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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/20/1980 P&Z MinutesPlanning and Zoning August 20, 1980 111 The regular meeting of the Lino Lakes Planning and Zoning Board was called to order at 7:30 P.M. on August 20, 1980, by Chairman Reinert, Members present; Prokop, Doocy, Schwankl, Bathke. Absent; Heath, Johnson. Chairman Reinert asked Mayor Gourley the purpose of material that had been placed on the table - what is the reason for this material? Mayor Gourley said this material is to clear up some of the apparent confusion of some members of this Board as to the status of special use permits - in particular, the special use permit issued on the Outlots in Lakes Addition #2. Mayor Gourley indicated that the Council had passed a Resolution indicat- ing this special use permit is valid. The action on this particular special use permit set a precedent for the handling of all special use permits. Mr. Prokop understood that special use permits are issued to the land and in reality, are basically rezonings - is he correct? Mayor Gourley indicated that he was. Most of these special use permits were issued under Ord. #6 and in that Ordinance, all things were allowed in the Residential area with the exception of a commercial establishment but a special use permit was needed for any construction other than a single family dwelling. Mr. Reinert understood that if a special use permit is issued for a kennel, this land could be sold and the new owner could continue the use of the land as a kennel. Mayor Gourley said, that was correct, within the conditions set when the original special use permit was issued. Mr. Reinert said then this is basically spot zoning and Mayor Gourley agreed. Mayor Gourley questioned Mr. Reinert on his reasons for writing to Mr. Locher for an opinion on the validity of the special use permit issued to the outlots in Lakes Add. #2. Mr. Reinert had been at the meeting and had taken part in the discussion, why the confusion? Mr. Reinert said he wrote the letter because he wanted document,aici.in writing since there has never, to his knowledge, been anything in writing from the Attorney. Mayor Gourley said Mr. Locher had been provided with a copy of the Resolution before the meeting and had been asked by Mr. McLean if there were any problems with this Resolution and Mr. Locher had indicated that he felt this Resolution was proper as long as all Special use permits are treated equally. Mr. Reinert asked if it is not the prerogative of this Board to obtain legal opinions from the City Attorney. Mayor Gourley indicated that he had been allowed an occasional phone call but when specific legal questions had been forwarded For the Attorney's opinion, the approval had been cleared through the Council and the answer had been forwarded to the Council, not to the Planning and Zoning Board. Chairman Reinert asked if he could then have the priviledge of calling the Attorney and Mayor Gourley said, Yes. Mr. Reinert said he would not get an opinion in writing and Mayor Gourley agreed. Mr. Reinert brought up the subject of Ordinance #20 on the conduct of the Boards - he asked Mayor Gourley if he had any comments on this and Mayor 0 a Gourley said this is just far* their information. Mr. Reinert asc`d if this Ordinance refers to the Council and Mayor Gourley said, Yes, but Ordinance #20A includes all Boards. Mr. Reinert noted that this Ordinance states this is to be used as guidelines Planning and Zoning August 20, 1980 Page Two as close as practical. Mr. Reinert noted the area marked notingilthat all •members shall vote on an issue unless a member has a special interest in the issue.`' What 'special interest' pertains to was discussed. Mr. Reinert asked if Robert's Rules of Order has been adopted and Mayor.Gourley indicated that they have. //i].eer,oele+ S4I0 he_'- E.1..e -)es ,,;a j.n: o(.oA) Itgee. e' 1 dat,! 6.6,1t. C GeV+#' a O bY _Nt e ,i -t) `this ki '4/0 N0,.. . The minutes of July 16, 1980 was considered. Mr. Doocy moved to approve the minutes as written. Seconded by Mr. Prokop. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Reinert noted that Mayor Gourley will beieeporting to the Council in the place of Mr. Schumacher, who is unable to attend this meeting. Mr. Heath arrived. Mayor Gourley reported on the Council's action in regards to a request from this Board for a search of the minutes over the past ten years for the actions taken in the Lakes Add. plats in relation to the special use permit. The Council had felt they had made a decision on that special use permit and they are not willing to authorize this research. The Council would also suggest to the Planning and Zoning that they continue to review the Lakes Add. #7 plat as it pertains to the City Ordinances. The Council also wishes the Planning and Zoning,rttY be aware of the fact that they are willing to meet with this body to discuss areas of confusion. They had indicated that Wednesday, Sept. 3, 1980 as a possible date. Mr. Reinert asked if there is a written set of guidelines for this Board? Mayor Gourley said there are some printed guidelines - Mr. Reinert asked if this is,some order or does it have to be piecemealed together. Mayor Gourley felt these guidelines would have to be put together to apply to the particular problem being considered. Mr. Reinert felt that since some of the Board members have had previous experience as elected officials and it seems to him that if these guidelines are not in order, it would save some time if they could have the City Administrator go through the various items on the agenda and have the guidelines printed for each item so they will know what is ex- pected of them. He also felt these guidelines should then be adopted by the Council for future Boards. The first item to be considered by the Board was a request from Mr. R. Stephenson for information on constructi4 a garage and storage building on property abutting Hodgson Road. The first 300' is zoned commercial. This is a metal building. Mr. Reinert asked Mr. Kluegel if he had looked into this matter and Mr. Kluegel said he had. There was some discussion on the use of these lands for both residential and commercial. Mr. Stephenson indicated that he wished to rent out a portion of this building. Mr. Larry Johnson arrived at 8:05 P.M. and apologized for being late. Mr. Doocy felt this area is designated as Expansion Residential in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, metal storage buildings of this size are not allowed in that area. illMr. Stephenson was asking for direction at this meeting and Mr. Reinert felt he should work with the Building Inspector on this matter. Mr. Heath felt that Ordinance 56L should be adheredieta metal building limited to 1505' r no larger than the principle building if constructed of some other material. Planning and Zoning August 20, 1980 Page Three Mr. Reinert felt that since there is no formal request, no action can be 40 tak' at this meeting. Mr. Stephenson said, if this building is denied, he would like to know what he can construct. Mr. Reinert suggested he work with the Building Inspector on this matter. The general consensus of the Board was that the residential use of the land would be considered and not the commercial aspects of this land. The neXt item to be considered was a rezone request from Mr. Mortenson. Mr. Mortenson explained that he is considering purchlsing some lands and buildings from Glenn Rehbein containing 14i acressdatze adjoining Mr. Rehbein's buildings. They proposed to use the existing building as a shop and the remaining portion of the land as a storage yard for their heavy equipment. This is a general construction company. Several site plans were presented to the Board for their consideration. Mr. Mortenson indicated he felt this zoning should be Heavy Industrial. Mr. Reinert read the letter from Mr. Short commenting on this request. Mr. Short recommended that all lands located North of Elm Street, East of 4th Avenue, West of Highway #8 (Lake Drive) and South of I35W be designated as Light Industrial and presented his reasons for this recommendations. Mr. Short outlined the items that must be presented for consideration of this request. Mr. Prokop suggested tabling this matter in order to give Mr. Mortenson time to conform to these suggestions. Mr. Mortenson said he would like some in- 111 dication of the Board's general feelings on this matter as time is a factor in their consideration of this site. He felt there is no problem in con- forming to the requirements as outlined. Mr. Reinert felt that Mr. Mortenson would need to look over these recommenda- tions. Mr. Reinert asked if there was any member of the Board who did not feel this is a feasible use of the land and the general consensus of the Board was there are no objections to this use. The time table for this consideration for rezoning was discussed with Mayor Gourley indicating that the earliest the Public Hearing could be held on this would be the first Council meeting in October. Mr. Mortenson did not see any problems with that time table and felt there are no requirements in Mr. Short's recommendations that they could not live with. Mr. Doocy moved to table this and putH'on the September 17th agenda. Seconded by Mr. Heath. Motion carried unanimously. The Next item on the agenda was a request for a variance from Mr. Glenn Rehbein with a possible rezone request also. Mr. Rehbein indicated that the variance is the primary request. This is for the transfer of a small tri- angle piece of land in order to bring the parcel he owns up to 5 acres. The first 300' feet is in the commerical zone, the remainder is residential. This land abutts Old Highway #8 and is just North of Mrs. Edith Morse. Mr. Rehbein is planning to construct a new home at that location. Mr. Rehbein said he did not really want to rezone - he would prefer to leave the zoning IIIas is in order to construct a three car garage. The other homes in the area have been constructed without the rezoning. He would prefer to leave this the way it is. The garage will be constructed with the same material of the home. Planning and Zoning August 20, 1980 ,Page Four The general consensus of the Board was since the land use on either side of • this property is , it should remain as residential. Mr. Rehbein felt that if some time in the future, the zoning should change on this land, he would go along with whatever the adjoining property owners agree to. But, he does not want to rezone at this time and have it changed again in the future. He pointed out the variance request is for the transfer of title of a parcel of land of less than 24 acres. • • Mr. Heath moved to recommend approval of the variance for the transfer of land. Seconded by Mr. Prokop. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Heath moved to recommend approval of building a single family residential home in the commercial zone with the condition that Mr. Rehbein agrees to accept zoning consistent with neighbors property when zoning map is completed. Seconded by Mrs. Schwankl. Motion carried unanimously. The general consensus of the Board was that Mr. Rehbein would need a variance in order to build the oversizes garage. This is required by Ordinance 56L. Mr. Rehbein will present further information as to the size and location of this garage. He will return at a later date for this presentation. The next item on the agenda was a variance request from Mr. C. McKenna to allow the construction of a garage nearer the street than his residence. The garage will be below the natural grade, Mr. McKenna said the garage would be at the natural grade - the house had been built up due to a high water table. Mr. Johnson moved to recommend approval of this variance due to the conditions of the water table in this area. Seconded by Mr. Bathke. MOtion carried unanimously. The Special Use Permit application of Mr. Krysinski for the establishing of a used car lot on his property located just South of Lino Park facing Lake Drive . 'n! r Mr. Reinert read the comments from Mr. Short. After some consideration of these requirements, Mrs. Schwankl moved to recommend approval of this special use permit subject to Mr. Short's comments,with screening for Lino Park and no more than 15 cars be at that location at any one time. Seconded by Mr. Doocy. Motion carried unanimously. The next item on the agenda was consideration of a variance request from Mrs. Mcdak 4A% Mayor Gourley indicated this is an old ite from April agenda. Mr. Doocy moved to deny this variance. Seconded by Mr. ffrOkop. Motion carried unanimously. The variance request of Mr. Marcel LeRoux was considered. This is for the .transferring of tittle of a parcel of land of less than 24 acres. Mr. Prokop moved to recommend approval of this variance subject to a certificate of survey with the correct legal description. Seconded by Mr. Heath. Motion carried unanimously. On discussion'%the mining permit, Mayor Gourley indicated there are several items missing at this point and these will need to be discussed with the office before coming before the Board. Planning and Zoning August 20, 1980 Page Five Mr. Harold Bissel had applied for a Special Use Permit to operate a small •engine repaie shop on his property on 20th Avenue South. He had obtained signatures of the persons abutting his property. Mr. Reinert asked if there was any comments from any one in the audience. Mr. Bissel indicated this is to be just a part time operation during the summer months. Mr. Johnson moved to recommend approval of this special use permit with the following stipulations; 1) no exterior storage; 2) work to be done by owner only, no employees; 3) this special use permit is non - transferrable. Seconded by Mr. Heath. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Lessard was moved forward to this point on the agenda. Mr. Lessard was requesting a special use permit to construct and operate an office, maintenance garage and supply area.- this area is located on a portion of the property abutting Acton Construction Co. on 22nd street. The c.orrsesnsu of the Board was that this request should be forwarded to Mr. Short and an application submitted to the Rice Creek Watershed Board. Mr. Prokop moved to table this request. Seconded by Mr. Johnson. Motion carried unanimously. This matter to be put on the September agenda. The next item to be considered as the preliminary plat of Lakes Add. #7. Mr. Reinert asked Mr. Blackbird if he has any further comments. Mr. Reinert read the letter from Mrs. Anderson indicating the areas that have been changed to conform to Mr. Short's recommendations. Mr. Blackbirdd explained this would have a total of 24 quads with a •denrity figure of 4.3 per acre. He indicated that all lots will contain the required square footage and the required front footage for each lot. There is to also be double garages. Mr. Johnson questioned the inclusion of the ponding area in the total acreage when computing the density. He also insisted that density be computed per bedroom not by units. Mr. Bathke reminded Mr. Johnson that this plat must be considered in relation to City Ordinances not what some other City does. Mr. Johnson insisted that all other communities considerq density by the bed- rooms in a unit. Mr. Blackbird said that every City recognizes the family unit as a measure because these figures are the one quoted. Mr. Blackbird was asked what size home is proposed and he said, two bedrooms, with expansion space for two more on the lower level. Mr. Blackbird said this would be considered either a starter home or a retirement home. Mr. Reinert did not believe this would happen - he did not feel these age groups are compatable. He also asked about the access to the lake will all these people share equally in the access to the lake? Mr. Blackbird said, yes. Mr. Reinert was concerned about the surface use of this lake. He said there would be an immediate impact. He felt that this is a definite facet that would have to be considered. Mr. Blackbird said he has contacted the •DNR and this is classified as a recreational lake. Mr. Reinert asked if this Board has definitely resolved the special use permit as it has been presented to them. c1 Mrs. Schwankl reminded Mr. Reinert that the Council had made a decision on this special use permit and this Board is to make a decision on this plat • Planning and Zoning August 20, 1980 Page Six relative to that decision. • Mr. Prokop made reference to the revocation of the special use permit on Outlot C - he was confused on this action. Mr. Julian Hook, Attorney, pointed out the wording when the special use permit was issued and also pointed out the sections of Ord. #56 that he felt applied to this proposed plat. Mr. Blackbird pointed out that at the time this special use permit was issued Ord. #6 was in effect and that Ord. has no language addressed to quads. There was discussion on the probability of a law suit - Mr. Reinert had discussed this matter with members of the Attroney General's staff and they had told him this Board would be subject to the suit as well as the Council. He re- peated this was his reason for writing to Mr. Locher for a legal opinion on this matter to be put in writing. He felt this is needed to protect this Board from litigation. Mr. Reinert said he had no intention of making a decision on this matter without assurance that this Board has legal coverage. Mr. Reinert repeated his question - is this Board satisfied that what they have before them is adequate? He felt that the persons who felt there is adequate information should be aware that they could be involved in a law suit. Mrs. Schwankl said one of the concerns she has is that two persons sitting on this Board live in the area that's in discussion. She personally feels that it is not proper that these two persons sit on this Board and discuss • this plat. She felt that there is a conflict of interest and they should excuse themselves from this discussion. • Mr. Reinert felt that was a personal judgement and he felt this is something they have to decide on. He did think he had made his decisions based on judgement and documentation. He says t.-a -t is not present -a-t this discussion. l�oCe/nEi'T'4It Si p { , Mr. Bathke thought the primary objective of this Board was to make sure that requests that come before this Board conform to Ordinances. He did not feel it was aat the responsibility of this Board to debate whether this permit is valid not. Mr. Bathke felt this is the province of the Council and this Board is not the proper place to debate this point. He felt this should be considered on the following points; 1) the special use permit is valid per Council action; 2) why is this Board is holding up considering the plat? Mr. Reinert said this point is only hearsay and that was the point of his letter to Mr. Locher - he wanted this in writing. Mr. Hook informed the Board that if he had requested information from the Council and it was not forth coming, he would not do anything on the subject. Mr. Reinert felt that his request was legimate - he will merely following precedent set by the former chairman and he felt this administration had changed the policy and if it is necessary for him to go through the Council or Mayor Gourley, then he will rewrite the letter. Mayor Gourley said the Council has taken their position on this matter and it was agg unanimously and this Board is merely acting on direction from the • Planning and Zoning August 20, 1980 Page Seven •Council and if there is a wrong decision, that is the responsibility of the Council and not of this Board. • There was some discussion on the written opinions of Mr. Locher and Mayor Gourley noted that Mr. Locher had had no objections to the Resolution as passed by the Council. Mr. Hook said he had stated his grounds for a lawsuit - he had not heard any thing from the other side. Mayor Gourley said he was unaware that a public hearing, with legal advisor present, was to be held at this meeting. If he had been aware of this he would have provided legal representation for the City. Mr. Reinert said he would hope they could could continue to hold open meet- ings and listen to concerned citizens - he felt this has always been done. Mayor Gourley said taking testimony from concerned citizens is fine - but holding a public hearing at this point in time is not proper. Mr. Reinert again referred to the letter he had written to Mr. Locher and mentioned the fact that Mayor Gourley had intercepted the letter and it had not been answereed. 4-7/4 ;r) Mr. Prokop, memo went over the hearing on Outlot C, that had revoked this special use permit for multi- family dwellings. He is confused on just where this fits into this discussion. Mrs. Schwankl moved to recommend to Council this preliminary plat be approved subject of a public hearing, in as much as the developer had complied with all things requested by the Council. Mr. Hook felt the motion was premature, Mr. Reinert said the motion was in order. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bathke. There was discussion on the acess to the lake. Mr Hook raised this question. He wanted to know how 290 people would get to the lake? Are there to go through the cul -de -sac? Will all 96 persons put docks on this lake? What the State of Minnesota allowto put on that lake for the number of docks? isn't that a legimate question this Board should know before they consider this plat? Mr. Reinert said the surface water use of that lake is a concern of his - from the standpoint of safety in the overpopulation of the use of the lake, Mr. Bathke pointed out that this is not a public hearing and this is not a subject that should be discussed here. M. Hook said that in the matter of the ponding area/there was only an estimate of how many acresecontained in that area he felt that this Board should have documentation as to how much land is contained in that area. IIIMr. Johnson went back to the fact that North St. Paul and many other Cities use the number of bedrooms to compute the density. Mr. Bathke asked Mr. Blackbird what the City Ordinance says about density and Mr. Blackbird said there are no requirements as to density - just a requirement as to the square footage needed for each building. •i Planning and Zoning August 20, 1980 Page Eight Mr. Johnson insisted that the area contained in the ponding area must be IIIdeducted from the acreage - no City that he has ever heard of allows this to be used in computing the density figure. • Mr. Bathke asked Mr. Johnson if he had a suggestions as to how this should be handled. Mr. Johnson said 1) that if the motion doesn't pass, he will move to table - he wanted documentation from Mr. Locher stating that the permit is valid. Mr. Bathke felt that this Board is losing site of what this Board is supposed to do. Mr. Hook said that if all a person has to do is fill out an application and if this Board has 'no discretion' as Mr. Bathke indicated, then there is no need for a Planning and Zoning Board, and if they don't make a decision, tin p }{rjT is a cop out. Mr. Bathke said that he is not informed as to the compution of the density and he felt this matter has been held up long enough. Mr. Hook insisted that that this Board should make a decision and if they are not sure, then they should vote No on this plat. Mr. Prokop asked for a roll call vote with an explanation from the members as to why they are voting in that manner. Mayor Gourley wanted it a part of the record t at he_objected to the manner in which the meeting has been conducted. He of the fact that the home owners had brought a paid Attorney. He felt that it is unfortunate the Chairman has allowed this to happen. Mr. Reinert called for the vote; Mrs. Schwankl voted, Yes, because she felt that the developer had supplied the necessary information; Larry Johnson, No, based on 19 people per acre, low income housing in an area of much more expensive home, poor planning; Jerry Heath, No; Gary Bathke, Yes, Bob Doocy, Yes; Prokop, No, confusion on the special use permit. Mr. Reinert stated that the vote had ended in a tie vote and he used the prerogative of the Chair and cast a No vote for the reasons of high density, use of the surface of the lake, inappropriate to vary from Land Use Plan. Mr. Reinert declared the motion failed. Mr. Blackbird asked what is the procedure and Mr. Reinert said this goes to the Council as being denied. Mr. Johnson discussed the application of Mr. Roy Stanley's for platting lands in the Comprehansive Land Use Plan to be zoned as LI to R -1. Mr. Johnson read the portion of the May 27th minutes to the Council's actions on this application. Mr.Johnson objected to the ommissions of Mr. Short's reasons why this should be left as LI in the minutes. He felt that perhaps this Board is wasting their time since they approved this plat for R -1. Mr. Reinert felt the Council is ignoring the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and •he wondered why so mu9ch work and effort had been put into a document and not adhered to. Me. Heath moved to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Prokop. Aye.