Agenda - Council - 04/25/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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� a Our Missiow To work together to resposihty grow ouf communiiry, and to prowlde quality,cost-effective.and eificlent gowemment servIem. CC Regular Session 7. 1. Meeting Date: 04/25/2017 Submitted For: Tim Gladhill, Community Development By: Eric Maass, Community Development Information Title: Consider Approvals Related to Plat Known as Covenant Meadows (Project 417-102); Case of Eric Thomsen. 1. Introduce Ordinance 417-05 Approving Zoning Amendment to Planned Unit Development 2. Adopt Resolution 417-04-053 Approving Preliminary Plat Purpose/Background: The purpose of this case is to review an application for a Zoning Amendment and Preliminary Plat apporval for the property legally described as Outlot A, Meadowbrook(the "Subject Project"). The Subject Property is generally located south of Trott Brook and west of Germanium Street. The Zoning Amendment would rezone the Subject Property from R-1 Residential (Rural Developing)to Planned Unit Development(PUD) and Preliminary Plat would create twelve (12)new single family residential lots.. The Applicant has proposed to subdivide the approximately thirty-eight(38) acre Subject Property into twelve (12) single family homes that would be serviced by individual private utilities (well and septic systems). The Preliminary Plat proposes deeding approximately fifteen(15) of the thirty eight(3 8) acres to the City as the public benefit in relation to the PUD application. The proposed fifteen(15) acres straddles both sides of Trott Brook,has steep slopes, and is also considered to be high quality natural open space. The Planning Commission held a Public Hearing regarding the proposed Zoning Amendment and Preliminary Plat of Covenant Meadows, at their March meeting. The Planning Commission postponed action at their March 2 meeting to spend more time addressing concerns raised by neighboring property owners regarding impacts to ecological and wildlife resources. It was requested that the City explore a discretionary Environmental Assessment Worksheet(EAW) or Citizen Petition EAW. The City Council received an update at their March 14, 2017 meeting and noted a preference to focus on a workshop as the means to work through these issues and that a full scale EAW appeared to be a larger process than needed and wouldn't truly answer the questions/concerns that were being raised by the public. City Staff and the Applicant hosted a workshop regarding the proposed subdivision on Thursday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m.to discuss neighbor concerns in more detail. There was consensus of those that attended the workshop was that protecting Trott Brook was paramount,and that having that land deeded to the City would help accomplish this,but that there were still concerns about possible hunting,use of snowmobiles/atvs,and potential park development. The workshop proved to be a valuable exercise to work through reasonable solutions to concerns raised by the neighbors.While there is not 100%consensus on the project,there is a better understanding of the approach and an increase is support for the project. The project does not reach the threshold for a mandatory EAW. The mandatory threshold for Ramsey's community type is based on number of unattached units. The proposed project is twelve (12)lots. Additionally,there are a number of requirements of an EAW that go beyond the concerns raised by adjoining neighbors. Finally, Staff believes the Planned Unit Development process that permanently protects fifteen (15) acres of prime ecological resource along the Trott Brook Corridor is the correct approach to protect ecological resources in the area. Staff has obtained an unofficial review of the Natural Heritage Information System (NHIS) database and no