Planning Commission denies Chestnut Creek PUD amendment and urges parkland discussion; preliminary plat recommended with conditions

Forest Lake City planners, residents and developers debated a proposed 119‑lot addition to the Chestnut Creek subdivision Wednesday, focusing on lot size, wetland buffers, stormwater, traffic and the absence of promised parkland. The commission denied the requested planned‑unit‑development (PUD) amendment and recommended conditional approval of the preliminary plat subject to revisions to conform with the original PUD and further review by the Parks Commission.

The nut graf: Residents pressed the commission on recurring flooding, narrow roads and a nine‑year delay in the park that had been discussed during earlier phases; the commission concluded the requested PUD changes offered insufficient demonstrable public benefit and asked the developer to return with a plan that honors previously approved standards and addresses parkland and infrastructure concerns.

What was proposed: Abby, city planning staff, presented a D.R. Horton proposal for Chestnut Creek Second Edition, a roughly 52‑acre addition with about 119 single‑family detached homes on a mix of 55‑foot and 65‑foot lot widths. Staff noted a discrepancy in density reporting (an initially stated net density of about 3.36 units per acre versus a gross density of 2.3…