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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 05191981 Meeting Sheet 100229, VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII III II Box: 15 Folder: Document: PL MINUTES 05191981 MW CITY OF ST. ANTHONY • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES May 19 , 1981 The meeting, which had been postponed until after the City school election polls were closed, was called to order by Chairman Bjork- lund at 8 : 00 P.M. Present for roll call : Peterson, Bowerman, Bjorklund , Sopcinski , Enrooth, and Makowske. Absent: Jones . Also present: Ron Berg, Administrative Assistant . The following corrections and additions were made to the minutes for the April 21st Commission meeting : Page 1 , para. 2 : Add a comma after "Enrooth" . para. 8 : Substitute "advised that" for "told" in the 2nd line . para. 9 : Delete "had" between "Council" and "also" in the lst line. Page 3 , para. 1 : Delete "and" between "proceedings" and "when" in the 14th line. para. 11 : Motion congratulating Mr. Fornell was "carried unanimously" . Page 4 , para. 1 : Delete "this" between "because" and "housing" in the 33rd line. Page 5 , para. 7 : Correct "Road" to "Drive" in the 2nd line . para. 8 : Delete "was" before "encouraged" and add "Plan- ning Commission members" following "encouraged" in the 3rd line. Page 6 , para. 1 : Add "Land Use Advisory Committee" following "Metropolitan Council" . Motion by Mrs . Makowske and seconded by Mr. Enrooth to approve the minutes as modified for the Planning Commission meeting held April 21 , 1981 . Motion carried unanimously. Chairman Bjorklund agreed to represent the Commission at the Council meeting to be held May 26th. At 8 : 08 P .M. the Chairman opened the public hearing on the preliminary plat for St. Anthony Court by reading the notice of the hearing which • had been published and mailed to adjoining property owners in accord- ance with ordinance requirements . Five of these property owners were present but no one reported failure to receive the notice nor objected to its content. r 7 -2- Mr. Berg reported -the application fee of $.50 had been paid by Sid Johnson .of NuWay Builders., 1866 Tioga Boulevard-..in New Brighton, • who proposes to erect a 25 unit townhome development between 3909 and 4017 Silver Lake Road on what is commonly referred to as the Hedlund PUD site. As he had noted in his May 15th memorandum recommending plat approval , Mr. Berg advised there will be no variances to .ordinance requirements necessary for the project as proposed and the plat had been reviewed by the Public Works and Fire Departments as well as utility companies , Ramsey County, and the Rice Creek Watershed District. He said the latter had recommended minor modifications in the drainage plans which shouldn't jeopardize the development with the major modification only requiring the second set of .units (Block 2) to be built one foot higher than originally planned and a berm to keep the surface waters runoff on the property to be drained off on the northwest corner. . The placement of a fire hydrant will be negotiated with the City as indicated by Mr. Hamer in his May 1st review of the plat. The City Attorney had addressed the question of the property owner- ship in his May 12th review, recommending this be documented before the final plat approval. Staff was requested to research whether the PUD zoning for the property. should be revoked now that it is rezoned to R-3 , multiple dwelling district. The Commission discussed with the developer and Mr. Berg -the site and elevation, drainage, and grading plans submitted by Mr. Johnson • as well as points of access and egress for -townhome owners for the site. Mr. Johnson assured them that, even with the changes requested by the Rice Creek Watershed District, the proposal will "meet all City guidelines and ordinances regarding setbacks , parking and density with no variances necessary" . When asked for a firm timeframe for construction, the developer said, taking into consideration the existing economic climate, processing the FHA financing will take from four to six months but he expects to begin construction on the five southernmost units by early August, progressing northward as the market dictates. He estimates the entire project will be completed by next year, but told the Commission it will impose a great hardship on him if time constraints are placed on him now. Mr. Bowerman said no such constraints are placed by the City on industrial con- struction and .he doesn' t believe such constraints are necessary for this project. Mr. Sopcinski asked Mr. Johnson to describe the exterior finish of the buildings so "the residents ' concerns regard- ing appearance may be answered" . His reply was that "with an asking price for each unit .of between $65,000 and $75 ,000 , it will be to . his advantage to develop a project as aesthetically pleasing as economics permit" . He said the exterior for all units will not necessarily be the same but will probably be of rough sawn cedar, with as much brick as the market will allow. His plan is to save as many trees on the property as possible and replace those he has to take down with trees, such as ash, which have the best chance of survival. He said, . "the six foot fence will remain at the back of • the property" but accepted the statement from Lloyd Hedman, 3924 Penrod Lane, that "whether the fence stays up or not, is up to the property owners on Penrod who own it" . None of the other. property owners spoke either for or against the proposal. The hearing was closed at 8 :55 P .M. -3- Mrs . Makowske said she is "excited about the possibility of this site finally being developed" . • Motion by Mrs . Makowske and seconded by Mr. Bowerman to recommend Council approval of the preliminary plat for the site presently identified as Lot 12 , Block 1 , Penrod Addition, for the development of St. Anthony Court, a 25 unit townhome project , by Sid Johnson as per drainage and grading drawings signed by Keith Nelson, registered professional engineer, dated May 1 , 1981 , and site and elevation plans signed by Gary MacKenzie , architect, dated May 19 , 1981 finding that no variances to the City Zoning Ordinance will be necessary and all zoning requirements for an R-3 district have been satisfied in the proposal. The Commission recommends the plat approval be contingent upon final approval of the drainage plan by the Rice Creek Watershed District and compliance with all applicable City and State codes and ordinances , and further , although not required at this time , recommends that a "firm option" be demonstrated by Mr. Johnson before the final platting is approved. The Commission does not recommend an additional road easement along Silver Lake Road be granted to Ramsey County. Motion carried unanimously. At 9 : 02 P.M. the Chairman opened the public hearing on a petition for a variance from the City Zoning Ordinance from James P . Danelski by reading the notice which had been mailed to 15 of the property owners adjacent to the site. No one except Mr. Danelski appeared to address the proposal . Mr. Danelski is requesting a 15 foot side yard setback variance to the City requirement that side yards adjacent to a street measure not less than thirty feet for the 15 foot addition to the south side of his existing home on 33rd Avenue N.E. He said with the addition he will utilize a passive solar heating concept with a stone fire- place in the middle of the addition serving as the heat collector and presented an architect' s booklet which illustrated the concept. A substantial loss of benefit from the sun will be experienced if the addition is sited anywhere else on the property , Mr. Danelski insisted, and he has no other place in his existing structure where the heat collector can be built. A petition signed by four of Mr. Danelski ' s neighbors indicated they "have no objections to the deviation" and the petitioner told the Commission he has talked to all of his neighbors and foresees no problem getting their written approval as well. Since his neighbors ' dwellings on both sides are from 110 to 125 feet from his residence, there will be no problem with solar accessibility for either property. When told a uniformity in front yards is maintained all the way down that street, Mr. Danelski insisted "there are at least two homes which are built closer to the curb on 33rd than I want to be" . Mr. Bowerman saw two distinct proposals in the petition; one for a family room addition, and utilization of passive solar heating concepts in that addition. He could not perceive where Mr. Danelski had satisfactorily addressed the condition set for granting such a variance where it must be demonstrated that "an alleged hardship for , -4- the petitioner had been been caused by the City Ordinance" , since there would seem to be alternative methods of utilizing solar heat. The Commission member was concerned a "dangerous precedent might be set" for the many similar projects he foresees in the future. • Mr. Sopcinski believes from his own experience with a three season patio that "passive solar heating for Minnesota is very minimal because of the many cloudy days we have during the winter" . He believed he could vote for the proposal only if Mr. Danelski could provide engineering data supporting the proposed siting of the addi- tion as the most energy saving. Mr. Peterson agreed, saying he sees the Commission needs to seek expertise in this area before they can come to an educated decision on this new concept. The Chairman pointed out to Mr. Danelski that he is requesting a larger variance than has historically ever been granted in the City and he doesn' t believe "Mr. Danelski has demonstrated the City Ordinance is a greater hardship for him than for the rest of the property owners who are bound to the zoning setback requirements" . He closed the hearing at 9 : 45 P.M. Mrs . Makowske told Mr. Danelski that, although she is always happy to see City property upgraded, she could not vote for his proposal because of the size of the variance, the precedent it would set and the fact that he has not satisfactorily addressed the three condi- tions set for granting the variance he proposes . The Chairman reported Mr. Jones , who had a business commitment which • had prevented his attendance at the meeting, had called him and asked him to indicate Mr. Jones would be in favor of the Danelski proposal. Mr. Enrooth perceives the Commission needing more concrete data "to act on the proposal in a responsible manner, considering the certainty of many similar requests coming before them in the future" , and said he would like to see the proposal tabled. The Chairman told Mr. Danelski if he could demonstrate that "none of at least eight other solar systems I personally know of, which wouldn' t require variances , would not work on your property" , he might be able to consider the hardship condition had been fulfilled. Mr. Sopcinski wanted to find out whether other municipalities have permitted solar concepts to override their existing zoning require- ments before acting. Mr. Peterson agreed the Commission doesn 't have the expertise to consider this concept and suggested the State Planning Agency might provie helpful in this area. Mr. Danelski said it will cost him between $500 and $1,500 to have an architect draw up the plans for his proposal but agreed to see if he "can employ one of the firms who are bidding on the project to come before the Commission to answer the questions which have been • raised" . When Mr. Peterson moved the request be tabled, Mr. Enrooth asked, as a point of clarification, whether the request could be brought up again, if tabled. The Chairman told him "anyone can move it from the table or it can just be placed back on the agenda for another meeting" . • -5- The motion to table was carried unanimously and no recommendation made to the Council. Mrs. Makowske raised the question- regarding the two small signs on the building at 3909 Silver Lake Road where she thought only the approved monument sign in front was permitted under the Hedlund PUD . She was concerned as to what will happen if Mr. Johnson needs identification for his townhome project. Questions were again raised as to which zoning,' PUD or R-3 , could be applied and staff was requested to research the signage on the Craig and Co. shop as it relates to the shop and to the St. Anthony Court proposal under the Hedlund PUD. Commission expressed several concerns regarding Columbia Heights Comprehensive Plan which had been submitted for City review. Included were questions of whether the plan had addressed the expan- sion of commercial development along .Stinson Boulevard or the pos- sibility of 37th Avenue being rebuilt through Columbia Heights and Minneapolis in such a manner that the increased. traffic will have an adverse effect on St. Anthony. Mrs . Makowske questioned if there are plans for an inter-city bicycle path. Further questions will be submitted in writing by Mr. Berg prior to presentation to the Council for approval. Mr. Berg reported Jim Gahagen of the Chamber of Commerce has indi- cated an interest in reviewing the City' s new sign ordinance. He hopes to have the ordinance for Commission consideration at the July meeting unless the size of the agenda prohibits spending the • time which he believes necessary for that consideration. He reminded the Commission, of the next meeting of the Kenzie Terrace Task Force the following evening and reported staff has been re- quested to research a noise ordinance for the City which will come before them. Chairman Bjorklund wondered if this might .prove to be as wasted an .effort as had been the long hours they devoted to the massage parlor ordinance which had not passed . Mr. Sopcinski said he had perceived during the Council' s last meeting the Council ' s reticence to get down on paper something which will more than likely be changed through court action soon. He said the ordinance had been laid over for future action if a request for such a facility is made to the City. Thus, the City will have gone on record regarding its intentions towards these facilities and can later;.)pass an ordinance which will meet the court tests. Mr. Berg reported the Council had indicated an interest in having an economic feasibility study similar to the Kenzie Terrace study done for possible tax increment financing for the Walbon property on Old Highway 8 and the Clark station on Stinson Boulevard. He said Mr. Walbon appears to be amenable to the proposal for his property. The Administrative Assistant had distributed the preliminary staff drafts of the Metropolitan Council ' s review of the City' s Compre- hensive Plan and requested comments on the review be given him before the staff review May 27th. He noted a reference to solar energy in the . review and Mr. Sopcinski reiterated that he perceives a strong consensus of the Commission to have staff determine what is being -6- done throughout the seven county metropolitan area regarding the effect solar energy implementation may have on setbacks established in city ordinances. ^ The statement concerning proposed legislative study of the Metro- politan Council from the Citizens League had been included in the agenda as informational. Motion by Mr. Enrooth and seconded by Mr. Sopcinski to adjourn the meeting at 10 :25 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted; Helen Crowe Secretary •