Minutes - Planning Commission - 10/06/2005

Home

not other people here because they realize it is a futile effort. He indicated he does not want the Planning Commission to think they are doing everything right because no one shows up. Mr. Haggin commented on Alpine Drive being designated a State Aid road, stating it was not a State Aid road when he came to the city. He asked how people were supposed to live, work and play in Ramsey. He stated there is nowhere to work in Ramsey. There are $5 an hour jobs and million dollar houses. Motion by Commissioner Levine, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to close the public hearing. Motion Carried. Voting Yes: Chairperson Nixt, Commissioners Levine, Johnson, Brauer, Van Scoy, and Watson. Voting No: None. Absent: Commissioner Shepherd. Presentation Community Development Director Trudgeon mentioned the representatives from Pulte are here. Tina Goodroad, Managing Director with Pulte Homes, 815 Northwest Pkwy, Eagan. She stated she wanted to thank Staff for helping them through the process. She indicated there have been a lot of questions with the Mississippi River corridor. She noted they did put together a development book. Ms. Goodroad indicated they did sit through several meetings with the County and Staff on where the corridor should be, and have redeveloped the plat to accommodate that corridor. She stated they did lose a few lots through the corridor but the overall plan is not that much different than the original plan. She reviewed basics of the project, noting that the park was located in the northwest comer as directed by staff. She stated there is also a homeowner's park that will have a pool, tennis courts, pool house, tot lot, etc. She indicated they have taken a master plan approach with the entire area, and there is a lot of green space and vegetation throughout the area. Ms. Goodroad noted that because the development ended up a little bit segmented because of the corridor they will use monumentation to identify the various neighborhoods. Ms. Goodroad highlighted the buffering between their development and the existing residential. She indicated they knew this was a concern, and their initial proposal shows three rows of vegetation; a row of evergreen trees planted as closely together as they can be. She indicated that in between those would be overstory trees and shrubs. She stated that they would be open to suggestions, and even would work with individual landowners where they run out of room to put some additional vegetation on the landowner's property. Ms. Goodroad noted that screening is addressed in the Staff Letter and they can work with Staff to address that. She reviewed several other areas that would have similar buffers. She stated that the mix of landscaping provides not only year round buffer but a mix of colors and beauty. Planning Commission/October 6, 2005 Page 20 of 29