CC MinutesChanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
with Rosemount, Inc., a Subsidiary of Emerson Electric Company; and authorizes the
application for funds available through the Minnesota Department of Employment and
Economic Development, Minnesota Investment Fund and Job Creation Fund programs.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. Harstad, best of luck to you. We look forward to seeing your
continued partnership with the City of Chanhassen. And by the way you do a good job of
supporting our activities here in Chanhassen as well and it’s good to see your name. Emerson or
Rosemount, either one so.
Brian Harstad: Thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you very much. Thank you Ms. Petersen. Is that resolution
available for me to sign or will I do that tomorrow?
Chelsea Petersen: We’ll have that for you tomorrow.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay, thank you.
WEST PARK:
A. APPROVE REZONING FROM RSF AND PUD TO PUD-RESIDENTIAL,
PRELIMINARY PLAT, SITE PLAN, AND A VARIANCE FOR AN 82 UNIT
TOWNHOME DEVELOPMENT AND APPROVE SUMMARY ORDINANCE.
B. PUBLIC HEARING: VACATION OF PUBLIC DRAINAGE AND UTILITY
EASEMENT.
Mayor Laufenburger: Staff report please. Is this your’s Ms. Aanenson? Alright thank you.
Before you begin that, there’s some people standing. You’re certainly welcome to come in.
There’s some chairs over here if you’d like to come in and, I give you permission to walk in
front of others while you’re doing that. Thank you very much. Ms. Aanenson.
Kate Aanenson: Thank you. Thank you Mayor, members of the City Council. This request is
th
West Park. It went before the Planning Commission on June 20 and the applicant is Pulte
Homes. Paul Heuer is here with his engineer and then owner Brian Klingelhutz and, I did see
Brian in the back of the room so. The request is actually a number of, to make this project
happen there’s a number of requests involved. A rezoning and a PUD ordinance. Site plan
review. A subdivision. A variance setback and vacation of drainage and utility easements. So
when this item went to the Planning Commission and the public hearing was held some of the
members of the public raised concerns regarding the setback of the PUD and then also the
amount of density. So the staff is kind of going to go back and tell a little bit more of the story of
how we got to this project in and of itself. I know the applicant did have a neighborhood
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
meeting and maybe not all the questions were answered but we’ll spend a little bit more time
reviewing how we got to this project today. So again the subject site is on, off of Great Plains
Boulevard, Waters Edge and just south of the Lake Susan Drive extension. So in looking at this
property back in 2008 when all this area was in flux, let me just, so a little bit more about the
conditions excuse me. The barn is on the property. The Klingelhutz family farm and then we
also have the Gateway apartment building there. So this goes back to when we in 2008 when all
this property was in flux and looking at the land use in the area, there was concern about the
rapid change with 212 coming through. People on Lake Susan Drive concerned about traffic
potentially going down their street. What would happen with the Kwik Trip and the park and
ride, how would that impact the area so we worked with a consultant and we went through all the
specific properties and identified some land uses. In looking at the property one of the issues
that was raised by the Klingelhutz family was the concern regarding this medium density. As
you recall we recently approved that for the Mission Hills Assisted Living Senior Housing
project. When we looked at this entire area one of the recommendations was the underlying
family, the Klingelhutz family wanted to keep that commercial. They really felt strongly about
that but when 212 came through the actual commercial moved south where the Kwik Trip is
today. So they were reluctant to have that. One of the discussions we had was talking about
some potential higher density there so we were pleased that we found a good transition between
the Mission Hills and the senior housing. But that left this other piece that the Klingelhutz
family owned that had 3 different zoning on it. So over the years with that land use mix we met
with a lot of different developers and that’s the story we probably didn’t clearly state at the
Planning Commission and some of the projects, while they met the intent we felt didn’t meet,
based on those meetings we had in 2008 what we heard from the neighborhood. So if you look
at this project there’s a lot of driveways along the perimeter and coming out on Waters Edge so
those were twin homes but they also had a lot of driveways so we looked at also had 93 units so
we felt like this did not meet the goal. While it spread the density out it also created a lot more
traffic patterns along Waters Edge Drive. So this property again is butted between a state
highway 101 and then the Waters Edge Drive which is a dead end cul-de-sac. One of the other
projects we looked at again the family looking at trying to stay with the senior housing. Maybe
the same developer moving across the street or other people also interested in senior housing so
we had a proposal for a senior housing unit at that time trying to save the barn and using that for
a recreation facility and there was a lot of talk with the City. Whether or not the City wanted it.
The parks and rec department that didn’t want to use it as that. We were concerned about if the,
who would operate it. The senior coop, would they be the operator. How would it run? How
would it fit into the neighborhood and so the staff felt again that this didn’t meet it again with the
additional 70 parking stalls. So our goal again going back to looking at what we believe was the
intent of the neighborhood meetings that we had back so one of the goals when we started
working with Pulte on this project was looking at how this project fit into the surrounding
neighborhood. This is in the shoreland district so there is height and open space requirements
when you do a PUD in the shoreland district so that was some of the impediments as you recall.
It also affected the senior housing project across the street where we had to meet the height
requirements there so it was a really challenging piece and I know the Klingelhutz family have
worked on this for a number of years to try to get the right project to land on this site. So
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
working with Pulte Homes and what we felt a project that met the goals. Not putting all the
density on the higher end. Averaging that density out to less than the medium density height or
density requirements. We felt that this met what we heard from the neighborhood at the time so
all the driveways or the garages are internal so there’s no driveways going out except for the
access points. You have a homeowners association. It’s overall balanced. Again the density’s
not pushed into one area and then also they picked up the southern piece so it’s all a nice PUD.
All included instead of leaving a remnant piece to come back later so in the staff’s opinion we
thought this was the best proposal we had seen over the last few years and that is why we worked
hard. Sharmeen Al-Jaff on our staff worked hard with Pulte Homes to get a good project and
pushed them on their architecture and the like and we’re pleased with the way the project has
turned out. So again the access coming off of Great Plains Boulevard or 101 would be off of
Lake Susan Drive. Two points coming in and we worked with the Gateway Apartments to use
that existing access to come in so it’s a nice T intersection there for great visibility and then just
one access point then off of the Waters Edge Drive, again limiting the traffic there on that road.
Especially with garage and a lot of people backing out so it gives you that controlled intersection
so we thought was a good response to the concerns that we had. There was guest parking. Is
guest parking provided in the site? Some of the concerns that the Planning Commission had.
Was there enough guest parking and how would that be accommodated? Again the driveways
are deep enough that we believe with the guest parking out there that it should be sufficient. The
other thing as I mentioned working with the architectural standards, because this is a PUD we’re
setting up PUD standards and those are a part of what you’ll be approving tonight in the PUD
ordinance itself. As a part of that there’s colors, materials. I have material boards here but this
drawing illustratively shows the materials being presented. In addition there is, there’ll be
windows in the garages. Again we think that’s another nice element of making it aesthetically
pleasing. This is a view from the back. This would be on Waters Edge Drive looking in so this
would be the street coming in. So the PUD itself, we had put the buffer in there. When you’re
against low density to low density, or medium to low density we believed and working with
Pulte and the products that they had seen as the, they introduced this product into Plymouth.
People want the additional sun room, that we felt that the variance into that setback. Again a
PUD is you can set that setback as you want it but the way our ordinance is written it would
require the variance and we support it based on the way the product lays out. The fact that they
have the internal street connections and all the garages on that inside so this would be the most
aesthetic side of the building for the neighbors to look at. Again heavily landscaped. Again one
of the positives things that we liked about this project is combining all the parcels together. Is
that there’ll be a nice HOA. They put a nice amenity package in there which is under the PUD
ordinance. Not every ordinance requires this but the public gathering space for the association
itself so that’s shown here in the fire pits. The decorative street lighting and the landscaping
itself. Again trying to match the entrance that we’ve got on the other corners of the 101 and 212.
So one of your actions then tonight is approving the preliminary plat and the number of lots. The
private streets and the parking. That’s all part of that. There’s also a vacation with this project
so the lot itself, there’s 9.8 acres. 82 lots and 8 outlots. The 82 lots will be townhouses. Outlots
A and D are private streets and B, C, E and F are also open space or finding that space for the
stormwater. One of the questions that came up at the neighborhood meeting was regarding the
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
parks so in this situation because they’re within the Park and Rec Director reviewing this with
the park commission said that in the circumstance they didn’t want additional park property.
That they would take the park and trail fees and no additional trails or parks because they’re
within that 1 mile radius. I think there was some concerns from the neighbors raised that maybe
the park, existing parks were crowded but we’re going by what the recommendation from the
park commission and the park director. So the easement vacation. We’ve included both the
motions in this but the easement vacation, this does require a public hearing so.
Mayor Laufenburger: Ms. Aanenson let me just stop you there.
Kate Aanenson: Yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: Just from a procedural standpoint we’ll deal with the vacation in a
separate motion because that requires a public hearing. Are you okay with that?
Kate Aanenson: Yes I’ve got them all in one motion. I guess we’ve done this before where we
would just open the public hearing for that specific item to talk about the vacation.
Mayor Laufenburger: You’re okay with that?
Kate Aanenson: Yeah that’s how we’ve got that, if that’s alright with you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Oh okay. Okay.
Kate Aanenson: We’ve got it in one motion.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. We can do that. Yeah we can do that.
Kate Aanenson: The reason being is you’d have to, in order to approve the plat you’d have to do
the vacation first so I think it’s for us I guess to explain to you it’s kind of putting it all together.
I’ll break it out separately where the public hearing would be.
Mayor Laufenburger: Alright let me just check something.
Kate Aanenson: Yep.
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. Knutson is it acceptable for us to have all 5 elements of the motion in
a single motion following the public hearing for the vacation of utilities?
Roger Knutson: Yes it is Mayor.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you. That’s all I needed. Alright Ms. Aanenson, continue.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Kate Aanenson: Thank you. So there are easements there. As you recall when 212 got built and
101 there’s additional easements there. Right now for the vacation of the old 101 which kind of
runs behind, you can see back here. That takes a number of years to get vacated so what we’re
nd
vacating right now is some existing easements and West Park 2 Addition and then they’ll
dedicate new easements so the easement, the public hearing then is for the vacation of the
easements. There’s no public hearings required for the rest of it. Those public hearings were
held at the Planning Commission regarding the variance and the like so that’s the vacation and
then there’ll be platting new easements. So again this is how it would look with the new
easements. We talked about that for the streets. The open space. The stormwater and the like.
There’ll be private streets internally. So with that the two drainage easements are at the end but
at this point mayor I would suggest that you would open then the public hearing to talk about, if
anybody has comments on the drainage easements.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. Before we do that are there any questions from the council to the
staff regarding the vacation of the utilities? Okay, then at this time I would like to open the
public hearing specifically on the item, could you raise that up? Go to your second page. The
motion.
Kate Aanenson: Oh sure. This right here. It’s these two correct.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay so it’s the bottom two.
Kate Aanenson: That’s correct.
Mayor Laufenburger: Right so at this time I’d like to open a public hearing specifically on the
vacation of public utility easements in the developer known as West Park. If there’s anybody
present in the council chambers that would like to speak regarding that, now would be a good
time to address the council. Alright there being none I will close the public hearing on the
vacation of the utilities. Okay. Now let’s bring this back to council. Council do you have any
questions on the project as presented by Ms. Aanenson? Councilmember Ryan.
Councilwoman Ryan: Yes please Mayor. Just a couple clarifications just because it went, you
went quickly and I know it was a lengthier conversation at the Planning Commission but in terms
of the setback, the variance is 25 feet. Normally it should be 50 feet? And can you just explain
is it that there, is it the sunroom addition? Is it the orientation of the townhomes? What is the
need?
Kate Aanenson: Sure and maybe I can let the applicant from Pulte Homes go through that in a
little bit more detail if that’s okay.
Councilwoman Ryan: Absolutely.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Mayor Laufenburger: Actually that might be a good idea. Let’s, if you wouldn’t mind let’s hear
from the applicant and perhaps some of the questions that councilmembers have you could
address them. State your name please for the record.
Paul Heuer: Good evening. My name is Paul Heuer with Pulte Homes, 7500 Office Ridge
Circle, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344.
Mayor Laufenburger: We have office space available in Chanhassen too Mr. Heuer.
Paul Heuer: We just leased a new spot, sorry about that.
Mayor Laufenburger: Nice to have you here Paul. Tell us a little bit about your project.
Paul Heuer: Thank you. Pulte Homes is a fairly large builder. We build about 500 homes a
year. We’re really well known for our floorplans. We actually build entire homes and rooms in
warehouses across the country and we pay people to go through them and get their comments so
through that process over a couple decades we’ve gotten to have really good floorplans with
innovations that we hear people like. In our vision for this particular new neighborhood is to
have something near your local conveniences. In this case it would be the retail across the
freeway. The transit station. The park just to the southwest of the site. Good trail system that’s
very beautiful and also of course great school districts so what our vision was is to have
something that would be medium density. That would be very fitting for up against 212, 101 and
an apartment complex yet still have a sense of place and that was behind our efforts of creating a
fire pit. A gathering area. Private trails that lead to the public trails around the perimeter of the
site so that’s really our vision. There obviously are some constraints due to the shoreland district
and the density issues so I’d like to compliment both your engineering and planning staff. From
the beginning this was a very, very tricky property to figure out the best way to deal with all of
the height, impervious surface issues, density issues, and kind of thread the needle and through
the efforts of staff we feel we’ve been able to do that with this particular proposal. The question.
The question’s escaping me. Setbacks. Setbacks. There’s a long story here, I’ll try to keep it
short. Often times the origin of front setbacks is really related to the length of a driveway and
being able to have cars parked in the driveway. Sometimes there are sidewalks in which case
there’s a little bit more setback to make sure the cars fit in the driveway without blocking the
sidewalk. I know in modern day we’ve seen a lot of cities go down to 25 foot front setbacks. In
fact I think Fox Hollow recently was a 25 foot front setback so it’s pretty common and very
workable. In this particular case we did work real hard to keep this neighborhood looking good.
It’s very important to us not only to have floorplans that people really like to live in but to have a
community that looks fantastic and if you drive around the Twin Cities and look at a number of
our communities I think you’ll see that so in this particular case our goal was to show our best
side outward and to keep the activity inward. When cars are coming and going there’s a lot of
activity so for the folks who are living on Waters Edge Drive, if we had all the driveways on
Waters Edge Drive there’d be kind of a buzz of activity there all the time so our goal was to
move that activity internal which makes it also feel more like a community since it’s all
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
somewhat enclosed, but it also looks better from the outside. When you’re driving along 101 or
Lake Susan Drive you’ll see the best side of our homes. You’ll see open space. You’ll see that
we worked very hard to have the orientations of the buildings different. One of the things I hate
when I drive certain communities is I see barracks. It looks like Army barracks where you have
these row homes all lined up together. Same colors. Same architecture. So I think what you’ll
find in this particular example of a new neighborhood and product is we have different
architecture on each of the buildings. We’ll have at least 25 different color packages so they’ll
all look different and the outsides, the most visible and beautiful part of our buildings will be
displayed to the exterior and the beehive of activity really occurs internally. So 25 foot seemed
appropriate in this case. It may surprise you to know that the apartment building on Lake Susan
Drive also is 25 feet from the right-of-way and it doesn’t feel bad and that’s a tall building.
These are relatively flat, two story row homes with 25 foot setbacks similar to Fox Hollow.
Similar to the apartment complex. It really just fit.
Councilwoman Ryan: And I appreciate the explanation. Being a builder of single family homes
I’m sure you can also recognize that people that have their homes and looking out at a field is
now going to be changed to townhomes, as beautiful as they are and so the concern was okay,
are the homes going to be right on the road? Is it going to feel crunched for lack of better word if
it’s the 25 foot setback? What kind of landscaping and buffering? Are you going to pay
particular attention to that?
Paul Heuer: It’s a great point. For better or worst our company is focused on doing a lot of infill
developments. It makes our sales folks jobs easier and my job a little harder and they’re
typically more difficult for of course the residents, for us and for you folks because it’s a big
change. In this particular case we feel we’ve done the right things. Perhaps we can show the
landscaping plan Kate. I brought it. So when we undertake an infill development we anticipate
that there’s going to be some difficulties and some discomfort among the residents. There
always are so we do make an effort to increase our landscape plan. Orientate the buildings so
it’s beautiful again on the outside. In this particular case what you’re seeing is some trees
preserved along here. 7 or 8 trees as I recall and these are all trees that were proposed to be
planted along the buffer. The outside of Waters Edge Drive, similarly a lot of trees along here.
And pretty strong buffering along here too. This does a couple things. One is we know it makes
it softer for the residents to look at. More attractive. It also makes the neighborhood itself, the
new neighborhood feel more enclosed and people have an instinctual feel for security. You
know sometimes developers put gates around communities as an effort to make it feel secure.
You can also do that with landscape. In this case we have a pretty strong buffer on the outside
that makes it feel like a secure community. But also we feel this is fairly robust landscaping
plan compared to what you otherwise might see.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay, thank you. And one last question if I may Mr. Mayor. The parking
I know was, you had touched on it about overflow parking or guest parking. You’ll have it in,
enough room in the driveway. Is there other areas for, if there are more cars than just 2 or 4?
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Paul Heuer: Yeah a couple things. First of all.
Mayor Laufenburger: Nann can you show us the landscape plan right?
Paul Heuer: Yes thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: There you go, thank you.
Paul Heuer: So a couple points about parking. Each unit will have a 2 car garage and 2 cars in
the driveway. This is the first row home product that we’ve seen in the Twin Cities that you can
actually have an option for a third car garage too where it’s tandem. It’s deeper. It has an option
instead of a flex room or some other kind of room. In addition we have found that when people
have guests over and it’s more than 2 cars in the driveway we really need to have parking lots
spaced in various locations so that people again can have adequate parking. From our experience
as a certain number of stalls per unit that seems to work. Most cities have a minimum
requirement and that minimum requirement is typically about what we do. Sometimes we do a
little bit more but we’ve seen over the decades that this works.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay great, thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: I want to speak just to the setbacks just for a second Mr. Heuer and then
I’ll come to you Mr. Campion. In the Planning Commission there was discussion about a 25 foot
setback but in fact the homes are set back further from Waters Edge Drive so if homes wanted to
add an extension to the back, like a sunroom or a patio or something. Just can you speak to that
a little bit?
Paul Heuer: That’s a great point, thank you Mr. Mayor. This is seen as kind of a starter home.
We just started building this new product in the city of Plymouth this year and we’ve been
surprised by how many people are willing to pay the extra money for a sunroom option, which is
a beautiful room but it’s been about half the buyers so we have tried to accommodate as many
sunroom options as possible here and what that means is along Waters Edge, whether or not
people purchase a sunroom or not the homes may be anywhere from 25 feet at the closest to 32
feet away from the right-of-way line.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay and Ms. Aanenson, this is a variance request to 25 foot setback, is
that correct?
Kate Aanenson: The variance is through the PUD standards.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay.
Kate Aanenson: And as the applicant has talked we’ve done that in other subdivisions. It’s not
that uncommon.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Mayor Laufenburger: So what would be a non-variant setback? 30 feet? 50 feet? 100 feet?
Kate Aanenson: 50 feet typically.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay so in this case the builder is, the applicant is asking to change the
variance on Waters Edge or is it on the entire perimeter of the property?
Kate Aanenson: Correct.
Mayor Laufenburger: The entire perimeter of the property at 25 foot setback.
Paul Heuer: It’s written that way Mr. Mayor. Along 101 we’ve actually showing the homes 40
feet back.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. So you’re even further back from that 25 foot setback, okay.
Alright. Okay Mr. Campion you had a question.
Councilman Campion: Mr. Mayor my question was pretty identical. It was along the setback
variance and at the commission meeting there was talk about whether it was going from 50 feet
to 25 or 30 to 25 and so I got my answer.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay good. Any other council questions of the applicant? Mr. Heuer,
just can you speak a little bit to the timing? We have a north, 64 homes on the north I think and
what is it 18 on the south, is that correct? What’s the timing of your, give us a plan for your
buildout if you could please.
Paul Heuer: Our goal is to develop the north property, a portion of it or all of it in 2017 and the
south property in 2018.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay so you expect with approval you expect to be moving dirt this year.
Paul Heuer: Yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: Alright, okay. I just have one last question. Are you familiar with all of
the documents included in the staff report and are there any areas in the staff report where you
have either dispute or question or are you prepared to agree with everything in the staff report?
Paul Heuer: I agree with it.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. Perfect. Thank you Mr. Heuer. One more question if I can just,
have you built homes in Chanhassen in the past? Has Pulte?
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Paul Heuer: We have.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay, can you identify where you have?
Paul Heuer: It’s before my time. I could point to it on a map but I don’t remember the names.
And also Pulte and Centex merged in 2009 so Centex and Pulte have both built homes in your
city.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay.
Kate Aanenson: Arboretum Village is the one that they did.
Mayor Laufenburger: Say that again?
Kate Aanenson: Arboretum Village on 5 and 41.
Mayor Laufenburger: Oh I live in one of those homes. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about
the windows. Thank you Mr. Heuer.
Paul Heuer: Thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Councilmember Tjornhom you had a question of staff.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: This site is kind of a historical site and so are we doing anything as a
city or is there anything being done from the Historical Society to kind of make sure it’s marked
or that it’s?
Kate Aanenson: Yep, that’s a great question. So it’s not the original barn. Those questions have
been brought up before. We talked about it way back when we did the 2008 study so Wendy
Bjorn from the County Historical Society, we can document those but they’re not historically
significant but yes it’s part of the history of Chanhassen for sure.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: Okay.
Kate Aanenson: And structurally they’re probably not as sound. The buildings itself but we
definitely want to inventory them and put them as part of the history of the city.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: Okay. And then also when it came to the landscaping they meet all
the minimum requirements for trees and all of?
Kate Aanenson: Yes they do. Yep. Jill Sinclair put a very detailed report in there about the
types of overstory’s. Again those are the ones that give the best screening and the locations of
those so they’d be on each lot and then supplemented with trees and shrubs.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Councilwoman Tjornhom: And then looking at the plat, I mean I’ve seen a lot of plats and I’m
just really surprised that there isn’t a park in that and that was because of park and rec.
Kate Aanenson: Correct, that’s their decision on that correct.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: Okay so.
Kate Aanenson: It’s in proximity. Again I think that they would say that too, right now there are
a lot of different age groups looking for this type of home so it could be younger families as they
indicated but also it could be empty nesters too and they have different needs and that’s
something I believe that the HOA over time will look at too. If they want to convert some
garden space there or something like that so that’s something that the HOA can look at too.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: So in order to access a park they’ll have to cross 101?
Kate Aanenson: No they can go down Lake Susan Drive too.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: Okay.
Mayor Laufenburger: Actually they don’t even have to go on Lake Susan Drive. There’s a park
path. If you look at the south property, on the west side of the south property there’s a park path
that goes straight south and then follows the barrier all the way over to Chanhassen Hills Park.
Great dog walking area by the way.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: Really? Okay.
Todd Gerhardt: Another neighborhood Mayor that you’ve lived in?
Mayor Laufenburger: That was not a Pulte home but I lived there…
Kate Aanenson: Institutional knowledge.
Mayor Laufenburger: Exactly. Institutional knowledge. Let’s see.
Councilwoman Ryan: Mr. Mayor?
Mayor Laufenburger: Councilmember Ryan.
Councilwoman Ryan: To that point about the Chanhassen Hills Park, I think it was brought up
in the Planning Commission about the direct, how the funds, the park dedication funds are
directed and I believe Mr. Hoffman had suggested Bandimere but somebody in the neighborhood
said that it should be directed towards the Chanhassen Hills Park.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Kate Aanenson: Yeah, he was informed of that.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay. And is that up for discussion or?
Kate Aanenson: Well I think that’s something if, that would be something that the Park and Rec
Commission would make a decision on if you wanted to give them some direction on that but we
did, there was also concern about a swing that was broken so we informed him of that too in
making sure that that park can accommodate some of the needs so he was aware of that.
Mayor Laufenburger: Councilmember Ryan I think that the, I don’t recall what the park
dedication fees are but I think it’s incumbent upon the Park and Rec Commission to review all
developments and the source of funds from those developments and decide the best use of those
funds for the entire city so I wouldn’t want to encumber the Park and Rec Commission to say a
certain amount had to go to a certain park.
Councilwoman Ryan: I just would suggest that they take a look at that for this development.
Kate Aanenson: Yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: I’m sure Mr. Hoffman and other members of the Park and Rec
Commission may be even present tonight, or not present tonight but will review these Minutes so
that they will take that action.
Kate Aanenson: I guess the way I read the motion, or the way that they put their input is that
there was 2 parks within a mile. Not that one should get money over the other. Just that they
were in a service area.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay.
Mayor Laufenburger: And the parks are different too. One is, has soccer fields. A hockey rink.
Baseball fields. The other one has a baseball field and.
Councilwoman Ryan: Well one just recently had a lot of investment in it and I know
Chanhassen Hills Park has not had that same investment recently so when we look to the future
of rehabilitating a lot of our parks I could see where this would serve that need.
Kate Aanenson: We’ll pass it on.
Councilwoman Ryan: Thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. Gerhardt.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Todd Gerhardt: Mayor, council we’ll talk with the Park and Rec Director and make sure that the
Park and Rec Commission reviews both Bandimere and Chanhassen Hills to look at the needs.
Usually get community feedback on what’s needed and what’s wanted in their neighborhood
parks so most recently we did Roundhouse Park and I don’t know where Chanhassen Hills sits
on you know relooking at the park but we can move it up the list.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. Are there any questions of staff regarding this project? Any
further comments or motions from the council?
Councilman McDonald: Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. McDonald.
Councilman McDonald: I’ll attempt a motion.
Kate Aanenson: Before you start there’s two things. I’m going to spin.
Mayor Laufenburger: Well it’s.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: It’s all there.
Mayor Laufenburger: Yeah you’d better read the whole thing Mr. McDonald.
Councilman McDonald: I was going to. Okay I’ll make a motion that the City Council
recommends approval of the preliminary plat for Planning Case 17-12 for West Park as shown
on the plans received May 18, 2017 subject to conditions of approval. The City Council
recommends approval of the site plan for the construction of 82 townhouses for Planning Case
17-12 for West Park as shown on the plans received May 18, 2017 subject to conditions of
approval. The City Council recommends approval of the variance request for Planning Case 17-
12 to allow a 25 foot setback from Waters Edge Drive, Lake Susan Drive and Highway 101 as
shown on the plans received May 18, 2017 subject to conditions of approval. City Council
recommends approval of ordinance and summary ordinance for publication purposes for the
rezoning the property located at the southeast of Waters Edge Drive, west of Great Plains
Boulevard, north of Highway 212 and bisected by Lake Susan Drive with an approximate area of
9.8 acres from Residential Single Family and Planned Unit Development to Planned Unit
Development-Residential incorporating design standards. Planning Case 17-12 subject to the
conditions of approval and adopts the attached Findings of Fact and Decision. City Council
adopts a resolution approving the vacation of all the public drainage and utility easements on Lot
1, Block 1 of Gateway North as dedicated on the recorded plat thereof as described in Exhibit A.
The City Council adopts a resolution approving the vacation of all the public drainage and utility
easements on Lot 2, Block 2 and Outlot A of Gateway North as dedicated on the recorded plat
thereof together with Document number 206358 as described in Exhibit A. I think that’s it.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
Mayor Laufenburger: Alright. Before I ask for a second I just want to clarify one thing. Mr.
Knutson, could you go back one page Kate? Okay Mr. Knutson, we are the approving body so
we do not recommend for approval, is that correct?
Roger Knutson: Technically the word should be replaced, recommended approvals should be
replaced with approves.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay so before I ask for a second, Mr. McDonald are you okay if we
strike the words recommends.
Councilman McDonald: Well I guess I just misread that.
Mayor Laufenburger: No you read it the way it was.
Councilman McDonald: City Council approves.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay, alright. So we have a motion for approval of a number of things.
Now is there a second?
Councilwoman Tjornhom: Second.
Councilman Campion: Second.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Mr. Campion.
Councilman Campion: I lost a race earlier so.
Mayor Laufenburger: Is there any discussion on the motions?
Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that the City Council
approves preliminary plat for Planning Case 17-12 for West Park as shown on the plans
received June 30, 2017, subject to the following conditions of approval:
Engineering:
1. The existing topographic survey shall include the existing first floor elevations of nearby
structures such as 8751 Waters Edge Drive and 721 Lake Susan Drive.
2. Spot elevations shall be shown at the center of proposed driveways at the curb line so the
driveway grade can be verified.
3. The applicant shall work with Carver County to see if the FES from their pond outlet can be
combined with the county’s culvert to eliminate the low spot adjacent to this site.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
4. The plan shall show EOF locations and elevation for all basins on site.
5. Top and bottom wall elevations shall be shown on the grading plan.
6. All retaining walls shall be owned and maintained by a Homeowners Association (HOA).
7. The development plans shall call out the material of the retaining wall. The following
materials are prohibited for retaining wall construction: smooth face, poured in place
concrete (stamped or patterned is acceptable), masonry, railroad ties and timber.
8. As existing public utilities are located within the vacation area, the applicant shall grant a
drainage and utility easement to the City concurrent to recording the vacation.
9. The applicant shall have their survey confirm location of all easements with a recent title
commitment prior to final plat.
10. The retaining wall and entry monuments are proposed within drainage and utility easements.
These elements require an encroachment agreement prior to their construction.
11. The private sidewalks constructed within city right-of-way require an encroachment
agreement.
12. All private streets will be owned and maintained by a Homeowners Association.
13. Street lights shall be installed at the intersections with public streets. This light shall be
owned by the City and maintained by MVEC (Minnesota Valley Electric Company). A $300
fee shall be collected with the development contract for electricity costs for the first year of
operation.
14. The net SWMP Fee due at the time of final plat of the northern parcel is $53,237.19.
15. The net SWMP Fee due at the time of final plat of the southern parcel is $17,651.42.
16. For 64 units on the northern parcel, the sanitary partial fee is $44,224.00 and the water partial
fee is $137,408.00.
17. For 18 units on the southern parcel, the sanitary partial fee is $12,438.00 and the water partial
fee is $38,646.00.
18. The remaining hook-up fees will be due with the building permit at the rate in effect at that
time.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
19. The vertical curves shall be revised to meet the City Code standard to have the curve length
be greater than the difference of the grades multiplied by 20.
20. The horizontal alignment of several horizontal curves radii do not meet requirements for a 30
mph roadway without superelevation per the MnDOT Roadway Design Manual. The
applicant shall submit documentation for the design speed used for these roads and the
anticipated signed speed. Speed signage shall be required.
Park and Trail Conditions of Approval:
1. Full park fees in lieu of additional parkland dedication and/or trail construction shall be
collected as a condition of approval for the West Park Residential Subdivision. The park fees
will be collected in full at the rate in force upon final plat submission and approval. Based
upon the current residential park fee rates of $3,800 per multi-family/apartment dwelling, the
total park fees will be $311,600.
2. 82 units x $3,800 each.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that the City Council
approves site plan for the construction of 82 townhouses for Planning Case 17-12 for West
Park, as shown on the plans received June 30, 2017, subject to the following conditions of
approval:
Engineering:
The Engineering Department recommends approval of the final plat subject to the following
conditions:
1. The applicant shall submit the full SWPPP document to the City for review prior to grading
on site.
2. No parking signage shall be installed at all turnarounds to keep them open for public safety
access.
3. All private street signage shall comply with the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic
Control Devices.
4. The sidewalk and pedestrian ramps shall be constructed per the Chanhassen Standard Detail
Plates.
5. All sidewalks internal to the site shall be owned and maintained by the HOA.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
6. The sidewalk connection parallel to Lake Susan Drive shall be owned and maintained by the
City.
7. The HOA shall be responsible for snow maintenance on sidewalks adjacent to HOA
property.
8. The applicant shall revise plans to call out the size of proposed water main.
9. The applicant’s engineer shall add a column to the stormwater pipe/structure table to list the
velocities of the pipes.
10. Stormwater pipe within the development shall be privately owned and maintained.
11. The storm sewer/water main crossing near CB MH 702 may be in conflict. The applicant’s
engineer shall verify this when the utility profiles are drafted.
12. The applicant shall meet the minimum requirements for stormwater set forth in City Code
Section 9-VII and requirements of the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District.
13. The applicant must obtain a permit from the Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District
prior to grading the site.
14. The applicant is responsible for obtaining permits from applicable regulatory agencies
(MDH, MPCA, MnDOT, etc.) prior to construction.
15. The proposed development will exceed one (1) acre of disturbance and will, therefore, be
subject to the General Permit Authorization to Discharge Stormwater Associated with
Construction Activity Under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination/State Disposal
System (NPDES Construction Permit).
16. Sidewalk constructed within MnDOT right-of-way may require a Limited Use Permit (LUP).
17. The plan for flared stormwater pipes that discharge into the pond, infiltration basin and right-
of-way shall be modified to have non-erosive velocities (3.5-5.0 feet per second).
18. The pipe from FES 500 to OCS 501 shall be modified to have a slope of 1.00 percent or
greater to prevent standing water and reduce the potential for ice damage.
Building Conditions:
1. Accessibility must be provided to all portions of the development and a percentage of the
units may also be required to be accessible or adaptable in accordance with Minnesota State
Building Code Chapter 1341. Further information is needed to determine these requirements.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
2. Buildings are required to be protected with an automatic sprinkler system. For the purposes
of this requirement property lines do not constitute separate buildings.
3. The buildings will be required to be designed by an architect and engineer as determined by
the Building Official.
4. The developer must submit a list of proposed street name(s) to the Fire Marshal and Building
Official for review and approval prior to final plat of the property.
5. Demolition permits must be obtained before demolishing any structures on the site.
Application for such permits must include hazardous substances investigation and proposed
mitigation reports.
6. A final grading plan and geotechnical (soils evaluation) report must be submitted to the
Inspections Division before permits will be issued.
7. Walls and projections within 5 feet of property lines are required to be of one-hour fire-
resistive construction.
8. Retaining walls over four feet high require a permit and must be designed by a professional
engineer.
9. Each lot must be provided with separate sewer and water services.
10. The developer and/or their agent shall meet with the Inspections Division as early as possible
to discuss plan review and permit procedures.
Fire Marshal:
1. A three-foot clear space must be maintained around fire hydrants.
2. Street signs (temporary allowed) shall be installed prior to building permits being
issued. Fire Chief must approve signage.
3. Prior to combustible construction fire hydrants shall be made serviceable.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
4. Prior to combustible home construction fire apparatus access roads capable of supporting
the weight of fire apparatus shall be made serviceable.
5. Relocate the fire hydrant on Stonegate road eighty (80) feet to the west. (At the
intersection of Stonegate and Stonegate)
6. On Eagle View Road add a fire hydrant between block 5 and block 6.
7. In order to avoid duplicating street names, submit new proposed street names to Fire
Chief and Building Official for review and approval.
Planning:
1. Approval of this site plan is contingent upon approval of the final plat for Gateway North.
2. The applicant shall enter into a site plan agreement.
3. The building shall comply with the Planned Unit Development building setback
requirements.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that the City Council
approves the variance request for Planning Case 17-12 to allow a 25-foot setback from
Waters Edge Drive, Lake Susan Drive, and Highway 101, as shown on the plans received
June 30, 2017, subject to the following conditions of approval:
1. Approval of the Variance is contingent upon approval of the Site Plan and Subdivision
applications Planning Case 17-12.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that the City Council
approves rezoning the property located at the southeast of Waters Edge Drive, west of Great
Plains Boulevard, north of Highway 212 and bisected by Lake Susan Drive with an
approximate area of 9.8 acres from Residential Single Family and Planned Unit Development
to Planned Unit Development-Residential, incorporating the following design standards:
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
WEST PARK
PUD DEVELOPMENT DESIGN STANDARDS
a. Intent
The purpose of this zone is to create a RESIDENTIAL PUD. The use of the PUD zone
is to allow for more flexible design standards while creating a higher quality and more
sensitive development. Each structure proposed for development shall proceed through
site plan review based on the development standards outlined below.
b. Permitted Uses
The permitted uses in this zone should be limited to four, five, and six plex
complexes.
The total number of units for the entire site may not exceed 99 92 units.
c. Setbacks
The PUD ordinance requires setbacks from roadways and exterior property lines. The
following table displays those setbacks.
Boundary Building/ Parking
Setbacks (feet)
Highway 101 25/10 *
Highway 212 25/25
Northerly Project Property Line 25/25
Westerly Project Property Line 25/20
Internal Project property lines 0 /0
Hard Surface Coverage-Residential 50 %
Maximum Residential Building/Structure Height 35 or 3 stories,
whichever is less
* parking setbacks maybe reduced to 10 feet if full screening is provided.
d. Residential Building Materials and Design
Buildings and site design shall comply with design standards outlined in Article XXIII.
General Supplemental Regulations, Division 9 of the Zoning Ordinance.
1. All units shall have access onto an interior private street.
2. A design palette shall be approved for the entire project. The palette shall include
colors for siding, shakes, shutters, shingles, brick, stone, etc.
3. All foundation walls shall be screened by landscaping or retaining walls.
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
4. All adjoining units must exhibit different exterior design features and color.
e. Site Landscaping and Screening
The intent of this section is to improve the appearance of vehicular use areas and property
abutting public rights-of-way; to require buffering between different land uses; and to
protect, preserve and promote the aesthetic appeal, character and value of the surrounding
neighborhoods; to promote public health and safety through the reduction of noise
pollution, air pollution, visual pollution and glare.
1. The landscaping standards shall provide for screening for visual impacts associated
with a given use, including but not limited to parking areas, utility boxes, unadorned
building massing, etc.
2. All open spaces and non-parking lot surfaces, except for the fire pit area, shall be
landscaped, rockscaped, or covered with plantings and/or lawn material.
3. Undulating berms, shall be sodded or seeded at the conclusion of grading and utility
construction. The required buffer landscaping may be installed where it is deemed
necessary to screen any proposed development. All required boulevard landscaping
shall be sodded.
4. Native species shall be incorporated into site landscaping, whenever possible.
f. Street Furnishings
Benches, trash receptacles, planters and other street furnishings should be of design and
materials consistent with the character of the area. Wherever possible, street furnishings
should be consolidated to avoid visual clutter and facilitate pedestrian movement.
g. Signage
The intent of this section is to establish an effective means of communication in the
development, maintain and enhance the aesthetic environment, to improve pedestrian and
traffic safety, to minimize the possible adverse effect of signs on nearby public and
private property, and to enable the fair and consistent enforcement of these sign
regulations. It is the intent of this section, to promote the health, safety, general welfare,
aesthetics, and image of the community by regulating signs that are intended to
communicate to the public, and to use signs which meet the city's goals:
a. Preserve and promote civic beauty, and prohibit signs which detract from this
objective because of size, shape, height, location, condition, cluttering or
illumination;
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
b. Ensure that signs do not create safety hazards;
c. Ensure that signs are designed, constructed, installed and maintained in a manner that
does not adversely impact public safety or unduly distract motorists;
d. Preserve and protect property values;
e. Ensure signs that are in proportion to the scale of, and are architecturally compatible
with, the principal structures;
g.1. Monument Sign:
One monument sign shall be permitted at the entrances to the development off of Lake
Susan Drive. These signs shall not exceed 24 square feet in sign display area nor be
greater than five feet in height. These signs shall be setback a minimum of 10 feet from
the property line.
g.2. Sign Design and Permit Requirements:
a. The sign treatment is an element of the architecture and thus should reflect the quality
of the development. The signs should be consistent in color, size, and material and
height throughout the development. A common theme will be introduced at the
development's entrance monument and will be used throughout.
b. All signs require a separate sign permit.
h. Lighting
1. Lighting for the interior of the development shall be consistent throughout the
development. Fixtures with decorative natural colored pole shall be used throughout the
development in parking and street lighting. Decorative, pedestrian scale lighting shall be
used in the fire pit area and sidewalk areas and may be used in parking lot areas.
2. Light fixtures should be kept to a pedestrian scale (12 to 18 feet).
3. All light fixtures shall be shielded. Light level for site lighting shall be no more than
½ candle at the project perimeter property line. This does not apply to street lighting.
i. Residential Parking shall comply with city code requirements.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Resolution #2017-48: Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that
the City Council adopts a resolution approving the vacation of all the public drainage and
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Chanhassen City Council – July 10, 2017
utility easements on Lot 1, Block 1 of GATEWAY NORTH as dedicated on the recorded
plat thereof as described in Exhibit A. All voted in favor and the motion carried
unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Resolution #2017-49: Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that
the City Council adopts a resolution approving the vacation of all the public drainage and
utility easements on Lot 2, Block 2 and Outlot A of GATEWAY NORTH as dedicated on
the recorded plat thereof together with Document No. 206358 as described in Exhibit A.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that the City Council
approves Planning Case 17-12 subject to the conditions of approval and adopts the
attached Findings of Fact and Decision. All voted in favor and the motion carried
unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Mayor Laufenburger: Ms. Aanenson I have a question for you.
Kate Aanenson: Yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: Will this item ever come back to the council again?
Kate Aanenson: Yes you’ll see it at final plat and I believe the applicant’s working trying to get
that on the next meeting and we’re getting towards the end of getting projects launched for
construction season so you will see the plat.
Mayor Laufenburger: So when the final plat comes that’s when we approve the layout,
everything that would then follow with building permits, movement of dirt, etcetera.
Kate Aanenson: Correct.
Mayor Laufenburger: Is that correct:
Kate Aanenson: Yeah it will be a site plan agreement. There probably isn’t any public
improvements in this so there wouldn’t be a development contract but there would still be a site
plan agreement tying them to all the conditions of approval and I’d just like to take one moment
just to thank Sharmeen Al-Jaff on our staff who probably worked on this, this property probably
for 6-7 years and the applicant to what we believe is a really good project for this site.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay, alright. Well thank you Mr. Heuer. Best of luck in developing
your final plat. We hope to see you soon, alright. Okay. Alright thank you.
VENUE/ALDI: APPROVE SITE PLAN FOR A 134 UNIT, SIX STORY APARTMENT
BUILDING AND A ONE-STORY, 19,000 SQUARE FOOT RETAIL BUILDING WITH A
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