HomeMy WebLinkAboutPCMinutes_12-0124.pdfCity of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Minutes January 24, 2012 PRESENT: Commissioners Black, Brown, Gust afson, Minns, Noble, Council Member Harris, Staff Liaison Jones. ABSENT : (with notice) Commissioners Fite, Wartick The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by the 2011 Chair, Commissioner Black, who noted that a quorum was present. Commissioners elected Commissioners Black and Noble we re nominated to serve a second year. They were elected by acclamation. As required on a yearly basis, Commissioners reviewed the sta nding rules. Jones gave a brief recap of the last year's change clarifying item 2 under "Process – Public Hearings". She asked for any suggestions this year. Commissione r Noble had a question about Item 4 under Process - Regular and Special Planning Commis sion Meetings, regardi ng the seconding of motions not being required. Councilmember Ha rris said that the C ouncil rarely seconds motions. After a brief discussion, the item was left as it stood, and the Commission voted to approve the standing rules for 2012. The minutes for October 25 were approved as submitted. Information And Announcements: Jones announced that the Winterfest event has been canceled due to "l ack of winter". This was just announced today. She recommended that people check the City website for confirmation of this or call City Hall for more information. Jones announced to the public that the meeting would adjourn to the customary annual orientation and training for commissioners – br ief because all commissioners are returning – and a recap of certain ongoing pr ojects in the city. She introd uced a guest, Tim Venne, one of the brokers for the Hermes property, which is fo r sale. He accepted an invitation to fill Commissioners in on the market status of that property. Jones said she hoped there would be "real news" of the future of He rmes some time in the new year. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:13 p.m. Commissioners adjourned to an a nnual orientatio n/update workshop. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Jones, Staff Liaison City of Falcon Heights - Planning Commission Meeting of January 24, 2012 - Page 1 of 2
City of Falcon Heights - Planning Commission Meeting of January 24, 2012 - Page 2 of 2 Minutes of the Planni ng Commission Workshop January 24, 2012 1. Staff presented a brief review of the parcel information and zoning on the three Hermes parcels, 1750 – 1790 Larpenteur. The total area is 3.44 acres. The property was formerly zoned B-2, Limited Business, but was rezoned in 2010 as R-5M, High Density Residential Mixed use, which includes B-2 us es, as part of the implementation of the 2008 comprehensive plan. 2. Guest Tim Venne, one of the brokers for th e property, filled Comm issioners in on the market status of the property. There have b een numerous enquiries but no sale to date. The market would not currently support market rate housing on a property of that size, so there has been more interest from deve lopers, including non-profits, in developing affordable housing on part of the site. Becau se these developments depend on grants for financing, the timeline can be long for the sell er. There have also been inquiries from potential buyers interested in professional or research use of part of the property. 3. As all Commissioners have served at least one year, the annual orientation was omitted and staff asked Commissioners if they had any questions re garding zoning processes. There were none. 4. Staff presented a preliminary front porch am endment draft based on the St. Louis Park section Commissioners favored at the Oct ober workshop. The draft needed concrete numbers for what would be allowed befo re being sent to the city attorney. Commissioners agreed to use the St. Louis Pa rk numbers, subject to change after the hearing. However they favored allowing the hei ght of the encroachment to be limited by the roof peak of the house, rath er than the first floor, as othe r cities do. The intention is to avoid placing impractical restrictions on the architectural design of these features. They also wanted to make sure some minimum dist ance (24 feet) is maintained between a front porch encroachment and the front lot line.