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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 02-15-2006Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting February 15, 2006 MEMBERS PRESENT: Vice Chair Melissa Musliner, , Commissioners E. J. Clyman, Kathleen Murdock, Sarah Anderson, Frank Weir and Karl Neset MEMBERS ABSENT: Chair James Holmes STAFF PRESENT: Community Development Director Anne Hurlburt, Planning Manager Barbara Senness, Senior Planner Marie Darling, 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 Vice Chair Musliner added Item 5B. Approval of February 1, 2006 Planning Commission Organizational Meeting Minutes, and Item 7A. Affordable Rental Housing Projects. MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Vice Chair Murdock, to approve the amended February 15, 2006 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 1, 2006, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Commissioner Clyman said he did not recall making motions for approval of Items 5A and 5B. Director Hurlburt said the February 1, 2006 Planning Commission tape would be reviewed, and recommended delaying approval of the minutes. B. APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 1, 2006, PLANNING COMMISSION ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Murdock, to approve the February 1, 2006 Planning Commission Organizational Meeting Minutes. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. Approved Planning Commission Minutes February 15, 2006 Page 2 Vice Chair Musliner said the February 1, 2006 Planning Commission meeting minutes will remain open until the March 1, 2006 meeting. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. RICE-STROMGREN ARCHITECTS (2005149) Vice Chair Musliner introduced the request by Rice-Stromgren Architects for a site plan amendment, conditional use permit amendment and variance for an addition at Plymouth Presbyterian Church located at 3755 Dunkirk Lane North. This public hearing was continued from the February 1, 2006 Planning Commission meeting to allow staff additional time to review revisions submitted after the last staff report was distributed and prepare a revised staff report. Senior Planner Darling gave an overview of the revised February 7, 2006 staff report. Commissioner Neset asked why the fire lane variance was necessary. Senior Planner Darling explained that a fire lane or public street is required to be within 150 feet from all sides of the building. She said that a portion of the back of the church is more than 150 feet from Dunkirk Court and Dunkirk Lane. Commissioner Neset asked if the Fire Department is involved in the review of a fire lane variance. Senior Planner Darling advised that a fire inspector reviews the variance requests, and added that he is an employee of the Building Division. Commissioner Clyman asked for clarification regarding the lighting power allowance. Senior Planner Darling said the applicant has proposed new lighting above two required rear access doors, within the canopy over the entrance to the new addition, and within the canopy over the main entry. She said the sum of this additional lighting exceeds the LZ3 lighting, but would meet the requirements if the front entry canopy lighting is reduced to three fixtures. Additionally, Senior Planner Darling stated that the approval of the lighting plan is contingent on approval of a change to the applied lighting zone for the church. Currently the property is within Lighting Zone 2, but the location and use is more consistent with Lighting Zone 3. A request to revise the lighting zone is tentatively scheduled for March 15, 2006. Commissioner Clyman asked how the light wattage is monitored. Approved Planning Commission Minutes February 15, 2006 Page 3 Senior Planner Darling said that the planners review the lighting plans for consistency with the Zoning Ordinance. But the State inspectors are responsible for reviewing and inspecting the installation of the lights on the property for consistency with the approved plans. Vice Chair Musliner asked if the shorter setback would allow for an adequate sidewalk in the entrance area. Senior Planner Darling said staff has concluded there would be plenty of room for persons entering the building from cars without a safety issue. She stated that the 3 -foot segments are behind the 3 -foot doors, so when the doors are open, the encroachments would not prohibit people from exiting from the building in a panic situation. Vice Chair Musliner introduced the applicant Jeff Stromgren, 711 W. Lake Street, who said he is the architect for the project. Mr. Stromgren said he agrees with the conditions in the resolution. Vice Chair Musliner asked for public testimony and received no requests to speak. She closed the public hearing. MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Clyman, to approve the request by Rice-Stromgren Architects for a site plan amendment, conditional use permit amendment and variance for an addition at Plymouth Presbyterian Church located at 3755 Dunkirk Lane North. Roll Call Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION passed unanimously. B. ARCHER DESIGN AND BUILD (2005114) Vice Chair Musliner introduced the request by Archer Design and Build for a site plan amendment, conditional use permit, and interim use permit for Woody's Grille located at 220 Carlson Parkway. Planner Doty gave an overview of the February 7, 2006 staff report. Commissioner Clyman asked if there would be any pedestrian traffic in the fence to curb area. Planner Doty said this area would be sodded and would have trees. He added there is a sidewalk on the west side of the building. Commissioner Neset asked if the average parking would fall within the guidelines or would there still be a parking deficit when the outdoor seating is not in use. Approved Planning Commission Minutes February 15, 2006 Page 4 Planner Doty said the interim use permit is needed with or without the patio. He added that staff did use a parking standard for the patio that considers the seasonal usage. Commissioner Neset asked if there is a difference between hotel use or restaurant use. Planner Doty said there are unique parking requirements for each use. Commissioner Neset asked if there was formerly a Country Kitchen on the south end. Planner Doty said Woody's Grille was formerly Italiani's and there was a Country Kitchen on the south end, which was redeveloped as an addition to the hotel. The hotel operation has not changed and would not affect parking. Commissioner Anderson asked if the fencing is aluminum, and if there are additional photos or descriptions. Planner Doty displayed drawings showing the location of the 5 -foot aluminum fencing. He said the color has not been identified but the Zoning Ordinance states that the fence must be consistent with the existing building. Director Hurlburt asked for clarification if the fence would be painted or decorative. Commissioner Musliner introduced the applicant, Anthony C. Bell, 8716 N. Bay Drive, Chanhassen. Mr. Bell said he is the director of operations for Woody's Grille. Mr. Bell said the color has not been identified. Commissioner Anderson asked if there are examples of aluminum fences in Plymouth, and asked why aluminum versus a wood fence would be installed. Mr. Bell said aluminum should drown out sound a little more, as would the trees. Mr. Bell said the interior designer chose aluminum to keep the area to be as quiet as possible. Commissioner Musliner asked Mr. Bell if he is comfortable with the conditions outlined in the resolution. Mr. Bell answered affirmatively. Vice Chair Musliner opened the public hearing. Vice Chair Musliner closed the public hearing as there was no one present to speak on the item. Commissioner Murdock said she is comfortable with this application. She questioned the rational of why lighting for outdoor seating is not addressed in the Zoning Ordinance, rather than requiring a conditional use permit, since this would be a fairly common event. Approved Planning Commission Minutes February 15, 2006 Page 5 Planning Manager Senness said the lighting ordinance was based on a model ordinance through Dark Sky Association. She said this proposal was for something not on their list of items, therefore it is proposed as a conditional use permit. Director Hurlburt added that Plymouth has few outdoor seating areas due to seasonal limitations in Minnesota. She said location is a key factor and it is better to look at each proposal individually rather than come up with a standard. She noted that this location is well separated from a residential neighborhood, but in an area closer to a residential neighborhood you might want less lighting. MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the request by Archer Design and Build for a site plan amendment, conditional use permit, and interim use permit for Woody's Grille located at 220 Carlson Parkway. Roll Call Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION passed unanimously. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING PROJECTS Commissioner Clyman thanked staff for presenting the report with helpful and valuable information. He asked if the map of affordable rental housing in the City of Plymouth indicates new buildings and buildings due for improvements. Director Hurlburt said this map showed a variety of rental projects the City has had some financial assistance in. She reviewed some of the ways the City participated to make them affordable and said each one is a unique circumstance. Commissioner Clyman asked for an explanation of the 2005 Rental Property Value map. Director Hurlburt explained this map shows where existing affordable housing stock is located in the City. She clarified that it does not mean the house is for sale. Director Hurlburt said the appreciation of property values is increasing faster than income levels, thus, affordability has shrunk. She added there is some correlation of affordability with age. Commissioner Clyman asked what the median price of an affordable home is in Plymouth. Director Hurlburt stated that median price for an owner occupied, affordable home would be in the $190,000 - $200,000 range. Commissioner Clyman asked what percentage of homes on the 2005 Residential Property Values map has been assessed in the last five years. Approved Planning Commission Minutes February 15, 2006 Page 6 Director Hurlburt said state laws requires that one-fourth of the properties are assessed in any given year. Commissioner Clyman said it would be interesting to see the average age of homes. Director Hurlburt said that information would be added to future information. She asked if he wants to see age of people or housing. Commissioner Clyman responded he would like to see the age of both housing stock and residents. Director Hurlburt said it is difficult to get such data and no one is collecting that data. She said the Wayzata School District updated their student forecast and one of the factors impacting increased population in schools was new construction. Director Hurlburt said turnover of existing housing is harder to track, and the Wayzata School District had over 400 single family homes turn over in 8 months. She said older people turning over homes to young families would impact schools. Commissioner Clyman asked if access to transit is a problem in any of the areas on the Affordable Rental Housing map. Director Hurlburt said there tends to be a more transit -dependent population in the lower income category. One advantage Plymouth has is that we have our own transit system and can change routes according to need; Director Hurlburt said most of our service is geared to downtown commuters. Director Hurlburt said many of the affordable units, such as Lakeview and Shenandoah Woods Apartments, are on our routes. She said some tend to be nearer the main transportation corridors, like Highway 169 and Highway 55. Director Hurlburt said Dial -A -Ride specifically services seniors. Director Hurlburt agreed transit is a growing issue. Commissioner Neset asked if the average price rose from $290,000 to $390,000 in one year. Director Hurlburt said those figures represented the average of home sales in a given year. She said the average assessed value for a single family home was about $370,000 compared with $330,000 in 2004. Commissioner Neset asked if there are any affordable housing projects planned for 2006 or if there are any in process. Director Hurlburt said Plymouth Crossing is the only project she is aware of. She added that the City owned that property, and sold it to a developer with the condition that some of the units would be marketed at $193,000. Senior Planner Darling said 5 units remain to be sold. Approved Planning Commission Minutes February 15, 2006 Page 7 Commissioner Neset asked what percentage of homes in Plymouth fall in the affordable category. Director Hurlburt guessed 10-15% would be in the affordable range and added that the majority of those would be condos and townhomes. Commissioner Neset and Director Hurlburt discussed the cost of lots and costs of building new, single-family homes. Director Hurlburt said the City does not own any land that can be developed like Plymouth Crossing. She said some land in the existing urban service area could be developed in the near future. She said there is a proposal for Bass Lake Road and Nathan Lane which will be reviewed. Director Hurlburt said tear -downs are extremely expensive. She said it is hard to create affordable housing when land is $200,000 an acre and with current construction costs. She said this argues for protecting existing housing stock, as there is a temptation to tear down fairly modest homes and replace them with million dollar homes. Commissioner Clyman said as northwest Plymouth develops, affordability in Plymouth means more density and smaller lots. Commissioner Murdock recalled that St. Louis Park had a strategic planning process with a vision of doing some unique things for homeowners so homeowners can stay in their homes. She suggested looking at St. Louis Park's website. Commissioner Anderson concurred with Commissioner Murdock. She said younger families are moving into St. Louis Park because of older homes and said this is the cycle of life. Commissioner Anderson said it would be helpful to do an analysis of how communities such as St. Louis Park and Brooklyn Center which are completely built out, and how it could be handled differently. Commissioner Clyman said Plymouth is not its own freestanding housing market, and said Commissioner Anderson brings up a good point in that there is renaissance opportunity in neighboring communities such as Golden Valley and Maple Grove. He said the boundaries are not real visible and school districts overlap. Vice Chair Musliner echoed Commissioner Clyman's comments about transit availability near affordable units. She said this brings up the larger issue of other support folks need and asked about Interfaith Outreach. Director Hurlburt said Interfaith Outreach has a program titled CONECT, which provides support services to lower income families. She said the City is working with Common Bond Communities, for affordable rental housing near CR 47 and Vicksburg. She said there is no transit route there now but this will be reviewed. Approved Planning Commission Minutes February 15, 2006 Page 8 Commissioner Anderson asked if the transit review would extend beyond busing to include bike paths. Planning Manager Senness advised that there will be a round table discussion at the Plymouth Creek Center February 22, 2006, to discuss on -road bicycle facilities oriented to commuters. Director Hurlburt added that this is the first time Plymouth is looking at bicycle routes not for recreation, but as part of the transportation system. 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Weir, seconded by Neset, to adjourn the meeting at 8:11 p.m.