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PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA
April 15, 1996
7 p.m.
ROLL CALL: Tom Brace _ Wayne Groff _ Alex Hanschen _ Paul Kuettel _
Irene Struck _ Wendy Treadwell _ Betty Wilcox _
Sue Gehrz
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
February 26, 1996
3. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
March 13, 1996
4. Election of new planning commission chair
5. Approval of amendments to Planning Commission Standing Rules
• 6. Review and approval of proposed amendments to the city's Administrative
Manual regarding the planning commission
7. Review of the city's Comprehensive Plan (Guest presenter: Fred Hoisington,
Hoisington Koegler Group
8. Adjourn
Falcon Heights Planning Commission
Minutes
February 26, 1996
Call to Order: Chair Kuettel called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Attendance: Commissioners present were Kuettel, Groff (arrived later), Hanschen
(arrived later), Struck, Treadwell, and Wilcox. Also present were City Administrator
Hoyt and Planner Asleson. Commissioner Brace was absent.
Approval of January minutes: The minutes of January 22, 1996 were reviewed and
approved by unanimous consent.
Review of Citv Council minutes: The city council minutes of January 24th were
reviewed by Administrator Hoyt for informational purposes.
Commissioners Hanschen and Groff arrived at 7:02 p.m.
Review of Planning Commission Standing Rules: The commission performed their
annual review of the standing rules and asked that staff return with the following
corrections: 1) change reference to a vice-chair to "the most senior commissioner in
attendance"; 2) re-word the section on having the public fill out comment forms to more
• accurately reflect commission practice; 3) re-word several awkwardly worded
sentences; and 4) change the membership requirement to seven commissioners, rather
than the present "seven to nine" reference. Administrator Hoyt noted that while the
planning commission has the authority to amend their standing rules, they would need
to recommend that the city council change the administrative manual before the
number of commissioners could be officially changed.
Chair Kuettel remarked that, although it does not need to be stated in the standing
rules, commissioners should take their responsibility to the commission seriously and
make an attempt to attend each monthly meeting. In the event a commissioner can't
make a meeting, they are expected to notify city staff of this ahead of time.
Public Hearing Regarding Miscellaneous Changes to the Zoning Code• Planner
Asleson briefly reviewed the proposed changes to the zoning code. The changes
primarily clarify sections of the code that are unclear and eliminate contradictory
language. The exception is a section requiring replacement garages when a garage is
converted to living space and prohibiting new street curb cuts to properties that have
alley access.
Chair Kuettel opened the public hearing at 7:22 p.m. There being no one present
wishing to be heard, the public hearing was immediately closed.
Motion was made by Commissioner Struck to recommend approval of the zoning code
• changes to the City Council. Motion passed unanimously.
DRAFT
• Information on Traditional Neiahborhood Plannina: Administrator Hoyt shared
information with the commission regarding a seminar she'd attended on neighborhood
planning. She noted that the concepts presented as basic to traditional neighborhood
planning including small lots, front porches, and alleys, all items which exist in Falcon
Heights.
Announcements: Planner Asleson reminded the commission about training
opportunities and about the change in meeting date (3rd Monday of the month,
beginning in March).
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carla Asleson
Planner/Recording Secretary
•
•
2 i v
CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES OF MARCH 13, 1996
Mayor Gehrz convened the meeting at 7:03 P.M.
PRESENT
Mayor Gehrz, councilmembers Gibson Talbot, Hustad and Jacobs. Also present was
city prosecutor Costello, administrator Hoyt and recording secretary Phillips.
COMMUNITY FORUM
There was no one wishing to take advantage of the community forum.
MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 28, 1996
Minutes were approved as corrected.
CONSENT AGENDA APPROVED
Motion was made by Councilmember Gibson Talbot to approve the consent agenda.
Motion passed unanimously.
1. Disbursements
2. Licenses
3. Bookkeeping transaction to close the Risk Management Fund
4. Request for authorization to hire a streetsweeper for the city's spring
and fall streetsweeping
5. Awarding contracts for tree removal and tree trimming for 1996
POLICY AGENDA
APPOINTMENT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Gehrz briefly summarized the appointment process when there is a vacant
councilseat and announced that out of the six candidates applying for the position,
Laura Kuettel was selected to fill the vacancy. Councilmember Hustad moved to
appoint Kuettel to the council for the duration of the term until 12/31 /97. Motion
passed unanimously.
•
2 ~ ~i
• City Council Minutes
March 13, 1996
Page 2
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 2(A) OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
RELATED TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Administrator Hoyt explained that the proposed amendment reflected a change in the
role of the human rights commission since its inception in 1968 to update the
structure of the commission and to make it more flexible and responsive to the city's
current needs. The commission would meet semi-annually and at the council's request
on an as-needed basis. Four additional commissioners, including one youth
commissioner, would be appointed by the council when the city has a specific human
rights issue to address. After modifying the proposed amendment, Councilmember
Jacobs moved to adopt the revisions. Motion passed unanimously. Councilmember
Gibson Talbot moved to repeal the current commissioners' terms of Tai Shigaki, Ted
Johnson and Paul Martinez. Motion passed unanimously.
• CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 96-02 REGARDING TOBACCO
RELATED PRODUCTS
Administrator Hoyt explained that the city's ordinance governing tobacco sales to
minors. was reviewed by Martin Costello, the city's prosecuting attorney. State
statute now defines the sales of tobacco to minors as a gross misdemeanor and it
specifically states that localities cannot be less stringent than the state statute.
Therefore, the city must prosecute clerks under the gross misdemeanor charges
instead of its own ordinances. Mr. Costello recommended repealing the section
regarding clerk penalties in order to preserve uniformity with the state statute. Also
in Chapter 5-1.03 subd. D (7), language is recommended to clarify that youth that
purchase tobacco products under the supervision of an adult engaged in education or
research purposes are exempt from state legal penalties. This section allows youth
working with the police department to legally purchase tobacco during compliance
checks.
Councilmember Hustad stated his objection to the state preempting local tobacco
ordinances by requiring a minimum gross misdemeanor penalty for tobacco sales to
minors. This penalty of up to 53,000 and 90 days in jail is too tough and will rarely,
if ever, be imposed. The penalty called for by the city ordinance and now preempted
by the state was more reasonable and more likely to be enforced. Councilmember
.Jacobs moved to approve Ordinance 0-96-02. Mayor Gehrz and Councilmembers
Gibson Talbot and Jacobs voted yes. Councilmember Hustad abstained.
2~ti
•
City Council Minutes
March 13, 1996
Page 3
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Administrator Hoyt announced that the Falcon Heights/Lauderdale Lion's Club recently
donated $228 to the city to finance the park and recreation summer open gym
program at Falcon Heights School.
ADJOURN
Meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.
~.~ , ~~~~
Susan L. Gehrz, Mayor
Patricia Phillips U
Acting Recording Secretary
r~
Planning Commission
Meeting: 4/15/96
Item: 5
ITEM: Approval of Planning Commission Standing Rules
SUBMITTED BY: Carla Asleson, Administrative Assistant/Planner
EXPLANATION/DESCRIPTION:
At the last meeting, the planning commission reviewed their standing rules and
suggested several changes. These changes are incorporated into the attached
document with strike-outs denoting proposed deletions and highlighting showing
proposed additions.
The standing rules are established by the commission and do not need council review
prior to approval.
. ATTACHMENT: Proposed changes to Planning Commission Standing Rules
Action Requested:
Review standing rules and approve changes by motion.
FALCON HEIGHTS PLANNING COMMISSION
STANDING RULES
INTRODUCTION
In the belief that the best decisions are made by the best informed decisionmakers and
that the public decision process is best served when the public has every opportunity
to present views, the following rules are established to govern regular and special
commission meetings as well as formal public hearings. There are several goals
behind these rules.
1. In general, free and open discussion by all interested parties
should be an essential part of the decision making process.
2.
•
MEMBERSHIP
The formal commission membership consists of seven to nine appointed
..................................................................
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commissioners. ~ ::: .itl:~x,;:.,; one vote eat and ~
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Agenda
1. To be considered, an item must be on the agenda ate.
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c~~~~~t<t~;+~. ~~~ the agenda must be distributed to all the commission
members and any other persons having responsibility for an item ~*'~~~+ ~'~--~~
An agenda can be modified with addenda by a
majority vote but this should be used only for minor items or items with extreme time
constraints.
2. An item can be moved from the consent agenda to the action agenda at the
request of any commissioner.
3. Since there will be audience and possibly cable TV viewers not familiar with
each item, the chair will give a brief explanation of each item as it is addressed.
4. The order of items on the agenda need not be followed absolutely. The chair
may adjust the order in the interest of:
a. Filling in time before a scheduled item, i.e., a public
hearing.
b. Grouping several items to best make use of consultant time.
c. Accommodating individuals who have attended the meeting
specifically to provide input on an item.
Process -Regular and Special Planning, Commission Meetings
1. For these proceedings the commission will use the 'open discussion' procedure.
This is, discussion is open to any member before or after a motion is made. This
privilege is also extended to the city planner and any of the consultants who may have
an interest in or can contribute to the item at hand.
2. At the discretion of the chair, this privilege is also extended to those members
of the audience who wish to provide input. The chair may also rule out of order any
input felt to be redundant, superfluous or irrelevant.
3. The chair can make liberal use of the "unanimous consent" procedure. That is,
items that in the judgment of the chair are likely to be unanimously approved, can be
introduced for approval with the statement, "If there are no objections, .... stands
approved (or denied)." If any commissioner has an objection, then the item reverts to
the standard motion procedure. This "unanimous consent" procedure cannot be used
for items requiring formal votes, i.e. resolutions.
4. The standard motion procedure is changed to not require a second. A motion
need only be made to be considered. This also applies to amendments.
5. To eliminate confusion, only one amendment will be considered at a time and
that amendment must be germane to the motion. An amendment cannot itself be
amended. If a change to an amendment is deemed appropriate, the amendment should
be withdrawn and reintroduced accordingly.
6. The general mode of voting will be by acclamation but with enough clarity that
the individual votes can be recorded in the minutes. If in doubt, the secretary can
• request a clarification.
7. The meeting will be audio taped and the tape will be retained for 6 months
following approval of the minutes for that meeting. The standard retention can be
extended if in the judgment of the city planner such action is warranted.
8. If the commission action is the result of a resident request and that request is
denied in whole or in part, reasons of fact supporting the denial will be made part of
the public record.
9. No commission meeting will extend beyond 10 p.m. except by unanimous vote.
This rule is not subject to the modification or suspension provisions of the Standing
Rules.
Process -Public Hearings
Since a public hearing is a more formal procedure and often requires certain
procedures and actions to be legal, the meeting rules are changed accordingly.
1. The primary aim of a public hearing is to take input from the public. To
accomplish this in the most effective manner, the chair will introduce the hearing with
. an explanation of the issues. This explanation will be given by the chair or a person
designated by the chair. The use of explanatory visual aids is encouraged.
2. Following the explanation, input from the public will be taken. Prior to
accepting input, though, the chair will state the areas where input will be appropriate,
the maximum time to be allotted to any individual presenter and any other procedural
rules deemed appropriate to guarantee that all concerned parties have a fair and
adequate opportunity to be heard.
3. All individuals wishing to speak must
...........................................: :::::...:........................:1~::::::::::::.:::.
~ Individuals not wishing to speak in public may provide a written statement.
The ~ commission may take up to 15 minutes to review written statements presented at
the meeting. If the commission decides to not act on the issue at the public hearing
meeting, it may by majority vote extend the time where written input will be taken to
a date not later than one week before the next meeting where a deciding vote is
planned.
• 4. All speakers are expected to be business-like, to-the-point and courteous.
Anyone not abiding by these rules will be considered out-of-order.
5. The commission will refrain from initiating a discussion during the public input
phase of the hearing except to clarify points brought up. These 'point of information'
• requests should be held to a minimum.
6. Once the public testimony phase is complete the chair will announce the public
hearing to be closed and the commission will revert back to its open discussion mode
of operation. From this point on, the public input will only be appropriate when
solicited by the commission.
7. Voting on any motion that results from a public hearing may be by a roll call if
requested by a commissioner.
8. It shall be the intent of the commission to vote on the issue at the same meeting
as the public hearing and as close in time to the public hearing as possible. Should it
be necessary to defer voting until a later date, that procedure will be clearly explained
to the audience.
9. No public hearing will extend beyond 9:30 p.m.
10. If the motion contains conditions, as may occur in conditional use or variance
requests, those conditions will be conveyed in writing to the requestor.
11. If the public hearing is the result of a resident request and that request is denied
in whole or in part, reasons of fact supporting the denial will be made part of the
public record.
ADOPTION/MODIFICATION/SUSPENSION
These rules with the exception of the mandatory 10 p.m. adjournment can be adopted,
modified or suspended in whole or in part by a 3/4 vote of the commission. If
suspended, they are automatically reinstated at the next meeting. Should they be
suspended or a situation occurs that is not covered by the standing rules, Sikkink's
Seven Motion System will apply.
ANNUAL REVIEW
These rules will be reviewed annually at the first meeting in February.
INTERPRETATION
The chair will interpret the rules. However, the chair's interpretation can be appealed
by any commission member and can be overruled by a majority vote.
. Planning Commission
Meeting: 4!15/96
Item: 6
ITEM: Review and approval of proposed amendments to the city's
Administrative Manual regarding the Planning Commission
SUBMITTED BY: Carla Asleson, Administrative Assistant/Planner
EXPLANATION/DESCRIPTION:
The city's Administrative Manual contains a section that governs the composition and
activities of each of the city's commissions. Following discussion with the planning
commission in February, staff has prepared several amendments to this document for
review by the planning commission.
The city council has final approval over any changes to the Administrative Manual.
However, it would be appropriate for the commission to make a formal recommendation on
these items.
COMPOSITION
The Administrative Manual currently states that the Planning Commission be composed of
"not less than seven nor more than nine members." It was suggested by the commission in
February that this language be changed to permit only seven commissioners at any given
time.
VACANCIES
A redundant and confusing clause in the "vacancies" section is proposed to be eliminated.
The meaning of the clause is stated in the following sentence, namely that all
commissioners continue to serve until their successors are appointed.
REPORTS
Staff recommends striking language requiring that the Planning Commission submit a
formal work report to the city council each year. The council has final approval over all land
use cases (e.g. variances, conditional use permits) reviewed by the commission and is kept
informed of building permit data and other matters through regular staff reports.
ATTACHMENT: Proposed changes to the Administrative Manual regarding the Planning
Commission.
ACTION REQUESTED:
• Review proposed changes
• By motion, make a recommendation to the city council regarding the proposed changes
. B. PLANNING COMMISSION
1. Purpose. The commission shall be the city planning
agency authorized by Minnesota Statutes, Section
462.354, Subd. 1, which includes guiding future
development of land, services, and facilities to ensure
a safe, pleasant and economical environment for
residential, commercial, and public activities; and to
promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of
the community by:
a. establishing community objectives and policy;
b. making recommendations to the council
regarding petitions and applications for
rezoning, special use permits, etc.
c. reviewing and making recommendations on all
matters relating to or affecting the physical
development of the city.
2. Composition & Qualifications. The commission shall
COnS1St Of =r6-}c ~ ^ ''''^"' seven rroz-rirei-^ }~"^"` members
• to be appointed by the mayor and approved by the council
as follows:
a. Members of the commission shall be appointed
according to their ability to contribute to
and perform the functions, powers and duties
imposed upon the commission.
b. Members of the commission shall be eligible
voters residing within the city.
3. Terms, Vacancies, Oaths. The term of office of all
commission members shall be three years. Except for
appointments to fill a vacancy, an appointment in any
year shall be deemed effective as of January 1 of such
year for purposes of computing the term. No member shall
serve more than two consecutive three year terms or more
than eight consecutive years on the Planning Commissioriia
Members shall hold office until their successors are
appointed. All members shall serve without compensation,
but may be reimbursed for expenses as authorized and
approved by the city council.
4. Removal. Commission members shall be subject to removal
for cause, by a four-fifths vote of the city council.
Failure to attend meetings regularly shall be one basis
for removal.
.J
5. Organization, Officers. Each commission shall elect a
chairperson from among its appointed members for a term
of one year. The commissions may create and fill such
other offices as determined necessary.
6. Meetings, Records, Reports. The commissions shall hold
scheduled meetings, not less than one per calendar
quarter. They shall adopt rules for the transaction of
business and shall keep written public records of
resolutions, recommendations and findings. Q~~~
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7. Commission's Duties. In fulfillment of its purpose the
commission's duties and responsibilities shall be to:
a. exercise duties given planning agencies by law and
any duties conferred upon it by the zoning code and
by the city council.
b. periodically, but at least once every two (2)
years, review the comprehensive plan, any additions
• or amendments, and any capital improvement program
the council has adopted to implement the plan; and
if deemed necessary, revise the comprehensive plan,
adopt the amendments or the new comprehensive plan,
amend the capital improvement program, and make
recommendations to council.
•
City of Falcon Heights
Planning Commission
Date: 4/15/96
Item: 7
ITEM: Review and discussion on the city's comprehensive land use plan
SUBMITTED BY: Susan Hoyt, City Administrator
EXPLANATION/DESCRIPTION:
In 1991 the city adopted a new comprehensive land use plan. The plan guides and governs
the city's land use decisions. Fred Hoisington, of the Hoisington Koegler Group, worked
with the community to prepare the plan. He will provide the planning commission with
some background about the following:
• The legality of the comprehensive plan as a planning document for the city, especially
in a fully developed city.
• The process used to develop the comprehensive plan including what community
members valued in the community's physical landscape.
• What the plan generally outlines.
• The relevance of the Larpenteur Avenue streetscape and business district plan to the
comprehensive plan.
• Possible comprehensive plan updates and amendments.
• The relationship of the comprehensive plan to zoning. (The zoning in the business
district was amended following the adoption of the 1991 comprehensive plan.)
• The role of zoning and variances.
ACTION REQUESTED:
• Information and discussion with Fred Hoisington