HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 08181987 Meeting Sheet
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101694
Box: 21
Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1987
Doc4ment: PL MINUTES 08181987
--� A
• C=TY OF S T - ANTHONY
P L ANN=N G COMM= S S 2 ON M=NUTS S
AU GU S T 1 8 , 3- 987
1 The meeting was opened by Chair Franzese at 7: 30 P.M.
2 Present for roll call: Franzese, London, Wingard, Hansen,
3 Wagner, Werenicz, Madden.
4 Also present: David Childs, City Manager
5 JULY 21 , 1987 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
6 Motion by Hansen, seconded by Wagner to approve with the following
7 changes:
8 Page 3 , line 34: Substitute 11300" for 113200" .
9 Page 4 , line 3: Delete "but" .
10 Page 4 , line 34: Substitute "asked" for "ask" .
11 Page 5, line 3 : Correct typo "proposed" .
12 Page 5 , line 17 : Correct typo "thast" .
13 Page 6, line 33 : Substitute "in" for "on" .
1014 Page 7 , line 3 : Substitute "residence" for "resident" .
15 Page 7 , line 22: Substitute "Jake" for "Jay" .
16 Page 8 , line 31: Correct typo "about" .
17 Page 11 , line 2: Correct typo 11$9,00011 .
18 Page 11 , line 9: Correct typo "there" .
19 Page 12 , line 39: Insert "was" after "project" .
20 Motion carried unanimously.
21
22 FRANZESE TO REPRESENT COMMISSION AT AUGUST 25TH COUNCIL MEETING
23 The Commission Chair indicated she would be able to report the minutes
24 of this meeting at the above.
25 PUBLIC HEARINGS
26 Request for Zoning Ordinance Amendment for Additional Caretaker Unit in
27 Mini-Warehouse Facility Postponed Until September
28 At 7:43 P.M. , the Chair opened the hearing on the above by reading the
29 notice at the hearing which had been published in the August 5th
30 Bulletin and mailed to owners of record of properties within 350 feet of
31 the subject property. No one present reported failure to receive the
32 notice or objected to its content.
W3 Staff Report
34 Mr. Childs reported Ken Solie had called him that day and suggested
35 that, since neither he nor Jerry Cowan could make the meeting that
36 evening, action on their request be delayed another month. The
37 applicant had also indicated delaying the matter another month would be
38 no problem.
2
• 1 Commission Action
2 Motion by Wingard, seconded by Hansen to postpone action on Village
3 Properties' Ordinance amendment request until the Commission' s September
4 meeting.
5 Motion carried unanimously.
6 OTHER BUSINESS
7 Supreme Court Decision Related to "Taking Property" Mig_ht Not Be As
8 Threatening to Municipalities as First Assumed
9 Because it was too early to hold the next public hearing, Mr. Childs
10 asked if the Commissioners had any further questions on the conclusions
11 drawn in the Gene Franchette & Associates study he had included in the
12 Commission agenda packet.
13 Developers to be Selected for Final Phase of Kenzie Project
14 Mr. Childs reported the following about the above:
15 *the H.R.A. had received four "good" proposals from reputable
16 firms to complete the above project;
017 *this final phase had originally envisioned acquiring and demolish-
18 ing the old St. Anthony Village Shopping Center and replacing it
19 with 300 units of rental housing at market rate for persons 55
20 and over;
21 *a more recent market study had said the market was just not there
22 for that type of project but rather 200 units with 100 senior and
23 100 general occupancy units would meet the tax increment and
24 market requirements for the project;
25 *the Lang/Nelson company had proposed to build two three story
26 buildings in a phasing process with part senior and the other
27 part non-senior with underground parking;
28 *The P.J. Gaughan Company, who had built the LaBelle Park condos
29 in Columbia Heights, is proposing to, all in one phase, con-
30 struct two, three story buildings with the same mix and with
31 underground parking;
32 *Sherman Boosalis, another Twin Cities' developer, had indicated
33 they wanted to construct, in phases, 240 units of half senior and
34 half non-senior in two three story buildings;
35 *Kraus Anderson in combination with Walker Methodist Residences
36 and the Stuart Companies had proposed a project with two 4 story
�37 buildings and a retail commercial strip of 17,000 square feet.
8 Walker would provide 80 units of senior housing; Stuart proposes
• 3
1 100 units for general occupancy and Kraus Anderson would construct
2 the commercial portion.
3 The Manager said the H.R.A. would be reviewing those proposals, looking
4 at each developers' financial strength and judging the proposals on how
5 they related to the design guidelines, etc. , which had been established
6 for the project. He said he expected two of these companies to be
7 interviewed prior to the Council meeting and during the H.R.A. meeting
8 scheduled to be held August 25th, with possibly one of them being
9 selected at that time. If one developer is named that evening, they
10 would be given 30 days to work out a Redevelopers Agreement for doing
11 the project. If no agreement is worked out by then, the next highest
12 ranking contractor would be contacted to try to negotiate an acceptable
13 agreement with the H.R.A. , according to Mr. Childs. He added that all
14 four developers had appeared to meet all minimum requirements for a
15 "solid" developer with the financial strength to do a project which
16 would meet the tax increment needs of the City and all wanted to get
17 started right away.
18 With public hearings required before both the Commission and Council
19 once a developer is selected, and the time it would probably take to
20 acquire the land, Mr. Childs said he thought it would probably not be
21 before spring when construction could start, even though a few of the
22 firms had indicated a willingness to get going by February. The Manager
023 then invited the Commissioners to look at the copies of the proposals
24 which are available at City Hall.
25 The Manager then brought the Chair up to date on the new retail center
26 being constructed west of the Apache Mall, saying he understood the
27 building had been constructed to the point where tenants could finish
28 them to their own needs. The next public hearing scheduled for that
29 evening was opened at 7: 50 P.M. , as scheduled.
30 CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
31 Request for Temporary Office Facility for Minnesota Scientific Gains
32 Recommendation for Approval Under Certain Conditions
33 The Chair read the notice of the hearing, which had been published in
34 the August 5th Bulletin and sent to all property owners of record within
35 350 feet of the subject property. No one present reported failure to
36 receive the notice or objected to its content.
37 Application: for a Special Use Permit to allow Minnesota Scientific
38 to locate a 12 foot X 56 foot temporary mobile office on
39 the east side of the building they lease from Donatelle
40 Properties at 3839 Chandler Drive, until December, 1988.
41 Supporting
V2 Documents: July 29th letter from the Minnesota Scientific President,
3 Bruce LeVahn;
• 4
1 Mr. Childs' August 14th memorandum related to the
2 request proposing conditions which he perceived should
3 be imposed if the Commission decides to recommend
4 approval.
5 Staff report: Childs reiterated the advice in his memo as well as the
6 direction from the City Attorney that the matter should
7 be handled under a Conditional Use Permit since the City
8 doesn' t specifically address temporary structures of this
9 type;
10 said a permit of this type would not assume the use is
11 allowed and would give the City the option of imposing
12 reasonable conditions upon its use, thus giving the Com-
13 mission and Council two decision points;
14 included in the Commission' s task that night would be to
15 determine whether the use is allowed at all and to recom-
16 mend the conditions under which the Council should grant
17 a temporary permit to the applicants for the detached
18 mobile structure they were requesting;
19 reported there had been no calls either for or against
20 the proposal.
•
21 Proponent: Mr. LeVahn repeated information he had given in his
22 letter related to the reasons his firm needs the extra
23 housing before they move to larger facilities Dona-
24 telle has promised to provide in New Brighton when
25 their lease expires;
26 indicated his firm' s sales and marketing offices would
27 be located in the mobile structure which would have to be
28 sited at least four feet away from the building to allow
29 access;
30 reported he had viewed one of the Gelco Space mobile
31 offices that day and had seen for himself that the pro-
32 posed structure would be the same length as the building
33 itself so it would present a pleasing appearance which
34 would not be detrimental to the neighborhood;
35 said he would be willing to skirt the structure if the
36 City wanted him to.
37 Commission
38 reaction: Madden questioned whether the front of the building
39 actually faced Foss Road rather than Chandler Drive and
40 wondered if the temporary structure couldn' t be located
W1 on the west side;
5
1 acknowledged that there was a dock on that side but said
2 by doing that, the trailer would not be next to the resi-
3 dence on Chandler Drive;
4 was told by the firm president the building' s address is
5 Chandler Drive and even though there might be an access
6 on the far south side of the building, the Chandler Road
7 access would be easier in the winter;
8 Hansen was told the distance the trailer could be sited
9 from the building would depend on the type of wall
10 materials used and that the codes would be checked
11 regarding that -point before a building permit would be
12 issued;
13 questioned why the request had not reflected the firm' s
14 intent of moving when the lease expired in October;
15 was told by Mr. LeVahn that, with the kind of rents
16 Gelco charged, there was little chance the trailer
17 would be left on the site once Minnesota Scientific had
18 moved.
19 Wingard was told by Mr. LeVahn that the existing ash
�20 tree should not be disturbed when the trailer is put in
21 place and that any sod which is damaged, would be re-
22 placed when his firm moves.
23 Franzese was told by Mr. Childs that he had been unable
24 to find records for specific permits for similar uses
25 although he recalled a request for a trailer next to
26 Central Engineering while that firm' s building was
27 being expanded and that the trailer Elmwood Church had
28 indicated they needed during construction had never been
29 put on that site.
30 Neighbor
31 Concerns: Bill Graff, 3824 Foss Road N.E. , indicated his only con-
32 cern was that when Minnesota Scientific moved out of
33 that the trailer be removed at the same time;
34 added, however, that since Mr. LeVahn had assured the
35 Commission that would be done, he would not be against
36 the City granting the permit.
37 No other persons were present to provide further input and the Chair
38 closed the hearing at 8: 03 P.M. for Commission consideration of a
39 recommendation to the Council.
• 6
1 Commission Action
2 Motion by Wingard, seconded by Wagner to recommend the Council grant a
3 Special Use Permit to Minnesota Scientific which would allow the company
4 to temporarily install the 672 square foot mobile office they propose
5 on the east side of their building at 3839 Chandler Drive, on the
6 condition that:
7 *the trailer would be removed within 10 days of the date of Minne-
8 sota Scientific moves from their current building, but in any
9 event, the permit be issued for no later than December, 1988;
10 *the structure meets all applicable building, electrical, fire
11 and placement codes;
12 *the trailer be properly skirted and otherwise installed to be
13 aesthetically pleasing to the neighborhood;
14 *no trees be removed from the site to accommodate the structure;
15 *the area where the trailer is sited be resoded or reseeded as
16 needed, once the structure is removed;
�7 *the permit only apply to the operations of Minnesota Scientific
18 and that immediate removal should be required should they cease
19 operations prior to the expiration of the permit.
20 In recommending the permit be granted, the Commission finds there have
21 been no expressions of neighborhood objection to the permit and the only
22 person who spoke at the Commission hearing was the next door neighbor
23 who said he had no objections to the permit per se, but was only
24 concerned that the trailer be removed at the same time Minnesota
25 Scientific vacates the premises.
26 Motion carried unanimously.
27 City' s Negotiations on Parkview Building Reported
28 When Commissioner Wingard had indicated he would like to see the City
29 find an acceptable site in St. Anthony to which Minnesota Scientific
30 could relocate rather than having Donatelle construct a building for
31 them in New Brighton, Mr. Childs facetiously suggested the Parkview
32 building might have the 10 ,000 square feet of space Mr. LeVahn was
33 looking for.
34 In a more serious vein, the Manager gave the above report which had been
35 requested by Commissioner Hansen, telling the Commissioners that:
X36 *a while ago, District #282 had approached the City to ascertain
7 its interest in acquiring that building;
38
• 7
1 *he and several Councilmembers had been authorized to negotiate
2 with the School Board' s representatives;
3 *the City had come up with a package which was basically what the
4 school wanted at that time, and which the City agreed to, under
5 which the City would build a parking lot and play ground for the
6 school and would maintain the grounds around the school for the
7 next two years, which would cost between $80,000 and $90,000 to
8 do;
9 *some time later, the School Board indicated they needed an ap-
10 praisal made of the building and had a study made of what it would
11 cost them to move out of Parkview which turned out to be $273 ,000
12 of which the School District only has about $20,000 each for the
13 next two years;
14 *the School District said they were willing to pay about $60,000
15 of the moving costs, which put the school and the City about
16 $120,000 apart.
17 The School' s appraisal indicated the land was worth about $240,000 and
18 the building itself about $70 ,000. The School District study had
19 suggested a desirable use of the property would be to demolish the
20 building and erect single family homes on the site and they appear to be
01 considering doing that as one of their options.
22 Mr. Childs indicated the City had begun to question whether it would be
23 worth the City' s while to spend $200,000 for the building and then
24 another $200-250 ,000 to convert a portion of the building for the Fire
25 Department and to make the other improvements the City would want to,
26 including putting on a new roof and making the necessary changes to the
27 heating system. He said firm figures on doing that should be available
28 by the end of the week.
29 In the meantime, the School is jockeying around lots of ideas, including
30 tearing down the building which the Manager perceived could be very
31 interesting because that would force the eviction of the City.
32 If the City does not remain in Parkview, Mr. Childs said some
33 arrangements would have to be made to add on the existing fire station
34 or construct a new building, or find some alternate space somewhere.
35 The City Manager pointed out that the City had given the Parkview
36 property to the School District on the condition it be used only for
37 school purposes back in 1951. However, that condition had been negated
38 by the rule of law which says such a condition is only good for 30 years
39 which means the City' s rights expired in 1981 . the City' s position
40 remains that since St. Anthony had given the School District the land.
41 for the school, it doesn' t make sense to spend tax payers money to get
W2 it back. He said the school' s initial argument for even charging
43 anything for the building in the first place had been that New Brighton
44 tax payers were also involved and the School Board was only trying to
8
1 satisfy their interests. Having gone from zero to the new high
2 figures, Mr. Childs said he didn' t know where the City would end up, but
3 the full bodies of both the City Council and School Board would meet in
4 a joint session to try' to talk about their respective positions sometime
5 during the week after Labor Day. It would be after that meeting that
6 the City would make a decision about whether to spend lots of money to
7 take over Parkview or to move elsewhere, in which case, it would be up
8 to the School District to figure out what to do with the building.
9 Commissioner Hansen reported he had attended all the School Board
10 meetings where the issue had been discussed and decided that, if it came
11 down to making a cul du sac and building from 9 to 11 homes on the
12 property, it would become an issue in which not only the Council but the
13 Planning Commission would be involved. He, therefore, said he believed
14 it was imperative that the Commission be kept informed.
15 Mr. Childs said he didn' t think the School Board members who might be
16 seriously thinking of taking on a big development project like that had
17 really understood the costs they would incur doing that. The Manager
18 added that it might be hard to sell the taxpayers on tearing down a
19 building which, although it might need some repairs, certainly wasn' t
20 dilapidated or falling down at this stage.
401 Commissioner Hansen pointed out that the School Board seemed to be
2 working with figures which indicated it would cost $100,000 to repair
23 the roof where the City had an estimate indicating it would only cost
24 between $60 ,000-$62,000 . He said he assumed from this, that the City
25 had a lot better grasp on what it would cost to convert, rather than to
26 redevelop the property.
27 Mr. Childs said he wanted to be certain his figures were accurate
28 because "that' s the kind of thing people never forget. " Commissioner
29 Hansen agreed, saying the City kept better minutes of its meetings so
30 extravagant claims like the roof repair figure could never be made.
31 The Commissioner said he sensed that when the School District realized
32 the change could never be made this fall, the whole process had slowed
33 down. Mr. Childs said that would give both parties the opportunity to
34 get their cost estimates together and would give people a better chance
35 to talk about the issues which are involved.
36 In reference to the empty lots on what was the school property across
37 the street, the Manager told Chair Franzese construction of a home on
38 one of the lots was going to start next week and he didn' t know why the
39 other property owners were so slow in building.
40 Staff Is Working on Ways of Cutting Down on Flooding Damage
41 When Commissioner Wingard suggested it might have been when water was up
&2 to the doorsteps of one of the newly built houses in the Hertog
43 Development that the owner decided to put it up for sale. Mr. Childs
44 indicated on the wall map the location of landlocked land between 31st
9
1 and 32nd Avenues and Coolidge Street and Silver Lake Road for which
2 staff was seeking proposals form two engineering firms to do a
3 feasibility study on digging out a holding pond behind some of those
4 houses in which to store some of the rain which accumulates in that area
5 after every heavy rainfall. This might alleviate some of the flooding
6 problems people have experienced over the years, although it would be
7 almost impossible to prevent all the problems they experienced with the
8 last two "rains of the century," he added.
9 The Manager assured Commissioner Wingard that staff had not just
10 forgotten about those problems and were also considering the purchase of
11 75 manhole cover liners which would prevent storm water from seeping
12 into the sanitary sewer system at the same time it let sewer gas out.
13 Mr. Childs said each liner would cost the City $40 but it was perceived
14 that would be a good expenditure when the damage to homes from sanitary
15 sewer lines backing up is considered.
16 City Ordinance Already Provides Vehicles for Dealing With Vicious
17 Animals
18 Mr. Childs indicated the above in response to a question from the Chair
19 related to Pitt Bull Terriers. He read the sections in the Ordinance
20 which authorized the killing of the animal if the Police or Animal
21 rescue workers are not able to safely take them alive. Commissioner
4V22 Werenicz reported he knew of a Minneapolis "crack house" in North
23 Minneapolis where he and the Minneapolis "entry team" would be
24 conducting a search which no doubt would end in the elimination of just
25 such a guard dog.
26 ADJOURNMENT
27 Motion by Hansen, seconded by Madden to adjourn the meeting at 8: 30 P.M.
28 Motion carried unanimously.
29
30 Respectfully submitted,
31 Helen Crowe, Secretary
32 :cjk
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