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including no new proposed roads. Each lot would have a driveway directly to 181 st Avenue. The Applicant has
<br /> included a driveway bump-out or turn-around for each driveway, so that rather than backing out on to 181 st
<br /> Avenue, one can easily turn their vehicle around and pull forward on to 181 st Avenue. The Applicant has
<br /> provided a narrative/memorandum supporting the layout as proposed rather than incorporating a service road or
<br /> cul-de-sac to reduce the number of direct accesses onto 181 st Avenue. The narrative states, among other things,
<br /> that a covenant will be filed against each lot requiring a driveway turn-around. Furthermore,while the City of
<br /> Ramsey and Anoka County do not have driveway spacing standards, the Minnesota Department of Transportation
<br /> (MnDOT) does have an Access Management Manual,which includes driveway spacing recommendations based
<br /> on the type of roadway and speed limit. 181 st Avenue, also known as County Road 64, is categorized as a Type
<br /> 2 Rural Road and has a posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour. Based on this data, the MnDOT Access
<br /> Management Manual recommends a minimum spacing of 100 feet between driveways, which this plan meets and,
<br /> in some cases, even exceeds.
<br /> The Applicant has modified the driveway configuration for Lot 7 after the review of the Sketch Plan. It was noted
<br /> that this driveway curved on to Lot 8 to avoid the wetland and wetland setback area. However,the configuration
<br /> has been modified now so that it stays outside the wetland and wetland setback to the west and provides a five
<br /> (5) foot driveway setback along the eastern boundary.
<br /> Staff forwarded the Preliminary Plat submittal, including the memorandum/narrative addressing the driveways,to
<br /> the Anoka County Highway Department(ACHD) for review and comment. Their review comments, from both
<br /> the Sketch Plan and Preliminary Plat,have been attached to this case for reference.
<br /> The existing conditions, from Armstrong Boulevard to just west of the Subject Property, are similar to what is
<br /> proposed. There are presently thirteen(13)homes having driveways directly onto 181 st Avenue (between
<br /> Xenolith Street and Armstrong Boulevard). So, Staff looked at the existing MnDOT crash data and the Average
<br /> Daily Trips (ADT) for this stretch of 181 st Avenue to see if there was any sort of pattern of safety concerns. The
<br /> most current ADT information for 181 st Avenue is from 2022, and is 3,096 vehicles per day, which is fairly low
<br /> for a county highway(for comparison,the ADT of Nowthen Boulevard, at the intersection with 181 st Avenue, is
<br /> 7,302). The available crash data from MnDOT's Crash Mapping Analysis Tool shows that there have been six(6)
<br /> accidents on 181 st Avenue,between Armstrong Boulevard and Xenolith Street, dating back to 2017. Five(5)of
<br /> those were single-car accidents resulting from either hitting an animal or sliding off the road due to wet/slippery
<br /> conditions. In the past seven years,there's only been one accident that involved multiple vehicles on 181 st
<br /> Avenue.
<br /> Natural Resources
<br /> The Subj ect Property is heavily wooded and nearly half of it consists of wetland. There are some areas
<br /> designated as floodplain as well(although the vast majority of floodplain is contained within wetlands, and there
<br /> are no proposed impacts to wetlands). The submittal includes both a Tree Inventory and a Landscape Plan. More
<br /> information is needed regarding the Tree Inventory, as noted in the review comments in Proj ectDox(and attached
<br /> to this case). However, due to the amount of tree cover and the fact that the Applicant intends for each lot to be
<br /> custom designed and built, it appears that this project will comply with the tree preservation standards.
<br /> Existing vegetation may satisfy the planting requirement for most, if not all, lots. But, since the Tree Inventory
<br /> lacks certain information(such as which trees are slated for removal and preservation), Staff requested a
<br /> Landscape Plan be submitted. However, it is clear that minor revisions will be needed(e.g. the Plant Schedule
<br /> includes Black Ash,but with the destruction that Emerald Ash Borer [EAB] is causing, no species of ash will
<br /> receive credit towards the planting requirements).
<br /> The Environmental Policy Board reviewed the natural resources aspects of this project at their December 16,
<br /> 2024,meeting and recommended approval, contingent upon compliance with Staffs review comments.
<br /> The Planning Commission held a Public Hearing at their December 19, 2024, meeting. One resident spoke on
<br /> the project, and his comments focused primarily on concerns about potential degradation of the natural features
<br /> (wetlands)resulting from development. By a 4-1 vote, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the
<br /> Preliminary Plat, contingent upon compliance with Staffs review comments. The opposing vote was cast due to
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