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Baker said he felt an R-1 PRD would be appropriate for this site. The property is unique because of the woodland. The PRD would allow flexibility in setbacks and density. The proposal is a rectangular, cookie- cutter type development. Livingston commented the units next to the street in this proposal would be more valuable if they were set back farther. The outside units in this proposal are almost sitting on Old Highway 8. The trees would then provide a buffer zone. Fewer units would make the development more acceptable to the neighbors and the people that will live there. Knuth said she would like to raise the issue of affordable housing. Knuth said New Brighton has had a number of developments in recent years like Wexford Heights. Wexford Heights had natural amenities such as trees. As they developed that area, the trees disappeared. The price of the homes in Wexford Heights is out of the range of many residents. New Brighton needs affordable housing for New Brighton residents who might be looking for smaller, more affordable housing so they can remain in New Brighton. This proposal could provide affordable housing and we should consider that. Mattila said the Wexford Heights site was not occuppied with stands of oaks. Instead, the site was occuppied with cottonwoods, boxelders, and elms, much of which was diseased. Schiferl asked Cadwallader about the market for the proposed development. Cadwallader responded that eight of the ten units in Silver Oaks’ current project are sold. Only one unit has a child; a single parent with a 17-year old child owns the unit. A single person bought one unit and we sold the rest to retired people. Zisla stated the Planning Commission had a similar discussion on trees during consideration of the Minneapolis reservoir project. The neighbors were very concerned about preservation of the trees. The City of Minneapolis owned the trees and tried to accommodate the residents’ concerns. The Planning Commission did not have the authority to say the City of Minneapolis must preserve all the trees. Does the City have a means for preserving the trees on this location? Mattila commented the Minneapolis reservoir project required a special use permit, so the City of Minneapolis worked with the City of New Brighton to protect the trees on site. Livingston stated he would like to comment on Knuth’s remarks about affordable housing. The Metropolitan Council did a study recently on affordable housing. According to the study, the City of New Brighton is one of the most affordable areas in the Metro area. Livingston said that, in response to Zisla’s remarks, it is not the Planning Commission’s job to see that the trees are preserved. The Planning Commission should ask the developer to take another look at his plan and develop a project with buffers on Old Highway 8. Livingston said he likes the townhomes Silver Oak has developed and agreed that the project would appeal to empty nesters. The one-story townhomes would be a good use of the site, but Livingston said he had a problem with the density. Livingston said he would like the developer to come back with another plan. Steve Larson, Council Liaison, commented the applicant stated he needed to build 32 units to justify purchasing the property. Larson said 32 units at $115,000 comes to $3,680,000. If the developer removed three units and increased the unit cost only $5,000 per unit, it would come to $3,480,000. The cost to the builder for the three units would be about $60,000 so the numbers would be a “wash.” Baker stated that if the City rezoned the property to R-3B it could be construed as spot rezoning because it’s surrounded by R-1. Zisla asked Cadwallader if he had any comments and if the development is feasible if Cadwallader and the City could work together on this. Cadwallader said he would have to renegotiate the purchase price of the I:\COMMISSIONS\PLANNING\MINUTES\1997\03-18-97.WPD 7