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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 01201981 Meeting Sheet 100237 II I IIIA VIII VIII VIII VIII II III Boy: 35 Folder: Document: PL MINUTES 01201981 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES January 20 , 1981 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Bjorklund at 7 :32 P.M. Present for roll call : Peterson and Bjorklund. Absent: Jones, Bowerman, Sopcinski, Enrooth and Makowske. Also present: Ron Berg, Administrative Assistant. Motion by Mr. Peterson and seconded by Mr. Bjorklund to approve as presented the minutes for- the Commission's December 16th meeting. .Motion carried unanimously. Mrs. Makowske arrived at 7:33 P.M. Motion by Mr. Peterson and seconded by Mr: Bjorklund to approve as presented the minutes for the Planning Commission- Community Development Block Grant allocation hearing held .January 6 , 1981. Motion carried unanimously. Lacking a quorum, and with no interested persons present to provide input, the public hearing scheduled for 7 :35 P.M. related to the video - tape store conditional use permit was deferred to later in the meeting. Jack Gysbers , representing the .Antler Corporation, 295.4 Rice Street, St. Paul was present to request conceptual approval of the site plans for the building his firm proposes to, erect for the W. H. Kelly L retail development at the northeast corner of 39th Avenue N.E. and Apache Lane. He said he wanted to .be sure the proposed building would require no variances to .the City Zoning Ordinance requirements. The 61 parking spaces proposed for the development were seen as adequate for the one, or possibly two, stores Mr. Gysbers anticipates for the building. Mr. Berg told the Commission he understood a paint store would utilize the major -portion of the building. Mr. Bowerman arrived at 7 : 40 P.M. The developer was invited to attend the Council meeting February 10th where the Commission's recommendations. will be reported. Motion by Mrs. Makowske and seconded by Mr. Peterson to indicate to the Council the Commission 's conceptual approval of the Antler Corpora- tion 's plans for the property at the northeast corner of 39th Avenue N.E. and Apache Lane. u Motion carried unanimously. Revised plans for the Hub building under construction in the St. Anthony. Office Park were presented by John Forsberg and Leon F. Hubbard of the -- -2- Hub Manufacturing Co. , 2626 Broadway N.E. The changes involved an increase in office space from 2 , 000 square feet to 3 ,000 square feet and a switching of parking spaces which will provide 32 spaces where only 25 are required under the City ordinances . V. L. Gottwalt, 2717 St. Anthony Boulevard, owner of Gottwalt Products, 2831 Anthony Lane, the major tenant for the proposed office- warehouse answered questions pertaining to the number of employees and company trucks his operation will require and it was agreed only four parking spaces will be required:_under the City ordinance in addition to the space for the truck which will be parked most of the time at the dock. Mr. Gottwalt anticipates "no further expansion for office space since that would decrease the needed warehouse space" . Mr. Forsberg assured the Commission the landscaping will be developed as originally approved. Motion by Mrs. Makowske and seconded by Mr. Peterson to advise the Council that the Commission sees no substantial changes in the ` revised plans for the Hub building- at 2825 Anthony Lane and has ascertained the Commission ' s- previous recommendations regarding the .. devel'o' pment- will be upheld. Motion carried unanimously. As requested by the Chairman, Mr. Berg will provide the Commission members with copies of the Kenzie Terrace Study Committee minutes as soon as they are produced: A preliminary review of the proposed sign ordinance was undertaken next. Mr. Peterson offered a list of what he perceived to be minor problems with some of the wording. A change in wording for the section. dealing with awnings was accepted and a need for a compre- hensive sign plan for both City. shopping centers indicated. Mr. Jones arrived at 8 :15 P.M. It was agreed further clarification is needed regarding total valua- tion. for signs as related to sign permit fees and Mr. Berg will report back on how fees are charged by other municipalities. on Page 9 , the word "major" will be omitted from the reference to structural or dimensional changes in signs and Mr. Peterson suggested substituting "shall" for "may" in the wording dealing with compre- hensive sign plans. Mr. Jones raised. questions regarding the configu- ration of the sign identifying the barber-beauty shop at 3917 Silver Lake Road and requested the minutes for the approval of the sign be researched to see if plantings. were permitted. Mr. Enrooth arrived at 8:35 P.M. The City ordinances will also be researched by Mr. Berg to ascertain whether the City requires light pole maintenance as related to the light which has been on the ground for some time near the Hobo restaurant. Concerning the. time permitted an applicant for a sign permit to appeal staff decision, it was agreed the wording should be J -3- changed to indicate the Commission would- "conduct" rather than "schedule" the hearing within 60 .days . The words "subject to the following conditions" were suggested to precede the three conditions for granting a sign permit. House signage was recommended to "not exceed 10 square feet" . Staff will look into workable methods for controlling night lighting of signs to protect residential areas from offensive lighting. Mr. Bowerman suggested wording which will require lighted signs to be turned off "within a reasonable time of the normal closing time for a business except where a need for light- ing for security can be demonstrated" . Apache has been contacted regarding the removal of the non-conforming signage on the former Sibley store, Mr. Berg reported and he said, when LaBelles had discussed this vacant space with him, they had been informed the existing sign would have to be taken down. After delaying the public hearing on the conditional use permit for the Video Movie Center at Apache from 7 :35 P.M. to 9 :03 P.M. for public input, and when no one had arrived by that time, the hearing was opened by Chairman Bjorklund. The Administrative Assistant confirmed that all mailing and publi- cation requirements for such a hearing had been met and the required $100 fee paid by the applicant for the permit. Although the applicant, Worth Oachs , had notified staff he would be unable to attend the hearing, the consensus of the Commission was that, since his input had been received . and thoroughly explored during previous Commission and Council hearings before the public, a recommendation could be made without further testimony. The restrictive conditions to be met before a similar conditional use permit can be granted to another operation of this type were cited to answer concerns raised about setting a precedent and the early closing of the Apache mall con- sidered a factor in making the establishment of an offensive operation impractical. The existing video. center' s public location was considered as an- effective deterrent to screening offensive materials and restrictions as to the size of the screen considered unnecessary. Motion by Mr. Enrooth and seconded by Mr. Jones to recommend Council approval of a conditional use, permit for the Video' Movie Center in the northeast section of the Apache Plaza mall area subject to the operation complying with all state statutes and City ordinances in effect or to be put in effect in the. future, finding that: (;1) The proposed use is one of the conditional uses specifically permitted in the district, in which it is located. (_2)_ The proposed conditional use will not be detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of persons residing or work- ing in the vicinity or injurious to property values or improve- ments in the vicinity, the Commission considering the relatively isolated location of the video center within the mall area to satisfy these requirements . (3) The proposed conditional use. is possibly necessary or possibly desirable at the specified location to provide. a service or a 1. facility which is in the interest _of public convenience and may contribute to the general welfare of the neighborhood or community. -4- Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Peterson commented on the excellent manner in which the proposed - obscenity ordinance had been developed. Mr: Jones noted the problems with. fire code violations . cited by the Fire Chief during the CDBG funds hearing and said it was his own personal observation that "St. Anthony is one of the most lax communities in regard to. policing apartment buildings for maintenance and fire code violations" . He concluded "we 're just lucky we haven't had any fatalities" . The Planning. Commission member believed a comprehensive maintenance and. f.ire safety ordinance should be developed by the. Council and inspections of all City apartment buildings made on a regular basis. When Mr. Berg, told him the Health Advisory Committee is working on a maintenance ordinance, he suggested the Minneapolis and Fridley ordinances should be used as references. The Commission' s concern for the_ .City 's liability. in the event of a fire in a City apartment prompted the following: Motion. by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Bowerman to .indicate the Commission's concern that a housing maintenance and. fire safety ordinance be developed for the City which will be strongly enforced by City employees or officials . Motion carried unanimously. When Mr. Bowerman reiterated his suggestion that copies of the Com- mission' s minutes be made readily available for reference during meetings , Mr. Berg said this could be done. Motion by Mr. Enrooth and seconded by. Mr. Jones to adjourn the meeting at 9 : 50 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary