Forest Lake planning panel tables Hidden Creek South PUD amendment after debate over 50‑foot lots, parks and drainage

The Forest Lake Planning Commission on Feb. 25 opened a public hearing on Hidden Creek South, a proposed preliminary plat and PUD amendment that would add about 171 single‑family detached homes on roughly 56.5 acres and introduce 50‑foot lots in parts of the development.

Staff said the proposal—submitted by Headwaters Land Group—would result in a gross density of about 3.02 units per acre, which lies near the low end of the city’s 2040 comprehensive‑plan low‑medium density range. Because the proposal includes 50‑foot lots and smaller minimum lot sizes than allowed by the approved Headwaters Master PUD, staff said a PUD amendment is required. Staff summarized engineering and policy constraints including a requirement that the Headwaters Parkway extension meet major collector standards, routing utilities through an internal corridor (Street F2), and coordination with the Rice Creek Watershed District on stormwater.

Commissioners focused much of their questioning on three issues: street widths and on‑street parking in winter; whether the smaller lots offer meaningful community benefit; and the amount of usable parkland. Staff reported that Outlot A contains 3.22 acres with about 1.92 acres usable after accounting for stormwater ponding, and Outlot C contains about 0.88 acres with roughly 0.4 acres usable. Staff said a previously dedicated 3.17 acres west of Headwaters Parkway is not counted toward this plat’s 10% park‑dedication requirement; combining that prior dedication with Outlot A approaches the city’s target acreage. The Parks Commission recommended accepting a combination of land dedication and a fee‑in‑lieu to satisfy the 10% requirement.

A developer representative, John Dobbs, told the commission he would like to table the application to work through minor technical and affordability questions and to provide a written affordability narrative from the homebuilder (Capstone). Dobbs said 50‑foot lot product has historically been lower priced—he estimated roughly 25% lower base pricing on comparable products—but acknowledged he would provide more precise figures at a later meeting.

Public commenters raised stormwater and traffic concerns. Katie Cerny, an adjacent property owner, asked the commission and staff to ensure stormwater from the site would not be “kicked down the road” onto neighboring properties and to consider how private 195th Street could be affected by new traffic patterns. Another resident, Paul Schmid, urged more and larger parks to support families.

Given unresolved technical details and the applicant’s request to refine materials, the commission voted to table Hidden Creek South to its March 11 meeting; staff cautioned that substantial changes would require new noticing and could move the item to a later meeting.

What’s next: The applicant told the record he expects to return on March 11 with updated materials; if the city determines the changes are major, a new public hearing and additional notice will be required.