6.13. - 6.15. SR 05-20-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Stephanie Klinzing and City Council Members May 17, 2002 Page 2 The townhomes originally suggested on the western portion of the site were large two story units that were conceptual in design. Their footprint was large, and upon close review of grading studies was found to cause more tree removal than was desired. Through the use of a smaller townhome footprint, the use of private roadways in the more difficult and wooded portions of the site, and by reworking the drainage and ponding plans, trees and woodlands have been preserved. While the market for our current housing choices is strong, an additional home type will be a benefit to the Trott Brook neighborhood and the Elk River comrnunity. The surrounding open space will set this cluster of townhomes apart from others in this area of the City, and the realignment and use of private streets throughout the Marshes provides the added benefit of reducing the impact on the land. PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION ON APRIL 23, 2002 The Planning Commission has recqmmended approval of our requests. However, their action resulted in a reduction of 49 Traditional Row units (110 originally proposed), including the action to impose the R3 Residential Standards to the proposed residential units within the current PUD zone. As a result of the Planning Commission actions, we met with city staff to provide an alternative request (see the attached revised site plan and revised Traditional Row unit building elevation). The follo~ving details our inodification to the initial request. MODIFIED REQUEST: Description. Approve the request to amend the PUD and site plan to allow 81 Traditional Row units with 35 single family lots for a total of 116 residential units (a reduction of 17 units from the number originally proposed). Again, while a total of 16 additional residential units are being requested from the original PUD approval, only 6 are located within the original PUD area. The remaining 10 residential units are located on the highway remnant parcel. In order to provide a strong and healthy Townhorne Association, this modified request of 81 units will result in a neighborhood size that will have the necessary reserves to maintain the units and the neighborhood for many years to come. It has been our experience, as one of the leading townhome developers in the area, that approximately 100 units provide a strong and healthy financial neighborhood association. Housing Affordabilitv and R3 Residential Standards. D.R Horton has modified the Traditional Row unit to a smaller footprint that will meet our goal in the market place of Elk River and the Metropolitan Council's goal of $170,000 per unit for new construction. By meeting this goal of housing affordability, it provides greater