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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-20-2014 PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING AGENDA August 20, 2014 -- 7:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes: July 2, 2014 4. Citizens Requests and Comments Relating to Planning and Zoning Issues Not Already on the Agenda. (Before speaking, give your full name and address for the record.) 5. Planning Cases A. VR2014-00 Consideration of a Variance for a Reduced Driveway Setback Applicant: Corbin Hilgeman Address: 7851 Spring Lake Road 6. Other Planning Activity A. None 7. Next Planning Commission Meetings: A. Wednesday, September 3, 2014 B. Wednesday, September 17, 2014 8. Review Minutes: A. July 16, 2014 9. Staff Reports A. Upcoming Planning Cases 10. Chairperson and Planning Commissioner’s Reports 11. Meeting Conclusion PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting July 16, 2014 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Stevenson at 7:00 p.m. for July 16 , 2014. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Roll Call Members Present: Commissioners Elofson, Love, Rundle, Schiltgen, and Stevenson. Absent and Excused: Commissioner Birken and Carvelli-Yu. Also Present: Planning Associate Heidi Heller. ______________________________________________________________________________ Index to Minutes Page Approval of Minutes 1 DE2014-001 Development Review for a new commercial building on 2 County Road 10, west of Woodale Drive _____________________________________________________________________________ 3. Approval of Minutes June 4, 2014. MOTION/SECOND: Commissioner Elofson/Commissioner Love. To approve the Minutes of the June 4, 2014 regular Planning Commission meeting as presented. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 4. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda None. ______________________________________________________________________________ Mounds View Planning Commission July 16, 2014 Regular Meeting Page 2 ________________________________________________________________________ 5. Planning Cases A. DE2014-001 Development Review for a new commercial building on County Road 10, west of Woodale Drive Applicant: Build to Suit, Inc., representing BioLife Plasma Services Address: 1805 State Street, Bettendorf, IA Planning Associate Heller indicated BioLife Plasma Services has been located in Mounds View for several years and is currently leasing space at 2222 Woodale Drive, in the Mounds View Business Park. They now want their own building and have a purchase agreement to buy the vacant land on the east side of the Mounds View Motors car dealership on County Road 10. Multi-Tech, 2205 Woodale Drive, is the owner of the vacant land. Build to Suit, Inc. is the developer for this site and is requesting a development review for a new 16,692 square foot building to be built on the south side of the site, fronting County Road 10. Associate Heller explained that BioLife will be creating two lots from the land they are purchasing and will sell the north lot in the future. A major subdivision application will be submitted in the coming weeks. A new building will allow the company to continue its success in Mounds View and the north metro. She estimated that construction would take seven to nine months. She anticipated that BioLife would move their existing sign to the new location. Staff reviewed the plans in further detail and recommended approval of Resolution 1011-14, which approves the plans submitted by Build to Suit, Inc. for a new 16,692 square foot building for a BioLife Plasma Services facility. She noted the representative from Build to Suit, Inc. wasn’t in attendance because he had plane trouble and was stuck in Rochester. Chair Stevenson expressed concern with the landscaping plan and how it would be reviewed. Associate Heller indicated the City no longer had a forester to review the tree and landscape situation. She commented staff would review the landscaping issue and a financial guarantee would be required. She reviewed City Code requirements for tree replacement and anticipated that the applicant would meet the City requirements. Commissioner Schiltgen asked if the City’s approval had any bearing on the watershed permit. Associate Heller reported building permits would not be given out until the applicant received approval from Ramsey County and the watershed district. MOTION/SECOND: Commissioner Schiltgen/Commissioner Rundle. To approve Resolution 1011-14, a Resolution Recommending Approval of a Development Review for a New 16,692 Square Foot Commercial Building on County Road 10, West of Woodale Drive; Planning Case No. DE2014-001. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. _____________________________________________________________________________ Mounds View Planning Commission July 16, 2014 Regular Meeting Page 3 ________________________________________________________________________ 6. Other Planning Activity None. ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. Next Planning Commission Meetings: A. August 6, 2014 B. August 20, 2014 ______________________________________________________________________________ 8. Review Minutes: A. July 2, 2014 The Commission discussed the July 2 , 2014 meeting minutes. 9. Staff Updates A. Upcoming Planning Cases Planning Associate Heller discussed upcoming planning cases. 10. Chairperson and Planning Commissioners Reports Chair Stevenson invited all to attend Music in the Park on July 17th for the Teddy Bear Band at Silver View Park. 11. Adjournment There being no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair Stevenson adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m. ______________________________________________________________________________ Respectfully submitted, Heidi Heller Planning Associate Transcribed by: Heidi Guenther TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. Item No: 5A Meeting Date: August 20, 2014 Type of Business: Planning Case City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: Heidi Heller, Planning Associate Item Title/Subject: Public Hearing - Consideration of a Variance for a Reduced Driveway Setback at 7851 Spring Lake Road; Planning Case VR2014-006 Introduction: The applicant, Corbin Hilgeman, is requesting approval of a variance for a reduced driveway setback on his property at 7851 Spring Lake Road. The applicant recently built a detached garage in the backyard and now wants to extend the existing driveway to connect to the new garage. This extended driveway will run past the house and be closer than five feet to the property line so the applicant has requested a reduced driveway setback variance. Discusssion: The applicant will be accessing the new garage in the backyard, so he will be installing a 10 foot wide driveway from the existing driveway around the house to the garage. The existing attached garage/house has about a 10 foot setback so where the new driveway runs next to the house, it would have an 8-inch setback. The remainder of the driveway will have a 5-foot setback. The Zoning Code states that the Planning Commission may issue a variance to provide relief to the landowner in those cases where the Code imposes practical difficulties to the property owner in the use of the property owner’s land. This is true for all variance requests. State statutes require that the governing body review a set of specified criteria for each application and make its decision in accordance with these criteria. These criteria are set forth in Section 1125.02, Subdivision 2, of the City Code. A variance may be granted only in the event that all of the following circumstances exist: a. The variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of these regulations. The zoning code requires minimum driveway setbacks for aesthetics and to provide separation and some sense of privacy between neighbors. Homes are typically placed with the garage side having the least amount of setback, making it difficult to access the rear yards. Older homes rarely have more than a 2-car garage so it is becoming more common for residents to have second garages in the backyard. b. The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan does not specify setback criteria, but it does support improvements to properties. 7851 Spring Lake Road Variance Report August 20, 2014 Page 2 c. The applicant proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not permitted by this Title or the City Code. The property owner has built a detached garage in the backyard for space to park vehicles inside and for storage. The Zoning Code requires an improved surface driveway for garages that are accessed regularly, and there is not enough room next to the house for a driveway to have a five foot setback. The reduced setback would not be the full length of the driveway. d. Unique circumstances apply to the property which do not apply to other properties in the same zone or vicinity and result from lot size or shape, topography or other circumstances over which the owner of the property since the enactment of this Title has had no control. The unique circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant. This house was originally built in 1938 and had a few additions constructed over the years. This property has also had property line adjustments on the north and south sides because of original building placement of homes and garages on the street. e. The variance does not alter the essential character of the neighborhood. The applicant’s neighborhood consists of different sized lots, and is wooded. The new driveway will have no effect on the look of the property from the street. The neighbor’s house that would be most affected by the reduced setback of the driveway is separated from the proposed driveway by a wooded area. f. The variance requested is the minimum variance which would alleviate the practical difficulties. Economic conditions alone do not constitute practical difficulties. The 4-foot 4-inch variance is the minimum variance needed since that is what the Zoning Code requires for a driveway setback. g. The Planning Commission may impose such conditions upon the premises benefited by a variance as may be necessary to comply with the standards established by this Title or to reduce or minimize the effect of such variance upon other properties in the neighborhood, and to better carry out the intent of the variance. The condition must be directly related to and must bear a rough proportionality to the impact created by the variance. Staff has no suggestions for conditions for the variance request. The Planning Commission may add conditions as they see applicable. Public Hearing: As with any requested variance, this application requires a public hearing. Staff mailed notices to all property owners within 350 feet of the applicant’s property and a notice was published in the Sun Focus newspaper on Friday, August 8, 2014. Staff has not received any comments or questions as of August 15, 2014. 7851 Spring Lake Road Variance Report August 20, 2014 Page 3 Recommendation: After taking testimony from staff, the applicant and affected neighbors, the Commission may take any of the following actions below related to the requests. Staff recommends approval of this variance. 1. Approval of the Variance as requested. Staff has prepared Resolution 1012-14 that approves the variance if the Commission chooses this action. 2. Choose to deny the variance. If the Commission chooses this option, Staff would need direction from the Planning Commission to prepare a resolution of denial with findings of fact to support the denial. 3. Table the request. If the Planning Commission needs more information before making a decision or if they decide that there is need for more discussion, the Commission can simply move to table the request until such information has been provided. Because of 60-day requirements, the Commission would need to act upon the request as soon as reasonably possible to avoid an inadvertent approval. Respectfully submitted, Heidi Heller Planning Associate Attachments: 1. Zoning Map 2. Aerial Views 3. Site Plan 4. Photos 5. Resolution 1012-14 Zoning Map * Properties not indicated with a designation are zoned R-1, Single Family Residential N The yellow lines indicate the proposed new driveway area N Aerial View Spring Lake Rd New garage Narrative from Applicant Narrative from Applicant Continued Site Plan Photos View of front of property South side neighbors blue house New driveway will run here New driveway location South side neighbors blue house – has approximately a 20 foot setback from the property line New detached garage Rear garage corner where 8-inch setback would be MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 1012-14 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION APPROVING A FOUR-FOOT FOUR-INCH SETBACK VARIANCE FOR A DRIVEWAY AT 7851 SPRING LAKE ROAD; PLANNING CASE VR2014-006 WHEREAS, property owner Corbin Hilgeman, has applied for a four-foot four-inch (4’-4”) setback variance to allow the driveway leading around the house to the garage in the backyard to have a reduced setback; and, WHEREAS, the subject property, located at 7851 Spring Lake Road is zoned R-1, Single Family Residential, and is legally described as follows: Registered Land Survey 591, Tract C, Ramsey County, Minnesota PIN: 06-30-23-34-0094 WHEREAS, the Mounds View Planning Commission has reviewed the following documents regarding this proposal: 1. Zoning Map 2. Aerial View 3. Photographic Documentation 4. Staff Report WHEREAS, Section 1104.01 Subd. 4c(1a) of the Mounds View Zoning Code indicates that driveways shall be set back at least five feet (5’); and, WHEREAS, the applicant has applied for a variance to allow a driveway to have an eight (8) inch setback; and, WHEREAS, the purpose of the variance provision in the Zoning Code is to give relief to property owners when the strict enforcement of the zoning code requirements imposes a hardship thereby restricting the improvement of property due to practical difficulties brought about by unique or extraordinary features of the physical property that are beyond the property owner’s control; and, WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a duly-noticed public hearing regarding this request on August 20, 2014; and, WHEREAS, according to Section 1125.02, Subdivision 2 of the Mounds View Municipal Code, the Planning Commission is to review a standard set of criteria, of which all must be satisfied, in order to grant a variance to the Zoning Code. Resolution 1012-14 Page 2 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Mounds View Planning Commission finds that the criteria as identified in Section 1125.02, Subdivision 2 of the Mounds View Municipal Code are satisfied and finds there to be sufficient practical difficulty with regard to the property located at 7851 Spring Lake Road, and makes the following findings of fact related to its decision: 1. The general intent of the Zoning Code regarding setbacks is to create physical separation between driveways for aesthetics and a sense of privacy for the property owners. There is a wooded area and 20 feet between the new driveway and the neighboring house, and the new driveway will only have the reduced setback along the garage. 2. The variance is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan in that the applicant is improving the property. 3. The applicant is requesting this variance because the driveway will run past the house that only has a setback of 10 feet, and in order to have a 9 foot wide drive aisle past the house, the driveway setback will be eight (8) inches. 4. This property has had lot line adjustments and additions constructed that left limited room on the south side of the house. 5. There will be little change to the existing character of the neighborhood since the new driveway area won’t be very visible. 6. The 4-foot 4-inch variance is the minimum variance required to alleviate the applicant’s practical difficulty since that is what the zoning code requires for driveway setbacks. 7. The Planning Commission may impose conditions upon the premises as may be necessary to comply with city standards and to minimize the effect of such variance upon other properties in the neighborhood. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, the Mounds View Planning Commission, based upon the above findings, approves the variance request of Corbin Hilgeman, owner of 7851 Spring Lake Road, to allow a driveway to have an 8-inch setback where it runs next to the house. Adopted this 20th day of August, 2014. ________________________________ Gary Stevenson, Chair ATTEST: ________________________________ James Ericson, City Administrator (SEAL)