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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ Minutes 1-27-14Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-27-14 City of Lake Elmo Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of January 27, 2014 Chairman Williams called to order the meeting of the Lake Elmo Planning Commission at 7:00 p.m. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Williams, Yocum, Dodson, Haggard, Dorschner, Kreimer and Larson; COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Lundgren and Morreale; and STAFF PRESENT: Community Development Director Klatt Approve Agenda: Agenda accepted as published. Approve Minutes: December 13, 2013 M/S/P:Kreimer/Dorschner, move to accept the minutes as presented, Vote: 6-0. Public Hearing: Zoning Text Amendment – Livestock Ordinance. Klatt began his presentation by explaining that they are proposing to move the Livestock Ordinance to a comprehensive animal chapter in the code . This change will redefine commercial and private kennels, amend the table and provide for private and commercial kennels through permitted or conditional uses, and allow the keeping of chickens and bees on parcels greater than half an acre with a permit review. The biggest change would allow domestic farm animals on 5 acres vs. the previous 10 acres and will slightly increase the animal equivalent units. Dodson asked if the chart would be included and if it is cumulative and can interchange animals. Klatt explained that yes it is cumulative. The Planning Commission thought the point system seemed a little confusing and it should be made a little clearer by getting away from the decimal system. Klatt stated that the chart would not be included in the code, but was being use for illustrative purposes. Larson asked what someone’s recourse would be if there was negative impact from the smell of turkeys or chickens on smaller acreage. Klatt stated that we have nuisance and PCA standards to fall back on. Also, on smaller acreage if someone isn’t taking good care of the area, the permit could be revoked or not renewed. 2 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-27-14 Haggard asked about the setbacks for bee hives. Klatt stated that this should proba bly be looked at. Dorschner asked if there would be a site visit along with the permit. Klatt stated that if the Planning Commission felt that was important, it could be made part of the standards. Dodson was wondering if there were any animals that we specifically want to exclude. He also felt that llama should be part of the goat category. Public hearing opened at 7:48pm. Written comment was received from Mr. Bob Engstrom in favor of the keeping of bees. Public hearing closed at 7:49pm. Larson asked about sounds created by animals, for instance, peacocks can be very noisy. Dodson stated that we need to be somewhat tolerant of smell and sounds if we want to live in a rural area. The Planning Commission thought the definition of chicken was too loose and should be re-worded. Klatt agreed and would check with the clerk to see if it can just be taken out. Williams asked why the first permit was good for 2 years and only 1 year thereafter. It seems backwards. Kreimer stated that it is probably be cause the year you apply in would be a stub year and it would be good the full year after that. Dodson thought the permit should go for 3 years as one year is a lot for staff to administer. Dorschner thought one year is reasonable as that way everyone is on the same schedule. Klatt stated that it would be administratively easier to have a set schedule for them. The Planning Commission agreed that it should stay at every year. Kreimer & Dorschner thought there should be setbacks from the property line for chickens and bees. The Planning Commission would like to see the smallest acreage for chickens and bees be 1 acre. Haggard was wondering why bee keeping education was only for small acreage and thinks that it should be all or nothing. Klatt stated that the way it is written it would apply to everyone, but believes the intent was for 5 acres or less. Kreimer suggested that a bee colony be located at least 25 feet from a property line of an adjacent occupied residential lot. The Planning Commission agreed with that wording. 3 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-27-14 Williams was wondering about the selling of eggs on site as selling honey is specifically talked about. Klatt stated that state law allows people to sell agricultural products produced on site. M/S/P: Kreimer/Larson, move to postpone consideration of the Livestock Ordinance until further information is obtained from staff Vote: 7-0, motion carried unanimously. Public Hearing: Zoning Text Amendment – Zoning District Cleanup. Klatt began his presentation by stating that these amendments are intended to remove outdated zoning districts that are no longer utilized under the City’s Comprehensive Plan and official Zoning Map. This cleanup will improve the organization of the document. The cleanup will remove 26 zoning districts, 19 of which are holding districts. Public hearing opened at 8:40pm. No written comment was received. Public hearing closed at 8:41pm. M/S/P: Larson/Kreimer, move to amend the zoning code to remove outdated zoning districts as presented, Vote: 7-0, motion carried unanimously Business Item: Sketch Plan Review – Easton Village Klatt presented a proposed Sketch Plan that includes 224 single family homes and is located in the southeastern portion of the Village. Is located in the MUSA area and will have City water and sewer services. This project is 98 acres in size and comprised of 4 parcels. The gross density is 2.29 units per acre. This is consistent with the comprehensive plan. The zoning is LDR for this property. Part of the property includes green belt buffering and part of the larger planned park. The airport safety zones will come into play to some extent on this property. This property would include the village parkway which would be a minor collector street for the village. There is an existing home to the south of the railroad tracks that has a private crossing of the railroad tracks. This property will need to access one of the internal streets servicing this development. Major things that staff would like to see addressed before preliminary plat are the design of the subdivision and complying with the overall intent and purpose of the Village master plan. There needs to be more connectivity and integrate more traditional neighborhood elements. Want to ensure that there are sidewalks and trails that connect back to the Village and to Reid Park. The AUAR had some mitigation 4 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-27-14 factors that needed to be met before development could happen in the Village. The City will be looking to ensure that those things are met with this development. Dodson asked if we need a road crossing where it is. Klatt stated that the transportation study done with the AUAR identified it as a vital crossing to alleviate impacts in other areas of the Village. Todd Erickson, Project Engineer for Easton Village, gave more detail regarding the development and why it was designed this way. Dodson asked about the ponds that close to the airport and if there would be concerns with geese. Erickson stated that the yard adjacent will have a buffer of long grass and will be designed to the specifications of the MAC. Dodson asked who would be responsible to make sure that would be maintained. Erickson stated that there would be signs and that the HOA would be responsible. Yocum asked if there had been a traffic study on how the intersection at Manning will be regulated. Erickson stated that right now it will be regulated by a 2 way stop sign. Haggard asked if the islands would be just concrete. Erickson stated that they wou ld be landscaped. Klatt stated that with an 80 foot right of way, landscaping is difficult. Williams is concerned about the amount of water this property accommodates and is wondering if the pond system will be adequate. Erickson explained how they pl an to manage the surface water. Williams thinks the collector road would be better in a different location. Klatt stated that moving it further to the West would pose problems because of slopes and natural resource issues. Williams is not a fan of the length and number of cul-de-sacs. He would prefer more of a grid pattern. Erickson said that there are many limitations, one of them being the collector road. Larson asked about sound proofing from the railroad. Erickson said it would be a natural berm. Kreimer asked if there were certain builders and what the average home cost would be. Erickson stated that they are working to solve some of the site issues before they get to that, but it would be a phased project. The Planning Commission wants the developer to look at options to see if the cul-de- sacs can be shortened in some way. Updates and Concerns 5 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-27-14 Council Updates 1. The City Council took no action at the January 21, 2014 meeting to change the property at 9434 Stillwater Blvd from RAD2 to RAD. The vote was 3-2 and any change to the Comprehensive Plan requires a super majority vote. Dorschner asked that the City Council respect the Planning Commission’s time when requesting that they review a land use item. Staff Updates 1. Carol Palmquist (12202 55th Street N) would like to address the Planning Commission at a future meeting to discuss an outdoor social event ordinance. The Planning Commission 2. There were 41 enforcement actions for 2012-2013 and 37 have been closed. 3. Upcoming Meetings a. February 10, 2014 b. February 24, 2014 Commission Concerns - None Meeting adjourned at 10:17 pm Respectfully submitted, Joan Ziertman Planning Program Assistant