PUBLIC HEARING: Consider the Preliminary Plat for Emerald Estates, Located along 181st Avenue, West of Xenolith Street (Project No. 24-123); Case of Landform Professional Services, LLC

The City has received a Land Use Application from Landform Professional Services, LLC (the "Applicant") for a proposed Preliminary Plat for thirteen single family residential lots located along 181st Avenue, west of Xenolith Street (the "Subject Property").

Staff attempted to notify property owners within 700 feet of the Subject Property, as reflected in the Anoka County Property Records, of the request for Preliminary Plat review by the Planning Commission on December 19, 2024.  A proposed development sign was placed on the Subject Property and a notice was also published in the Anoka County Union Herald Newspaper.

General Project Overview
The Subject Property is approximately 35.93 acres in size.  The owners of the Subject Property (the "Property Owners") also own the forty (40) acre parcel west of the Subject Property.  However, that parcel is not subject to this Land Use Application.  The Applicant is proposing to plat the Subject Property into thirteen (13), single family residential lots along the south side of 181st Avenue.  Each lot will be served with a private well and septic system and each lot will have direct access on to 181st Avenue.  There are no roads proposed to be constructed.  The Applicant has provided a memorandum, which is attached to this case, outlining why they have opted not to incorporate a service road or cul-de-sac into the project to reduce the number of direct accesses to 181st Avenue.  Individual stormwater basins are proposed for each lot, rather than a single, larger pond for the overall development (this results in less land disturbance, but will require individual Stormwater Maintenance Agreements to be recorded against each of the thirteen [13] lots).

Zoning and Guidance
The Subject Property is zoned Rural Residential and is guided as Rural Developing in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.  The Rural Residential zoning district requires a minimum lot size of 2.5 acres and a minimum lot width of 200 feet.  Each of the proposed lots meets or exceeds these standards.  However, while it appears that Lots 12 and 13 meet the buildability standard (a 60-foot by 100-foot area that excludes wetland, wetland setback, Floodway, and/or steep slopes), Staff has requested an exhibit for these two lots to confirm they meet this requirement. 

The surrounding parcels to the east, west, and south are all zoned Rural Residential and are all guided as Rural Developing in the Comprehensive Plan as well.  181st Avenue represents the border between Ramsey and Nowthen, so the parcels north of the Subject Property are located in the city of Nowthen.  Surrounding parcels range in size from about 4.8 acres to about 40 acres (this parcel is also owned by the Property Owners, but is not a part of this application).

Streets and Access
The Preliminary Plat essentially mirrors the Sketch Plan that the Planning Commission previously reviewed, including no proposed roads.  Each lot would have a driveway directly out on to 181st Avenue.  The Applicant has included a driveway bump-out or turn-around for each driveway, so that rather than backing out on to 181st Avenue, one can easily turn their vehicle around so they can pull forward rather than back out on to 181st Avenue.  The Applicant has provided a narrative/memorandum supporting the layout as proposed rather than incorporating a service road or cul-de-sac to reduce the number of direct accesses onto 181st Avenue.  The narrative states, among other things, that a covenant will be filed against each lot requiring a driveway turn-around.  Furthermore, while the City of Ramsey and Anoka County do not have driveway spacing standards, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) does have an Access Management Manual, which includes driveway spacing recommendations based on the type of roadway and speed limit.  181st Avenue, also known as County Road 64, is categorized as a Type 2 Rural Road and has a posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour.  Based on this data, the MnDOT Access Management Manual recommends a minimum spacing of 100 feet between driveways, which this plan meets and, in some cases, even exceeds.

The Applicant has modified the driveway configuration for Lot 7.  The Planning Commission may recall that on the Sketch Plan, this driveway curved on to Lot 8 to avoid the wetland and wetland setback area.  However, it has been modified now so that it stays outside the wetland and wetland setback to the west and meets the five (5) foot driveway setback along the eastern boundary.

Staff forwarded the Preliminary Plat submittal, including the memorandum/narrative addressing the driveways, to the Anoka County Highway Department (ACHD) for review and comment.  As of the writing of this case, Staff has not received any additional comments (if you will recall, ACHD commented on the Sketch Plan, stating that the 13 driveways directly on to 181st Avenue are undesirable from their perspective).

Natural Resources
The Subject Property is heavily wooded and nearly half of it consists of wetland.  There are some areas designated as floodplain as well (although the vast majority of floodplain is within wetlands, and there are no proposed impacts to wetlands).  The submittal includes both a Tree Inventory and a Landscape Plan.  More information is needed regarding the Tree Inventory, as noted in the review comments in ProjectDox (and attached to this case).  However, due to the amount of tree cover and the fact that the Applicant intends for each lot to be custom designed and built, it appears that this project will not have any problem complying with the tree preservation standards.

Existing vegetation may satisfy the planting requirement for most, if not all, lots.  But, since the Tree Inventory is lacking certain information (such as which trees are slated for removal and preservation), Staff requested a Landscape Plan be submitted, which has now been received, but has not been fully reviewed yet.  It is clear that minor revisions will be needed (e.g. the Plant Schedule includes Black Ash, but with the destruction that EAB is causing, no species of ash will be credited towards the planting requirements). 

The Environmental Policy Board will be reviewing the natural resources aspects of this project at their December 16, 2024, meeting.  If warranted, Staff will provide a verbal update of their discussion at the meeting. 

Alternatives

Alternative 1: Recommend that City Council approve the Preliminary Plat for Emerald Estates, contingent upon compliance with Staff's review comments.  All thirteen (13) lots meet the bulk standards for the Rural Residential District.  As proposed, there will not be any direct impacts on wetlands and floodplain areas, and tree loss should also be fairly minimal.  The Applicant has provided a reasonable option (driveway turn-arounds) to address the safety concerns raised by ACHD.

Alternative 2: Recommend that City Council approve the Preliminary Plat for Emerald Estates with modifications identified by the Planning Commission.

Alternative 3: Recommend that City Council not approve the Preliminary Plat for Emerald Estates.  The lots meet the bulk standards for the zoning district and this configuration appears to have the least impact on natural resources on the Subject Property.  Staff does not support this alternative. 



 

The Applicant is responsible for all costs associated with this application.

Staff recommends approving the Preliminary Plat, contingent upon compliance with Staff's review comments.

Motion to recommend City Council adopt Resolution #25-003 approving the Preliminary Plat for Emerald Estates, contingent upon compliance with Staff's review comments.