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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 04-06-2005Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting April 6, 2005 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Peggy Larson, Commissioners Frank Weir, James Holmes, E.J. Clyman, and Kathleen Murdock MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioners Sarah Anderson and Nancy Franke -Wilson STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Barbara Senness, Senior Planners Shawn Drill and Marie Darling, Housing Manager Jim Barnes, Housing Specialist Tracy Jones, City Engineer Ron Quanbeck, and Office Support Specialist Ranelle Gifford 1. CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. PUBLIC FORUM 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Holmes, recommending approval of the April 6, 2005 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 16, 2005, PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Murdock, recommending approval of the March 16, 2005 Planning Commission Minutes. Vote. 4 Ayes. Chair Larson abstained. MOTION approved. B. THOMAS STOUT (2005018) MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Murdock, recommending approval of the request by Thomas Stout for a variance for impervious surface coverage and interim home occupation license for a massage therapy business located at 11917 - 23rd Avenue North. Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. Approved Planning Commission Minutes April 6, 2005 Page 2 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (HRA) 2005014) Chair Larson introduced the request by the Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority for a PUD General Plan for a 96 -unit senior apartment building for property located northwest of the intersection of Vicksburg Lane and Medina Road. Senior Planner Drill gave an overview of the March 31, 2005 staff report. Chair Larson introduced Jim Barnes, Housing Manager. Housing Manager Barnes said he is the primary contact for this project and is available for any questions. He said Link Wilson, with Miller Hanson Partners Architects was also available for any questions. Commissioner Clyman asked how many employees there would be. Housing Manager Barnes said an exact number hasn't been determined at this time, however they are looking at integrating the staff from Plymouth Towne Square and the new building. He said they would bring in a manager that would oversee both buildings. He said it would be anywhere from 4-5 employees and they would be employed by a management company, not the HRA. Commissioner Clyman asked where the emergency entrance/exit would be located. Senior Planner Drill indicated emergency vehicles would enter the site from Vicksburg Lane. He pointed out the drive lanes and main building entrance. Commissioner Clyman asked if the first floor apartments would have a walkout access. Housing Manager Barnes said none of the first floor apartments would have walkouts or sliding doors. Commissioner Clyman asked what the distance was from the north side of the building to the parking lot. Housing Manager Barnes said it would be approximately 120 feet from the building to the parking lot. He said the sidewalk system would connect into the commercial development's pedestrian walkways. Approved Planning Commission Minutes April 6, 2005 Page 3 Chair Larson asked if there is a rear entrance into the building. Housing Manager Barnes answered affirmatively. He said there are also two side entrances. Commissioner Clyman asked if there would be a security system. Housing Manager Barnes said they haven't addressed a security system yet on the plans. He said it would be similar to the system at Plymouth Towne Square. He said whatever system they go with, all doors would be secure. Commissioner Murdock asked about the occupancy of the building and how the waiting list would be handled. Housing Manager Barnes said the HRA has not acted on this issue yet. He said the HRA would likely work with the individuals on the Plymouth Towne Square waiting list. He said this building would be different, in that there wouldn't be as many subsidized units. He said staff has a list of interested parties for the new building. He said they would use some type of lottery drawing for anyone who has expressed interest. Commissioner Holmes asked how the income guidelines and rent rates are determined. Housing Manager Barnes said the rent rates would be set at levels that are affordable for households earning 50 percent of the area median income. The median income levels are established by the Federal Government. He said the rents for the affordable units are estimated to be $650-$700 for one bedrooms. He said they would try to keep them as low as possible in keeping with the mission of operating the building without public subsidy on an annual basis. Commissioner Clyman asked if the rent rates increase as the median income is adjusted. Housing Manager Barnes said the rent rates are evaluated on a yearly basis. He said they would be adjusted according to HUD's updates on the median income. He said the market rates would also be taken into consideration. Commissioner Clyman asked if there would be preference for City of Plymouth residents. Housing Manager Barnes said the HRA has not determined this yet, but that the HRA does have a policy for Plymouth Towne Square that provides for a priority ranking on the wait list, and staff would likely recommend a similar ranking system for the proposed building. Chair Larson asked for clarification on the parking ratio. Approved Planning Commission Minutes April 6, 2005 Page 4 Housing Manager Barnes said the only reserved parking is the underground parking which would be an additional fee for the residents. He said Plymouth Towne Square utilizes approximately 13 of 50 exterior parking spaces. He said all of the underground parking at Plymouth Towne Square is used. Chair Larson asked if two handicap spaces would be adequate. Housing Manager Barnes said Plymouth Towne Square has 3 handicap spaces and they haven't had an issue with a need for more. He said if more spaces were needed, that issue would be addressed. Chair Larson asked if public transportation would be easily accessible. Housing Manager Barnes said there would not be a stop at this location. He said they have looked at a van for transportation and also noted Plymouth Dial -a -Ride would be an option. City Engineer Quanbeck said there is a bus stop just south of this location. Chair Larson asked for a definition of Hardy board. Mr. Wilson said Hardy board is a 3/8 -inch cementitious board with factory -applied color which is nailed to the exterior sheathing. He said it looks similar to wood siding. Commissioner Murdock asked about the affect on the traffic on Vicksburg Lane. Senior Planner Drill said dual left -turn lanes would be installed at the northbound, eastbound, and westbound approaches to the Highway 55/Vicksburg Lane intersection. He said there would also be a traffic signal installed at the Vicksburg Lane/32nd Avenue intersection which would include left -turn lanes. Commissioner Weir asked what a stipple is. Mr. Wilson said the top story of the building may use a different Hardy board that is stamped with a sand texture which results in a stipple pattern, for a look similar to stucco. Commissioner Clyman asked if the same management company that manages Plymouth Towne Square would be managing this building. Housing Manager Barnes said it is the intention to have the current management company manage both buildings. He said we still have 2 years left of a 5 -year contract with Grace Management. Approved Planning Commission Minutes April 6, 2005 Page 5 Commissioner Clyman asked what the proposed cost of the project is at this time. Housing Manager Barnes said we are issuing bonds on April 12th in the amount of 10,650,000. The HRA will also contribute an additional $400-600,000 of their cash reserves for construction of the building. The acquisition of the site would be another 525,000. He said the project total would be approximately $11.5 million. Chair Larson opened and closed the public hearing as no one was present to speak on the item. MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Holmes, to approve the request by the Plymouth Housing and Redevelopment Authority for a planned unit development (PUD) general plan for a 96 -unit senior apartment building on Lot 6 of Shops at Plymouth Creek" subject to the conditions listed in the attached resolution. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved. B. CB RICHARD ELLIS AND CIP, INC. (2005015) Chair Larson introduced the request by CB Richard Ellis and CIP, Inc. for a site plan amendment to expand the parking lot and a conditional use permit for a trade school in the Four Seasons Shopping Center located at 4236 Lancaster Lane North. Senior Planner Darling gave an overview of the March 29, 2005 staff report. Chair Larson introduced Patrick O'Brien, Prosource Educational Services. Mr. O'Brien said Prosource Educational Services provides professional education to the real estate industry. He said their intent is to have an anchor location in the northwest suburbs. He said this is a good location for this type of business. He said this will generate business for other local businesses. Mr. O'Brien said they have read the staff report and agree with the terms and conditions of the resolution. Chair Larson opened the public hearing. Chair Larson introduced Roger Connolly, 4225 Nathan Lane. Mr. Connolly said he has a concern with the additional traffic this would cause on Lancaster Lane. He said in regards to the noise levels, the existing berm was built 20 years ago and is not adequate for the growing development. He said there are some existing trees that are in poor condition. Chair Larson closed the public hearing. Approved Planning Commission Minutes April 6, 2005 Page 6 Senior Planner Darling said the berm is in the public right-of-way. City Engineer Quanbeck said because the berm is in the public right-of-way, its maintenance couldn't be tied to this particular application. He said it was previously reviewed and the decision was made to leave the berm as is. Planning Manager Senness asked if the City Forester could take a look at the condition of the trees. City Engineer Quanbeck answered affirmatively. Commissioner Weir asked what the problem was with the berm. Mr. Connelly said the berm is too low and thin to screen the noise. Senior Planner Darling said that with any tenant improvement, there would be an increase in traffic. She said she researched other allowed uses, such as a grocery store or a drug store, and both of these uses would have a much higher average daily traffic count than this proposed use. Mr. O'Brien said the classes start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. He said there is some staggering of times that would help with the traffic. There are some evening classes that run from 6:30 p.m. -10:00 p.m., as well as some weekend classes. He said those classes would have less impact as the capacity is much lower than that of the day classes. Commissioner Weir asked if the design of the building would change or improve. Mr. O'Brien said the improvement to the windows would have a positive affect on the aesthetics of the building. He said they would be installing a canopy that would tie in with the existing. He said the expanding of the parking lot would also be an improvement. MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Holmes, to approve the request by CB Richard Ellis and CIP, Inc. for a site plan amendment to expand the parking lot and a conditional use permit for a trade school in the Four Seasons Shopping Center located at 4236 Lancaster Lane North. Roll Call Vote. 5 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. 7. NEW BUSINESS 8. OLD BUSINESS A. REGULATORY POLICIES AND HOUSING AFFORDABILITY Continued from the March 16, 2005 meeting) Planning Manager Senness said the City Council has made the determination to update the City's Comprehensive Plan. She said at this point, we are looking for additional discussion that can be folded into the work in the upcoming year on the Comprehensive Plan. She Approved Planning Commission Minutes April 6, 2005 Page 7 said at this point, we are not looking for a recommendation to the Council, just additional comments. Chair Larson asked if there have been any changes to the report. Planning Manager Senness said no changes have been made, however some new information on Rottlund's Reserve with the breakdown of the types of units was added. City Engineer Quanbeck said a recommendation to use polyvinylchloride (PVC) piping for watermains had been incorporated into the Engineering Guidelines. Planning Manager Senness said that issue was addressed on its own. Commissioner Weir asked if PVC piping has a longer life cycle. City Engineer Quanbeck said one of the problems in Plymouth is that the soils are corrosive to steel. He said PVC piping is more resistant to corrosion. Commissioner Holmes said the area of impervious surface coverage relative to shoreland management should be addressed in order to improve water quality. Planning Manager Senness said impervious surface requirements have been looked at, however when some of the current regulations went into place, some of the other key regulations were not yet in place. She said we need to re-evaluate the requirements based on the whole array of tools that are now available. Senior Planner Darling said there is a copy of a portion of the report on impervious surface coverage that was put together by the consultant included in the staff report. She said other cities have already adopted shoreland ordinances without the impervious surface requirements. She said the restrictions are redundant when coupled with the NURP pond requirements. She said there are many developments with NURP ponds, infiltration basins, rain gardens, and all of these are treating water and improving water quality. She said there is detailed engineering with erosion control guidelines with active monitoring of these issues. She said we do still have maximum structural coverage restrictions throughout the ordinance. There are several options to consider for the impervious surface requirements. Planning Manager Senness said part of what we need to look at here is balancing the development needs of the community with making sure we have the appropriate controls in place to protect the environment. She said it is a good time to re-evaluate. Commissioner Weir asked if this would be addressed during the comprehensive plan review. Planning Manager Senness answered affirmatively. Commissioner Murdock commended staff on the report and the effort put forth. Commissioner Clyman said we should have an overview of what is going on with the cities neighboring Plymouth. He said we need to make a decision with that in mind. He said Approved Planning Commission Minutes April 6, 2005 Page 8 there should be discussion of affordability with housing stock. He said one concern is with townhome associations and the maintenance of roads and their property. He asked if these properties are being maintained as they get older. Planning Manager Senness said some of that background information will be a part of the data that we look at when updating the housing plan. She said the City has had to assist homeowner associations with one or two developments in the past. Housing Manager Barnes said in 1999 the City created a housing improvement area for an association which allowed the City to issue bonds to pay for some needed repairs, then assessed the owners for those costs. Chair Larson said the concern is that the association wouldn't keep up with the maintenance as the property ages. Commissioner Weir asked if there were any controls in place that monitor and enforce the maintenance of these properties. Housing Manager Barnes said there are codes and ordinances about property maintenance requirements that the homeowners associations have to abide by like anyone else. Commissioner Clyman said it would be helpful to know which areas of the City are older and might be in need of maintenance updates and improvements. Planning Manager Senness said that is the type of inventory information that we will be putting together as we look at the comprehensive plan update. Commissioner Weir said in keeping up with neighboring cities, he received a letter from Maple Grove discussing the imminent building of a hospital. He said he would be attending the meeting to see what their plans are for the project. 9. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Chair Larson, with no objections, to adjourn the meeting at 8:29 p.m.