Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-06-2015 PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting May 6, 2015 Mounds View City Hall 2401 County Road 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Stevenson at 7:00 p.m. for May 6, 2015. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Roll Call Members Present: Commissioners Elofson, Kieffer, Love, Rundle, Schiltgen, and Stevenson. Absent and Excused: Commissioner Birken. Also Present: Planning Associate Heidi Heller, Councilmember Meehlhause. ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Special Order of Business A. Oath of Office for Commissioner Therese Kieffer Planning Associate Heller administered the Oath of Office to newly appointed Planning Commissioner Therese Kieffer. Index to Minutes Page Approval of Minutes 2 Discuss Proposed Code Amendment for Christmas Tree Sales 2 Discuss Proposed Code Amendment for Temporary Outdoor Food Sales 3 Code Amendment for Religious Institutions Language 4 _____________________________________________________________________________ 4. Approval of Minutes March 18, 2015. Mounds View Planning Commission May 6, 2015 Regular Meeting Page 2 ________________________________________________________________________ MOTION/SECOND: Commissioner Rundle/Commissioner Schiltgen. To approve the Minutes of the March 18, 2015 regular Planning Commission meeting as slightly amended. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 5. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda None. ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. Planning Cases None. _____________________________________________________________________________ 7. Other Planning Activity A. Discuss Proposed Code Amendment for Christmas Tree Sales Planning Associate Heller informed the Commission that there has been a Christmas tree sales business operating in Mounds View on commercial properties for many years. Staff recently researched what 12 other metro cities require for Christmas tree sales. All of the cities allow Christmas tree sales and none requires a conditional use permit for this use. All the cities simply require an annual permit or license, and most allow the applications to be approved by city staff (3 cities required the City Council to approve the license or permit). Associate Heller recommends that the City Code be amended to better accommodate Christmas tree sale businesses. Since this is a business that only operates for approximately 30 days each year, staff feels that requiring a conditional use permit is unnecessary. Staff suggests that the City Code be amended to add Christmas Tree Sales as a new business license type to Title 500, Business License Regulations, and simply require an annual business license for this type of business. The City Council will determine what the annual fee should be, but staff suggests it be the same as the 1-month permit fee for peddlers/transient merchants/solicitors, which is currently $204.00. Staff requested feedback from the Commission on the proposed code amendment. MOTION/SECOND: Commissioner Love/Commissioner Elofson. To approve Resolution No. 1025-15, a Resolution Recommending Approval of an Amendment to Title 500 of the Mounds View City Code to Add Christmas Tree Sales as a New Business License; Special Planning Case No. 196-15. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion carried. ______________________________________________________________________________ Mounds View Planning Commission May 6, 2015 Regular Meeting Page 3 ________________________________________________________________________ B. Discuss Proposed Code Amendment for Temporary Outdoor Food Sales Planning Associate Heller informed the Commission that a food truck has been operating in Mounds View business parking lots for the last two summers, but they were switching locations every 10 days in order to comply with the zoning code time limit. The county food truck license is applicable for 21 days in the same location so it became confusing for them to comply with both sets of rules and time limits. Currently if a merchant wants to have temporary outdoor sales for more than 10 days, a conditional use permit is required for each location where the sales would occur. Associate Heller recommends that the Zoning Code be amended to better accommodate temporary outdoor food sales, and to be consistent with state and county food truck permit timelines. The food truck has been successful in Mounds View and a code amendment would make it easier for them to operate here. Staff suggests that the code amendment be specific to temporary outdoor food sales rather than any type of sales so that we don’t get other types of vendors selling in parking lots for long periods of time. Staff requested feedback from the Commission on the proposed code amendment. Chair Stevenson asked how the food truck was going to not take up parking spaces. Associate Heller reported that parking has not been a concern from the current locations the food truck has chosen to park. She explained that if parking became a concern, staff would address this issue. Commissioner Love questioned how staff counted the consecutive days. Associate Heller indicated the code would allow for outdoor food sales to be located on a site for no more than 21 consecutive days. Commissioner Kieffer discussed the Ramsey County food truck requirements. She questioned if the City should add the Minnesota Department of Health rules and regulations into the City’s code. Associate Heller discussed the City’s current permitting process and understood that the City does not approve any temporary food sales permits without a valid license from the County Health Department. She commented that the City could make adjustments to the code if concerns were to arise. Chair Stevenson supported the proposed code amendment and believed it was in the City’s best interest to regulate temporary outdoor food sales. MOTION/SECOND: Commissioner Schiltgen/Commissioner Kieffer. To approve Resolution No. 1024-15, a Resolution Recommending Approval of an Amendment to Title 1100, Chapter 1112 of the Mounds View Zoning Code to Add Requirements for Temporary Outdoor Food Sales; Special Planning Case No. 195-15. Mounds View Planning Commission May 6, 2015 Regular Meeting Page 4 ________________________________________________________________________ Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion carried. ______________________________________________________________________________ C. Code Amendment for Religious Institutions Language Planning Associate Heller informed the Commission that the City Attorney suggested that the City Code be amended to remove language pertaining to religious institutions. In several areas of the Zoning Code where religious institutions are described as a use, the language also includes “such as churches, chapels, temples and synagogues.” The City Attorney recommends that this list of examples be removed so that the Code isn’t inadvertently excluding a type of religious institution that isn’t on this list. There are also a couple places in the code where only the word “church” is used, so the amendment also includes changing church to religious institution. Staff requested the Commission review the proposed code amendment. MOTION/SECOND: Chair Stevenson/Commissioner Rundle. To approve Resolution No. 1026-15, a Resolution Recommending Approval of an Amendment to Title 1000 and 1100 of the Mounds View City Code to Review Language Pertaining to Religious Institutions; Special Planning Case No. 197-15. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion carried. ______________________________________________________________________________ 8. Review Minutes: A. April 15, 2015 The Commission discussed the April 15, 2015 meeting minutes. 9. Reports A. Upcoming Planning Cases Planning Associate Heller explained the Commission would be reviewing three variance requests at the May 20th meeting. B. Staff Updates Planning Associate Heller provided the Commission with an update from staff. She discussed the minor changes that were made to the Columbaria code amendment. She reported that the City hired a new Public Works Director and he would begin working on June 1st. The 2015 street improvement project would begin next week. Mounds View Planning Commission May 6, 2015 Regular Meeting Page 5 ________________________________________________________________________ Council Updates Councilmember Meehlhause provided the Planning Commission with an update from the City Council. He thanked Commissioner Kieffer for her willingness to serve on the Planning Commission. He discussed the goals of the Council for 2015, noting the Police Department’s relationship with the community was being addressed by both the City and the County. He reviewed a recent discussion that was held with Community Partners for Youth (CPY). It was noted the Council was discussing the potential of allowing residents to have chickens. He explained the Council was current reviewing the five-year capital improvements plan. He reported that the Council was going to consider City-wide garbage collection. C. Planning Commissioner Reports Commissioner Love wanted to see the City work on enhancing relations between the Police Department and Mounds View residents. She presented the Commission with a handout and discussed the options available from the Topsfield Organization. She believed that Mounds View would benefit from holding community engagement conversations. She explained that she discussed this matter with Police Chief Kinney and inquired if the Planning Commission was supportive of this program. Planning Associate Heller suggested that this initiative not be solely from the Planning Commission either. She recommended that this be a resident led initiative with the support of the City. Councilmember Meehlhause was in favor of the Mounds View volunteer organization pursuing this initiative further. He suggested Commissioner Love speak further with Assistant City Administrator Crane regarding this initiative. Associate Heller indicated she would email the full document to the Commissioners to review further. The Commissioners could then consider how to move forward and implement the initiative. Chair Stevenson stated the Bel Rae would have a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Monday, May 11th at 4:00 p.m. He invited the entire Planning Commission to attend this event. 10. Next Planning Commission Meeting: A. Wednesday, May 20, 2015 B. Wednesday, June 3, 2015 ______________________________________________________________________________ Mounds View Planning Commission May 6, 2015 Regular Meeting Page 6 ________________________________________________________________________ 11. Adjournment There being no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair Stevenson adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. ______________________________________________________________________________ Respectfully submitted, Heidi Heller Planning Associate Transcribed by: Heidi Guenther TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.