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Councilmember Elvig noted that on the cOncept plan the cottage area had a very beautiful layout, <br />but as it is presented on the plat, it is not as appealing. <br /> <br />Principal Planner Trudgeon explained that the City has a new ordinance that requires a public <br />street through all townhome developments, Because of that requirement, the design was changed <br />to accommodate a public through street. Mr. Trudgeon reviewed the proposed trail alignments <br />within the development. <br /> <br />Parks/Utilities Supervisor Boos stated that the Park Commission did review the plan discussing <br />many issues including tree conservation and trail alignment. At the time of the meeting, it was <br />noted that the plan was being changed based on recommendations of the Planning Commission <br />so the Park Commission indicated that they would like to see the plan again once it was revised. <br />The one strong consensus the Park Commission had was that trails are an important aspect <br />providing a continuous loop around the neighborhood. The developer is willing to provide a <br />public easement on the private trails so that they could be used by everyone. The developer <br />proposed the trails and the City should be careful of taking less than what'-the developer is <br />offering. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strommen stated that there is a sidewalk on PotaSsium Street that woUld provide <br />a continuous circle. She could not require people to have a sidewalk in their front yard and a trail <br />in their back yard. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig inquired as to who would pay for the maintenance of the trail. <br /> <br />Parks/Utilities Supervisor Boos replied that it was his understanding that the maintenance would <br />be paid for by the homeowners association. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that he lives in the Fox Ridge neighborhood and agrees that having <br />a continuous walking loop is a very important thing, but he does not see a prOblem with walking <br />on the street. <br /> <br />Councihnember Cook stated that a walking trail provides a different recreation than a sidewalk, <br />but he does see a problem with the trail on the north east side of the development because it will <br />be so close to the units. His recommendation was that they provide for larger backyards on those <br />lots by possibly eliminating one of the lots. He stated that when the developer was asked to take <br />the trail out of the back yard, they did it in an area where they had a 25 foot buffer on the lots, <br />but where people were complaining about the lots being too narrow, they did not do anything. <br />He had no problem with using the sidewalk in that situation. <br /> <br />Principal Planner Trudgeon presented a survey from residents regarding the trail, which was <br />overwhelmingly opposing the backyard trail. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that he did not understand why they would need the trails when there was <br />already going to be sidewalks within the development. <br /> <br />City Council/January 21, 2003 <br /> Page 4 of 9 <br /> <br /> <br />