HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 05-05-2010Approved Minutes
City of Plymouth
Planning Commission Meeting
May 5, 2010
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair James Davis, Commissioners Dick Kobussen, Nathan
Robinson, Gordon Petrash, Scott Nelson, Erik Aamoth and Marc Anderson
STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Barbara Senness, Senior Planner Shawn Drill, Senior
Planner Marie Darling, City Engineer Bob Moberg 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 Kobussen, seconded by Commissioner Robinson, to approve the
May 5, 2010 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved.
5. CONSENT AGENDA
A. APPROVAL OF THE APRIL 21, 2010 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
MINUTES
MOTION by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Kobussen, to approve the
April 21, 2010 Planning Commission Minutes. Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved.
6. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. THOMAS AND DEBORAH VANDERHEYDEN (2010022)
Chair Davis introduced the request by Thomas and Deborah Vanderheyden for a preliminary plat
for the "Margaret Swanson Addition" for property located at 820 Lanewood Lane North.
Senior Planner Drill gave an overview of the staff report. Senior Planner Drill noted that two
letters had been received and added to the public record.
Commissioner Kobussen asked if the small lot to the north at the end of the platted 91h Avenue
right-of-way would become a nonconforming lot. Senior Planner Drill replied that vacant parcel
is owned by the adjacent homeowner off of Minnesota Lane. He said it is not a buildable lot and
that the owner could go through the process with Hennepin County to combine the two lots.
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Commissioner Kobussen asked if a retaining wall would have to be built using Scenario B to
keep that cul-de-sac level because it would drop about four or five feet from the top of the hill
down to the end of the driveway. He said that he was concerned that there would be a problem
with drainage if the cul-de-sac were to be built and raised. Senior Planner Drill said that level of
detail with the grading has not yet been developed but that staff had recognized that same issue.
He said Scenario B would likely result in a steeper driveway segment for the homeowner to the
north.
Commissioner Nelson asked if the turn -around shown in Scenario C would have been installed
as part of the street reconstruction project in 2009, why additional scenarios are being reviewed
at this time. Senior Planner Drill said that if the project would have been completed last year, the
city would have done something very similar to Scenario C. He said that the opportunity
presented itself through the platting process to determine if there were additional right-of-way
needs in this area related to any future reconstruction project.
Commissioner Nelson asked if the section of 9th Avenue that goes to the dead end now would
stay as it is in Scenario B. Senior Planner Drill said that unless that area would be vacated by the
city, it would remain within the public right-of-way. Commissioner Nelson asked if the resident
would have to do anything to their driveway. Senior Planner Drill said that there had been some
discussion about vacating excess right-of-way on 9th Avenue. He said that in such case, the
owners on either side of the vacated street would each get half and they would be responsible for
snow removal and long-term maintenance of that drive area.
City Engineer Moberg added that Scenario B presented the city with a couple of issues. He said
that because of the way the plat was laid out, the lot where the new house would be going in
would not have any right-of-way frontage if all of the existing 9th
Avenue right-of-way were
vacated. He said the other potential concern with that scenario is that there would be a common
drive between the two lots coming off the end of the cul-de-sac, which could present some
ownership and management issues.
Commissioner Nelson asked what would prompt the city to vacate that right-of-way. City
Engineer Moberg said that residents in that area could be requesting that at some point in the
future.
Commissioner Petrash suggested a revision to Scenario B to take the cul-de-sac as drawn and
continue it beyond the turn -around area to the existing dead end. He said the driveway to the
house to the north wouldn't get any bigger or smaller than it was and the new property would
have access to the road that is there. He said that the city would still be responsible for that
appendage of the existing road. City Engineer Moberg said that the city plows to the end of the
street now because the city has dedicated right-of-way. Commissioner Petrash asked if the city
would still be able to do that. City Engineer Moberg said that would not work for snowplows.
Planning Manager Senness asked what drainage would be like under the arrangement suggested
by Commissioner Petrash. City Engineer Moberg said that without having something fully
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designed, his first expectation would be that drainage would run back to the west and right back
into the driveway, which was what was trying to be avoided.
Chair Davis introduced the applicant, Tom Vanderheyden, 4940 Yuma Court North. Mr.
Vanderheyden said that they have gotten to know the neighbors and that they were in agreement
with them with respect to the scenarios they feel would be reasonable. He said that Scenarios A
and B are collectively less reasonable and Scenario C was highly desirable. He said that this was
the best of what they had been able to develop with staff and that reflecting on all that, they
probably wouldn't proceed with the subdivision if they were forced to go with Scenario A or B
because of the disruption.
Commissioner Kobussen asked if they currently owned this property. Mr. Vanderheyden said
that they do not own the property but that they have a purchase agreement contingent on
satisfactory resolution of this request. He added that the property had been vacant for some time.
Commissioner Kobussen asked if the existing power lines would be relocated. Mr.
Vanderheyden said that is a possibility and that he had spoken with Xcel about it. He said that
there is a 40 -foot wide power line easement to the east and Xcel would be willing to relocate the
power line to that easement.
Chair Davis asked Mr. Vanderheyden if he said that Scenario C was desirable. Mr.
Vanderheyden said that scenario was highly desirable. He added that they could make a new
driveway match up at the south end of the cul-de-sac and allow for a 60 -foot wide turn -around
versus the 40 -foot wide turn -around that is drawn on the city's 2009 street reconstruction plan.
Chair Davis asked what size the cul-de-sac would be under Scenario C. Senior Planner Drill said
that Scenario C was from the 2009 street reconstruction project and is shown at about 40 feet but
the city would have an opportunity to extend the pavement south all the way to the lot line.
Chair Davis asked if they would connect to that cul-de-sac. Mr. Vanderheyden confirmed they
would.
Commissioner Petrash asked if garbage trucks are currently able to back out of the street without
knocking down their mailboxes. Mr. Vanderheyden responded that the mailboxes are located at
the intersection of 9th Avenue and Lanewood Lane. He said garbage trucks presently back out of
the dead end with no issue.
Chair Davis opened the public hearing.
Chair Davis introduced Harold Bakke, 815 Kingsview Lane North. Mr. Bakke said that in the
fall of 1968, they had added on to their house and garage and at that time, they did not have
enough setback. He said they had applied to the City Council and the 9th Avenue street segment
lying west of Kingsview Lane North was vacated, with half of the street dedicated to them and
the other half dedicated to the property owner to the north. He said they were all for the division
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of this area and that they would definitely prefer Scenario C for the turn -around on 91h Avenue
and because drainage would be adequately addressed.
Chair Davis introduced Brian Weekley, 630 Lanewood Lane North. Mr. Weekley asked what
would happen with the existing home. He said that throughout the neighborhood, homes had
been demolished and rebuilt with bigger homes and he wondered why the prospective applicant
wouldn't be doing that.
Chair Davis closed the public hearing.
Planning Manager Senness deferred to the current property owner to address what might happen
to the existing home. Property owner, Paul Swanson, 14375
4th Avenue North, said that the
reason for the subdivision request was to allow for saleability of the existing home to a
prospective buyer. He said this allowed for the existing home to be much more marketable in
today's economy and that it would remain.
Commissioner Nelson said that he did not have a problem with the request for subdivision. He
said that two buildable lots would fit in the neighborhood just fine. He said that he did not see
any reason to change the city's 2009 strategy, which would provide a turn -around similar to
Scenario C. He said that would be the most cost efficient and less controversial way to go. He
said that would be his preference and that he would vote in support of this request.
Commissioner Robinson said that he agreed with Commissioner Nelson and that he would vote
in support of the subdivision request with Scenario C.
Commissioner Petrash asked what determines the diameter of the cul-de-sac. Senior Planner
Drill said that the applicant, through their platting of the property, would dedicate a 10 -foot strip
of land for snow storage. He said that with no grading issues, the city would want to make the
turn -around as large as possible. He said that the city might need to work with the property
owner to the north for a permanent easement to allow for snow storage. He said that this would
be a good opportunity to expand on the city's 2009 street reconstruction plan.
Chair Davis asked if city staff could recommend any of the three scenarios and if they had any
objections to Scenario C. City Engineer Moberg said that the intent of the street reconstruction
plan was to do what they could within the existing parameters. He said that with the subdivision
request, the city has an opportunity to change the parameters. He said that even with the reduced
size, there would be concerns for how snowplows and garbage trucks would turn around without
having to back in and out of that area.
Commissioner Kobussen said that there was adequate land area for subdividing the property and
that it made sense for this property. He said that Scenario B looked like it would extend more
than needed because there would only be one or two homes before the turn -around. He said that
Scenario A looked like a huge expense for the city and would cause a hardship for the
homeowner to the north at the end of the street. He added there would be a possibility of water
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and drainage problems. He said that Scenario C would be the best option for the little amount of
traffic and that big trucks would not have any problem backing up the street. He said that he
would support this scenario because it would be the least amount of backfill and disturbance to
the environment. He said that it should be confirmed that the extension of 9th Avenue to
Kingsview Lane was really vacated to make sure that no one could propose to put a street
through.
Commissioner Anderson said that he would also vote in support of the subdivision. He said that
it was an area where there was a lot of activity for new homes replacing older homes. He said
that he debated the size of the right-of-way and the pavement standard for the cul-de-sac. He
said that a condition of a 10 -foot easement and wider pavement area should be made clear in the
resolution. He said that so far this applicant did not include any vacations of the right-of-way
and that he was perfectly satisfied with that. He said that the changes to Scenario C would allow
for vacations and would still work. He said this would be a city improvement project and would
not require a vacation of any of the rights-of-way as discussed.
Senior Planner Drill confirmed for Chair Davis that the intent would be to build a turn -around
when the street would be reconstructed. He said the street would remain in the current condition
until such time as reconstruction occurs. Chair Davis asked if the homeowners would be
assessed for that when reconstruction happens. Senior Planner Drill responded that the
homeowners would be assessed for any street reconstruction project.
Chair Davis said that he would vote in support of the subdivision request. He said that he looked
through all of the scenarios and Scenarios A and B seemed to be a lot more work than needed for
one additional home. He said that Scenario C seemed to be the one that would do the least
amount of harm to the area and he would vote in support of that scenario.
MOTION by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the
request by Thomas and Deborah Vanderheyden for a preliminary plat for the "Margaret Swanson
Addition" with the recommendation of turn -around Scenario C and a condition that the applicant
to provide a 10 -foot wide snow storage easement along the north boundary of the plat. Roll Call
Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously.
B. PERL LANDSCAPING (2010027)
Chair Davis introduced the request by Perl Landscaping for an interim use permit to allow
stockpiling of roughly 1,500 cubic yards of fill material for the property located at 3855 County
Road 101.
Senior Planner Drill gave an overview of the staff report.
Chair Davis said that an interim use permit sounds like it would be for a temporary situation;
however, the grading and landscaping makes it sound like it would be there for awhile. He asked
how long the interim use permit would be valid. Senior Planner Drill responded that once it was
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graded, it could remain there indefinitely as a berm. He said that if the site was redeveloped in
the future, then that fill material could be spread out over the site and used as top soil material for
the sod; otherwise, there was a chance it could stay there indefinitely. He said that the interim
use permit pertains only to the timing of the grading operations and not to the berm itself being
there.
City Engineer Moberg added that the only reason for the interim use permit was because of the
volume of the material that had been brought in as required by city ordinance. Senior Planner
Drill confirmed that an interim use permit is required for the importing of more than 1,000 cubic
yards of material.
Chair Davis asked if an interim use permit would have been required if they had spread it all out
instead of putting it in a big pile. Senior Planner Drill replied that the grading and fill would
require an interim use permit. He confirmed for Chair Davis that this would not be an
authorization for the applicant to bring in more fill.
Commissioner Kobussen asked what would be required of the owner if this request was denied.
Senior Planner Drill said that if the request was denied, the applicant would be required to
remove the fill from the site. Commissioner Kobussen asked if all of the fill would need to be
removed. Senior Planner Drill said that they could leave just under 1,000 cubic yards with the
issuance of a grading permit.
Chair Davis opened the public hearing.
Chair Davis introduced Barry Altman, 18120 39th Avenue North. Mr. Altman asked about the
purpose of the fence required to surround the berm areas.
Senior Planner Drill responded that a silt fence, which is about one to two feet high and is
generally black or sometimes orange in color, would be required. He said that this fence would
be staked to the ground to prevent erosion of silt into the city's stormsewer system during rain
events and into the wetlands that surround that area.
Mr. Altman said that the dirt was not the most attractive and that if a fence was required, he
would like it to be as unobtrusive as possible.
Commissioner Nelson said that once the proposed vegetation starts growing on the berms and
erosion is no longer an issue, then the silt fence could be removed. Senior Planner Drill
confirmed that the silt fence would be temporary until the time that vegetation is established.
Planning Manager Senness added that one of the things that would occur if this request were to
be approved, would be that there would be some further shaping of the berms from what exists
out there today.
Chair Davis closed the public hearing.
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Commissioner Nelson said that he would like to make sure that the applicant does do a good job
of reshaping the berms and gets some decent looking vegetation in there. He said that although
silt fences are not great to look at, they are necessary and serve a good purpose to prevent
erosion and when that is no longer an issue, let's stress to the applicant to get rid of it.
Commissioner Kobussen said that from the city's view, they benefitted from not having to pay
for long distance hauling from Medicine Lake to that site but this request should have been done
ahead of time. Chair Davis said that future homeowners of that site might benefit from having
some decent topsoil.
Commissioner Anderson said that he was glad to hear that the silt fence issue had been resolved
and that it would be temporary. He said that clearly the berms need reshaping and that we need
to make sure that a condition is given for that. He said that generally, when he looked at the
location of the berms as they are related to the existing housing to the north and to the west,
putting berms at that location as a separation between different communities is a good idea. He
said that they picked a good location for the berms for where they sit today.
Chair Davis asked if six months was typically how much time was given to do something like
this. Senior Planner Drill replied that the city ordinance states that grading operations shall be
completed within six months of the issuance of the interim use permit by the council. He added
that the applicant is in a hurry to get this job done and that he does not feel that it will take the
full six months.
MOTION by Commissioner Kobussen, seconded by Commissioner Petrash, to approve the
request by Perl Landscaping for an interim use permit to allow stockpiling of roughly 1,500
cubic yards of fill material for the property located at 3855 County Road 101.
MOTION for a friendly amendment by Commissioner Anderson that the applicant shall be
required to reshape the piles into berms and complete all related grading and restoration.
Commissioner Kobussen accepted the friendly amendment. Roll Call Vote. 7 Ayes.
AMENDED MOTION approved unanimously.
C. CITY OF PLYMOUTH (2010028)
Chair Davis introduced the request by the City of Plymouth for reguiding three properties located
at 5550, 5600 and 5660 Vicksburg Lane North.
Senior Planner Darling gave an overview of the staff report.
Commissioner Nelson asked for the purpose in reguiding 5660 Vicksburg Lane North from LA -3
to LA -2 if townhouses are allowed in both. Senior Planner Darling replied that by changing the
density classification from LA -3 to LA -2, there would be more options for developers. She said
to get to six units per acre in LA -3, there have to be townhouses; whereas, to achieve the three
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dwelling units per acre, there would be the option of doing small single family dwelling lots.
Commissioner Nelson said the object then is to make it more flexible for a suitable development
on that sized property for that kind of topography. Planning Manager Senness added that a
number of the same features were present in the Woodcrest site, which was developed with
single family homes.
Commissioner Anderson said that this area was guided LA -3 as part of the comprehensive plan.
He asked if the proposed reguiding would still meet Metropolitan Council density requirements
and the overall averaging within the comprehensive plan. Senior Planner Darling said that staff
looked closely at that issue and came to the conclusion that it would still be possible to reach
three dwelling units per acre as encouraged by the Metropolitan Council. Planning Manager
Senness added that staff used the criteria established by the Metropolitan Council, which call for
calculating density using the low end of each density range, to come to that conclusion. She said
staff calculated that everything in northwest Plymouth would be developed at the lowest density,
which is probably not likely.
Commissioner Anderson asked if Metropolitan Council encourages or requires three dwelling
units per acre. Planning Manager Senness said that the Metropolitan Council cannot require a
city to change their plan unless they can determine that there is impact on one of the four
metropolitan systems under their jurisdiction.
Chair Davis opened and closed the public hearing as there was no one present to speak on the
item.
MOTION by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Robinson, to approve the
request by the City of Plymouth for reguiding three properties located at 5550, 5600 and 5660
Vicksburg Lane North. Roll Call Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously.
7. NEW BUSINESS
8. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Chair Davis, without objection, to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m.