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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 03191984 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIII IIII 101933 Box: 21 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1984 Document: PL MINUTES 03191984 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES March 19 , 1984 The meeting was called to order by Chair Pro Tem Franzese at 7 : 35 P.M. Present for roll call : Hansen, Jones , Franzese , Bjorklund, and Wagner. Absent: Zawislak and Bowerman. Also,_.:present: David Childs , City Manager. Commissioner Bjorklund said he was very pleased with the comprehensive minutes for the last meeting,. which had so accurately reported the Commission perceptions and actions taken related to the various matters before them. Motion by Commissioner Bjorklund and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to approve as submitted the minutes of the Planning Commission meeting . held February 21, 1984 . Motion carried unanimously. At 7: 37 'P.M. , the Chair Pro Tem opened the hearing on the proposed allocation of the City's share of Community Development Block Grant • funds which the Manager reported had decreased from the 1983 funding of $46 ,560 to $34 , 819 for 1984. Mr. Childs had proposed in his March 16th memorandum that $29 , 600 be budgeted for housing rehabilitation, because staff perceives the demand remains high, and $5 ;219 be allocated for the senior program which had been requested by Community Services . To offset the reduction ,i in the City ' s allocation this year; the Manager had proposed no administration costs, which he said, represented his own time and effort, for which he is already paid by the City . Commissioner Jones suggested consideration be given to allocating a portion of the funds to the provision of sidewalks along Stinson and 37th Avenue , where people are forced to walk in the street when snow covers the right-of-ways. He said many persons who are dropped off by the bus on 39th and Stinson have to. walk from there -to the Apache Medical Center and many more have' to deal with four lane traffic on 37th past Monarch when they walk from the bus stops . However, the Commissioner suggested the Public Works Department make the decision of where the sidewalks should be located to avoid the same problem he perceives this winter on the walk between Zantigo ' s and the bridge on Silver Lake Road. Mr. Childs assured him the City policy is to keep all walkways open, but the crews have had great difficulty doing so near Zantigo ' s because of the snow Apache had pushed onto the sidewalk. • Commissioner Franzese recalled there had been some interest in having sidewalks from the Kenzie Terrace Project to Stinson. Mr. Childs said -2- funding is usually not available for. Hennepin County projects because • that portion of the City fails to meet the low to moderate income criteria set for funding; but agreed to check to see if the senior rental project might qualify. The Manager indicated CDBG funded sidewalks are planned from Silver Lake Road to the Diamond 8 apartments when County Road D is recon- structed. He also said there is a possibility $34 ,000 in funds might be freed up for the other projects if the County won' t accept another extension of funding for acquisitions for "the Kenzie Terrace Project. When he checks this out with Hennepin County, Mr. Childs said he would also inquire about Commissioner Bjorklund' s suggestion that the funds might be used to update the City 's identification signs , which the Manager said he doubted would qualify, and. his other suggestion, which might .be more feasible, to use CDBG funds to reprint the Know Your City booklet, which it could be . argued would primarily benefit the transient tenants of the .apartments in Ramsey County who are not familiar with the City. The Manager told Commissioner Jones a final decision on the fund allocation could be- delayed until the special meeting which the Com- mission would be requested. to hold April 3rd, and in the .interim, he could get an estimation of the costs of providing the sidewalks along 37th and Stinson and of having the community directory printed. Motion by Commissioner Bjorklund and seconded by Commissioner Wagner • to table action on the CDBG allocations , pending the Manager 's researching costs of the various proposals made that evening. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Commissioner Bjorklund and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to move the agenda and. take off the table the request for a new Gross Golf Course clubhouse . Motioncarried unanimously. Richard J. Yates, 5742 Colfax South, a special services representative for golf facilities for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board; Dennis Ryan, 310 .4th Avenue South, Director of Engineering for the Park Board; and Paul Madsen of Arvid Elness , Inc. , the architect who had presented the clubhouse plans at the February 21st meeting, were all present to answer the. concerns which had been raised about the project at that meeting. Commissioner Bj.orklund told them he had visited -other .Park Board facilities at Theodore Wirth, Columbia, .and Lake Nokomis and hadn 't seen any building which wasn' t constructed of either masonry or brick, which he perceives to be much more vandal proof than the shake exterior planned for. the St. Anthony facility. The Commissioner wondered why, "such a beautifully designed building was being constructed so cheaply" , • and asked how much more it would cost to build. the same type of build- ing in St. Anthony . Mr. Yates disputed his characterization for the proposed construction as "cheap" and Mr. Madsen told the Commissioner there is only a $40 ,000 ' spread between shakes and the other exterior finishes . • J -3- Mr. 3- Mr. Ryan told Commissioner -Bjorklund the Park Board' spends approximately $20 ,000 for vandalism on all their buildings in a year and a good percentage of that goes to remove four .letter expletives sprayed or written with felt pens on the brick or masonry buildings . He said replacing shakes would be much less expensive . However, the engineer indicated he would not expect the same experience with a golf course where the age of the participants is much Higher than that of the youths who frequent other types of community recreation centers and schools. As a matter of fact, Mr. Ryan said, he knew of no incidents of vandalism at Gross during the 40. or 50 years it has been in St. Anthony. . He also said the Columbia facility is constructed of both shakes and brick and there have had to be no shakes replaced since the building was constructed in 1925 . Mr.. Yates said a shake exterior had been selected for Gross because the Board had perceived that would better fit into the natural environment of a golf course. Mr. .Madsen pointed out on -the colored rendering of the project he had brought with him the building elevations as related to St. Anthony Boulevard, which he perceived had -been a matter of Commission concern at the- last meeting. He said there would be one wall of vandal proof translucent panels which only let the light in and he said there would be lighting placed essentially all around the building for security. The signage is being reworked to . conform to the City Sign Ordinance and the parking would be expanded to at . least 20 additional stalls north of the clubhouse to prevent on-street parking once the project is completed. The old clubhouse would be torn down as soon as the • new structure is up and, Mr. Ryan said, it would be essential that the two processes be coordinated so the site plantings can be in before the planting season is over next fall. When Commissioner Bjorklund asked whether the new clubhouse could be expected to increase the traffic on St. Anthony Boulevard, Mr. Yates told him he would not expect the number of golf rounds played, which is 50 , 000 a year, to be increased and the -only additional traffic to the facility might be during the winter when the Park Board might decide to open the facility a few days a week, mostly on the weekends , to accomodate cross country skiing on the course. There might also be more people from nearby businesses , such. as Honeywell , who. might decide to eat lunch in the new dining facilities, according to Mr. Yates, and there is also a meeting room planned which could accomodate about a dozen people. Mr. Yates told Commissioner Franzese any damage to . the building, such as replacement of windows , would be immediately repaired by the park board crews . Commissioner Jones indicated he perceived the new facilities would be a real benefit to many of the City residents and asked whether- the Park Board had given any consideration to cooperating with the City towards the maintenance of the deteriorated St. Anthony Boulevard which he believes should be upgraded to match the improvements on the • Gross property. He mentioned he perceives a degree of frustration on. the Commission -that all costs of maintenance have to be borne by City taxpayers . Mr. Ryan said, for reasons he never understood, the City at one time had requested to own the St. Anthony Parkway, which the Park Board had willingly relinquished. He said he understood St. Anthony ' s -4- frustration since the Park Board had to maintain many of the roads • near their facilities in other communities such as Golden Valley., Robbinsdale, Hopkins and St. Louis Park, who don't have to pay any of those costs either. He said the Park Board doesn't even get money from Minneapolis for park roads . Mr. Childs commented that 30% of St. Anthony 's property is tax exempt, which he doesn' t believe is too dissimilar to other cities. like Mankato, who have colleges who don't pay taxes for the large expanse ,of land they own. The Manager said in the three years he had been in the City, there had been no police calls to respond to vandalism at the golf course and there had only been one burglary, and Mr. Childs asked, "TALhat could be more compatible to the natural environment of a golf course than a shake building?" . The Manager also told the Commissioners there is an effort being made to get the parkway put on Federal Urban Aid Funds, although that would require the City to permit truck traffic on the road. A curb cut would be necessary, Mr. Yates said, to complete the traffic flow around the clubhouse and the park planner acknowledged the Board would have to address the parking problems during construction and promised to expedite temporary parking as soon as possible. However, he indicated he would be asking the City to permit on-street parking this summer until construction is completed and reiterated that at least 20 additional stalls would be developed with the project to avoid such parking in the future. Current parking stalls available on-site total 178 . Firm plans for signage and parking would be available in the near future. Mr. Yates also told of the unreliability of various alarm systems .which had prompted them not to install such • a system at Gross . At first Commissioner Bjorklund had indicated he intended to vote against granting a curb cut but when the Manager told him there would be no cost to the City and the extent of the right-of-way off St. Anthony Boulevard, and Commissioner Jones said he liked the idea of controlling the flow of traffic on the site, instead of the helter skelter pattern of traffic flow evident in the Apache parking lot, the Commissioner relented on that point. He said the .park board spokesmen had addressed his initial concerns and questions about the project so well he was now able to recommend Council approval of the plan as presented. Motion by Commissioner Jones and seconded by Commissioner Bjorklund to recommend Council approval. of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board request .that they be permitted to construct a new clubhouse at Gross Golf Course as presented on the site , building, landscaping., lighting and building elevations plans dated February 17, 1984 , finding that the proposed structure would complement the natural park-like Gross environment and because the Park Board representatives had adequately responded to the Commission concerns regarding the main- tenance of the property and security for the premises during off hours; had indicated they intend to increase their parking facilities by at least 20 . spaces; and had designed the roadways in such a manner as to justify a curb cut off St. Anthony Boulevard. • Motion carried unanimously . - Before the meeting was recessed at 8 :55 P.M. , Commissioner Bjorklund - indicated he favored Alternative #4 in the Manager ' s March 16th -5- memo related to the St. Anthony .Court signage and agreed to present • the Planning Commission minutes at the Council ' s March 27th meeting. Commissioner Bjorklund then left the meeting. At 9 : 05 P.M. , the meeting was reconvened to consider the townhome identification signage. Motion by Commissioner Jones and seconded by Commissioner Hansen to move the agenda and take from the table the consideration of the signage which had been erected without a permit in front of the St. Anthony Court townhomes . The Manager had researched the files back to 1980 and hadincluded in the agenda packet minutes pertinent to .the Morris signage next to the townhomes and to the P.U.D. requirements for that signage. In his memorandum, Mr. Childs had listed seven different alternatives for Council action, including #4 advocated by Commissioner Bjorklund which would "require modification of the St. Anthony Court sign to a single , more acceptable sign, requiring the removal of the Morris sign" . Staff had recommended both uses have signs with design requirements recommended by the Commission and the Manager said he personally was inclined to require changes in the townhome signs due to their inadequate construction, which he perceives would not be in keeping with -community standards, than he was to changing the Morris sign. • Chester Krumm, who had recently been -selected by the townhome Owners Association to serve as one of three members of the Association Board of Directors, was again present to discuss the two. illegal signs which had been erected by the project contractor, Sid Johnson, before he sold the property. He indicated he knew little or nothing about the City's requirements for signage , about . the circumstances under which the existing signs had been erected, or how that signage related to the P.U.D. requirements for that tract of land. The other two Board members were gone for the winter, and Mr. Krumm indicated he did not expect both would be back in the City for a month or so. Mr. Krumm indicated he would get:..in touch with the Manager to discuss with him Mr. Johnson' s responsibility for getting sign approval for the existing signs and to ascertain just what type of signage would be acceptable to the City. Commissioner Jones observed that, , with the heavy snows this winter, even the non-conforming signs had been hard to see over the snow piled on the right-of-way. He suggested the Association might want to take advantage of the berming which the Rice Creek District had required Mr. .Johnson to construct in the front yard. The Commissioner also told the Association- representative , "at least you won't be cited for the illegal signage until the other Board members get back" . Motion by Commissioner Jones and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to put- back on the table the consideration' of �:the St. Anthony Court sign- age until the June. Planning Commission meeting, unless the St. Anthony Court Home Owners Association is able to come back before that time with. a proposal., which would better enhance and identify the site. Motion carried unanimously. -6- The discussion of the matter continued after the motion- was passed. • Commissioner Jones indicated he would like to see both the townhome and Morris signs modified and the Manager responded that it was not likely Mr. Morris would be coming in on his own for a variance and the natural course of events would have to be that the townhouse signage would be resolved before any actionwouldbe taken about the Morris sign. Mr. Childs then explained that it would be necessary to schedule a special Planning Commission. meeting April 3rd to- consider the Arkell P.U.D. for the senior rental building proposed for Phase II of the Kenzie Terrace Redevelopment Project. He indicated he would not foresee much change in the basic plan but parking provisions would probably have to be considered at that meeting. The .extra Commission meeting was necessary, the Manager said, so the Council could act on the Commission recommendations. during their April 10th meeting, leaving ample time to meet the April 30th deadline for making an application for 202 funding for the project. At the same meeting, Mr. Childs indicated, the proprietor of the Good Luck Cafe would. .be resubmitting his proposal for expanding his restaurant from 800 to 2 ,400 square feet. The cafe owner had told the Manager he had sent a letter to the neighbors- telling them about his plans and Mr. Childs indicated this had generated three responses to City `Hall (.one positive and two negative), indicating there would still be neighborhood opposition to the proposal because the neighbors • do not perceive the restaurant owners have demonstrated, good faith in cleaning up their property . The regularly. scheduled meeting, April 17th, would be necessary, the Manager said, to consider a request from the Hobo Cafe management to-- extend their existing facilities as far out as the canopy on the front of their building, which would .require a conditional use permit. The proposal would include plans for new signage and parking, Mr. Childs said. The CDBG allocation could also be finalized at that meeting, the Manager said. Motion by Commissioner Wagner and seconded by Commissioner Hansen to adjourn the .meeting at 9 : 40 P.M. -Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary •