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Proposed development could take up last of Harris lagoon spaceBy Danielle Strenke The city council heard from developer Jerry Triden at its Feb. 6 meeting on a proposal to construct 32 units of senior housing on 77 acres off of 438th St. in Harris. Completion of the units would bring the cityís daily water usage very close to capacity on its existing lagoon system. Triden was before the council seeking conceptual approval only on the two- and three-bedroom unit development, which would include a common recreation building. He said building anything less than 32 units would not be economically feasible. Council members discussed whether or not one development project should be accepted that will take up most of the available hook-ups on the lagoon system. City Attorney Kevin Shoeberg told Triden that the cityís policy is that any costs associated with expanding the lagoon system to accommodate a development would be assessed to the developer. ìIt was their intention that existing residents wouldnít be paying for any expansion,î he said. Triden said he would certainly be open to participating financially in the expansion of the lagoons, but would not foot the bill entirely if it would be used for additional future development as well. ìIf youíre looking at expansion of the lagoon and want us to pay for it, Iíll say we want all those hook-ups if weíre paying for it,î he said. Triden also said he had spoken with former city engineer Steve Thatcher, who told him as many as 400 new hook-ups may be available after the lagoon is aerated. ìYour new engineer doesnít know until the ponds are drained this spring,î he said. The lagoon is scheduled to be drained in the spring, not only to repair cracks in the walls but to look at the possibility of expansion. The property for the proposed development is adjacent to the existing pond. Shoeberg said the city had not and could not include a feasibility study on the possible expansion in its 2003 budget. Triden said he would probably be willing to partially pay for the study, depending on the overall cost. Mayor Richard Hanson said he was also concerned about how close the development would be to neighbors, how close it is to wetlands and if the streets and turnarounds were an acceptable width for fire department vehicles. Council member Wayne Buisman said he would like to see a guarantee that the units would be strictly senior housing. ìAre you going to pull a fast one and it will only be 60 percent seniors, thatís my concern,î he said. ìIt will cost a lot more to the city and county infrastructure ñ itís a big difference if itís not.î Shoeberg said all of those concerns could be addressed by Triden at the time he requests a preliminary plat approval for the development. ©ECM Post Review |