Agenda - Council - 02/10/2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

concern with all of the private streets shown in the sketch plan, especially the width of the private streets. He indicated Staff would also like to see a public road traverse through the development. He stated that !he developer has made some changes, and he reviewed which streets are now public. He indicated the question is that to the east and west there are significant lengths of private roads. He stated the private street standards do not provide for loops, and they need to discuss with the City Council and Public Works on how to handle the private streets. He indicated it is almost counter productive in this area of Town Center to use all public roads, as they would prevent more pedestrian friendly, close together development. He stated public roads would also interfere with the setbacks. He indicated in this area they want the structures to be as close to the roads as possible, but on public roads there is right-of-way, etc. that could easily go past the 20 foot maximum setback. Assistant Community Development Director Trudgeon explained the Town Center Zoning code has some specific requirements, and is silent on other issues, such as where to measure setbacks. He indicated it says a maximum setback of 20 feet, but depending on where you measure, that can vary. He thinks a good way would be to the edge of the sidewalk, and noted these units are designed to be fifteen feet from the sidewalk. He stated if you measure from the right-of-way it is over 20 feet. Assistant Community Development Director Trudgeon further explained another issue is the driveway length. He stated there is a maximum setback of twenty feet, making it almost impossible to have a 25 foot driveway. He indicated all the units here are rear loading, but it creates a conflict between the driveway length and setback requirements. Assistant Community Development Director Trudgeon stated Staff made comments on the open space; they felt it was too isolated and backed up to too many driveways and garages. He indicated the problem they face is that moving the open space creates more setback issues. Pete Keely, architect for Ramsey Town Center, LLC introduced Tom Bakritges of DR Horton. He stated he believes this development and D.R. Horton will be a great asset to bring the best of what they have envisioned for the Town Center. Mr. Bakritges indicated he is a project manager with DR Horton and very proud to be part of this project. He stated all of the projects they are proposing are being built brand new to fit with this specific area. Mr. Keely stated that as Assistant Community Development Director Trudgeon mentioned, the first sketch plan tested some of their decisions. He indicated these new products are front facing units with rear loaded garages, trying to shield the garage from the streets. He stated the main road was originally private, but they agree it should be a public road. He indicated the design was set up to be a 60 foot right-of-way. He noted they are trying to create consistent sidewalks. Mr. Keely noted there were comments about it looking like a wall of buildings. He stated they were trying to define the street edge, and did that with the edge of the building, but there are some significant architectural features with bay windows, porches, etc. so while it looks like a flat line, it is not. He stated there is an issue about private streets on the back side. He indicated it is their thought that there are a lot of curb cuts and garages which fit better with a private road. Planning Commission/December 4, 2003 Page 6of 20