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Sketch plan presented for Belle Maple Farm; developer seeks input on utilities and shoreland limits
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Summary
Norton Homes presented a sketch plat for Belle Maple Farm proposing 15 single-family homes on an ~8-acre site. City staff flagged shoreland setbacks, a required 50-foot utility easement with the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and a park-dedication obligation (about $73,000). No approvals were requested at sketch review.
The Victoria Planning Commission reviewed a sketch plat for Belle Maple Farm, a proposed residential development that would place 15 single-family homes on the primary parcel and a small portion of adjacent right of way.
City planner Brian McCann told the commission the site consists of about 8 acres plus roughly a quarter-acre of right of way and lies within the Shoreland Overlay within 1,000 feet of nearby lakes. "For this site, they are proposing 15 single family homes," McCann said, saying the plan also shows a stormwater pond and a proposed lift station to service the development.
McCann said the property is already zoned R-1 (low-density residential) and that several shoreland rules apply: a 150-foot setback from the ordinary high-water line for building pads, limits on grading and vegetation removal in shoreland areas, and per-lot impervious maximums for lots partly within shoreland. He noted the developer would need to split areas between the conservation residential district and the low-density district to meet minimum density guidance at sketch stage.
The presentation included an infrastructure note that utilities will need to be extended through a 50-foot drainage and utility easement that the city acquired as part of a land swap with the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. McCann added the city engineered that easement route for utility access and said utilities would be directionally bored under a creek to avoid removing trees. He also recounted that a prior concept pursued in Chanhassen did not receive utility extensions, which led the developer to pause that earlier approach.
Pat Hiller, a partner with Norton Homes, introduced himself and said he would be available to answer questions. Commissioners pressed about whether the existing on-site home could later be subdivided and whether the new street should be public or private. McCann said lots proposed meet the minimum bulk standards and that the public-street option would require the city to maintain and plow the road; one commissioner suggested a private street to avoid long plow routes via Chanhassen.
McCann gave a park-dedication calculation for the 15 homes — about 0.7 acres or just over $73,000 in lieu of land — and said the Parks and Recreation Committee recommended a cash fee in lieu of land. He emphasized that sketch-plat review is for feedback only and that formal applications and DNR or watershed reviews would occur at preliminary plat if the applicant proceeds.
Next steps: the commission provided guidance and closed the sketch discussion; no formal action or recommendation was taken. If the applicant pursues the project, the next procedural steps include a preliminary plat application, required shoreland and watershed reviews, and public hearings.
