6.7. SR 04-19-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Memo to Mayor & City Council/P 0442 April 19, 2004 Page 3 A looped street system and three cul de sacs are proposed for this plat. The streets will connect with the streets in Nordic Woods at three locations: Boston Street, Albany Street and 195th Avenue. The street connections with Nordic Woods were determined when Nordic Woods was approved in 1996. Only Albany Circle was intended to remain a permanent cul de sac. There is a main entrance proposed from County Road i at 196th Avenue. This entrance will be opposite the entrance to Windsor Oak Hills. Standard 60 foot right-of-ways are proposed with 32 foot wide streets. Sidewalks are also proposed throughout the plat. Traffic from this development will have access to County Road 1 at two locations, through this project via 196~h Avenue or through Nordic Woods/Hills via 194th Avenue. Park and Recreation The applicant is proposing to dedicate 5.35 acres of land to meet the park dedication requirements. Under the subdivision regulations, the City can ask for up to 10% (5.1 acres) for park dedication. Outlot E, which is .15 acres, will be utilized as a trail corridor to Outlot A in Nordic Hills. Outlot A, which is 5.2 acres, is intended to provide a buffer along the railroad trail. The proposal exceeds the minimum requirements by .25-acres. From the first PUD concept through the final proposed plat, the Park and Recreation Commission has consistently stated they want a buffer parallel to the Great Northern Trail. However, staff believes that the 200-foot number is somewhat arbitrary as it was based on the original 140 lot PUD concept which provided 15% land dedication for park. The buffer width has always been based on acreage of park land under a PUD development. Under the proposed Rlc zoning, only 10% land can be asked for dedication which calculates out to an approximately 147-foot wide buffer (property line to property line). Knowing that most people using the trail will have their focus forward and in a straight line, staff provided an exhibit showing sight lines through the woods based on the intent of the trail for linear activities such as walking/running, in-line skating, biking and skiing. The average cone of vision for people is 60-degrees ~See Cone of Vision a~). With the 147- feet of parallel buffer, a 30-degree vision angle from the center of the trial will yield approximately 290 lineal feet (at an angle) of sight line buffer from property line to property line. Obviously some people will look through the woods perpendicular to the trail but the main function of the trail is a linear (moving forward) experience. The average elevation (seeAverage Elevation ~) of the Great Northern Trail is 935-feet and the average elevation of the grade of the proposed lots will be 955-feet. This is a 20- foot grade separation. So an average height person will have 15-feet of heavily wooded hillside to look at below the homes, assuming that they look straight ahead and not up Staff walked the trail (in the winter with no foliage) and at several locations along ks length walked, from the trail edge, 150-feet into the woods with a tape measure. Even without the foliage, it was very difficult to see the staff person once they were 150-feet into the woods. SAPLANNING\Case Files\2004\P 04-02 Woodland Hills\P04-02cc4-19.doc