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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-05-09 CPC MINCity of Stillwater Planning Commission May 9, 2011 Present: Mike Dahlquist, Chair, Aron Buchanan, Eric Hansen, Cameron Kelly, Mike Kocon, Anne Siess, Doug Menikheim and Scott Spisak Staff present: Community Development Director Turnblad and Planner Mike Pogge Mr. Dahlquist called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Approval of minutes: Mr. Spisak, seconded by Mr. Kocon, moved to approve the April 11, 2011, minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. OPEN FORUM No comments were received. PUBLIC HEARINGS Case No. 2011 -12 A special use permit for outside music at 103 Third St. S. in the CBD, Central Business District. Brent Banchy, American Legion Post 48, applicant. Community Development Director Turnblad reviewed the request to offer live music on the American Legion deck on Sundays, Memorial Day through Labor Day, national holidays and on the Saturday of Lumberjack Days. He said the proposal is to provide music from 4 to 8 p.m. and Sundays, with the hours of 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the 4 th of July and the Saturday of Lumberjack Days. He noted that the City's nuisance ordinance prohibits outside music past 10 p.m. unless a waiver is granted by the City Council. He stated that last year the Council granted permission for outdoor music on a temporary basis; he said there was an issue regarding volume that was addressed by changing the orientation of the speakers, band stand etc. toward the river. He said there are a number of locations downtown that have outdoor music, with special use permits issued for all locations. He noted the City's ordinance specifies certain noise levels that are allowed at certain hours of the evening and for certain lengths of time. He said approval is recommended with a condition specifying the hours of 4 to 8 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. on the two days specified in the request and that the applicant abide by the nuisance ordinance. He noted this could be brought back to the Planning Commission upon substantiated complaint. On a question by Mr. Kocon, Mr. Turnblad said the request involves the same hours as last summer. Mr. Spisak asked how the noise ordinance is enforced. Mr. Turnblad said the first approach is to talk with management if there is a violation. If there is a disagreement regarding noise level, he said there is staff in the Public Safety Department trained to take decibel readings to verify the level. If there continues to be a problem that is not addressed, he said the permit would be brought back to the Planning Commission for review. Mr. Spisak asked if the City had done any noise studies downtown, in general, to determine if there is compliance with the ordinance. Mr. Turnblad said a study has not been done, but the ordinance includes an ambient, background, level of noise that is considered to be acceptable by the MPCA; those levels are metered when officers do sound level checks. Mr. Turnblad explained that there are several other measurements taken, including a certain volume level over a certain length of time and absolute peak volume. Mr. Dahlquist noted the letter from the applicant mentions four special events that are not included in the requested dates; Mr. Turnblad stated for special events, the applicant would go directly to the City Council for a one -time permission to have music later or on a different night that in the special use permit. 1 City of Stillwater Planning Commission May 9, 2011 Mr. Banchy was present. He said at present there are no special events scheduled but said the Legion would like the ability to have four such events. Mr. Turnblad said it might be possible to cover that in the special use permit as long as the music doesn't run past 10 p.m. Mr. Banchy noted they have redirected the speakers to face east and said they would continue to work with neighbors to minimize the impact of the noise. Mr. Spisak asked about the band; a representative of the Legion said it is a five - member band that plays '50s and '60s type music. Mr. Turnblad asked about the special events; the Legion spokesperson said the music would not go past 10 p.m. and the events would not be scheduled during the week. A Legion spokesman said they would take responsibility for ensuring the music is in compliance with the regulations for the special events. In discussion, the Legion representatives stated they have had no special events with music during the last couple of years. Mr. Dahlquist opened the public hearing. Pete Groth, 115 Myrtle St., said the issue is not with the dates or weddings, the issue is with how much noise there has to be. He suggested having an officer check the noise level and ask that the volume be turned down if the officer can hear it from his squad a block away. He said it is when the music goes across the street and into the next block that there is a problem, especially when the bass is played. He also said there is a problem with bands playing in the park. He also suggested the City ought to have signs at Third Street identifying a "low noise zone," speaking of the problem of noise created by motorcycles. Carrie Fee, 105 Chestnut St., said she enjoys living in a city where there is outdoor music, suggesting that is part of what makes businesses successful and why tourists visit the City. She said the music is for families and said she appreciates the music. Steve Genan, 231 Third St. N., said they had called numerous times to complain last year, even after the Legion did the changes to the speakers, etc. He said the music is still so loud that things rattle inside their house when the bass is played. He suggested Stillwater will be known as the City of Noise as there is noise everywhere. He said the concern is not with the music but the fact that it can be heard a block away. A resident of Fourth Street and representative of the American Legion noted that there is noise in a city -- that is part of living in a city. He referred to the difficulties being experiences by American Legions and VFWs and said the Legion is just trying to bring in a little extra income to keep the business alive all year by offering the music in the summer. A resident of Fourth Street South said the music doesn't bother her, in fact she enjoys going downtown to hear the music. She also suggested that people come here because they love being by the river and love being outside. She spoke in favor of free enterprise and free choice. No other comments were received, and the hearing was closed. A representative of the Legion addressed comments regarding volume, saying the volume has been turned down to the point where the audience will have to be issued headsets if it is turned down any lower; he also addressed comments that police have not responded to complaints in the past, saying they have responded and have been very cooperative in working to address any problems. 2 City of Stillwater Planning Commission May 9, 2011 Mr. Spisak expressed concern about how noise levels are monitored, referring to decibel levels, some of which can be exceeded by a vacuum cleaner, and how a business can comply with the ordinance. Mr. Kocon noted this location is downtown, in a commercial district where music is allowed outside by special use permit, and he noted the request involves 60 hours during the course of a year. Mr. Kocon said he didn't believe the proposed hours, 4 to 8 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m., were onerous; he said he thought outdoor music is key to a vibrant community and key to a vibrant downtown. Ms. Siess suggested that the four special event dates ought to be specified. Mr. Dahlquist noted the special events are not part of the proposal before the Commission. Mr. Kocon moved approval of the special use permit, with the stated conditions A, B and C, as listed in the staff recommendations. Mr. Hansen seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Case No. 2011 -13 A variance to the size regulations for garages for construction of garage units at 516 Myrtle St. W. in the RB, Two Family Residential District. Steve Thron, applicant. Mr. Pogge reviewed the request and staff recommendations. He reviewed the three criteria for the granting of a variance, noting a very recent change in state law has changed the previous hardship criteria to a "practical difficulty" standard. He said staff finds that all three criteria have been met and approval is recommended as conditioned, with an additional condition that the garage go no farther west than the existing power pole. Mr. Kocon noted this involves a very large lot, so with the apartment units and garage as proposed, lot coverage would still be only 10% coverage, while 25% coverage is allowable. Mr. Pogge pointed out that if they were to build an accessory building allowable by ordinance, 10% of the lot area, they would be well under what would be allowed. Mr. Spisak asked if the new garage would meet setbacks; Mr. Pogge responded in the affirmative. The Throns were present and said they would be meeting all setback requirements and noted their insurance company will not even insure the existing structure because it is in such bad condition. Mr. Thron said the neighbors are in support of a new structure. Mrs. Thron said they intend to keep the same salt -box design of the new garage. Mr. Dahlquist opened the public hearing. Steve Wahlquist, who lives just to the north of the Throns' apartment building, spoke in favor of the new garage with the conditions. He said he favored the new garage primarily because it will improve the appearance of the property and get rid of an eyesore. No other comments were received, and the hearing was closed. Mr. Kocon moved to approve the variance request with the four conditions recommended by staff. Ms. Siess seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Case No. 2011 -10 A special use permit to allow early childhood education in the RB, Two Family Residential District, by special use permit to construct an early childhood education facility at 523 March St. W. in the RB, Two Family Residential District. Steve Erickson, BWBR, representing Stillwater Area School District. Continued from the April 11, 2011, meeting. 3 City of Stillwater Planning Commission May 9, 2011 Community Development Director Turnblad noted this was tabled at the last meeting to get additional information from the applicant, specifically related to traffic and circulation, both vehicular and pedestrian, growth projections, more details on the facade of the building and setbacks. Mr. Turnblad reviewed the additional information related to traffic. He said the School District's consultants did traffic counts in several different locations on an hourly basis and projections of how those hourly counts could impact traffic. He said traffic from the early childhood education facility, at maximum capacity of 400 students, has minimal impact during peak hours of the junior high traffic as it is distributed throughout the day; even at the peak hours for the early childhood facility traffic, he said the increase in traffic is minimal. Mr. Turnblad noted the parking lot has been rearranged to address the concern about pedestrian circulation /safety and showed graphics of the changes made subsequent to the last meeting. Mr. Turnblad reviewed some of the details of the facade. He also reviewed the proposed setbacks, all of which exceed the setback requirements for the RB District. Mr. Turnblad noted the Commission is to determine whether the special use permit criteria are met for this site, not whether another site might work; he noted that staff believes the special use permit criteria can be met with the recommended conditions and recommends approval. Ms. Siess asked whether the traffic study counts represented vehicles; Mr. Turnblad stated the studies represent trips, not vehicles. Mr. Kocon noted the studies indicate the maximum impact on Holcombe is 20 cars at an off -peak time of 11 a.m., with similar impact on Sixth Street. Mr. Spisak asked if the changes to the parking lot configuration impacted the number of spaces; Mr. Turnblad said there is a loss of about 40 spaces, but there is still a surplus of spaces over what is required at full enrollment. Ray Queener, Stillwater Area Schools, spoke briefly about the traffic studies and said they believe the counts reflect the maximum, worst case scenario. Steve Erickson, BWBR, provided graphics of the building elevations and details about building materials; he spoke of the use of windows and roof forms to maintain a residential feel to the building and break up the massing. There was discussion about a grass strip in the parking lot and how a pedestrian would be able to get across that in the winter; it was noted the intent is to have some type of maintained walkway though that area. Ms. Siess asked about signage of the lot; it was stated that has not been determined at this point. Mr. Hansen asked about deliveries to the building; it was noted that there is a designated area for trash pickup but most daily deliveries would be minor and likely use the front entrance. Mr. Dahlquist asked about efforts to encourage traffic flow to the south and east to take some of the peak off Holcombe Street; Mr. Erickson stated having two distinctly different entrances into and out of the parking lot is, at this point, the primary mechanism that spreads the traffic out, providing people the option of proceeding north on Holcombe or north /south on Sixth. Mr. Spisak asked about square footage; Mr. Erickson stated the building is still about 45,000 square -feet. Mr. Spisak asked about future space needs; Mr. Queener said the building provides for enough space to accommodate another 100 students served, with the remaining square footage for interior mechanical rooms and dedicated space for the two partners, Independent School District 916 and Courage Center St. Croix. Mr. Kocon asked about the location of the playground considering the issue with property lines with some residents on Holcombe; Mr. Erickson stated the playground has been moved a bit south, about 20 feet, of the previous plans. Mr. Hansen asked about idling buses; it was noted that as much as the School District can control its contractor, the District can request that the idling be minimized as well as take other steps, such as having staff waiting to get kids from the buses in the winter, to minimize idling. 4 Mary Lunzer, 516 W. Hancock St., expressed a concern about assumptions and noted no traffic study was done on Hancock and other residential streets that are utilized by traffic going to the school. She questioned how the impact was determined, whether a traffic study was done at ECFE. She noted on- street parking is currently allowed and wondered whether that would be of 100 cars per hour is a big because of this new facility. She said even the increase p g increase in traffic. She also raised a concern about idling of buses. City of Stillwater Planning Commission May 9, 2011 Mr. Dahlquist opened the public hearing, noting that the Commission had received several e- mails, included in the packet, some of which addressed the site selection process, as opposed to this specific site. Joel Branjird,1006 Seventh St. S., suggested that the traffic studies don't address the traffic relative to other school areas. He pointed out that the junior high currently houses about 400 more students than the next largest school in the City, Lily Lake. He said this feels like piling on, as the junior high school already has a population of 1,000 students. Regardless of the traffic studies, he said the traffic will be way above any other school. He also spoke of the visual impact, noting that other schools are setback farther and not nearly as close to existing residential homes. He also questioned the need for a one -story building, when there is a two - story ECFC in Cottage Grove; he also questioned a statement that there is a state mandate that precludes adding onto a school for ECFE, noting that a Roseville K -8 school has such a program within the school building. Scott Van Meertan, 501 W. Hancock St., had a petition, submitted to the Commission, with 72 signatures of people living in the area who are opposed to the project. He said he and his wife covered 103 homes on Holcombe, Churchill, Hancock, Marsh, Seventh, Sixth and Fifth streets — 26 were no- answers, 5 refused to sign the petition, indicating 74% of the residents do not want this project. He asked the Commission to listen to the residents, property tax payers. He submitted eight additional names for the petition. Robert Dombrowsky, 924 S Seventh St., spoke of his experience living when the school was the senior high and noted this proposal represents the same number of students as when the building housed the senior high. He said residents are being asked to put up with cars continually coming in and out of their streets. He referred to the traffic studies and suggested that 50 cars in an hour in a residential zone is a huge impact. He spoke of the number of young children living in the area. He said the traffic issue has not been satisfactorily addressed — he suggested it was addressed in a manner that best suits the District's purpose and intent. He suggested there are alternatives to this site, such as a two -story building or one attached to the existing building, both of which would alleviate a lot of problems. He also suggested the proposed building doesn't fit the character of the neighborhood. No other comments were received, and the hearing was closed. Jeff Bednar, traffic consultant from SRF, reviewed how the traffic studies were conducted; he stated the traffic counts were conducted on Holcombe and Sixth Street between Churchill and Hancock streets, as well as at the existing ECFE facility. He specifically addressed how the ECFE projections were determined. He stated the highest hourly increase that was identified related to the proposed facility was 35 additional trips during the hours of 11 a.m. to noon. He said some additional traffic was identified on Hancock, about 30 cars per day, with no increase identified for Seventh City of Stillwater Planning Commission May 9, 2011 Street. On a question from the Commission, Mr. Turnblad said the City's Public Works Director looked at the studies that were submitted by SRF and have indicated that the numbers the early childhood education facility would add to the system do not degrade any of the functionality of any of the intersections in the area and would not require changing any of the existing signals or stop signs. Mr. Bednar briefly reviewed the existing all -way stop controls and said the study did not indicate a need for any additional all -way controls. Mr. Queener talked about the number of students, noting that early childhood is not all -day programming, every day — programming is in 2 -hour blocks so students are not all in the building at one time, a student may come to school once or twice a week for two - hours. Regarding the traffic studies, he said the early childhood data was provided to the traffic consultant based on zip codes of students served and represent real numbers. He also said Holcombe and Sixth represent 75% of the proposed trips, which is why the study focused on those two streets; for the other streets, he said there would be similar impacts but on a much smaller scale. In terms of the issue of a one -story versus two -story building, he said one -story is desired for this type of programming, but noted the District had looked at the former UFE building, a two+ story facility. He said the programming can operate in a two -story structure but a one -story structure is preferable; he also stated a one -story building will keep the profile of the building down in the neighborhood. He also addressed the possibility of adding onto an existing elementary school; he said that can be done, but the funding mechanism the District is utilizing does not allow that per statute, which stipulates the footprint of an existing facility cannot be increased by more than 20 %. There was a question about on- street parking;; Mr. Turnblad stated, with the exception of Lumberjack Days, parking is allowed on both sides of the streets, and, according to traffic and public safety folks, streets are passable with that arrangements. Mr. Spisak asked about the number of neighborhood meetings held regarding the project; Mr. Queener stated a meeting was held in January and later residents were invited, by letter, to participate in the design work. Mr. Spisak asked about the tenor of the January meeting; Mr. Queener said it was similar to the comments /concerns expressed at this meeting. Mr. Buchanan said he thought the biggest concern centers on traffic and said he thought the new traffic studies utilized sound methodology; he also noted the additional traffic will be experienced during off -peak hours from the junior high traffic and said, while still of some concern, he did not think the traffic issue should hold the project back. Mr. Kocon noted that the concerns expressed at the last Commission meeting regarding parking, traffic and traffic flow /circulation have been addressed in the new information; he said no matter where something is put it has an impact on neighbors, but said he would support the special use permit. Ms. Siess said she understands the need for a new early childhood education facility, but expressed a concern about the lack of long -range planning, specifically in regard to growth of the junior high population; she said she believes the growth of the junior high in relation to this new facility will be an eventual detriment to the public welfare of the community. Mr. Spisak agreed with the need for a new ECFE facility but said he was struggling with the fact that the building's scale, size and massing is not consistent with the existing neighborhood and said he didn't think the School District addressed those concerns with the site location on the property. Mr. Dahlquist agreed that the campus feel is being lost by eliminating some of the open space around the edges of the site, but noted the building does meet all setbacks and said he wasn't sure how this project could be held to a different standard than everybody else in the neighborhood; he said he thought the new traffic information helped a great deal, noting the 6 City of Stillwater Planning Commission May 9, 2011 traffic increases, even on the most impacted streets, are relatively small in comparison to what is already there and far smaller than the peak hours on those streets. Mr. Dahlquist said what wasn't addressed to his satisfaction is flow through the site, but said he didn't think that opportunity goes away if this special use permit is approved. Mr. Kocon moved approval of the special use permit with the three conditions of approval as listed in the agenda packet. Mr. Buchanan seconded the motion. Motion passed 5 -2, with Ms. Siess and Mr. Spisak voting no. It was noted this will go before the City Council at its May 17 meeting, with another public hearing at that time. Case No. 2011 -14 A rezoning of certain properties within the City of Stillwater to make them consistent with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. City of Stillwater, applicant. Continued from the April 11, 2011, meeting. Mr. Turnblad noted this was tabled for review by the Parks Commission and recommendation regarding what the front setback ought to be for park buildings. He said the Parks Commission recommended approval of some revised language, indicating that all setbacks be 50 feet from property lines, but allowed, by special use permit, to be closer than 50' from the front setback if a building's function is improved or it makes sense and is reasonable to place it in a closer location. Mr. Dahlquist noted that dog park has been added to this new zoning district; he questioned whether there would be an issue with the minimum size for golf courses should an existing nine -hole course be split off from the 18 -hole course. Mr. Turnblad said he would check into the usual sizes for nine -hole courses and bring that recommendation to the City Council. Mr. Dahlquist questioned whether the special use permit for facilities less than 50' from the front setback should specify that is only from public right -of -way. Mr. Turnblad said the Parks Commission thought that any property line was appropriate in some instances. Mr. Pogge pointed out a lot of the City's parks are in residential areas so it is difficult to meet a 50' setback from every property line. Mr. Spisak asked about the footnote dealing with impervious cover and asked whether than would preclude requiring mitigation; Mr. Turnblad said a use would still have to abide by the rules of the various watershed districts. Mr. Dahlquist opened the public hearing. No comments were received, and the hearing was closed. Mr. Spisak moved to recommend approval by the Council with the three changes included in the staff recommendations. Ms. Siess seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. OTHER BUSINESS Update on pedestrian walkway — Mr. Pogge provided a brief update on plans for the pedestrian walkway and design for the restroom facility. He said the Council has settled on a formal walkway design with gathering space; he said is hoped plans will be finalized in July- August, with construction possibly beginning yet this fall. Meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m. on a motion by Mr. Kocon. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary 7