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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-26 CC MIN Joint Meeting with CPC i1Ivvater 216 4th Street N, Stillwater, MN 55082 651-430-8800 The Birthplace of Minnesota J www.ci.stillwater.mn.us SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES CITY COUNCIL & PLANNING COMMISSION June 26,2018 SPECIAL MEETING 7:00 P.M. Mayor Kozlowski called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Present: Mayor Kozlowski, Councilmembers Menikheim, Junker, Weidner and Polehna Planning Commissioners Hade, Hansen, Kocon, Lauer, Siess, and Chair Collins Staff present: Community Development Director Turnblad, City Clerk Ward CITY MISSION, CORE VALUES AND STRATEGIC PLAN Community Development Director Turnblad explained the City's mission statement, core values and strategic plan. Councilmember Polehna asked if the Planning Commission develops an annual work plan; and Community Development Director Turnblad responded that the work plan is established at the Council level and then goes through staff back to the Planning Commission. By ordinance, there is to be a work plan established by the Planning Commission, but that is not the case currently. Over the years, staff began setting work plans with the Council, and the Planning Commission became more focused on comprehensive planning and review of the cases that come before it. Councilmember Junker pointed out that some initiatives came from the Planning Commission, for instance, short term rentals. Commissioner Kocon added that some issues came at the behest of the Council, for instance front yard parking. Councilmember Polehna stated the sign ordinance needs to be updated and it would be good to have Planning Commission input on that. Commissioner Hansen stated that even though the Planning Commission has not been doing a work plan as a body, it is being done by staff, and Ms. Wittman updates the Commission at every meeting. Commissioner Hade added that it would be hard for the Commission to project in advance what they are going to be doing for a year. Councilmember Weidner asked at what point does staff get the Planning Commission involved in issues that come before the Council; and Mr. Turnblad replied that ideally it would be early, however,the way it has happened has simply been"this is what we see coming up in the next few months." Commissioner Kocon commented that the Commission reacts to what comes before it,using tools like the Comprehensive Plan and staff recommendations. Strategic planning really falls to the Council. The only way he could see the Planning Commission being proactive is expanding knowledge through education. Joint City Council and Planning Commission Meeting June 26, 2018 Mr. Turnblad stated that once the Council has done its strategic planning, staff incorporates it into a work plan. If Planning Commissioners, being out in the community, see things that should be added,that should be done several months before beginning the budget process. Councilmember Weidner stated the next strategic planning session will be at the beginning of 2019 when one or two new Councilmembers will be on board and before budgeting. At that time, the Planning Commission should look and see if these are the types of things the Council should discuss. Also, when the Strategic Plan is done, it would be helpful to have input. Councilmember Junker stated that one upcoming issue to be considered is electronic signage on Highway 36 and possibly elsewhere. This was suggested to the Council at an open forum. The Planning Commission could take the initiative to look at that. Mr.Turnblad stated the Council and Commission could meet in December to brainstorm on some of these issues. The Planning Department already has a work list to start with. It could be brought to the Council in January when they do a work session on strategy and then late spring during budgeting. Commissioner Siess asked if staff has looked to see what other cities do; and Mr. Turnblad answered that is done constantly. Commissioner Siess asked if at these work meetings, could the Commission take the short term home rental and have suggestions on tweaks; and Mr. Turnblad responded that the work session is about bigger ideas and a work program, not tweaking. Tweaking should be done routinely, outside that kind of a session. On a question from Mayor Kozlowski if it would be helpful to have a list of Planning Commission priorities, concerns, issues or ideas to consider over the next six months or year; the Councilmembers responded yes. Councilmember Weidner inquired how ideas about general policy are handled, for instance the discussion on Jon Whitcomb's condominium building and whether that type of building should be built that far off Main Street, or how the City wants to develop the remaining parcels around downtown; and Mr. Turnblad replied that the Comprehensive Plan defines the downtown planning area. Zoning and ordinances are developed to be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. After the Comprehensive Plan is adopted, there is an 18-month period to look at the ordinances to make sure they are implementing what the Comprehensive Plan says. Councilmember Weidner suggested that the Planning Commission could help the City be more consistent in its review of zoning elements to comply with the Comprehensive Plan. Another example is the redevelopment of the Armory site and the Shorty's parking lot. Mr. Turnblad indicated that the Downtown Chapter of the new Comprehensive Plan calls for one of two sites to be developed for the next municipal parking ramp. One potential site is near Olive and Second Streets, or Chestnut south of Shorty's. Steps are being taken by the Council to plan for that. The current Downtown Plan calls for retail in the core, from Second to the river, and parking along Second, further from the river, so people park and then walk toward the river. Commissioner Hansen brought up the idea of maintaining some sort of buffer between residential and commercial uses such as those that use outdoor music. There should be a noise buffer for the people who live right on the bluff. If there is talk of expanding the downtown footprint, the City must realize that is pushing it closer to the historic homes.A parking ramp could serve as a buffer. Page 2 of 5 Joint City Council and Planning Commission Meeting June 26, 2018 LAND USE REGULATIONS AND MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES Community Development Director Turnblad reviewed how land use regulations relate to implementation of the Comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Junker noted the City is looking at identifying neighborhood commercial district, for instance Nelsons and the health spa are residential on the current Comprehensive Plan. Mayor Kozlowski brought up redevelopment of the Lakeview Hospital site on Greeley. Mr. Turnblad answered that the hospital will be leaving that site to build a new campus at Highway 36 and Manning. The present site is broadly categorized as a redevelopment site for now. Commissioner Siess stated she is receiving a lot of questions about the cul-de-sac on Hazel Court, even though the Commission voted one way, it will go to the Council. The question was, where do I find out about this? She asked if there is a reason why the City would not put information on the web site about how much an appeal costs, the days, and so on. In many cities, Planning Commissions only provide recommendations. In Stillwater, the Planning Commission is the decision-maker for variances and Special Use Permits unless an applicant appeals a decision to the Council. Citizens do not understand that the Planning Commission here has authority over variances unless appealed. She would like to see more information on the web site, as this is not clear. Mr. Turnblad replied link could be placed on the main page that goes to appeal information of the City Code. Councilmember Weidner suggested including a notice on the bottom of the agenda that indicates where to locate information on appeal procedures. The Chair could read the notice, stating the actions taken at the meeting will take effect unless appealed to the Council in a specified number of days. Commissioner Siess stated sometimes she gets a message saying that too many people are on that web page. City Clerk Ward explained that there are a limited number of licenses for the Weblink. If there are too many users at one time, someone logging on would get that message. It was the consensus that the Chair of the planning commission would read information on the appeal process after the decision on a item before the commission. Commissioner Hansen asked if there is a plan for all the fingerling areas surrounding the property annexed from Stillwater Township. He would like to see more continuity of design; and Mr. Turnblad replied that the Comprehensive Plan states these properties will be developed at single family densities when sewer is available. In the neighborhoods where there are 5 acre lots, for instance near the fire station, they have enough property to do a temporary dead end. Eventually it would have to all be linked together. VARIANCE AND SUP REVIEW TIMELINE Mr. Turnblad noted that the Planning Commission here has authorities that most Planning Commissions do not. They are allowed to approve variances and most Special Use Permits. Currently, each commission looks at an application and makes a recommendation and it goes to the Council, but for variances and use permits, the Planning Commission makes the decision. Because of the commission meeting schedule, the Planning Commission currently does not get the benefit of some of the other commissions' input. He has been asked about changing the review Page 3 of 5 Joint City Council and Planning Commission Meeting June 26, 2018 process so all the commissions review the application before it goes to Planning Commission. This would take longer for applications to get through the process and could draw complaints from constituents,but it would not exceed the two months allowed by state law to issue a decision. On a question by Commissioner Siess about the implications of tabling a case, Mr. Turnblad replied that an applicant may end up asking the Commission to table it rather than denying it. Another option is that the City may extend it 60 days for any reason;however,the 120 day period is the maximum. Commissioner Hansen suggested there may continue to be cases where an applicant goes before the Planning Commission to figure out if there will be support for a request before they invest money into an architectural plan to be reviewed by the Heritage Preservation Commission(HPC). Mr. Turnblad replied with the new option, the applicant would have to present plans before the HPC before knowing if they will get their variance from the Planning Commission. Commissioner Hansen replied that makes sense from the Commission's standpoint, but it is incredibly unfriendly to applicants. For instance, a variance to a sideyard setback taking 60 days is unfriendly. In the case of a big development requiring a variance from the Planning Commission, the developer could invest a lot of money in getting the plan and taking it through all the other commissions before coming to the Planning Commission, which could deny it. He is not saying it should be one way or the other,just that it has to be either a commission-friendly approach or an applicant-friendly approach. Mr. Turnblad stated perhaps there could be two different timelines, one for variances only, and a different timeline for applications requiring review by the another commission(s). Mayor Kozlowski noted it is more difficult for him to vote on an application if the HPC has not looked at it. Mr. Turnblad added that some cases require a Special Use Permit to be approved by the Council. In those cases the Planning Commission has recommendation-only authority. If the Planning Commission takes 60 days then it would take 85 days to get to the Council, which would be too long. Commissioner Siess suggested switching the Planning Commission and Parks Commission meeting dates; and Mr. Turnblad responded that would be very hard to do because many people's schedules involved. Commissioner Kocon remarked if those two commission meetings could be swapped, it would make it a more linear process. Mr. Turnblad stated that might work with simple applications, but if it is a subdivision, for instance, staff has to create reports for all the commissions. Maybe multiple scheduling options need to be considered. Staff will need to take time to consider this,to ensure they will be meeting state law obligations, allowing the proper appeal periods, leaving enough time to develop materials, and so on. It is standard practice to take 60 days to review an application. 2017 ANNUAL REPORT AND 2018-2019 PROGRAMMING Mr. Turnblad reviewed the major projects for 2018. He summarized future challenges and opportunities. Page 4 of 5 Joint City Council and Planning Commission Meeting June 26, 2018 Commissioner Siess inquired if the planning caseload is normal;and Mr. Turnblad responded that most cities do not have a Heritage Preservation Commission. Anecdotally,the case load is higher here than anywhere he has worked in his career. Stillwater is detail hungry and very regulation content. In the first quarter the City has already surpassed the number of building permits issued during the first half of 2017. The meeting agendas seem to keep growing. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilmember Junker, seconded by Councilmember Polehna, to adjourn. All in favor. Mayor Kozlowski adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Ted Kozlowski, Mayor ATTEST: Diane F. Ward, City Clerk Page 5 of 5