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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 10211986 Meeting Sheet IIIIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII 101765 Box: 21 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1986 Document: PL MINUTES 10211986 1 CITY OF ST - 'ANTHONY • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES OCTOBER 21 , 1986 1 Meeting called at 7:30 P.M. by Chair Franzese. , 2 - 3 Present for roll call : Hansen, Wagner, Franzese, Werenicz, Madden. 4 5 Absent: Jones and Bowerman. 6 7 Also present: Larry Hamer, Public Works Director (substituting for City Manager) . 8 9 MINUTES APPROVAL 10 11 SEPTEMBER 16 12 13 Motion by Hansen, seconded by Wagner to approve with following changes: 14 15 Page 4, line 36: Substitute "served" for "serviced". 16 17 Page 6, line 38: Insert "an" between "until" and "accurate". 18 • 19 Motion carried unanimously. 20 21 OCTOBER 6TH SPECIAL MEETING 22 2 3 Motion by Franzese, seconded by Hansen to approve as submitted. 24 25 Motion carried unanimously. 26 2.7 General consensus was that new format for minutes was very ,helpful in locating 28 specific issues but there was an interest in also retaining line numbering. 29 30 COUNCIL MEETING REPRESENTATIVE DESIGNATED 31 32 Commissioner Werenicz for whom Commissioner Hansen had filled in at the September 23rd 33 Council meeting ind-i cated h:e-_:was fai r`1 y certain he would be able to attend the 34 ' October 28th meeting to report .the 'Commission minutes. 35 36 PUBLIC HEARINGS 37 ROBERT 'PARMELEE SETBACK VARIANCE FOR 2501 PAHL AVENUE N.E. 38 39 40' The Chair opened the hearing at 7:35 P.M. 41 42 Notice of the hearing had been published in the October 8th Bulletin and mailed 43 to all property owners of record within 200 feet of the subject property. No 44 one present reported failure to receive the notice or objected to its content. • 45 Request: to :expand existing 14 foot X 20 foot attached garage to a 20 foot X 46 47 20 foot double garage to within 19 feet of alley setback; i r 7 -2- 1 to extend existing breezeway six feet west to bring it into alignment i2 with garage structure. 3 4 Proponents: Mr. Parmelee and neighbor Donald Kraft (2504 St. Anthony 5 Boulevard) - telephone message-. 6 7 Opponents: none. 8 g Staff input: ordinance setback requirements for eaves apply only to outbuildings 10 and not to major structures. The proposed five foot, three inch 11 separation would therefore meet those requirements. 12 13 Applicant's Response to Commissioners' Questions 14 15 .there would be no further setback encroachment with the addition; 16 .curbings already in place for double garage; 17 18 .existing three car garage built with City permit in 1976; 19 .structure used for hobby of collecting and restoring old cars, not for resale; 20 21 .omitted the structure from the first sketch because he misunderstood it had 22 any bearing on the variance; 23 .having difficulty negotiating the disposal of the pickup truck parked 24 between structures with the savings and loan company, but hoped to be able 25 to do so soon; 26 27 .gave assurances that he would not be stacking wood or metal between two 28 garage structures after the new addition is completed. 29 30 Commissioner Hansen's main concern was that the five foot gap between structures 31 be maintained as promised by the applicant, citing the staff's inability to 32 enforce conditions related to signage for the Nativity Lutheran Church for 33 the past two months. 34 35 Hearing closed at 7:47 P.M. 36 37 Commission Recommends Approval with Conditions 38 39 Motion by Werenicz, seconded by Hansen to recommend the Council grant an 11 foot 40 variance to the Ordinance requirement for 30 foot sideyard setbacks to Robert L. 41 Parmelee which would allow him to add another stall to the existing attached 42 garage and to extend the existing breezeway on the home at 2501 Pahl Avenue N.E. 43 six feet further west to bring it into alignment with the garage, on the con- 44 dition that: 45 46 1 . The five foot, three inch gap between the garage and the building used for 47 storing automobiles the owner renovates and collects, be maintained with 48 construction and afterwards by removing the overhang on the outbuilding, 49 if necessary; and 50 51 2. The pickup truck parked on the property be disposed of. 52 -53 In recommending the variance be granted the Commission finds that: 54 55 a. the applicant had answered all three questions in the application in the 56 affirmative as required by statute; -3- • 1 b. there was no one present during the hearing who spoke in opposition to the 2 variance and staff reported receiving no calls for or against the request 3 prior to the hearing, 4 5 c. the alleyway between this property and St. Anthony Boulevard is not a 6 thoroughway and, therefore, a 30 foot setback in this instance might be 7 excessive; and ; 8 9 d. extending the breezeway would bring it into alignment with the existing 10 garage. 11 12 Motion carried unanimously. 13 14 REQUEST FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR DRIVE-THROUGH FACILITY FOR DAIRY QUEEN 15 16 The Chair opened the hearing at 7:54 P.M. 17 18 Notice of the hearing had been published in the October 8th Bulletin and mailed 19 to all property owners of record within 350 feet of the subject property. No 20 one present reported failure to receive the notice or objected to its content. 21 22 Request: conditional use permit in a commercial zone to include a drive-through 23 window as part of an expansion and remodeling project in the St. 24 Anthony Shopping Center. 25 26 Proponents: Albert Plaisted, 5210 O'Connell Drive, Moundsview, owner • 27 Charles Anderson, 2827 Helen Street, Maplewood, contractor 28 29 Opponents: none. 30 31 Staff input: indicated no change from current traffic flow planned; 32 raised no objections to request; 33 34 showed colored sketch of plans the St. Anthony Shopping Center 35 owners have indicated they intend to implement by March, 1987 36 on which the applicant has indicated he intended to model his 37 existing structure; 38 suggested curbings rather than lines might better distinguish 39 the traffic direction for its drive-through customers. He said 40 the existing traffic arrow in the same area had only been intended 41 by the shopping center management to indicate slant parking. 42 43 Proponents' Response to Commission Questions 44 45 Traffic flow: west to east past window with ample room for two vehicles 46 to pass if driver attempted to follow existing patterns. 47 48 Eberhardt wants traffic flow to remain as is with no curbings 49 because of snow storage; 50 from one to three existing parking stalls to be removed; 51 52 Center anticipates no need to use parking near Dairy Queen • 5 3 because parking forecasts have been revised. 54 55 Building to match proposed center store front renovation: bronze 56 design: mansard roof with light blue brick facia, signage on mansard 57 to match center plans; r -4- 1 structure to be expanded 388 square feet with window; 2 installed 15 feet west of backside allowing three cars to 3 be stacked west to east; 4 5 would maintain walk-in service from two foot expansion in 6 front; ' 7 area to rear would accommodate storage lost in existing' 8 9 second story; 10 design was part of verbal agreement with center related 11 to same motif for other store fronts; 12 all Dai r 13 y Queen stores are dropping barn-like design. . 14 Facility: drive-through window would be used by 20% of customers from 15 "day one". 16 17 Lease: center agreed to have store- closed over holidays. 19 The hearing closed at 8:12 P.M. 20 21 Commission Recommends Permit Be Granted 22 23 Motion by Hansen, seconded by Wagner to recommend the Council grant the requested 24 conditional use permit in a commercial zone to Albert Plaisted which would allow 25 the construction of a drive-through window at the Dairy Queen, 2612 Highway 26 88, as part of his proposal to expand and remodel his store at that location . 27 on the conditon that markings on the surface of the adjacent parking area 28 as well as signage be provided to direct traffic past the drive-through window 29 in a proper manner. 30 31 In recommending the Council grant the permit, the Planning Commission finds 32 that: 33 34 1 . the applicant had answered all three questions on the application in 35 the affirmative as required by statute; 36 37 2. the addition of the drive-through facility would not appear to interfere 38 with existing traffic flow patterns or cause unusual congestion problems 39 that would be peculiar to that area; 40 r 41 4 2 3. no one appeared during the hearing to speak in opposition to the proposal 43 and staff reported receiving no calls against it prior to the hearing; 44 4. the applicant appears to be making every effort to upgrade his property, 45 improve its appearance, and bring it into conformance with what is 46 seen to be a positive approach by the owners to upgrade the entire 47 shopping center. 48 49 Motion carried unanimously. 50 51 REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL SIGNAGE FOR DAIRY QUEEN 52 53 The Chair opened the hearing at 8:15 P.M. 54 55 l -5- 1 Notice of the hearing had been published in the October 8th Bulletin and mailed 2 to all property owners of record within 200 feet of subject property. No 3 one reported failure to receive the notice or objected to its content. 4 5 Requested: -variance for a free-standing sign (60 square feet on each side) 6 for service establishment in addition to logo to be added to new 7 mansard roof on building. 8 9 Proponents: Albert Plaisted and Charles Anderson (same as for conditional 10 use pemit) . 11 12 Opponents: none. 13 14 Staff input: suggested recommendation of denial because center already has 15 large pylon sign; 16 proposed two alternatives available to applicant: 17 18 a. wall signage in lieu of existing non-conforming roof 19 sign; or 20 b. leave that signage in place rather than lose "grandfathered-in" 21 status. 22 23 reported Eberhardt representative had met with center owners 24 in New York and a plant for renovating the store fronts and 25 for uniform signage for the center had been developed as per 26 colored sketch provided the City; 27 perceived pressures from City, Merchants Association, and three 28 new tenants in center resulted in center owner allocating money 29 for proposed changes; 30 31 told applicant the current City Ordinance allows only gas stations 32 and shopping centers to have pylon signage, hence the sign on 33 the Mobil station next door. 34 35 Proponents Discussion of Their Request 36 37 believed should be allowed same type of signage as Mobil station next door 38 since only two free-standing buildings in center; 39 wanted free-standing sign to advertise specials and better store recognition 40 from Highway 88 if rotating sign is removed; 41 42 wants to maintain existing sign on roof if request for this sign is refused; 43 sign is part of mansard roof which all Dairy Queen stores would be having 44 45 from now on. 46 Commission Response 47 4 8 Franzese: not happy about second signs City has already approved in that 49 area. 50 51 Madden: supported the ordinance restriction of pylon signs; • 52 told the applicant the Commission could only address his request 53 for a free-standing sign at that hearing and the status of the 54 rotating sign he currently has on his building would not change as long as it is not altered more than 70%; -6- • 1 suggested applicant sit down with staff to explore his other options 2 for signage acceptable to the City. 3 Hansen: would oppose any expansion of signage until he sees how new plans 4 for this center and the Kenzie Terrace Redevelopment Authority 5 project in the adjoining center progress. 6 7 Werenicz: perceived store needed some identification because Mobil statibn 8 somewhat obstructed view from north but concurred with other Com- 9 missioners that signage need not be a free-standing sign. 10 11 The hearing was closed at 8:25 P.M. 12 13 Commission Recommends Council Deny Free-Standing Sign for Dairy Queen 14 15 Motion by Madden, seconded by Werenicz to recommend the Council deny the request 16 for a free-standing sign for the St. Anthony Dairy Queen at 2612 Highway 88, 17 in anticipation that uniform signage for the entire shopping center would 18 be forthcoming and the City could best deal with that probability by not granting 19 any further signage variances in the St. Anthony Shopping Center. 20 21 Motion carried unanimously. 22 23 REQUEST FOR SIGNAGE FOR J. T. VARGAS REAL ESTATE OFFICE AT 3909 SILVER LAKE ROAD 24 25 The Chair opened the hearing at 8:37 P.M. 26 27 Notice of the hearing had been published in the October 8th Bulletin and mailed to 28 all property owners-of record within 200 feet of the subject property. 29 30 Request: variance to Ordinance regulations related to free-standing signs 31 to allow installation of an 8 foot X 3 foot (24 square feet on each 32 side) sign in same location where several unacceptable signs for 33 previous tenants had been sited. 34 35 Proponents: Jose T. Vargas, same address. 36 37 Opponents: none (and no calls received by staff) . 38 39 Staff input: perceived neither the sign erected by the last tenant nor the 40 sketch of the sign the applicant proposes to replace it with 41 was exactly what the Commission had in mind for the "groundhugging 42 a sign which should have had no more than six inches between 43 it and the berm below it" the City had previously approved; 44 recommend approval only if sign extends the full length of the 45 berm or is reduced to fit the berm; 46 47 agreed to let Mr. Vargas know the following day whether there 48 would be adequate space between the berm and the County right-of-way 49 to provide the required setback if he sloped the berm towards 50 the street; 51 suggested the townhome signage next door would be a good model • 52 to follow. 53 54 55 r -7- • 1 Applicant's Reaction to Commission Concern About Proposed Signage 2 3 indicated he had measured only four inches of rock on top of berm; 4 said he would be willing to do anything which would be required to meet 5 the Ordinance, including shaving the berm to under three feet, sloping , 6 it gradually towards the street if there is adequate space to do so, as 7 long as he could retain at least a five foot sign; 8 9 said he had no need for a lighted sign at this time and would return for 10 permission to erect a whole new sign if such need were demonstrated later; 11 agreed the existing sign was not what he wanted for his business. 12 13 14 The hearing was closed at 8:50 P.M. 15 Commission Establishes Conditions for Council Approval 16 17 Motion by Wagner, seconded by Werenicz to recommend the Council grant a variance 18 to the sign ordinance requirements for free-standing sign to the J. T. Vargas 19 Co. , Inc. Real Estate, 3909 Silver Lake Road, which would allow the installation 20 of a two sided, 24 square foot (48 square feet total sign area) sign to be 21 mounted above a berm, portions of which are in existence on the property on 22 the following conditions: 23 24 1 . that the berm be extended the full length of the sign and that the 25 sign rest not more than six inches above the berm at its lowest point; 26 and 27 28 2. the sign not-be lighted for night use. 29 30 In recommending the variance be granted, the Planning Commission finds that: 31 32 A. When a similar sign was approved for a prior tenant in this building, 33 the intent of the variance was that a full berm be provided under the 34 sign and the same condition should be required of this applicant. 35 36 B. The applicant had answered all three questions in the application in 37 the affirmative as required by statute. 38 39 C. The petitioner had indicated compliance with all the requirements of 40 the variance. 41 42 D. The Commissioners were assured that an amended sketch of the sign which 43 would be installed would have to be submitted before the City issues 44 a permit. 45 46 E. No one appeared at the hearing to speak against the variance. 47 48 Motion carried unanimously. 49 50 REQUEST FOR LOT SPLIT FOR 2809 ST. ANTHONY BOULEVARD 51 • 52 The hearing was opened at 8:56 P.M. 53 54 The notice of the hearing had been published in the October 8th Bulletin and 55 mailed to all property owners of record within 350 feet of the subject property. 56 No one present reported failure to receive the notice or objected to its content. -8- • 1 Request: subdivision without platting which would allow transfer of triangular 2 parcel of 122 feet X 134.55 feet X 133.40 feet (831 square feet) 3 from -2817 St. Anthony Boulevard (Lot 49) to applicant for 2809 St. 4 Anthony Boulevard (Lot 48) . 5 6 Applicant: Robert A. Knox, owner and resident who said he was "shocked to 7 find property he had used for 20 years did not belong to him.1' 8 Mr. Knox said the mistake had been discovered when he had his 9 own property surveyed to sell the western portion (2801 St. Anthony 10 Boulevard) to James Nesser for a new home. 11 12 Opponents: None and no calls received in opposition. 13 14 Staff input: reported both lots are subsize, 8,000 square feet,, where ordinance 15 requires 9,000 square feet for the Knox property and 10,200 16 square feet where 11 ,000 are required for corner lot owned by 17 P. H. McMahon; thus, creating no new non-conforming property; 18 but 19 recommended approval because to do so would merely place the 20 proposed property line where the neighbors had actually thought 21 it was for years. 22 23 The hearing was closed at 9:00 P.M. 24 25 Commission Recommends Council Allow Requested Lot Split 26 27 Motion by Madden, seconded by Wagner to recommend the Council approve the 28 subdivision without platting which would allow the transfer of 831 square 29 feet of property form Lot 49 (2817 St. Anthony Boulevard) to Lot 48 (2809 30 St. Anthony Boulevard) as requested by Robert A. and Mary C. Knox, owners 31 of Lot 48, finding that: 32 33 1 . the lot split would accommodate both property owners. and would continue 34 non-conforming property sizes and would not create any new non-conforming 35 property; and 36 37 2. no one appeared to speak against the land transfer and staff reported 38 no calls for or against prior to the Commission hearing. 39 40 Motion carried unanimously. j 41 42 MODIFIED REQUEST FOR SIGNAGE FOR B. N. METRO CREDIT UNION SIGNAGE 43 44 Motion by Hansen, seconded by Werenicz to take the request for signage from 45 the table. 46 47 Motion carried unanimously. 48 49 Notice of the hearing had been published in the October 8th Bulletin and mailed 50 to all property owners of record within ,200 feet of the subject property. 51 No one present reported failure to receive the notice or objected to its content. • 52 53 Request: variance for two double sided signs (6 inches X 8 feet each) to' 54 be mounted on the roof of the drive-through teller facility and . 55 f -9- • 1 a 12 inch X 16 foot sign on the office frontage in the Northgate 2 Office Park; or two 12 inches X 16 feet double sided signs to be 3 mounted on the teller facility roof. 4 5 Proponents: Frank Stieve, Treasurer and Manager of Credit Union; 6 Henry Patzke, Credit Union- consultant; 7 Craig Mathias, Northgate Manager. 8 9 Opponents: None. 10 11 Staff input: reported applicants had dropped request for third sign on the 12 north side of the building; 13 1 4 stated that any variance should be conditioned on the Credit 15 Union limiting all additional signage on the building to allowed 16 window signs and the office identification on the building columns 17 permitted all unit owners; 18 identified the Credit Union's office number as 2500; 19 20 confirmed that the square footage for either request would meet 21 the ordinance requirements; 22 Northgate management had agreed not to encourage any more signage 23 on the building if this variance were granted. 24 25 Proponents' Discussions With Commissioners 26 . 27 Stieve: said if have to settle for only a plaque on the building, would 28 like to have larger plexiglass signs on both sides of the teller 29 canopy because the Credit Union clients are finding them hard to 30 locate in the recessed corner of the office park; 332 1 told Commissioner Werenicz he would be satisfied with whichever 33 alternative the City would approve because "we need the signage " 34 now ; 35 agreed that lettering might not need to extend more than 3/4ths 36 of the way across the canopy. 37 38 Mathias: confirmed that the Credit Union, with 2,400 square feet of office 39 space, represented 10% of the total complex; 40 stated that the Northgate management supported additional signage 41 for them because of the high degree of traffic their business generated; 43 said the Northgate would "continue to discourage" any further signage 44 for the office park except the individual placards for each unit, 45 even though future unit owners might do as one other had already 46 done, seek extra signage on his own, which the City had granted. 47 48 Variance for Two Signs on Drive-Through Teller Recommended 49 50 Motion by Werenicz, seconded by Wagner to recommend the Council grant a variance 51 to the Sign Ordinance requirement for only one sign per business to the B.N. Metro • 52 Credit Union, 2500 Highway 88, to allow two 12 inch by 16 foot signs to be 53 mounted on the northeast and southwest sides of the Credit Union's free-standing 54 drive-through teller , facility at the Northgate Office Park on the conditions 55 that: _10- 1 1 . the signs which would be comprised of raised letters on a flat background 2 vertical to canopy, would not be lighted; 3 4 2. no additional signage on the main building would be allowed except 5 the permitted window signs and the small placard on .the building columns 6 which the building management allows to identify individual unit owners; 7 8 3. no one spoke against the variance during the Commission hearing (and 9 staff reported receiving no calls either for or against the proposal 10 prior to the hearing) ; 11 12 4. the applicants had answered all three questions on the application 13 in. the affirmative as required by statute. 14 15 a Motion carried unanimously. 16 17 PLANNING INSTITUTE ATTENDANCE URGED 18 FOR NEW COMMISSIONERS 19 -20 The' Annual Planning Institute brochure- had been included in the agenda packet 21 and Commissioner Werenicz indicated he would be interested in attending the 22 December 12th seminar at the Earle Brown Center on the University of Minnesota 23 St. Paul campus. Chair Franzese recalled how helpful those meetings had been 24 for her when she first came on the Commission and suggested any new Commissioners 25 should be strongly urged to take advantage of these educational seminars in 26 planning. Commissioner Hansen concurred with her assessment, saying he and • 27 Commissioner Madden had certainly gotten a lot out of the planning sessions 28 they had attended last winter. 29 30 COMMISSIONER BOWERMAN TO LEAVE COMMISSION 31 32 As, a related matter, the Chair indicated she understood Commissioner Bowerman 33 would be moving from the Village early next year and she knew his experience 34 and knowledge of --St. Anthony history would be sorely missed on the Commission. 35 36 Commissioner Madden said he and the Commissioner shared the same tenure and, 37 under the policy the Council had established to retain experience on that 38 body, thei'r two year terms would have expired in December, 1987. It was also j 39 noted that Commissioners Hansen's and. Jones' terms of office would expire 40 in December. 41 42 Mr. Hamer reported the City Manager was in Boston (Community Associations 43 Institute National Conference) , which had resulted in his second absence from 44 Commission meetings since he came to St. Anthony 512 years ago. 45 46 MISCELLANEOUS 47 48 HAMER REPORT ON ST. ANTHONY BUILDING PROJECTS 49 ` 50 Kenzington: almost completed; 51 construction trailer to be removed; 52 City to do study on pedestrian signal . • 53 54 Chandler Place: west wing almost completed; 55 pemit issued for Health Center kitchen and dining area renovation; 56 "large" trees being planted around site. 1 Walker Project: full occupancy, .long waiting list; • 2 good tenants; 3 Commissioner Hansen reported receiving positive comments on 4 project. 5 6 Blanske proceeding faster than expected; 7 Townhomes: "real asset to community". 8 9 Stonehouse 15 contractors have expressed interest in million dollar 10 Project: project. 11 12 County Road D: won't be completed until 1987; 13 sodding and sidewalks in; 14 City complaining about "goofs" on City residents' properties. 15 16 Village proceeding in spite of delay caused by having to get former 17 Townhomes: owners to remove underground tanks supposed to have been 18 taken care of. 19 20 St. Anthony City will maintain pressure on managers to start renovation project in 21- Shopping Center: March. 22 .23 St. Anthony completed in close to five weeks. 24 Boulevard: 25 26 Recycling taking in close to $600 a month to be used for beautification • 27 Center: projects, starting with Kenzie Terrace area; 28 way ahead of mandated recycling in 1988; 29 recyclable materials being brought from Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn 30 Center, St. Paul suburbs, South Minneapolis, Coon Rapids, 31 St. Louis Park, etc. 32 . . 33 HAMER ATTENDING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRAINING SEMINAR IN COLORADO 34 35 The training which would benefit St. Anthony is being paid for by Fridley 36 Fire Department. 37 38 39 ADJOURNMENT 40 Motion by Madden, seconded by Hansen to adjourn. the meeting at 9:55 P.M. 41 42 Motion carried unanimously. 43 44 45 Respectfully submitted, 46 47 Helen Crowe, Secretary 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 .