Planning commission recommends Sawyer Glen subdivision, 215 lots, to City Council

The Farmington City Planning Commission voted March 10 to recommend that the City Council approve the Sawyer Glen preliminary plat, a planned unit development (PUD) covering roughly 73 acres and 215 single‑family lots, subject to three contingencies set by staff.

Tony, a city planning staff member, told the commission the project consists of four parcels near the northwest intersection of County Road 50 and Flagstaff Avenue, immediately south of Farmington High School. The preliminary plat shows 215 single‑family lots, a gross density of about 2.94 dwelling units per acre and a net density of 4.6 units per acre. The proposal includes four outlots for stormwater, wetlands, a trail corridor and remnant land.

The applicant, Lennar, requested PUD flexibilities that reduce the typical R‑2 lot standards: a minimum lot area of 5,670 square feet, minimum lot width of 42 feet, increased maximum building coverage to 45 percent and a 25‑foot front setback. Tony said the requested net density fits within the R‑2 density range and that the flexibilities were consistent with prior approvals in Farmington and partly driven by site constraints such as wetlands, floodplain and existing utilities.

Steve Trozki, the Lennar representative, said the company expects to phase the work in four final plats. "If we get successful approval of the items that Tony just went through, grading would probably start in mid April," Trozki said, adding the first final plat would follow in six to eight weeks. Trozki said the current plan favors slab‑on‑grade foundations but that product might vary with market conditions.

Commissioners asked about trails, park dedication and access. Tony said sidewalks would be built on one side of every road per the subdivision ordinance and described a trail connection through Out Lot A/B to existing trails in Whispering Fields and Regatta Fields. The Parks & Recreation Commission declined to accept Out Lot D as parkland because it contains wetlands; Farmington’s ordinance does not allow park‑dedication credit for wetlands.

Traffic and neighborhood transition were recurring concerns. One commissioner noted MnDOT traffic counts and warned that turning from 209th onto Flagstaff is an unprotected left; Tony said Lennar provided a traffic study and the city’s engineering department reviewed it and found it acceptable. Several commissioners pressed staff and the developer on whether smaller lots would create an abrupt transition to existing homes to the east; staff suggested design tweaks in specific blocks could soften the transition and said some reduced lot sizes were necessitated by floodplain and other site constraints.

On the question of construction impacts, Trozki said truck routing, work hours and dust control would be covered in the development agreement and final‑plat process. He told the commission Lennar aimed to "be good neighbors" and would work with city staff on work schedules and routing.

After discussion, a motion to forward a favorable recommendation to the City Council carried unanimously. The commission recorded the recommendation subject to the three contingencies Tony listed: satisfaction of all engineering comments including grading, stormwater and utilities plans; City Council approval of the rezoning from A‑1 agriculture to R‑2 low‑medium density residential; and City Council and Metropolitan Council approval of the comprehensive‑plan amendments (future land use, MUSA staging and development staging).

The commission closed the public hearing, and the Chair reminded the public that the next regular meeting is scheduled for April 14.