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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ Minutes; 5-28-14Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 5-28-14 City of Lake Elmo Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of May 28, 2014 Vice Chairman Dodson called to order the meeting of the Lake Elmo Planning Commission at 7:00 p.m. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Dodson, Kreimer, Larson, Dorschner, and Haggard joined at 7:15pm. COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Morreale, Williams, Yocum and Lundgren. STAFF PRESENT: Community Development Director Klatt and City Planner Johnson. Approve Agenda: The agenda was accepted as presented. Approve Minutes: May 12, 2014 M/S/P: Dorschner/Kreimer, move to approve the minutes as amended, Vote: 4-0, motion carried unanimously. Public Hearing: Zoning Text Amendment – Shoreland Ordinance Update Johnson started his presentation by going over the proposed ordinance which would add the recently adopted urban development districts to the City’s Shoreland regulations. A request was made to add a definition for dedicated riparian areas. This ordinance was submitted to all the appropriate agencies. VBWD was the only one to submit comments. There was a face to face meeting with the DNR, but to date the City has received no formal comments. Dorchner asked about the performance standards for water oriented accessory structures. He asked when the provisions were last amended. Johnson noted that the performance standards were amended to allow for larger structures used as boat houses. In addition, a reduced setback is also allowed for water oriented accessory structures. Dorschner noted his concern that the proposed ordinance amends the structure height of water-oriented structures back to 10’ at the request of the DNR, while one individual property owner got to build a boathouse at a larger dimension. Kreimer asked about which lakes should be selected for riparian dedication. Johnson noted that staff reviewed the registered public water bodies in the community and 2 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 5-28-14 determined that the only water bodies that would benefit from riparian dedication would be Goose and Kramer Lakes. Dodson asked for clarification regarding Ordinary High Water Level in Table 17-3. Johnson provided clarity. Public Hearing opened at 8:24pm. No one spoke and the only written comment was from the VBWD. Public Hearing closed at 8:24pm. Dorschner discussed water oriented accessory structures. He noted that he is disappointed that the boathouse structures are not allowed to have a roof. The Planning Commission would like an interpretation from the City Attorney regarding what enclosed would mean. M/S/P: Dorschner/Larson, move to strike “with an additional roof” in sub section 4.a.v., Vote: 5-0, motion carried unanimously. M/S/P: Dodson/Kreimer, move to recommend approval of the amended Shoreland Ordinance with inclusion of Dedicated Riparian area Definition , Vote: 5-0, motion carried unanimously. Public Hearing: Zoning Text Amendment – Performance Standards Attached Garages Klatt began his presentation by explaining what the current development standards are in regards to front yard setback and minimum width of residential garages. He noted that the City has received feedback from a number of builders that the existing performance standards related to attached garages are problematic. Staff is proposing an ordinance amendment to address the builder concerns. It would raise the percentage of allowable garage width from 60% to75% of the total front facade. Public Hearing opened at 7:58pm. Joe Jablonski, Lennar Homes, shared his experiences in the dimensions of single family homes. He noted that Lennar homes does not offer single family homes that do not have 3-car garages, as it was not conducive to their marketing. He also noted that Lennar attempts to add architectural features to their homes to add visual interest around the area of the garage. Larson asked if the garages can be reversed to add visual interest. Jablonski noted that the garage side is typically determined by the grading plan and elevations of the lot. Haggard asked for clarifications on which Lennar elevations or 3 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 5-28-14 house types met the City’s ordinance. Jablonski noted that close to 75% of the home types that were distributed to the Planning Commission do not meet the performance standards. Larson asked about wider lots. Jablonski noted that the same concern exists, as many of their house types remain the same regardless of width of lot. Craig Allen, Gonyea Company, spoke about his experience with the custom home builders who Gonyea Company works with. He noted that these performance standards have an indirect consequence of limiting creativity with the home styles. Allen also noted that Gonyea and the stable of custom builders they work with build very few homes that do not have three-car garages. Michael Ramme, Ryland Homes, noted that they do not build any two-car garage homes. The market at this time for single family homes is demanding three-car garages. Ramme noted that requiring garages to be recessed 4 feet adds to the redundancy of neighborhoods. Dodson asked about Ryland’s experiences around the Metro area. Ramme noted that he has not encountered other communities that address performance standards for attached garages. Larson asked if it were possible for the building community to be more creative with their design to add variety. Mr. Ramme noted that Ryland has an anti-redundancy clause in their neighborhoods. Public Hearing closed at 8:32 pm. Staff discussed their perspective about the architectural standards of attached garages. Haggard stated her points to the Planning Commission. Dodson discussed his position related to the architectural standards of single family homes. Kreimer noted that he supports the interpretation of measuring the garage doors themselves individually. He noted that plats have been approved with smaller lots, and it is the City’s responsibility to make it work. Kreimer added that he would support making the minimum lot widths larger, as in retrospect he thinks that was a mistake. Klatt shared the purpose statement of the City’s Zoning Code. Most things such as adequate spacing and height, serve a specific public purpose while percent of garage really doesn’t serve a particular public purpose. Design standards are typically used to preserve a community asset while this policy is a private o ne. Haggard stated that these standards were devised based on hours of meetings. The lot requirement was dropped at the request of the builders which was probably a mistake. Rather than allowing a larger percentage of garage, she would rather see a wide r lot. 4 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 5-28-14 M/S/P: Dorschner/Kreimer, move to amend 457.A.2 to read “the width of the visible garage door surface area when closed shall not exceed 60% of the width of the entire principal building façade (including garage) fronting the primary street, Vote: 4-1, motion carried, with Haggard voting no. M/S/P: Dodson/Dorschner, move to recommend approval of the amendments to Section 154.457 of the zoning code concerning attached garages with the amended changes related to garage door width, Vote: 4-1, motion carried, with Haggard voting no. Public Hearing: Minor Comprehensive Plan Amendment – Density Ranges Klatt started his presentation related to the proposed minor comprehensive plan amendment. This amendment would clarify the density ranges in the Urban Districts. The intent of the perfecting amendment is to close artificial gaps that exist between land use categories in the City’s plan. This will provide clarity, and the change is now possible due to the termination of the MOU with the Metropolitan Cou ncil. There would be no changes to Urban Low or High Density, only Urban Median Districts. There would be a minor adjustment to VMX. There would be no requirement for external review based on the districts being looked at. There was general discussion about the appropriate ranges for the land use categories as part of the plans. The Planning Commission suggested that the number not overlap. An example would be 2.5 to less than 4. Public Hearing opened at 9:41pm. No one spoke and no written comments were received. Public Hearing closed at 9:42 pm. M/S/P: Dorschner/Kreimer, move to recommend approval of the Minor Comprehensive Plan amendment to remove gaps in the density ranges within the Comprehensive Plan and Table 3-B, as well as changing the ranges to avoid overlap of density ranges, Vote: 5-0, motion carried unanimously. Updates and Concerns Council Updates – May 20, 2014 Meeting 1. City Code Amendment – Driveway width Perfecting Amendment passed. 2. City Code Amendment – Net Density Passed. 3. Street Vacation – Approved a partial vacation of 12th Street. 5 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 5-28-14 4. Developer’s Agreement – Approved the Savona Developer’s Agreement. Staff Updates 1. Upcoming Meetings a. June 9, 2014 b. June 23, 2014 2. MOU now terminated by the City and Metropolitan Council. The 2040 forecast was also adopted, noting a population of 20,500. 3. Staff will send out Planning Commissioner’s web articles. Commission Concerns - Planning Commission hoped to discuss what the MOU termination means for the City’s Land Use Plan. Klatt offered some ideas about how to complete some high level analysis. Planning Commission would like to get presentation from Stillwater School District to know how they are planning to accommodate our growth. Meeting adjourned at 10:04 pm Respectfully submitted, Joan Ziertman Planning Program Assistant