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25-03 Staff Report CC Application: Comprehensive Plan Amendment (Planning Case #2025-03) Staff Report Date: March 19, 2025 Drafted By: Rachel Arsenault, Associate Planner Planning Commission Review Date: March 4, 2025 City Council Review Date: March 24, 2025 SUMMARY OF REQUEST: The Applicant is requesting a comprehensive plan amendment to facilitate future rezoning and subdivision. LOCATION: 6651 Galpin Boulevard, Excelsior MN 55331 PID: 254070020 APPLICANT/OWNER: Steve Buresh & Wendy Lam Buresh PRESENT ZONING: Rural Residential, RR 2040 LAND USE PLAN: Residential Large Lot ACREAGE: 2.50 acres CURRENT DENSITY: 1.11 net units/acre PROPOSED MOTION: “Motion to approve the Comprehensive Plan Amendment for 6651 Galpin Blvd (Planning Case #25-03).” Page 2 of 6 LEVEL OF CITY DISCRETION IN DECISION-MAKING: The city has a relatively high level of discretion in approving Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map Amendments because the city is acting in its legislative or policy-making capacity. Notice of this public hearing has been mailed to all property owners within 500 feet. APPLICABLE REGULATIONS The city has a relatively high level of discretion in approving Comprehensive Plan amendments because the city is acting in its legislative or policy-making capacity. Amendments to the City’s Comprehensive Plan are at times required to be reviewed and commented on by adjacent adjoining jurisdictions. This adjacent review can be waived if the proposed amendment involves less than 40 acres, does not change a communities growth forecasts or Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) allocations; and is either more than ¼ mile from an adjacent jurisdiction or beyond the distance the communities adopted ordinances require notice to adjacent or affected property owners, whichever distance is less. Staff has conferred with the City’s sector representative to the Metropolitan Council and the city has received a waiver of jurisdictional notice due to meeting the requirements as established by the Metropolitan Council. PROPOSAL/SUMMARY The Applicant is requesting a land use map amendment from Residential – Large Lot to Residential – Low Density. BACKGROUND This property is located in the Lake Lucy Highlands development which was platted in 1986. This large-lot subdivision is a part of many similar developments that occurred right before the implementation of the current one unit per ten-acre limit came into effect. In the 2020 Comprehensive Plan update and subsequent comprehensive plan updates, the subject property and adjacent properties east of Galpin Blvd have been and continue to be assigned as Residential Large Lot. Properties on all four sides of the Lake Lucy Highlands plat are guided Residential Low Density. EXISTING CONDITIONS On the east end of the property there is a wetland that flows through the natural vegetation areas within Lake Lucy Highlands. This wetland has not been delineated but is included in the National Wetland Inventory (NWI) map by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Further delineation will be required if the property owner applies for the subdivision of the lot. Based on current staff estimation 0.78 acres are considered undevelopable due to the wetland, wetland buffer, and the required setbacks. Page 3 of 6 This property is heavily wooded, approximately 1.6 acres of the 2.5 total acres is forest that interconnects with surrounding properties to form a natural passageway to Lake Lucy and the Lake Ann Park Preserve. The wooded area of this property provides a protective natural buffer for the wetland. The city believes this is an integral chain of natural resources therefore requires its protection from development through the city code section 18-61(d). These existing conditions result in approximately 1.6 acres of the 2.5 total acres being undevelopable. If the applicant decides to pursue a subdivision to create an additional lot, the net density based on developable land will be approximately 2.22 dwelling units an acre, this is within the requirements of the Residential Low-Density future land use which is 1.2-4 units per acre. ANALYSIS The catalyst for the land use map amendment is the addition of sewer and water service access. Section 2.13.2 of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan discusses the possible extension of urban services to properties serviced by on-site sewage disposal systems. In these instances, it is the city’s policy to review land use and zoning changes on an area-wide basis. The existing zoning of the property, Rural Residential District, RR, is consistent with the current land use designation of the property, Residential - Large Lot. Should the city approve the land use amendment to Residential – Low Density, the comprehensive plan allows less intensive land uses to remain in place. However, any approval by the city for subsequent development of the property must be consistent with the comprehensive plan and would need to meet the regulations in the city’s zoning and subdivision ordinance. The proposed land use map amendment would permit the further subdivision of the property into two lots. The property owners would like to sell their current house and build a retirement- friendly home on the new lot they would create on the south half of the property. MUNICIPAL SERVICES – SANITARY SEWER & WATER The home on this property is currently serviced by well and septic, but the property has two sanitary sewer and water stubs for the connection of the current home and a new home on the South end of the property. These service stubs were added during the reconstruction of Galpin Boulevard in the summer of 2024. The watermain predates the Galpin road project, however it is located on the west side of the road and service lines didn’t span across the road for the properties to access, with the reconstruction these extensions were added. The City of Chanhassen engineering department evaluated with the planning department ahead of this reconstruction the potential possibility of additional homes along this span of Galpin Boulevard. The planning department and engineering department concluded that it was a possibility and therefore the stubs were added to the scope of the project. The following properties currently have two sets of utility stubs: 6621 Galpin Blvd, 6651 Galpin Blvd, 6681 Galpin Blvd, and 6691 Galpin Blvd. Page 4 of 6 This additional scope to the road project ensures the newly constructed Galpin Boulevard will not be torn through in the future for additional stubs, thus maintaining the longevity of the road, free of issue road patches pose. SURROUNDING LAND USE AND ZONING DESIGNATION This grouping of properties with the land use designation of residential - large lot are all within the Lake Lucy Highlands plat. This plat consists of 19 lots and one outlot with the land use designation of parks – open space. Outside of the Lake Lucy Highlands plat the surrounding properties are residential – low density land use with some interspersed parks – open space land use. LAND USE ZONING CONSISTENCY The following zoning districts are consistent with Residential – Large Lot land use:  Agricultural Estate District, A-2; and  Rural Residential District, RR. The following zoning districts are consistent with Residential - Low Density land use:  Single-Family Residential District, RSF;  Mixed Low Density Residential District, R-4;  Residential Low and Medium Density Residential District, RLM; and  Planned Unit Development – Residential, PUD-R. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN GOALS AND POLICIES The proposed amendment from Residential – Large Lot to Residential – Low density assists in the furtherance of the following land use goals and policies of the City of Chanhassen Comprehensive Plan: Development will be encouraged within the MUSA line.  The plan should seek to establish sufficient land to provide a full range of housing opportunities.  Development should be phased in accordance with the ability of the city to provide services.  Support low-density residential development in appropriate areas of the community in such a manner as to maintain the aesthetics of existing single-family areas, and to create new neighborhoods of similar character and quality.  Designate sufficient land to provide for a wide spectrum of housing. The proposed amendment assists in the furtherance of the following housing goals and policies of the City of Chanhassen Comprehensive Plan:  A balanced housing supply with housing available for people of all income levels.  A variety of housing types for people in all stages of the life-cycle. Page 5 of 6 Page 6 of 6 RECOMMENDATION Planning Commission recommends approval of the land use map amendment from Residential – Large Lot to Residential – Low Density for PID 25-4070020, generally located at 6651 Galpin Boulevard. APPLICATION REVIEW STAFF COMMENTS None at this time.