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<br /> <br />Planning Commission Minutes <br />January 28, 2025 <br />--------- <br />Page 7 of 8 <br /> <br />Commissioner Dornan felt the smaller road and driveway width could create more street parking <br />concerns. <br /> <br />Mr. Barker stated the Liberty design provided for 1500-2800 sq. ft. homes with 3-4 bedrooms. <br /> <br />Mr. Leeseberg explained parking stall standards in public parking lots in Elk River are 9 feet, to give an <br />idea for driveway parking widths. <br /> <br />Commissioner Zahler stated he likes the idea of the Liberty homes due to the housing market being <br />tight especially on the low end of pricing, offering another housing stock, so maybe putting up with <br />smaller streets makes for a trade-off. <br /> <br />Chair Beise and Commissioner Johnson stated they like the proposed development design and layout, <br />but do have concerns with the 29’ road width. <br /> <br />Commissioner Johnson stated the city has approved narrower roads only when they are <br />private/association maintained. He wondered if by approving these, will those developments come back <br />and ask the city to take over maintenance. He stated he is in favor of coming up with creative <br />solutions. <br /> <br />Commissioner Dornan wondered if we would be setting precedence for future developments and the <br />volume of traffic would be higher in the Liberty housing area. He stated they are getting away from the <br />standard without having an explanation and justification for changing the standards. <br /> <br />It was the consensus of the Planning Commission to get a better feel for the lot and road widths by <br />visiting area developments by Capstone. It was the consensus of the Planning Commission to request <br />reasoning directly from the city engineer for supporting city standards of 34' width streets and opposing <br />29’ width streets. <br /> <br />Steve Bono - Capstone - explained they have seen over the years that many cities did have the larger <br />street widths and now are slowly changing to a narrower street, and a big part of that is the safety <br />aspect. He feels the wider street creates a bigger impervious surface and faster traffic on a street. He <br />stated for example, the city of Ramsey had the wider streets, and they approved the 29' street width <br />after a lot of discussion about the safety aspects. After a few years, they felt it worked and phase 2 is <br />now being constructed. He stated the city of Otsego has now changed their standard and it works for <br />them also. The cost of a home is also a factor and the Liberty model is as affordable as Capstone can <br />get at $360,000 - $440,000 which is still an expensive home. <br /> <br />Mr. Barker stated he would continue discussions with the city engineer. He noted the main roadway <br />arteries are 34’ wide and the residential home arteries are 29’ wide. <br /> <br />David Kelliher requested a fence between their property and the homes right up against the forested <br />section. <br /> <br />Marilyn Nathe Specht, 9180 Collins Drive, Ramsey, shared her concerns about the number of <br />homes being proposed and discussed her experiences and beauty on the farm. She wanted the city and <br />the developer to understand the importance of preserving the heritage of the land for its habitat and <br />create a park for all to enjoy.