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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 09-17-2008Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting September 17, 2008 MEMBERS PRESENT: Vice Chair James Davis, Commissioners Terry Jaffoni, Erik Aamoth, Karl Neset and Scott Nelson MEMBERS ABSENT: Chair James Holmes 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 MOTION by Commissioner Jaffoni, seconded by Commissioner Neset, to approve the September 17, 2008 Planning Commission Agenda as amended. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 3, 2008 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Jaffoni, to approve the September 3, 2008 Planning Commission Minutes. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. 6. PUBLIC HEARING A. CITY OF PLYMOUTH (2008057) Vice Chair Davis introduced the request by the City of Plymouth for a zoning ordinance text amendment to Section 21130.02 — General Landscaping and Maintenance to amend the length of time property owners have to complete the initial landscaping for newly developed properties. Senior Planner Darling gave an overview of the staff report. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2008 Page 2 Commissioner Nelson asked if the proposed amendment change would affect existing houses, such as the example cited that is finished but the outside yard is in disrepair. He asked if the permit was issued more than a year ago in the example cited. Senior Planner Darling said it is over one year since the building permit was issued, however, the proposed ordinance amendment would not apply to past date approvals. Commissioner Nelson asked what remedy the City would use to enforce the proposed change. Senior Planner Darling said if landscape development has not started, the City can write a compliance letter alerting a property owner. If a property owner does not comply, the matter can be sent to the City Attorney for prosecution. Commissioner Jaffoni said the proposed amendment to reduce compliance after occupancy from 1 year to 60 days seems steep. She asked if other cities have this requirement and is it considered to be onerous on the part of new owners. Senior Planner Darling stated 11 cities have the requirement and the majority require yards installed upon issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.). She said a few have double date times - either after the building permit is issued or with the C.O. Commissioner Aamoth asked if there has been feedback from the development community in regard to the 60 -day requirement. Senior Planner Darling said there has been no external review of this ordinance. Commissioner Aamoth asked if that would be done prior to the City Council meeting. Planning Manager Senness said the proposed amendment would be less drastic than what comparable communities are doing. She added that the same developers work throughout the area so this would not be a great surprise. Commissioner Nelson asked about the extensions granted for financial, weather, health, etc. in cases where the house is occupied. Senior Planner Darling said financial hardship is not one of the extensions allowed for. She said they could look at extreme circumstances and cited a recent unfortunate situation where the property owner could not comply. Commissioner Jaffoni said the requirement of one year from issuance of the building permit comes back to the developer which goes back to the homeowner. If occupied, the occupant has 60 days to comply. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2008 Page 3 Commissioner Neset said other cities require landscape completion prior to the issuance of the C.O. and the builders are accountable with the guarantees provided. Senior Planner Darling said ultimately the owner pays one way or another. Commissioner Neset said at that point the builder puts up money. He said the C.O. could be held to ensure the builder installs the landscaping. Commissioner Neset added it takes a long time to get someone out to your house to landscape, so consider tightening up the implementation. Commissioner Nelson asked if the C.O. would be used as leverage against the builder for unfinished portions of the project. Commissioner Neset said he considers financial guarantees given by the developer a stricter enforcement and a better way to get it done, rather than leaving it up to the individual homeowner. He reiterated that finding somebody to sod your yard in 60 days is difficult and to make landscape installation a condition for occupancy. Vice Chair Davis referenced his occupancy in February, with landscaping completed in June. He asked how logistics would work in a winter situation. Senior Planner Darling said a specific exemption for weather was written; the time frame would extend to the following June 1. Senior Planner Darling said several cities require either escrows for landscaping or write in a specific new deadline as proposed in the amendment before them. Commissioner Jaffoni questioned if 60 days is enough time, regardless of winter. She said lining up contractors, plan selection and interviewing competitive bids, along with bills to pay, etc., make the 60 days too short of a time frame. Commissioner Jaffoni said another option is reducing to 6 months post occupancy or one year from the date of the building permit would give enough time, and would reduce the number of exemptions and subjectivity. Commissioner Neset said Commissioner Jaffoni's point is a good one, but you have to administer something after the fact which plays into his idea that getting landscaping done to city standards by the C.O. doesn't leave the burden on the homeowner to complete the landscaping. Planning Manager Senness said in most cases the landscaping would be the responsibility of the builder rather than the homeowner, and this underlines the fact that it is the builder's responsibility. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2008 Page 4 Commissioner Neset asked if the focus is on specific homes rather than larger developments. Senior Planner Darling said the focus is for specific single family homes. Commercial developments have financial guarantees requiring completion before release. Commissioner Neset said for houses that are being built one at a time the builder should get the C.O. after landscaping is completed. Commissioner Aamoth asked how this would be communicated to a busy homeowner that this deadline is approaching. Senior Planner Darling said under the current process most houses and yards are completed when the C.O. is issued and within the 12 month time frame. She said that typically when landscaping is not completed, most real estate transactions require an escrow account for that completion. Senior Planner Darling said annually there are one or two infill lots where escrow is not held privately, but because of the current financial situation this would be an appropriate time to look at our deadlines. Vice Chair Davis opened and closed the public hearing as there was no one present to speak on the item. Commissioner Nelson said he is in favor of amending the ordinance as long as there is some leeway for circumstances, and said he has been on the side of this as a homeowner twice. He said spring can be brutal and he would be in favor of amending the ordinance using exemptions for circumstances for extending the deadline. Senior Planner Darling reviewed the wording of the proposed amendment for exceptions and Commissioner Nelson said he would support it. Commissioner Jaffoni suggested keeping the one year from date of building permit issuance, but also 6 months from the date of occupancy in case a homeowner doesn't want the builder to put in the landscaping or leave it up to the homeowner. Commissioner Jaffoni said she supports the 6 month date, with the exceptions outlined. She said is comfortable with Commissioner Neset's idea also because it is plain and simple. Commissioner Neset said the cost of the landscaping could be a drag on the person's finances, and with the foreclosure issue, banks are tightening standards on how much a person can get, making it harder for homeowners to get the yard completed. He said he likes money set aside to guarantee someone is going to do the landscaping. Commissioner Neset said that would be important if he lived next door to an unfinished yard, hoping and waiting the city could enforce completion. He said it would be better for neighborhood Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2008 Page 5 relations, but he wouldn't want to be the guy who can't afford to finish the yard. Commissioner Neset said he is offering an alternative for consideration, but would support the proposed amendment also. Vice Chair Davis said one drawback is that only larger developments have the financial guarantees and smaller developments would not have this leverage. Commissioner Neset asked about the possibility of holding money in escrow to ensure landscaping would be covered. Senior Planner Darling said that has not been proposed because of the size of this issue. She said requiring every building permit issued to escrow money for landscaping would be holding the entire industry accountable for misdeeds of 3 or 4. Senior Planner Darling said another alternative would be require escrow only for people who get an exception. Commissioner Neset asked if the proposed zoning ordinance change affects only one or two cases per year. Senior Planner Darling said we see one or two per year having difficulty gaining compliance. Planning Manager Senness said with the amendment we would have more leverage to deal with the problem cases, but trying to balance and not catch too many people in the net that would make it onerous on the people who are doing what they ought to be doing. Commissioner Neset said he would support the staff recommendations. Commissioner Neset said hopefully this will continue to be an infrequent occurrence. He said having the city complete a yard seems to be more work than using the City Attorney's office to enforce the zoning ordinance. Vice Chair Davis said he concurred with Commissioner Neset, and said the marketplace is policing itself 99 percent of the time. He said he does not want to throw a net and catch those who are working within the system. Commissioner Aamoth asked if the financial hardship could be included as an exception. Commissioner Neset said he likes that idea but questioned how to establish financial hardship, and leaving it up to the city to validate whether someone has enough money to pay might create more trouble. Commissioner Aamoth suggested adding an amendment to include financial hardship as an exception. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2008 Page 6 Planning Manager Senness said the financial situation is harder to evaluate, and often ends up as a legal issue. She said escrows can be done, but adding financial hardship would be a difficult, subjective thing to add. MOTION by Neset, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the request by the City of Plymouth for a zoning ordinance text amendment to Section 21130.02 — General Landscaping and Maintenance to amend the length of time property owners have to complete the initial landscaping for newly developed properties. Commissioner Aamoth said he supports Commissioner Jaffoni's initial suggestion and will not support this. Commissioner Jaffoni said she supports the 6 -month time frame but added she did not know if 6 months will gain anything over the 60 days. She said 90 or 120 days might give enough time and then she would support the amendment. Friendly amendment by Commissioner Jaffoni, seconded by Commissioner Aamoth, to modify the 60 days to 120 days. Vice Chair Davis said 120 days is too long. He said the purpose is to tighten down the time frame and he said he will not support it. Friendly amendment by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Jaffoni to modify the 60 days to 90 days. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. 7. OLD BUSINESS A. CITY OF PLYMOUTH — City Center Design Book (Continued from September 3, 2008) Planning Manager Senness gave an overview of the City Center Design Book. Commissioner Jaffoni commented that the City has done a great job over years of looking and trying to develop this in a way that will be functional, and something the City can be proud of. She said this presents a good compilation of everything that is going on, and the evolution over the years is interesting and positive. Commissioner Jaffoni asked about the time frame for construction of the pedestrian spine and where funding comes from for items the City is responsible for. Planning Manager Senness explained that the CII' program details the funding on all types of improvements. She said the pedestrian spine will be completed in part by the library and Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2008 Page 7 the 36th Avenue street reconstruction in 2009, and as other development projects occur. Planning Manager Senness said portions adjacent to already developed areas need further work and can be funded through the CIP with City funds. Commissioner Neset thanked staff for all the work, and said the area will be beautiful when done. He asked for an overview of the pedestrian spine in the movie theater and Cub area. Planning Manager Senness said there would be three sets of pedestrian facilities, including private sidewalks. In this area, a private sidewalk would be constructed in conjunction with the new strip center by Cub, which will help provide a safe route for foot traffic from 36th Avenue to the theater and buildings by Applebee's, etc. Commissioner Jaffoni asked if there are plans to install a sidewalk from the cinema to the restaurant area, and said she thinks this would be a potential area pedestrians would want to use. Planning Manager Senness agreed and said they would need to work with the Mann Theater and current restaurants in the area. Commissioner Aamoth recalled a conversation about retail and getting some shopping amenities. Planning Manager Senness said the recent City Council review of City Center affirmed the current plan, with an emphasis on not granting variances. She said there were some changes to the zoning ordinance to allow retail in more areas in City Center and that this would help encourage retail, but it will be a market decision. Commissioner Aamoth asked if other cities, such as Maple Grove, have planned retail spaces, or do they recruit. He asked if is a market driven philosophy. Planning Manager Senness said some cities do promote and recruit particular developers. She said we do not have a large area that is available, and proposals are reviewed to ensure they meet requirements. She added the City Council carefully reviewed the new Inland Development to ensure the buildings will be an asset and will look like the vision the City had in mind. Commissioner Aamoth asked if emphasis is given to potential developers that we have a vision we want you to follow. He asked if there are short term and long term projects. Planning Manager Senness said the CIP program has phases which extend over many years. She added these are not inexpensive projects so they are phased over a period of time. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2008 Page 8 Commissioner Nelson concurred with Commissioner Jaffoni regarding the need for some sidewalk in the middle of the parking lot near the Mann Theater. He said newly encouraged pedestrian traffic will create a park -like atmosphere, and asked if there would be pedestrian plaza modes and if those plaza nodes would be severe weather shelters. Planning Manager Senness said these areas are relatively small in size and would not have structures, just benches and some seating. Commissioner Nelson said a 12' by 12' open air gazebo could provide shelter from the sun, and would be a gathering place. Planning Manager Senness said the library plaza does not have a structure, but this could be discussed with developers of other sites. Commissioner Nelson commended staff for this excellent piece of work. Commissioner Aamoth echoed Commissioner Nelson and said being part of this process was one of the reasons he wanted to be on the Planning Commission. Commissioner Jaffoni echoed Commissioner Aamoth's comment. She referenced the lighting diagram for Vicksburg Lane west of the library and asked why no lights were planned for this area. Planning Manager Senness explained there is a residential area located on the west side of the library. Commissioner Jaffoni said the Plymouth Town Square senior building is located near this network of sidewalks. She said benches would be near entrances, but was hoping benches could be located half way down a long section of a pedestrian spine as well. Planning Manager Senness the nodes would be places for seating, and the library has a number of seating locations throughout the spine area. Vice Chair Davis said most of this area is already occupied with thriving businesses. He asked if there has been supportive feedback from these property owners on ideas we have for their property. Planning Manager Senness said the City has worked closely with the library, Inland and a related project at Cub with respect to the pedestrian spine. She noted that when the City was looking at potentially adding streets in City Center, property owners from some undeveloped and redevelopment sites did not give a positive response. Planning Manager Senness said many projects would be funded through the CIP, while other items would be Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 17, 2008 Page 9 assessed, such as the street lights which were done in two phases. She added that there has been no negative feedback on that. Vice Chair Davis said it good to be getting feedback from property owners and the City is reactive to their feedback. Vice Chair Davis reiterated the other commissioners' comments regarding the City Center book, and said it is fabulous. He said the expectation is this book will be referred to for guidance as developers come forward with projects. Commissioner Jaffoni said the desired materials mentioned brick, stucco, stone and her concern is that a number of developments in the area seem to be looking the same. Commissioner Jaffoni said she would encourage City Council and staff to seek more diversity in the structure of our buildings, in particular heights. She recommended staggered, multi-level, and suggested residences above the retail space. Commissioner Jaffoni said staggered positions relative to the setback from the street would create a little more interest. Planning Manager Senness said the City Council concurred with her earlier, similar suggestions and the Council worked with the Inland project to comply and use good materials to do something that doesn't look like everything else. E:30NEW\ 13Bin R`lu 1 B1 Y I MOTION by Vice Chair Davis, without objection, to adjourn the meeting at 8:21 p.m.