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No Date Proposal . '. Cedar Creek Addition Developer: Pilot Land Development Company Planning Design by: Richard Harrison Cedar Creek Addition will be a community that exceeds the living standards of what you currently know as "subdivision development" . CREATING A NEIGHBORHOOD INSTEAD OF A SUBDIVISION Recent newspaper articles on "cluster", "new town", or "neo-traditional" development created bad press against "suburbia" as we know it today, with its homes perfectly aligned against featureless streets. We present the answer to these concerns bringing back many qualities of yesterday's lifestyles without stepping back 100 years in design by using the latest techniques in design and computer generated geometries. Take for example this section of a Fergus Falls subdivision that uses the latest techniques in planning: curved streets, lots designed to breakup monotony, three-way intersections, and homes facing open areas. This development was platted by George Cooley... 125 years ago! We have advanced in virtually every aspect of our lives in these past decades except how we live... until now: By usmg a new technique called "Coving", we create spectacular subdivisions that will appear much more open and elegant than current standards. A coved development creates larger lots while reducing linear footage of public streets... the best of both worlds. This allows an estate- feel lot without increasing development costs. . . What makes a "neighborhood" as opposed to a "subdivision" feel? When you drive or walk through older urban communities there is a different feel than a modern subdivision. Obviously one difference has to do with architecture. The older developments do not have a two or three car garage as the main emphasis as in today' s development. Driving along Prance Avenue in Edina, Minnesota which is a major collector street you see only home fronts. Driving along a collector street in the suburbs you see only home rears as shown here. Our "coved" alternative does not showcase any home rears. It also de-emphasizes the garages without changing architecture. COVING OF SINGLE FAMILY This is a new form of housing first developed in 1994 which has been very successful in Minnesota and in other states. Going through houses built in the past several decades you will find that each decade seems to have a different feel within the homes. Today design techniques and materials are used that gives a home a much larger feel and a look higher quality than a same size home of just a few decades ago. Think of "coving" as a method to make better use of space that is available. What is a "coved" lot? A coved community combines the advantages of "cul-de-sac" feel, enhance views, while at the same time substantially reducing the visual impact of paving, softening the visual impact of garage doors and reducing the lineal feet of roads. . . Home fronts provide an open welcome feel into the community with a generous distance from the curb (as opposed to the standard 45 feet). Views constantly change as you drive, bicycle, or walk through this development. THE FEEL OF AN ESTATE SIZE LOT Instead of homes being a steady 120 feet apart front to front, the distance between home fronts meander as much as 300 feet between fronts creating vast open areas that will serve as a visual illusion of a larger area from the home. It is the setback from the street that gives the "feel" of a large lot, NOT the lot width. If all homes are placed at the same setback you cannot get a sense of scale, thus there is no illusion of larger lots. Since all "coved" lots meander and the street winds through with little relationship to a constant setback, the sense of scale is enhanced. These are larger lots, averaging over 18,000 square feet. No existing minimum required setback (width, side, rear or front) is reduced. A coved development must be a Planned Unit Development (PUD) as existing Minnesota Plat Law does not allow the showing of a variable setback line to be on a recorded subdivision plat unless that plat is a PUD. The setback lines serving as a "blanket" utility and access easement. It is this blanket easement that allows further reduction in main utility line lengths and allows the walkway to meander instead of paralleling the street. VALUE AND MARKETABILITY Value in a home should be one of the main focuses for the City of Albertville as homes that keep their value for many generations to come will assure that your city will be a livable community for many generations. It is this continuing home value that creates a community that passes the test of time. The sense of beauty, space and community within our layout is unusual for today' s suburban development. During the aging of the development when the pavement cracks and the architecture is no longer in vogue, a development needs character to survive long periods. . TRAFFIC PATTERNS, PAVING AND FLOW . The streets are designed to reduce traffic speed (increase safety) meandering through the development with no dedicated cul-de-sac's (reducing public works maintenance). Street paving is shown here in orange. The traffic pattern through this development is void of 4 way intersections, making it safer. This will surely be one of the most visually pleasing roads to visit in your city. The walk (shown in green) meanders through the development separating pedestrian and vehicular traffic as much as possible. Notice how little public roadway is used in this development. Planning techniques are used to reduce the lineal feet of paving and utilities, thus not only reduce development cost, but the on going maintenance cost to the City of Albertville in snow removal, and reconstruction. There is a reduction of 750 linear feet of public street in the coved development plus the elimination of a bubble of pavement in the lower left corner of the conventional option shown to the right. Compare the amount of street paving per lot to the conventional layout: Coved Conventional: 2,034 square feet. 2,321 square feet. . . The coved option has 13 percent less public street paving per home than the conventional layout. Overall paving between the two is about the same due to the longer driveways. OPEN SPACE As you may have experienced in previous developments there is a wide range of opinions as to what constitutes "open space". Open space should be easily accessible or very visible to be counted. The conventional layout is bounded by wetland areas and the golf course as is the coved layout. Conventional Coved Families that view the wetland areas: 14 35 (twinhomes) Families that overlook golf course: 13 16 Families that overlook space along street: 0 85 It is not the actual open space that counts, but the visual illusion of open space. An example is a small interior room in a house with an 8 foot ceiling feeling claustrophobic compared to a smaller room with a vaulted ceiling. Small interior dimension changes in a home can make a large difference in the feeling of space, as well as interior wall and window placement. These principals are applied to the placement of the homes within Cedar Creek Addition to make the illusion of a far less dense and more open community . Homes are placed to enhance instead of block views when you are living within the homes. Why not create great views for those windows that will be in the front and rear of the homes? . . COMPARING COVE TO CONVENTIONAL COVED LAYOUT Orange = Rear yard space Green = Perceived rear yard space CONVENTIONAL Can you see the simplicity and elegance of the use of space between the two options? The coved development has an increase of 27 % greater lawn area per lot (face of home to curb) than the conventional layout exclusive of the driveway area! Now also consider that the coved lots in Cedar Creek achieve this by using the 80 foot minimum width instead of the 90 foot as in the conventional layout! Again it is lot depth, not width that gives the feeling of a larger lot. Why have increased space in areas of the home where there is no substantial window areas? "., 4 " . . In the conventional layout home rears are showcased as is typical in suburban development. For example, those living in the homes along the golf course have great rear views, but look what they see out their home fronts. This is not to say its horrible.. .just typical. Coved lots eliminate fronts and passing traffic viewing home rears. Conclusion We feel the coved development will be superior to any previously constructed in the Albertville area. Your approval of this layout is a stepping stone to many other developments like this to follow improving living standards for countless people in the future generations. As you know present Planning and Council members that have the responsibility to future Albertville residents. In a 100 year period Cedar Creek Addition will provide a high living standard for an estimated 13,000 people. We at PILOT Land Development Company hope you will be our partner in making this dream happen by approving the coved design.