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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 05-19-2010Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting May 19, 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT: Acting Chair Scott Nelson, Commissioners Dick Kobussen, Nathan Robinson, Gordon Petrash and Erik Aamoth MEMBERS ABSENT: Chair James Davis and Marc Anderson STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Barbara Senness, Senior Planner Marie Darling, and Office Support Representative Janice Bergstrom 1. CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. PUBLIC FORUM 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Acting Chair Nelson noted that Item 6A. Heads `N Tails Doggy Love Care (2010029) has been withdrawn. MOTION by Commissioner Petrash, seconded by Commissioner Kobussen, to approve the May 19, 2010 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF THE MAY 5, 2010 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Petrash, seconded by Commissioner Robinson, to approve the May 5, 2010 Planning Commission Minutes. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS B. INTERFAITH OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS (2010032) Acting Chair Nelson introduced the request by Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners for a planned unit development amendment for the Community Family and Children Center at 1605 County Road 101. Senior Planner Darling gave an overview of the staff report. Senior Planner Darling said a letter had been received from Connie and Phil Rooney, 1740 Merrimac Lane N. requesting additional plantings. Approved Planning Commission Minutes May 19, 2010 Page 2 Acting Chair Nelson introduced Steven Bohl, 300 Stubbs Bay Road, Orono. Mr. Bohl said there have been neighborhood meetings to discuss the landscaping. He said Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners (IOCP) has been functioning in Wayzata for over 30 years in a 6,000 square foot building. He said the space is used for office and the food shelf is operated out of the basement and out -buildings. Mr. Bohl said this site would be ideal for their use. Mr. Bohl said over 60% of their clients are Plymouth residents, in addition to the Hamel, Wayzata, and Maple Plain service area. He said bus service is available and the property is under contract to purchase. Mr. Bohl said the fund raising effort has been successful so far. Mr. Bohl added that IOCP will be long term owners with experienced staff and volunteers. He said they are concerned about being good neighbors and making this project work. Mr. Bohl said they agreed to all recommendations in the staff report and resolution. Commissioner Kobussen asked where the dumpsters would be located and if they would be fenced. Mr. Bohl said there would be dumpsters typical for daily trash usage. He said furniture and clothing would immediately be taken indoors, and any discarded items would remain inside until removed. He said the daily trash dumpster would be enclosed on the south side of the building. Commissioner Kobussen asked about the landscaping plan and if there would be hedges or trees. Mr. Bohl said the neighbors did not want fencing on the western border between the townhome site and IOCP. He said they will fill in with conifers of substantial size, and the northern area will have undergrowth such as arborvitae. Mr. Bohl said the goal is to give this tired looking building a fresh look with paint and signage. He said the boulevard between Co. Rd. 101 and the site would be perfect for landscaping, and mentioned that a garden club in Wayzata maintained a garden site at the IOCP site. Mr. Bohl said they would encourage landscape gardening features at the entrance to freshen it up. Commissioner Robinson asked if the parking lot lighting would go down at 10 p.m. or at the close of business hours. He asked about lighting for the signage and if there were concerns about safety. Mr. Bohl said the neighborhood would like less lighting. He said he is not concerned about safety, and added only the front half of the parking lot would be lit. Mr. Bohl said they could turn on more lights if needed in the parking lot but only half of the parking lot would be used. He said the lights closer to building would be on until 8 p.m. Acting Chair Nelson opened the public hearing. Acting Chair Nelson intro Ken Waddell, 1610 Merrimac Lane N., who said he lives in the townhome closest to the proposal. Mr. Waddell said his concern is about furniture and clothing being dropped off and left after hours. Mr. Waddell asked how this proposal would affect the Approved Planning Commission Minutes May 19, 2010 Page 3 crime rate and property values. He said there are kids across the street from the proposal, and asked about the food service and tutoring. Mr. Waddell said this use does not belong in a residential area. Acting Chair Nelson introduced, Earl Johnson, 4668 Inland Ct. Mr. Johnson said he owns 17810 Co Rd. 6 and his daughter lives there. Mr. Johnson said he is very familiar with IOCP and supports it through his church and personally. Mr. Johnson questioned neighborhood safety, and said the Plymouth Colony apartments to the north of the proposed site, have a fairly large use of the Plymouth police force. Mr. Johnson said he is not implying, just asking because his daughter is moderately handicapped and safety is of concern to him. Mr. Johnson asked if the expanding services would serve a larger geographical area. Acting Chair Nelson introduced LaDonna Hoy, 146 Ridgeview Drive, Executive Director of IOCP. Ms. Hoy said she is very excited about this opportunity and bringing a new level of services to the community. She said they want to be good neighbors, and said steps would be taken to ensure the area will be safe. Acting Chair Nelson closed the public hearing. Mr. Bohl said the furniture and clothing drop off would be at the two docks on the southeast side. He said an intake person would be present to ensure the quality is acceptable and to furnish a tax receipt to donors. Mr. Bohl said their goal is to limit hours for drop off and the signage would specify hours. Mr. Bohl said dropping off during off hours is not acceptable to them. Acting Chair Nelson asked if the signage would express that. Mr. Bohl answered definitely. Commissioner Petrash asked if the Wayzata location takes furniture. Mr. Bohl said they do not. He said IOCP has the food shelf and previously accepted clothing, but have outgrown the space. Mr. Bohl said one of their staff started the Prop Shop, a used clothing store in Eden Prairie. He noted other facilities offer these services and manage very well Planning Manager Senness asked if they anticipate a change in crime at this site. Mr. Bohl said there is loitering around the building because it is vacant and no one is managing the west side of the building. He said hopefully the new signage and installing a swing arm gate in the alleyway so unauthorized people cannot go there will discourage loitering. Mr. Bohl said he and Ms. Hoy have discussed the security and safety issues with Chief Goldstein and Officer Angela Haseman. Mr. Bohl said the Wayzata Public Safety Department crime statistics were nominal at the Wayzata site, and said most were clients coming to their site and reporting theft offsite. He said incidents on site were extremely rare. Mr. Bohl said the issues at the proposed Approved Planning Commission Minutes May 19, 2010 Page 4 site, such as loitering and new drivers practicing parallel parking were an annoyance for the neighborhood. He said tenant ownership should discourage some of these issues for the neighbors. Planning Manager Senness responded to Mr. Waddell's question on this use in a residential area, and said this site has been guided, zoned and used for commercial use for many years. Acting Chair Nelson asked about the increase in people and the growth trend as services are expanding from the Wayzata facility. Mr. Bohl said there would be growth in the agency and the 10,000 square foot space would be comfortable for their office and the developing partnerships they work with, such as law firms working pro bono. He said there would be a 50% increase in food distribution, and the furniture and clothing resource area would be 5,000 square feet each. He said the impact would be less dramatic than previous approved uses. Acting Chair Nelson asked if staff would be increasing also. Mr. Bohl said the staff of 25 could increase to 50, and added volunteers are a big percentage of staff. He said volunteer support continues to grow. Commissioner Petrash said he is familiar with the Maple Grove Goodwill center. He said cars back up a long way at the drive through, and asked what is anticipated at the proposed site. Mr. Bohl said two cars would fit at the docking space simultaneously; the rest would have to wait. Commissioner Petrash said this is an issue, and asked how they plan to have it organized so they know where to wait in line. Mr. Bohl said they do not have the answer right now but other people who have experienced this will help manage the logistics. He said they will figure out peak times or bigger intake events. Planning Manager Senness asked if the IOCP service area would be expanding. Mr. Bohl said they would not be expanding the service area. He said residency for food distribution is verified; furniture resale and clothing would be open to the public. Commissioner Aamoth asked if property values would be affected. Planning Manager Senness said changes in property values are difficult to determine. She said with the exception of the downturn in the economy, property values do not go down in Plymouth. Approved Planning Commission Minutes May 19, 2010 Page 5 Mr. Bohl added that efforts to give the site a facelift and new landscaping would have a positive effect. Mr. Bohl concurred that property value impact is a tough question, but said he believes IOCP is a better use for impacting property value than the previously approved uses. Mr. Bohl said one council member suggested giving the furniture and clothing space a "boutique feel" with a fun name to make it a more inviting urban -style retail. Mr. Bohl said with the change in economy people are attracted to reusing quality goods. Commissioner Petrash suggested they look at the Goodwill and other similar drop off sites, as this is a significant thing on weekends with parking and traffic. Commissioner Kobussen asked how many clients would be served on a typical day. Mr. Bohl said 225 people utilize the food shelf in a week. Everyone would be invited inside to shop. Mr. Bohl said Rick's Super Market parking was never more than 2/3 full and he said he anticipates using only half the parking lot. Acting Chair Nelson asked about the number of people attending training or counseling. Ms. Hoy said case managers set appointments for clients, but a few clients also drop in. Clients with a compelling need are dealt with immediately. She said tutoring would be available on site offering the same services as the Connect program (outreach to apartments). She said tutoring services include homework help and a computer lab for people working on job skills and opportunities. Ms. Hoy said they will share space with other partners they work with to provide a one stop community center for families and kids. She said Hennepin County is interested in having space on site to save time and distance in making and attending appointments. Ms. Hoy said the whole spectrum of family support services would be available. Commissioner Aamoth asked what percent of people served are attached to the work force. Ms. Hoy said most people served have struggled with unemployment or underemployment. She said in the past two years the unemployed multiplied significantly. She said most are working people with income gaps, and the slightest thing can put them over the edge. Acting Chair Nelson said he sees IOCP as being good for the citizens of Plymouth and good for our city. He said he likes a permanent tenant in this space with a goal to make the property look better. Acting Chair Nelson said 60% of the clients being from our city is a key thing. Acting Chair Nelson echoed Commissioner Petrash's concern about the furniture drop off and said he is familiar with the Goodwill location. He advised to keep close attention to that as things go forward. Acting Chair Nelson encouraged IOCP to keep working with the citizens on the landscape issue, and said he would support the proposal. Commissioner Aamoth said IOCP has a tremendous track record in Wayzata with minimal issues. He said he is confident they can handle issues and applauds their effort to work with the neighborhood. He said he was impressed at the neighborhood meeting as IOCP representatives Approved Planning Commission Minutes May 19, 2010 Page 6 walked around the site and listened to people who came to the meeting. Commissioner Aamoth said this is indicative of how they will act. Commissioner Aamoth said he asked about working families because with the current economy it makes a big difference for people to get assistance to get back on track. He said a lot of people are trying to live their lives and do better, and he supports the request. Commissioner Kobussen said IOCP has agreed with recommendations in the staff report and they will improve the site. He said we don't want to have a site sitting empty for a long period of time, and to have a permanent occupant there would be a benefit. Commissioner Kobussen said the proposal will reduce loitering and crime, and be a plus to help people who live in Plymouth. MOTION by Commissioner Petrash seconded by Commissioner Aamoth, to approve the request by Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners for a planned unit development amendment for the Community Family and Children Center at 1605 County Road 101. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. 7. NEW BUSINESS 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Acting Chair Nelson, without objection, to adjourn the meeting at 7:52 p.m.