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would have a driveway directly to 181 st Avenue. The Applicant has included a driveway bump-out or
<br /> turn-around for each driveway, so that rather than backing out on to 181 st Avenue, one can easily turn their
<br /> vehicle around and pull forward on to 181 st Avenue. The Applicant has provided a narrative/memorandum
<br /> supporting the layout as proposed rather than incorporating a service road or cul-de-sac to reduce the number of
<br /> direct points of access onto 181 st Avenue. The narrative states, among other things,that a covenant will be filed
<br /> against each lot requiring a driveway turn-around. Furthermore,while the City of Ramsey and Anoka County do
<br /> not have driveway spacing standards, the Minnesota Department of Transportation(MnDOT) does have an
<br /> Access Management Manual,which includes driveway spacinWecommendations based on the type of roadway
<br /> and speed limit. 181 st Avenue, also known as County Road 64, is categorized as a Type 2 Rural Road and has a
<br /> posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour. Based on this data,the MnDOT Access Management Manual
<br /> recommends a minimum spacing of 100 feet between driveways,which this plan meets and, in some cases, even
<br /> 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 Final Plat, including the memorandum/narrative addressing the driveways,to the Anoka
<br /> County Highway Department(ACHD) for review and comment. Their review comments, from both the Sketch
<br /> Plan and Preliminary Plat,have been attached to this case for reference. Anoka County's only comment on the
<br /> Final Plat was that they'd still prefer to see the driveways grouped along shared lot lines, where possible. Please
<br /> note that at the time of building permit submittal, copies of the requisite permits from Anoka County(for work
<br /> occurring in their right-of-way, such as for driveway and culvert installation)will need to be provided. This
<br /> condition will be incorporated into the Development Agreement.
<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). 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. As
<br /> proposed,the plans do comply with the tree preservation standards. However, since these lots are intended to be
<br /> custom design/build,which could result in the homes being located elsewhere on a lot than shown, as part of the
<br /> building permit submittal for each lot,the builder will need to provide a detailed tree inventory for the lot to
<br /> verify continued compliance 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 at this time (since each lot is to be custom graded to accommodate a selected
<br /> house-style, specifically which trees are slated for removal and preservation are not known at this time), Staff
<br /> requested a Landscape Plan be submitted. The Landscape Plan meets the minimum standards for this project.
<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.
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