Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-13 CPC MIN(499ateir iME 11RTMOLACE Of MINNESOTA PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 13, 2014 REGULAR MEETING Chairman Kocon called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 7:00 P.M. Present: Chairman Kocon, Commissioners Collins, Fletcher, Hade, Hansen, Kelly, Lauer, Middleton, Siess, Council Representative Weidner Absent: None Staff: City Planner Wittman APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Hade, seconded by Commissioner Collins, to approve the December 9, 2013 meeting minutes. Motion passed 9 -0. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. PUBLIC HEARINGS Case No. 2014 -1. Request for an amendment to a Special Use Permit for the expansion of an elementary school, a permitted special use located at 6355 Osman Avenue in the RA, One Family Zoning District. Kristen Hoheisel representing ISD 4834, applicant. City Planner Wittman explained that the applicant is requesting an approximately 2,300 square foot expansion to create a new entrance to the school. The addition will be situated in the open courtyard area at the western entrance to the school. The entrance will provide for a more secure entryway while bringing the administrative offices closer to the front entrance. Staff recommends approval. Dennis Bloom, District 834 Director of Operations, explained the project will require all visitors to sign in through the main office before having direct access to the school. This will provide more security for students and staff There were no public comments. Chairman Kocon closed the public hearing. Motion by Commissioner Collins, seconded by Commissioner Hansen, to approve the amendment to the Special Use Permit for the expansion of an elementary school. Motion passed 9 -0. Planning Commission January 13, 2014 Case No. 2014 -2. Request for an amendment to a Special Use Permit for the expansion of a junior high school, a permitted special use located at 523 Marsh Street in the RE, Two Family Zoning District. Kristen Hoheisel representing ISD 4834, applicant. City Planner Wittman summarized the request. The applicant is requesting a 194 square foot expansion to create a new vestibule at the existing north entrance to the school to provide for a secure entryway. Staff recommends approval. Mr. Bloom stated that the addition will designate the front entrance more clearly and direct visitors to the front desk before being able to access the rest of the school. There were no public comments. Chairman Kocon closed the public hearing Motion by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Commissioner Siess, to approve the amendment to the Special Use Permit for the expansion of a junior high school. Motion passed 9 -0. Case No. 2014 -3. Request for a Special Use Permit for a proposed brewery and tap room facility with outdoor seating, and variance to the parking regulations for the structure located at 225 Main Street North in the CBD, Central Business District. Frank Fabio, owner. City Planner Wittman stated the applicant is requesting: a special use permit for a micro - brewery; a special use permit for a tap room to include outdoor seating; and a variance to the off - street parking regulations (45 parking spaces required, 27 available). A coffee trailer was approved for the property last fall which would occupy three parking spaces. The applicant indicated the two uses are exclusive and would not be operating simultaneously. She reviewed nine possible conditions of approval. Staff recommends approval with conditions. Frank Fabio, applicant, discussed the proposal and the conditions of approval recommended by staff He hopes to open by May. The business would be contained on the main level with no associated uses upstairs. The coffee trailer would be shut down at noon, so it would never be open at the same time as the microbrewery. There is an area in southeast corner that is large enough for an external trash receptacle with fence around it. Under his current loan, the parcels are all separate. If he needs to combine the parcels (PIDs) as a condition of approval, he may have to redo the loan. Commissioner Kelly commented that combining the PIDs is a good idea; he doesn't think it will cause a problem with the loan. Chairman Kocon acknowledged the comments in the Thomas Wortman and Mary Franzmeier letters and closed the public hearing. Chairman Kocon said he would not want the brewpub and coffee trailer to be open simultaneously due to concerns about traffic flow within the site. He asked if this could be a condition of approval. City Planner Wittman responded yes, but the condition would be hard to enforce. Commissioner Hansen said he doesn't see a need to add that restriction as he believes it will be self regulating. Page 2 of 5 Planning Commission January 13, 2014 Council Representative Weidner suggested with the seasonal coffee trailer, there appears to be too much going on on that property right now. Commissioner Hansen remarked that the Commission has approved other seasonal vendors on much smaller properties with no parking lots. Commissioner Middleton expressed concerns about traffic flow. Commissioner Hade stated that the brew pub is a great idea but he believes the coffee trailer will create traffic issues on Main Street. Commissioner Collins asked if the combination of the PIDs would be a deal - killer for the applicant. City Planner Wittman noted that an alternative to requiring that the parcels be combined would be to enter an agreement with the property owner stating that the parcels cannot be sold separately. Mr. Fabio responded he intends to keep all three parcels together. Motion by Commissioner Fletcher, seconded by Chairman Kocon, to approve the Special Use Permit for the brewery and taproom and the variance as conditioned, with revisions to Condition 44 that a trash shall be stored at the southeast corner of the lot and that a screening plan shall be approved by the Heritage Preservation Commission, and to Condition 48 that the property owner enter an Agreement to be approved by the City Council that the three parcels may not be sold separately until such time as all zoning requirements are met, and adding a condition that there be no outdoor storage. Motion passed 6 -3 with Hade, Siess, and Lauer voting nay. Case No. 2014 -4. Request for a 50' variance to the 100' Manning Avenue setback for the future platting of a low /medium density residential development located on three lots in Stillwater Township. Chris Aamodt, Settler's Pines, LLC and James DeBenedet, applicants. City Planner Wittman summarized the request. The applicant is requesting a 50' variance to the 100' setback for three parcels located along Manning Avenue in Stillwater Township for construction of a 51 -lot residential neighborhood development. The variance is being requested before the preliminary plat and annexation because the development potential and design would be dramatically altered if the variance is not granted. Washington County is proposing to take a 50' strip of land along the western boundary of these parcels for the continuation of the Manning Avenue Trail and the expansion of Manning Avenue. When this occurs, the 100' Manning setback will be enforced from the new ROW line. Staff recommends approval with two conditions plus the additional condition that approval be contingent on Joint Board approval if required. Commissioner Hade and Chairman Kocon questioned the authority of the Commission to review the proposal since the property is in the township. City Planner Wittman replied that City Attorney Magnuson had indicated that the Commission has authority to review it. Commissioner Hade suggested tabling the issue and asking City Attorney Magnuson to come to the next meeting to explain why the Commission has jurisdiction over the request. Page 3 of 5 Planning Commission January 13, 2014 Commissioner Kelly stated he is OK with reviewing the proposal because one of the conditions of the variance is that the property would have to be platted before the variance becomes effective. He understands that before the owner goes through the expense of annexation, he would like to know if it needs to be platted with or without the extra 50'. Chairman Kocon stated he is OK with reviewing the request because there are a lot of other actions that have to happen before final approval. Commission review is a useful exercise that tells the property owner which way the Commission is leaning on the variance. Chris Aamodt, the developer, explained that in a previous development, Liberty West, he was given Planning Commission advice on a concept plan which then went forward to the City Council. So the Planning Commission can make decisions now contingent on future final plat approval. To go forward with any civil engineering, he needs to know whether or not the variance request would be acceptable to the Planning Commission. Chairman Kocon asked the developer and engineer about lot lines, setbacks and ROW. Jim DeBenedet, engineer for the project, said as drawn the lots are 170' deep and will lose 50' due to the Right of Way (ROW) change. Adjustments will have to be made to make the resulting lots a little deeper, for instance 130'. The width of the lots will be 72'. If the variance is not granted, they would have to move the street to the east and lose six lots. This would also result in the development density being too low to comply with the zoning regulations. The developer feels the single family home is best for this neighborhood and fits the market today. There isn't much of a market for townhomes right now. Kathy Hemen, 8233 Marylane Avenue, pointed out that Manning is a very heavily traveled road that will have more traffic when it becomes four lane. She cited the potential for future noise issues, traffic congestion, and public safety especially with the Gateway Trail being so near. She encouraged the Commission to wait until after annexation before making a decision. Eric Fosgate, 8355 Manning Avenue, told the Commission he would apply for annexation if it would help the process. Chairman Kocon closed the public hearing. Commissioner Hansen stated he feels the plan accomplishes the Low - Medium Density delineated in the Comprehensive Plan. He likes the idea of having single family homes on this property and has no problem granting the variance. Commissioner Hade said he doesn't think the Commission has the authority to render advisory opinions on the issue because the property is outside the City. Chairman Kocon pointed out with the berm and landscaping, some of the noise issues may be mitigated. The Commission must grant the variance if the development is to comply with the Comprehensive Plan. Motion by Commissioner Hade, seconded by Commissioner Siess, to table the request in order to obtain further information from the City Attorney outlining the Commission's jurisdiction. Commissioner Siess rescinded her second. The motion to table died for lack of a second. Page 4 of 5 Planning Commission January 13, 2014 Motion by Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Lauer, to approve the variance request as conditioned, with added conditions that the final plat must be approved by the Planning Commission and the Council, and that the variance be reviewed by the Joint Board if applicable. Motion passed 7 -2 with Commissioners Siess and Hade voting nay. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. OTHER BUSINESS Commissioner Hade asked for clarification about why some business uses come before the Commission and others don't. City Planner Wittman responded that it has to do with the use proposed. She will provide documentation in the next packet about what items come before Commission according to the zoning ordinance. She also will get all members a copy of the Annexation Agreement, and ask City Attorney Magnuson to provide a statement of order about the annexation and approval process. She will try to put the Comprehensive Plan and other materials into the Dropbox folder for Commissioner access. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner Siess, to adjourn the meeting at 10:10 p.m. Motion passed 9 -0. Respectfully Submitted, Julie Kink Recording Secretary Page 5 of 5