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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-06-14 CPC MIN• Planning Commission June 14, 1999 Present: Jerry Fontaine, chair Glenna Bealka, Russ Hultman, Holly Owen, John Rheinberger Darwin Wald and Terry Zoller Others: Community Development Director Steve Russell Absent: Kirk Roetman and Tom Weidner Mr. Fontaine called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Approval of minutes: Mr. Wald, seconded by Mr. Rheinberger, moved approval of the minutes of May 10, 1999; all in favor. Case No. V/99-23 A variance to the front yard setback (30 feet required, 25 feet requested) for construction of an addition to an attached garage at 1035 3rd Ave. S. in the RB, Two Family Residential District. James and Paulette Hoy, applicant. Mr. and Mrs. Hoy were present. They explained the request is to add room so they can park vehicles in front of the existing laundry room, and they noted there is no other place in the • basement or first floor of the home to relocate the laundry. No neighbors objected to their plans, they said. Mr. Rheinberger asked whether cars could be parked in the driveway if the variance is granted. Mr. Hoy said it is 25' from the garage to the curb. Ms. Owen asked if there was a possibility the city might construct sidewalks in that area in the future; it was noted that is unlikely since the street is a dead-end. Mrs. Bealka, seconded by Mr. Zoller, moved approval as conditioned; all in favor. Case No. V/99-24 A variance to the front yard setback (30 feet required, 15 feet requested) for construction of a residence at 290 Deerpath in the RA, Single Family Residential District. Marcia Kilbourne, applicant. Ms. Kilbourne was present. She noted the request is for a 20 feet setback as conditioned by staff, rather than 15 feet as stated in the agenda packet. It also was noted that a drainage plan has been approved by the city engineer. Tim Bell, 266 Deerpath Court, stated his opposition, citing concerns about traffic at the Deerpath/Olive Street intersection, noting the City is going to be trying some traffic changes at that intersection. He said his biggest concern, however, is the flooding caused in neighboring properties due to the runoff from the property in question. He provided a copy of an SEH report dated Nov. 12, 1993, which stated the firm recommended that Ms. Kilbourne's lot not be • developed until there is a resolution to the flooding problem on properties on Deerpath Court. • Planning Commission June 14, 1999 Mr. Bell further stated that when the lot was for sale, he went to the Washington County Courthouse where he was told it was an unbuildable site and a prior dump site. Also speaking in opposition and expressing similar concerns regarding drainage and traffic were the residents of 278 Deerpath, 261 Deerpath, and 278 Deerpath. Ms. Kilbourne suggested that Mr. Bell had a flooding problem before and noted she had a drainage plan which included plans for a swail and berming. Mr. Fontaine asked if City Engineer Klayton Eckles had approved the drainage plan. Mr. Russell said Mr. Eckles is aware of the issue and has developed a plan to satisfactorily handle the drainage problem. Mr. Zoller spoke of the ongoing traffic problem at the Deerpath/Olive intersection and noted that if a house is constructed any closer to the intersection than allowable, it would cause greater problems. Mr. Hultman noted it might be costly, but Ms. Kilbourne could move a house farther back on the lot. Ms. Kilbourne said it would be difficult to move a house farther back on the lot due to the depth of the previous dump site. Mr. Zoller said the primarily issue is the setback due to the traffic problem. He moved to deny the variance. Mr. Hultman seconded the motion. Motion to deny passed unanimously. • Case No. SUPN/DR/99-25 A special use permit for construction of an office building, bar, restaurant, conference center and lobby connector and variance to parking (409 provided, 459 required) at 606 N. Main St. in the CBD, Central Business District. John Lang, Territorial Partners, applicant. Present for the discussion were Mike Borum and John Lange of Territorial Partners, architect Mark Finneman and a representative of Wispark. When asked what was different about the proposal, other than use, Mr. Lang noted the applicants had never appeared before the Planning Commission with a request for parking and variance. He noted the parking requirement is different for office use as opposed to the hotel previously proposed. The City requires 459 parking spots for the current proposal. The site plan provides 450 spots, he said; some of those are located on City property and some are closer to the lot line than the required 10 foot setback. Mr. Finneman explained the plan is a way to accommodate green space and parking. Thirty-seven parking stalls are on city land, he said, and some have a zero setback from the wall. It was noted there is some on-street parking and parking across the street; there could be some shared use of the office parking on the weekends, it was pointed out. Mr. Fontaine asked if the developers were aware of the conditions of approval recommended by staff. Mr. Lang questioned condition No. 2 (the requirement that developers install and maintain a trail), saying at this point, he has no idea of the potential cost involved. Mr. Russell pointed out that the developers are proposing to use City property for parking, which could be a trade-off for . requiring the trail. 2 • Planning Commission June 14, 1999 Mr. Rheinberger, seconded by Mrs. Bealka, moved approval as conditioned, retaining condition No. 2 regarding the trail, but eliminating condition No. 6 that parking be setback a minimum of 10 feet from the property line. Motion passed unanimously. Case No. V/99-26 A variance determination for rear yard setback (25 feet required, 15 feet requested) for an addition and remodeling of an existing residence at 502 N. Everett St. in the RB, Two Family Residential District. Timothy Old, applicant. Mr. Old explained that the lot is unusual, and he was unclear as to how the setback requirements applied. Mr. Fontaine noted the address is Everett Street, but cold be considered to be Park Place, in which case a variance wouldn't be needed. Mr. Old, an architect, provided photos and explained his plans, plans which, he said, are intended to maintain the existing house and construct the addition such that it maintains a "kinship" with the existing structure. A question was raised about drainage, and Mr. Old responded that he intended to maintain drainage on site. Gary Gehrman, 512 Park Place, said he was concerned about the aesthetics of the ravine, but felt Mr. Old's design would not create a problem. • Mr. Rheinberger, seconded by Mr. Wald, moved approval as conditioned, based on the address as 502 N. Everett St. Motion passed unanimously. Other items: Regulating repair garages in residential districts: Mr. Russell explained that the City Council has received numerous complaints regarding the business at the corner of Owens and McKusick Road. He said the intent is not to remove the business, but improve the appearance as viewed from the street. Building owner Jim Gannon was present; he pointed out there are three separate businesses housed in the building, and in addition to his repair business, he has a car dealers license. There was considerable discussion about ways to limit the number of cars parked there, and the possibility of requiring a portion of the property to be fenced and cars stored behind the fencing. Mr. Hultman suggested the area to the west of the building where partially junked out cars are stored is most offensive. Mr. Gannon agreed to get parts stored away. After considerable discussion, Mr. Russell asked for direction as to whether to require that parked cars be screened. If that is not required, he said there are minimal things than can be done to improve the appearance of the property. It was suggested that even parking cars in a more orderly fashion would be an improvement. Mr. Gannon agreed to direct the other tenants to do that, and agreed to store the parts out of view. Mr. Russell was directed to develop a fence plan if necessary. • 3 Planning Commission June 14, 1999 Real estate signs: Present for the discussion were realtors Phil Eastwood, Pat Branch, Adam Nyberg and Kate Daniels. Mr. Eastwood said there have never been a lot of complaints regarding signs in the past, but he said realtors could do better by using no more arrow signs that absolutely needed and removing those signs promptly when the property is sold and by taking open house signs down immediately after the open is over. Mr. Zoller noted that it is against state and county law to place signage in the right-of-way, and said he would be opposed to the city changing its ordinance to allow such a practice. He also referred to Mr. Eckles' letter outlining concerns, including concerns regarding safety issues. Mr. Nyberg said the real estate people were not looking for an ordinance change, but said the use of directional signs and open house signs are important to their ability to market a property. Ms. Branch said real estate people can "police" themselves regarding removal of directional/open house signs in a timely manner. Mr. Rheinberger, seconded by Mr. Wald, moved to retain the City's existing sign ordinance. Motion passed unanimously. The realtor representatives in attendance indicated their support of the motion. Rezoning of an auto repair business at 13093 McKusick Road from single family to commercial: i Mr. Russell said not rezoning the property would not impact the current business owner as the use is grandfathered in. It was pointed out the property probably would be more valuable if the current owner decided to sell at some point in the future if left zoned single family. Mr. Hultman, seconded by Mr. Rheinberger, moved to leave the zoning as is; motion passed unanimously. Mr. Rheinberger, seconded by Mr. Wald, moved to adjourn at 9:35 p.m.; all in favor. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary 4