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. . . Planning Commission Minutes December 28, 2004 Page 5 appropriately. She noted that high density residential was a good transition next to the Elk River Station townhomes. Chair Ropp stated he liked the idea of having staff look at the entire 80 acres, and to look for opportunities to connect neighborhoods. Ms. McPherson stated that they need to make sure that a concept plan for the area makes sense, from a transportation standpoint. Commissioner Offerman stated that he would like more information regarding the 24 foot street widths, in order to determine why or why not to allow them. He asked if the townhomes to the east met the 30 foot setback. Mr. Harlicker stated that the townhomes are 20'-21' from the street, and roughly 15 feet from the lot line. Commissioner Stevens stated that he would like to see how many accesses there would be onto 175th Avenue. Joel Larson, developer for the property, stated that due to the wedands, only about 20 acres of the total 80 acres is developable. He noted that on the site under consideration, only about 3.0 acres of the 6.0 acre site is useable. He noted that there is an existing house on 1 ~ acres that is high and dry. Commissioner Stevens asked if the street accessing 175th Avenue would line up with the street on the north side of 175th Avenue. Mr. Harlicker stated yes. Commissioner Lemke stated that he was in favor of rezoning the entire 80 acres to an R1 zoning if the property were included in the Urban Service District. Commissioner Westgaard asked why the 80 acres was not included in the Urban Service Area. Ms. McPherson explained that initially, the Urban Service Area ended at 175th Avenue, Twin Lakes Road and parallel to the railroad tracks, and that the City Council was not interested in bringing any more property in. She stated that it was a recommendation of the Comprehensive Plan Task Force to re-guide the property, due to its proximity to the transit facility and future commuter rail station, and future retail opportunities. Commissioner Lemke asked if this property was previously hooked to city services and then disconnected. Ms. McPherson stated yes, and that the service was disconnected due to nonpayment of fees. Commissioner Scott asked what the impact would be on the properties if the 80 acres were rezoned. Ms. McPherson stated that there would be the potential for assessments, but that it has been the policy of the City Council to not assess properties until they are developed. If property owners wished to connect, they would then pay the fees. She stated that she was not sure of the impact on property taxes. She stated that she would not expect them to change much, but that the property value would increase, creating a potential impact. Chair Ropp stated that he would not expect the taxes would change if a property were sold for the same type of residential use. Commissioner Anderson stated that he would like more information on the impact to the affected properties, i.e., worst case, vs. least impact.