Minutes - Council - 02/22/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Mot/on carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Couneilmembers Elvig, Jeffrey, Cook, Olson, Pearson, and Strommen. Voting No: None. Case #11: Adopt Ordinance to Amend R-1 :Residential - Rural Developing District of City Code; Case of City,°fRamsey Community Development Director Trudgeon explained the proposed ordinance would allow development at the 2-Vz acre density, but restrict lot sizes to smaller lots clustered in one area of the property. The remainder of the parcel could ble developed when and if City sewer is available to that parcel. The City Council introduced thee ordinance at the February 8, 2005 meeting. There were several questions relating to requirO~ments for communal septic systems and their abandonment. The Minnesota Pollution ContrOl Agency (MPCA) has standards in place for property abandonment of septic Systems, individual or communal. City staff currently works with property owners who are transitioning .from septic systems to sewer and water, to ensure that existing systems are properly abandoned per MPCA requirements. Staff has added some language under G. - Design of Sewer and Water Facilities to further clarify this requirement. Community Development Director Trudgeon indicated staff has also added some language to sections C. - Urban Development Plan Required: and D. - Additional Plat Requirements. Staff had some concerns that these two requirements may be burdensome to property owners wishing to create only one new lot, and that the City C0i~ncil may wish to allow an exception to these rcquirements. It is important to note that all other sections of this code would still apply. Staff feels that exceptions to these requirements should be granted on a case-by-case basis. This is a change from the draft ordinance that was introduced at the February 8th meeting, and staff is looking tbr Council direction on this addition. Councihnember Strommen noted there is a typ° on page 230, C6 should be corrected to state "...may be waived...". She stressed the need to address clustering for open space preservation, as this ordinance relates to rural preservation. Councihnember Elvig suggested a consultant be hired to address the layout of greenspace corridors. The consultant could look at some of lhe smaller projects and how they would relate to the overall greenspace plan. Community Development Director Trudgeon notbd open space preservation is briefly mentioned in this ordinance. Subd. 6(e) states "...The City Council and the developer may also negotiate scenic and conservation easements for high-value open space located within proposed cluster subdivi ' " Councihnember Cook stated it is important to :know the areas designated in the greenspace comprehensive plan as these developmentscome in. This needs to be addressed quickly, as there will likely be a lot of requests when this opens up: Community Development Director Trudge°n suggested the greenspace topic be discussed at the joint meeting with the Planning Commission on Thursday. City CounCil/February 22, 2005 page 17 of 31