08-11-14 Special WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 11, 2014 5 Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that during the regulations and policies component of the master planning process, the City Council will establish the types of residential uses allowed in each district, setbacks for residential uses, maximum height, etc. All of these characteristics affect overall density in residential neighborhoods. She stated that the City Council may choose to establish a maximum number of residential units at this time. Councilmember Holden commented that residents are concerned with the density on TCAAP. In addition, there are concerns regarding how traffic flow would change throughout the City. She has heard from many residents that open space is desired and for this reason, she supported 1,500 resident units on TCAAP. Councilmember Holmes was concerned with how the Creek and Hill neighborhoods would have less density, while the Town would be more densely populated. She discussed the current density within neighborhoods in Arden Hills and compared it to the proposed density within the Town neighborhood. She suggested that the Council further consider the residential density as well as how it will be disbursed within the neighborhoods on TCAAP. Community Development Director Hutmacher anticipated that the Council would be reviewing the table of uses in the next week, which would break down the appropriate location for homes, townhomes, apartments and senior housing within TCAAP. Councilmember Holden stated that she never believed that the Creek and Hill neighborhoods would only be single-family homes. She anticipated that there would be a mix of townhouses as well as million dollar homes. Mayor Grant believed that there would have to be transitional housing between the townhomes/apartments and larger single-family homes. He supported the 1,500 unit density for TCAAP and feared that anything over and above this number would be too great for the space available. Councilmember McClung was in favor of 1,700 units on TCAAP and wanted to see pockets of density within the neighborhoods as this would allow for transitional housing. It was his opinion that this would create more stable neighborhoods in the long run. He thought that the density would end up somewhere between 1,500 and 1,700 units. He believed that the most important thing for TCAAP would be for the end product to create a high quality development that would be sustained long term. Mayor Grant also wanted to see the 130 acres of residential land within TCAAP to be developed with high-quality housing. He wanted to see people move into the area and stay. He supported a density of 1,500 units within TCAAP. Councilmember Holden commented that the management of apartment units would be crucial to the success of these units. Councilmember Holmes was not comfortable arriving at a density number until she was able to review more financial data, along with SAC and WAC fee analysis.