Minutes - Planning Commission - 04/09/2015

Home

need to buy back a parcel through a property acquisition. He indicated that peak traffic may also require turn lanes on County Road 5. Commissioner Andrusko questioned the expense of leaving the access point open. Community Development Director Gladhill estimated that the land acquisition would be several hundred thousand dollars plus additional capital maintenance expenses. Commissioner Brauer asked if a barrier would be placed at the access point during Phase I. Community Development Director Gladhill stated the turning movement would have a barricade to eliminate traffic from driving through the site. Further discussion ensued regarding the alignment of an access point to County Road 5. Commissioner Brauer expressed frustration with how Anoka County was dictating'the traffic projections. He felt this was not fair to the City of Ramsey. Jason Johnson, 5545 152nd Avenue NW, explained he recently moved from St. Paul to Ramsey. He opposed the proposed development and expressed concern with how the additional traffic would impact 152nd Avenue. He suggested that a park be placed on the old municipal campus. Robert Hartman, 5475 151St Avenue NW, questioned the price range of the new houses. He inquired what the size of two outlots shown on the plan. Mr. Hartman believed that access to Nowthen Boulevard should be maintained as Helium would not provide enough access to the residential traffic. Mr. Hartman questioned how many accidents have occurred at the Nowthen Boulevard access to Ramsey Elementary School. Mr. Hartman also questioned if the closure of Nowthen Boulevard would create a public safety issue on Helium Street. Community Development Director Gladhill reported zoning code does not dictate the price range of homes, but rather sets regulations on building materials, design and lot sizes. Based on his conversations with the applicant, he believed that the homes would be similar in price to The Meadow development. He then discussed the size of the outlot, which was actually approved with a previous development, not the current request. Jeanne Hamlin, 5545 152nd Avenue NW, stated she moved to Ramsey from St. Paul to get away from the noise and light pollution found in other communities. She did not believe that 44 homes would fit in her backyard. She discussed how the increased traffic would adversely impact her neighborhood. She wanted to live in peace and quiet and feared that she would be living in a construction zone for the next three or four years, noting a concern over potential increased crime due to theft from the construction site. She noted concern about additional maintenance needs for existing roads. She questioned if the City would require streetlights, City water, sewer and sidewalks in the new development. She questioned if sidewalks would be required to construct on existing roads in existing development. She expressed a great deal of Planning Commission/April 9,2015 Page 5 of 16