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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-12-10 CPC MIN PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES December 10, 2012 REGULAR MEETING 7:00 P.M. Vice-Chairman Kocon called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Vice-Chairman Kocon, Commissioners Hansen, Hade, Kelly, Seiss, Lauer, Council Representative Menikheim Absent: Commissioner Buchanan Staff: City Planner Pogge APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Hade, to approve the November 14, 2012 meeting minutes. All in favor. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. PUBLIC HEARINGS Case No. 2012-34. A request for a special use permit and a variance to the parking regulations for an event center located at 214 Main Street South in the CBD, Central Business District. Judd Sather, applicant. Continued from the November 14, 2012 meeting. City Planner Pogge explained the request. Judd Sather has recently started using the second floor of the space he rents at 214 Main Street South as an event center. This has been done without receiving approvals from the City (fire, building, liquor control, or planning) or Washington County Public Health. The event center occupies 4,500 square feet and uses the entire second floor for private parties, small weddings, birthday parties, and concert events with a capacity of 175 to 250 people. Previously the second floor was used for storage. There is a deficiency of 78 parking spaces (83 required). All other zoning code requirements are met. Plans still need to be reviewed by the City Fire Department, Building Department and Washington County Health Department and proper liquor license permits need to be obtained. Planning Commission December 10, 2012 Proper sound barriers need to be installed, and the shared stairwell with the Mad Capper needs to only be used as an emergency exit. With these conditions, staff believes all requirements for a Special Use Permit would be met. Regarding the parking variance, City Planner Pogge reported that Mr. Sather has discussed leasing 38 spaces in the adjacent US Bank parking lot. This would leave a deficiency of 40 parking spaces that could be satisfied by purchasing monthly parking permits from the City or securing a lease from another private property owner. Mr. Sather discussed this with the Downtown Parking Commission last month, which recommended an alternative of initially setting the fee at $120/month for the deficiency, to be reviewed annually. Commissioner _______ asked for clarification on parking requirements, licensing and how this proposal will fit with the new liquor ordinance. Vice-Chairman Kocon asked how the use will meet ADA requirements with stairways and no elevator. City Planner Pogge replied that the applicant will have to meet all ADA requirements. Fire code requirements will be reviewed by building officials and usually are achieved by installing steel doors. Commissioner Kelly suggested the Commission give a little more flexibility in parking requirements so that if Mr. Sather can’t finalize the parking arrangement with US Bank, he doesn’t have to come back before the Commission. City Planner Pogge responded that a sentence could be added requiring that if a parking space lease is not able to be obtained, the applicant go to the Parking Commission to renegotiate the parking fee. Commissioner Seiss asked if there are noise concerns with the proposed use. City Planner Pogge replied that the applicant will have to follow the noise ordinance and fire-rate the shared wall. Vice-Chairman Kocon asked what is the closing time. City Planner Pogge responded that there is no closing time in downtown Stillwater but the business will have to comply with the liquor ordinance prohibiting the serving of liquor after 1 a.m. Commissioner Seiss asked how the new liquor server training would be enforced if Mr. Sather uses an outside caterer. City Planner Pogge said the applicant will be held responsible for providing safe liquor service, including providing training and passing compliance checks like any Page 2 of 5 Planning Commission December 10, 2012 other liquor license holder. Customers who bring in their own liquor will still have to have it served to them. Councilmember Menikheim asked if the same level of security is expected in a BYOB environment as in other liquor establishments. City Planner Pogge replied that security expectations of this establishment are the same as other establishments. Judd Sather, the applicant, indicated he expects to hold one to two events monthly. The event center would have no kitchen, so it would primarily use local licensed caterers for food and drink. He will apply for a public consume and display permit. If customers want to bring their own keg, it would make him feel better if they also had security there. He will soundproof the walls and floor, and plans on installing a wheelchair lift to satisfy the ADA requirements. If things go well he will add an exterior elevator to the building. He understands caterers providing alcohol would be using their own liquor license. The whole building is sprinklered for fire. Asked about the parking agreement, Mr. Sather said he will not be leasing the US Bank parking spaces, but per the Parking Commission’s recommendation, will pay$10 for 12 spaces, or $120 per month, which is the maximum of any business downtown. He said this could be revisited. City Planner Pogge said he had understood that Mr. Sather would still lease 30 spaces from US Bank and additionally pay the $120 per month for the parking deficiency. Mr. Sather said he can easily direct customers to the City parking ramp, but because the US Bank underground parking area uses an opener, parking there would be difficult to control. Commissioner Kelly stated as long as the Downtown Parking Commission is satisfied with whatever parking arrangement is agreed upon, that can be written into the approval so the applicant doesn’t have to appear before the Planning Commission again. He feels the use is appropriate and he is in favor of it. Commissioner Seiss and Vice-Chair Kocon voiced their support for the proposal. Motion by Commissioner Kelly, seconded by Commissioner Hansen, to approve the request with conditions A through M, modifying existing condition G to read that if applicant does not lease 38 parking spaces from US Bank as required in Condition F, an appropriate fee will be determined by the Parking Commission and he will be required to pay that in lieu of the $120 that is currently required in Condition G. All in favor. Page 3 of 5 Planning Commission December 10, 2012 Case No. 2012-36. Final plat approval for Millbrook 7th Addition located at Outlot B, Millbrook 5th Addition, for 47 lot and 4 outlots. Joe Jablonski, Lennar Corporation, applicant. City Planner Pogge explained this plat represents the last plat of the development. White Pine Way will be extended east and will connect to Neal Ave. Ricky Lane will be built on the east side of the development, which will allow the property to the north and south to have access to White Pine Way if they are developed and subdivided in the future. Since the utilities that serve Millbrook were extended from the east, most of the utilities that will serve this development are in place. Any remaining public utilities that have yet to be installed will be done by the developer as part of the site improvements. Tim Fohr, 3225 Maureen Lane, representing Lennar, offered to answer any questions. Jon Whitcomb, 8528 Neal Avenue North and 8602 Neal Avenue, directly to the south of White Pine Way, requested that Ricky Lane be named something more appropriate, for instance White Pine Court, and that the north-south streets be graded and completed as shown on the plan. He stated the amount of traffic coming to Neal Avenue after this road is completed will increase significantly. Neal Avenue is inadequate as a north-south connector. The City should design and approve a trail link to be built as funds become available. City Planner Pogge responded that Lennar has agreed to extend Neal Avenue 150 feet to its northern boundary. Over the long term, the road will need to be improved. He added that the Commission may require a name change as long as it doesn’t duplicate an existing street name in the City. The Neal Avenue trail is planned and the City has identified the west side of the street as the logical place for it. Motion by Commissioner Lauer, seconded by Commissioner Seiss, to approve the final plat with four conditions including changing the name of Ricky Lane to a derivative of White Pine. All in favor. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. OTHER BUSINESS Council Liaison Position - Council Representative Menikheim stated he may not be back as Council liaison in January because there will be two new Councilmembers. He expressed his deep appreciation for having been part of this group over the past two years and said he has learned a great deal. Page 4 of 5 Planning Commission December 10, 2012 Election of Officers - City Planner Pogge stated that Commissioner Dahlquist has resigned so the Commission needs to elect a new chair and vice chair. Motion by Commissioner ________, seconded by Commissioner _____, to nominate Kocon as Chairman. All in favor. Motion by Chairman Kocon, seconded by Commissioner _______, to nominate Hansen as Vice Chair. All in favor. Commission Openings - City Planner Pogge said there are two more openings on the Commission. The City has been doing outreach to attract new members. iPads - City Planner Pogge said a survey and cost benefit analysis was done which will be presented to the Council in January. If approved, Commission members should get iPads in March or April. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Hade, to adjourn the meeting at 8:04 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Julie Kink Recording Secretary Page 5 of 5