Minutes - Council - 07/25/2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Zimmerman, Connolly, and Hendriksen. Voting No: None. Absent: CouncilmemberAnderson. Case #2: Request for Exception to Moratorium; Case of Marlene Katnis and Orrin Thompson Homes Community Development Director Frolik stated that Marlene Katnis owns a 12 acre parcel located at 14660 St. Francis Boulevard NW. She has entered into a development agreement with Orrin Thompson Homes to develop the property with approximately 106 townhomes. The property is subject to the development moratorium until February 16, 2001. Ms. Katnis and Orrin Thompson are requesting an exception to the moratorium to proceed with a request for rezoning and subdivision. The current Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinance identifies the Katnis property as commercial. It was apparent during the drafting of the Comprehensive Plan amendment that the use of the Katnis property was likely to change from commercial to multi- falnily residential. Therefore, the property was placed under a moratorium to protect the planning process and provide the City with sufficient time to amend the zoning regulations that will implement the amended Comprehensive Plan. The newly drafted Comprehensive Plan targets this property for development with high density residential use but it has not been finally approved by the Met Council or City Council as this point in time. In addition, City Council recently directed City Staff to amend the draft Comprehensive Plan to decrease high density from 15 units per acre to seven units per acre. The current townhome proposal is approximately nine units per net acre or 11 units per gross acre. There is a single family urban residential development on the west property boundary of the Katnis property. That means that the development of the Katnis property will be subject to City Charter and new Comprehensive Plan language requiring density transition between new and existing development. The Planning Comlnission and City staff are currently drafting a density transition ordinance to establish performance standards for new residential development abutting existing residential development. The goal is to have that ordinance draft on the Planning Commission agenda for August 1, 2000. The development proposal is based on a Comprehensive Plan that has not received final approval; the number of allowable units in the high density residential category has not been resolved; the zoning tools to implement the updated Comprehensive Plan, when it is approved, are not in place. Based on the above, it was City staff's opinion that the development proposal is somewhat premature and recommended denial of the request for moratorium exception. Reconsideration of the request may be appropriate after the number of units to be allowed in a high density residential category has been resolved and the density transition ordinance is in place. Councihnember Connolly agreed that the request is premature at this time. Paul Zislaw, Attorney for Marlene Katnis, stated that the Council is concerned that the request is premature, but the analysis of this piece of property has already been completed and Orrin Thompson has a plan to construct a high density residential development as indicated in the proposed Comprehensive Plan. He stated that Orrin Thompson Homes should be allowed to bring a project forward that would be subject to ordinances in place at the time of approval. In City Council/July 25, 2000 Page 5 of 14