ITEM 7.1 _Presentation•
1
City of Otsego
City Council
January 14, 2019
Request for Zoning Ordinance Amendment
Stephen Bona
Vice President of Land Development
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■11 Villa Homes
• Single level living with snow and lawn maintenance is a popular option for
"Empty Nester" buyers.
• Offer Architectural character with pleasing streetscapes
• Municipalities have welcomed slab on grade Villa homes all over the metro area.
• Nice compliment to Single Family home offerings
• General Affordability $300,000-$400,000;
• Range in Harvest Run for slab on grade Villas is $300,000-$350,000,
• Villa with a basements range at Harvest Run is $340,000- $400,000
• Harvest Run currently offers 52 Villas and Harvest Run East, a new neighborhood
in the concept stage will offer 61 Villas. A majority in both communities are slab
on grade.
i
� Competitive
Market
• Slab on grade Villa Homes (without storm shelters) are being built in almost all
developing cities in the metro area except Lakeville. Slab on grade homes have been
built for decades in the Twin Cites.
• Buyers can travel a short distance from Otsego for similar Villa offerings:
Capstone Homes is building slab on grade Villa homes nearby in Ramsey, Elk River,
Champlin..... also in Blaine and Cottage Grove.
Other builders are building Slab of Grade Villas nearby in Dayton, St. Michael, and Monticello.
• Storm shelters add $10,000 - $15,000 to the price of each Villa home.
• * Storm shelters offer little or no perceived value to Villo buyers in o market where
home prices ore of oil time highs. Buyers ore not asking for storm shelters.
• Capstone agrees that this lack of perceived value and increased home price will have a
negative impact on home sales.-
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In our research, we have found only one builder
offering storm shelters: Benzinger Homes (here
Storm Shelter
Research,
in the metro area
in Otsego) .
Jeff Benzinger supports the Capstone proposal to revise the storm
shelter ordinance as we are presenting to the Council this evening. -
We have learned that national builders in Otsego; Lennar, DR Horton
and M/I, all modified their grading plans after original City Council
approval, to split entry and full basements, eliminating slab on
grade ... just as they have done in Lakeville. Thus the storm shelter
requirement no longer applied in these communities.
-- _ Rho Storm Shelter
t
ME
Otsego and Lakeville are the only cities in MN requiring a storm shelter to be
built in every slab on grade home.-
The
ome.-
The conclusion of builders in Lakeville is that the market has rejected the
increased price to the home for storm shelters. Therefore they don't offer
slab on grade homes.
Following the Hugo tornado 2008 - The city of Hugo reacted by increasing the
safety requirement for slab on grade homes by requiring the builders to offer
a storm shelter to the buyers, as an optional feature. -
These other local/growing cities are also concerned with the safety of their
residents, but they have made a decision to allow the homebuyers to decide
for themselves how much safety they want in their house.AA
-
c*
,� '= Storm Shelter Research,
A similar requirement:
The 2015 State Sprinkler Code
For a short time in 2015 the
MN
builder code
began requiring
automatic sprinkler systems
for
homes with
at least 4500 sq ft.
• This requirement added $10,000 to the price of each home.
• Later that year the court ruled to invalidate the requirement.
• Stating: A requirement like this cannot only be specific to large homes.
• The judges also stated: "In addition to not adequately proving the 4,500 -square -
foot requirement, the judges said the department also violated state law by not
adequately looking into the cost to small businesses and cities of implementing
the rule." https://www.twincities.com/2015/10/12/minnesota-rule-reguiring-
home-fire-sprinklers-overturned/
• "According to several scientific surveys, 87% of Minnesotans say they don't want
sprinkler systems to be forced on them. They would prefer to be free to choose."
(http: / /www. bamn.org/news/new-homes-are-the-safest/) A
ir
A Third Option-, to the Staff Report:
Require Builders to offer a storm shelter as an option to buyers
• Allow buyers to choose whether a storm shelter is an investment that is right for them
• Builders will be required to offer storm shelters as an option to Villa buyers, and they
will market option accordingly by requiring buyers to sign an acknowledgement of
offer.
• Capstone would modify all of our slab on grade plans to include the storm shelter
option
• Permitting storm shelters to be offered as an option will allow buyers to make the best
investment decision for themselves
• A similar alternative option: under a modification to the PUD, Storm shelters would not
be required, but Capstone homes would commit to offering storm shelters as an option
to each potential buyer at a fixed cost of $10,000 for the life of the Harvest Run
project. This would be tremendous value to the buyers who choose a storm shelter.
This requires the builder to offer the option to every buyer, but at a reasonable price.,A
It also allows the City to offer the safety the City desires.
J
THANK YOU