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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-24 Joint Board MIN Stillwater City and Town Joint Planning Board Regular Meeting Minutes October 24, 2018 Present: Stillwater Town Board Members Dave Johnson and Sheila-Marie Untied, City of Stillwater Council Members Ted Kozlowski and Tom Weidner. Staff present: Stillwater Community Development Director Bill Turnblad Chair Johnson called the meeting to order at 6:04 PM. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Weidner moved to accept agenda as presented. Kozlowski seconded the motion, which passed 4-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Weidner moved approval of the minutes as presented. Kozlowski seconded the motion, which passed 4-0. NEW BUSINESS Rezoning for Nelson property - Case No. 2018-55 Turnblad summarized his report of October 16, 2018. Steve and Kathy Nelson have requested a rezoning of their property and a lot split. They plan to subdivide their 2.51 acre lot on 7770 Minar Lane North into a 1.31 acre parcel for their homestead and a 1.20 acre vacant lot for sale. The rezoning to RA, Single Family Residential is consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan. And, the proposed lot sizes are fairly consistent with the large lots in the surrounding neighborhood. Turnblad also said that the soils on the vacant lot were tested and will support a standard septic drainfield. Furthermore, all development standards applicable to the two parcels would be met as proposed. Turnblad stated that a moratorium preventing subdividing any lots in the Minar Neighborhood, including the Nelson property, recently went into effect. But, the Nelsons submitted their lot division request prior to the effective date of the moratorium. Therefore, the rezoning and lot split requests must both be reviewed against exist ing development standards. Therefore Turnblad recommended approval of the rezoning with the three conditions found in his report. Joint Board Minutes October 24, 2018 Page 2 of 2 Johnson opened the public hearing. Steve Nelson said the staff report and presentation explained his request and that he had nothing further to add. There being no further testimony, Johnson closed the public hearing. Untied asked about the split vote by the City Planning Commission to recommend approval of the request. Turnblad explained that two Commissioners voted against approval. Their dissenting votes were cast for several reasons. But, primarily they objected to what appears to be a spot zoning, and there was also concern about potential impact upon the Brown’s Creek system if all the lots in the neighborhood were allowed to split to one acre with on-site septic systems. Weidner mentioned that the purpose of the moratorium was in part to study whether a minimum lot size of 1.0 acre should be established, or whether a 2.5 acre lot size would be more appropriate. If it is 2.5 acres, no more septic systems would be introduced into the neighborhood except the one requested by Nelson. He also said that when the appropriate lot size is determined and a corresponding zoning district is added to the City’s zoning ordinance, the whole neighborhood will be rezoned. This could well include both Nelson parcels, so there may be no “spot zoning” issue after the moratorium. Johnson encouraged the City to find a way to prevent the Nelson property from being spot zoned when the moratorium ends. Weidner moved to approve the rezoning request with the three conditions found in the report by Turnblad. Kozlowski seconded the motion, which passed on a 4-0 vote. MISCELLANEOUS Johnson announced to the Joint Planning Board that he is not running for re-election to the Township Board. And said that one of his prouder achievements in his 30 years of elected service was his involvement in encouraging an agreement between the City and Township on annexation matters. Because of annexation requests, the relationship between the Township and the City was troubled. But, an amicable relationship grew out of the Annexation Agreement, which was a ground breaking agreement in the state that is now used as a model. ADJOURNMENT Weidner moved for adjournment, which was seconded by Kozlowski. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Bill Turnblad Acting Recording Secretary