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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 06-05-2002Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting June 5, 2002 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Karl Neset, Commissioners Kendall Griffith, Frank Weir, Jason Rohloff, James Holmes and David Gaither MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Peggy Larson STAFF PRESENT: Community Development Director Anne Hurlburt, Planning Manager Barbara Senness, Associate Planner Josh Doty, and Office Support Specialist Ranelle Gifford 1. CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2. PUBLIC FORUM 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chairman Neset stated the request by Sid Hartman, Item 7B under New Business has been postponed to the June 19, 2002 Planning Commisison Meeting. MOTION by Chairman Neset, seconded by Commissioner Weir, to approve the June 5, 2002 Agenda. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION by Chairman Neset, seconded by Commissioner Weir, to approve the May 15, 2002 Planning Commission Minutes. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. CHRISTOPHER AND SUSANNE DVORAK (2002047) Chairman Neset introduced the request by Christopher and Susanne Dvorak for a conditional use permit to allow an attached garage addition to exceed 1,000 square feet for property located at 4335 Rosewood Lane North. Associate Planner Doty gave an overview of the May 24, 2002 staff report. Chairman Neset opened and closed the public hearing, as no one was present to speak on the item. Approved Planning Commission Minutes June 5, 2002 Page 2 MOTION by Commissioner Weir, seconded by Commissioner Gaither, to approve the request by Christopher and Susanne Dvorak for a conditional use permit to allow an attached garage addition to exceed 1,000 square feet for property located at 4335 Rosewood Lane North. Roll call vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. B. CITY OF PLYMOUTH (2002056) Chairman Neset introduced the request by the City of Plymouth for a Zoning Ordinance text amendment to allow encroachments into drainage and utility easements if approved by the City Engineer. Associate Planner Doty gave an overview of the May 22, 2002 staff report. Commissioner Rohloff asked how many requests for encroachment agreements the City typically has per year. Director Hurlburt stated over the last couple of years the city has had 2-3 encroachment agreements, however most people choose not to go through this process because of the time involved. Chairman Neset opened and closed the public hearing, as no one was present to speak on the item. MOTION by Commissioner Gaither, seconded by Commissioner Griffith, to approve the request by the City of Plymouth for a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment to allow encroachments into drainage and utility easements if approved by the City Engineer. Roll call vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved unanimously. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. BILL WEIMER (2002029) Chairman Neset introduced the request by Bill Weimer for a variance to allow construction of a garage addition at 3675 Dallas Lane, that would encroach 5 feet into the 25 -foot front yard setback. Associate Planner Doty gave an overview of the May 28, 2002 staff report. Chairman Neset introduced the applicant Bill Weimer, 3675 Dallas Lane North. Mr. Weimer stated the platting of his lot resulted in a right-of-way along the cul-de-sac that is wider than most on the other cul-de-sacs in the area. Mr. Weimer stated the average setback in the neighborhood is 37 feet and the actual distance from the front of his house to the property line is 35 feet. Mr. Weimer stated the front property line cuts his front yard in half. Mr. Weimer stated the existing driveway would extend through to the proposed garage. Approved Planning Commission Minutes June 5, 2002 Page 3 Mr. Weimer stated the other homes on the cul-de-sac have garages that are much closer to the street than his existing garage. Mr. Weimer stated all the trees in the front yard to the left of his driveway are not on his property, but rather in the right-of-way. Mr. Weimer stated he received letters from several neighbors and noted some of the positive comments given. Mr. Weimer stated the cul-de-sac he lives on is the only non-standard cul-de-sac in the neighborhood. He asked the Engineering Department if the City would modify the cul-de-sac in the future, and was told there are no future plans to do so. Mr. Weimer stated his property line is considerably further in from the curb line than most. Mr. Weimer stated he has the support of his neighbors and doesn't feel any of them would feel this would be detrimental to the appearance of the neighborhood. Mr. Weimer stated it would be more detrimental to add on to the side rather than the front. He stated adding on to the back would be a financial hardship. He stated he feels there are unusual circumstances with regards to how the cul-de-sac is built, compared to how it was drawn. He stated he feels there is plenty of setback and the neighbors are not in opposition to this request. Chairman Neset noted the following residents submitted letters in support of Mr. Weimer's request and will become part of the public record: Ben Sherman, 3715 Dallas Lane North, Jason Beeler, 3725 Dallas Lane North, Michael and Sharon Stine, Michael and Michelle Linderwell, 3705 Dallas Lane North. Chairman Neset asked if anyone wished to speak on this item. Chairman Neset introduced Michele Linderwell, 3705 Dallas Lane North. Ms. Linderwell stated she does not feel this request would have a negative impact and she is in support of it. Chairman Neset introduced Mike Stine, 3685 Dallas Lane North. Mr. Stine indicated he is Mr. Weimer's next door neighbor. Mr. Stine stated he has also looked into the possibility of doing a similar addition to his garage. He stated his front yard appears half the size of Mr. Weimer's. Mr. Stine stated he feels this request should be approved. Chairman Neset asked why the cul-de-sac was not constructed as planned. City Engineer Quanbeck stated the curb line is unlikely to change in the future. He stated he is unsure why it was designed this way. Chairman Neset asked what would cause the City to reconstruct the cul-de-sac. City Engineer Quanbeck stated the City has a street reconstruction program, however they will try to maintain the existing curb line as long as it is functional. Chairman Neset asked if there is a plan to reconstruct this cul-de-sac. City Engineer Quanbeck stated there is no plan to change it. Approved Planning Commission Minutes June 5, 2002 Page 4 Commissioner Gaither stated with the way the cul-de-sac was constructed it does seem to be an unusual circumstance. Chairman Neset stated the proposed garage addition would be setback 33 feet from the shortest point. He stated the setback is 25 feet with an average of 37 feet. He stated it looks to be far enough from the front setback. Commissioner Gaither stated one of the areas of the decision making process is to get feedback from the neighbors in addition to reviewing the standards. He stated he would like to acknowledge there is no opposition from any of the neighbors in the staff report. MOTION by Commissioner Gaither, seconded by Commissioner Griffith to approve the request by Bill Weimer for a variance to allow construction of a garage addition at 3675 Dallas Lane, that would encroach 5 feet into the 25 -foot front yard setback. Roll call vote. 4 Ayes. MOTION approved. Commissioners Rohloff and Holmes voted nay. B. SID HARTMAN (2002057) Chairman Neset stated this request would be moved to the June 19, 2002 Planning Commission Meeting. C. CITY OF PLYMOUTH (2001155) Planning Manager Senness gave an over view of the May 23, 2002 staff report regarding the County Road 73 Corridor Study. Planning Manager Senness introduced Monique Mackenzie with SRF Consultants and Phil Carlson with Dahlgren, Shardlow and Uban. Ms. Mackenzie summarized the land use goals of the study area, emphasizing the areas of redevelopment, transportation, transit hub, parks and recreation and the natural environment. She stated some things to consider are the effect on the current land use and the need to analyze the potential for change. She stated Highway 55 is an important regional route and an important corridor for the City of Plymouth. She stated County Road 73 is a minor arterial and is meant to serve major destinations and accommodate up to 20,000 trips per day. These increases are anticipated because of the regional growth patterns. Mr. Carlson stated the two wetland areas are significant natural features to work around as the study moves forward. Mr. Carlson stated they are looking at the various characteristics of the land as the study progresses. He stated they looked at the exterior aesthetics of homes and businesses in the area to get a general idea of the conditions. Mr. Carlson emphasized this is a brief overview of the information and options for the next level of the study. Planning Manager Senness summarized the results of a survey conducted at the open house. She stated of the approximate 100 people in attendance, 58 completed a survey. She stated the largest concern for residential property owners centered on increased traffic on County Road 73 and the impact of widening the road. She stated from many of the comments it was evident that many did not understand the function of County Road 73. She stated County Road 73 is not a residential Approved Planning Commission Minutes June 5, 2002 Page 5 street, it is classified as a minor arterial meant to serve major destinations and accommodate up to 30,000 trips per day. Planning Manager Senness stated the County and the City classify County Road 73 as a minor arterial. The role is to move traffic and serve as a reliever function for Highway 169. She stated regardless if the road is improved, the traffic is not expected to decrease. She stated County Road 73 is under the jurisdiction of Hennepin County and they will be doing the design of the new roadway. She stated the County is anticipating it would be designed in 2006 and constructed in 2007 or 2008. Planning Manager Senness stated staff held its first meeting with the County last week, and asked for input from them. She stated staff would continue to develop alternatives and then hold another open house in mid -summer with greater space and more staff. She stated after the open house, the alternatives and feedback will be presented to the Planning Commission. She stated from there, a formal public hearing date would be set. Planning Manager Senness said staff anticipates the study process could be concluded sometime in September with action by the City Council. Commissioner Rohloff asked what involvement the County would have in the process. Planning Manager Senness stated staff talked to the County about attending the next open house. Chairman Neset introduced, Dan Krautkremer, 17 Zachary Lane. Mr. Krautkremer stated he has not seen any studies proving the traffic levels will increase. He stated it is a fully developed area and does not see that the traffic will increase. He stated the impact on the quality of life and value of property is a major concern. He stated he feels if there is a four -lane highway he won't want to live there. He stated it would cause a hardship and have a significant impact if they take 90 feet to widen the road. He stated they need more information to be able to make a decision to stay or leave. Chairman Neset introduced Walter Johnson, 300 Balsam Lane North. Mr. Johnson stated opening up to four lanes will increase traffic and he stated he opposes the four -lane proposal. Chairman Neset introduced Lloyd Scott, 320 Hopkins Crossroads. Mr. Scott stated a four -lane road wouldn't impact him that much because he is so close to Highway 394. He stated the amount of traffic on County Road 73 picks up anytime Highway 169 is backed up. He stated the wildlife is affected by the construction. Commissioner Rohloff asked if there are any traffic study numbers. Planning Manager Senness stated it was part of the open house meetings and part of the packet this evening, which includes projections for 2020. Director Hurlburt stated the question was actually directed towards where the facts derive from. She stated they are from models run by the City on the entire transportation system to forecast the Approved Planning Commission Minutes June 5, 2002 Page 6 future volumes. She stated MNDOT and the County all do similar planning and modeling. She stated the forecasts come from traffic models with the local and regional changes. Director Hurlburt stated actual traffic is often more than the models have projected. Chairman Neset introduced Jack Ikola, 14 Union Terrace Lane. Mr. Ikola asked if there would be any impact on the nearby areas such as Ivanhoe Woods Addition to the east. Mr. Carlson stated Ivanhoe Woods is outside of the study area and might experience minimal impact. Mr. Carlson stated they do not anticipate direct impacts on properties outside the study area. Planning Manager Senness stated there is a large wetland area between the study area and Ivanhoe Woods, which would not be altered as part of the process. Chairman Neset introduced Bruce Thompson, 11018 Old County Road 15. Mr. Thompson stated this is a very close and involved neighborhood. He stated there has been an increase in traffic in the past 20 years. He stated upgrading County Road 73 has not been a priority of the County. He stated it was a long-range plan of the County to upgrade in 1999 and has slid back. He stated if the road is straightened out, it would go right through his house. Mr. Thompson stated this area is almost fully developed. He stated there was talk of building townhouses on open land on the east side of County Road 73 at one point but that land has sat vacant for more than 20 years. He stated he looked at market values and they are very good in that area. He stated there is a need to maintain these types of neighborhoods for affordable housing. He asked why the land use has to be changed at all. He stated if the properties there are functioning well, why change them now. He said the Plymouth Shopping Center used to have a grocery store, hardware store, dime store, etc. -all the uses they needed. He stated that Westridge Market to the south in Minnetonka doesn't have anything anyone needs, with the exception of a couple of restaurants. He stated he doesn't feel the needs or concerns of the people in the neighborhood were addressed in the City's earlier planning or now. He asked to keep the citizens informed. Planning Manager Senness stated everyone who was notified of the first open house would receive a notice of the next open house. 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Chairman Rohloff, seconded by Commissioner Weir, to adjourn. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.