Foxwood Preliminary Sub and Rezone Submittal NarrativePreliminary Subdivision and Rezoning Submittal May 6, 2016
Foxwood – Chanhassen, MN Page 1 of 10
PRELIMINARY SUBDIVISION AND REZONING
SUBMITTAL NARRATIVE
FOXWOOD CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA May 6, 2016
SITE INFORMATION Legal Description: The East Half of the East Half of the South Half of the Southeast Quarter,
and the Southeast Quarter of the Northeast Quarter of the Southeast
Quarter, all in Section 23, Township 116, Range 23, Carver County,
Minnesota.
And also that part of the North Half of the Southwest Quarter of Section 24,
Township 116, Range 23, Carver County, Minnesota, lying southerly of the
north 730.00 feet as measured along westerly line thereof and lying
westerly of the centerline of State Highway No. 101, the centerline of which is described as follows: Beginning at a point on the North line of the
Southwest Quarter of Section 24, Township 116, Range 23, a distance of
632.52 feet east of the Northwest corner of said Southwest Quarter; the
bearing of the North line of the Southwest Quarter is assumed to be South
88 degrees 46 minutes 29 seconds East, thence South 4 degrees 24 minutes 47 seconds West a distance of 413.72 feet thence on a tangential curve,
concave to the east having a central angle of 11 degrees 38 minutes 21
seconds and a radius of 1962.29 feet a distance of 398.62 feet, thence South
7 degrees 13 minutes 34 seconds East tangent to the last described curve, a
distance of 217.65 feet thence on a tangential curve, concave to the west having a central angle of 14 degrees 29 minutes 17 seconds and a radius of
1166.15 feet a distance of 294.88 feet, more or less, to a point on the South
line of the North Half of the Southwest Quarter of Section 24 and there
terminating said point distance 660.44 feet easterly of the Southwest corner
of the North Half of the Southwest Quarter.
Except that part taken by the State of Minnesota in Final Certificate filed
August 27, 2009, as Document No. A506726.
Except that part taken by the City of Chanhassen in Final Certificate filed May 31, 2013, as Document No. A577806.
Abstract Property.
Address: 9150 and 9250 Great Plains Boulevard, Chanhassen, MN PID: 250232100 and 250240810
Preliminary Subdivision and Rezoning Submittal May 6, 2016
Foxwood – Chanhassen, MN Page 2 of 10
PRELIMINARY SUBDIVISION AND REZONING REQUEST The proposed development plan consists of a low density single family residential subdivision
with 46 single family homes lots including 45 new homes and 1 existing home to remain. The
proposed development will require rezoning the property from A2 - Agricultural Estate District to
RLM – Residential Low and Medium Density District. The proposed rezoning of the property from A2 to RLM will provide a per acre unit density consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan land use plan for the property.
EXISTING SITE
Description
The development site currently includes two properties located along TH 101 / Great Plains
Boulevard totaling 43.55 acres in size. The larger (38.62 ac) westerly parcel (9150 Great Plains
Blvd) has historically been home to the Wilson Nursery and residence. The easterly (4.93 ac)
parcel (9250 Great Plains Blvd) includes the Paulson residence and driveway. Right of way access to Great Plains Blvd for both properties and the 9350 Great Plains Blvd. property has
recently been combined to have a singular connection to Great Plains Boulevard across from the
Bandimore Park entrance. The combined driveway access for 9250 and 9350 Great Plains Blvd
results in very lengthy driveways for those two properties.
Surrounding Uses
The site is bound by City owned land to the west (future Fox Woods Park), TH 212 right of way in
the northwest corner, TH 101 / Great Plains Boulevard and existing residential land to the east,
undeveloped land to the north, and rural undeveloped land to the south. The existing Great Plains
Boulevard frontage provides the only connectable public right of way access for the development as well as access to public watermain and a route for sanitary sewer.
Natural Features
The site has rolling terrain sloping generally to the north or to the south with the split in the central
higher ground separating lower large wetland complexes to the north and south. The existing Paulson residence sits within the central higher area. The highpoint of the property is 932 in the
center of the Wilson property and the lowest points of 890 in the north wetland and 880 in the
southeast wetland. The site does include some areas of the steeper slopes and so a slope analysis
was performed to determine if any slopes qualify as bluff per City Ordinance. The analysis did
not discover any slopes that met the required criteria to be classified as bluff.
Kjolhaug Environmental Services has identified several wetlands that are onsite or abutting. Five
wetlands (1, 2, 3, 4, 4a) have been defined within the Wilson property. A delineation has recently
been performed on the Paulson property but it has yet to be reviewed, confirmed, and finalized.
At this time four potential wetlands (1p, 2p, 3p, and 4p) have been tentatively identified on the Paulson property. The City currently has classifications established for wetlands 1, 3, 4, 1p, and
4p. A MnRAM analysis is being performed with the Paulson delineation to determine
classifications on the wetlands not currently classified by the City.
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Foxwood – Chanhassen, MN Page 3 of 10
The site has variable tree coverage with the northern portion of the Wilson property with little tree coverage as a result of the existing nursery operations. The majority of the site tree coverage is in the southern half and far west portion of the site. Approximately 58% of the existing non-wetland
site area is covered with tree canopy. The site is dominated by deciduous species with significant
amounts of Box Elder, Elm, and Basswood. There is good amount of Oak trees located in the
southern sloped area. Large portions of the significant trees are located within proposed wetland buffer areas, Bluff Creek Overlay district, and along the development perimeter allowing for opportunity for preservation of many trees.
LAND USE
The 2030 guiding land use for the property is Residential Low Density with an allowable density of 1.2 – 4 Units/Acre. The surrounding guiding land uses of properties adjacent to the
development are; Park (future Fox Woods) and TH 212 right of way to the west and Residential
Low Density to north, east, and south. Additional Park (Bandimore) is located to the east of the
site along Great Plains Boulevard. The guiding land use density is consistent with the proposed subdivision request as it allows for a range of 35 - 118 residential units on the property. The proposed subdivision will be on the low end of the allowable density for the property as a result of
natural feature preservation and significant public land dedication.
Land Use Density Calculation:
Gross Acreage 43.549 acres
Wetland Area 13.929 acres
TH 101 R/W Dedication 0.028 acres
Approximate Net Acreage 29.592 acres Gross Density (46 lots) 1.06 units per acre
Net Density (46 lots) 1.55 units per acre
REZONING REQUEST
The proposed application makes request for rezoning from Agricultural Estate District (A2) to
Residential Low and Medium Density District (RLM). The proposed rezoning is justified
considering the 7.07 acres (16.2% of entire site) of upland being dedicated to the public. The
proposed development site will actually provide a total of 25.54 acres (58.6% of site) of public
land when considering the public outlots and right of way dedication. The existing zoning for the properties to the north, west, south, and east are A2 with a Planned Unit Development/Residential
District (PUDR) development to the northeast. All adjacent zonings are compatible with the
proposed RLM rezone request to for the site. The request to rezone to RLM instead of Single
Family Residential District (RSF) is necessary to provide a development that meets the City’s
density goals and also meet the City’s goals for natural resource preservation. The development plan does not propose lots as small as the RLM minimum lot area or widths. The RLM
designation will allow for 5 lots to be narrower than 90’ wide at the designated front setback and
for 24 lots to be less than 15,000 sf in size. The smaller lot allowance is generally needed as a
result of placing most of the wetland buffers within public outlot. The RLM minimum front
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setback of 25’ and minimum garage side yard setback of 5’ allows for homes to be moved up in the lot allowing for more tree preservation and public land dedication.
A summary of required and proposed lot standards criteria for RLM zoning is as follows:
Required Proposed
Lot Area - Minimum 9,000 SF 11,200 SF Average Lot Area N/A 16,929 SF (0.39 ac) Inc. Lot 5,Blk 5
14,631 SF (0.42 ac) Exc. Lot 5,Blk 5 Lot Width – Minimum 50’ 81’ (1 lot) most lots are 90’ see site plan tab.* Lot Depth – Minimum 110’ 117.6’
Setbacks:
Front 25’ 25’
Rear – Principal 25’ 25’ Side – Garage 5’ 5’ Side – Principal 10’ 10’
Min. Lot Building Separation 15’ 15’ Principal Structure to TH 101’ - 50’
Maximum Impervious Lot Coverage 35% 35% Maximum Principal Structure Height 35’ 35’
Minimum Right-of-Way Width 60’ 60’ * Lot width is measured at the front setback.
Rezoning Request Justification
1. Consistency with the City of Chanhassen Comprehensive Plan
The 2030 land use for the site is Low Density Residential (1.2-4 UPA) which is consistent with the proposed request. Based on the net buildable area, the current land use allows a net lot/unit range of 35-118 for the property. The proposed plan density of 46 lots is on the low end of the allowed density
range and therefore the rezoning need is not unit count driven.
2. Consistency with Purpose and Intent of Ordinance
The City’s Zoning Ordinance objective:
Sec. 20-641. - Intent. The intent of the "RLM" District is to provide for single-family attached or detached residential development
on land guided residential—low or medium density in the city's comprehensive plan with a maximum net density of eight units per acre. The "RLM" District is intended to be used where large areas of upland will be
preserved or created as permanent open space to balance the higher hard surface coverage permitted on individual lots.
The proposed subdivision is consistent with the objectives set forth in the City’s zoning code as 7.07
acres or 16.2% of the development site’s upland area is being placed in outlot for permanent preservation as open space.
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3. Availability of Infrastructure to Serve the Development
The site has access to public right of way and watermain by means of Great Plains Boulevard.
Sanitary sewer is available within Lyman Blvd north of the site.
4. Adequate Buffer or Transition Between Incompatible Districts
The existing adjacent zoning districts are compatible with the rezoning request.
Bluff Creek Overlay District
The Bluff Creek Overlay District covers a portion of the site’s northern wetland. The City has
identified the BCO district limits within the Comprehensive Plan, however, the City’s Water
Resource Department has provided an updated BCO delineation that more closely follows the
wetland edge and desired protection areas. The development plan does not propose any
development within the BCO district limits and creates outlots for public dedication including the BCO area within the plat limits.
PROPOSED PRELMINARY SUBDIVISION PLAN
The applicant’s intent is to create a 46 lot single family residential development that is enhanced by the proximity to the public parklands, preservation of natural features and open space, and
wetland vistas to the north and south. The development plan is consistent with other single family
developments within the City of Chanhassen and is considerate of market demands. The project
will include a mix of custom homebuilders to provide a variety of home styles.
The following is a brief summary of primary project elements and benefits currently proposed:
Primary Site Features
• 45 new single family homes and inclusion of the existing Paulson home to remain
• Preservation of onsite wetlands and wetland buffers.
• Outlots provided over most of the wetland area and Bluff Creek Overlay District area.
• Outlots to be provided to the City after final platting.
• Wetland buffer creation in accordance with City and Watershed requirements. 99% of
proposed wetland buffers within the Wilson property will be placed in public outlots and
100% all will be within outlot or public drainage easement. The buffer proposed within the proposed Lot 5, Block 5 (ex. Paulson residence), will be in drainage easement
• Public dedication of 20.86 acres of outlots including 7.07 acres of upland area. Private
Drive outlot B is exclude from total.
• Dedication of additional Great Plains Boulevard right of way from the 9250 Great Plains Boulevard property.
• Public right of way connection to the future Fox Woods Park west of the site.
• Removal of the direct driveway access to TH 101 from the 9250 and 9350 Great Plains Boulevard properties. The Private driveway connection that is currently parallel and
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within a segment of Great Plains Boulevard right of way will be converted to public trail once the existing homes are reconnected to the proposed street system.
• Extension of public right of way including roadway, sanitary sewer, and watermain to the
southern property boundary.
• Installation of stormwater management facilities to provide volume control, water quality and rate control for runoff from the new roadway surfaces prior to discharging to the
existing wetlands.
• Enhanced development landscaping including buffer planting along Great Plains
Boulevard.
Public Land Dedication
Gross Acreage 43.549 acres
Outlot Area (Excludes Private Drive Outlot B) 20.855 acres (47.9% of site) Right of Way Dedication 4.680 acres (10.7%)
Total Public Land Dedication 25.535 acres (58.6%)
Upland Area of Outlots 7.068 acres (16.2%)
Site Access and Pedestrian Circulation
The development site has limited access to existing public right of way. The only available
connection is to Great Plains Boulevard in the northwest site corner where a road access has been
recently reconstructed to the Wilson Nursery property opposite the Bandimore Park entrance. The proposed development will create roadway connection (Road A) to Great Plains Blvd. in
alignment with the Bandimore Park entrance. Road A will then extend through the site to the
southern extent of the Wilson Nursery property. The Road A alignment from Great Plains Blvd
south through the site is consistent with the City’s transportation plan for the area. The
development will also include three cul-de-sacs extending off the proposed Road A. Direct driveway access is proposed off of all the proposed public roads. The development proposes to
construct a new private driveway access to the 9250 and 9350 Great Plains Boulevard properties
allowing for removal of their direct driveway connections to Great Plains Boulevard. The new 20’
wide private driveway connection will be to the internal road network via Road A and will be
within a 30’ wide outlot (“B”). The proposed internal road network will also provide public roadway access to the City’s future Fox Woods Park located to the west of the Wilson Nursery
property.
A public sidewalk system is proposed within the development in accordance to requests from the
City’s Park’s Department. A sidewalk is proposed along Road A from Great Plains Boulevard to the southern property limits. Sidewalks are proposed along the two westerly cul-de-sacs (Roads D
and E). The City has requested two public trails connections to the Fox Woods Park, a connection
is shown from both the Road D and E cul-de-sacs. The trail connections will be within proposed
outlots that will be dedicated to the City. The City has future plans to create another trail
connection in the southern vicinity of the proposed development. The trail location has not been confirmed yet and may be best situated on the property to the south where the existing topography
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is not as significant. Outlots are proposed to contain wetlands and wetland buffers on the south end of the site providing a corridor for a trail if the City so chooses. At the City request the plan includes a trail extension along the west side of the Great Plains Boulevard to northern project
limits. It should be noted the existing grades along the west side of Great Plains Boulevard along
the wetland are very steep and a retaining wall is necessary to construct a trail. There are also
several utilities in the right of way on the west side of Great Plans Blvd. adding further complication. The City may want to consider if a trail is desired in this location as there is a trail on the east side of Great Plains Boulevard.
Grading and Topography
The site has been designed to fit within the existing natural features and topography. Mass grading will be required to construct the public roadways, house pads, and stormwater
management areas. Some small retaining walls are necessary to construct the future home sites,
however, they are designed to stay within individual lots with no cross lot walls needed and thus
will be the responsibility of the future lot owners. Since the retaining walls are contained within individual lots they will be built as needed with the home construction. The mass grading activities do require removal of several onsite trees, however, there are significant tree savings
within proposed outlot areas and along the site’s perimeter. The grading plan proposed little to no
grading within proposed wetland buffers and existing steeper slope areas. Per City requirement
all proposed graded slopes will not exceed 3 horizontal to 1 vertical. Sanitary Sewer and Watermain
Public sanitary sewer is currently not abutting the project’s boundary. The City has future plans to
extend public trunk sewer from the south to service the property. The timeline of when the sewer will be available via the south is undetermined at this time. There is existing gravity sewer
available in Lyman Boulevard north of the property. The plan proposes to construct a lift station
in the southern limits of the project that will discharge to the north to the Lyman gravity sewer.
The lift station will be considered temporary as it would remain inplace only until the time when
the future trunk gravity sanitary sewer is extended from the south. The lift station is proposed in the southern extent of the project and situated so that the future trunk can easily connect to the
proposed gravity sewer of the development plan. The lift station will discharge northerly via a 4”
forcemain within proposed right of way within the site and along the right of way of Great Plains
and Lyman Boulevards.
The site will connect to public watermain in Great Plains Boulevard. An 8” diameter trunk
watermain will be extended westerly into the development and southerly to the southern limits of
the development.
Public sanitary sewer and watermain will be extended to the northern limits of the 9250 and 9350 Great Plains Boulevard properties. It will the existing property owner’s responsibility/choice to
make connection to the public water main.
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Stormwater Management
The development is located within the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District and so is
required to provide stormwater management in accordnance with RPBCWD and City regulations.
The proposed development’s stormwater management plan does provide the required volume
control, water quality, and peak rate control. The development will provide stormwater management via two infiltration basins and a detention pond. The development is also providing
permanent preservation of upland area within outlots. Runoff to infiltration areas from the
proposed roadways will be captured and pretreated in a sump manholes and forebays prior to
discharging into the basins. The infiltration abstraction proposed is equivalent to 1.1” of runoff
over the proposed impervious surface. The basins and pond will also provide the required water quality and rate control of stormwater prior to discharging to the downstream wetlands.
Wetland Management
The site’s wetlands were delineated by Kjolhaug Environmental Services (KES) during 2 separate reviews. KES delineated the wetlands on the Wilson property in Fall 2015 with minor outstanding items to address and are currently conducting the delineation review of the Paulson property. The
Paulson property delineation is ongoing and yet to be reviewed, confirmed, and finalized by the
LGU’s. As noted above, the properties do contain several wetlands including five wetlands (1, 2,
3, 4, 4a) on the Wilson property and at this time four potential wetlands (1p, 2p, 3p, and 4p) have been identified on the Paulson property. The City currently has classifications established for wetlands 1, 3, 4, 1p, and 4p. A MnRAM analysis is being performed with the Paulson delineation
to determine classifications of the wetlands not currently classified by the City.
The City of Chanhassen and Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District have subtle differences in wetland classification labels and in regards to wetland buffers requirements. The following is a summary of the buffer requirements for the project.
Local Governmental Unit
City of Chanhassen Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District
Wetland
Classification
Buffer Strip
Requirement
Principal Structure
Setback to Buffer
Accessory Structure
Setback to Buffer
Wetland
Classification
Average Buffer Width
Required
Min. Buffer Width
Required
OUTSTANDING 50 50 50 N/A
PRESERVE 40 40 20 EXCEPTIONAL 80 40
MANAGE 1 25 30 15 HIGH 60 30
MANAGE 2 20 30 15 MEDIUM 40 20
MANAGE 3 16.5 30 15 LOW 20 10
The development plan assumes the most conservative buffer application as defined above by
proposing buffers in compliance with RPBCWD with the structure buffer setback in accordance
with the City rules. In general this results in a combined buffer and buffer setback that slightly exceeds the City’s standalone requirement. The following is a summary of the proposed wetland buffers:
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Wetland Area4 Class. (per City) Wetland
Perimeter
Buffer Area Minimum
Buffer Width
Average Buffer
Provided
1 367,654 SF MANAGE 1 1,555 LF 94,776 SF 30’ 60.9’
2 6,840 SF MANAGE 12 405 LF 24,317 SF 30’ 60.0’
3 3,137 SF MANAGE 2 310 LF 12,422 SF5 20’ 40.1’
4 187,925 SF MANAGE 2 969 LF 39,028 SF 30’ 40.3’
4a1 2,837 SF MANAGE 2 - - -
1p3 MANAGE 1 236 LF
26,675 SF6 16.5’ – 30’ per
Class. 60.1’ 2p3 MANAGE 12 89 LF
3p3 MANAGE 3 119 LF
4p MANAGE 2 334 LF 14,993 SF 20’ 44.9’
Total 212,211 SF
Notes:
1) A partial impact is proposed to wetland 4a to construct public roadway extension to property to the south.
The remaining wetland 4a will be encompassed within proposed wetland buffer of wetland 4. 2) Wetland classification is assumed as MnRAM determination is not complete. 3) Due to proximity of Wetlands 1p, 2p, and 3p, the buffer calculation was done compositely.
4) Wetlands for the Paulson property (1p, 2p, 3p, and 4p) have not been confirmed so are areas are not listed. 5) 1,485 SF of the wetland 3 buffer is within drainage and utility easement within proposed Lots 1, 2 of Block 4
and not within outlot. 6) 23,815 SF of the wetland 1p, 2p, 3p buffer is covered by drainage easement within proposed Lots 5 of Block 5 and not within outlot.
The development plan does require a minor impact to 1 of the 9 onsite wetlands. A small wetland
impact of 1,841 SF is proposed to wetland 4a to construct the public roadway connection to the
property south the development site. The roadway alignment option is limited to the narrow piece
of upland between wetland 3 and 4 and can avoid impacts to those wetlands, however, the partial
impact to wetland 4a is unavoidable. It is assumed the wetland mitigation will be done offsite or through purchasing wetland banking credits.
Tree Preservation
The estimated baseline tree canopy coverage for the existing site is 58% of the net area (excluding wetland areas). Per the City code, low density residential is then allowed to remove to a limit of
35% tree canopy prior to requirement of mitigation. The development plan proposes to maintain
tree canopy coverage of 27% and thus a tree replacement of 121 trees is required. A total of 124
trees are proposed to be replanted per City regulations.
A wooded slope area in the northwest corner of the development has been identified by the City to
be in the Bluff Creek Overlay District. Public outlots are proposed to include the defined Bluff
Creek Overlay District within the site for permanent open space preservation.
Landscaping
The landscape plan for the project includes boulevard trees, mitigation reforestation and buffer
yard plantings. City ordinance requires provision of 1 tree per lot and these will be installed by
the future homebuilder as homes are built. The required mitigation trees have been proposed
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within individual lots throughout the development and will also be installed by the homebuilder when the homes are constructed. Great Plains Boulevard is defined as a collector road and requires buffer yard “B” plantings along the frontage of proposed Lot 1, Block 6. The enhanced
buffer yard landscaping includes shrub and ornamental tree plantings. Additional landscape
plantings are also proposed along the Outlot A /Great Plains Blvd frontage to create a vegetated
development buffer to Great Plains Blvd. The proposed single family yards will be vegetated with typical residential turf grass, disturbed outlot areas with native seed mix, and pond and infiltration basins with appropriate seed mixes.
TIMING/PHASING
If the City approves the preliminary subdivision and rezoning request, it is the Applicant’s desire to proceed immediately with application for final plat review in hopes for possible construction in
Summer/Fall 2016.
CONCLUSION The applicant respectfully concludes that the request for a rezoning and preliminary subdivision
approval will allow for a development consistent with City Goals and Objectives for this area.
The proposed development will create a single family subdivision that; meets density goals of the
area, is consistent with the adjacent land uses, provides preservation of permanent open space, and extends public utilities and right of way.