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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 01-15-2014Approved Minutes City of Plymouth Planning Commission Meeting January 15, 2014 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Davis, Commissioners Marc Anderson, Gordon Petrash, Dick Kobussen, Nathan Robinson, and Bryan Oakley MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Scott Nelson STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Barbara Thomson, Senior Planner Shawn Drill, Senior Engineering Technician Dan Campbell and Office Support Representative Janet Nelson 1. CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. PUBLIC FORUM 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Commissioner Petrash, seconded by Commissioner Oakley, to approve the January 15, 2014 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 20, 2013 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES MOTION by Commissioner Petrash, seconded by Commissioner Robinson, to approve the November 20, 2013 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION approved. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. LANDFORM PROFESSIONAL SERVICES (2103112) Chair Davis introduced the request by Landform Professional Services for rezoning, preliminary plat and conditional use permit for Hidden Meadows at Curtis Lake for property located at the southwest corner of 47th Avenue and Underwood Lane. Senior Planner Drill gave an overview of the staff report. He stated a letter was received from Randy and Lanet Johnson and that letter is part of the public record. Approved Planning Commission Minutes January 15, 2014 Page 2 Commissioner Petrash asked about the drainage issue that the Johnsons have and questioned if it is acceptable or if it is something they just don't like, reiterating that it has been an existing problem and should not be the developer's issue to fix. Senior Engineering Technician Campbell responded that looking at the proposed plan, there would be less drainage to the area than there is today. He also noted that easy solutions to the current problem would be to either bring in fill to get the water to drain to the street or to add a drain tile to connect to the catch basin in the street. He said this would be the responsibility of the developer because the drainage issue is also on their property. Commissioner Anderson wanted to see a better drawing with the topography, referring to a hill and wondered what grading plans there are. Senior Planner Drill showed a picture of the hill, saying the drainage would flow around through the back yards and into the rain garden. There would be grading for walkout basements. Commissioner Anderson asked about area reduction that was pointed out in the Johnson letter. Senior Planner Drill explained that the net lot size went down slightly, but he suspected the difference was related to the wetland buffer that is no longer being counted as upland area. Commissioner Anderson wondered if there would be an easement because the driveways cross over adjacent lots. Senior Planner Drill that was discussed in the resolution and could be decided through homeowners association or with an easement. Commissioner Anderson questioned moving the retaining wall can't be in that area. Senior Planner Drill explained that the easement width has to be minimum of 6 feet, and the wall can't be in the easement so that would move the wall further away from the common lot line. Commissioner Kobussen asked if a fence on top of the retaining wall would be required per regulations. Senior Planner Drill replied that it would be addressed in the final plat review. Commissioner Kobussen asked why it was necessary to cut into the street in two places. Senior Planner Drill showed the plan from 10 years ago, with five single lots with utility service stubbed in. The proposed development has seven units, so they need to cut into the street in order to bring utilities to the two added units. Commissioner Petrash raised the concern from the Johnson's letter regarding the retaining wall possibly putting stress on trees. Approved Planning Commission Minutes January 15, 2014 Page 3 Senior Planner Drill agreed that it is a concern, to have the developer do all they can to not harm the trees. He stated the forester has looked at it, and we asked the city attorney to look into the matter. Senior Planner Drill said the City Attorney stated this is a private matter between the two property owners. He noted the forester's recommendation was to stay out of the drip line and provide one foot of setback for every inch of tree diameter. Looking at the proposed plan, Senior Planner Drill stated the trees should not be in jeopardy. Commissioner Petrash questioned whether tree loss was a possible point of contention and if so, whether we should address it now. Senior Planner Drill responded that trees should be okay if you don't damage more than 25 percent of the critical root zone. He said if a tree would die, the matter would be between the two property owners. He said the city would not be involved, for instance, the city could not require increased setbacks because the developer has the right to develop at the minimum setback. Senior Planner Drill noted that the setback for the home on Lot 7 is between 13 and 14 feet, which is greater than the required eight -foot minimum. Chair Davis introduced the applicant, Kendra Lindahl, Landform Professional Services, representing SVK Development. Ms. Lindahl thanked the commission for the opportunity to be there. She stated that they are being very careful about their grading plan so they are not grading into the existing hill on the back side or south side as well as minimizing impact to the east. Ms. Lindahl said they understand Mr. Johnson's comments and they are concerns of theirs too, which is why they are beyond minimum setback requirements. Referencing the required six-foot easement, she noted the retaining wall is at eight feet and will not impact the root zone of the tree nor will it have to be moved. Ms. Lindahl said that they agree there is an existing drainage problem on Mr. Johnson's property. She said if their development has any impact on his property, it will improve his issue. She stated they don't believe that this existing condition is theirs to correct, although the plan they have in place should benefit his issue as well, as the grading plan will direct all drainage away from his property. Ms. Lindahl commented on the area reduction issue, saying that the net density definition has changed and that is the distinction between the old development plan and this one. Ms. Lindahl said they understand the neighborhood comments about the height of the retaining wall. She said these concerns were brought up at the neighborhood meeting they held on January 6. Ms. Lindahl stated that their engineering team continues to look at the wall, even though it is consistent with the ordinance as drafted. Ms. Lindahl agreed that trees add value to their property and to the existing homeowner's. She said with their grading plan they have been very careful to stay away from Mr. Johnson's property and the properties on the south as well. She noted they provided landscaping in excess of ordinance requirements to keep the buffer, particularly for the homeowners on the south but also those on the north. Approved Planning Commission Minutes January 15, 2014 Page 4 Commissioner Anderson mentioned that Dan Campbell thought there should be a drain tile or fill on the corner of Mr. Johnson's property and asked who should be responsible for taking care of that. Ms. Lindahl responded that because it is a longstanding issue they don't feel it is their problem to fix. She said she would have to talk with her client but believes they are completely willing to talk about it with the Johnsons to resolve the issue. Chair Davis opened the public hearing. Chair Davis introduced John McCullough, 4650 Underwood Lane. Mr. McCullough said he lives directly behind units 6 and 7. He said he did not like the increase in units from five in the last plan to seven now as unit 7 looks like it is stuck in the plan. He said the trees are of major value to him and he has seen that trees are negatively impacted by digging, etc. and prone to die after being impacted. He stated he was concerned that the boulder wall is now eight feet in height versus two feet originally. Mr. McCullough said he is concerned that the wall will be a safety issue as the neighborhood kids cut through the property to go to Target and they might hang out back there. He said he is concerned about the swale and the rain garden because he has a neighbor who supposedly has a swale, but he has two sump pumps running all the time. He said he would not like to see that happen here. He said he is worried about additional erosion of the hill in the southern part of the site as there are not many trees to hold the soil. While he agreed this can be addressed, he said he would still like to see the units moved down and away from the trees on Mr. Johnson's property. Mr. McCullough also raised a concern about the future Three Rivers trail moving close to the homes if there is not sufficient room by I-494 after the freeway is expanded. He asked how much drainage will be going into Curtis Lake and how this will impact the shore owners. Chair Davis introduced Becky Marschner, 4670 Underwood Lane, who indicated that the Curtis Lake fence ends before her property. She said when the cul-de-sac was developed, a lot of trees were removed and some were replaced but they were quite small and do not help the neighbors regarding blocking lights, etc. She said her hope is that SVK will consider enough landscaping and that their homes blend in with the neighborhood. Chair Davis introduced Sandra Sullivan, 4660 Underwood Lane. She reiterated concerns about the erosion. She said the ground has dropped at least a foot by the fence and she has had to take steps of her own to stop erosion. She said her concern is if there is more grading it will continue to weaken the ground around the fence. She requested consideration for the size of the trees to be more mature. Ms. Sullivan stated her overall concern is regarding the benefit of multi -family over single family homes and whether or not the land can support those buildings with utilities, drainage, landscaping, etc. and will they preserve the look and feel of the neighborhood. Chair Davis closed the public hearing. Approved Planning Commission Minutes January 15, 2014 Page 5 Planning Manager Thomson clarified that the retaining wall is 5 feet at the highest point. Senior Engineering Technician Campbell stated that the development is required to handle drainage and no more drainage can leave the site under the current condition. He stated the rain garden would be providing for best management practices, to deal with suspended solids and phosphorus reductions. He said these would have to be met as laid out in their drainage report and approved by engineering before the plans are approved. Regarding erosion, Senior Engineering Technician Campbell explained that vegetation would have to be established and financial guarantees required and held until the vegetation is established and maintained to insure that we won't have erosion problems. Commissioner Petrash asked if this is part of the resolution or is it part of the building code. Planning Manager Thomson answered it is in our engineering guidelines. Ms. Lindahl indicated that they have looked at whether the homes can be moved further west. She said the wetland buffer and setback requirements limit their ability to push it further west and they wanted to leave some usable yard area for unit 1. Planning Manager Thomson said Three Rivers Park District owns the property along I-494 where the trail would go and they could not build a trail outside of the area they own. Reid Schultz, Landform Professional Services, said he does not have numbers regarding how much water will leave the rain garden and go into Curtis Lake and said there are certain infiltration requirements that must be met, and the additional amount of water won't fluctuate the level of Curtis Lake. Planning Manager Thomson stated the landscaping required as part of this development is two trees per lot. Senior Planner Drill showed a drawing of the landscaping plan. He said the minimum size requirement is 2 '/2 caliper inches, but some shown on the drawing are 3 % inches, with the bigger ones in the back yards. He said 21 big trees are proposed, which is above the requirement. Senior Engineering Technician Campbell said there would be a maintenance agreement required for the rain garden. He said the agreement would require that the rain garden be maintained for five years and a financial guarantee held to make sure the rain garden would be functioning properly. Senior Planner Drill stated that ten years ago, the city approved a plat for five single family lots on this site, but the plat was never recorded and the approval expired. He said, according to the LA -2 guiding, the site could have between five and nine units, with seven being right in the Approved Planning Commission Minutes January 15, 2014 Page 6 middle. He said the proposed plat complies with the city's standards and there is sufficient sewer and water capacity to serve it. Commissioner Anderson asked Senior Engineering Technician Campbell if he was in agreement that there would not be a dramatic increase of water going into Curtis Lake. Senior Engineering Technician Campbell said that with the addition of the rain garden, that takes backyard drainage and filtration, there would most likely not be any more drainage going into the lake, but he would look into drainage calculations, etc. at final plat to confirm. Commissioner Anderson said he believes there is no problem with the project as it conforms to the guiding and there is additional multi -family housing in the area. He said he would like to see that they are not grading in the south. Regarding the trees, he stated there is a sufficient setback to protect them. He said he does not think it is appropriate for the developer to be responsible for a drainage problem that was created in the past. Commissioner Anderson said the landscaping is weak, and the developer should look at beefing it up. Commissioner Oakley said he agreed with Commissioner Anderson's comments, but wished they could make unit #7 go away for no other reason than it looks like it was just stuck there. He said it does seem like they are complying and he will support the project as submitted. Commissioner Kobussen agreed that going down to six units puts it at the minimum. He said the seventh puts density where it should be. He said the retaining wall is a necessity as it will protect trees from erosion, and we don't want water going into the seventh unit. He said he wants to make sure there is something planted on the back of the hill so it doesn't keep washing away. MOTION by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Petrash, to approve the request by Landform Professional Services for rezoning, preliminary plat and conditional use permit for Hidden Meadows at Curtis Lake for property located at the southwest corner of 47th Avenue and Underwood Lane. Roll call vote. 6 Ayes MOTION approved 7. NEW BUSINESS 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Chair Davis, with no objection, to adjourn the meeting at 8:08 P.M.