HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-23-1999 Council Work Session Agenda To: Mayor, Council and Planning Commission
Ron Moorse, City Administrator _
From: Mike Gaffron, Senior Planning Coordinator
Date: September 21, 1999
Subject: COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WORK SESSION
THURSDAY SEPT. 23, 7:30 A.M.
Council Chambers
Attachments:
1. Revised DRAFT Table of Contents/Outline
2. DRAFT Part I: Introduction
3. DRAFT Part II: Basis for Plan
Recap of Sept 2. Work Session
On September 2 Council and Plannina Commission reviewed housing and demographic data that
helps define who our population is and what needs they may ha�e now and in the future. It is clear
we have an aging population that will be looking for housing alternatives that don't currently existi
in Orono. Most of the needed alternati�-es will require development densities of 2-3 units per acre,
and the full range of utilities and services. This limits the potential areas to sites near Highway 12
or bordering the City of Long Lake; and to sites in the Navarre area.
Council was presented with maps suggesting possible sites for hiaher density development to occur.
These sites included:
Reiersgord et al: 50 acres east of City offices ( perhaps 70-80 townhome units at a
densit�-of 1.9 units per acre,plus some commercial/office)
James & Dumas: 5� acres west of't31d Crystal Bay Road between 12 and the RR tracks
(60-�0 units of mixed residential at a density of 1.2-1.4 units per acre)
Hackberry Area: 20-30 acres East of Willo�v Drive between Watertown and RR Tracks
(20?-�0?- 40?units of single farr�ily at a density of 2 units/acre+)
There are few areas witlun Navarre with a potential for more thafl a handful of higher density units.
Using just the above-noted sites and the ncated densities, Orono would at best be providing 200
dwelling units at densities greater than 1 unit per 2 acres.
The September 2 packet also included a partial draft of the sewer policy plan and a proposed MUSA
staging plan. I will provide further detail on these topics for re�-iew in October.
Met Council Concerns
Mary Hill Smith,District 3 Metropolitan Council representative,invited a number of Lake area cities
staffto a meeting on Sept. 20 to discuss stormwater and on-site system management aspects of the
comp plan requirements. I w-as the onlv invitee present, so I updated 1�1s. Smith and the other MC
Sept. 23 Work Session
Page 2
people present (Sector Rep Tom Caswell and Watershed Coordinator Jack Frost) as well as Eric
Everson (MCWD Exec Dir.) as to where we are at with the Comp Plan.
Mary Hill Smith indicated that considering the grilling that Met Council gave Minnetrista about
providing more density, and given that Orono is one ring closer to downtown than Minnetrista, we
should expect that Met council will be looking for significant higher density areas in Orono. We
didn't get into how many units or at what densities might be an "acceptable" amount.
Goals for Se�tember 23 Work Session
1. Review the revised DRAFT table of contents, advise if anything here seems out of whack.
2. Re��iew DRAFT Parts I and II and the list of proposed figures, etc. and advise whether there
are significant concepts missing that should be added to these mostly introductory sections.
3. Discuss whether you wish to consider additional areas for higher density housing, especially
in light of the strong neighborhood support in favor of'staying the course' in the 2-acre zones
that was shown at the Bancor public hearing; and consider strategies for meeting Met
Council's density goals in light of such local opposition...such as redevelopment in already
higher density azeas? or ?
Topics for future Comp Plan work sessions:
Thursday September 7: Stormwater Plan (Bonestroo will be presenting information
regarding a development fee structure to fund the capital
improvements aspect of the plan)
Comp Plan Future Topics for Discussion:
1)Transportation Policies and Goals(future road maintenance policies,assessment
policies; potential County turnbacks or exchanges; rural road standards;
private road standards, etc.)
2) Vision for Highway 12 Corridor (post-bypass)
3) Parl:s Plan ( adopt Park Commission's 1997-98 draft plan,or?)
4) Historic Preservation (any support for doing this?)
I will be continuing to generate sections of the plan for discussion in the coming weeks and will
shoot them off to you as quickly as possible. Please call if you have any questions, any topics you
want to pay greater attention to at this point, or have comments on information provided to date.