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Memo to Planning Commission/P 01-05 September 24,2002 Page 2 • • Memo from the City Engineer • EAW Overview The applicant has requested that the Planning Commission hold an informal review of their proposal and to forward any comments and/or concerns to staff.They have asked that their proposal be tabled until the October 21'Planning Commission meeting. Project Description The proposal includes approximately 70 acres on the east side of Twin Lakes Road, northeast of the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks at 171'Avenue. The property is adjacent to the proposed commuter rail station,which is to be located on the west side of Twin Lakes Road. The project is a mixed use development that includes townhomes, apartments,a commercial/office component and senior housing. Of the 70 total acres,49 will be included in the townhouse portion of the project. The applicant is requesting the zone change to PUD,conditional use permit for the PUD and preliminary plat approval for the entire project.The developer will be moving forward into final plat approval for just the townhouse portion of the project.The remainder of the site will be platted as outlots. IIIBackground Information In August of 2001 the City Council approved a land use plan amendment to include this property in the Urban Service Area and to change the land use designation to CC (Community Commercial) and MR (Medium Density Residential). At that meeting the Council postponed action on the zone change,preliminary plat and conditional use permit. The main issue that the City and the developer were struggling over was project generated traffic impacts. Because of the number of trips the project was going to generate,a second full access would be required.The City would not allow a second full access at the location proposed by the developer. The scale of the project has since been reduced to address the issue of project generated traffic. Zone Change The developer is requesting a zone change from Light Industrial and Single Family Residential to Planned Unit Development. Most of the property is currently zoned R1a (Single Family Residential). An area extending about 300 feet from and parallel to the railroad tracks is zoned Light Industrial. When considering the proposed zone change to PUD the Commission should look at the compatibility with adjacent zoning and land uses. The property to the south and east is zoned AR (Agricultural Research). It is owned by Cargill and is farmed as part of their • research facility. The property to the north is zoned R1a(Single Family Residential)and is S:\PLANNING\Case Files\P 01-05 Elk River Station\pp9-24pc.doc