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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 03-20-2013Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting March 20, 2013 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair James Davis, Commissioners Marc Anderson, Bryan Oakley, Scott Nelson, Gordon Petrash, Nathan Robinson and Dick Kobussen STAFF PRESENT: Community Development Director Steve Juetten, Senior Planner Shawn Drill, Senior Planner Marie Darling and Office Support Specialist Laurie Lokken 1. CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. PUBLIC FORUM 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Commissioner Petrash, seconded by Commissioner Kobussen, to approve the March 20, 2013 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 6, 2013 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Petrash, seconded by Commissioner Robinson, to approve the March 6, 2013 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes. Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. CRW PLYMOUTH, LLC (2013012) Chair Davis introduced the request by CRW Plymouth, LLC for a PUD amendment to allow outdoor display and two new loading docks for property located at 4150 Berkshire Lane North. Senior Planner Drill gave an overview of the staff report. Commissioner Petrash asked if the applicant's request for outdoor display differs from similar displays, such as at Lowe's or Home Depot. Senior Planner Drill responded that this is the same type of application. He said the applicant is required to go through this approval process for the outside display because it is located in a PUD. He said the outside display area in front of the Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 20, 2013 Page 2 building would be very similar to what is seen at Home Depot or at Lowe's. He said they would not have trucks or big equipment. Commissioner Anderson asked if the lifts would be up high. Senior Planner Drill replied the resolution requires that the lifts be displayed in their lowest positions. Chair Davis introduced the applicant, Ralph Kloiber, representing HOM Furniture. Mr. Kloiber stated that they have been negotiating with ACME Tools to renew their lease. He said that ACME currently has outdoor display at all locations, except their Plymouth location. Mr. Kloiber stated that ACME Tools has been a great tenant over the past eight years and it has been a great relationship for HOM Furniture. He said the city and the neighborhood have not had any problems with HOM or ACME. He said that they have always been cognizant of the neighborhood's concerns when they first converted the building and they have honored those concerns. He said there has been a major difference in truck traffic since it was an Ameriserve building and they had trucks running all night. He said they agreed in their first PUD that they would not have any semis running overnight. Mr. Kloiber stated ACME Tools is closed in the evenings and Sundays when it is HOM's busiest times, so it's a great complement for parking. He said ACME helps them in maintaining the property. He said their management has been around for a long time and they work together as a team. He said HOM wants ACME to be a long term tenant for those reasons. Mr. Kloiber confirmed for Commissioner Anderson that ACME utilizes their outdoor displays at all of their other locations and they would not store lifts high like they do at some of those locations. He said they would keep them in the low position and they are for sale to their customers that are coming to the building. Mr. Kloiber said ACME has an offsite warehouse located south of State Highway 55. He said if a customer comes in and they don't have their product in stock, an employee goes to the warehouse to pick up the product while the customer waits. He said they want to serve their customers better than how they are today. He added it is not real cost efficient for them. He said HOM has agreed to give up 9,000 square feet of warehouse and they would keep about 4,000 square feet. He said they mainly store rugs in this warehouse and they also have a customer pick up area that's very important to them and their local customers, so they want to continue to offer that. He said there would only be one semi dock and the pick up dock where customers would be able to pick up their product so they wouldn't have to go to Coon Rapids or to Anoka. Mr. Kloiber said it took HOM three years to get that part of the building leased to ACME Tools. He said HOM took over the middle World Rug and Floors due to the lack of interest from other tenant prospects. He said Plymouth is the biggest store they have. He said it's good for both the city and HOM to keep a good, respected rent and tax paying business in the community. Commissioner Anderson asked how many of the existing trees would be removed and what their sizes or heights are. Mr. Kloiber responded there would be about thirteen trees and they are a Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 20, 2013 Page 3 variety of sizes. He said they are located on a berm and if they need to replace them to screen more where the docks would be going, they are more than willing to do that. Commissioner Anderson asked if it would be worthwhile to get a tree spade there to pick up and move trees that are of a decent size. Mr. Kloiber stated that if he could find a tree removal company that could do that with the conditions that are there, he would be willing to look at that. Chair Davis opened and closed the public hearing as there was no one present to speak on the item. Commissioner Petrash stated that they are good residents of Plymouth. Chair Davis stated that because they could be accommodated without any complaints from the neighbors or any intrusive views, he favors this request. MOTION by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the request by CRW Plymouth, LLC. for a PUD amendment to allow outdoor display and two new loading docks for property located at 4150 Berkshire Lane North. Roll Call Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. B. AMERCO REAL ESTATE COMPANY (2013010) Chair Davis introduced the request by Amerco Real Estate Company for a conditional use permit, variances and a site plan amendment for a truck and trailer rental operation accessory to a self -storage facility for property located at 1225 State Highway 169. Senior Planner Darling gave an overview of the staff report. Commissioner Petrash asked if the applicant plans on selling vehicles at this location. Senior Planner Darling responded that the applicant has not identified that to staff. Commissioner Anderson asked if it would be possible to provide some screening between the frontage road and the proposed truck parking in terms of landscaping, etc. that would be beneficial there or because of elevations of the roads and various things, would that not be effective. Senior Planner Darling replied that in order to provide screening from the freeway in this area, which sits up higher than the property, the applicant could propose a solid screen fence. She said it would need to be taller than what is normally seen. She said it would require a significant amount of landscaping above that, which would provide some screening to the site in the summer months but there would be nothing in winter months. Chair Davis asked for elaboration on the proposed canopy. Senior Planner Darling stated the applicant has proposed to place a 25' x 40' canopy closer to the south side of the building on the east side of the property. She said they are proposing a dark -colored, fabric covering on a steel structure that would be open on four sides. Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 20, 2013 Page 4 Chair Davis asked if it would meet the requirements of an accessory building in the city code. Senior Planner Darling replied it does not, which is why the applicant has requested a variance. She said the ordinance does not allow structures to be constructed of impermanent materials. Commissioner Petrash asked if it would require a building permit. Senior Planner Darling replied that before the applicant could install it onto the property, it would have to have a building permit and it would have to meet the requirements of the building code at that time. Commissioner Nelson asked if the poles would be permanently in the ground and if the canopy would be taken down on a windy day. Senior Planner Darling stated that the applicant has proposed to use it continuously. Chair Davis introduced the applicant, David Pollock. Mr. Pollock stated they are requesting approval in order for them to acquire this building, to renovate it, to modify it and to allow them to become a business in this community. He said he previously withdrew the application because there was a recommendation or a suggestion that they limit the number of vehicles to ten. He said he was unable to make that business decision that evening. He said he withdrew their application, took it back to their board and shared with them the City Council's position. He said he offered to their board an alternative as to how their operations would have to be adjusted. He said their goal is to try to acquire and reuse development, not build from ground up or to tear down existing buildings. He said he suggested to their board that they agree to the quantity of equipment parked on the site and they have delineated it to the ten spaces. Mr. Pollock stated that in modifying the application, they decided they could use a dispatch and receiving canopy. He said it would be called a permanent structure because there are foundations that hold the steel structure to the ground. He said these structures have to be designed for wind load and that is why they have footings and foundations. He said the fabric canopy is not a material designed for snow load so whenever there is snow, this canopy would have to be removed. He said the object for the dispatch and receiving canopy is that since they are not allowed to have an unlimited amount of equipment staged out front at all times, they would like to provide a place where customers could stand or sit and wait for their equipment to be brought out or returned that is convenient and protected. He said it would not be the end if they could not do that. Mr. Pollock stated they would not be selling any trucks at this location. Mr. Pollock stated that they looked at how they might be able to screen the property and they looked at adding landscaping. He said the screening wall would have to be as tall as the freeway and that is not the right thing to do. Commissioner Petrash asked if the staging area is always filled with trucks. Mr. Pollock responded that the staging and shunting area would be where all the equipment would be sitting that morning or when reservations are ready to go out. He said vehicles would be brought up in line and be ready to go when vehicles come in or out of town and then put in there so that they can be put back in line at the back of the building. Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 20, 2013 Page 5 Mr. Pollock confirmed for Chair Davis that they are not proposing an overnight storage area. Commissioner Nelson asked how many spaces or how many vehicles they requested in their first application. Mr. Pollock responded that at that time, it was 25-30 vehicles and then ended up being limited. Commissioner Nelson asked if the ten vehicles displayed in those ten parking spots would be stored with the front end facing out to the freeway or if they would be backed in. Mr. Pollock replied that there is a program in place where they are lined up with front end toward 169 and displayed by size. Mr. Pollock confirmed for Commissioner Petrash that they would be laid out this way so that the trucks would be seen from the freeway. Commissioner Oakley stated that there are six conditions in the staff report that were recommended by the Planning Commission in relation to their first application and that are not addressed in their current application. He asked Mr. Pollock each item individually whether they are acceptable by the applicant to be included in a resolution. Commission Oakley read "planting trees and shrubs on the east and northeast sides of the property to provide screening". Commissioner Oakley read "using concrete curb stops on the west side of the property to protect any proposed screen fence". Commission Oakley stated using standard B6/12 curbs in lieu of surmountable curb. Mr. Pollock stated the issue is that it's more maintenance. He said the drivers who use the equipment are not used to curbs and have a tendency to run over them. He said they would prefer to not see any curbing because eventually you get black marks and broken curbs. He stated that they agree to this item but it is a maintenance cost to them. Commissioner Oakley read "adding parking lot islands on the east side of the northeastern driveway and the south side of the east driveway". Commissioner Oakley read "removing the abandoned tank pads on the west side of the accessory building". Commissioner Oakley read "prohibiting vehicle fuel sales". Mr. Pollock agreed to each condition as read. Commissioner Petrash asked for confirmation that fuel sales did not include propane. Mr. Pollock stated that they would be offering to sell propane for barbeques but no fuel or propane sales for vehicles. Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 20, 2013 Page 6 Commissioner Kobussen asked if the applicant had given any thought to putting a permanent type roof on the receiving area instead of canvas. He stated that if the canopy could not handle snow load from October to March, they would have the potential of not being able to put the canopy up at all. He said that if it would be a permanent canopy, we might be able to get around the variance. Senior Planner Darling confirmed that. Mr. Pollock responded that they haven't discussed that. He said that to move this forward, they could remove the canopy and come back with a design. He added that if they did do a permanent structure that is attached to the building, they would want to make sure that it is architecturally appealing. Commissioner Kobussen asked if the applicant would like to withdraw that aspect of the application. Mr. Pollock stated that they agree to remove the proposed canopy from this request. He said they would like to be able to look at how a permanent canopy, whether it be attached to the building or be a detached building, would look architecturally. Community Development Director Juetten asked if the applicant would need to come back to the Planning Commission with a request for a permanent structure without a canopy. Senior Planner Darling confirmed that it would be a request for a fairly small addition and that staff could review that administratively. Chair Davis stated that they are not indicating that it has to be attached to the building but he would be more comfortable with it included some kind of permanent roof. Chair Davis continued the public hearing from the March 6, 2013 Planning Commission meeting and closed the public hearing as there was no one present to speak on the item. Commissioner Nelson stated that having the ten vehicles up front is workable and reasonable, especially the way it is set up. He said that the discussion over berming/screening from the freeway does not need to be addressed any longer because it is not a workable solution to try to screen that area. He stated that having a Minnesota -functional canopy is definitely to the benefit of the applicant, as well as to the city. He stated that he would vote in support of this request. Commissioner Petrash stated that he has used a facility like this while he lived in Chicago and they are very well run. He stated that as configured, this would be a good addition to Plymouth. Chair Davis stated that the reuse of an existing building is a good thing. He said screening is more important in an area abutting residential but here the only ones seeing it are on the freeway where that whole side of the freeway is industrial. He said he would vote in favor of this request. MOTION by Commissioner Kobussen, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to forward the request to the City Council, with the Planning Commission's recommendations and changes, for approval of the request by Amerco Real Estate Company for a conditional use permit, variances and a site plan amendment for a truck and trailer rental operation accessory to a self -storage facility for property located at 1225 State Highway 169. Roll Call Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 20, 2013 Page 7 7. NEW BUSINESS I-IRENEW—l"I'Loll]:_g u I_Blom MOTION by Chair Davis, with no objection, to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 p.m.