06.a Narrative - Prelim Plat1
PROJECT NARRATIVE
November 15, 2022
Scandia Planning Commission
City of Scandia, MN
Re: Application for Residential Development
ROLLING ACRES 61
The Developer, Doug Schultz with Grandemoore Homes, Inc. along with the property owner,
Larry and Kim Reese are pleased to submit this application for preliminary plat review of
ROLLING ACRES 61. This narrative is intended to generally describe the project and address
specific development topics.
Location / Current Use
The existing site is a vacant 61.0 acre parcel. It is bordered by residential lots on the east and
north sides, Keystone Ave. (CR 50) on the west side and a large, farmed area to the south.
The southeast portion of the site is used for agricultural purposes. The remainder of the site is
idle to other uses. The site is basically grassland with some intermittent trees located within
the northern portion of the site. There are several wetlands located in the low portion of the
site. These have been delineated and are shown on the plans. The southwest portion of the
site is high ground and void of trees. This is the location of the proposed improvements.
The site is currently zoned Rural Residential General (RR-G). This zone is established to
provide for principal residential use with large lots.
Proposed Zoning
The site is proposed to be developed under the Open Space Conservation Planned Unit
Development (OS-PUD). This will allow flexibility from the dimensional standards of the RR-G
base zoning requirements. Goals for the development are to reserve large areas of land for
agricultural use, preserve existing open space to promote natural resources and habitat,
preserve existing wetlands, and create a neighborhood which establishes local identity and
community interaction. The OS-PUD will reduce the area needed for the development and
will preserve open space.
Since the site is zoned RR-G and is over 40 acres in size, the OS-PUD district is applied.
Specific parameters of the OS-PUD zone are as follows:
Density Bonus
Additional lots above the base zoning standards is allowed up to a 75% maximum
increase. The RR-G zone allows four lots per 40 ac. therefore, the maximum number of
lots is seven. Criteria for density bonus for this development are:
- Preservation and protection of ecologically sensitive features such as wetlands, native
plants and natural habitats – 25% bonus – one additional lot.
- Preservation of agricultural land – 25% bonus – one additional lot.
2
- Creating accessible open space – 25% bonus – one additional lot.
The total proposed number of lots is seven.
Lot Dimensional Standards
The OS-PUD zoning allows flexibility to the RR-G lot dimensional standards.
RR-G OS-PUD
Lot Density 4 7
Lot Size, Min. 2.0 ac 1.5 ac
Lot Width, min. (2-3 ac) 160 ft 160 ft
(3-4 ac) 240 ft 240 ft
At cul-de-sac 60 ft 60 ft
Buildable Area, min. 1.0 ac 1.0 ac
Front Setback, min. 40 ft 30 ft
Side Setback, min. 20 ft 15 ft
Rear Setback, min. 50 ft 30 ft
Table 1 shows the proposed lot dimensions:
Block Lot
Area
(Ac)
Lot
Frontage
Front
Setback
Rear
Setback
Side
Setback
Buildable
Area (Ac)
1
1 1.80 309 40 50 20 1.61
2 2.53 328 40 50 20 2.31
3 3.55 120 40 50 20 2.37
4 2.65 60 40 50 20 1.80
2
1 2.85 104 40 50 20 2.65
2 2.22 217 40 50 20 2.01
3 1.51 270 40 50 20 1.34
Outlot A 40.74
Outlot B 1.43
Proposed Access
Access to the project will be a city cul-de-sac street, 198th Street N., connected to Keystone
Ave. (CR 50). The street will be a rural type of roadway including a bituminous surface and
roadside ditches to collect stormwater runoff. The road will be designed per the city’s
requirements.
The County Highway Dept. has offered several comments: one, that the road connection
should be made at 199th Street to align with the existing road. This is not an option since that
connection area is a different landowner and purchasing additional property is not probable.
Second, that the proposed road connection be made as far south as possible. The location of
198th St. is as far south as we can go. The reasons are: the southwest corner of the site is a
low area where stormwater runoff from the site collects today. This low area is landlocked and
has no outlet. This low spot drains dry and has no evidence of standing water and did not
show any wetland characteristics (as shown on the wetland delineation report). Therefore, this
3
low area needs to be preserved as much as possible to utilize the existing drainage properties.
The proposed stormwater pond is built around the low area and because of the landlocked
condition it is required to be sized larger than a typical pond. All of these design
requirements position 198th St. as far south as possible.
Ownership and Management of Open Space
Outlot A will be designated as the open space and will be subject to a permanent
conservation easement. The current landowner will retain ownership of Outlot A.
Stormwater Management
Currently the majority of the site drains to the east and towards the north low area. The
southwest portion of the site is high and drains towards the low spot in the southwest corner.
The proposed road and lot areas are within the southwest drainage area with only a small
portion of the house pad areas draining to the north.
The proposed improvements will maintain the current drainage pattern. All of the road runoff
drains to a treatment pond which provides rate control, volume control and water quality. The
treatment pond is located within Outlot B. Since there is no homeowners’ association (HOA)
Outlot B will be deeded to the city for the pond maintenance.
The treatment pond conforms to the requirements of the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake
Watershed District (CLFLWD). A Stormwater Management Plan is included with the submittals
and provides a more detailed drainage narrative and hydrology modeling. The plans will be
submitted to the CLFLWD for permit review and approval.
The project will require an NPDES permit from the MPCA for the grading activities and for
stormwater pollution prevention. The NPDES permit will be acquired by the Contractor prior
to the start of the site grading.
Wetlands
There are several small wetlands within the site. The wetlands were delineated by SEH, Inc.
The wetlands have been reviewed and approved by the Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP). A
copy of the wetland report and approval letter are included in the submittal. All of the
wetlands are located in the low area further east and north and are not located within the
proposed development project area.
No wetland impacts are proposed.
Thank you for considering this development project. We look forward to your
recommendations and approvals.
Doug Schultz, Grandemoore Homes, Inc.
Larry & Kim Reese, Owner