2014-09-23_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Member Felice opined that, with no setbacks and more density, it served to make the City of Roseville more livable for transportation and walkability. Member Felice opined that it was her understanding that zero setbacks were for businesses with the intent of targeting huge parking lots versus buildings right up against the sidewalk without pedestrians having to navigate a lot of cars, creating some advantages and making the community much nicer and pedestrian friendly. Member Seigler opined that he was concerned with residents willing to put hundreds of thousands of dollars in their homes and being told no, while high- density housing is permitted right next door. Mr. Schwartz advised that cities typically set up zoning areas for higher density, while other large lot residential areas stay that way to avoid changing their character. Member Seigler expressed concern that the City may be in a panic to pass this GreenStep program and inadvertently change everything. Mr. Johnson clarified that it is not the goal of the GreenStep program to do that, but to have something to work toward; and by sharing data with other cities, it was recognized that everything in Roseville was not applicable to some of those other communities (e.g. septic system requirements). Mr. Johnson advised that it was the intent of this program to make it broad enough to allow a number of different and unique cities to meet the goals and move through the process. Mr. Johnson noted that everything as not going to be checked off, and the City of Roseville intended to work through the things that could be accomplished, but not with the intent of changing the character of Roseville, but simply to take credit for the green steps already being accomplished. If things were modified in the future (e.g. Complete Streets) as other things were implemented, Mr. Johnson opined that they could provide additional benefits; however, he did not realistically see the City being able to check off every one of the items on the inventory. Member Seigler opined that he did not think the City should attempt to do so either. Member Wozniak opined that the GreenStep Cities template was intended for any city to see how they compared, and since the City of Roseville was almost fully developed and a mature suburb, a lot of things wouldn't apply to it while it may apply to other cities having more growth potential (e.g. new cities and new developments). Member Wozniak opined that he didn't see that happening in Roseville. Member Seigler noted that even recently, some zoning districts have been changing from R-1 to R-2, serving to allow for that increased density; opining that it looked to him like an intentional step in meeting this program's goals. Page 11 of 16