Minutes PC 05.18.1976 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING BOARD MINUTES May 18,1976 The meeting was called to order at 7:40 P.M. by Mr. Ken Hiebel, Chairman Pro Tem. Present for roll call: Rymarchick, Letourneau, Hieberl, Cowan, Marks, and Johnson. Absent: Bowerman Also present: Jim Fornell, Adm. Asst. Motion by Mr. Letourneau, seconded by Mr. Rymarchick to approve the minutes of the April 20, 1976 meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Mr. Marks, seconded by Mr. Cowan to table action on the Poppin Fresh/ Signcrafters request for a variance to permit an enlarged free standing sign at 3701 Stinson Boulevard until a representative of either company is present to make the request. Motion carried unanimously. Mrs. Richard Erpelding appeared to request that she be allowed to erect a temporary screened enclosure on the cement slab next to the building which houses her indoor foliage plant business at 2550 Kenzie Terrace. She said the enclosure would allow better care for the plants and permit a walk-in service for customers. The screened enclosure would not be used during the winter and could be dismantled if the lessees vacate the property. The structure has been used for commercial enterprises for a number of years and is leased by Mrs. Erpelding and her husband from the St. Anthony Shopping Center, Inc. and a letter of permission from Mr. E. Saliterman for the use of the property for this purpose under the lease agreement was a part of the presentation. Mrs. Erpelding said her husband operates his business, Special Interest Motor Cars, in the basement of the building. There was a discussion of the non -conforming usage which had been allowed for years on this property which is zoned R-1. It was also established that the proposed structure would reduce the front yard setback to 16z feet which would not meet the zoning requirements for R-1. Mr. Fornell pointed out the fact that setbacks for commercial use are set at the discretion of the Council under the existing ordinance and felt the property should be rezoned to "C" to make it consistent with the uses over the past ten years. He defended the staff's recommendation for preliminary acceptance based on the traditional commercial use of property in the past and the fact that the requested structure would not detract further from the rather unattractive appearance of the property at present. He mentioned the amount of the fees which would have to be paid if the request were treated as a variance from the R-1 front yard setback or a zoning change to "C" and asked that the staff be given some guidance in that regard. Mr. Johnson expressed his concern with the "fruit stand" image of the proposed structure and the entire Board felt they had not been given enough specific information regarding construction, size and materials, signing and lighting of the structure to make a judgment on the request, and Mr. Marks felt Mrs. Erpelding was not correctly informed as to what was expected of her for her presentation. The Board members wondered if some effort should be made to solve the zoning question for this area.