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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-03-2023APPROVED PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting May 3, 2023 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Mounds View Boulevard, Mounds View, MN 55112 ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Rundle at 6:30 p.m. for May 3, 2023. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Roll Call Members Present: Commissioners Curtis, Farmer, Nelson, Rundle, Stevenson and Urlacher. Absent and Excused: Commissioner Munson. Also Present: Community Development Director Jon Sevald and Council Member Gary Meehlhause. Index to Minutes Page Pulte Homes & Yard Homes Concept Plan 2 Approval of Minutes 5 _____________________________________________________________________________ 3. Special Order of Business A. Oath of Office – Commissioner Amber Urlacher This item was conducted at the April Planning Commission meeting. 4. Citizens Requests and Comments on Items Not on the Agenda None. ______________________________________________________________________________ Mounds View Planning Commission May 3, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 2 ________________________________________________________________________ 5. Planning Cases None. 6. Other Planning Activity A. Pulte Homes & Yard Homes Concept Plan Community Development Director Sevald stated Pulte and Yard Homes have submitted a Concept Plan for review by the City Council (May 1), Planning Commission (May 3), and Parks, Recreation & Forestry Commission (May 25). Concept Plans are intended to be an informal review for the benefit of the developer in their preparation of submitting a Preliminary Plat. Staff reviewed the proposed Concept Plan in detail with the Commission and requested each Commissioner ask questions and provide their individual recommendations. Dean Lotter, Manager of Land, Planning and Title for Pulte Homes, explained he has provided several iterations of the proposed Concept Plan to the City. He noted this project includes townhouses and affordable single family homes that would be provided by Yard Homes. He reviewed the location of the project and noted wetlands have been identified, along with the floodplain elevations. He commented on the stormwater management system noting extra capacity would be built into the system. He reported the project has been cut back to 75 units. He provided further information on how the project would be accessed and asked for questions or comments. He commented further on the trail that would be installed through the development to LaPort. The portions of the development that were proposed for wetland banking was further discussed. Commissioner Stevenson asked if any of the units would have basements. Mr. Lotter reported all of the units would be slab on grade. Commissioner Farmer questioned how delivery vehicles would maneuver through the development. Mr. Lotter explained the development had several turnouts that would allow delivery vehicles to turn around in order to exit the development. He reported the proposed turnouts were designed for both delivery vehicles and fire trucks. He noted for safety purposes each of the townhomes would be sprinkled. It was noted the streets within the development would be privately owned and the development would have an HOA in place. Commissioner Urlacher asked what type of traffic backup would occur given the fact this development would share access with the waste drop off site. Mr. Lotter understood the weekends would be busy. He noted he was working with staff on a different design to the yard waste site. Commissioner Nelson inquired if a traffic study had been completed. Mr. Lotter stated a traffic study had not yet been completed. Mounds View Planning Commission May 3, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 3 ________________________________________________________________________ Commissioner Farmer questioned if the City had traffic counts for the compost center. Community Development Director Sevald anticipated the County would have this information. Commissioner Farmer recommended the City review this information in order to better understand how the peak traffic numbers in the fall when the compost site is the busiest. Community Development Director Sevald stated he could speak with Ramsey County regarding this matter. Commissioner Urlacher asked if who would be maintaining the trails after they were constructed by the developer. Mr. Lotter stated trails running through a townhome development were typically managed by the HOA and those running outside the townhome development were maintained by the City. Commissioner Urlacher inquired if there would be public parking available for residents to use in order to utilize the new walking trails. Mr. Lotter reviewed the location of several parking spaces for public use. Commissioner Urlacher questioned if dogs would be allowed within the townhome association. Mr. Lotter reported dogs would be allowed and noted pet stations could be posted along the trails. Commissioner Urlacher asked if there was enough space between the townhomes and yard homes for snow storage. Mr. Lotter explained a snow storage plan would be provided to the City with the Preliminary Plat. Commissioner Nelson reported he attended the neighborhood meeting. He commented on a couple of the concerns that were raised by the neighbors, which had to do with the wetlands. Further discussion ensued regarding the current site conditions and soil borings. City Administrator Zikmund addressed the give and take within this project, which included the trail system that would be reviewed by the Park Commission. Councilmember Meehlhause commented on the compost site and stated this valuable amenity would not be taken away from the community. He explained the yard homes would be cottage style homes that were like a studio style apartment. He reported the townhomes could be one or two stories and had a number of amenities for the future buyers to consider. Jamie Stolpestad commented further on price range and amenities that would be included within the yard homes. Mr. Lotter explained Pulte was seeing the vast majority of townhome buyers being empty nesters that were looking for low maintenance single story housing. Mounds View Planning Commission May 3, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 4 ________________________________________________________________________ Commissioner Curtis questioned why the cottages were geographically separated from the Pulte townhomes. Mr. Lotter stated the first iteration had the yard homes at the entrance and after numerous iterations, the yard homes were coupled together separate from the Pulte townhomes. He discussed how Pulte finances its own projects and stated he believed the separation made the most sense for this development. Mr. Stolpestad commented further on how the two separate developments served as a transition from one density point to another. Commissioner Curtis asked if a trail had been considered between the two developments. Mr. Lotter stated this would be difficult given the poor soil conditions in this area of the development. Commissioner Urlacher inquired if the yard homes would have its own association. Mr. Stolpestad reported this was the case. He noted the association would have controls in place to assist with balancing the development. He commented further on how trash would be handled in the cottage homes. Chair Rundle asked for recommendations for the developer. Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to see a traffic study before a preliminary plat is brought to the Planning Commission. In addition, he would like to see the geotechnical completed. He requested further information be provided regarding the street lighting. He recommended the City work with the County on the traffic issues surrounding the compost site. Mr. Lotter thanked the Commission for sharing their general support and noted he would report back with more information on traffic, the geotechnical, stormwater design and wetland banking. Chair Rundle asked if there was any comments from the public regarding this Concept Plan. Lily _________ stated she was a resident of Mounds View. She expressed concern with the number of houses that would be built behind her house and her neighbors houses. She did not believe this was a fair decision and asked the City to listen carefully to what people had to say. She understood the City owns this land and wants to raise money. However, she would like to see the woods and wildlife protected. She commented on a memory she made in the woods near a very big tree that was full of moss. She stated she will be sad if this area was developed because she would no longer be able to have outdoor experiences. She explained she loves being outside exploring. She thanked the Commission for listening to her concerns. Maria Slabiak, 8135 Long Lake Road, stated the property proposed for development was located on a floodplain and had wetlands. She discussed how wetlands provide habitats and food for wildlife. She questioned why the density on this property was increased and stated she feared this would adversely impact the property values for the surrounding residential homes. She explained she was also concerned with how the drainage in the area would be impacted when this many new units were added. She reported this project was asking for numerous deviations and noted the yard homes do not meet minimum standards for the City, nor do the townhomes meet the minimum zoning requirements for lot size. She commented on the safety concerns she had Mounds View Planning Commission May 3, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 5 ________________________________________________________________________ regarding the yard homes. She asked how the City would be benefiting from this project. She believed this was not the time or place to experiment with expensive townhomes and “affordable” yard homes given the close proximity to an established residential neighborhood. She indicated the neighbors were concerned with how much their home value will decrease. She commented on how townhomes are not known for having high resale values. She noted this project would remove one of the last remaining natural areas in Mounds View. She believed the proposed trail did not make up for what would be lost should this project move forward. Commissioner Urlacher recommended the developer provide further information regarding the parking within the yard homes development. Community Development Director Sevald summarized his notes based on the comments from the Commission and stated he would work with the developer to address these issues within the preliminary plat. Commissioner Curtis asked what the next steps were for this project. Community Development Director Sevald explained staff would be having a similar conversation with the Park Commission. After this meeting, staff would begin working on a zoning map amendment and comprehensive plan amendment. 7. Approval of Minutes April 19, 2023. MOTION/SECOND: Commissioner Curtis/Commissioner Nelson. To approve the Minutes of the April 19, 2023 regular Planning Commission meetings as presented. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 8. Reports A. Upcoming Planning Cases & Activity Community Development Director Sevald discussed upcoming planning cases with the Commission and noted the Planning Commission would be meeting on Wednesday, May 17. B. Staff Updates Community Development Director Sevald had nothing additional to report. Mounds View Planning Commission May 3, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 6 ________________________________________________________________________ C. Council Updates Council Member Meehlhause provided the Planning Commission with an update from the City Council. He stated the Council held a worksession on Monday night where the group received a presentation from Pulte Homes and Yard Homes. He explained the Council reviewed the five year financial plan, along with the five year CIP. He updated the Council on the Community Center expansion and the potential local sales tax request. He reported the Council would be holding information meetings regarding organized trash collection on May 31. He noted the 2022 Citizen and Coaches of the Year would be recognized at the May 8 City Council meeting. D. Planning Commissioner Reports None. 9. Next Planning Commission Meeting: A. Wednesday, May 17, 2023 B. Wednesday, June 7, 2023 ______________________________________________________________________________ 10. Adjournment There being no further business before the Planning Commission, Chair Rundle adjourned the meeting at 7:41 p.m. ______________________________________________________________________________ Respectfully submitted, Jon Sevald Community Development Director Transcribed by: Heidi Guenther Minute Maker Secretarial