Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Large Development Zoning Pud topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission continues DCM Farms hearings as community raises traffic, buffering and commercial-use concerns
Summary
Staff asked the Planning Commission to continue public hearings on the 91-acre "DCM Farms" proposal so an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) public-review period can finish; commissioners and dozens of residents raised concerns about traffic at Rush Creek Parkway, proposed density and the potential commercial node at 114th/117th.
The Dayton Planning Commission on Feb. 6 continued the public hearing on a proposal called DCM Farms (Dean's Country Manor), citing the need to complete a state Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) public-review period and to allow more time for commission and public review of a complex set of applications.
Staff described the project as a multi-parcel proposal totaling about 91 acres that would include roughly 266 single-family homes and about 10 acres reserved as a hypothetical commercial/retail outlot. Staff emphasized the commercial component is illustrative for the EAW and can be scaled; the EAW evaluates the most intensive proposed uses.
Applications before the city include a comprehensive plan amendment (to change a triangle from low-density residential to neighborhood commercial), a zoning map amendment (A-1 to R-3) with PUD overlay, a planned unit development and a preliminary plat. Staff said rezoning to R-3 with a PUD would make the new area similar to Sundance Greens to the south and allow certain deviations from standard R-3 rules in exchange for public benefits.
Key public-benefit elements described by staff include construction of a roundabout at 114th Avenue, contributions toward improvements at 117th Avenue (turn lanes or other intersection improvements), pedestrian amenities (benches, landscaping), stormwater-pond design and a landscape buffer along Fernbrook. Staff also described a number of requested deviations: up to 78% of lots under 62 feet wide (versus 30% allowed in R-3), lot sizes down to roughly 4,000 square feet in the narrowest areas, and reduced side-yard setbacks (from 7.5 to 5 feet in some product types).
Traffic analysis presented by staff described an estimated 10,900 daily vehicle trips generated by the full buildout (about 1,100 trips in the AM peak hour) and noted that the Rush Creek Parkway intersection already operates at poor level of service and would be subject to further pressure. Staff said a roundabout design at Rush Creek Parkway and 114th had been sketched and appears in the city's capital plan for possible 2027 construction, but funding has not been identified.
More than a dozen residents turned out to oppose parts of the proposal or to press for protections. Neighbors asked the commission to protect six existing homes on the north side of Fernbrook, arguing the proposed median or roundabout would eliminate left turns into their driveways and force long detours. Several residents urged the commission to remove or substantially restrict the proposed commercial outlot, arguing there are already many gas stations and convenience retailers in the area and that a gas station or car wash would create light and noise pollution.
Developer Tom Dean said the commercial area is currently an outlot and not marketed to a specific buyer; he told the commission he has had inquiries about several uses but has not contracted a tenant. Dean said much of the intersection and roundabout timing and design would be influenced by Hennepin County, and that past local projects have required developers to pay large shares of intersection construction costs in coordination with county standards.
Commissioners and staff focused discussion on a set of core issues they said must be resolved before final approvals: traffic mitigation and funding for intersection improvements (Rush Creek Parkway and 114th/117th), buffers and screening along Fernbrook to protect existing homes, the scale and feasibility of the proposed commercial node, the high percentage of very narrow lots requested in deviations from R-3 standards, and the implications for stormwater and trail connectivity. Staff recommended continuing the public hearing to the March 6 Planning Commission meeting so the EAW public review closes and staff can return with the EAW response and refined materials.
Action: The commission voted to continue the public hearing to the March 6, 2025 Planning Commission meeting so the EAW public-review period can conclude and staff and the public can review updated materials. No land-use approvals were final at this meeting.
