HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ Minutes; 04-11-11APPROVED AS AMENDED; 4-25-11
Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 4-11-11 1
City of Lake Elmo
Planning Commission Meeting
Minutes of April 11, 2011
Chairman Van Zandt called to order the meeting of the Lake Elmo Planning Commission
at 7:00 p.m. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Bidon, Fliflet, Haggard, Hall,
Obermueller, Pelletier, Van Zandt and Williams. Absent: Van Erem and Ziertman.
STAFF PRESENT: Planning Director Klatt and Planner Matzek.
Agenda
Chairman Van Zandt asked staff for a reminder of who is able to vote.
M/S/P, Williams/Bidon, move to approve as presented. Vote: 8:0.
Minutes – January 10, 2011
M/S/P, Hall/Williams, move to approve as presented. Vote: 6:0. Haggard and
Obermueller abstained.
Public Hearing – None
Business Item – Future Land Use Categories and Zoning Code Update Discussion
Planning Director Klatt said this is an extension of last meeting’s discussion regarding
potential updates to the zoning ordinance. He identified a list of potential zoning districts
for the new ordinance, including a general purpose statement.
Commissioner Williams asked what is the purpose of having both land use categories and
zoning districts, since there were essentially the same number of each. He asked if it
would be a good idea to remove the land use categories and just use zoning.
Planning Director Klatt said the zoning districts have to be consistent with the
Comprehensive Plan. He said land use categories are for future guidance and zoning is
for implementation.
Commissioner Williams asked if the purpose statements would be revised to fit the new
land use categories.
Planning Director Klatt agreed they would be revised.
Commissioner Hall asked for future documents to reflect whether or not a district was
planned for sewer and what the proposed density is for each district.
Commissioner Obermueller asked when details such as building height would be
discussed.
Planning Director Klatt said it would be one of the next steps.
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Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 4-11-11 2
Commissioner Pelletier asked how a form based code would impact this work.
Planning Director Klatt said if the city wanted to go to a form based code, parts of this
proposed ordinance could change or go away completely. He asked the commission to
also review a draft purpose section for each district.
Commissioner Williams suggested keeping Rural Residential and Residential Estate
zoning districts separate as they have different lot size requirements.
Planning Director Klatt asked the commission to consider if they would want to see
additional land in the Neighborhood Conservation category which allows one and a half
acre lots. He said the Comprehensive Plan (NC) currently does not allow for additional
properties that are not already guided for NC. He suggested consideration of recreating
an updated Open Space Preservation (OP) District. He identified low, medium and high
density residential districts with density ranges provided for discussion purposes.
Commissioner Williams said the proposed 3.5 to 6 units per acre is not “low” density.
He said that would exclude anything less then three units per acre and it should be looked
at in more detail. He said the R-2 district allows too much discretion as a developer will
always push for the highest density allowed. He said the VR language is very general,
but should include a maximum density. Commissioner Williams said that in Woodbury
over the last several years, developers have always pushed for the higher density, but
have been rebuffed by neighbor complaints.
Planning Director Klatt said the numbers are to start discussions and he has found in his
experience that developers go towards the lower end of density requirements while cities
push for higher densities to meet objectives.
Commissioner Williams said he thinks mention of public investment in the Mixed Use
and Central Business category should be removed as the city should not be making that
commitment.
Business Item – Home Occupation Ordinance Update
Planner Matzek briefly updated the commission on the previous work done on the home
occupation ordinance. She said the City Council received the commission’s
recommendation, but chose to move forward with their original direction.
Commissioner Fliflet said it does not make sense that the ordinance proposed by the City
Council would not allow a tax consultant to do so from home.
Commissioner Hall said the Council proposed ordinance is not business friendly and
discourages instead of encourages businesses to locate in Lake Elmo. He asked if the
City Council’s Economic Development Subcommittee would like any volunteer advisory
members.
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Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 4-11-11 3
Commissioner Haggard said a home occupation could have a greater impact on more
compact neighborhoods, especially if there were multiple businesses on the same road.
Chairman Van Zandt said the city needs to think of who creates the taxes and it is not the
people who leave this city.
Business – Amending Storm Water and Erosion and Sediment Control
Planner Matzek said the ordinance is proposed to have minor clarifying revisions. She
said the AUAR would also have a minor amendment to reflect this new change, but that
is a more administrative process.
Commissioner Williams suggested taking out the text “and discretion” from Sections
150.287 B and C.
Commissioner Fliflet suggested the Best Management Practices are subjective and this
gives the engineer additional flexibility.
M/S, Bidon/Fliflet, move to approve the changes as recommended by staff.
M/S/P, Williams/Hall, move to amend the motion to remove “and discretion” from
Sections 150.287 B and C. Vote: 6:2. Bidon and Fliflet against.
The commission voted on the original motion as amended. Vote: 6:2. Bidon and Fliflet
against.
Business Item – I-94 Stakeholder Meeting (Held March 31st)
Planner Matzek said 36 people attended a stakeholder meeting regarding the area guided
for future sewered development south of 10th Street. She said the City Engineer and
herself presented information on existing conditions and took questions; the meeting
went well.
Updates
Planning Director Klatt said there were no City Council updates.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelli Matzek
Planner