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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPCAgenda_04May25_Canceled• The May 25, 2004, Meeting of the Planning Commission was cancelled due to lack of a quorum. • • City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission City Hall • 2077 W. Larpenteur Avenue Tuesday, May 25, 2004 7:00 p.m. AGENDA A. CALL TO ORDER: 7 p.m. B. ROLL CALL: Tracy Lukermann Harris Lageson Maher Heideman DeLeo Ryan Ziebarth Council Liaison Lindstrom City Administrator Worthington Staff Liaison Jones • C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Apri127, 2004 D. AGENDA ITEMS: None E. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Farmer's Market I.U.P. 2. New ordinance on cars for sale 3. Bus benches F. ADJOURN TO WORKSHOP G. WORKSHOP: Falcon Heights City Code, Chapter 9 Planning Commission agenda 052504.doc CITY OF FALCON HEIGHT 2077 W. Larpenteur Avenue S Falcon Heights, MN 55113 5594 email: mailC~ci.falcori-heights.mn.us website: www.ci.falcon-heights.mn.us Phone - (651) 644-5050 Fax - (651) 644-8675 MEMORANDUM • To: Members of the Planning Commission CC: Heather Worthington, City Administrator; Peter Lindstrom, Council Liaison From: Deb Jones, Staff Liaison Subject: Planning Commission Meetmg on May 25 date: May 21, 2004 Your agenda this month consists of three items related to last month's agenda..' -They are given as iJ~Lformation items because no action is requested at this time, but an on-camera follow-up is appropriate. Councilmember Lindstrom will be reporting to you on the outcome of the Farmer's Market I.U.P. Council Action and the new ordinance on parking of cars for sale,. the two recommendations you sent to the Council in April. There will . also be an update on the bus bench situation. The bus bench issue will be coming to the. Comrnissian far discussion and action at a later meeting, probably in June. Also, in June there will be another public hearing. We have been petitioned by T.I.E.S. for a code amendment that will allow them to add a use in the B-3 zone. There was not enough lsacl time to get this on the May agenda, although I can answer any questions you have informally. Finally, this month should be the last workshop in this phase of tl~e zoning code review and revision process. We need to complete our "first pass" through the chapter and note areas for discussion and research. Please see the enclosed stiff report and summary and try to read through at least Section 14: Make note of thurgs you want to bring up in the workshop. Just for your information, City Administrator Worthington will be overseas until June 1. Finally, please notify Staff if you are unable to attend on Tuesday evening. Thank you! HOME OF THE MINNESOTA STATE FAIR AND THE U OF M INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE (~~~ PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER • MEMORANDUM To: Members of the Planning Commission CC: Heather Worthington, City Administrator; Peter Lindstrom, Council Liaison From: Deb Jones, Staff Liaison Subject: Planning Commission Meeting on May 25 Date: May 21, 2004 Your agenda this month consists of three items related to last month's agenda. They are given as information items because no action is requested at this time, but an on-camera follow-up is appropriate. Councilmember Lindstrom will be reporting to you on the outcome of the Farmer's Market I.U.P. Council Action and the new ordinance on parking • of cars for sale, the two recommendations you sent to the Council in April. There will also be an update on the bus bench situation. The bus bench issue will be coming to the Commission for discussion and action at a later meeting, probably in June. Also, in June there will be another public hearing. We have been petitioned by T.I.E.S. for a code amendment that will allow them to add a use in the B-3 zone. There was not enough lead time to get this on the May agenda, although I can answer any questions you have informally. Finally, this month should be the last workshop in this phase of the zoning code review and revision process. We need to complete our "first pass" through the chapter and note areas for discussion and research. Please see the enclosed staff report and summary and try to read through at least Section 14. Make note of things you want to bring up in the workshop. Just for your information, City Administrator Worthington will be overseas until June 1. Finally, please notify Staff if you are unable to attend on Tuesday evening. Thank you! • City of Falcon Heights • Planning Commission Minutes April 27, 2004 Chair Pamela Harris called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. There was no video recording or broadcast due to the absence of the technician. PRESENT: Commissioners DeLeo, Harris, Heideman, Maher, Ryan, Tracy, Ziebarth, Council Member Lindstrom. Also present was Staff Liaison Deb Jones. ABSENT: Lukermann (with notice), Lageson The minutes of the February 24, meeting were approved, with one correction: Commissioner DeLeo's name was accidentally omitted from the list of those present. FARMER'S M~IRKFT INTERIM USE PERMIT RENEWAL Staff Liaison Jones gave a brief introductory presentation. The Farmer's Market proved to be a terrific community asset last summer. No complaints were received, and parking proved to be adequate. The only changes from last year are the parking space numbers. The property owner, Twin Cities Cooperative Credit Union brought to the City's attention some discrepancies between the actual count and the count used last year based on an out-of--date site plan. Furthermore, their business needs have increased, largely due to their provision of parking for non-residents commuting to the University of Minnesota and to workers at the SE Corner site. Finally, TCCU proposes to • restripe the parking lot to enforce one-way traffic south to north in the lot. This would send drivers in one driveway and out the other, easing traffic congestion at the main driveway off Prior. The net loss in the north lot, where most of the Farmer's Market customers park is 5 spaces. Since the lot was never full last year, Staff expressed confident that the reduction in parking space numbers on the permit would have no effect on operation of the market. Also, the south parking lot at City Hall is available for overflow and is not included in this year's count. Commissioner Harris then opened the public meeting. The first speaker was Joan Houm, resident of Garden Avenue, who came to support the continuation of the market. She said she wanted to make sure the Commission did not hear all negative comments from the public; her family is very happy with the market. There were no other residents present to speak. Todd Barduson of TCCU came to the podium. He said the credit union wants to make the Farmers' Market as much of a success as possible and that their employees are good customers. They did observe some congestion in the parking lot with the two-way rows, not only on market days but for State Fair parking, and this is the reason for the restriping. Parking places will be lost because the striping has to allow for the existing islands, but credit union staff observed that the lot only came close to capacity during the "peak sweet corn season." He added that the Farmers' Market organization is very happy with the way things went last season and excited about coming back. Hermes Nursary, a local business, will be joining the vendors this year. TCCU is also considering incorporating a regular food drive into the market. Commissioner Ziebarth complimented TCCU for this community service. Councilmember Lindstrom said that the recent food drive's success was due in large part to the participation of TCCU. • City of Falcon Heights -Planning Commission Meeting of Apri127, 2004 -Page 1 of 1 Mr. Barduson's said that the left turn from Prior to Larpenteur remains the only traffic difficulty. • Customers who have difficulty with the turn are encouraged to go through the south (front) parking lot of the credit union and take advantage of the light at Gortner. They hope to educate market customers on all these traffic and parking changes by distributing flyers the first couple of weeks. Finally, he commented that the potential issues of litter and noise did not materialize, and that credit union staff had patrolled and picked up litter on the windy days. Commissioner Harris closed the public hearing and complimented the Twin City Coops as a good neighbor. There was no discussion by the Commission on the I.U.P. Tracy moved, Ryan seconded, that the Commission recommend approval of the permit for the Farmer's Market for another year. Mission carried. PARKING OF CARS FOR SALE Staff Liaison Jones introduced the new ordinance under consideration. This ordinance would restrict the parking of cars for sale in the City by prohibiting such parking on the public right of way while specifically permitting such parking under specific conditions on private property. The use of public rights-of--way as de facto used car lots has long been a source of resident concern in the City, especially along the Snelling service drives. Safety is the greatest concern, but Ms. Jones also cited neighborhood visual appeal and the operation of unlicensed business on public property as being of concern to the City. At present the only tool the City has to discourage this practice is the enforcement of the genera148-hour parking limit. The object of the new ordinance is to move this used car business off the public right of way while not unduly restricting residents, business owners and their employees from parking their own vehicles for sale on private property. • In response to a question from Commissioner Heideman, Jones said that the City would enforce by informing the police of the new ordinance and asking them to start ticketing the cars. This would probably get the message out. The public hearing was opened by Commissioner Harris, but there was no one who wished to speak Speaking as a resident of the west Snelling Drive, Commissioner Harris provided documentation of the safety hazards posed by cars and motorcycles parked on the drive. She distributed a diagram showing how the lights of oncoming cars on the main road render parked cars invisible. There is a very real danger of a head on collision caused by drivers on the service road moving into the oncoming lane to avoid the parked vehicles. Commissioner Ziebarth asked if some of the parked cars belong to visitors to residents along the street. Harris replied that most residents have long enough driveways to provide parking to their visitors. Occasionally there are a lot of cars parked near Roselawn for a garage sale, but this is only in the daytime when visibility is better. Tracy confirmed that it is the cars for sale that are left overnight. Commissioner Ryan raised the issue of residents parking their own cars for sale where there are no front driveways, namely, in the Northome neighborhood. Wouldn't consistent enforcement require the police to ticket cars with "For Sale" signs on them on residential streets as well, even if they belong to residents or their visitors? The Commissioners spent some time in careful discussion of this issue, concerned that the ordinance, as drafted, takes away residents' rights to park in front of their homes when their cars are for sale or • else puts the City in the position of enforcing the ordinance inconsistently. The Commissioners were also concerned that the City not impose a restriction on public street parking that differentiates City of Falcon Heights -Planning Commission Meeting of Apri127, 2004 -Page 1 of 1 between residents and non-residents. A consensus emerged that the best compromise might be to specify particular rights-of--way for the restriction, instead of blanketing the whole city. Since there are only a few major thoroughfares where this use of the right-of--way could be an issue, it might suffice to simply name those streets. The other language could remain the same, pending advice of the City Attorney. Although the Commission discussion was in progress, the public hearing had not been closed officially, so Commissioner Harris announced the closing of the hearing and asked if there was any further discussion. There was none. Commissioner Maher moved, DeLeo seconded, that the Commission recommend the ordinance to the Council for approval, with the addition of the specific named streets where the restriction would be in force. These are Snelling Avenue and its service drives, Larpenteur Avenue, Hamline Avenue, Fairview Avenue, Roselawn Avenue, and Cleveland Avenue. There was no discussion. Motion carried. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilmember Lindstrom announced that he had accompanied the Mayor, other members of the Council and some of the Staff on a tour of the new senior apartment building at the SE Corner earlier in the evening. He praised the quality of the work and said there will be an open house in about a month. Commissioner Tracy commented that a similar development in Roseville was sold out before construction began, so Falcon Heights clearly made a good choice on the use of this land. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m. • Respectfully submitted, Deborah Jones, Staff Liaison City of Falcon Heights -Planning Commission Meeting of Apri127, 2004 -Page 1 of 1 City of Falcon Heights MEMORANDUM c: To: Members of the Planning Commission CC: Heather Worthington, City Administrator; Peter Lindstrom, Council Liaison From: Deb Jones, Staff Liaison Subject: Zoning Code Review Date: May 21, 2004 There are several areas of Chapter 9 we haven't yet looked at as a group, so I would like to direct your attention to the portion of Chapter 9 after the Sign Code (Ch. 9-13.01 to 13.03), especially the last half of Section 13 and all of 14. If you are missing any of the sections, please contact me and I will see that you get a copy via email (or printed, if you prefer). • We have spent time on the parking code in various contexts over the last couple of years, but it would be a good idea to read the second half of Section 13 again to see if anything stands out as needing additional discussion. • There are a lot of miscellaneous topics in Section 14 you'll want to look at closely and possibly discuss. • The rest of the chapter, Sections 15 - 17, seem to be serving us well as they are, but it wouldn't hurt to glance through them as well and note anything that catches your attention. The object of this workshop is to complete the "first pass" review and note: • Research topics you would like staff to pursue for you (or that you might like to look up on your own) • "Red flags" -things that clearly need to be fixed • Major areas of discussion, thinking about the quality of life in Falcon Heights, as it relates to zoning code, and what directions the City maybe moving Next steps: • Staff will report back to you with the research you have requested • We will revisit all of this material, and you will have the opportunity to make some preliminary recommendations. Since we have some other business coming up, this may wait until August or September. • The City will be hiring a consultant to work with the Commission and Staff on actual revisions and reorganization. I'm told this will begin before the end of the year. • Next year there will be a series of public meetings and hearings before any changes are adopted. As always, do not hesitate to call me at City Hall, 651-644-5050, if you have any questions or if you need any additional materials or information. • Falcon Heights Planning Commission • 2004 Review of the City Zoning Code (Chapter 9) First Phase Summary To Date: May 25, 2004 Major areas of discussion to date • Does our code realistically and appropriately balance today's desire for larger homes and garages with the community esthetic of green space? Do the limits we have set affect home values, positively or negatively? To what degree do we expect new residents and property owners to "buy in" to the rules as they stand? • Are our height restrictions in all zones reasonable and realistic, given the movement toward increased population density in the inner suburbs of the metro? We have already made exceptions in the SE Corner P.U.D.; what additional pressures and changes will come to bear in the next 15 to 20 years? What would be the impact on our infrastructure (streets, sewers, etc.)? This is related to the preceding item. • Design review - is this a concept whose time has come in Falcon Heights? Or we better off with the minimum regulation on "esthetics" that we now have? • Are there sections of the zoning code that are outdated and may need to be eliminated • or recast? (Example: public telephone booths) • Have new technology and changing life styles introduced issues related to our zoning code that are covered inadequately or not at all? (Example: satellite TV dishes, wireless Internet, cell phone towers, housing ofnon-traditional and extended families) • To what extent are the provisions of our code for the B-1 zone (neighborhood business) based on what was already in existence at the time the code was written? How many of these properties are non-conforming now? How well does this section serve us for future usage of these sites? (These questions can be applied to all our business zones as well.) Research areas noted to date • List of definitions - find a more up-to-date model/boilerplate • Height restrictions in similar communities • SIC definitions: are they still in use or have they been replaced? • Bus bench ordinances in other cities • Sign ordinance in other cities -organization and size allowances • Regulation of rental housing, especially single family housing, in other cities • Background on elements of the Housing Code (Chapter 10) • Falcon Heights Planning Commission -May 25, 2004 City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Workshop Notes -February 24, 2004 Present: Commissioners Heideman, Harris, DeLeo, Lageson, Maher, Tracy, Council Member Lindstrom, Staff Liaison Jones. The workshop commenced at approximately 7:10 p.m. Summary: Commissioners are reading and discussing the City's zoning code in preparation for a revision expected this year. The sign code received additional attention this month, as the Commissioners gave some thought to issues of visual design in general and City identity, as presented in the "streetscape," in particular. The Commissioners also spent some time in discussion of the Housing Code, Chapter 10. The review and revision process will revisit each section of the zoning code more than once. We are now on a "first pass," highlighting areas of concern and pointing out topics that need particular attention, discussion and research. Discussion: Website Phenomena In response to a question from Commissioner Lageson on the lack of recent variances to consider, Staff Liaison Jones said that the addition of zoning ordinance information to the City website, along with the growing technological sophistication of homeowners, has led to a streamlining of building permit process and major savings of staff time and cost to the City. Residents are coming forward with plans that already take the rules into account and producing site plans of almost professional quality. Commissioner Heideman complimented the website for clear and • concise information. Ms. Jones said the information was shaped by the inquiries received from residents and contractors, the things they most want to know. Another important recent development in technology resources available to residents is a public access website where residents can make their own maps of their own lots, to use as a basis for a site map. The website (http://maps.metro-inet.us) is sponsored by the Ramsey County GIS User Group, of which Falcon Heights is a member. Ms. Jones said that the site is not quite ready to open to the public, but she will email the address to Commissioners if they would like to try it out. The website also has 2003 aerial photos. Bus Benches Ms. Jones distributed copies of Roseville's bus bench ordinance, passed in September, 2003, and related her conversation with Dennis Welsch of the Roseville staff. Falcon Heights may not need to go through anything like the three year process in Roseville because, according to the City Attorney, the benches are covered under the current City advertising sign ordinance and can be dealt with administratively. The City Administrator plans to send a letter to the bench company seeking voluntary removal; the Commission will be kept informed. Signs The Commission revisited the sign discussion Commissioner Heideman did some research on sign ordinances in other cities, including Roseville and Eden Prairie, and had some comment on how these codes are organized. They tend to be more inclusive than Falcon Heights, which • distributes some rules on signs to other sections of the code. Some of these codes are also much longer and more comprehensive than we have. Eden Prairie has a maximum size of 80 square feet. Roseville's size requirements are similar to ours, with a much larger maximum. Falcon Heights Planning Commission Workshop, February 24, 2004 Page 1 of 3 Commissioner Lageson pointed out that the Source sign does not conform to the prohibition against roof signs. Ms. Jones confirmed that it is an old sign, that it is non-conforming and can only remain as long as there is no structural change. There was additional discussion of sign size relative to city age and community esthetics. Commissioners observed that newer, "classier," communities have stricter limits on signage than older cities. There was a general feeling that our present size allowance is too large. On Snelling Avenue it is probably too late to make a difference, but changes could have an impact on Larpenteur. The visual identity of Falcon Heights was also discussed, with reference to the green and yellow signs on the main streets. Councilmember Lindstrom said those are about 6 or 7 years old and were, according to what he has been told, very controversial at the time. Commissioner DeLeo mentioned cities, such as Seaside, Florida, that have very restrictive controls on all aspects of community visual design. Falcon Heights code does not require design review in most cases. Mr. DeLeo suggested this might be something the City should take a look at. Jones said that this code revision process is an opportunity to shape the code to reflect changes in how the citizens regard their community. It is appropriate for the Commission to consider those areas that our code does not presently address, including esthetics and the possibility of some kind of design review. However, our code has a simplicity many cities don't have and leaves many things to the discretion of the property owner. Part of the Commission's ongoing role is to find the balance point; the lot coverage change was an example of this. Housing Code (Chapter 10) This chapter of the code covers basic minimum standards of livability for dwelling units, both rented and owner occupied. It is one of the newest parts of the Falcon Heights City Code. It is • being reviewed by the Planning Commission for two reasons. First, there are references to Chapter 10 within Chapter 9, so it is important for Commissioners to be familiar with both chapters. Some elements that might seem to be overlooked by the zoning chapter may be covered in the housing code chapter. Second, the Commissioners may want to consider whether the minimum standards set by Chapter 10 are appropriate, in view of an ongoing staff concern about certain gaps in Falcon Heights' regulation of rental housing. Ms. Jones said that, although the City requires fire inspections and other checks on multiple family rentals, the City does not issue certificates of occupancy. Furthermore, there is almost no regulation of duplex and single family rentals. In fact, the City does not even have any way of knowing if a single family dwelling is rented. This issue was brought to the foreground by a tragic fire last year near the University of Minnesota, in which several young people were killed. Staff had received concerns from parents of a student sharing a rental home in Falcon Heights who were concerned about safety conditions and the state of disrepair of the property. The following points came up in the discussion, for future research and discussion: • The minimum space allowance of 150 square feet per dwelling unit (for a lone occupant) seems very small. What is the history behind this figure? • What kinds of units are inspected by the fire inspector and what other kinds of certification may be needed? • What do other cities do to regulate rentals, especially of single family homes? • If we don't have a certificate of occupancy in Falcon Heights, does this expose the City to liability? • Do we have all the enforcement and administrative tools we need to regulate housing • standards and, in particular, rentals? • What kinds of dwelling units are possible in our code? Do we allow boarding houses and rooming houses -explicitly or implicitly? Falcon Heights Planning Commission Workshop, February 24, 2004 Page 2 of 3 • If the City institutes certificates of occupancy or registration of rentals, in what part of the code would those provisions be placed? Commissioner Maher said she would like to be able to know which houses are rented; Ms. Jones said Staff would like to know as well. She said this subject is presented for Commissioners to think about, and she will look for models in other cities to study. Commissioner Heideman asked if there are any limits related to family size, as far as what is required in the housing code. Ms. Jones cited Chapter 10-2.04, Subdivision l .a., which requires a minimum of 150 square feet for the first occupant and at least 100 square feet for every additional occupant (excluding bathrooms, halls, closets and other ancillary spaces). However, there is no way to know how many people are occupying a single family home, and no enforcement cases have come up related to the number of occupants when the occupants are of one family. (Falcon Heights code does limit the number of unrelated adults in a dwelling to no more than 4.) An influx of large, extended immigrant families is prompting Cities to take another look at these housing requirements in the light of diverse cultural norms. Ms. Maher mentioned that this family size issue has come up in Woodbury and wondered how they handled it; this will be marked as an area for further research. Commissioner Lageson suggested that family size might be deduced from water usage, but Ms. Maher pointed out that could be other reasons for high water usage, such as a hot tub. She suggested that some rentals might be detected by examining the ownership of single family homes to find one owner with multiple properties. Ms. Jones agreed that that might not be impractical in a town of this size; out-of--town owners could also indicate rentals, unless the occupant is a family member of the owner. • Additional requests for information or research • What is the background for specifying occupants over 2 years of age? • Clarification of definitions, including "basement" and "cellar" Future discussion Ms. Heideman asked if there is a capability for the group to do some of the Internet research and study "live" as a group during workshops, using the computer projection equipment. This would cut down on the printed copies needed and give Commissioners the opportunity to discuss the material in a more immediate way. Ms. Jones said she will look into it. She also asked the Commissioners for their suggestions on what parts of the code could be placed on the website in the "frequently asked questions" format that has been so successful for the zoning information. The Staff has some reluctance to put the code itself on the web in entirety before the upcoming revision because inaccuracies and outdated information could be perpetuated. Certainly, putting the whole code on the web -eventually - is one of the goals of the revision. What's left for the Commission to review in the "first pass": • Parking • Driveways • Other provisions in Section 14 • Falcon Heights Planning Commission Workshop, February 24, 2004 Page 3 of 3