HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 06161987 i
Meeting Sheet ;
101698
BOX: 21
Folder:'PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1987
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Document: PL MINUTES 06161987
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C X TY OF S T _ ANTHONY
• P L ANN=NG COMM= S S 2 ON M=NUTE S
.aUNE 1 6 , 1 9 8 7
1 The meeting was opened at 7 : 32 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by
2 Chair Franzese.
3
4 Present for roll call: London, Hansen, Wagner, Franzese, Werenicz,
5 Madden.
6
7 Absent: Wingard (arrived at 7 : 33 P.M. ) .
8
9 Also present: David Childs, City Manager.
10
11 MAY 19, 1987 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES APPROVED
12
13 Motion by Madden, seconded by Hansen to approve the above with the
14 following change:
15
16 Page 4, Line 34: Insert "and" after "contours" .
17
18 Motion carried unanimously.
19
20 Commissioner London will represent the Planning Commission at the
21 Council' s June 23, 1987 meeting.
22
•23 PUBLIC HEARINGS
24
25 Setback Variance Request for 2614 - 30th Avenue N.E.
26
27 The hearing was opened at 7: 38 P.M. with the notice of hearing read
28 aloud by Chair Franzese. The notice had been published in the June 3 ,
29 1987 Bulletin and mailed to all property owners of record within 200
30 feet of the subject property. No one present reported failure to
31 receive said notice or objected to its content.
32
33 Application: for a 16 foot 6 inch variance from the Ordinance
34 requirement for 30 foot front yard setbacks to allow an
35 addition to the east side of the existing house to with-
36 in 13 feet 6 inches of the front property line.
37
38 Staff report: -Mr. Childs reiterated his June 12th memorandum comments
39 that the proposed addition would be constructed even
40 with the existing house which is a non-conforming use
. 41 and would therefore encroach no further into the set-
42 back;
43
44 -indicated to push the addition back further would not
45 permit a reasonable alignment of bedrooms;
46
47 -reported staff had received no calls or letters regard-
48 ing the variance.
49
50
51
52
53
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• 3 Proponents: -Robert Fickle told Commissioner Madden he intends to
4 replace the existing roof and the ridge of the 1-1/2
5 story addition would be higher on the east end;
6
7 -told Commissioner Hansen he and his wife, Susan, who
8 was with him at the hearing, perceived they needed the
9 additional living space cited in their application, and
10 the shape and position of the existing house would not
11 permit the addition to be constructed at the required
12 setback;
13
14 -confirmed that the home to the east protruded even far-
15 ther into the required front yard setback.
16
17 -Richard Ott., 2618 - 30th Avenue N.E. was present, but
18 did not speak.
19
20 No one spoke against the variance and the hearing was closed at 7 : 47
21 P.M.
22
23 Commission Recommendation
24
25 Motion by Madden, seconded by Wagner to recommend the City Council grant
26 the necessary front yard setback variance to allow Robert and Susan
27 Fickle to construct the addition to the east side of their existing home
28 at 2614 - 30th Avenue N.E. shown on the sketch included with their
•29 application in the June 16, 1987 Planning Commission agenda packet. In
30 recommending the variance be granted, the Commission finds that:
31
32 -the existing house is a legal non-conforming use and the proposed
33 addition would not additionally encroach into the required frontyard
34 setback;
35
36 -it appears the addition would be a definite improvement to the appear-
37 ance of the property;
38
39 -the variance would permit an addition which would fit a reasonable
40 floor plan;
41
42 -the addition would be behind already established front yard sight
43 lines in that block;
44
45 -all three conditions required to be satisfied affirmatively before a
46 variance can be granted have been met with this proposal and had been
47 satisfactorily addressed by the applicants on their application;
48
49 -no one spoke against the variance during the hearing and staff
50 reported receiving no calls or letters in opposition to the addition
51 prior to the hearing.
52
53 Motion carried unanimously.
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3 Variance for Corner of 37th Avenue N.E. and Roosevelt Tabled
4
5 At 7 : 52 P.M. the hearing on the above was opened by the Chair who read
6 aloud the notice of the hearing which had been published in the June 3,
7 1987 Bulletin and mailed to all property owners of record within 200
8 feet of the subject property. No one present reported failure to
9 receive the notice or objected to its content.
10
11 Applications for variances for:
12
13 -lot size of 5,648 square feet where 11,000 square feet are
14 required for a single family home and 14,000 square feet for a
15 duplex;
16
17 -minimum house size of 988 square feet where 1,000 square feet
18 is required;
19
20 -setback from 37th Avenue N.E. of 14 feet where 30 feet are
21 required on both sides of corner lots.
22
23 Staff report: -Mr. Childs June 12th memorandum indicating the lot in
24 question to be a "lot of record" in existence before
25 the Ordinance was adopted;
26
027 -advised that case law had indicated denying an owner
28 the use of his land could be expected to have strong
29 legal implications related to "taking" ;
30
31 -told Commissioner Madden he did not feel that the same
32 thing would be true of the 12 foot wide lot on 33rd
33 which had once been a utility easement;
34
35 -recommended approval as long as the driveway is off
36 Roosevelt Street;
37
38 -indicated the lot was zoned R-2 (two family dwelling)
39 but the Council had rejected this option in 1979 be-
40 cause of too little space but had not foreclosed the
41 option of a single family dwelling being erected;
42
43 -pointed out on a plat map that, although most the lots
44 on the same side of Roosevelt were 45 feet wide, those
45 across the street were only 40 feet wide;
46
47 -said the blueprints in the agenda packet were only an
48 example of the type of house which would be built on
49 the lot since the garage would have to be constructed
50 on the Roosevelt side. If a deck is added, it would
51 have to be built on the east side;
•52
53 -told the Chair this was one of those cases where the
54 south setback would be interpreted to be the side yard.
2
3 Proponents: -Jake Cadwallader of Cadwallader Realty, 3901 Silver
4 Lake Road reported Bill Campbell had a person who was
5 interested in having a home built on that lot;
6
7 -said, although the setback proposed for that home would
8 not meet the City' s requirement for a 30 foot front
9 yard, this would not be the first instance where a home
10 penetrated that setback on 37th Avenue;
11
12 -cited the house on the corner of 37th and Coolidge as
13 being almost as far forward and several others as en-
14 croaching to a lesser degree.
15
16 -Bill Campbell, Campbell, Campbell Construction, Inc. ,
17 12409 Drake Street N.W. , Coon Rapids, said he would be
18 glad to provide a revised blueprint which would show
19 the driveway coming off Roosevelt.
20
21 Mr. Childs -provided Commissioners with copies of a June 12th letter from
22 Barbara Helfrey, 3645 Roosevelt Street opposing any structure on that
23 "sub-standard lot" , perceiving a potential for a traffic hazard with a
24 house to close to that busy intersection; interference with the house
25 alignment on 37th Avenue N.E. ; and finally, devaluation of market values
26 of surrounding homes.
•27
28 Other
29 opponents: -Kenneth J. Hoxmeier, 3657 Roosevelt Street ( just south
30 of the subject lot) , submitted a petition against the
31 development of this lot which had been signed by
32 several of his neighbors;
33
34 -said he questioned the application indication that
35 Bill Campbell was the owner of the lot because Don
36 Flynn, a brother of the owner Elton Flynn, had told
37 Mr. Hoxmeier his brother had died and the property
38 ownership, which eventually go to him and his sister,
39 was still in probate;
40
41 -said Don Flynn had told him his brother and Mr. Camp-
42 bell had agreed prior to Elton' s death that Mr. Camp-
43 bell would build a house on the lot if the necessary
44 variances could be gotten;
45
46 -indicated Don Flynn had gotten a notice from St. An-
47 thony that, as the owner of the property, he would
48 have to cut the grass or pay to have the City crews
49 do so, as they had in the past;
50
51 -reported his neighbors' concerns with permitting a
• 52 house to be built on the lot included:
53
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3 *the City granting a variance which would be over
4 50% of the required setback;
5
6 *potential blocking of vision of drivers who are
7 unfamiliar with that street, especially the
8 speeders who are tagged by the police now;
9
10 *snow storage on that corner would further obstruct
11 the drivers' vision;
12
13 *the bus stop on 37th and overhead wires which
14 might have to be put underground, add to the con-
15 gestion on that corner
16
17 *the possibility that 37th might be widened to
18 match the Silver Lake/37th Avenue intersection,
19 which would reduce the setback on this property
20 even farther;
21
22 *whether a house this small on a lot which is
23 thousands of feet smaller than the Ordinance
24 allows would fit into this neighborhood or even
25 into St. Anthony, which Mr. Hoxmeier considers a
26 first class City;
7
28 *whether this development would be in the best
29 interest of the surrounding property owners.
30
31 Mr. Hoxmeier told of the problems the neighbors in that area have
32 experienced whenever there . is a heavy rain or snowfall. He also
33 wondered where the new home owner would plow his snow. The neighbor
34 questioned whether in view of the fact that Mr. Campbell' s ownership of
35 the lot was questionable at best, this was in fact "nothing more than a
36 development for profit. "
37
38 Jerome Shaddrick and his mother, Marjorie Shaddrick, who live in the
39 double bungalow east of the subject property at 2510 and 2508 - 30th
40 Avenue N.E. , also spoke against the variance requests. Mr. Shaddrick
41 said:
42
43 -most of the homes along 37th Avenue have at least 40
44 foot front yard setbacks, including the new duplex on
45 Silver Lake Road;
46
47 -he had talked to Dr. Hilger, who owns the animal hos-
48 pital across 37th and the veterinarian had indicated he
49 didn't think it would be fair for the City not to
50 insist that the same setback he had been obliged to
51 provide when he built be provided on this property
X52 when it is developed.
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3 Commissioner Hansen interjected at this point that he perceived before
4 any further discussions were held, the ownership of the lot should be
5 established. Mr. Campbell told him he did not yet own the lot but the
6 owner' s brother had told him after Elton' s death that "it' s your lot for
7 the same price agreed upon by Elton and we' ll draw up the papers to that
8 effect as soon as you get the variance."
9
10 Move to Table Ruled Out of Order
11
12 Commissioner Hansen then moved and Commissioner Madden seconded his
13 motion that the matter be tabled until staff had established legal
14 ownership for the property.
15
16 Before the motion was voted on it was noted that the hearing had not yet
17 been closed.
18
19 When the Chair asked Mr. Childs whether it was vital that only the
20 owner apply for the variance, the Manager told her he recalled there had
21 been cases in the past where an option to buy had been contingent on a
22 variance being granted. Mr. Hansen pointed out that the application had
23 indicated Mr. Campbell was the owner and it now appeared that statement
24 had been disputed by Mr. Hoxmeier. Commissioner Werenicz agreed that it
25 might take a long time for the estate to be settled and the ownership of
4o26 the lot established.
27
28 The Chair ruled that those persons who were present to provide input to
29 the discussion should be allowed to speak before the hearing was closed.
30
31 Mr. Shaddrick continued his testimony as follows:
32
33 -said he perceived a house so close to 37th Avenue would
34 cut down his vision of traffic coming from the west;
35
36 -indicated that if now were piled at the intersection as
37 it had been in years past, that vision would be further
38 impaired which could "endanger my life and my young
39 son' s" ;
40
41 -reported he had paid an outside service to remove the
42 snow piles in front of this lot in the past;
43
44 -agreed that a house on the lot would only increase the
45 water buildup problems his neighbors experience,-
46
xperience;46
47 -commented that it would be "a major expense for the
48 City to move that house if 37th Avenue were widened" .
49
50 The Chair responded that, although the City had turned down a request
51 for a duplex on this property in 1979, there had been some doubt
•52 whether a court case would have supported that action and case law since
53 then seemed to indicate that prohibiting development altogether might be
54 considered to be "taking" the property for which the City would have to
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2
3 compensate the owners. Commissioner Hansen said he just wanted to know
4 who had filled out the application for a variance, filling in Mr.
5 Campbell' s name as the owner.
6
7 Mr. Cadwallader stated that, as an agent to Mr. Campbell, he had signed
8 both his own and Mr. Campbell' s name on the bottom of the document. He
9 said he had filled in Mr. Campbell' s name as owner because that was what
10 "I had been told by Mr. Campbell and to the best of my knowledge was
11 the case."
12
13 Mr. Childs indicated he would check with the City Attorney to see
14 whether the fact that- there was an agreement to sell had any bearing in
15 view of the fact that the variance goes with the property and -not the
16 owner. He also pointed out that even an error in the hearing notice
17 would not have nullified the hearing itself.
18
19 Commissioner Werenicz suggested the City Attorney also be requested to
20 look at the probate records to see if Don Flynn was the only person who
21 could sell this property.
22
23 When Chair Franzese asked Mr. Campbell what he intended to do about the
24 drainage on the lot, the contractor said he planned to build a split
25 level house without a full basement and would provide any swale the City
26 believed necessary to handle the runoff. He said the company who had
027 made a soil test of the parcel had not indicated they anticipated any
28 water problems..
29
30 Mr. Hoxmeier said if the grade of that parcel is raised, he certainly
31 expected to have water problems. Marjorie Shaddrick stated that she had
32 a hard time understanding why the City was considering any development
33 of this lot since they had turned down a request because the lot was . too
34 small in 1979. The Chair told her the lot' s R-2 zoning permitted either
35 a two or one family dwelling to be constructed there and since the
36 request for a duplex had been turned down, the owner has every right to
37 seek approval for a single family residence.
38
39 Mr. Childs read the portion of the American Laws on Zoning which he had
40 included in the agenda packet which applied to "substandard" lots, which
41 seemed to indicate not allowing the owner to build at all would be
42 considered "taking" of the property for which the City would have to pay
43 compensation. He said an unreasonable sized house could be regulated,
44 but since this house would only be 11 square feet less than the
45 Ordinance required, the Manager doubted that was possible in this case.
46 However, the City can require that the driveway come off Roosevelt and
47 that drainage be provided to prevent a negative impact on the neighbors'
48 property, he added.
49
50 When the Manager said the only other use he perceived for that property
51 would be a park, 'Mr. Shaddrick said he thought some of the neighbors who
P52 had signed the petition against a house being built there had children
3 like himself and would welcome the City' s picking up the property for
54 that purpose. He indicated that, in view of the potential for a traffic
• 1 -8-
2
3 accident because of a development on that corner, he considered a "human
4 life to be more valuable than a house. "
5
6 The hearing was closed at 8: 45 P.M. at which time the motion to table
7 was repeated:
8
9 Motion by Hansen, seconded by Madden to table the request for variances
10 for the property at the corner of 37th Avenue N.E. and Roosevelt Street
11 until such time as the legal ownership of the property is established as
12 well as the fact that the application itself is a legal document.
13
14 Voting on the motion:
15
16 Aye: Hansen, Madden, London, Wingard, Wagner, Werenicz.
17
18 Nay: Franzese.
19
20 Motion carried.
21
22 Mr. Childs assured Mr. Hoxmeier that, although the public hearing had
23 already been held on the issue, he would notify the neighbors when the
24 next consideration of the variance request was to be held.
25
6 Approval Recommended for Salvation Army Camp Picnic Shelter
104'-7
28 The floor plans for the above structure as well as a copy of the land
29 use and facilities development plan for the camp had been attached to
30 the City Manager' s June 12th memorandum recommending approval of the
31 shelter. Mr. Childs explained that any ' construction in a
32 Recreational/Open Space zoned area had to be reviewed by both the
33 Planning Commission and Council to determine the design would be
34 compatible to the natural environment of the area.
35
36 The contractor, Gary Dooner of DuAll Services, Inc. , 636-39th Avenue
37 N.E. , said he was responsible for not seeking a permit for the shelter
38 before construction started. He said the shelter was being constructed
39 of cedar boards and would match the Salvation Army' s other structures
40 which had all been erected to fit into the surrounding area.
41
42 Dale Westberg, representing the Salvation Army, indicated the planning
43 consultant they had hired would be coming sometime soon to the City to
44 share the Army' s plans for further expansion of the camp and to seek the
45 necessary permits for future structures included in those plans.
46
47 Commission Recommendation:
48
49 Motion by Wagner, seconded by Hansen to recommend the Council approve
50 the plans for the picnic shelter proposed for the Salvation Army Camp
51 based on the information on the construction and location of the shelter
•52 which had been submitted to the Planning Commission during their June
53 16, 1987 meeting.
54
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2
3 Motion carried unanimously.
4
5 Staff Awaiting. Response from Dairy Queen Owner
6
7 Mr. Childs had included in the agenda packet a copy of his June 10th
8 letter to Al Plaisted relating to the excess signage on the above store.
9 He said he expected a reply from the store owner soon and would report
10 back to the Commission any solutions he worked out with Mr. Plaisted to
11 correct violations to the Sign Ordinance.
12
13 Manager' s Update on Kenzie Terrace Project
14
15 Mr. Childs said .he understood it was true that the Kenzington owners
16 were adjusting the prices for the unsold condominiums and were offering
17 to guarantee sale of a buyer' s home at the price they agreed upon as
18 part of the deal. He also indicated the meeting with the Northeast
19 Minneapolis neighbors regarding the completion of Phases II and III now
20 that the developer had defaulted on his redevelopment contract had been
21 delayed until staff had an opportunity to explore Alderman Dziedzic' s
22 suggestion that the project might become a joint Minneapolis/St.. Anthony
23 effort with the Minneapolis Community Development Agency.
24
25 The City Manager confirmed that barbecuing is not permitted on City
26 apartment balconies.
7
28 ADJOURNMENT
29
30 Motion by Wagner, seconded by Madden to adjourn the meeting at 9: 05 P.M.
31
32 Motion carried unanimously.
33
34
35 Respectfully submitted,
36
37 Helen Crowe, Secretary
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