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Memo to Mayor and City Council/P 01-05 <br />November 18, 2002 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />· EAW <br />· Memo from the City Engineer <br />* Ordinance No. 02- <br /> <br />Overview <br /> <br />Project Description <br /> <br />The proposal includes approximately 70 acres on the east side of Twin Lakes Road, <br />northeast of the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks at 171st Avenue. The property is <br />adjacent to the proposed commuter rail station, which is to be located on the west side of <br />Twin Lakes Road. The project is a mixed use development that includes townhomes, <br />apartments, a commercial/office component and senior housing. Of the 70 total acres, 49 <br />will be included in the townhouse portion of the project. <br /> <br />The applicant is requesting a zone change to PUD, conditional use permit for the PUD and <br />preliminary plat approval for the entire project. The developer will be moving forward into <br />final plat approval for just the townhouse portion of the project. The remainder of the site <br />will be platted as outlots in the final plat. <br /> <br />Background Information <br /> <br />In August of 2001 the City Council approved a land use plan amendment to include this <br />property in the Urban Service Area and to change the land use designation to CC <br />(Community Commercial) and MR (Medium Density Residential). At that meeting the <br />Council postponed action on the zone change, preliminary plat and conditional use permit. <br />The main issue that the City and the developer were struggling over was project generated <br />traffic impacts. Because of the number of trips the project was going to generate, a second <br />full access would be required. The City would not allow a second full access at the location <br />proposed by the developer. The project has since been changed to address the issue of <br />project generated traffic. <br /> <br />Zone Change <br /> <br />The developer is requesting a zone change from Light Industrial and Single Family <br />Residential to Planned Unit Development. Most of the property is currently zoned Rla <br />(Single Family Residential- 2 ~ acre minimum lot size). An area extending about 300 feet <br />from and parallel to the railroad tracks is zoned Light Industrial. <br /> <br />When considering the proposed zone change to PUD, the Council should look at the <br />compatibility with adjacent zoning and land uses. The property to the south and east is <br />zoned AR (Agricultural Research). It is owned by Cargill and is farmed as part of their <br />research facility. The property to the north is zoned Rla (Single Family Residential) and is <br />large lot single family residential. There is a large wetland that separates the residences from <br />this project. To the west is Twin Lakes Road and the Mn/DOT park and ride facility. <br /> <br />S:\PLANNING\Case Files\P 01-05 Elk River Station\ll-18cc.doc <br /> <br /> <br />