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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ Minutes; 01-23-17Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-23-17 City of Lake Elmo Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of January 23, 2017 Chairman Kreimer called to order the meeting of the Lake Elmo Planning Commission at 7:00 p.m. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Kreimer, Dodson, Dorschner, and Larson, COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Haggard, Fields, Griffin, Williams and Lundquist STAFF PRESENT: Planning Director Wensman & City Administrator Handt Approve Agenda: M/S/P: Dodson/Larson, move to approve the agenda as amended to move golf course community to “A”, Vote: 4-0, motion carried, unanimously. Approve Minutes: January 9, 2017 M/S/P: Kreimer/Dodson, move to postpone consideration of the January 9, 2017 minutes until the next meeting, Vote: 4-0, motion carried unanimously. Business Item – Zoning Text Amendment to create “Golf Course Community” Zoning. Wensman started his discussion regarding golf course community. There was a public hearing held on this item at the last Planning Commission. Discussion was continued primarily to address the issue with the cottages or semi-transient structures. They are basically large seasonal homes situated on the golf course overlooking the fairway. They will essentially be used by Mr. Hollis and his guests for entertainment. These cottages, as proposed,would not be counted towards the density of the neighborhood area. If the Commission is in favor of the cottages, the ordinance will be written that cottages would be a CUP with development standards associated with them. Larson asked if these would be rented out, or if these were for a business purpose. Wensman stated that it is his understanding that they are for business purpose only, but conditions could be added to regulate them. Kreimer asked if they would each have their own lot, or how they would be arranged. Wensman stated that he is not sure as he has not seen a plat or any plans yet. He is not sure if there will be setbacks or they would all be part of one overall plan. Dodson asked about the percentage of open space and if that should be adjusted in the ordinance. He is wondering if it is adjusted upward if that would take care of some of 2 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-23-17 the fears of future development. Wensman stated that the percentage probably wouldn’t make a difference as they would need to come back and reguide it to residential anyway. Dorschner is wondering if the City really needs this land use designation. Wensman stated that at their last meeting, the City Council already reguided this property. Now it is a matter of creating the zoning district to match. This zoning district is kind of a hybrid incorporating the golf course. Dorschner is concerned about creating the land use designation when it probably will never be used again . He is wondering why it wouldn’t be done through a PUD. Wensman stated that there will be a PUD, but there still needs to be base zoning district which this creates. Dodson asked about the density 1.4 to 2.49. Wensman stated that the numbers should be 1.4-1.65. For some reason it did not get updated in the draft ordinance. Kreimer asked what the current open space amount for the golf course is. Packer, the developer, stated that it is currently at 75%. Kreimer asked about the 154.302 & 154.454 in relation to Semi-transient accommodations. He stated he went on-line and couldn’t find them. Wensman stated that those are the new zoning code section numbers created specific for the golf course community. Kreimer asked about the standards for secondary dwelling on page 9. He thought somewhere earlier, they were not allowing for a secondary dwelling. Wensman stated that (f) doesn’t seem to make much sense and should be eliminated. Rick Packer, Royal Golf, stated that staff has chosen a middle ground on standards and some of the things that they would like to do might not meet those standards. They will be bringing a PUD forward so they can ask for various things. Packer stated that the cottages will be owned by the golf course and the golf course owners. Dodson asked if the cottages would be on lots, or if they would just be on part of the larger golf course. Packer stated that they haven’t quite figured that out yet. He thinks there will be a certain lot, however they have to work that out with staff as they will not have direct street frontage. He thinks they will probably be on one large lot or 4 smaller ones. Dodson was wondering what might happen if the cottages end up being a financial detriment to the golf course. Packer stated that the use of them can be addressed in the CUP. Kreimer asked what the width of the lots would be for the villa product. Packer stated that those are 55 foot lots. The cottages would be 65 foot lots and more fashioned like a villa. Ann Bucheck, 2301 Legion Ave, is wondering if the drawing that was up at the City Council meeting is available for everyone. Bucheck stated that the developer previously stated that the homes would be 4 sided finished homes. She is wondering if that will specifically be in the developer’s agreement or where that would be. She feels that is important and will make things look nicer. Bucheck suggested a few changes including adding trees for outdoor recreation, requiring a planted landscape buffer, dark sky 3 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-23-17 standards for lighting, she would like to see the density at 1.4 or 265 homes instead of 306 homes and no street lights for the residential as none of the surrounding developments have them. Wensman stated that the lighting is already in City Code and the developer will need to adhere to it. Dodson asked if there were different types of street lights allowed for the different types of residential zoning. Dodson stated that in his Open Space Development there are no street lights, which he enjoys. Wensman stated that he believes it is part of the current engineering standards to require street lights. They are currently proposed for Hidden Meadows and for Legends, which are open space developments. Dodson asked about the comment regarding trees. Wensman stated that it would be fine to include that and there are already landscaping standards and tree preservation standards. M/S/P: Dodson/Kreimer, move to remove Letter (f) on page 9 regarding exterior finish as it is redundant, Vote: 4-0, motion carried unanimously. Kreimer is wondering about increasing the open space from 50% - 70%. Dodson would be in favor of that. Larson is wondering if it is dangerous to just look at this project if the code could be used for other areas. Kreimer would be surprised if another project for a golf course would be proposed. M/W: Kreimer/, move to change the open space requirement from a minimum of 50% to a minimum of 70%, Motion withdrawn. M/S/P: Dorschner/Dodson, move to change the ranges on page 1 from what is printed to 1.4 to 1.65 units per acre, Vote: 4-0, motion carried unanimously. M/S/P: Kreimer/Dodson, move to add to 4 C under resource protection the word trees, Vote: 4-0, motion carried unanimously. Kreimer asked Wensman where the 4 sided architecture would be addressed. Wensman stated that it would be addressed and negotiated during the PUD and platting process. M/S/P: Dodson/Larson, move to approve the addition of a Golf Course Community Zoning District to the Zoning Code, Vote: 4-0, motion carried unanimously. Business Item – Village Parkway – VMX Zoning Discussion Wensman stated that the Village Parkway VMX Discussion and the Village LDR/MDR both go hand in hand and his presentation will include both. Then they can talk about the individual changes. The things that need to be talked about are VMX zoning District standards including setbacks, boundaries, and density. The Design of the Village 4 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-23-17 parkway including a cross section of road design. Th e LDR and MDR zoning districts. This all originated from the Village area master plan. The City planned for 900 -1100 additional housing units in the Old Village. 800 were planned for VLDR and VMDR. 200- 300 were planned for VMX. There are issues within the VMX zoning regulations. For instance, the Front yard setback is 0-20’. Residential setbacks less than 20 feet typically work with alley access. When homes are set too close to the road, there is no place for a driveway or cars to park. The garage really needs to be rear loaded and the standards don’t talk about that. Some of the guidelines that need to be discussed are 1) 0-20’ setback, 2) if not 0, then plazas, patios, outdoor dining areas and landscaped entries are encouraged in setback 3) gaps between buildings to be minimized 4) off-street parking behind or to side of building. Issues with VMX Zoning are 1) the VMX zoning does not differentiate where urban design features should go and 2) VMX Zoning applies to one property so far – Arbor Glen and soon the Zignago property. There are 3 different areas of the Village Parkway. The section by city hall on 39 th Street is not built to really allow for the zero lot line scenario. With giving the choice, the City could end up with very disjointed development and not what they are trying to achieve within the Village. There doesn’t seem to be enough guidance in the code. South of the tracks, such as Easton Village, the parkway has an 80 foot wide right of way and 10 foot setback. This area cannot have a zero lot line setback, because the drainage and utility easement must be maintained. This is more of a residential standard and doesn’t seem to be a problem. Currently the standards require irrigation and the City has encountered lots of problems with this for 5th Street. It is an expensive proposition for the developers and also for the City long term. There is still hypothetical theming in the standards. Some of the theming elements such as the lighting were changed to more closely mat ch downtown, however, they were never officially updated. The theming is technically in the standards, however, the City did not push to make sure they were incorporated. The design development issues are 1) Street Tree locations 2) Street lights 3) irr igation 4) Theming elements (these were removed for the 5th street project) 5) when and where 14’ sidewalks should be required as it pertains to VMX setbacks. Some focus questions would be 1) are there standards that should be set forth unique to the village? 2) Does the smaller density accomplish the guiding principles of the Old Village? Wensman stated that there is a disconnect between the standards and the densities being allowed. Usually when a City requires more expensive things like sidewalks on both sides of the street, benches and things that enhance the development, a higher density is allowed to help pay for them. 5 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-23-17 Wensman went through other aspects such as driveway, side or rear loaded garages, and being pedestrian friendly. Should the new Zoning Districts refer to the theming study? Larson is wondering if rooftop patios would be allowed. Wensman stated that he doesn’t know of anything that would prohibit it. Wensman is wondering if the Planning Commission thinks there should be sta ndards set forth that would be unique to the Village such as connectivity, architectural detail, special setbacks and theming. Does the lower density accomplish the guiding principles in the Village? The suggested standards put more requirements on developers, but gives them lower densities than other urban districts. Larson likes the idea of theming. He stated that this area would not have a lot of children, so traffic concerns would be minimal. This area is one that people would expect to see some density. Dodson is wondering why walkability is such a strong goal. Larson said that if the area is not walkable, parking could be an issue. Dodson stated that he just doesn’t see the walkability and the City’s ability to draw tourists from outside the community. Kreimer stated that he doesn’t see the walkability without more rooftops that are more centrally located around the Village area. Wensman stated that they should maybe look to have some base zoning and get something on the books as projects are starting to come forward and then they could look at some long term goals such as theming elements. Larson would like to keep alive the concept of a more retail/commercial center. It doesn’t mean that the market will support it, but he doesn’t want to rule it out. Dorschner is concerned about parking and if it is not planned for within the commercial area. He is wondering if the parking will be centrally located or if there needs to be so much. Wensman stated that he does not believe that the VMX has required parking. He will go back and review that standard. Wensman stated that they will need to come up with a VLDR and VMDR zoning in t he next couple of months. He would like to come up with some base zoning and then come back and revise it within the next year. Dodson likes the concept of the build to line and is wondering if that can vary based on the street. He thinks that would solve a fair number of problems for the Village Parkway with the varying densities. Wensman stated that it could be tied to a specific street or sections of a specific street. Wensman stated that the key piece of the Village Parkway between 14 and the tracks, has the opportunity to be urban or residential. The design for that section can be flexible, but the City needs to be clear on what that area should look like. Dorschner was wondering what is considered the Village area. Wensman stated it is the MUSA area. The Old Village area is guided for VMX and then as you go out from the Village, the areas are guided VLDR and VMDR. Dorschner asked if they could get maps of these areas. Dodson stated that the map in the packet is a little too busy to cl early see what the areas are. Kreimer stated that if you ignore the writing, it is pretty clear. 6 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-23-17 Kreimer asked why the Village density is lower than the density south of 10th Street. Wensman stated that he doesn’t know why, but that is what’s in the Comprehensive Plan. Wensman stated that a first step will be to have the City Planner work on a basic code with lower densities so that we have something on record for developers coming forward. Then the city would be compliant with the Comprehensive Plan. In the future, the code can be worked on to add some of the other items that would incorporate more of the City vision that comes out of the Comprehensive Plan update. Kreimer is not happy that some of the theming was removed from 5th Street. A lot of time and energy was invested to create the theming vision. He would like to see that theming put back in. Kreimer stated that the Planning Commission spent a lot of time talking about cul-de-sacs connecting for walkablity. He would like to see those things put back in. Dorschner thinks that sidewalks on 2 sides of the street are nice, but considers them a luxury and thinks that 14 foot sidewalks are really wide. Wensman stated that the 14’ sidewalks were to be similar to the Village. Dorschner asked if there was any urgency to move ahead with this. Wensman stated that Gonyea is interested in developing on the West side of Lake Elmo Ave and also the Village Park Preserve may come forward as the City has received some application information. Kreimer is not crazy about the connectivity with all the intersections that could create a lot of traffic problems. Dorschner does not see the maximum lot width being connected to walkability. It is more about having safe sidewalks or trails to walk on. Wensman will bring forward a refined ordinance for discussion at the next meeting and then if it is ready, they can hold a public hearing at the following meeting. City Council Updates – January 17, 2017 Meeting i) Royal Golf Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) – Adopted a negative declaration for the need for an EIS. ii) Royal Golf Comp Plan Amendment – passed. 1. Upcoming Meetings a. February 13, 2017 b. February 27, 2017 Commission Concerns Meeting adjourned at 8:58 pm 7 Lake Elmo Planning Commission Minutes; 1-23-17 Respectfully submitted, Joan Ziertman Planning Program Assistant