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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes -Wednesday, November 07, 2007 Page 10 a. PROJECT FILE 0003 Review and discussion of design standards for the Twin Lakes Redevelopment Area, to be considered/approved by the City Council. Interim Community Development Director Mike Darrow provided background of the discussion of design standards at the last Planning Commission meeting; subsequent City Council instructions to the Planning Commission; and completion of the AUAR process for Twin Lakes Redevelopment. Mr. Darrow sought additional Commissioner comment to relay to the City Council at their November 19, 2007 meeting, for formal development, review and adoption by the City Council. Discussion included anticipated phased development proposals forthcoming for the Twin Lakes area; purpose of the general guidelines with overarching themes, and not providing for strict interpretation of the City's zoning ordinance. Further discussion included difficulties in developing and applying general design standards not knowing if development will be residential and/or commercial, retail or industrial; general themes of the design principles (i.e., walkability, connectivity, sustainability, preservation, etc.); urbanist perspectives, their innovations and uniqueness; inter-relationships of overall design; whether the design principles would serve as a stand- alone document; and the intentional vagueness of the document. Commissioner Gasongo left the meeting at approximately 10:20 p.m. Additional discussion included other concepts or models, such as major developments in Edina and Maple Grove; interpretations by Mr. Darrow of themes heard from the public to- date, including: connection to parks; preservation of lakes and natural amenities; lack of interest in, but need to define "big box" retail; and environmental issues. Commissioners concurred that, while a design standard requiring every project to be LEED certified was onerous, enhanced language would be a good addition. Also, based on previous work of the Planning Commission, and Imagine Roseville 2025 groups, many of those items could be incorporated into the design principles related to landscaping, sustainability, innovation of design, stormwater treatment designs to reduce impervious surfaces, and preservation of trees, lakes and parks. Further discussion ensued on the City of Roseville's attractions and amenities (i.e., current retail environment, proximity to downtowns, U of MN, transportation connections, etc.), impacting job creation/retention; developer interest; and potential success of specific projects based on collaborative efforts. Further discussion included challenges and opportunities in finding funding sources for infrastructure improvements to support development and/or redevelopment; due diligence by staff in pro-actively meeting with developers and interested parties to address issues and advertising the development potential; involvement of all City Departments, specifically the Parks and Recreation Department (i.e., park dedication fees for preservation and maintenance of Langton Lake and Langton Lake Park); and Commissioners concurred that the document needed to include amenities associated with and distinct to small blocks (walkability and pedestrian friendly areas); preservation and sustainability; environmental issues; landscaping; more trees; corridors connecting public places; streetscapes and transitions into connectivity (i.e., pedestrian passageways); and removal of questioned removal of the 300-500' block size. Further discussion included differences in design elements for suburban commercial and/or urban commercial; traffic calming techniques; need to address mass transit (i.e., pull off points for busses, curb cuts, bus stops and cutouts that work for users, and don't interrupt traffic patterns); pedestrian-friendly models (i.e., rather than a huge parking lot with buildings located at the rear of a property, flipping it to bring the store to the street); including architectural distinction and innovation for the Twin Lakes development; and the need for policy discussion by the City Council and Metropolitan Transit Commission to ensure reverse commutes are available and functional in this area.