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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/11/2012 P&Z Minutes APPROVED MINUTES CITY OF LINO LAKES PLANNING & ZONING BOARD MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL : Chair Tralle called the Lino Lakes Planning and Zoning Board meeting to order at 6 :31 p.m . on January 11, 2012 . II. A PROVAL OF AGENDA Associ ate Planner, Paul Bengtson, added Discussion Item B to the agenda regarding the Lakewood Apartments in the Town Center. Mr. Nelson arrived. T he Agenda was a pproved as presented . III . APPROVAL OF MINUTES: December 14 , 2011 M r. Hyden made a MOTION to approve the December 14 , 201 1 Meeting Minutes. Motion was supported by Mr. Laden . Motion carried 5 - 0 . I V . OPEN MIKE Chair Tralle declared O pen M ike at 6:34 p.m . There w as no one present for Open Mike. D ATE : January 11 , 201 2 TIME STARTED : 6 :31 P.M . TIME ENDED : 7 :04 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : Neil Evenson, Michael Hyden (Vice Chair), Perry Laden, Robert Nelson, Michael Root , Paul Tralle (Chair) MEMBERS ABSENT : None STAFF PRESENT : Paul Bengtson Planning & Zoning Board January 11, 2012 Page 2 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Hyden made a MOTION to close Open Mike at 6 :35 p.m. M otion was supported by M r . Evenson . Motion carried 5 - 0 . V. ACTION ITEMS A. PUBLIC HEARING to consider Amending the Town Center Planned Unit Development to add certain office uses to the civic district Paul Bengtson, Associate Planner, prese nted the staff report. Staff recommended approval of the Town Center P U D Amendment . Staff addressed questions of the board. B oard M ember comments included the following : • W ould this limit the opportunity for a civic use that might be interested in locat ing in the future? Are there alternate locations for them? Staff noted that there are alternate locations where civic uses are allowed. • The building was intended for civic use and it should remain civic. Civic property should not be open to the public for profit business. • Are we going to compete with the tax base now , if they locate here rather than an existing empty space ? Staff noted that there could be some tax paid by the user. • The Council is commended for seeking resources, but this is not t he way to do it. Staff added that they have been attempting to identify a civic use that is interested in the site. C hair Tralle declared the Public Hearing open at 6 :4 4 p.m. There was no one present to speak. Mr. Hyden made a MOTION to close the Publi c Hearing at 6 :4 5 p.m. Motion was supported by Mr. Nelson . Motion carried 5 - 0. Mr . Nelson made a MOTION to recommend approval of amending the Town Center Planned Unit Development to add certain office uses to the civic district. Motion was supported by Mr. Evenson . Motion carried 4 - 1 . VI. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. 2011 Year End Review Planning & Zoning Board January 11, 2012 Page 3 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Bengtson stated that board member packets included a review of actions taken by the P&Z Board in 2011 , including subsequent council actions and administrative approvals . B. Lakewood Apartments (added to agenda at meeting) Mr. Bengtson stated that staff is seeking comment from the P&Z Board members regarding the Lakewood Apartments. Staff explained that t he building was designed for commercial on the first floor with apar tments above. There have been no commercial users since the building was constructed. The c ity has been approached by an interested party to convert the first floor commercial into rental residential use. Staff noted that the user could likely create el even residential apartment units. Staff has not been given specific information on apartment details as no formal plans have been submitted. Staff is looking for direction from the board as to the interest in this transition. Board members asked what it would take to make this change. Mr. Bengtson stated that multiple amendments would be made to the Planned Unit Development. Staff noted that this would take a significant amount of staff time to determine what would need to be done. In addition, the ch ange in use could potentially change the uses of additional sites within the Town Center. Staff noted that the vacant properties in the Town Center went tax forfeit. Board Member comments included the following: • Is the commercial space being marketed? With the YMCA as busy as it is and with the apartment building mostly full, it seems that there would be some interest in commercial. • Concerned about the domino effect that might change the PUD for the entire site. • Could this provide an opportunity to wo rk with Anoka County regarding the vacant land? • It seems like the conversion would be a short -term fix that they may not like in the futu re. • Would like to keep the character and intent of the site the same. • The original design of first floor commercial is still a good plan. • The city should review the entire concept plan of the Town Center area before they start piece -mealing individual sites. • In general, the city should react to the market. Filling up eleven units could spark additional development. • The ci ty should not change what was envisioned and conceived in its entirety just because the market is down right now. Would like to see the end result of what was originally planned. That’s what planning is all about. The city shouldn’t let the market dicta te everything that comes into the city. Planning & Zoning Board January 11, 2012 Page 4 APPROVED MINUTES • More in favor of going residential. The commercial area has been vacant for many years, not just recently. • Would rather reconsider a new plan for the entire area than respond to each parcel one at a time. The discus sion resulted in the board’s desire to review the entire plan for the Town Center to revisit the vision for this area. Staff agreed to provide the board members with an updated copy of the Town Center Design and Development Guide. VI I . ADJOURNMENT M r. H yden made a MOTION to a djourn the meeting at 7 :04 p .m. Motion was supported by M r. Nelson . Motion carried 5 - 0 . Respectfully submitted, Dawn Bugge Community Development Ass istant