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 now in Shakopee. 

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 proposed 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 reviewed the PUD concept plan and the possible land swap and this has 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. In their narrative, they describe the types and varieties of home styles they propose within this development (11 floor plans with sizes ranging from 1,900 sq. ft. to 4,300 sq. ft.), and their "Rule of 5", which is used to ensure variety in their streetscape by ensuring that homes on either side or the 3 homes directly across the street of a subject home do not have the same elevation and color package. The have asked for approval of home styles generally similar to those found in their other Windermere developments, which may not have the current 5% window area for side elevations, but will have enhanced side elevations for homes facing public right-of-way or open space.

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 deviations is with the 55 ft. wide lots and side elevations with less than 5% window area, 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.  This development has created a large public open space and trail system that also connects to existing city park land and will be an amenity.  The developer is proposing that as part of its park dedication fees, it will pay for equipment and installation of various city-chosen amenities in the public open space.

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.  The project will provide connections to the existing neighborhoods.

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  including a reduced price point for the smaller lots, which provides an opportunity for new homeowners along with a public open space, trails, connections and equipment.