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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission - 04/04/1972 TENTATIVE'AGENDA 1 EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, April 4, 1972 7:30 P.M., Village Hall INVOCATION* - PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - 'ROLL CALL COMMISSION MEMBERS - Mary LaGrow, Chairman;. Herb Fosnocht, Chairman Pro Tem; Wayne Brown, Secretary; Ralph Nesbitt, Council Representative; Norma Schee; Mike Flavin; Mike Manning; Pat Casey. COMMISSION STAFF - George Hite, Village Manager; Dick Putnam, Planning Assistant. I. MINUTES OF MARCH 21, 1972 II. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS • A. John E. Bloomberg request for P.U.D. concept approval of 40 acre site between Red Rockace and Red Roc Roa . IYY. RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS A. Progress report on Forest Hills Sector Plan and Russell Marsh/Midwest Terminals P.U.D. east of Baker Roa . MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, April 4, 1972 7:30 P.M. Eden Prairie Village Hall Members Present: Chairman Pro-Tem, Fosnocht, Nesbitt, ,Sorenson, Casey, Brown, Schee, Flavin. Also present George Hite, Village Manager, and Dick Putnam,Planning Assistant. I. Minutes of the March 21, 1972, were approved with a correction of a minor spelling error. II. Petitions, Requests and Communications. A. Tohn Bloomberg request for PUD concept approval for a 55 acre site lo- cated north of Redrock Lake between Scenic Heights Drive and Redrock Road. Representing the proposed development were Thomas Stall, Architect, John Bloomberg, and his son. Mr. Stall began with .a slide .presentation depicting the character of the existing site nortli of Red Rock Lake. it • was evident from the slides that there are many natural and scenic features on the site. To the north there is a little pond surrounded with .,roods and steep slopes. South is Red Rock Lake and to the ,vest is the marsh extension of Red Rock Lake which goes toward the proposed Village Center. The site has a high knoll located between the pond and Red Rock Lake that has a marvelous view of the marsh to the west and the lake south. The land bordering the marsh and lake have very steep slopes with about a 40-50 foot hill with trees along the lake. The east boundary line of the site along Redrock Road is an old fence line with many mature maple and oak trees. Also, on the east side of the site are four single family home s. North of the site on the other side of the pond from Mr. Bloom- berg's property is a very large morrain which is about 40 feet high. Bloomberg's property is effectively isolated from the area north of Scenic Heights Drive where the proposed freeway to be built. Next Mr. Stall and Mr. Bloomberg presented slides of Mr. Bloomberg's development Berkshire on NormandaleRoad in Bloomington. The development is primarily townhouses which are in the $50,000 bracket. Noted in this presentation was the treatment of the natural environment with the townhouse where they can be built right into the trees preserving major tree stands & ponds. The units were very large and were very well done with brick,rough wood and cedar shakes. Also, Mr. Bloomberg presented some typical examples of a single family construction which again is in the over $50,000 price range. Mr. Bloomberg stressed the importanbe of quality in what he has built and indicated that this would be his approach to the Redrock site. Planning Commission -2- April 4, 1972 It was pointed out by the planner that the residents along Redrock Road were contacted by Mr. Stall and Mr. Bloomberg to inform them of the project before it was presented to the Planning Commission. The staff and the applicant felt that this was highly desirable since the impact of the project would be directly felt by those four residents. Therefore, about three or four days previous to meeting, Mr. Stall and Mr. Bloomberg held a meeting at Mr. Duvick's home to discuss the proposed development. Mr. Stall discussed the basic elements of the proposal on this site of 4vhich approximately 35 acres is buildable. Of that, 19.7 acres are lake and marsh. The initial construction phase of the project would be the single family areas which are indicated to have rather large lots between a 1/4 and 1/2 acre on the north and west side of the site on a looped cul-de-sac street. Mr. Bloomberg has proposed 30 single family lots to be built. The easterly portion of the site, approximately 17 acres. 100 townhouses are proposed off of a single spine street with small clusters off the street. The units would terrace down the hill towards the lake. The townhouses and single family areas would be adjacent with green space separating them. Between the units would be a recreational facility with • 'a small building, tennis courts and other open spaces. A pathway system linking the recreational area with the point on the lake which is indicated to have a pool, sheter, and dock facilities. Mr. Bloomberg has recognized the suggestion of the public greenway along the lake shore and the marsh leading to the Village center and has provided this. in his plan. This pathway would run through the recreational facility on the lake and continue north along Redrock. The pathways wtihin the projects would tie directly into this major greenway system and provide excellent pedestrian access to the Village center and the school to the north. "Ct is the intent of Mr. Bloomberg to leave the marsh which is located the southeast of the site in its, natural state and would not propose any alteration of that area. An important aspect of this development is the shared use of the recreation and pathway facilities for the single family and townhouse residents. These are provided to stimulate contact between the two groups. As you know, many projects proposed separate but equal facilities for these two groups and this project is unique to see them sharing facilities. A rather unique feature about the circulation is the emergency vehicle access between the two cul-de-sacs, that would create a loop system if needed. This would be a paved pathway that would have knock-out posts so in the event of an emergency, vehicles could go across if one way was blocked off. The circulation Within the project seems to be well thought out and seems very workable. Redrock Road, which runs on the east side of the property will connect with Mitchell Road and be part of 'the east-west collector system for the Redrock Village area. The exact collector location will depend upon where it connects to Scenic Heights Road and where it goes into Mr. Sieffert's property. 4 Planning Commission -3- April 4, 1972 CRITICAL FACTORS On the surface this project seems very straight forward and -is a very unique approach to providing housing in this income bracket, but we feel there are many considerations here that must be dealt with to make a valid judgment on this project. 1. Very important to the success of this project is the alignment of 1.212 As ,xas mentioned earlier the merrain north of the project between Scenic Heights Road and the north boundary line is critical to preserve the in- tegrity of this site from the freeway north. One alignment of 1.212 indicates running through part of the merrain. This encroachment by the freeway would certainly alter the character of the little pond to the north and the total feeling of this project. Therefore, the maintenance of the north merrain and the little pond environment is mandatory for success of the northwesterly section of the project, which is essentially single family. 2. Another important factor is the alignment of current Red Rock Road and its connection with the east-west collector street. Significant to this are the four homes that are now located between that and the easterly pond. Also, there is a heavy tree line that runs north and south along the easterly edge of the property which should be maintained. The alignment of Red-Rock Road going north to Scenic Heights Road is critical. Another factor is the development on Mr. . Seiffert's portion of the land and where the road will be to serve that development. 'These factors must be resolved and decisions on road location would be very much concerned with the existing single family homes and the protection of their lots. 3. The extension of sewer and water to this project is critical for its development. The other projects approved in Redrock, Hipp, Shelter, and Rocket will have sewer and water access to them this year. A study has ben initiated to determine the exact alignment of sewer and .water extensions to this area. It appears that this area can be served with the same line and serve the projects to the east. Also, provision of streets adequate to handle the additional traffic is critical. 4. A major concern of the Village, in this case, is the provision of the, pathway along the lakeshore from the Village Center north under 212 to Central Elementary School and the High School. Also, retention of the marsh' land on the southerly section of this property. , Respect for hillsides .and slopes leading down to the lake and the pond is essential and any building must be designed to accommodate this grade change without extensive grading. 5 . Access must be provided to the property to the west of the site which has .a small buildable area and this has been provided in the proposed plan. • Planning Commission -4- April 4, 1972 6. The Redrock plan indicated provision of different types of housing within the Redrock Sector is highly desirable. Bloomberg's development provides high priced, high quality housing of basically two varities and is con- sistent with the plan. The provision for single family lots in this secton of Redrock is highly desirable. The overall density for this project is approximately 3 .6 units per acre. This is based upon the buildable land area of 35 acres. As was mentioned before, the entire property owned is 55.42 acres and there is some questions as to what part of that can be considered in density calculations. Obviously, Red Rock Lake which comprises approximately 10 acres of the site is not buildable or should not be considered in any density calculations, but the marsh to the east which comprises about 6.8 acres is something that might be considered. Sorenson moved and Nesbitt seconded the motion to refer this proposal to the staff to review according to the guidelines in the Redrock study. Also, the PUD submittal requirements should be provided at the earliest date. B. Hipp's Construction Company request for preliminary plat approval on the first phase of their development in Redrock. The planner submitted the preliminary plat of the first phase of the townhouse • and single family development in Redrock. Identified at this time were some areas of concern: the depth of one lot fronting on Scenic Heights and the cul-de-sac and the arrangement of the townhouses being too close to the street. Mr. Casey moved and seconded by Mrs. Sbhee to refer this preliminary plat to the staff for review and recommendations. The motion <<vas carried. III. Recommendations and Reports. A. Forest Hills anctor planning report and Russell-Marsh midwest terminals PUD. Preliminary evaluation by staff. The planner gave a brief background review of the proposed and existing developments within the Forest Hills Sector and reviewed the sector planning to date. Using slides, he indicated many of the existing features and the relation of the Narsh proposal to existing areas within Forest Hills. He noted the significance of the industrial areas north of Kings Forest and the large vacant area . (19 .7 acres) adjacent to Nine-Mile Creek. Some new drawings were introduced indicating various options available for alignment of Baker Road dependent upon the scale of 62 Crosstown in the future. It was noted that 62 could be a freeway, expressway, or an arterial and could provide access to Baker Road or may eliminate access to Baker. The alternate locations indicate the potential of setting up a ring system that would extend across 494 to Shady Oak Road and west to the intersec- tion with Co. Rd, 4.. This would serve both Minnetonka and Eden Prairie and would create perhaps two separate ring or loop systems. One, serving primarily industrial properties to the west and the easterly ring serving Planning Commission -5- April 4, 1972 primarily residential property. It was noted that this north area of Forest Hills deserves further study and is heavily influenced by the alternatives proposals for Highway 62. In its relation to the sector planning at this point, it was felt that many options must be left open in this north sector of Forest Hills but that the area in the Marsh proposal could be evaluated today. The planner indicated some potential density areas within the sector and also the possible neighborhood center located somewhere in the vicinity of the Midwest multiple structure. A question was raised aboutthe feelings of the local residents in the Forest Hills area to the new project, it vvas felt that their reaction was most important, would influence the project's development. The meeting adjourned at 10:45. Respectfully submitted, • Wayne Brown Secretary