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Special Planning CommissionMeeting <br />Minutes –Wednesday, September 17, 2015 <br />Page 16 <br />At the request of Chair Boguszewski, Mr. Bilotta advised that the Planning Commission was <br />733 <br />being asked to review and recommend approval of these amendments to address current design <br />734 <br />standards, essentially pushing buildings out to prominent corners and adjusting parking <br />735 <br />accordingly to meet those urban design standards going forward for development and/or <br />736 <br />redevelopment in the Twin Lakes Redevelopment Area. <br />737 <br />At the request of Member Murphy, and using RPCA Attachment C regulating maps on pages 8 <br />738 <br />and 9 of the staff report, Mr. Bilotta reviewed the specific area aroundLangton Lake with a <br />739 <br />walkway and bicycle path recorded in greenway requirements going forward and over the <br />740 <br />Metropolitan Council’s sewer interceptor easement, intended to be turned into an amenity as a <br />741 <br />requirement versus an arbitrary negotiating point for future redevelopment proposals. <br />742 <br />Mr. Lloyd further clarified those legends on the maps generally identified as required park <br />743 <br />connection areas allowing access into the park and reserving that access as a requirement in <br />744 <br />those areas for future development proposals. <br />745 <br />Noting the potential reintroduction of Planned Unit Development (PUD) uses in this <br />746 <br />redevelopment area, Chair Boguszewski questioned if the Table of Uses would then be <br />747 <br />amended, and asked if during that process any potential uses may conflict or need further <br />748 <br />amendment for use of a PUD. <br />749 <br />Mr. Bilotta advised that, if PUD’s are reintroduced, it would require the City to work with an <br />750 <br />applicant, since they are of a legislative nature like rezoning processes and this regulating map, <br />751 <br />with a similar process for PUD applications, which would probably only need to occur if a road <br />752 <br />was moved from one location to another.If other plans were indicated to achieve desired design <br />753 <br />standards, Mr. Bilotta suggested it may move to a PUD at that point since that made the most <br />754 <br />sense within that realm. <br />755 <br />With form-based planning dealing with mass, size, setbacks, distance from curb, etc. with <br />756 <br />considerable debate on those issues in the past, Chair Boguszewski asked if the intended goal <br />757 <br />remained to control and manage that planning for positive aesthetics as building locations and <br />758 <br />parking are established, whether at the street or if the building mass was stepped back if so <br />759 <br />indicated.Chair Boguszewski noted his preference to fulfill and regulate the intended goals of <br />760 <br />form-based planning while allowing developers some flexibility in their designs. <br />761 <br />Mr. Bilotta concurred, noting that recent examples were the hotel developments in this area, and <br />762 <br />while their final plans are no longer 100% what they original submitted, changes were made to <br />763 <br />relate to the remainder of the community and increased pedestrian experiences, allowing <br />764 <br />walkability and connectivity to parks, or a plaza effect such as in window placement to avoid a <br />765 <br />warehouse look.While these design standards are not onerous, Mr. Bilottanoted that those <br />766 <br />standards provided a better fit to avoid pedestrian barriers. <br />767 <br />City Planner Paschke further noted the location of main entries that may not necessarily be on <br />768 <br />the public frontage but rather in the parking lot interior, but having those frontages on sidewalks <br />769 <br />or public streets and how building placement and design achieved that, allowing developers to <br />770 <br />sharpen their deigns to meet city code requirements and articulate them accordingly. <br />771 <br />Regarding park dedication lines indicated on the map, Member Murphy asked what their <br />772 <br />presence or absence meant for potential developers in the area; noting that he understood the <br />773 <br />intent, but questioned what it meant in this proposed text amendment as an additional <br />774 <br />requirement of developers. <br />775 <br />Mr. Bilotta advised that it was intended to serve as more of an alert to developers before they got <br />776 <br />to the point of Letters of Intent or the application process itself, that they initiate working with the <br />777 <br />Parks & Recreation Commission on that piece of their development proposal, rather than an after <br />778 <br />the fact surprise or issue.Mr. Bilotta reasoned that if developers were aware up front, they could <br />779 <br />design their project differently, knowing that defined location for a park. <br />780 <br />Regarding the northern area referenced, Mr. Paschke advised that the City had already <br />781 <br />purchased most of the park area with the exception of Mt. Ridge Road, with that elevation not <br />782 <br />suitable for building, and therefore included on the regulating plan map.Mr. Paschke advised that <br />783 <br />the other park location closer to County Road B is a grove or mature trees not within the park <br />784 <br /> <br />