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I I I Council Meeting Minutes March 25, 1997 Page 4 Council Business. continued Gunderman asked if there have been discussions with the developer since the Planning Commission meeting. Mattila discussed the options with developer, Jake Cadwallader. Larson said most of the Planning Commissioners felt the appropriate zoning for this site would be R-l with an overlay to control density and retain trees. Controlling density is the main issue and reducing the number of units appears to be an option. Samuelson noted concern regarding density, and asked if the units would be one level. Mattila said the units would be one level with a walkout basement. Samuelson feels that retaining the oak trees is appropriate. Williams asked if the 25 % floor area restriction is consistent with a R-I district PRD. Mattila confirmed that a PRD under a R-l district would only allow 22 units. Cadwallader said a R-2 would allow 29 units; and a R-2 with a PRD overlay would allow 37 units. He read a letter from Bob and Alice Johnson of 3rd Terr., which supports the project and the feeling that the trees are in poor health. Cadwallader prefers to save as many trees as possible, but construction activity may affect the trees. He believes a more attractive buffer would be evergreens. He has found that providing one level units targets a segment of the population searching for that type of housing. Samuelson asked if the project could be revised to R-l zoning with 22 units. Cadwallader explained that due to increased costs associated with the corner lot purchase, a reduction below 32 units is not financially feasible. He noted that the target audience would be seniors or empty nesters interested in townhomes without stairs, and does not believe in increasing the unit price above $115,000 or reducing the number of units. She asked if the units could become more upscale to reflect an increased selling price. He feels the audience has more interest in storage space than an upscale unit. Larson calculated that reducing the number of units to 29 and increasing per unit cost to $120,000, represents a $3.6 million project equaling the original 32 unit proposal. Williams asked if Cadwallader was willing to continue consideration to allow for further discussions. Cadwallader agreed to a continuation, but requested more direction from Council regarding density. Williams added that it is usual for the Planning Commission to review issues such as density. City Manager Matthew Fulton was under the impression that they did not redesign the site plan. Cadwallader had redesigned the site plan to provide for a 75 ft. tract of land along the road. Mattila added that this revised site plan was never presented to staff and was brought forth without prior staff review to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission felt this revision was not an option. Williams feels that if Cadwallader is willing to work with staff, he would support a continuation. Cadwallader is comfortable with continuation, but has concerns in reducing the number of units to 22. Fulton said that concluding what the appropriate number of units should be without knowing the overall layout of the parcel is difficult. It is best to refer this to staff and Cadwallader for further consideration. Council Business Rezoning Request Cadwallader - R- 141/LP-315 Report 97-070