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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-11 CPC MINPLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES June 11, 2012 REGULAR MEETING 7:00 P.M. Present: Commissioners Chris Lauer, Cameron Kelly, Mike Rodriguez, Aron Buchanan, Mike Dahlquist, Eric Hansen, Anne Siess, Mike Kocon Absent: Commissioner Scott Spisak Staff present: City Planner Michel Pogge, Community Development Director Bill Turnblad Chairman Dahlquist called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Chairman Dahlquist introduced the newest planning commissioner, Mr. Mike Rodriguez. APPROVAL OF MAY 14, 2012 MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Kocon, seconded by Commissioner Hansen, to approve. All in favor. OPEN FORUM No comments were received. PUBLIC HEARINGS Case No. 2012 -20. A variance to the front yard setback for the construction of a porch located at 921 7th Street South in the RB, Two Family Residential District. Matthew Hall, applicant. City Planner Pogge explained a six and a half foot wide porch is proposed to be added to the home. Normally a 20 -foot setback is required, 10.3 feet is requested. He presented photos of the current home and the plans for the porch. City Planner Pogge said the commission needs to look at the following criteria: is the request reasonable, is the plight of the property owner unique, and are the circumstances created by the landowner? Additionally, if granted, would the variance alter the essential character of the neighborhood? Is the nature of the request economic in nature? He reported that staff believes the proposal meets the requirements for granting the variance and recommends approval with two conditions. Chairman Dahlquist opened the public hearing at 7:14 p.m. No comments were received. The public hearing was closed at 7:14 p.m. The applicant was present. Commissioner Kocon stated he feels the porch will be a positive addition. 1 Commissioner Buchanan commented that the commission has approved similar requests. Motion by Buchanan to approve the variance with conditions as stated, seconded by Kocon. All in favor. Case No. 2012 -19. A variance request for the removal and construction of a garage located at 407 Linden Street West in the RB, Two Family Residential District. Tim Brown, applicant. Continued from the May 14, 2012 meeting. City Planner Pogge noted the original proposal was to construct a three -stall garage but the applicants have revised the plans to have a 28 foot wide facade facing the side street and 24 feet of depth. He said that staff believes this is more appropriate for the site, and all criteria has been met. Staff recommends approval. The applicant was present. Chairman Dahlquist opened the public hearing at 7:20 p.m. No comments were received. The public hearing was closed at 7:20 p.m. Commissioner Kocon noted that the applicant had changed the plans to comply with the commission's wishes, so he had no issues with the proposal. Chairman Dahlquist agreed that the redesign shows the applicant listened to concerns previously expressed. Commissioner Rodriguez said that the addition will enhance the area. Commissioner Hansen said it's nice to see changes being made based on the commission's recommendations and he supports the redesign. Motion by Commissioner Kocon to approve with the condition stated, seconded by Commissioner Siess. All in favor. Case No. 2012 -08. An amendment to an existing special use permit for construction of a rooftop deck and bar (Rafters) located at 317 Main Street South in the CBD, Central Business District. Larry Cramer, applicant. Continued from the May 14, 2012 meeting. Case was continued to the July 9, 2012 meeting. Motion by Commissioner Hansen to table, seconded by Commissioner Kelly. All in favor. Case No. 2012 -12. An ordinance text amendment regarding Chapter 27, Section 27 -3, the "Keeping of Bees." City of Stillwater, applicant. The commission discussed the issue of whether Stillwater should adopt standards to allow more beekeeping to occur in the city, in response to a request that the city council received from several hobbyist beekeepers. 2 Community Development Director Turnblad stated that current city ordinances allow beekeeping but because of the required 500 feet setback from all property lines, the regulations effectively preclude beekeeping due to the size of the lot that would be required. He said the issue of beekeeping has become a hot topic in many municipalities. The main points of controversy appear to be the bees' flight path, and swarming, which can be regarded as nuisances. He added that these can be addressed through careful management of a hive. Community Development Director Turnblad discussed minimal performance standards recommended by staff. In addition, in response to a question from Commissioner Siess, he recommended that beekeeping be limited to single and two- family zoning districts. In response to concerns from Commissioner Hansen, Community Development Director Turnblad said language could be included that describes the required setback in detail, to prevent, for instance, the bees use of a neighbor's nearby pool for water. Community Development Director Turnblad then reviewed the pros and cons of requiring a city permit for apiaries. He said it usually depends on the complexity of the ordinance. For example if the city wished to allow in -home sale of honey then it would make sense to require a permit, because a home business generates traffic; sometimes a permit is helpful because it has contact information for the person who manages the hives. He added that usually permits cost $10 -25. Commissioner Kelly questioned how much regulatory language related to the home occupation ordinance should be also included in the beekeeping ordinance. Community Development Director Turnblad proposed including details from the home occupation ordinance that also apply to beekeeping in the ordinance on beekeeping. Commissioner Kelly asked about requiring beehives be in the back yard. Community Development Director Turnblad said he has no problem adding this to the ordinance. Commissioner Rodriguez asked how the city can guarantee standards of practice such as water source or flight zone when a hive is set up, if permits are not required. Community Development Director Turnblad said beekeeping requires a certain amount of knowledge and an apiary usually will have someone inspect it before introducing the bees. Because the city enforces almost all its ordinances by complaint, this ordinance as proposed would rely on the honor of the beekeeper to do it right. He recommended against requiring an initial inspection, because there is no city staff available to do that. A master beekeeper could be required to sign off on the apiary before a permit is issued if the city desires. A permit would give the city a way to hasten enforcement of compliance issues. Commissioner Lauer (((((r? ???7?))))))) asked if there have been a lot of complaints about bees in Stillwater? Community Development Director Turnblad said not to his knowledge. 3 The commission discussed proposed standards of practice, specifically requiring that the beekeeper live on the lot, prohibiting nonresident employees, and requiring education and training for beekeepers. Community Development Director Turnblad pointed out that apiaries need to be monitored fairly frequently. If a beekeeper is on vacation, he believes the beekeeper would have to arrange for someone (unpaid) to tend the hives, because it's a hobby, not a commercial activity. He added that there are classes at the U of M for master beekeepers, and that Minnesota has a very active beekeeping community. Commissioner Lauer asked how large the water source needs to be. Community Development Director Turnblad responded it doesn't have to be large but has to provide constant water. Bees use a water source based on distance and sufficiency. Chairman Dahlquist opened the public hearing at 8:01 p.m. Representing the group known as the "bee group," Betsy Glennon introduced herself, Elizabeth Welty, Marcie Forsberg and Bob Sitko. Mr. Sitko is a master beekeeper who teaches beekeeping classes at Century College. Ms. Forsberg has a gardening business and she and Ms. Welty are members of Meadowland Community Garden in Stillwater Township. They have come together to try to get the ordinance amended to allow backyard hobby beekeeping. She thanked Community Development Director Turnblad and staff for gathering information in preparation for the meeting. The group made a presentation called "Why do we need bees ?" It addressed the types of bees, the flight radius, means of transporting pollen and nectar, as well as the foods that bees help produce. It also distinguished between honeybees versus wasps and hornets which are are much more aggressive. Mr. Sitko explained that he trains about 400 new beekeepers every year. None of them can do beekeeping in Stillwater because of the present ordinance. He said they are trying to get more people interested in beekeeping. Mr. Sitko explained the pollination process which is necessary for most of our food production, and outlined factors that are contributing to the declining bee population such as pesticides. Ms. discussed why beekeeping is beneficial: bees help gardens and fields within and beyond the city, beekeeping gets families outside doing activities together, and expands the connection to nature. She emphasized that Stillwater is a good location for bees because some residents don't use pesticides and there is a wide variety of plants. Ms. Forsberg added that the important thing is a fresh water source - bees will go up to a half mile to find fresh water but if they don't have to go that far, they won't. Water can be spiked with vanilla to attract the bees and discourage them from using other water sources. She summarized what makes a good site for bees. Selecting a docile breed of 4 bees, using standard equipment that is well maintained, and keeping up with beekeeping education makes for a successful operation. Chair Dahlquist allowed others in the audience an opportunity to speak on this topic. Jerry Lunzer of Grant, who said he has been a beekeeper since 1978, commented on organizations that benefit from his bees such as Blueberry Acres in Stillwater and a Chisago County apple orchard. He encouraged the council to pass an ordinance allowing beekeeping. Chair Dahlquist closed the public hearing at 8:32 p.m. Commissioner Siess asked if the group was in favor of requiring permits. Ms. Welty replied that if a beekeeper neglected their hives, they'd lose their bees which would be a loss of about $500 worth of equipment - beekeepers want to maintain their hives. Mr. Sitko said he wouldn't like to see a permit requirement because it costs the city to track them, and they require compliance inspections. Commissioner stated he would be in favor of the ordinance, and probably in favor of requiring a permit. He also agreed with proposed requirements a) hives in rear yard only; g) no beekeeping on multiple family lots and j) training required. Commissioner said he likes the idea of a permit. In response to a question from Commissioner about whether to require neighbors' consent, Community Development Director Turnblad replied that if the bees are well managed and there is no public safety issue, requiring neighbor's consent might needlessly prevent the apiary. Ben Rosene, Stillwater resident and husband of Betsy Forsberg, asked that the city not limit hives to backyards due to the unique configuration of their yard. He also doubted anyone would want to become a beekeeper without any training. Commissioner city? asked if there could end up being too many apiaries in the Mr. Sitko stated that orchards usually accommodate about two hives per acre. He said the City of Minneapolis permitted 47 beekeepers last year. He said he doesn't anticipate an over abundance of hives. Commissioner permit. (Hansen ?) said he would probably be against requiring a 5 Commissioner said a permit provides for a check to make sure the apiary is constructed right. Commissioner said a permit is a way to make sure it's done right in the beginning especially for those who may not know all that beekeeping entails. Commissioner keeping. agreed that a permit makes sense and provides for good record Chair Dahlquist asked for a show of hands who is in favor of a permit. All but one commissioner raised their hand. Commissioner Siess added that a permit gives the public confidence. The commission discussed whether beekeeping should be allowed at duplexes. Community Development Director Turnblad suggested including language stating that a resident owner of a two - family property make keep bees. Commissioners agreed this sounds good. Regarding the education requirement, Community Development Director Turnblad added that he would look at what Minneapolis requires as an example. He agreed to put together the second draft of the ordinance and bring it back to the commission, then it can be discussed and sent to the city council. He also suggested determining where hives may be located based on appropriateness of the individual site rather than restricting hives to backyards, but recommended at least a 25 foot setback or a flyway barrier. Motion by seconded by Kocon to table the issue to allow staff to come back with the second draft of the ordinance for review at the July meeting. All in favor. OTHER BUSINESS Discussion of amendment that would allow marinas in RB district Community Development Director Turnblad summarized that the marinas that exist today are nonconforming because they are not allowed in the RB zoning district, but operate under special use permit. This limits how much expansion can take place, also regulates land use changes and can make lenders nervous about a nonconforming status for a property. Staff suggests amending the ordinance to legitimize marinas by allowing them to continue to operate under existing special use permits in the RB zoning but change the zoning regulations to state that marinas are allowed by conditional use permit. He requested input on what other major accessory uses associated with marinas should be mentioned in the ordinance, for instance storage, a store, clubhouse or small restaurant. He asked if the commission would like to generically allow accessory uses, or consider each use specifically. 6 Commissioner Siess said she would like to see a list of possible approved accessory uses. Commissioner , on the other hand, said it might be better to look at the applicants on a case by case basis. Chairman Dahlquist suggested there would be things the city would inadvertently leave off the list, and in a few years it might be out of date. Community Development Director Turnblad offered to bring back a list of suggested allowable accessory uses for the commission to decide which way to go on the ordinance. He said a hybrid could be developed with the most common allowable uses, and a statement that other standard uses would be considered on a case by case basis. He informed the commission that he will bring first -draft language back delineating common uses for further consideration. The goal is to have something in place for next boating season, not this one. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Kocon to adjourn, seconded by Commissioner . All in favor. Adjourned at 9:34 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Julie Kink Recording Secretary