Minutes - Planning Commission - 12/05/2019

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Itasca has struggled to maintain water levels since the developments have begun. He noted that the water levels have decreased, and the wetland levels have decreased as well. He asked how water that used to feed those lake and wetlands could be redirected to those water bodies. He stated there are a lot of migratory animals that cross Alpine, specifically turtles, and he struggles with the increased amount of traffic on the roadway that threatens the wildlife crossing the roadway. He asked for a balance between increasing development and preserving the wildlife habitat. He stated that Andre is becoming more dangerous to walk along and with another 400 plus vehicles that would have the option to cut through on Andre that danger will only increase. He asked if there are any City provisions that would allow control over the amount of drive through truck traffic that cuts through Northfork to avoid the weigh scales. Chairperson Bauer stated that Mr. Kunkle mentioned the speed limit on Alpine, which is currently 40 mph, during the worksession earlier tonight. Community Development Director Gladhill noted that there is a process to petition for a speed change through the Public Works Committee. He noted that process includes a speed study and often following that study the results recommend a higher speed limit, which is often not the desired result. He stated that perhaps traffic calming measures could be added during the future reconstruction of Alpine. He noted that there would be pedestrian crossing elements added to Alpine during that reconstruction as well. Chairperson Bauer asked if there is anything within City Code which could restrict truck traffic. Community Development Director Gladhill stated that Andre is a public road and therefore traffic cannot be restricted. He noted that weight limits can be placed on the roads and additional enforcement could be encouraged. Chairperson Bauer commented that the concerns on Andre are not perhaps a point of discussion for this case but encouraged the residents to continue to bring those concerns to City staff and/or the City Council for further investigation. Mr. Kunkle commented that there are places where turtles cross to access Lake Itasca and the curb height on Alpine is too high for the turtles. He stated that perhaps there could be an area where curb is reduced to allow turtles to continue on their migratory paths. Chairperson Bauer stated that there are several areas that have the rounded curbs and perhaps that could be a part of the Alpine reconstruction project. William Kingston, 15760 Andre St NW, stated that he understands change. He stated that the change to density for this area was completed after the Committee provided its recommended draft 2040 plan. He believed that it was a good compromise with the two densities on the yellow parcel. He stated that one of his concerns is that a proposed access to the development would occur in a curved downhill section of Alpine and believed that would be prone to accidents. He stated that there would be a proposed trail along Alpine proposed by the developer that only goes part way across the Riverstone development and would not connect to Puma. He recognized that is not a concern of this developer but there should be thought towards a more comprehensive trail plan Planning Commission/ December 5, 2019 Page 5 of 9