Minutes - Planning Commission - 10/10/2002

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outlined in the preliminary plat, Outlot D and E of Rivenwick has been platted to represent the potential alignment of Riverdale Drive. The developer is proposing to shift the proposed Riverdale Drive alignment to the north in order to provide a public street through the development. Property located south of Outlot E and D is zoned R-2, property located to the north is zoned B-1 Business. The proposed realignment of Riverdale Drive to the north results in a small portion of the project area being zoned B-1 Business. The portion of the property zoned B-1 will need to be rezoned to R-2 in order to facilitate the proposed townhouse development. The townhouse units will front onto private streets. The Planning Commission held a public hearing and reviewed the preliminary plat on September 5, 2002. The Planning Commission tabled the item and directed staff to complete the following: 1) Hire a consulting firm to conduct a traffic generation analysis for the proposed development 2) Discuss with the developer the cost of upgrading the existing signals on U.S. Highway #10 and how the cost is to be distributed 3) Provide clarification on how the existing berm will be maintained. The developer is proposing to satisfy density-transitioning requirements by the Landscape Buffering option. The Density Transitioning Ordinance states that when an R-2 Medium Residential Development abuts a R-1 Single Family development the developer must provide a 25 foot wide buffer, in common ownership, with a minimum of 2 over story trees, 2 evergreen trees, and 2 under story trees per 100 feet of property abutting the adjacent R-1 district. In this case, the development would be required to provide 72 trees; the berm currently contains 344 established over story, evergreen, and under story trees. The townhouse development significantly exceeds landscape buffering density-transitioning requirements. City Engineer Jankowski stated the consultants made a recommendation that no noise mitigation would be required because the model shows it would be within MPCA noise standards and it further showed that one there was some buildings in-between the highway and Riverdale, it would further lower the noise. Normally when the consultant makes this recommendation, they sit down and review their recommendations with MPCA. He stated they have been successful in the past with MPCA agreeing with the consultant on that. Chairperson Nixt asked what staff thought about this because with a sizeable undeveloped tract of land that has mixed use potential all over it and would it not be a waste of money to put up a noise barrier before there was any development done on the land. City Engineer Jankowski stated the noise study said without the development there the requirements would fall below the standards and would be reduced more once there were buildings there. City Engineer Jankowski stated the traffic issue was a concern raised by MN/Dot in their letter. He stated they had contracted SRF to do a traffic study and there was some consultation between SRF and MN/Dot to find out the scope of that study. A summary of the study states that the major points that would be affected from a traffic standpoint would be the Intersection of Sunfish Boulevard and Highway 10. He stated the traffic level is currently at a level of Fl0 service, which is below acceptable right now, and the traffic generated from this at full build out would Planning Commission/October 10, 2002 Page 8 of 20