HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 01-03-2007Approved Minutes
City of Plymouth
Planning Commission Meeting
January 3, 2007
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair James Holmes, Commissioners Karl Neset, Melissa
Musliner, E. J. Clyman and Kathleen Murdock
MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Frank Weir
STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Barbara Senness, Senior Planner Shawn Drill,
Senior Planner Marie Darling, Planner Joshua Doty, Associate Planner Kip Berglund 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 Clyman, seconded by Commissioner Neset, to approve the
January 3, 2007 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved.
5. CONSENT AGENDA
A. APPROVAL OF THE DECEMBER 6, 2006 PLANNING COMMISSION
MINUTES
MOTION by Commissioner Murdock, seconded by Commissioner Clyman, to approve
the December 6, 2006 Planning Commission Minutes. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION
approved.
6. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. AMERICAN SIDEWALK CAFE (2006112)
Chair Holmes introduced the request by American Sidewalk Caf6 for a conditional use
permit to allow a restaurant in the Four Seasons Shopping Center in the C-2
Neighborhood Commercial) Zoning District located at 4184 Lancaster Lane North.
Planner Doty gave an overview of the December 26, 2006 staff report.
Approved
Planning Commission Minutes
January 3, 2007
Page 2
Chair Holmes opened and closed the public hearing as no one was present to speak on the
item.
MOTION by Commissioner Clyman, seconded by Commissioner Neset, to approve the
request by American Sidewalk Cafe for a conditional use permit to allow a restaurant in the
Four Seasons Shopping Center in the C-2 (Neighborhood Commercial) Zoning District
located at 4184 Lancaster Lane North. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved
unanimously.
B. BRAD AND JULIA HEMPHILL (2006118)
Chair Holmes introduced the request by Brad and Julia Hemphill for a conditional use
permit to allow a 333 square foot garage addition, in which the total attached garage area
will exceed 1,000 square feet, for property located at 12200 61St Avenue North.
Associate Planner Berglund gave an overview of the December 26, 2006 staff report.
Chair Homes asked if what is seen from the street will not change. Associate Planner
Berglund said the portion that is being added will only be seen from the corner of the lot.
Chair Holmes introduced the applicant, Brad Hemphill, 12200 61St Avenue North. Mr.
Hemphill said that 3 feet of the addition is what the conditional use permit covers, as 15
feet of it is within the guidelines.
Chair Holmes opened and closed the public hearing as no one was present to speak on the
item.
MOTION by Commissioner Clyman, seconded by Commissioner Musliner, to approve the
request by Brad and Julia Hemphill for a conditional use permit to exceed 1,000 square feet
in gross floor area of attached garage space for property located at 12200 61St Avenue
North. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously.
C. CITY OF PLYMOUTH (2006093)
Chair Holmes introduced the request by the City of Plymouth for the annual update to the
Zoning Ordinance.
Senior Planner Drill gave an overview of the December 22, 2006 staff report. Planner
Doty presented amendments to the home occupation regulations. Senior Planner Darling
presented amendments to the sign regulations, pursuant to a separate December 22, 2006
staff report.
Commissioner Clyman asked if the definition for trailer height is covered by State law and
if a food trailer, such as those designed to be taken to a fair, is considered an enclosed
Approved
Planning Commission Minutes
January 3, 2007
Page 3
trailer. Senior Planner Drill said that trailer height is regulated by State law and that a fully
enclosed food trailer would be considered a commercial trailer if it doesn't exceed the
length requirements and it is used for commercial purposes.
Chair Holmes opened the public hearing.
Chair Holmes introduced Glen Anderson, 2460 East Medicine Lake Boulevard. Mr.
Anderson said that the staff report states that there are several cities that don't have any
sign ordinances at all and asked why Plymouth has sign regulations. He said there are
already State and County laws and said Plymouth is creating a bureaucracy to have more
layers to go through. He asked why ordinances would be added that are already part of
State law. Mr. Anderson said that he owns a nonconforming lot on Medicine Lake. He
said that in 1980 the City snuck a law through that if you own a lot with a house on it and
own the lot next door, you can't do anything with the lot.
Chair Holmes introduced Jeff Berg, 9955 26th Avenue North. Mr. Berg said that he and a
lot of neighbors on Medicine Lake have boats and pontoons covered and sealed. He said
they have limited land and hard surface cover, so many have to put their boats next to or
behind their garage for the winter. He asked if this was okay. Mr. Berg also asked about
screening and if being parked and covered is an adequate screen.
Chair Holmes closed the public hearing.
Planning Manager Senness said that other cities do have sign ordinances but some don't
have specific regulations about size of menu boards. She said that sign regulations are
important for safety reasons, especially with new signs that flash and blink. She said those
signs can be a hazard to traffic and potentially cause accidents. Planning Manager Senness
said the purpose of the regulations are to maintain a safe environment for people to express
themselves, but in way that doesn't harm or damage others. She said it is not intended to
layer bureaucracy.
Senior Planner Darling said she had worked with Mr. Anderson and his son on the shore
land issue and the changes to nonconforming lots. She said that the DNR had required,
based on area and frontage, that Mr. Anderson's two nonconforming lots be consolidated
and not sold separately for purposes of development. She said that when City regulations
conflict with State regulations, the City has to change their regulations to comply.
Senior Planner Drill said that the proposed amendments would be in compliance with and
reflect what's in State law so people can view the complete ordinance on the City website
and won't have to look and compare with regulations on State websites.
Planner Doty said the proposed changes wouldn't change any of the current regulations for
parking of boats or other recreational vehicles. He said that if recreational vehicles are
Approved
Planning Commission Minutes
January 3, 2007
Page 4
stored in the front yard, they must be on the driveway and there is no requirement for
covering. He said that if they are stored in the side or rear yard, they may be on the grass.
Planning Manager Senness said the change for commercial vehicles adds regulations for
any commercial vehicle brought home and stored in the driveway, including a commercial
trailer. She said the regulations cover the storage of these vehicles, whether related to a
home occupation or not.
Senior Planner Drill said screening is not required for recreation vehicles.
MOTION by Commissioner Clyman, seconded by Commissioner Neset, to approve the
request by the City of Plymouth for the proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance.
Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously.
7. NEW BUSINESS
A. JUAN AND MARIBEL BECERRA (2006106)
Chair Holmes introduced the request by Juan and Maribel Becerra for an interim home
occupation license to operate a residential cleaning service for property located at 14506
County Road 6.
Senior Planner Darling gave an overview of the December 26, 2006 staff report. Senior
Planner Darling said staff is requesting a continuation to allow the applicant to address an
outstanding issue. She said the letter from Kim Makie is made part of public record. She
also clarified that the outstanding issue relates to whether the Becerra's actually reside in
the home on County Road 6.
Chair Holmes introduced the applicant, Maribel Becerra, 14506 County Road 6. Ms.
Becerra said they take care of a Grandmother many nights in Minnetonka and that is why
they are not there on a regular basis. She said their intent is to operate a business from
their home until they are able to lease from somewhere else. Ms. Becerra said the only
time employees are present is to pick up vehicles, around 8 a.m., and then to drop off
vehicles, around 6 p.m. She said she is from a big family so people come in and out of the
house and are not necessarily an employee, especially at late hours. She said that she has a
personal vehicle and that one commercial vehicle is used by her spouse for his personal and
business use.
Chair Holmes introduced John Hatlestad, 14515 17th Avenue North. Mr. Hatlestad said
that the number of vehicles has gone down considerably from last summer and that they
have cleaned up the yard. He asked what the guidelines are for vehicles. He asked what
the situation is on chemicals and said that if any are hazardous, he presumes they are
properly disposed of.
Approved
Planning Commission Minutes
January 3, 2007
Page 5
Chair Holmes introduced Leroy Reinke, 14411 County Road 6. Mr. Reinke said that he is
concerned about setting a precedent for commercial property in a residential area. He said
that he is also concerned about the heavy traffic in the mornings and inexperienced drivers
could cause problems there. He asked if this home business would be grandfathered in
because it was started before the ordinance changes or if it is under the new ordinance. He
said that you can have two commercial vehicles outside, the owner can have his vehicles
outside and there can be two vehicles inside the garage for a total of six vehicles on that
property. He asked if those vehicles coming and going will be inside or outside. Mr.
Reinke also asked if the 14 foot trailer length is the box length or the overall length from
hitch to bumper.
Chair Holmes introduced Rich Chandler, 14417 County Road 6. Mr. Chandler said that he
noticed a number of vehicles on the lot, but he didn't think much about it until he received
the notice. He asked if there is a change in the number of vehicles there either during the
day or the night. He asked what the dumpster size would be for a business there.
Chair Holmes introduced Roberta Larson, 14502 County Road 6. Mrs. Larson said their
primary concern is about the property values and fears this neighborhood will slowly erode
into a lot of businesses. She said there were a lot of vehicles at first, but the number has
reduced quite a bit. Mrs. Larson said they did an asphalt semicircle together so that they all
could drive in and be facing traffic to pull out. She said the Becerra's also asphalted
between the garages and are parking additional vehicles there. She asked how many
vehicles can be considered and she fears they will expand and go behind the garage.
Planning Manager Senness said that staff will use the regulations in place at the time action
is taken on this application. She said that staff used the proposed regulations to review this
application. She said the changes to commercial vehicle regulations have been in the
works for a long time due to complaints received from residents across the City and these
changes address everyone equally.
Commissioner Clyman asked if there is a complaint process for neighbors. Planning
Manager Senness said this application did come by way of complaint and if neighbors have
complaints, they can call the City. She said there is a staff person that is dedicated to
follow up on complaints and that all received are kept confidential.
Senior Planner Darling said that the City's ordinance allows parking only on the driveway
and front yards. She said that for this particular application, the applicants and their
employees will have to park on the driveway. She said the change to the regulations would
allow them to have two commercial vehicles outside of the garage or if employees take the
commercial vehicle offsite, there could be two employee vehicles outside the garage.
Chair Holmes asked about the owner's vehicles being noncommercial and commercial.
Senior Planner Darling said there are no regulations on personal vehicles on the property
Approved
Planning Commission Minutes
January 3, 2007
Page 6
and there is no on street parking on County Road 6. She said the regulations are for two
commercial vehicles on the premises total.
Senior Planner Darling said that most chemicals that are used with the business are stored
on the property but used offsite. She said the list was given to the fire inspector, who has
reviewed each product and found that none would pose a hazardous situation. Chair
Holmes said that if there is no hazardous waste coming back from a jobsite to this location,
there is no need for a dumpster. Senior Planner Darling said a commercial dumpster would
not be permitted on residential property.
Senior Planner Darling said County Road 6 is a busy road and that creating a turnaround
was the best situation that could be undertaken.
Chair Holmes asked about the concern for setting a precedent for commercial property in
residential areas. Planning Manager Senness said the idea of home occupation regulations
is to make sure that the regulations the City has in place allow people to conduct businesses
in their homes, but only to extent that they are not damaging or impacting their neighbors.
Planner Doty said the proposal for measuring the length of trailers would be to measure the
bed length (main structure/body of trailer), excluding the hitch.
Commissioner Murdock asked how many employees come and get a commercial vehicle
instead of using their personal vehicles and how many vehicles are there at any one time.
Senior Planner Darling said they have twelve employees and not all of them come to the
home. She said that three to four crew leaders or supervisors for a group of employees
come and pick up commercial vehicles. Planning Manager Senness said that under the
proposed changes, no more than two employee vehicles could be parked in the driveway at
any one time.
Commissioner Murdock asked if there could be more vehicles available for employees if
their work hours are staggered. Senior Planner Darling said they could have two employee
vehicles or two commercial vehicles on the driveway at any one time during the day.
Commissioner Clyman asked where the closest park and ride was for employees to park
and ride the bus. Senior Planner Darling said there is a park and ride on County Road 6,
west of County Road 101, in the Messiah Methodist church parking lot and there is a
transit station at County Road 73 and State Highway 55. Commissioner Clyman also asked
if the parking lot at Parkers Lake could be used for employee parking. Senior Planner
Darling said that it could.
MOTION by Commissioner Neset, seconded by Commissioner Clyman, to continue the
request by Maribel Becerra for an interim home occupation license to operate a residential
cleaning service for property located at 14506 County Road 6. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes.
MOTION approved unanimously.
Approved
Planning Commission Minutes
January 3, 2007
Page 7
8. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Chair Holmes, without objection, to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m.