Discussion:
D.R. Horton, Inc. – Minnesota, applicant, and La Tour Farms LP, property owners, are proposing a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for property located within the Windermere neighborhood (for property located north of Astoria Drive and west of Attenborough Street, presently owned by the LaTour family) that includes construction of the first segment of the linear park/greenway that was identified in the 2016 West End Study, is representative of the approved Parks and Trails Master Plan, and will connect to the larger Windermere neighborhood park.
In conjunction with the PUD, D.R. Horton is also proposing the preliminary plat of Windermere South Fourth Addition, a single-family residential plat of approximately 53 acres with a net development area of 40.2 acres. The proposed development includes 126 single-family residential lots, 75 lots that would be 55' wide and 51 lots that would be 65' wide. The existing R-1B Zone has a 60-foot lot minimum required width; thus, the request for the PUD rezoning. The applicant would like to try and deliver a more affordable single-family home on these 55’ wide lots. With the increases in lumber, labor and other materials, their construction costs have increased, and they would like to be able to deliver a home below $400,000 on these lots, a price point that is currently hard to deliver in the region.
A stipulation of the PUD is that the applicant is required to provide a minimum of fifteen percent open space, which they will meet with the proposed greenway and trails located within this project.
Because D.R. Horton has not been able to acquire the parcel to the northwest, they also proposed a land swap to allow for the construction of a public roadway and residential lots that were incorporated into the original Windermere Addition plat. They are proposing a land swap of 4,798 square feet of city-owned land for 7,550 square feet of their land, which the City Council has already considered and supported, and is incorporated into this plat proposal.
As part of their PUD application, the applicant has addressed the requirement for exceeding normal design standards for lot layouts, streets and building designs. The houses would have to exceed any current design standards, which require a variety of house styles and not garage dominant designs.
Additionally, the applicant addressed the following factors with their submittal:
1. The proposed development is consistent in all respects with the comprehensive plan and with
this section.
2. The proposed development, including deviations from design standards, is compatible with
surrounding land uses. The only design standard deviation is with the 55 ft. wide lots, which are
found in several of the other Windermere subdivisions.
3. The proposed development provides adequate open space, circulation, pedestrian orientation,
parking, recreation, screening, and landscaping, as exemplified by the proposed linear
park/greenway.
4. The primary function of the PUD is to encourage development which will preserve
and enhance the worthwhile, natural terrain characteristics, and it should not force
intense development to utilize all portions of a given site in order to arrive at the maximum
density allowed. Staff believe that this proposed plat meets the required standards.
5. There exists an overall compatibility of land uses and overall appearance and compatibility of
individual buildings to other site elements and to the surrounding development.
6. The proposed PUD plan would afford a greater general public benefit than would be realized
under the underlying zoning district and/or general zoning provisions as previously mentioned
(reduced price point for the smaller lots, which provides an opportunity for new homeowners).