Minnetrista prepares for housing growth
By Brett Stursa, Lakeshore Weekly News
April 9, 2010 - How does a city prepare for one development that would increase its housing stock by 50 percent?
Minnetrista is learning, after a plan by Carlson Real Estate proposed to build 1,071 homes on largely undeveloped land off of Halsted Bay, near Highway 7 and Kings Point Road.
With about 6,200 people currently calling Minnetrista home, the city has 2,200 dwellings now.
The proposed development, called Woodland Cove, would bring hundreds of single family, rowhouse and twin homes to the city.
"By far this is the largest development proposed in Minnetrista," said Senior City Planner Breanne Rothstein.
Previously, the largest development in the city was Hunter Crest, which was approved in 2000 with 480 homes.
About a year ago, after the Met Council nixed a council-approved plan for the land and after the council nixed a higher density plan, Rothstein said she started thinking about how the city could prepared for a successful development.
Council members, she said, realized that something was going to be built on the site, which includes about 490 acres, and they wanted to be more proactive about what would eventually get built.
"We've done things way different," said Rothstein. "That's one of the greatest things about this."
Rothstein first asked the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a grant that allowed her to look at ways to incorporate conservation principles into the city's ordinance.
"It then morphed into using a collaborative track process to achieve better outcomes than what otherwise could be achieved through the typical development approach," said Rothstein.
The city received two grants from the DNR for a total of $18,000.
With the help of Schoenbauer Consulting, the City Council and city staff worked on a process that called for more collaboration.
Instead of the city simply reacting to a proposal, the council developed a vision it had for the site.
It hoped to preserve the maple and basswood forest on the site and envisioned a buffer near Highway 7 to avoid seeing a sea of homes from the well-traveled road.
Out of the visioning discussion a three-page document was created that laid out the council's priorities on the land.
In June of last year, the City Council, Planning Commission and Parks Commission met in a joint meeting to talk about what the city wanted for the land.
"That really is different," said Rothstein.
From the beginning of those conversations, the developer sat in to hear the city's preferences.
The process included more interaction with the developer before the formal submittal of the application.
Rothstein said that the work nine months ago can be seen in the plans submitted in March.
"The most on-the-ground benefit is that they are showing 140 acres of open space," said Rothstein. "And there is a very substantial greenway."
The concept plan looks to preserve more than 25 percent of the land as open space, which is about 140 acres.
Of that, nearly 26 acres are wooded, including the maple and basswood trees. The plan shows that about 56 percent of the trees in the maple and basswood forest would be cut down.
The concept plan calls for about 73 acres to be dedicated to parks, trails and open space. The plan calls for a park on the south side of the site.
The park "provides a meaningful connection between Lake Minnetonka Regional Park and Carver Park Reserve and also creates pleasant sight-lines along Highway 7," according to the plan narrative.
Plans call for two more parks, which would bring the total amount of public park land in the development to 32 acres.
"Planning the entire site at one time as a planned unit development has been benefical as it facilitated a dual focus on not only the required density of 1,071 housing units, but also the preservation of significant environmental features on the site," stated the plan narrative.
As proposed the development would preserve nearly 97 percent of the existing wetlands.
"Anticipated wetland impacts are primarily for public streets that out of necessity cross or are adjacent to wetland areas," stated the plan narrative.
The city also started discussions with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and Three River Park District significantly earlier in the process than usual.
About nine months ago, the city started the conversations with the two public agencies about the development.
Out of those discussion, the idea came to add a regional trail through the development and the city worked with the watershed district about things they can do better.
A long road ahead
The proposal still has a long road ahead of it before getting approved.
The concept plan is winding its way through the city's Park Commission and Planning Commission before it will be discussed at a City Council meeting.
The concept plan approval, if granted, won't bind the city or the developer to anything specific. The discussions will be an indication if the developer is headed in the right direction.
Then the plan will go through preliminary plat approval and eventually final plat approval.
If the concept plan receives the council's support, the developer will have 180 days to submit a preliminary plat for approval.
During the preliminary plat approval process, the City Council will take a more detailed look at the proposal.
The concept plan already received a positive reaction from the Park Commission on April 13.
It's expected to head to the Planning Commission on April 26.
Rothstein said she expects the concept plan to be in front of the City Council in May.
If approved, the city expects it will take 10-12 years for the entire development to be constructed.
Copyright 2010 Lakeshore Weekly News
All Rights Reserved.
Carlson Real Estate Company is an affiliate of Carlson, a global group of integrated companies providing hotel, marketing, restaurant and travel services directly to consumers, corporations and government entities. Carlson Real Estate Company is dedicated to developing long-term client relationships by operating with caring and integrity and providing innovative and accommodating solutions. Its portfolio of office and flex/industrial space concentrated in Minnesota, Arizona, and North Carolina exceeds 6 million combined square feet. For more information about Carlson Real Estate Company, visit www.carlsonrealestate.biz.
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