Agenda - Planning Commission - 07/06/2017

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Regular Planning Commission 5. 5. Meeting Date: 07/06/2017 By: Chris Anderson, Community Development Information Title: PUBLIC HEARING: Consider Preliminary Plat and Zoning Amendment for Pearson Place (Project No. 16-31); Case of Development Consulting Services, LLC Purpose/Background: The City has received an application for a Zoning Amendment and Preliminary Plat for Pearson Place, a proposed twelve (12) lot single family residential subdivision located on the north side of Bowers Drive near the end of the cul-de-sac where there is a gap between existing homes (the "Subject Property"). The Planning Commission reviewed a concept plan for this project in March of 2016 and the City also hosted two (2) public workshops regarding that concept plan in 2016 as well. The Planning Commission reviewed the official Sketch Plan for Pearson Place on June 1, 2017. Notification: Staff attempted to notify all Property Owners within a 700 foot radius of the Subject Property and all Property Owners on Bowers Drive of the Public Hearing via Standard US Mail. The Public Hearing was also published in the City's official newsletter, the Anoka County Union Herald. The project site is located within the Mississippi River Critical Corridor Area (MRCCA) and so Staff also notified the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Observations/Alternatives: The Subject Property is located on the north side of Bowers Drive, near the end of the cul-de-sac, which is slightly over a mile long. The Preliminary Plat would create twelve (12) new single family residential lots on the north side of the road where there is a gap of approximately 1,400 feet between existing homes. The Preliminary Plat also includes three (3) outlots. Outlot A runs along the rear lot lines of the existing homes on the north side of Bowers Drive to serve as a buffer to potential future development of the remaining agricultural land. Outlot C would reserve a corridor for a possible future street connection should the adjacent agricultural land be developed in the future. Outlot B simply addresses the remainder of the property (approximately 90 acres). The preliminary plat will need to be revised because in it's current layout, Outlot B includes the house and lot at 14821 Bowers Drive and the house and accessory buildings at 8846 Highway 10. Outlots are not developable without being re -platted into buildable lots and thus, these areas should either be shown as exemptions to this plat or platted as lots rather than being lumped into Outlot B. The portion of the Subject Property proposed for development at this time is guided as Low Density Residential in the Comprehensive Plan, is zoned R-1 Residential (MUSA), and is located in the MRCCA Overlay District. As was noted during the Sketch Plan review, the DNR just recently completed a rulemaking process that created new districts in the MRCCA and, for non -riparian lots, primarily defers to the underlying zoning district for dimensional standards. However, the City has yet to receive the necessary guidance from the DNR to proceed with updating our Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan and thus, are caught in a transitional time. As a result, the Applicant has also applied for a Zoning Amendment to rezone the land to a Planned Unit Development, which, if approved, is a legal instrument that would allow deviations from certain standards (setbacks, use of private utilities rather than municipal services, etc.). The proposed lot size, lot width, and density all appear to conform to the R-1 Residential (MUSA) bulk standards, as outlined in the Staff Review Letter.