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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/14/2011 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 September 14 , 2011 . II. A PROVAL OF AGENDA T he Agenda was a pproved as presented . III . APPROVAL OF MINUTES: August 10 , 2011 M r. L aden made a MOTION to approve the August 10 , 201 1 Meeting Minutes. Motion was supported by Mr. H yden . Motion carried 4 - 0 . (Nelson a bstained.) I V . OPEN MIKE Chair Tralle declared O pen M ike at 6:32 p.m . There w as no one present for Open Mike. Mr. P ogalz made a MOTION to close Open Mike at 6 :33 p.m. M otion was supported by M r . L aden . Motion carried 5 - 0 . V. ACTION ITEMS D ATE : September 14 , 2011 TIME STARTED : 6 :31 P.M . TIME ENDED : 8 :38 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : Neil Evenson, Michael Hyden, Perry Laden, Robert Nelson, Brian Pogalz (Vice Chair), Micha el Root , Paul Tralle (Chair) MEMBERS ABSENT : None STAFF PRESENT : Jeff Smyser , Jason Wedel, Michael Grochala Planning & Zoning Board September 14, 2011 Page 2 APPROVED MINUTES A. CON TIN UED PUBLIC HEARING to consider Amending the Conditional Use Permit for a motor fuel station to allow for the installation of new gas pumps and canopy, located at 7997 Lake Drive Jeff Smyser, City Planner, presented the staff report. Staff recommended app roval of the CUP Amendment. Staff addressed questions of the board. The board requested that staff look into an allowable decibel for sound generated by video advertising that may be displayed at the pumps prior to city council review . C hair Tralle dec lared the Public Hearing open at 6 :50 p.m. Paul Nolan of RJ Marco Construction and John M ag ill , applicant, were present for questions. Mr. Nolan stated that a lot of work has been done to get to this point and they are looking forward to a nice project f or the city. They were appreciative of city staff ’s patience during this application process as the economy has made things difficult. Mr. P ogalz made a MOTION to close the Public Hearing at 6 :52 p.m. Motion was supported by Mr. N elson . Motion carried 5 - 0. Mr . Hyden made a MOTION to recommend approval of Amending the Conditional Use Permit for a motor fuel station to allow for the installation of new gas pumps and canopy at 7997 Lake Drive subject to the following conditions: 1. The site shall comply w ith all MPCA requirements for underground fuel tanks and other elements. 2. Applicant shall submit a complete deed for the easement for the infiltration basin prior to commencing site work. 3. A site performance agreement shall be completed and financial secur ities submitted prior to the commencement of site work. 4. A stormwater facility maintenance agreement for the infiltration basin shall be completed prior to the commencement of site work. 5. The canopy light model shall be the recessed CAN -304 -PS -RS as submit ted and shown on the lighting photometric plan. 6. Canopy illumination level shown on the photometric plan shall be allowed between 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Outside of these hours, the fuel pumps may operate but the canopy lighting level shall be significant ly reduced to approximately 10% of full illumination. Planning & Zoning Board September 14, 2011 Page 3 APPROVED MINUTES 7. The public address system sha ll be limited to an intercom system and shall not play music or advertising. 8. Any permits required by Anoka County, such as for work in the right of way, shall be obtained prior to the commencement of site work. 9. Plantings in the infiltration basin must be specified and a five -year maintenance plan, acceptable to the City and prepared by a qualified firm, must be submitted for the native plantings prior to commencing site wo rk. Motion was supported by Mr . Pogalz . Motion carried 5 - 0 . Chair Tralle thanked the project representatives for coming and welcomed their new business into the city . B. PUBLIC HEARING to consider Amending Section 1001 of the City Code regarding Subdiv ision Regulations City Planner, Jeff Smyser, presented the staff report. Mr. Smyser recommended continuing the hearing to the next meeting as only a portion of the section being amended was being reviewed at this time. Staff addressed questions of the b oard. Mr. Smyser recommended deletion of Paragraph 6 on Page 17 as the text is no longer pertinent. Mr. Smyser explained that the MUSA Areas will now be considered Staging Areas per the text in the newly adopted Comprehensive Plan. Chair Tralle declared the Public Hearing open at 7 :16 p.m. There was no one present to speak. Mr. N elson made a MOTION to c ontinue the Public Hearing to the October meeting at 7 :17 p.m. Motion was supported by Mr. P ogalz . Motion carried 5 - 0. VI. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Outdo or Storage in Industrial Zones Jeff Smyser, City Planner, distributed a zoning map and sections of the zoning ordinance to board members for review purposes . Mr. Smyser explained that this topic was being discussed in regards to a specific property , h owe ver the city council requested comments Planning & Zoning Board September 14, 2011 Page 4 APPROVED MINUTES from the planning and zoning b oard regarding ou tdoor storage throughout the industrial zoning district. Board members were asked if the y thought that the city should consider incre asing the number of locations where outdoor storage is allowed or allowing additional storage during a time of recession. Mr. Smyser noted that a property owner had requested exterior storage where it is currently not allowed. Mr. Root arrived at 7:23 p.m. Board member comments included the following: • Once city standards are changed, they are hard to change back. The city should retain standards regardless of the economy. • The city could consider allow ing for more storage that is fully screened and not visible above the screened area. • One way to manage an interim use i s to set a specific end date that clarifies that the use is temporary. • If storage is needed for a business, it seems it would be needed permanently and not temporarily. If it’s a standard and good for business, it should be allowed all the time, not just during a time of recession. • The city co uld reconsider allowing for different uses and storage a s times change . • The ci ty should be especially concerned about light industrial areas that abut residential properties. The c ity needs to be restrictive as to where outdoor storage is allowed within the light industrial zo ne. • The ci ty should consider allowing outdoor storage along the freeway as it is a good area for industrial uses. The c ity only has a limited amount of free way area. B. Uses in Rural Zones Jeff Smyser, City Planner, distributed sections from the zoning ordinance regarding uses allowed in the rural zone. Mr. Smyser reviewed the purpose of each of the rural zoning districts. He noted that th is discussion wa s prompted by a property owner who is currently running a trucking business in the rural area , which is not listed as an allowable use . Mr. Smyser added that the council had directed staff to discuss the issue at a planning and zoning boar d meeting for comm ent. The board was asked to comment on the consideration of an agricultural use versus a business that services an agricultural use. Staff noted that the property owner considers his business to be allowable because it serves an agricultural use being th at his trucks haul fertilizer . However, upon council discussion, the city attorney pointed out that a Planning & Zoning Board September 14, 2011 Page 5 APPROVED MINUTES business that services an agricultural use does not mean t hat it is an agricultural use of the property . The property owner raised the point that agricu lture today is not what agriculture used to be. Board member comments included the following: • There is a fine line between th is type of use and the allowable uses for this zone. It seems that it would be very easy for the current property owner to comp ly with the existing conditions of an allowable use if they chose to . • A trucking activity should not be considered a rural activity. • A trucking business belongs in the business zone, not the rural zone , regardless of what product is being hauled . • There are not many properties in the industrial zone that are large enough for this type of business. Where c ould the property owner relocate to? D oes the city want to lose this business? • Times change and the city should re -evaluate where it was and where it is now. The city should consider that times do change and fertilizer is a necessary agricultural product and this business does belong in the rural area. • If the use is allowed, it should be limited to trucking/tran s portation of agricultural products to avoid conflict with businesses that sell items for agricultural uses and other potential interpretations of the use. • Rural does not necessarily mean agricultural. Staff noted that the use cannot be considered a home occupation as the property owner is no t the person conducting the trucking business. Staff addressed that a trucking business is allowed in the industrial zone. Community Development Director, Michael Grochala, noted that the city was alerted to this business due to the trucks accessing the site. Staff reiterated that i t is necessary for the city to consider impacts of uses and conflict s with neighboring properties in an area. Mr. Smyser explained that i f the city allows a trucking business as a use , they cannot be product specific with w hat is being hauled. The city w ill need to determine if a trucking business should or should not be allowed throughout the rural zone. C. Temporary Signs Jeff Smyser, City Planner, distributed a section of the city ’s temporary signage requirements for revi ew . Mr. Smyser explained that s everal business owner s in the city Planning & Zoning Board September 14, 2011 Page 6 APPROVED MINUTES have stated that they consider the city’s signage requirements t oo restrictive to make their business successful. Council has discussed the issue and requested that the planning and zoning board provide comment. The board was asked whether they considered the city’s exis t ing s ignage requirements to be too restrictive . Chair Tralle pointed out that when the city revised its requirements not that long ago, very few business owners in the city showed up to make comments. He added that a lot of effort went into revising the ordinance several years ago with little feedback from the public. Therefore he considered that if someone was requesting a change, they should bring their request to a planning and zoning board meeting to state their co ncern s. Staff explained that the City sent out letters to all businesses in the city at the time inviting them to participate in that ordinance revision process. Staff state d that letters recently were m ailed to business owners in the city explaining temporary signage requirements . Currently, some businesses are in compliance while others are not. Business owners consider signage to be important for competetion with other businesses and the success of t heir sales. Some business owners are wondering why the city is preventing them from advertising their business with signage. The board was asked to address how many and how often temporary signs should be allowed for a business Board member comments i ncluded the following: • Window signage should be enough for business owners to advertise , in addition to the permitted temporary signage allowed . • The city should be enforcing those businesses that are not in compliance with the rules . • The number of allow able days for a temporary sign could seem r estrictive and arbitrary. Certain businesses do need signage to be successful and the ordinance could be less restrictive. The city should revisit the length of time allowed for temporary signs. • The city has st rict requirements to keep architectural standards in the city of high quality, therefore businesses should not cover up high quality architcture with increased signage . • The city should consider allowing temporary signs for a longer period, but should not consider allowing more signage. Planning & Zoning Board September 14, 2011 Page 7 APPROVED MINUTES • Some cities do not allow any banners at all, therefore Lino Lakes businesses are not at a disadvantage. • The city needs to maintain restrictions on signage. Mr. Tralle reiterated that business own e r s are welcome to speak a t open mike to address any issues they might have with the city’s signage regulations. VI I . ADJOURNMENT M r. N elson made a MOTION to a djourn the meeting at 8 :38 p .m. Motion was supported by M r. P ogalz . Motion carried 6 - 0 . Respectfully submitted, Daw n Bugge Community Development Ass istant