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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-08-26 CPC MIN44 't' Ater. IMF IIETK•LACE OF MIMMEIOTI PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES August 26, 2020 REGULAR MEETING 7:00 P.M. Chairman Lauer called the meeting to order via Zoom at 7:01 p.m. Present: Chairman Lauer, Commissioners Hansen, Kocon, Meyhoff, Steinwall, COUncilmember Collins Absent: Commissioner Dybvig Staff: City Planner Wittman APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of minutes of July 22, 2020 regular meeting Motion by Commissioner Steinwall, seconded by Commissioner Kocon, to approve the minutes of the July 22, 2020 meeting. All in favor. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. CONSENT AGENDA There were no items on the Consent Agenda. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chairman Lauer stated that Case No. 2020-36, Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit for a commercial recreational business at 321 Main St S in the CBD district has been tabled by the City. Case No. 2020-31: Consideration of a Variance to construct an in- round pool in the interior side ,yard. Prol2erty located at 303 Olive St W in the RB district. Todd and Jennifer Englund, property owners. Commissioner Hansen recused himself from the discussion and vote. City Planner Wittman explained the application. The Englunds would like to install an in -ground pool in the interior side yard. Despite having a large property (38,104 square feet), they feel their options are limited as to where to locate a pool, due to their heavily shaded property. They have several trees and would prefer to locate the pool in an area that receives sunlight. They have planned a future garage with an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) (City approved). The applicants are requesting a variance to locate a pool and associated appurtenances in the interior side yard, whereas pools are required to be located in the rear yard. This location for the pool on the side of the home, well behind the front line of the adjacent residence, is reasonable and will not detract from the neighborhood's character. Staff finds the proposed pool meets the standards set forth for the issuance of a variance and recommends approval of the variances with four conditions. Chairman Lauer opened the public hearing. There were no public comments. The public hearing was closed. Planning Commission August 26, 2020 Motion by Commissioner Kocon, seconded by Commissioner Meyhoff, to approve Case No. 2020-31, Variance to construct an in -ground pool in the interior side yard at 303 Olive St W with the four conditions recommended by staff. Motion passed 5-0-1 with Commissioner Hansen abstaining. Case No. 2020-32: Consideration of a Variance to build a deck in the steep slope setback on the property located at I401 Broadway 5t N in the RA district. Chris Rustad, property owner. Ms. Wittman stated that Chris Rustad is rehabilitating an existing legal nonconforming home. Portions of the home sit within the 30' steep slope setback area. Earlier this year Mr. Rustad obtained several variances for the proximity to a steep slope in order to rehabilitate and add on to the home. He is now requesting a 10' variance to the 30' steep slope setback requirements in order to add a 10' X 10' deck off the second story of the northeast corner of the house. The only encroachment into the steep slope area will be the footings for the deck. Staff finds that the proposed deck would not have any negative effects on the property or the surrounding properties. The deck will not be any closer to the steep slope than the previously granted variances. Therefore, staff would recommend approval with three conditions. Chairman Lauer opened the public hearing. There were no public comments. Chairman Lauer closed the public hearing. Motion by Commissioner Kocon, seconded by Commissioner Hansen, to approve Case No. 2020-32, Variance to build a deck in the steep slope setback on the property located at 1401 Broadway St N, with three staff -recommended conditions, based on the staff report analysis. All in favor. Case No. 2020-33: Consideration of Special Use/Conditional Use Permit and Variances associated to allow an accessory dwelling unit on the property located at 1008 2nd St N, in the RB district. Linda Garrity, property owner. Ms. Wittman stated that the 864 square foot garage, which was permitted in 2003, contains a loft area which the property owner would like to convert into an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). The size of the structure exceeds the maximum 800 square foot restriction. The applicant is requesting a Special Use Permit to convert the existing garage loft into an ADU and a 64 foot variance to the 800 square foot maximum garage requirement. Staff finds that the proposed ADU meets the Special Use Permit provisions and the standards set forth for the issuance of a variance, and therefore recommends approval of a Special Use Permit and associated variance with five conditions. Commissioner Meyhoff asked how the ADU will be accessed. Ms. Garrity replied there are no exterior modifications planned. The existing stairs going up the side of the garage will be used to access the ADU. There is no interior access. She added that she will combine the two lots, as required in one of the recommended conditions, as she has no plans to build any other structures on the property. Commissioner Hansen asked why the code specifies an 800 square foot maximum footprint for a garage ADU. He feels it is worth looking at changing the garage size limitation within the zoning code. If a garage without an ADU may be up to 1,000 square feet he sees no reason to require garages with ADUs to be smaller. Ms. Wittman replied the intent was to keep the mass of ADUs as compact as possible so they would not dominate the lots. The City has had a rise in inquiries about ADUs particularly in the RA single family district. There will likely be more discussion about code surrounding ADUs as the City explores housing opportunities to increase density. Chairman Lauer opened and closed the public hearing. There were no public comments. Page 2 of 5 Planning Commission August 26, 2020 Motion by Commissioner Kocon, seconded by Commissioner Steinwall, to approve a Special Use/Conditional Use Permit and Variances associated to allow an accessory dwelling unit on the property located at 1008 2nd St N with five staff -recommended conditions. All in favor. Case No. 2020-34: Consideration of a Variance to the maximum allowed lot coverage to build a three season screened porch addition on the -property located at 2560 White Pine Way in the TR district. Ken Nelson reoresentinp, 1st Choice Bui lders LLC anpl icant and Gary Bray, propertyowner. Ms. Wittman reviewed the case. Gary Bray is proposing to build a 16' X 12' screened porch on the rear of his house. This property is in a Shoreland Management Overlay District, and has already reached the 25% maximum allowed impervious lot coverage. The property is also located in the TR Zoning District, which does not have a lot coverage limit. Currently this property has a lot coverage of 26.9%. The addition of the 192 square foot porch would increase the impervious surface coverage to 28.4%. The applicants are requesting a variance to allow the impervious surface coverage to be 28.4%. Staff finds the proposed garage meets the standards set forth for the issuance of a variance and therefore recommends approval of the variance with four conditions. Gary and Kelly Bray and Ken Nelson, 1 st Choice Builders, LLC, offered to answer questions. Commissioner Kocon noted there is a swale in the rear of the property which should alleviate any runoff concerns. Mr. Bray acknowledged that behind the house is a graded water flow leading to a culvert. Commissioner Steinwall noted that a proposed condition is that a water runoff treatment plan be submitted. She asked what this would be. Ms. Wittman said usually it is a plan to capture the water on site, for instance via a rain garden. Chairman Lauer opened the public hearing. There were no public comments. Chairman Lauer closed the public hearing. Motion by Commissioner Steinwall, seconded by Councilmember Collins, to approve Case No. 2020- 34, Variance to the maximum allowed lot coverage to build a three season screened porch addition located at 2560 White Pine Way with the four conditions recommended by staff. All in favor. Case No. 2020- 35: Consideration of a Variance to the maximum allowed lot coverage to build a deck on the property located at 3494 87th St N, in the TR district. Scott and Lori Allaire, property owners. Ms. Wittman reviewed the case. The Allaires are hoping to build a 14' x 16' deck, which would need several variances. At the time of development, it was recognized by the developer and the City that decks in Nottingham Village would likely need to be of a modest size. To help alleviate the anticipated problem, the City Council allowed an increase in the impervious coverage from 30% approved with the preliminary plat, to 35% at final plat approval. The Allaires have requested the following variances: 1) a 99 square foot variance to allow 3,361 square feet of impervious lot coverage, whereas the permitted 35% coverage on the lot would only allow 3,262 square feet; 2) a 2.5' variance to allow the deck to have a rear lot line setback of only 22.5 feet, whereas 25 feet is the minimum required. Staff finds that there are no unique circumstances setting the subject lot apart from others in the subdivision that would offer support for the requested variances. But, since the requested variances are minor in magnitude, staff does not believe they will create any negative impacts upon this or surrounding properties. Therefore, staff would recommend approval of the variances with three conditions. Commissioner Steinwall asked if there is a definition of a deck or some way to ensure there will be be gaps between the boards and not a solid surface. Page 3 of 5 Planning Commission August 26, 2020 Ms. Wittman said it would be appropriate to expand or add a condition that there be space between the boards to allow filtration of the water to the surface below. Decks are considered to be structural coverage because they are attached to structures, however there are challenges with how to consider decks in regard to impervious surface. Commissioner Kocon said decks can become three season porches making them clearly impervious. Commissioner Hansen said it would be hard to regulate what surface is placed underneath a deck. There is no good answer. Mr. and Mrs. Allaire said they feel a 10' X 12' deck would be too small. They do not plan to screen in the deck. Chairman Lauer opened the public hearing. Commissioner Hansen noted this is a reasonable minor variance. However he recalls when this plat was approved, it was the desire of the Planning Commission to ensure that the builder would inform homeowners they are building a house that is absolutely maximizing the buildable footprint of the lot. It seems that information is not usually conveyed to the home buyers. He wondered if the allowable maximum structural coverage could be increased to allow for small additions. Ms. Wittman said this goes back to how to deal with decks. It also is an issue in older homes. She would encourage the Commission, when looking at plats in the future, to question building envelopes when they seem to maximize the coverage. Chairman Lauer agreed it is a difficult issue. Mitchell Binford, 12260 87th Street North, property owner to the north of the Allaires, wondered if they are aware that the drainage for the development runs through the back of their property. If they expand the deck by four feet to the east it could potentially impact that drainage way. Mr. Allaire said the Assistant City Engineer came out last week to look at the drainage situation. The Engineer indicated there is a drainage issue on the property next to the Allaires and he was going to talk to the builder about addressing that. The Allaires definitely want to keep the water moving through and are not planning on making any changes to the land contours. Chairman Lauer closed the public hearing. Commissioner Steinwall suggested adding Condition 4 that the decking material and design allow for infiltration to the ground. Motion by Commissioner Steinwall, seconded by Commissioner Kocon, to approve Case No. 2020-35, Variance to the maximum allowed lot coverage to build a deck on the property located at 3494 87th St N, with the three staff -recommended conditions and adding Condition 4 that the decking material and design allow for infiltration to the ground. All in favor. Case No. 2020-37: Consideration of a Zoning Text Amendment to modify city code relating to preservation regulations. City of Stillwater, applicant. Ms. Wittman explained that in consultation with an advisory committee, the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) and the general public including business members and property owners in the downtown core, the City has been working on preservation -related ordinance amendments for the better part of one year. The ordinance update is intended to be an overhaul of the existing ordinances for better clarity and understanding but to not substantially change the existing preservation program. She reviewed the ordinance amendment in detail. The requested Zoning Text Amendment will repeal and replace the City's existing preservation -related ordinances related to design and demolition permitting and create two new zoning overlay districts. The HPC recommended approval Page 4 of 5 Planning Commission August 26, 2020 of the ordinance amendment. Staff recommends the Planning Commission make a favorable recommendation of approval of the ordinance amendment to the City Council. Commissioner Steinwall asked whether requests to construct a new garage or outbuilding in the Neighborhood Conservation District would come before the HPC under the amendment. She added that having been on the HPC, she remarked that the governing ordinances really were difficult to understand and this cleanup work will be a public benefit. Ms. Wittman replied that outbuildings and garages still would not be reviewed by the HPC. There will be discussions in the future about amendments. Chairman Lauer opened the public hearing. There were no public comments. Chairman Lauer closed the public hearing. Commissioner Hansen commented that this may provide an opportunity to see that some things in the City's policies might be too stringent especially in the area of affordable housing. For instance, restrictions for an old house that is not necessarily well built could raise prices in a way that could price an old house out of someone's budget. Those are the kind of things that have a massive effect on affordable housing in a city. He would like to see this issue examined. The City needs to balance historic preservation with an understanding that not all old houses are nice houses. He truly appreciates the effort that has gone into cleaning up the ordinance and making it easier to understand. Ms. Wittman recognized that preservation and community livability sometimes clash. The City is not asking for upgrades but wants people to maintain their old homes. Motion by Chairman Lauer, seconded by Commissioner Steinwall, to recommend that the City Council approve a Zoning Text Amendment to modify city code relating to preservation regulations. Motion passed 5-1 with Commissioner Meyhoff voting nay. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. FYI STAFF UPDATES There were no staff updates. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Hansen, seconded by Commissioner , to bourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. All in favor. ris Lauer, Chair ATTEST: r4� Abbi Witt an, City Planner Page 5 of 5