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Memo to Planning Commission/Elk River Station <br /> July 24,2001 <br /> Page 4 <br /> The proposed location and sizes of the"active parks"is an attractive way of breaking up the <br /> • densities of buildings by providing texture to the fabric of the neighborhood,whereas one <br /> large central park would not achieve this. <br /> In addition to the four"active parks"there will be around 7.1 acres of"passive parks/green <br /> spaces" which will feature asphalt trails,decks/overlooks into the almost 15 acre wetland <br /> area, tennis and volleyball courts, landscaping with shrubs and flowers, preservation of <br /> existing wooded areas, street/boulevard trees and a community building/pool. Some of <br /> these amenities will be of a private nature and will not be utilized by the general public but <br /> the trails, open green spaces and nature overlooks will be available to the general public. <br /> These "passive parks" will also help soften the impact of the number of units proposed. <br /> The Park and Recreation Commission had a few concerns related to the project. They had a <br /> concern with the public use of these parks and felt that it was like a gated community. They <br /> felt there would be no draw for Elk River residents to these parks. These parks would <br /> function as neighborhood parks, which in their nature do not draw everybody to them, <br /> similar to every neighborhood park in the city. The number of parks and their sizes was <br /> also brought up as a maintenance concern,but there was talk about joint care of the parks <br /> through the city and the homeowners association. They also wanted park dedication fees in <br /> an amount equal to 1h of the cash that would be required for a total cash dedication for this <br /> project, as they felt that the amount of people this project would generate would have a <br /> definite impact on existing parks elsewhere in the city. The Park and Recreation <br /> Commission will see this project again at its August meeting. <br /> • • Landscaping <br /> A landscape plan is required, as is a realistic tree preservation plan. <br /> Recommendation <br /> Staff is recommending that these applications be tabled to the August 14 Planning <br /> Commission meeting. This will give the applicant an opportunity to revise the plans to <br /> address Commission and staff concerns and still allow them the possibility to be on the <br /> August 20th City Council agenda. <br /> • <br /> S:\PLANNING\SCOTT\erstation 7-24.doc <br />