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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 03-18-2009Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting March 18, 2009 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair James Davis, Commissioners Erik Aamoth, Gordon Petrash, Marc Anderson, and Dick Kobussen MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioners Terry Jaffoni and Scott Nelson STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Barbara Senness; Senior Planners Shawn Drill, 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 MOTION by Commissioner Petrash, seconded by Commissioner Kobussen, to approve the March 18, 2009 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Kobussen noted that Item 7.A. Paragraph 1 should be deleted. A. APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 4, 2009 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Kobussen, seconded by Commissioner Petrash, to approve the amended February 4, 2009 Planning Commission Minutes. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. T -MOBILE CENTRAL LLC (2009004) Chair Davis introduced the request by T -Mobile Central LLC for a conditional use permit for a 70 -foot monopole with antennas to be located at Central Middle School at 305 Vicksburg Lane N. Senior Planner Darling gave an overview of the staff report. Commissioner Aamoth asked if the equipment cabinets need to be separated because they can't be in a building operated by the Wayzata School District. Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 2009 Page 2 Senior Planner Darling said the district would not allow 24-hour access to either the building on the north side of the athletic field or the school. The proposed location is enclosed behind an existing 8 -foot fence and T -Mobile will work with the school district to ensure they have access 24 hours a day. Chair Davis asked if there are currently other cell phone towers on the school property. Senior Planner Darling said there are no other towers on this property. Commissioner Anderson asked if the school district is in support of this proposal. Senior Planner Darling said the school district has signed the application, and after City approval will present the lease to their board for final signature. Chair Davis introduced the applicant, Brian Ramirez, representing T -Mobile. Mr. Ramirez reviewed that the light pole would be replaced and the lights would be lowered. He said this location would have the least impact. Mr. Ramirez said this a densely populated area and there is a need at this location as networks mature and expand, and they are trying to cover in building, home and business locations. Chair Davis opened the public hearing. Chair Davis introduced Steve Vekich, 257 Whitegate Lane. Mr. Vekich asked if there is no other location this tower can be put. He said the entire west side of the facility is non-residential. Mr. Vekich asked if the revenue stream could be used to provide natural screening for the lighting which is on from dusk until 10:00 p.m., and asked if the lighting curfew could be changed to 9:00 p.m. Mr. Vekich asked if there are any physical or known risks from radio waves in populated areas such as schools and residential districts. Mr. Vekich inquired if this is the first tower or will more go on other light structures. He asked if the 70 -foot height includes the antennas. Mr. Vekich asked if the overall objective of this facility is to generate revenue or provide coverage. Senior Planner Darling said the design specifies that the height from grade to the top of the pole and antennas is 70 feet, which is the height of the current light structure. Senior Planner Darling said health impacts are reviewed by the Federal Government per the 1986 Telecommunications Act and the City is not allowed to review the health impact of the antennas. She added that cell phones and cell towers are in almost every neighborhood across the Twin Cities and reviewed locations of cell towers in the city. Senior Planner Darling said it would be up to the Wayzata School District to decide if more towers would be located on their site. She said frequently school districts do not want that much interference on their property. Senior Planner Darling said the City's Zoning Ordinance states there cannot more than one pole per property without an additional conditional use permit. Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 2009 Page 3 Senior Planner Darling said the lease income is taxable and that income is directed to the appropriate City, County and State governments. Senior Planner Darling reviewed the location and said this is a very residential area with no tall structures. She said this is the only site in the area with taller light poles. Chair Davis asked about the hours of lighting. Senior Planner Darling said the lights are an existing condition. She said the applicant is only moving the lights down 10 feet and that there is not a clear connection between the antennas and tower and the operation of the lights. Consequently, the City could not add conditions related to the operation of the lights. Commissioner Petrash asked if the money from the license could be used to do a better job camouflaging the proposed site. Senior Planner Darling said if the 3 -sided screen walls are not adequate for screening the equipment, it would be appropriate to propose that the applicant, not the owner, construct an enclosed structure for the equipment. Commissioner Petrash asked about the trees and visibility of the walls from the residential area. He asked how tall the walls would be. Senior Planner Darling said there is a clear view from the south of the screen walls. Mr. Ramirez said the screen wall would be about 6.5 feet tall and if it would be four-sided, a doorway would be needed. He said additional trees could be added to the south. Commissioner Petrash asked Mr. Vekich to address his specific concerns about visibility. Mr. Vekich said the field and the light pole are at the bottom of a 20 -foot hill and the equipment building is at the top and he lives just south of this area. He said not knowing what the walls and structures would look like, it would be nice if there would be natural barriers such as trees. Mr. Vekich asked if the light pole is being replaced, why the tower couldn't be back in an area where it would not be visible to any residential area. Planning Manager Senness stated any additional screening would be for the equipment shelter, not the playfield. Commissioner Anderson asked for clarification of the coverage area such as "in building." Mr. Ramirez said the "in vehicle" refers to coverage for outside only. "In building" is a higher grade of coverage, but there may not be coverage in a basement. The green color on the Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 2009 Page 4 coverage map indicates best coverage areas. Mr. Ramirez reviewed the map and showed pockets of inadequate coverage close to the site. Commissioner Anderson asked if this antenna were moved to the north how that would affect the coverage. Mr. Ramirez said he didn't know how much it would impact it as he doesn't know the northwestern part of the property. He said they are just trying to replace an existing light pole. Commissioner Aamoth asked if there would be any modifications to the lights for the field coverage since the lights would be lowered ten feet. Senior Planner Darling said the school district had no concerns over lowering the height and are comfortable with the proposed 60 -foot light height. Commissioner Anderson said his view is an existing light pole is being changed so the visual impact is fairly minor. Adding another pole on the site would add additional visual impact. He said the three -sided screening is similar to the existing and providing the same type of material will blend in nicely. Commissioner Anderson said he could support having a couple trees added because the proposed structure is higher than the existing school district enclosure. Commissioner Kobussen asked if the school district would maintain additional trees. Senior Planner Darling added that one tree would be relocated and said they could specify adding one additional tree on the south side of the equipment building. She not think the school would have a concern with that. Commissioner Anderson asked about the size of the tree being removed. Senior Planner Darling said the tree can be spaded and moved. Commissioner Aamoth agreed with Commissioner Anderson and said the proposal is reasonable in this location and not much of an expansion. He concurred with Commissioner Anderson's recommendation for an additional tree. Commissioner Anderson asked for the specific size of the tree. Senior Planner Darling said the tree being moved was six feet tall at planting, and the additional tree would be required to be of equal size. MOTION by Commissioner Petrash, seconded by Commissioner Aamoth, to approve the request by T -Mobile Central LLC for a conditional use permit for a 70 -foot monopole with antennas to be located at Central Middle School at 305 Vicksburg Lane N. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. Approved Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 2009 Page 5 B. JOE SENSER'S RESTAURANT (2009005) Chair Davis introduced the request by Joe Senser's Restaurant for a planned unit development amendment to construct a 40 -foot by 80 -foot volleyball court west of Joe Senser's located at 16605 County Road 24. Planning Manager Senness said the applicant has requested that this item be tabled to the April 1, 2009 meeting. Chair Davis opened the public hearing. MOTION by Commissioner Kobussen, seconded by Commissioner Aamoth, to continue the public hearing to April 1, 2009 regarding the request by Joe Senser's Restaurant for a planned unit development amendment to construct a 40 -foot by 80 -foot volleyball court west of Joe Senser's located at 16605 County Road 24. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. A. CITY OF PLYMOUTH MOTION by Chair Davis, without objection, to adjourn the meeting at 7:47 p.m. to the Community Development conference room for discussion on the City of Plymouth annual zoning ordinance update.