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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 07-26-1995CITY OF PLYMOUTH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 26,1995 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Mike Stulberg, Commissioners Virginia Black, Christian Preus, Allen Ribbe, Linda Oja and Saundra Spigner MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Barb Stimson i STAFFPRESENT: Director Anne Hurlburt, Planning Supervisor Barbara Senness, Senior Planner John Kohn, Planner Shaam Drill, and Planning Secretary Susan Vasquez I. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Stulberg called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. 2. PUBLIC FORUM: None. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Chairman Stulberg proposed modifying the order of the Agenda to accommodate the guest speaker, Mr. Walter Kulash, who gave a presentation on Street Design (item 7-A). The Agenda was so modified, allowing Mn Kulash to speak prior to presentation of the staff reports and discussion corresponding to items 6-C and 7-B. I 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION by Commissioner Preus, seconded by Commissioner Black, to approve the Minutes of the June 28, 1995 with the following corrections: On page 142, in the third paragraph from bottom of the page, the phrase "...and movement of trees", should read and movement of buildings". MOTION CARRIED unanimously. 5. CONSENT AGENDA: No items presented. 6. STAFF REPORTS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. SHANNON AND LINDA TERRY (95070): Chairman Stulberg introduced a request from Shannon and Linda Terry for a PUD Plan Amendment for property located at 4210 Xenium Lane North to allow construction of a deck which would exceed five percent lot coverage. a Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page 156 Planner Drill gave an overview of the July 17, 1995 Staff reporL Commissioner Oja, inquired about the minimum lot size for this zoning area, and the ageofthedwelling. Planner Drill responded that the PUD is guided LA3, which is not typically.for singlefamilydwellings. The density allowed in this classification would be from 5 to 8 unitsperacre. Nevertheless, this particular area was developed at much less than the permitteddensity. The lot has a total area of about 12,500 square feet, and the home was built in1993. Chairman Stulberg introduced Mr. Shannon Terry, the Petitioner, who briefly describedhispetition. Commissioner Oja asked if the Terry's would be doing additional landscaping. Mr. Terry responded affirmatively. MOTION by Commissioner Black, seconded by Commissioner Spigner, to approve thePUDPlanAmendmentforthepropertylocatedat4210XeniumLaneNorthtoallowconstructionofadeckwhichwillexceedfivepercentlotcoverage, subject to theconditionsrecommendedbyStaff. ROLL CALL VOTE on the motion. 6 Ayes. MOTION CARRIED unanimously, andwillbeconsideredattheAugust15, 1995 meeting of the City Council. B. CHRISTOPHER SWANSON (95071): Chairman Shtlberg introduced the request of Christopher Swanson for approval of anAmendedPUDPlanandConditionalUsePermittoallowconstructionofadeckat15110 -42nd Avenue North, which would extend 5.3 feet into the required side yard. Planner Drill gave an overview of the Staff report dated July 17, 1995, Commissioner Oja asked about the size of the lot, and the year of construction of thedwelling. Director Hurlburt stated that the lot appears to be about 12,000 to 13,000 square feet. Chairman Stulberg introduced Mr. Christopher Swanson, the Petitioner. a Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page 157 In response to Commissioner Qja's questions; Mr. Swanson said that the area of his lot is just under 13,000 square feet, and that the house was built in 1987. Mr. Swanson added that he purchased the home in 1992. Mr. Swanson noted that the survey of his property on record at City Hall, copy of which he obtained prior to designing the project, was not correct. He had a surveyor prepare an as -built" survey, on -which he based his design and petition. Chairman Stulberg recognized Mr. Peter Treitel of 1512042nd Avenue North neighbor immediately to the west of the Swanson property. Mr. Trettel expressed concern for the negative impact which the proximity of Mr. Swanson's new deck and patio would have on the resale value and marketability of his home. He requested the Planning Commission to deny Mr. Swansods application on that basis, and inquired whether or not Mr. Swanson had considered the alternative ofbuilding the deck on the opposite side of his house, where he has greater yard space available. Chairman Stulberg responded that the Planning Commission does not concern itselfwith housing value nor with marketability of homes. With regard to Mr. Swanson's having considered an alternate location for his deck, Chairman Stulberg deferred to the Petitioner. Mr. Swanson noted that he had considered alternatives for his deck project design, but that placing the deck on the other side of the house was not a feasible option due to the floor plan of his home. With regard to the proximity of his new deck and patio to his neighbor's existing deck, Mr, Swanson noted that his deck would be at least fifteen feet away. Staff noted that Mr. Trettel's primary objections were to the Swanson patio (designed for the rear yard of the Swanson home), the construction of which does not require an amendment of the PUD. Commissioner Oja asked Mr. Swanson whether the landscaping; shown on the drawing as being close to the new deck currently existed, or would it be added on as part of the project. Mr. Swanson clarified that many of the trees shown in the back yard were planted some time ago; but some other features, such as lilac bushes along the side of the deck, would be added as a part of current deck construction project. MOTION by Commissioner Oja, seconded by Commissioner Press, to approve the Amended PUD Plan and Conditional Use Permit to allow the construction of a deck that would extend 5.3 feet into the required side yard, subject to the conditions as outlined in a Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page 158 the Resolution. Chairman Stulberg called for discussion on the motion. Commissioner Oja commented that with the new smaller lot sizes being allowed in many new developments, and given the tendency to build houses larger so that they fill a greater percentage of the total lot, in the near future the Commission might find 'itself being presented with an increasing number of requests to build decks which are too large given the percentage of the total lot which remains without constructions. Director Hurlburt stated that only a very small percentage ofthe deck permits issued by the City annually involve some variance. Furthermore, the vast majority of the variances are so minor that they can be handled under the Administrative Procedure established for that purpose. Very few cases actually reach the Planning Commission for consideration. Chairman Stulberg added that since this case involves a PUD, it must be considered by the Commission. The modification in procedures made about two years ago relieves the Commission of dealing with so many cases.. The majority of cases can now be handled by Staff under approved Administrative Procedures, or require a review by the Board of Zoning. Chairman Stulberg closed discussion. ROLL CALL VOTE on the motion. 6 Ayes. MOTION CARRIED unanimously, and will be considered at the August 15, 1995 meeting of the City Council. 7. NEW BUSINESS; A. PRESENTATION ON STREET DESIGN 1) INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKER Chairman Stulberg; introduced Senior Planner Keho, Senior Planner Keho stated that several months ago the City Council directed Staff to study possible alternatives to the current designs ofCity streets with ar eye toward increasing the City's "livability" factor. The invitation to the guest speaker, Mr. Walter Kulash, teflects the Staffs interest in learning more about his innovative proposals regarding street design. Mr; Kulash is in the Twin Cities area to address the Sensible Land Use Coalition precisely on the important subject of "Livable Streets". Mr, Walter Kulash, continued Senior Planner Keho, is a licensed professional engineer, and Principal Senior Transportation Planner with Glatting, Jackson, Kercher, Anglin, 0 Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page •_59 Lopez & Rinehart, an Orlando based community planning fine. Mr. Kulash's twenty years of engineering experience have been in traffic planning for new private developments, planning public street systems, and developing public transit in numerous different cities throughout the U.S. 2) PRESENTATION ON STREET DESIGN Mr. Walter Kulash stated that the mainstay of his work is to design streets from a different perspective. The traditional American street is 24 -feet wide, however most engineering efforts in recent decades have been dedicated to building ever wider streets, with an increasingly high speed design. Mr. Kulash does not approach street design from a traffic point of view, but from a "livability" perspective. Some key assumptions on which his work is based contradict the engineering "truisms" of modem street design. Despite the generally accepted ideas among traffic engineers, Mr. Kulash stated that: Bigger streets are NOT necessarily better ones. There is no economy of scale in building wider, flatter, bigger streets for heavy traffic flow at high design speeds. A dense network of smaller, narrower streets designed for lower speeds can carry just as much traffic as a larger one, but with a much more pleasant atmosphere, and much less stress on the driver. The main idea is to seize back from automobiles some of the concessions that we have made to it over the years. This means making smaller streets, narrower, with trees along side and on -street parking. Today, even though many cities find the idea attractive, the necessary modifications in street design go against traditional zoning codes and ordinances. Therefore, cities find that they must rethink their zoning codes, promoting diversity of development (in the case of cities which do not already have it), to promote their vitality and assure continued growth and continued attractiveness of the cities to all parties concerned. Boulder, Colorado and Portland, Oregon are two forerunners in the development of revised sheet standards which will serve as a model for other cities. Liability and public safety objections are being met and dealt with, just as they can be in other locations. A goal of rethinking ' design of streets, according to Mr. Kulash, is that within the individual citizen's driving range (i.e., the local streets on which he or she drives to make six of eight to ten car trips made by car from their house on a given day) be as restful, attractive, and "livabla" as possible, allowing the citizen to avoid arterial streets except on occasions when he or she is going a great distance. Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page 160 To achieve this, some cities—like Olympia, Washington -have decided to open access to formerly "closed" neighborhoods by building additional com;iecting streets. These cities are rediscovering what they want, and what they should write into the codes to obtain that goal. They are paying a great deal of attention to tree cover and other landscaping matters. Their motto as they proceed with this plan: "Trip quality is better on narrower but more attractive streets." To assure the support of the public for these changes, cities have found that informational campaigns are essential. Cities must remember:. Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I'll remember. Involve me, I'll understand. The close involvement of the citizens in the program to radically change street design will assure their cooperation. For the City of Plymouth, Mr, Kulash recommended setting a long-term goal of conserving that slightly rural atmosphere that still exists inmost areas. To achieve that, the City should decide exactly what appearance it wants to attain, then update its ordinances accordingly. A number of acceptable street designs should be designated, as well as acceptable standards of signage, speed bumps, "round -abouts", etc., to reduce the speed of traffic while making the drive amore pleasant one. Chairman Stulberg thanked Mr. Kulash, and declared a ten minute break in the meeting; Chairman Stulberg called the meeting to order again at 10:15 p.m. 6. STAFF REPORTS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS (continued): C. CITY OF PLYMOUTH/ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT FOR TREE PRESERVATION (95058): Chairman Stulberg introduced a request from the City of Plymouth for a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment to add provisions for tree preservation. Director Hurlburt gave an overview of the staff report, focusing on some questions and recommendations which arose from informal hearings with developers, and in previous discussions with the Planning Commission, She also presented Chairman Stulberg and the members of the Planning Commission with a letter from Ms, Karen Cluistofferson in representation of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. a Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page 161 After doing further research on the matter oftree preservation, Staff now suggests several changes in the Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment as it was initially discussed with the Planning Commission. The suggested changes include: 1. The tree preservation threshold for non-residential areas should be reduced from 33% to 25% to be more realistic. 2. Requirements for replacing/reimbursingtrees removed should not include trees ? removed because of City requirements for storm water treatment ponds, public trails or sidewalks, and right-of-way for streets classified as major collectors or f minor or major arterials. 3. Reforestation offsite, but within the City of Plymouth, should be allowed, 4. The Ordinance would not apply to lots of record, to projects with approval within the last two years, to applications submitted to the City, or to sites that have undergone substantial improvements, prior to the date of adoption. Similar language was employed successfully in the Wetland Preservation Ordinance, 5. Procedures for amending tree preservation plans should be added. Staff would have some leeway to approve minor changes in reforestation plans once they have been approved. This flexibility would facilitate enforcement of the Ordinance, 6. A change concerning; financial guarantees would require a guarantee only for reforestation plans or, if needed, to assure preservation of trees needed to meet the thresholds specified in the Ordinance.. If the Planning Commission is in agreement with these, and other minor proposed modifications to the draft Tree Preservation Ordinance, Staff would present the matter to the City Council during their next regular meeting on August 15, 1995, Congratulating Staff for having done an excellent job in putting together the draft Tree Preservation Ordinance and these £mai recommended modifications, Chairman Stulberg opened the floor for questions and discussion, Commissioner Preus requested Director Hurlburt to further explain the reason for reducing the tree preservation threshold from 33% to 25% for non-residential developments, Director Hurlburt stated that an examination of existing conditions in non-residential developments in the City revealed thati in most cases, 75% of the land is already occupied with the buildings, parking lots and other structures. Considering that fact, Planning, Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page 162 perhaps even the 25% threshold will tum out to be overly optimistic. Commissioner Preus further asked whether the phrase "if no appropriate space found for reforesting..." refers to on the lot itself. Director Hurlburt responded affirmatively. Commissioner Black inquired how many trees would be affected by removing the requirement to replace trees which are removed due to city requirements, such as for bike paths, etc. Director Hurlburt responded that she believed there would not be many. Commissioner Oja inquired whetherit would not be preferable to remove NURP ponds from the exception to having to replace trees. Director Hurlburt expressed her disagreement, manifesting that Staff had studied the matter carefully. Planning Supervisor Senness added that because of the restrictions placed on developer by nature itself, developers have little discretion regarding the placement of NURP ponds. Staff considers that developers should not be punished for things outside of their control. Commissioner Oja stated that excepting NURP ponds would lead to the destruction of more trees. How, she asked, would the City deal with that? Director Hurlburt stated that not all sites will be equally impacted. Furthermore, site added, the City could --now or at a'later date --decide to reduce the percentage of trees which can be destroyed before developer is required to reforest. i Chairman Stulberg opened the Public Hearing, recognizing Mr, Mark Anderson of Lundgren Brothers. Mr, Anderson stated that he was pleased to see Staff had made some modifications- in Tree Preservation Ordinance Amendment in line with builders' recommendations. Nevertheless, he stated, builders still have issues, such as the correct threshold for determining a tree to be "important", and the ratio of reforestation. Mr, Anderson inquired whether, if the preliminary PUD plan would only be good for 2 years, and the builder were unable to finish the final plat within that period, if the final plat would then be obligated to comply with new rules, a Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page 163 Director Hurlburt noted that, as with the Wetlands Ordinance, if a significant portion of the project had already been completed, the project would be exempted from the new requirements. Chairman Stulberg recognized Ms. Karen Christofferson, representative of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC). Ms. Christofferson congratulated Staff on their excellent work in developing the Tree Preservation Ordinance. She emphasized that the BATC ,greatly appreciates Staffs efforts in developing a close rapport with builders which led to a constructive interchange of ideas, assuring understanding and compromise on both sides. Nevertheless, the builders urge 'that the City exclude NURP ponds, trails, ctc. from the reforestation requirement because they are beyond the control of builders. They also suggest that builders complying with the new Ordinance may find themselves over -reforesting because of the 1:1.25 ratio of replacement. Therefore, the BATC suggests that the ratio be changed to 1;1. Chairman Stulberg asked Staff why the ratio of 1:1.25 was being recommended. City Forester Paul Buck responded that the ratio is a compromise, and would put the City in the middle range of requirements made by other cities. Commissioner Oja inquired where frees would be reforested. Commissioner Preus added his query regarding the definition of "an appropriatelocation" for reforesting. City Forester Buck replied that the matter must be determined on a case-by-case basis, since the reply is not always obvious, Commissioner Preus asked for Staffs comments regarding the flexibility that builders have in locating NURP ponds in; their developments. Director Hurlburt stated that the choice is not always flexible, but rather based on topography and engineering standards. Commissioner Preus asked why there would be no distinction between hardwoods and softwoods. City Forester Buck staled that it was hard to justify a differentiation between hard and softwood for purposes of tree preservation. 0 Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page 164 Commissioner Black queried whether NURP ponds could be deeper rather than cover a larger area and still meet City requirements. Director Hurlburt responded that it is sometimes possible, but that depends on the pond's capacity to treat water. Chairman Stulberg closed the Public Hearing. MOTION by; Commissioner Spigner, seconded by Commissioner Preus, to approve the Amendment to Chapter 5 of the City Code and the City's Zoning Ordinance to promote tree preservation, subject to the changes proposed by Staff as discussed in the 'Staff Report of July 20, 1995. Chairman Stulberg opened the floor to discussion. MOTION by Commissioner Oja, seconded by Commissioner Black, to remove the NURP ponds from ti,. exception recommended by Staff in item number 4 in the staff report, which reads; "All signifeanttrees ;on the development site shall be includd in the above calculations, except trees to be removed from the following areas: storm water treafntenr ponds, public trails or sidewalks, and right-of-way for streets classified major collectors or as minor or major arterials." Commissioner Preus stated that it would be unfair to make builders pay for reforesting an area that they must, through no fault of their own, dedicate as a NURP pond, Commissioner Ribbe added that to do so would create a double jeopardy situation which would be unfair. Commissioner Oja insisted that builders should take into account the need to build NURP ponds just as they do other legal requirements for their projects. If they have to remove trees to make that pond, they should be responsible for reforestation the same as they would be with trees removed to construct other aspects of the project. ROLL CALL VOTE on the motion. 2 Ayes (Black, Oja), 4 Nays (Preus, Spigner, Ribbe, Stulberg). MOTION FAILED 2 votes to 4. MOTION by Commissioner Black, seconded by Commissioner Oja, to modify die ratio of reforestation from 1:1.25 to 1:0.5 in the case of trees removed for NURP ponds. ROLL CALL VOTE on the motion, 2 Ayes (Black, Ola), 4 Nay. (Preus, Spigner, Ribbe, Stulberg), MOTION FAILED 2 votes to 4, Planning Commission Minutes July 26, 1995 Page165 Commissioner Oja noted for the record that she opposes excepting NURP ponds from the reforestation requirement. ROLL CALL VOTE on the MAIN MOTION. 6 Ayes. MOTION CARRIED unanimously, and will be considered at the August 15, 1995 meeting of the City Council, r 7. NEW BUSINESS (continued); B. TAX INCREMENT FINANCING FOR TIF (REDEVELOPMENT) DISTRICT NO. 74, PLYMOUTH TECHNOLOGY PARK PROJECT Chairman Stulberg introduced the request of the Community Development Department to create a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for the Plymouth Technology Park project located on the northwest comer of Schmidt Lake Road & Highway 494. Director Hurlburt presented the Staff report of July 24, 1995, summarizing the background of this project and the justificationsfor proposing TIF assistance to carry it out. Chairman Stulberg opened and closed the PUBLIC HEARING since there was no one present to speak on the matter. MOTION by Commissioner Ribbe, seconded by Commissioner Spigner, that the TIF Plan for Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment District 74 (Plymouth Technology Park Project) is found to be in conformance with the general plan for the development and redevelopment of the City of Plymouth as a whole. ROLL CALL VOTE on the motion; 6 Ayes, MOTION CARRIED unanimously, and will be considered at the August 15, 1995 meeting of the City Council. S. OLD BUSEESS; None. 9. ADJOUR14MEN MOTION by. Commissioner Spigner, seconded by Commissioner Black, to adjourn. Vote. 6 Ayes. MOTION CARRIED unanimously, MEETING ADJOURNED at 11:10 p.m. a