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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 09-05-2007Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting September 5, 2007 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair James Holmes, Commissioners Karl Neset, Terry Jaffoni, James Davis, John Cooney and Erik Aamoth MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Frank Weir STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Barbara Senness, Senior Planner Shawn Drill, Planner Joshua Doty, 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 Chair Holmes said there was a request to review Item 6B before Item 6A. MOTION by Commissioner Jaffoni, seconded by Commissioner Neset, to approve the amended September 5, 2007 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST 15, 2007 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Neset, seconded by Commissioner Jaffoni, to approve the August 15, 2007 Planning Commission Minutes. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. B. FAMILY HOPE SERVICES (2007002) MOTION by Commissioner Neset, seconded by Commissioner Jaffoni, to approve the request by Family Hope Services for an extension of a site plan and conditional use permit approved for a 4,839 square foot office building, for property located at the southeast corner of County Road 101 and 40th Avenue N.. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2007 Page 2 C. CITY OF PLYMOUTH (2007076) MOTION by Commissioner Neset, seconded by Commissioner Jaffoni, to approve the request by the City of Plymouth for a variance to the shielding requirements for new light fixtures at Parkers Lake Park located at 15500 County Road 6. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS B. DUKE REALTY (2007071) Chair Holmes introduced the request by Duke Realty for a site plan, conditional use permits, and variances for an office development for property located in the northwest quadrant of Highway 55 and Highway 169. Senior Planner Drill gave an overview of the August 28, 2007 staff report. Commissioner Jaffoni asked about occupancy and how traffic flow would be affected in the area. Senior Planner Drill said no traffic study was required because the property has been guided for commercial office use and the traffic modeling has contemplated the proposed office development. Chair Holmes asked about the smaller parking spaces and said there are more and more large vehicles. He asked if consideration had been given to creating parking spaces for the larger SUV -type vehicles. Senior Planner Drill said some spaces would comply with the 18.5 length. He said the developer is looking at signed compact spaces, and the 18 -foot spaces would be available for general parking use. Planning Manager Senness asked about the length of an SUV. Senior Planner Drill said the large SW's are in the 18 -foot range. Chair Holmes introduced David Bade, representing Duke Realty, 1600 Utica Avenue South, St. Louis Park. Mr. Bade said Duke Realty owns properties in Plymouth but this would be their first new office in the City of Plymouth. He said they are a national development firm based out of Indianapolis and they focus mainly on office and industrial development. Mr. Bade said they have developments in Eagan, Brooklyn Park, Otsego, Norman Point in Bloomington, and a 35 -acre redevelopment project at I-394 and Hwy. 100. Mr. Bade said this is a unique opportunity to develop an area with existing industrial Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2007 Page 3 buildings next door and the close proximity of retail. He said there is potential to utilize some of the green space and maybe combine some lots. Mr. Bade said they might request to amend this plan to increase density depending on the use, but this is speculative at this time. Mr. Bade said they want to kick off this project this fall and begin building in the spring. He said they have 100,000 yards of soil to work and re-engineer to prepare the building pads. Mr. Bade said the earthwork operations would continue into early winter and in the spring the utilities, retaining walls and roads would be constructed. He said the first speculative office building would then be constructed, and added that they have had several prospects in the last 3-4 months. Chair Holmes introduced John Lee Bejblik, Pope Associates - Architects, 1255 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul. Mr. Bejblik reviewed the materials to be used on the building. He displayed photos showing the low -ribbed exposed aggregate and the flat finish with an architectural stucco -like coating which relieves all blemishes in the pre -cast panels. Mr. Bejblik said the horizontal aluminum sun shades are used to break up elements and to allow comfort for the tenants. He said the maximum building height of 68 feet would be at the top of the center stairwell for roof access for HVAC units. Commissioner Davis asked if both buildings would be identical. Mr. Bejblik answered affirmatively. Chair Holmes opened the public hearing. Chair Holmes introduced Larry Elsen, 725 Hwy. 169 N. Mr. Elsen said D. J. Kranz Co. is located south of 9t' Avenue and requested that Duke Realty give consideration to putting in two curb cuts to help with traffic flow for their deliveries. Mr. Elsen said delivery vehicles could enter one side and exit the other, making more of a one-way traffic flow. Mr. Elsen said their rigs are parked along their building and asked that special attention be given to dirt and dust control during construction. Mr. Elsen said there is a swale in the parking lot and the water runs through to the dirt road now. He said consideration should be given for this water drainage. Chair Holmes closed the public hearing. Chair Holmes asked about dust and dirt control during the construction process. Senior Planner Drill said the developer will be required to provide control of dirt and dust and there are a variety of ways to accomplish this. He said the haul route and other details will be addressed at the next stage with final plans. Senior Planner Drill addressed Mr. Elsen's question on access. He noted that this plan shows one curb cut and Mr. Elsen is requesting two. He said when the final street profiles come in the City will require the developer to install two curb cuts. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2007 Page 4 Commissioner Davis asked if there would be a median down 9th Avenue at completion. Senior Planner Drill said there would be a short median. He said it may need to be extended slightly so cars don't turn the wrong way into the D. J. Kranz site. Senior Planner Drill said the developer would have a maintenance agreement for the landscape median at the west end of 9th Avenue. Chair Holmes asked if the curb and gutter for the reconstructed street would manage the water runoff from Mr. Elsen's parking lot. Senior Planner Drill answered affirmatively. Mr. Bade said there would no problem to have two access points. He said they will work with grades to make sure they are draining properly for the street profile. Mr. Bade said engineering requires a signed maintenance contract for standard street sweeping. He said they are getting bids and reviewing the best plan for haul routes and traffic flows, and will review this information with engineering. Commissioner Jaffoni commented that this proposal will be a great enhancement for this part of the city. She said this is a good project which will bring jobs, and provides an improved appearance for the area. Commissioner Jaffoni welcomed Duke Realty to the City of Plymouth. MOTION by Commissioner Neset, seconded by Commissioner Jaffoni, to approve the request by Duke Realty for a site plan, conditional use permits, and variances for an office development for property located in the northwest quadrant of Highway 55 and Highway 169. Roll Call Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. A. GREG HOGLUND AND GARY ANDERSON (2007060) Chair Holmes introduced the request by Greg Hoglund and Gary Anderson for a comprehensive plan amendment, rezoning, preliminary plat and variances to create two lots to be known as "Homeland" for property located at 4520 Holly Lane N. Planner Doty gave an overview of the August 28, 2007 staff report. Commissioner Neset said the RSF-2 designation would create a "spot zone", and asked what that term meant. Planner Doty explained that a spot zone refers to a single zoning of a property that is not consistent with the zoning of existing properties in the area. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2007 Page 5 Planning Manager Senness added that the size of this parcel is .7 acres. She said if this were a 5-10 acre parcel it could be looked at differently. Commissioner Davis asked about changing the parcel north of this site to LA -1 at the same time to be consistent with Golf View Estates and Windemere Farms. Planner Doty said the applicant doesn't own that property. He said this property is a combination of a single family home and golf course. He added that the City did recently receive a request to adjust that lot line to clearly differentiate between the single family and the golf course. Chair Holmes introduced the applicant, Gary Anderson, 4520 Holly Lane. Mr. Anderson said there has been significant growth in the area in the 14 years he has lived here. He said Holly Lane was a lightly paved road, and he had a septic system and a well. Mr. Anderson said the neighbors voted against finishing the road, but Lundgren needed it extended north of the tracks. He said his property was assessed $25,000 to connect to sewer and water. He said the City put in an extra stub and water connection as someone thought there was going to be another home going in on his lot. Mr. Anderson stated that legally his land goes to the center of the street. He said this is unlike most homes where the City owns a portion for easement. Mr. Anderson said his lot is 19,935 square feet legally and actually would meet requirements. Mr. Anderson said the small lots on the west side of Holly Lane are 9,000 square feet with some open land. Mr. Anderson said he has open land too. Mr. Anderson said before the Holly Lane project was finished he had a culvert running under the street and water down to a pond. He said fill from the Holly Lane street project was put into his yard, replacing the pond with a level lot. Mr. Anderson said it seems obvious there should be a home there. He added that he is not pressing to build right now but legally wants to prepare the lot for future building. Mr. Anderson said he has paid all the fees, done the surveys necessary, and is requesting that the request be approved. Chair Holmes opened and closed the public hearing as there was no one present to speak on the item. Chair Holmes asked for clarification regarding the lot line to the street. Planner Doty said the lot area of 19, 937 indicated on the survey was calculated to the center of the street for the lot. Planner Doty said this is not, however, how the lot is configured. He said part of the property is right-of-way for Holly Lane, which reduces the lot to 15,400 square feet. Planner Doty said it is typical to have that right-of-way and boulevard. He explained that some of the older properties in the City did go out to center lines, but when plats are done they change to the configuration as would be done in this case. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2007 Page 6 Commissioner Davis said he speculates that the applicant is trying to turn this into two lots, so he can sell off one and put on another house. Commissioner Davis asked if there is any way it can be done within the confines of the City's rules. Planner Doty said the only other option is to request RSF-2 which would remove the lot variances, but then the question is if the zoning fits in with the existing neighborhood. Commissioner Neset asked about the footprint of the existing and proposed houses. Planner Doty said the proposed footprint would be 1,500 square feet, which is similar to the existing house. Commissioner Neset asked if these plans would impact any future plans for Holly Lane. Planning Manager Senness said no because there would be no changes to Holly Lane in the future. Commissioner Davis said if the applicant pursued RSF-2 zoning, the proposal would look the same at the conclusion. Planner Doty said the setbacks would change to allow the house a little closer to the side yard. Commissioner Aamoth asked if the "spot zone" is an issue for the applicant or for the City of Plymouth in terms of precedence. Planner Doty responded that the spot zone is an issue from a staff perspective. Planning Manager Senness added that in standard planning practice, spot zoning has been discouraged through time and as Planner Doty mentioned, precedent is an important issue. She cited the Executive Woodlands development which started out as an RSF-2 and ended up RSF-1 after a lot of disagreement with neighboring property owners. Commissioner Neset said certainly the community has grown up around the applicant's property and he said the applicant made valid points. Commissioner Neset said his concern is the 15,400 square feet when 18,500 is minimum. He said the 20% difference in lot size is too great a stretch for him to want to support anything but denial. Chair Holmes said this is a difficult issue when reguiding is recommended for approval but rezoning and variances are denied. He said also the parcel is difficult in that the size is right on the cusp of being acceptable. Chair Holmes said he could support the size of the parcel relative to the variance considering that the house is clearly on one side and it makes sense to be able to subdivide it into two lots. Chair Holmes said the development to the west has small parcels but the wetland added to the area skews that. He said if you remove the parcel south of 46th Avenue and look at buildable land, the resulting lots are smaller Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2007 Page 7 than what is being requested. Chair Holmes said he would support the rezoning, plat and variances. MOTION by Commissioner Neset, seconded by Commissioner Cooney, to approve the request by Greg Hoglund and Gary Anderson for a comprehensive plan amendment for property located at 4520 Holly Lane N. Roll Call Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. MOTION by Commissioner Neset, seconded by Commissioner Cooney, to deny the request by Greg Hoglund and Gary Anderson for rezoning, preliminary plat and variances to create two lots to be known as "Homeland" for property located at 4520 Holly Lane N. Commissioner Jaffoni asked for clarification on the size of the smaller lots on the west side of Holly Lane. Planner Doty explained that the lots average 19,834 square feet when including the 75,066 and 14,890 square feet of common space as part of the PUD. Roll Call Vote. 1 Aye. MOTION denied. Commissioners Aamoth, Davis, Cooney, Jaffoni and Chair Holmes voting nay. Commissioner Jaffoni asked if a motion to recommend rezoning to RSF-2 would be an option. Commissioner Davis said he concurred with Commissioner Jaffoni rather than picking RSF-1 zoning and having to meet all these variances. Planning Manager Senness advised that cannot occur as the recommendation must be made on what is presented before them. Chair Holmes said the RSF-2 rezoning could be recommended to the applicant. MOTION by Commissioner Davis, to deny the request by Greg Hoglund and Gary Anderson for rezoning, preliminary plat and variances to create two lots to be known as Homeland" for property located at 4520 Holly Lane N. No second. MOTION dies. MOTION by Chair Holmes, seconded by Commissioner Aamoth, to approve the request by Greg Hoglund and Gary Anderson for rezoning, preliminary plat and variances to create two lots to be known as "Homeland" for property located at 4520 Holly Lane N. Commissioner Davis said he will not support the Motion. He said he prefers the RSF-2 approach for rezoning. Commissioner Jaffoni articulated that the comprehensive plan amendment is approved, but the rezoning, preliminary plat, and variances should be denied and suggest the applicant resubmit rezoning to RSF-2. Approved Planning Commission Minutes September 5, 2007 Page 8 Roll Call Vote. 1 Aye. MOTION denied. Commissioners Cooney, Neset, Jaffoni, Davis, and Chair Holmes voting nay. MOTION by Commissioner Davis, seconded by Commissioner Jaffoni, to accept staff recommendation to deny the request by Greg Hoglund and Gary Anderson for rezoning, preliminary plat and variances to create two lots to be known as "Homeland" for property located at 4520 Holly Lane N. Roll Call Vote. 4 Ayes. MOTION approved. Commissioners Aamoth and Cooney voting nay. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. CITY OF PLYMOUTH (2007050) Chair Holmes introduced the request by the City of Plymouth for a comprehensive plan update — preliminary public facilities plan. Planner Doty gave an overview of the August 28, 2007 staff report. Chair Holmes asked what the percent of development is in northwest Plymouth is today. Planning Manager Senness said the northwest area today is primarily some 5 -acre lot developments and farmsteads and would not count as development for the fire station review. She said when there is 25% of new development, the City would review the needs. Commissioner Neset asked what triggers the need for an additional fire station. Planner Doty said many factors are reviewed to determine the need and that the City has looked at the need for a 4th fire station in the past. He said a formal fire services study would be done by a consultant to provide some concrete answers. Commissioner Cooney asked if all three fire houses are staffed full time. Planning Manager Senness said there is a duty crew, but not a full time staff. She added that the city has some land available at Schmidt Lake Road and Vicksburg Lane when it is determined that an additional fire station is needed. MOTION by Commissioner Neset, seconded by Commissioner Davis, for preliminary approval of the Public Facilities Plan. Roll Call Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Chair Holmes, without objection, to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m.