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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Resolution 475-96 . . . MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 475-96 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING DENIAL OF A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST FOR THE NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH TO CONSTRUCT A CHURCH FACILITY AT 3025 COUNTY ROAD H; PLANNING CASE NO. 452-96 WHEREAS, the New Apostolic Church has requested City approval to construct an approximately 4,108 square foot church building and an associated parking lot on property at 3025 County Road H; and, WHEREAS, this property is in the R-l single family residential district, which requires the approval of a conditional use permit for the development of church facilities; and, WHEREAS, the purpose of the R-l single family residential district is "to provide for low density single-family detached residential dwelling units and directly related, complementary uses"; and, WHEREAS, the purpose of conditional use permits is "to provide the City with a reasonable degree of discretion in determining the suitability of certain designated uses upon the general welfare, public health and safety"; and, WHEREAS, Section 1106.04 Subd. 1 of the Mounds View Municipal Code allows churches in the R-l district provided certain criteria are met; and, WHEREAS, Section 1125.01 Subd. 1.e. of the Mounds View Municipal Code requires the Planning Commission to consider certain possible adverse effects of the proposed conditional use. Its judgement shall be based upon (but not limited to) the following factors: (1) Relationship to the Comprehensive Plan. (2) The geographical area involved. (3) Whether such use will tend to or actually depreciate the area in which it is proposed . (4) The character of the surrounding area. (5) The demonstrated need for such use. WHEREAS, Section 1125.01 Subd. 3 of the Mounds View Municipal Code states that the City Council shall consider the advice and recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the effect of the proposed use on the Comprehensive Plan and upon the health, safety and general welfare of surrounding lands, and requires that certain findings be made for the approval of a conditional use permit; and, . . . Planning Commission Resolution No. 475-96 September 18, 1996 Page 2 WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has reviewed the following documents regarding this conditional use permit request: 1. Project Location Plan / Rio Architects; September 11, 1996 2. Grading and Erosion Control Plan / Pioneer Engineering; September 11, 1996 3. Planning Application dated 7/15/96 4. Staff Report dated September 4, 1996 with attachments listed on pages 1 & 2 5. Staff Report dated September 18, 1996 with attachments listed on pages 1 & 2 6. Letter from Mark Bishop, Fire Marshal, Spring Lake Park/Blaine/Mounds View Fire Department dated September 4, 1996 and September 6, 1996 8. Letter from Sweeney, Borer & Ostrow dated September 4, 1996 9. Letter from the New Apostolic Church, Minneapolis Congregation (9/8/96) WHEREAS, the Planning Commission does hereby make the following findings of fact regarding the requirements set forth in Section 1106.04, Subd. 1 of the Mounds View Zoning Code. a. Front yard depths shall be a minimum of thirty five feet (35'). Complies. b. Side yards shall be no less than thirty feet (30'). Complies. c. Adequate screening from abutting residential uses and landscaping is provided in compliance lvith Section 1103.08 of this Title. (A copy of this Section is attached.) The applicant has not provided adequate screening from abutting residential uses in that the width of the landscape buffer areas along the property lines are less than is typical for churches in the community. The proposed plan shows landscaped buffers of 10 feet along the east end of the north property line and along the east property line, between the parking lot and adjacent single family homes. Parking lots are not typical improvements in the R-l single family residential district and represent a more intensive use of property than is typical for this district. The minimum width of landscaped buffer areas between parking lots on other church sites in the community and adjacent residential uses is 14 feet with the typical width being 30 feet. The type of landscape material proposed will not provide an effective screen at least eight feet in height. This criteria is not met. . Planning Commission Resolution No. 475-96 September 18, 1996 Page 3 d. Adequate off-street parking and access is provided on the site or on lots directly abutting or directly across a public street to the prindpal use in compliance with Chapter 1121 of this Title and that such parking is adequately screened and landscaped from surrounding and abutting residential uses in compliance with Section 1103.08 of this Title. The proposed plan provides 29 parking spaces of which two are compact size and two are for handicapped. This number is sufficient to meet Code requirements with a limit of 115 seats for the seating capacity of the Church. The size of the parking spaces, number of compact spaces, and drive aisle widths used meets Code requirements. The curb cut on County Road H is 20 feet and the curb cut on Pleasant View Drive is 12 feet, which meet the maximum width of 22 feet allowed in the R-l district. The Fire Department has indicated that there is sufficient access and maneuvering room for emergency vehicles if the building is sprinklered. The plans meets the numerical and dimensional requirements of the Code. They do not meet the requirements of Section 1103.08, as is stated under c. above. e. Adequate off-street loading and service entrances are provided and regulated where applicable by Chapter 1122 of this Title. . Off-street loading is not required for this type of use or size of building. f. The provisions of subdivision 1125.01 (1)e of this Title are considered and satisfactorily met (lhis section is quoted below.) Adverse Effects: The Planning and Zoning Commission shall consider possible adverse effects of the proposed amendment or conditional use. Its judgment shall be based upon (but not limited to) the following factors: (1) Relationship to the Munidpal Comprehensive Plan (2) Vie geographical area involved. (3) Whether such use will tend to or actually depredate the area in which it is proposed. (4) The character of the surrounding area. (5) Vie demonstrated need for the use. The geographical area involved in this application is a residential neighborhood bordered on the south by County Road H which serves as the municipal border. The neighborhood is characterized by deep, oversized lots and mature trees. Because the lots are large, the typical building coverage is low. The applicant's proposal would be a more intensive use of the lot than is typical of the neighborhood. At the size proposed, and with coverage of 61 % of the lot with impervious material, the proposal is out of character for the neighborhood and does not meet this criteria. . The applicant has testified of the difficulty encountered by his clients in trying to find vacant property which would allow development of a church near to where most of the church members live. The church congregation includes members who live in the Mounds View area. There appears to be a demonstrated need for the use. . . . Planning Commission Resolution No. 475-96 September 18, 1996 Page 4 WHEREAS, the Planning Commission does hereby make the following findings of fact regarding this conditional use permit request with respect to the criteria set forth in Section 1125.01 Subd. 3.b. for the review of conditional use permits. The criteria are noted below, and have been grouped to avoid repetitive findings. (1) The use will not create an excessive burden on existing park<;, schools, streets and other public facilities and utilities will serve or are proposed to sen'e the area. (7) The use will not cause traffic hazards or congestion. (8) Adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and necessary facilities have been or will be provided. The New Apostolic Church proposes to hold Sunday School at 8:45-9:30 AM and two Sunday church services: 10:00-11:00 AM and 5:00-6:00 PM. The Church also holds a Wednesday evening service from 8:00-9:00 PM. The current congregation is approximately 55 people. Because the use is a church, rather than residential homes, it is not anticipated to create a demand on parks or schools. Both water and sewer service adequate to support this use is available to the site. The site is served by two streets, County Road H and Pleasant View Drive. Given the limited number of services and the size of the congregation, the amount of traffic is anticipated to be low and will occur on weekends or evening rather than during peak commute times. The City Engineer has reviewed the applicant's drainage proposal and indicated that the rate of runoff should not be a problem and the grass treatment areas will provide enough water quality treatment. Drainage will now be directed to County Road H and will flow through grassed areas to allow sediments to percolate before runoff water leaves the site. Recommendations from the City Engineer that the grass treatment areas be seeded rather than sodded are addressed as a contingency in the resolution on the development review. The Rice Creek Watershed District has indicated to staff that a permit from them is not required. The proposal meets criteria (1), (7) and (8) stated above. (2) The use will be sufficiently compatible or separated by distance or screening from adjacent residentially zoned or used land so that existing homes will not be depreciated in value and there will be no deterrence to development of vacant land. The structure and site shall have an appearance that will not have an adverse effect upon adjacent residential properties. (3) This proposal would result in a church development on a single residential lot measuring one-half acre, which would be the smallest site used for a church in Mounds View. The next smallest site is 1.59 acres (or three times as large) and the average size site is 3.7 acres. The proposed structure is 1-1/2 stories high with a wall height of 13.5 to 16 feet, and an overall height of 26.5 to 29.5 feet above grade. The proposed footprint is 1054 feet. The typical homes in this neighborhood are one story bungalow-style homes, which . . . Planning Commission Resolution No. 475-96 September 18, 1996 Page 5 are much lower to the ground and have smaller building footprints. The applicant has provided a 10 foot wide landscaped buffer along the east property line, and a buffer area ranging from 10 to 24 feet along the north property line, between the parking lot and the adjacent single family residences. The buffer areas are less than is typical of other Mounds View churches. The range for buffer areas between parking lots and adjacent residential uses is 14 - 63 feet with the typical width at 30 feet. The type of landscape material proposed will not provide an effective screen at least eight feet in height. Parking lots are not typical improvements in the R-l single family residential district and represent a more intensive use of property than is typical for this district. Testimony has been received from adjacent property owners that the proposed plan will have an adverse effect on the enjoyment of their property due to the closeness of the parking lot to the property line, and that a landscaped buffer area of at least 15 feet in width is needed to provide an adequate buffer. Criteria (2) and (3) are not met. (4) The use, in the opinion of the City Coundl, is reasonably related to the overall needs of the City and to the existing land use. (6) The use is not in conflict with the Comprehensive Plan of the City. The Zoning Code envisions the development of churches in residential neighborhoods, and there are five other churches in Mounds View in residential districts. The applicant has testified that a number of the members of this church are from the Mounds View area, and desire to locate the church closer to their homes. (5) The use is consistent with the purposes of the Zoning Code and the purposes of the zoning district in which the applicant intends to locate the proposed use. According to the Zoning Code, "the purpose of the R-l, single family district is to provide for low density single-family detached residential dwelling units and directly related, complementary uses." Churches are allowed in the R-l district but require approval of a conditional use permit. Churches, therefore, are regarded as complementary uses which require special, discretionary review. The R-l district is intended for low density, i.e. low intensity uses. There is insufficient room on the property to meet the parking requirements and provide the type of buffer between the parking lot and the adjacent residences which is typical of other churches in Mounds View. The proposed church development, with a building of 4,108 square feet on two levels, with a building footprint of 2,054 square feet, and a 29-space parking lot, does not fit with the surrounding single family residential neighborhood. This criteria is not met. . . . Planning Commission Resolution No. 475-96 September 18, 1996 Page 6 WHEREAS, the Planning Commission does hereby find that the conditional use permit request as submitted by the New Apostolic Church for 3025 County Road H does not meet the criteria set forth in Section 1106.04 Subd 1. nor Section 1125.01 in their entirety. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mounds View Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council of the City of Mounds View that the conditional use permit for development of a church facility at 3025 County Road H as presented by the New Apostolic Church in its plans dated September 11, 1996 (project location and landscaping I Rio Architects; grading and erosion control plan I Pioneer Engineering) and the elevations and details from the construction drawings prepared by LRK design group (sheets L-2, A-2 and A-3) be denied. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the staff is directed to forward this resolution and recommendation to the City Council in advance of the minutes. Adopted this 18th day of September, 1996. ~ ,,~ Jerry peter~airperson ATTEST: ~{~~ ela Sheldon, Community Development Director (SEAL)