Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 01151980 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIIIIIII 102373 BOX: TZ Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1980 Document: PL MINUTES 01151980 CITY- OF -ST. ANTHONY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES January 15, 1980 The meeting was called to order at 7 :34 p.m. by Brad Bjorklund, Chairman Pro Tem. Present for roll call: Peterson, Jones, Sopcinski, Bjorklund, Bowerman, and Makowske. Enrooth arrived at 7 :36 p.m. Also present: Jim Fornell, City Manager; Ron Berg, Administrative Assistant; and Carol Johnson, Clerk-Treasurer.", The oath of office was administered to Judy Makowske, 2919 Rankin Road, and L. I. Peterson, 2900 Crestview Drive N.E. , by the City Clerk. -They had been appointed by the Council on January 10., 1980. The other Commission members then introduced themselves to approxi- mately 65 persons who were present for the meeting. The Chairman . _ . told them the City had developed a Comprehensive -Plan which will be presented at -a public hearing during the Commission' s February 19 meeting and he urged them to get a copy of the plan- and study it before attending this meeting where their input will be welcomed. The following corrections were made to the minutes for the Commission meeting held December 11: Page 1, para. 5 : Insert "Motion carried .unanimously" after the motion of approval for amendments to the City Ordinance regarding sit-down restaurants. Page 3-, para. 1: Strike "they did" which is a repitition. Page 5; para. 1: Strike "potential" and insert "cell" be- tween "retention" and "pond" in the fourth line as well as "construction" following "maintenance" in the fifth line. Motion.�by Mr. Bowerman and seconded by Mr. Jones to accept the addendum to the minutes for the Planning Commission meeting held December 11, 1979 , and approve the minutes as corrected. Motion carried -unanimously. The minutes for the public hearing on Year VI CDBG funding held December 27 were amended and corrected as follows: Page 2 , para. 3 : Insert in line 19 "The Commission recom- mended an intense publicity and advertising effort be pursued as a follow up for the housing rehabilitation' program since there is evidence past programs of this nature have not fared well-. " -2- ffi Page 3, ,para. 1: The senior housing program in the tenth line should be ,identified as "Kenzie Terrace" .' Motion by Mr.. Bowerman and seconded by Mr: Sopcinski to approve Ss amended the minutes for. the December 27 , 1,979 Public Hearing. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Bowerman to nominate Brad Bjorklund .to- ser_ve .as Chairman -of- the Planning Commission for 1980. No further nominations being offered, Mr. Sopcinski and Mr. Bowerman moved the nominations be closed, which was agreed to unanimously and Mr. Bjorklund declared Chairman. Motion by- Mr. Sopcinski and seconded by Mr. Jones to nominate Bill Bowerman to serve as Chairman Pro Tem for .1980. No further nominations being made, the motion by_Mr. Sopcinski and seconded by Mr. Jones, to close nominations, passed unanimously, and Mr. Bowerman was declared the Chairman Pro Tem.. Doug Jones will represent the Commission at the Council' s next meeting on January 22. At 7 : 47 p.m. the Public Hearing* on the rezoning application for the proposed senior .housing at .approximately 265.1 Kenzie Terrace was • opened by the Chairman who read the notice of the hearing which had gone out to all property owners within 3.50 feet of the site. Mr. Fornell confirmed that all publication requirements for such a .hearing had .been met and the application fee of $100 paid. No one present reported failure to receive the notice nor objected to its contents. Proponents for the rezoning of the property between the Legion Club building and the Lowry Grove Manor from R-.l, -Single Family Residen- tial, and C, Commercial, to R-4, Multiple Family Residential, which will permit the construction of the proposed 134-unit elderly housing, were .Archie Fjeld, President of the Northeast Minneapolis/St. Anthony Corporation (a non-profit corporation) and Jack .Boarman of Boarman Architects, Inc. Mr. Boarman presented the site plans including parking, landscaping and sidewalk plans for the project, saying the proposed building would be four stories high with eight two-bedroom 800 square foot units, and _126 one-bedroom units of 650 square feet. It would also accommodate approximately 7,000 square feet of community space for a .lobby, craft areas, a library/chapel and potential con- gregate dining space. The proposal, which calls for the acquisition of the G and G Body Shop property at 2601 Kenzie Terrace, will pro- vide 45 parking spaces, each 9 x 19 feet in size, for one-third of .the residents, a majority_. of whom are not expected..to have -automobiles. When Mr. and Mrs. George Kieffer, 2613 27th Avenue N.E., questioned whether the parking provision would be adequate, Mr. Boarman told them similar senior housing projects in Minneapolis provide parking • -3- for only 25 percent of their residents with no problems. When Mr. • Jones mentioned parking on-the street he has noticed in front of the senior housing -apartments on Stinson Boulevard, the architect said .the corporation would be willing to- provide for ten alternate parking spaces on the site plans which could be utilized in the future if parking for the. building should prove a burden to the neighbors. Len Bisanti, Chairman of the Legion' s housing committee, told of a vote by the Legion membership which approved a reciprocal arrange- ment whereby the Legion '.parking lot could be used by visitors to the congregate dining room between the .hours of 11 -a.m. and 2 p.m. when the club rooms are not open, as long as the,.responsibility for its use is assumed by the housing corporation. In response to Mr. -Sopcinski, Mr. Fornell stated that, in his opinion, the City ' s fire apparatus is adequate to serve the building. Mr. Fjeld told James Schluender, 2708 27th Avenue N.E. , that arrangements for snow removal have already been made. The contention by Joe Schlueftder, same address- -that -the four-story building- will cut -off the sunlight to -his home which adjoins the Legion parking lot, was disputed by Mr. Fornell, who estimated the building' s shadow would never extend beyond the parking .lot. Carroll Peterson, 3122 Hayes Street N.E. , a member of the corporation, confirmed this opinion. Questions of whether low income housing might be developed on the site if the p:ope::ty is zoned R-4 and the senior housing never • developed were answered by the Manager, who told the concerned per- sons the cost of developing the permitted 54 units on the site would be prohibitive. When Ruth Thompson, 3015 3.9th Avenue N.E. , questioned whether HUD funding of this project might be tied into the City' s providing other subsidized family housing, Mr. Fjeld told her HUD officials had never mentioned .the connection to him,c-and--El e fact that other government agencies had indicated a willingness to provide seed money for the project was an indication to him theyhad been assured HUD was favorable to the concept. Mr. Fjeld told Mrs. Kieffer that whether or not- the MTC service for the building occupants will be provided on .Sundays will be a matter which- will have to be -negotiated with the bus company after the pro- posal has been approved. The corporation president then requested that the signatures of property owners on 27th Avenue who had indicated their approval of the proposal as well as .letters of approval from Frances B. Norman, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Basara, ' and Mr.. and Mrs. Earle Upgren, who also reside on that street which is closest to the proposed site, be noted in the minutes. The Public Hearing was closed at 8 :42 p.m. Mr. Bowerman questioned whether the property could be zoned. condi- tionally,. which prompted him to second a motion by Mrs. Makowske to table..,.action for further legal clarification. However, a desire on the part of the other Commission members to be able to consider the variances necessary for the project. led to the following vote on the motion: -4- Aye: Makowske and Bowerman Nay: - Peterson, Jones, Sopcinski, Bjorklund and Enrooth. Motion to- table not carried. Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Bowerman to recommend Council approval of the rezoning of Parcel 07-029-23-24-003 and 07-029-23-24-004 from R-1 and C to R-4, to permit the construction of the proposed 134-unit senior housing. building subject to the approval of the nec- essary variances, finding that: 1) the development will result .in a. great .improvement in. the use of this site; 2) it may be the impetus for a major improvement of that underdeveloped part of St. Anthony in conformance with the proposed Comprehensive Plan; 3) neighbor input indicates the project will not have a detrimental effect for adjacent property owners; and 4) the density of the zoning for the project would not . seem to create any hardship for the neighborhood. Motion carried unanimously. The Public Hearing on the variances necessary for the senior housing • project was opened by the Chairman at , 9:10 p.m. with the reading of the notice of the hearing. The Manager confirmed that all -publica- tion and notification requirements of the City Ordinance had been met and a $25 application fee paid. No one present reported :fail- ure to receive said notice nor objected to its contents. Mr. Boarman said a variance for -the maximum height, set as three stories or 35 feet, will be necessary-. The proposal is for 38 to 40- .Feet for the four-story building, with ten-foot ceilings in the community area- which is proposed to be 6, 000 to 7, 000 square feet. The size of this area and'.the . fact that the units for the elderly will be smaller .than those typically built .in .other types of multi- family projects were -seen as the justification for the requested variances for density -of 134 units.:where 54-. are -permitted, and.-floor- -ratio of- 1.18 -.where_ 1. O is permitted -under ..the City Ordinance,'w.which does not address elderly housing per se. Mr. Boarman suggested how a mix of fencing, plantings and trees might be -expected to provide an adequate buffer between the senior housing and the single family residences west of the project site. Mr. Boarman also said there should be no problem with drainage because the land. is flat. In his December 20 memorandum, .the Public Works _Director .had indi- cated he could see no problem to the -City' s sewer system with the additional flow from. the proposed structure. Sidewalks will be provided by the corporation in front- of the building and .between the Legion building and the project, to give its occupants and neighbors greater accessibility to the shopping center across the street. Mr. Fjeld said the county will be requested to allow the existing -curb cuts, but the plans can be adjusted for -one if only that is - allowed. He also saw a walk light on Kenzie Terrace as desirable. -5- Martin Fredrick, :2604 27th Avenue .N.E. , directly behind the site, expressed his approval'- of the proposal b.ut. suggested more fencing • might be necessary to .keep trespassers .out, . and it was .his opinion proper grading -would-eliminate snow or -water drainage from the property. Mr. Kieffer and Joe Schluender expressed their opposition to a forty foot high building, and both .Kieffers expressed their concern about visitor parking.. Mrs. Makowske said she- was also concerned that Wilson Avenue might be. used. for parking. Mr. Schluender insisted a building 140 .feet long was too big for' a residential area and questioned whether a .building _.of this size had ever been allowed in a residential area in the City before this time. Mr. Jones said he lives right across from the .Equinox apartments. Mr. Boarman agreed a compromise where the community areas would be placed partially underground might be workable to achieve the ceiling height required for- .that type of area and necessitate only a one-foot height variance though he saw some problems with providing accessi- bility for the- handicapped. -- A he_ handicapped. _-A resident of the Hedlund property area inquired .whether that property had been considered for this proposal. Mr. Fjeld told her that that site was not large enough and, at close to $5 a square foot, would be too costly. , Mr. Fornell told George Thompson the dollar value of the .project would .be. almost $5,000,000 and taxing jurisdictions may realize over $70,.000 in tax revenues from .its =development. • The Public Hearin s g was closed at 9 : 48 p..m. , Mr. Jones said .he believes the Comprehensive Plan calls for a more f realistic rezoning of the site in question, even without the G and G acquisition, and R-4 seems the most economically feasible. He saw this proposal as far superior to previous requests for fast food. or office/restaurant use of . the property especially in view- of the heavy traffic on .Kenzie Terrace and requested approval of the fol- lowing: Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Enrooth to .recommend the Council grant the following variances to the Northeast Minneapolis/ St. Anthony Senior Citizen .Housing Corporation which will permit construction of a 134-unit elderly apartment structure on Parcels 07-029-23-24-003 and 07-029-23-24=004,: 1) -Building height variance of one .-foot (from -.35 to 36 feet) anda variance to -permit construction of .four full floors -without building the structure into the ground, * which would seem to be detrimenta-l- to the psychological well-being of the elderly -occupants, -and since the site necessitates a .four-story configuration. 2) To grant the increase in the permitted floor area ratio from 1.. 0 to 1. 8 because R=4 zoning does not address - elderly. • housing, which requires less square footage than family -6- oriented housing, and-because there is a large portion of floor- space .to be used for community purposes pro- posed for the building. • 3) To approve the density increase from , 54 to 134 units because the expected occupancy rate of 1. 3 per unit for the elderly would probably match that of a family oriented 54 unit building. 4) The reduction of parking stall size to 9 x 19 feet which would be in conformance with the anticipated changes in the City Ordinance. The Commission also finds. the shape of this site .necessitates the granting of these variances and the project -conforms to the Compre- hensive Plan as proposed and would appear to be an enhancement for the community as a whole. Motion carried unanimously. -The- meeting was - recessed at 10 :25 p.m.- and -reconvened at 10 :35 p.m. for the Public Hearing on the variances for the Johnson Wholesale Florists, Inc. expansion. The Chairman read the notice of the hearing which had gone out to all property owners within 250 feet of the site in question and no one present reported failure '-to receive the notice nor objected to its contents. R. L. Sonmora, 2708 34th Avenue N.E. , complained he had not received notice of any prior hearings on this matter, but the Manager told him such mailings are a matter of .record and he would have been included in -the first mailing because he lives within -1,00 feet of the site.—It was-noted he was on the mailing list. Mr. Fornell 's January 11 memorandum reiterated the history of this development and the litigation between the florists and the City regarding the expansion plans. He explained, and William Luther (the Johnson' s attorney) confirmed, that the attorney did not want to compromise .by speaking the -florists ' position regarding the variances :since they pelt the district court had ruled on ..the specific site plans for the expansion and ordered a .building permit for those .plans issued by the. City. The City' s position is that the court ruled to allow the- expansion, but did not approve the specific site plan -before the City, hence the City can rule on the variances for .the. expansion. Speaking in opposition to the granting of the variances was William Zawislak, 2500 3.4th Avenue .N.E. , who said he realized the court orders on the expansion should be obeyed but could not see how the City could -consider granting additional variances to intensify the commercial use ina residential area by "allowing the Johnsons to build right up to the curb" , a .privilege not granted to other resi- dents. He complained about night deliveries to the existing florist operation and parking on the street in :front of the site which he saw as "only being increased withthe expansion" . -7- .Orville Thompson, 3302. Belden Drive, for.es-aw.- the 2OO foot expansion as .increasing the annoyance to' the neighbors from the high intensity lighting now in 'use. on the .property. He questioned what criteria is set for granting variances to the City Ordinance; -and when Mr. Bj.orklund _read the conditions for granting variances to him, Mr. Thompson insisted none would be met with the variances requested for the expansion. Mr. Leba, who lives across Edwards Street from the Johnsons, recounted the history of his problems with the florist- operation over the years. He said the property is not properly screened now and viewed an addi- tional 200 feet of intense lighting as -an increased annoyance for him. Traffic has improved on Edwards, Mr. Leba said, but "tonight there are cars parking on both sides of the street" . He was adam- antly opposed to "increasing commercial production in a residential area" . Vince Ella, 3300 Belden Drive, said after the first hearing on the expansion he "never expected it to be allowed" . He saw the Johnsons - - as -"extremely -greedy, to say -the least, to expect -to be granted- all these privileges in a residential area" . He concluded by saying, "They were given a. permit to build and .now their attorney objects to conforming to the City Ordinance. " The only residents who did not express opposition to the variances for the expansion were Mr. and Mrs. Sonmord who, although they live only 75 feet from the Johnson'.s property line, .felt the variances "would not be ob- jectionable for us" . �- Mr. Jones mentioned the threat made previously by one resident, Vernon Anderson, 2714 34th Avenue N.E. , that .he would take legal action against the City if the variances- were permitted. Mr. Luther responded to the opposition by saying it is his opinion that the -court, after a very long litigation in which many of the traffic and lighting aspects were explored fully, had ruled the building permit for the expansion should be issued .by the City and it is the City' s responsibility to adhere to the court order and. not drag its feet. He said in the counter claim against- the City the Johnsons had alleged "there had been no evidence -that .their proposal had failed in any .respect to comply with the City ordinance" . The Public Hearing was closed at 11: 30 p.m. Mr. Sopcinski insisted it was the responsibility of the Commission to only judge whether the variances met the conditions set down in the .City Zoning Ordinance and not to judge .the legal positions of the controversy between the City and the Johnsons. Motion -by Mr. Bjorklund and seconded by Mr. 'Enrooth to recommend the Council hereby immediately grant a building permit for a pro- posed expansion of the Johnson Wholesale Florists, Inc. greenhouse facility at 3333 Edwards Street N.E. , on. a R-1, Single Family Resi- dential, zoned site with non-conforming usage allowed and, further, that the following proposed variances be denied: i1 . -8- � i a) an -eleven foot variance to the frontyard setback requirements; • b) a four foot variance to. the rearyard/residential area setback requirements; c) a four foot variance to the parking requirements for front yards; finding that there will be no undue hardship from denial due to the condition of the parcel involved, but rather granting these variances would aggravate the .existing visual and.--traffic problems in that neighborhood, and f.urthermore, . adjacent .properties would, in the opinion of their owners, be adversely affected. Motion carried unanimously. With the acquiescence of the Mico Oil Company representative, consi- deration of the sign variance for his gas station was .deferred until after the concept review of the Ames proposal, for which there_ were _ a number- of residents still present, was disposed of. David Ames, of the Ames Corporation, 5029 Morgan Avenue South, dis- cussed the feasibility of low and moderate income housing being developed on the 2 .3 acres of .Hedlund property at approximately 4001 Silver Lake Road, for which an amendment to the Hedlund PUD will be required. He discussed with several residents of the area the concept for 22 townhouse units which would be resident-owned �. under the Section 235 financing. Mr_. Ames said income of the home- owners can be anticipated to be between $16,000 ,and $17,000. Objections to the proposal, from.. the residents in attendance, ranged from a concern that the homes along. Penrod and ­39th would be de- valued', units might be purchased outright by the government for welfare recipients, a two-story building is too high, to one resident saying she "would rather have commercial" . Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Bjorklund to recommend a . Public Hearing be set for the Commission' s February .meeting to con- sider the modification of the Hedlund PUD to allow the development proposed by David Ames. Motion carried unanimously. George .Knight, of Brookings, South Dakota, District Supervisor for Mico Oil Company, presented his firm' s application- for a sign vari- ance for a 5 x 6 foot price sign to replace the existing signage at their gas . station at .2400 27th Avenue N..E. to meet the competi- tion of similar- price -advertising on the FAS .GAS station .at 3001 37th Avenue N.E. - Mr.' Knight expressed his. company' s'.preference that they be able to advertise-.the price for which their product is selling rather than use their allowable signage for company iden- tification. More digits in the price requires larger signage than is presently utilized at the station. The May 15, 1973 Minutes where the Planning Commission allowed the FAS GAS signage were noted. l i -9- f Motion by Mr-. Bowerman and seconded by Mr. Sopcinski to recommend o the Council that Mico Oil Company be granted permission to t: .a sign of sixty (.60) square feet at their gas station at .27th Avenue N.E. for the purpose of price identification onky, taking into consideration the fact that the requested sign area is less than the allowable total of square footage permitted in the City Ordinance -as well as the fact that the Mico Company policy -is not to use company identification. . However, it is understood that granting this variance precludes an additional sign for the company identification in excess of six square feet. In recommending approval of the -variance, the Commission finds that denying the vari- ance might create. a hardship for Mico, .who cannot use the additional standard price numbers in their existing signage. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Jones told the Commission members they might find it helpful to attend the Council' s work session on tax increment financing which - is scheduled for January 31. Motion by Mr. Sopcinski and seconded by Mr. Jones to schedule the Public Hearing on the City' s Comprehensive Plan .for February 19 , with the time schedule to be left to the discretion of the staff. Motion carried unanimously. Motion_,by Mr: Bowerman and seconded by Mrs. Makowske to adjourn 'Qiedneeting at 12 : 50 -a.m. \�_,v .Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary PJr i