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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – April 4, 2018 2 the Lake Johnna Fire Station No. 1 property at 3246 New Brighton Road in September 2017 and is requesting approval for a project to redevelop the property for four single-family residential homes. The existing fire station building, garage, and parking areas on the property would all be removed as part of the redevelopment. City Planner Bachler noted that the City had received a similar land use application for the redevelopment of the property in the spring of 2017 (Planning Case 17-010). He noted this application was withdrawn before the Planning Commission could make a recommendation and the City Council did not take action on this case. City Planner Bachler reported the existing property at 3246 New Brighton Road is approximately 2.8 acres in size and is comprised of the decommissioned Lake Johanna Fire Station No. 1 building, a detached garage, and parking areas. The two existing structures are located along New Brighton Road and there are multiple curb cuts currently providing access to the property. The topography of the lot is relatively flat along New Brighton Road, but then slopes down significantly to a pond located on the easterly half of the property. The elevation change from New Brighton Road to the pond edge is roughly 15 feet. The pond occupies approximately 1.3 acres of the site leaving 1.5 acres of developable land. City Planner Bachler explained the applicant has proposed a subdivision of the existing property that would create four single-family residential lots. Each of the lots would have frontage on New Brighton Road and the property lines would extend to the eastern boundary of the site. The size of the lots would be 21,827 square feet, 28,140 square feet, 31,793 square feet, and 43,357 square feet. The applicant has provided preliminary floor plans for one of the single- family residential homes. The four dwellings are expected to have a similar design in terms of gross square footage, floor plans, and their exterior design. City Planner Bachler indicated two driveways are proposed on New Brighton Road to provide access to the dwellings. A cross access easement would be required for the shared access driveways. An underground rainwater collection tank is also proposed to be located in the front yard spanning two properties. The purpose of the storage tank is to collect stormwater runoff from the four properties and to repurpose the water for indoor non-potable uses. The entire development is proposed to be put under an association that would address property maintenance and the shared use of energy generated by solar panels proposed to be installed on the dwellings. City Planner Bachler commented a Variance is requested in this case to allow the four proposed lots to have a width less than the minimum requirement for the R-2 District. Lots in the R-2 District are required to have a minimum width of 85 feet. Each of the four lots is proposed to have a width of 81.75 feet, or 3.25 feet less than the minimum requirement. City Planner Bachler stated a Comprehensive Plan Amendment is required to change the designation of the property to Very Low Density Residential from its current designation as Public and Institutional. The Very Low Density Residential classification allows for single- family residential development at a density of 1.5 to 3 units per acre. To summarize, Planning Case 18-001 includes the following requests: • Preliminary and Final Plat to subdivide property into four single-family residential lots.