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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-17-2007 PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting October 17, 2007 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order Chair Stevenson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. October 17, 2007 ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Roll Call Members Present: Chair Stevenson; Commissioners Cramblit, Gunn, Lang, Meehlhause, Miller, and Walsh-Kaczmarek Absent and Excused: None Also Present: Planning Associate Heller ________________________________________________________________________ Index to Minutes Page Comprehensive Plan Update 2 ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Approve Minutes A. September 19, 2007. MOTION/SECOND: Cramblit/Walsh-Kaczmarek, to approve the minutes of the September 19, 2007 regular Planning Commission meeting as amended. Ayes – 7 Nays – 0 Motion carried. ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda None ______________________________________________________________________________ 5. Planning Cases None Mounds View Planning Commission October 17, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 2 6. Other Planning Activities A. Comp Plan 2008 Update Planning Associate Heller explained the Planning Commission would discuss the Chapter 4 - Housing section of the Comprehensive Plan. She included a report from the Met Council on affordable housing. She reported the Met Council assigns each city a number of additional affordable housing units that they should be planning for. Mounds View’s fair share amount is 81 units. She stated Mounds View already has a significant amount of affordable housing with a wide range of opportunities for both rental and ownership. She explained the Met Council bases the number of affordable housing units on the types of jobs in a given community and access to public transportation. Planning Associate Heller directed the Commission through Chapter 4 of the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Gunn referenced Item H and questioned if Mounds View participated in a first time homebuyers program. Planning Associate Heller replied that Ramsey County offers a first time homebuyers program. Chair Stevenson asked if townhomes were included in the single-family homesteaded chart. Planning Associate Heller replied she believed they were. She stated the chart requires updating. Commissioner Gunn referenced Item 44-I - Point of Sale and Truth in Housing and questioned whether Mounds View was participating in these programs. Planning Associate Heller replied Mounds View has not started these programs and it is questionable whether it would. She explained the programs require homes be brought up to code prior to sale. Commissioner Gunn asked if the Property Managers Coalition was still active. Planning Associate Heller replied it was active and that single family home rental properties may be added in to the city’s rental licensing program. Commissioner Miller questioned if the programs listed in Goal 1 Policy h were still available. Planning Associate Heller replied the Housing Resource Center handles these programs. She stated loan programs are available that are not being taken advantage of. Commissioner Gunn questioned whether the Housing Resource Center should be referenced in several of these Items. Planning Associate Heller replied it could be added where appropriate. Mounds View Planning Commission October 17, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 3 Discussion ensued on updated information on housing statistics. Chair Stevenson asked when the most recent information would be pulled. Planning Associate Heller replied she would research information over the next nine months. Commissioner Miller pointed out the County Assessor’s data on housing conditions and asked if homes are actually looked at. Planning Associate Heller replied this information comes from the County Assessor’s office. She stated the County receives building permit information which is one way they determine home values. Commissioner Cramblit commented the housing conditions are a drive-by determination. Commissioner Walsh-Kaczmarek commented it might be advantageous to have a local entity make a determination on housing conditions rather than the county. Planning Associate Heller commented she believes city staff has a good grasp of what is going on in the City. Commissioner Gunn commented on subsidized and Section 8 housing. Planning Associate Heller explained the difference between the types of subsidized housing and Section 8. Commissioner Walsh-Kaczmarek questioned whether the Met Council enforces the number of affordable housing units that each city is asked to plan for. Planning Associate Heller replied that the Metropolitan Council realizes that cities can not control the housing market, but they also should not be preventing expected growth or affordable housing opportunities. She commented that cities can designate land for higher density housing which is typically the only way any new housing can be made affordable now without some type of subsidies. Commissioner Gunn questioned whether the lot sizes on Table 16 were correct. Planning Associate Heller replied they were, and came from the zoning code. Planning Associate Heller explained the stars signify Mounds View’s benchmarks and that we have met or exceeded the Met Council’s expectations. Chair Stevenson commented the charts should include both single family detached and single family attached categories. Commissioner Walsh-Kaczmarek recommended standardizing all the charts. Mounds View Planning Commission Regular Meeting October 17, 2007 Page 4 Commissioner Gunn questioned the reference to manufactured housing on page 57 and that it didn't necessarily fit into this section. Consensus reached that this section needs rewriting. Planning Associate Heller stated the next Comprehensive Plan Taskforce meeting is at 6:00 p.m. on November 14, 2007. She reported a member from the Met Council and the city's housing and code enforcement inspector would be attending this meeting. Planning Associate Heller explained the process involved in updating the Comprehensive Plan. Chair Stevenson explained that what the Planning Commission and City Council executes through the Comprehensive Plan determines the land use map and the future of Mounds View. 7. Next Planning Commission Meetings: A. November 7, 2007 B. November 21, 2007 8. Adjournment to Agenda Session There being no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair Stevenson adjourned the meeting at 8:41 p.m. (The meeting immediately adjourned to the Agenda Session.) Respectfully submitted, Jim Ericson Community Development Director Transcribed by: Dianna Wise TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.