HomeMy WebLinkAboutPCMinutes_12-1023_workshop.pdfCity of Falcon Heights - Planning Commission Workshop of October 23, 2012 - Page 1 of 2 City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Minutes of the Planning Commission Workshop: Special Event Ordinance October 23, 2012 Commissioners met for the workshop at 7:00 p.m. All Commissioners were present, as well as Planning Director Jones. Councilmember Harris was absent. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the broad shape and goals of an ordinance that could serve the needs of the businesses that met with the Commission in September while ensuring that any negative impacts on adjacent neighborhoods would be minimized. The following summary is condensed from a lengthy and detailed discussion. Commissioners expressed their appreciation for the presence of representatives from the Coffee Grounds, Stout’s Pub and Dinos last mont h and for all the information they shared and the discussion. These were the only busin esses that came forward, and they were all interested in similar types of events: Outdoor food service, probably under a tent (extension of what the businesses already do within their establishments, not a “new” use) “Family friendly” Occasional – once a year (Dino’s) to four or five times a year (Coffee Grounds) Weekend only, including Friday night Outdoor music, amplified Possible service of alcohol Commissioners had indicated from the beginning of these discussi ons that they favored some kind of special permitting as opposed to making this use generally permitted or an accessory use. They were provided this evening with sa mple ordinances from cities which allow special events by some kind of administrative permit or special permit: the City of Medina, City of North St. Paul, City of Plymouth, City of Roseville, and the City of Savage. The discussion began with a “big picture” look at the issues and the process. At this point, Commissioners felt that if a good ordinance could be crafted that “fits” then the public hearing for that ordinance woul d be ample opportunity to take public input. It would give residents something concrete to react to, ra ther than a lot of amorphous “what ifs.” Commissioners concluded that th ey could define this evening the general shape of what would be needed, hold one more workshop on a preliminary (November), and then turn it over the the City Attorney to crea te a formal draft. If all goe s well, the public hearing could be held in January or Februa ry. This would give the Commi ssion and Council time to act and have something in place by May, when summer ev ent permits would have to be applied for (assuming a 30-days-in-advance policy is adopted). There remained considerable concern about noi se and parking. The businesses concerned are so close to residential propert ies that there is bound to be disruption to neighors. Yet, on limited occasions, a certain amount of disruption might be tolerabl e, especially if events are managed responsibly. The City could always refuse to approve future permits if the experience was bad and caused a lot of compla int. Commissioners acknowledged that they do not know how it would work out, but the consensus was to “try it.”
City of Falcon Heights - Planning Commission Workshop of October 23, 2012 - Page 2 of 2 The next step was to review model ordinances provided to see if one or more of them have elements that would suit the needs of Falcon Heights. Af ter lengthy discussion, Commissioners settled on the North St. Paul model as th e best general framework. They liked the provision in the Medina ordina nce that exempts from permit requirements any event attended by fewer than 200 people at one ti me that does not involve the sale of alcohol (this would cover most Coffee Grounds events), also events that are regulated by the city through the use of another ordinance. Pr ivate parties would always be exempt. Commissioners favor the pa rking plan requirements of the Plymouth ordinance. Commissioners want the following additional provisions: No special events allowe d during the State Fair Each event no longer than 2 days 24 hours additional set-up time and 24 hours take-down time would be allowed No more than 3 permitted events per year, per business Events end by 9 p.m. Permit applicants must provide plans for parking, security, noise control, crowd control Provision for preventing even t parking at neighboring bus inesses unles s a written agreement is provided by the neighboring business (staff addition). The owners of Warner Stellian contacted staff before th e meeting to express concern about this issue. Some items might be provided for in administra tive policy instead of the ordinance. The city attorney may have recommendations. Since Falc on Heights does not have any other used by special permit, this is going to have to be defined – which was done a few years ago for Interim Use Permits. That will be left to the c ity attorney, also the language connecting this ordinance up with other part s of the code, as necessary. Commissioners will meet formally on November 27 (after Thanksgiving) for the official fourth quarter meeting, then adjourn to consider a rough draft from staff before sending this off to the city attorney. The workshop adjourned at about 9:00 p.m.