shopping center and office building -would give the Mr. Metzer :F people of Orono something to be,proud of. I.D.S. has come a long way in accommodating the community. , ~° This shopping center and office building would create Val' Elliott many jobs for, the. people in the area. ' ..The berm separating the shopping center and residential Pat Dunacek• urea to the.south should be well landscaped." It seems +- that trees will be preferrable to shrubs as a form of ? } There's great concern on the part of the people in the Mr. Russel area about multiple dwellings. Does I.D.S. need multiple.'. dwellings to make their project successful? The applications ' before the City of Orono for shopping Mr. Clarence Fisher center and office building are not contingent on multiple family dwellings. When he was on the Planning Commission, he was opposed Mr. Dave Ryerse tothe high rise condominiums. Since the present project Y has eliminated that aspect, he is now in favor of the proposal.. Mrs. O'Mal'•Iy, - -The problem has been that I.D.S. has always Mrs. O'Mally" . come in with such grandiose projects but she is not against a shopping center i n' •Navarre, 98% of the people i n, Orono ? are probably infavor of a reasonable development. Orono has been looking fora nice development.for the S. W. Mr. Ross 'corner of County Road 19 and 15 intersection for a long time and this proposal should be given just consideration. This area has been blighted for many years and seems like Mr. Fred Curtis this proposal would be an opportunity to improve the sit- uation in Navarre. Chairman Brad VanNest closed the public hearing at 9:10 P.M. Kulberg moved, Elliott seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 9:14 P.M. Ayes (7) Nays (0)