Agenda - Council - 02/09/1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Background of the Development It is important for the Council and Planning Commission to be aware of several key events in the history of this area which give rise to a claim that both the City and the current landowner should be estopped from approving or allowing development at a density greater than one unit per acre. The City's planning file reveals a number of important details of which the present City Council, Planning Commission, and staff may be unaware. First of all, the development was originally proposed in 1973. A public hearing was held before the Planning Commission on September 4, 1973, to consider a preliminary plat proposed by a Mr. Neary (a partner in the eventual developer of Reilley's Estates) consisting of 1 I3 lots in a 143 acre area, which includes the 75 acres now proposed for development. Copies of the original proposal may be found in the City's file, which clearly show the platting of the 75-acre tract into one acre lots. This large plat received preliminary plat approval from the City Council on November 17, 1973. It is interesting to note that even twenty-five years ago, serious questions were raised by City officials as to traffic generation. There is mention of the need for a Rum River crossing at 153rd Avenue, to create a route out of the neighborhood other than via TH 47. The preliminary plat approval went so far as to require a 65-foot setback on the proposed lots fronting on 153rd Avenue, another unequivocal expression of concern for traffic generation, even at the one-acre density. For reasons unknown, the developer did not act on the preliminary plat approval. On March 10, 1975, the City Council minutes reflect that the developer appeared to request that he be allowed to develop in phases, and asks for immediate action on a reduced scope. At this time, the City ordinances provided a time limit in which a developer was required to act on his plat, and the time limit in this case had clearly been exceeded. The City's own ordinances required that the developer start from the beginning in the platting process, and the City should have ordered the developer to do so, resubmitting the revised plat to permit public scrutiny through the notification and public hearing processes required by both City ordinances and Minnesota Statutes. This latter statement is not my advice; it was advice given by the City's own attorney, Mr. William Goodrich, whose comments are reflected in the minutes of the March 10, 1975 meeting. Ignoring the advice of its own legal counsel, the City Council, by consensus (the minutes do not even reflect that a vote was taken), referred the matter for informal review by the Planning Commission at their meeting of April 7, 1975, to return for final City Council action on April 14, 1975. It is further interesting to note that by letter dated April 7, 1975, the City's engineer advised the chairman of the Planning Commission that the new plat as presented had significant differences from the original submission in 1973, and cited the ordinances requiring resubmission of the plat to the beginrming of the platting process. This advice was also ignored, and on April 14, 1975, the first subdivision of Reilley's Estates was given preliminary and final approval by the City Council. 2 ! I I I I I I I I' I