Minutes - Council - 11/14/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Olson stated this development has been discussed a lot and the developer has come a long way in following the suggestions the Council has made. She believes this is the best use for this piece of property, and it is a nice development. It does not fit the current zoning, and she does not know what could be put there that would not be disruptive to the neighborhood. Acting Mayor Elvig concurred. He noted single family homes against Super Bowl appears awkward, and there does not appear to be an interest in commercial development in this location. The developer has backed down from eight to six units, and there is a positive with the development being association run. He expressed concern regarding the architecture and the importance of reflecting the high end in the architecture. He suggested staggering the buildings so they do not appear as a wall. Councilmember Cook concurred with Councilmember Olson and Acting Mayor Elvig. He stated the other thing to point out is that what put this property in a difficult situation was the request for sewer and water and the improvements to the road. This property was poor for commercial use, and after bringing in the improvements and assessments it became even harder to develop the site commercially. This site is better as a residential piece of property, rather than commercial, and will be better as a PUD and multi -family development, rather than two single family lots up against Super Bowl. Councilmember Strommen commented this is a difficult property. She does not have a strong opinion against changing the zoning to Medium Density, but this is often suggested as a solution when they do not know how to zone a piece of property. She agrees with Acting Mayor Elvig regarding the problems in relation to architecture. Her concern is the large expanse across the front. Community Development Director Trudgeon explained this is a preliminary plat and preliminary site plan review. During the final plat and final site plan review the Council will be able to vote up or down based on the changes as long as the Council continues to note what they would like to see changed. Councilmember Pearson stated he concurs with what has been said. A site like this is kind of a problem no matter how it is done. In his opinion this proposal is the best fit and he would be in favor of rezoning it and making the Comprehensive Plan amendment. Councilmember Jeffrey stated he struggles with this site. He agrees the best use for the site is not likely Places to Shop; they do not know what that result would be in that neighborhood. It is noted in the minutes that he has said he would like to see four units instead of six. The six units create a wall, and he struggles with the architectural piece of that. He would not necessarily want that in his neighborhood. He would like to continue to press for four units instead of six. The use needs to be residential, but not with the look and feel of the property the way it has been presented. Acting Mayor Elvig requested clarification that the Council will have plenty of input into the architecture as this development proceeds. City Council / November 14, 2006 Page 11 of 31