Minutes - Council - 09/24/2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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setbacks. All structures must be set back 30 feet from the exterior boundary line. It appears that all of the townhouse units meet this requirement. Under the R-2 District, townhouses must be set back 25 feet from the public right-of-way and 25 feet from the edge of curb of the private street. It appears that all townhouse units meet the set back from the public and private streets. The single~family lots meet all of the dimensional requirements required by City Ordinances. City Ordinances require townhome developments to be served with public streets and driveway collectors that are private streets. Under City Ordinances, the allowable length of the private streets are determined by the type of turnaround provided. The private streets shown appear to meet the private street standards. The applicant is proposing to provide public roads to access Alpine Drive and Sunfish Lake Boulevard. (CSAH 56). The access on Sunfish Lake Boulevard. will need Anoka County approval. The preliminary plat shows public road accesses that will serve properties to the north, east, and west. At the Planning Commission meeting on September 5, 2002, the Planning Commission directed the applicant to not construct the stub roads to the east and west. The stub road going to the west will be preserved as an outlot and the alignment for the stub road to the east will be incorporated into the larger outlot. Under City Ordinances, townhome developments shall have a minimum of 40% of the development property as open space for the enjoyment of its residents. The preliminary plat meets this standard. Of the 40% open space, 10% of the open space is required to be grouped together in a way that is easily identifiable and used as common space. In the sketch plan, the developer indicated that in a future phase, they will be constructing a community building that will serve the residents of this development. The City will count this as meeting the 10% common space requirement. However, if the community building is not built, the developer will be responsible for creating the required common space in future phases. The developer has submitted a tree protection plan. Currently the City has no ordinances governing tree preservation. However, a task force has been set up to prepare an ordinance governing tree preservation. The Planning Commission reviewed the tree protection plan at their September 5, 2002 meeting, and found it to be generally acceptable. The City of Ramsey has recently adopted a density transition ordinance that will take effect on September 30, 2002. As part of the site plan submittal, the applicant has provided the City with information on how the western property lines would have landscape buffering in accordance with the new ordinance. The applicant is, for the most part, meeting the buffering requirement when a R-2 use is adjacent to a R-1 urban single-family use (the lots to the west are within the MUSA). The applicant is showing a minimum of 35 feet of space in common ownership (the buffering required under the ordinance is 25 feet). The ordinance calls for 20 under story, 20 evergreen, and 20 over story trees along the western perimeter of the plat. The applicant is showing 20 under story and over story trees and 19 evergreen trees. Where the proposed single-family lots abut the existing single-family lots, the applicant is showing some screening even though the ordinance does not require it. The applicant is also showing the installation of landscape buffering between the new single-family lots and the two unit townhomes. The project is also subject to the review and permitting process of the Lower Rum River Watershed Management Organization (WMO) and MPCA. Comments regarding the drainage, grading, and utility plans are contained in the staff review letter. Park dedication and trail issues will be discussed at a future Park Commission meeting. The Planning Commission conducted the preliminary plat public hearing on August 29, 2002. The Commission closed the public hearing and tabled action on the request for preliminary plat approval until the regular City Council/September 24, 2002 Page 20 of 33