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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 05201975 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIIIIIII 106238 Box: 36 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1975 Document: PL MINUTES 05201975 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY i FIANNING BOARD MINUTES May 20, 1975 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Letourneau at 7:35 P.M. • The following were present for roll call: Rymarchick, Johnson, Cowan, Marks, Letourneau, Bowerman and Johnson. Also present: Jim Fornell Harry Lekson The minutes of the April 15, 1975 meeting were amended as follows: Page 1, para. 3: Substitute "May 13" for "May 15" as date of Public Hearing. Page 3, para. 5: Substitute "variances had to be considered" for "variances had to be granted". Motion by Mr. Marks, seconded by Mr. Bowerman to approve the April 15th minutes as amended. Motion carried. /Mr. Tom Healy of the Robert W. Johnson Law Firm, 2222 Selby Avenue, St. Paul, appeared to present the request from Goodyear Tire Company that they be allowed to erect a 96 sq. ft. each side free standing pylon sign in front of their store at 4020 Silver Lake Road. He stated the company was experiencing "great difficulty and hardship" because of lack of proper identification of the business • and as a result had lost from 50% to 55% of the sales volume they felt they should have had for that store in that location. He also said it would be necessary for Goodyear to increase their sales in that amount to stay in business. Mr. Healy was unable to provide Mr. Bowerman with the marketing studies he re- quested to support this contention nor to give particulars of the advertising or other efforts made by Goodyear to raise their sales volume. Mr. Johnson said Goodyear would have to prove the absence of a pylon sign worked a particular hardship on the company and suggested a monumental type sign might provide the identification the company needed. He said he personally might be interested in seeing a smaller, lower sign for that location and suggested the company consult members of the City staff for guidance on what might be accept- able. ccept- able. Mr. Cowan said he felt it a bad marketing decision by Goodyear to place their store so far back off Silver Lake Road and it was his opinion that the request did not meet the criteria set by ordinance for granting such a variance. In further discussion it was also pointed out that the City had refused the Firestone Company request to place a pylon sign in front of their store on Stinson Blvd. as well as other recent requests for similar signs. The fact that the Goodyear Company was refused such a sign at the time they were given per- mission to erect the store was also noted. • 1 -2- Motion by Mr. Rymarchick and seconded by Mr. Cowan to recommend that the Council deny the request for a public hearing on a variance to the sign ordinance in order to erect a pylon sign in front of the Goodyear store at 4020 Silver Lake Rd. • Motion carried unanimously. It was determined that Mr. Cowan will present the Board's recommendations to the Council at their May 27, 1975 meeting. The Public Hearing was delayed because of the absence of a representative of the company seeking permission to build a retirement home and the meeting was recess- ed from 8:06 to 8:15 P.M. at which time the Public Hearing on the request for a Conditional Use Permit to construct a retirement home was opened. Gerald E. Mundt of Wallace & Mundt, Architects, and Mr. Robert Geary, a mortgage banker from the Eberhardt Company, presented the plans for and answered questions about the request from First American Enterprises for a conditional use permit to erect a 4-story, 257 x 54 ft. retirement home on the N. 28 ft of the W. 187 ft. of Lot 13 and the W. 187 ft. of Lots 14, 15 and 16, Block 6, Mounds View Acres, 2nd Addition. Mr. Mundt said the retirement building would consist of four stories of 9 ft, high floors, with the highest point being 45 feet high at the stair tower. The exterior finish of the building would be of brick and either stressed or precast concrete. There will be 75 units consisting of 550 sq. ft. 1-room bedroom apartments and 415 sq. ft. efficiencies. Rentals on the one bedroom apartments were estimated in September, 1974 to be $260 per month with the efficiencies renting for $220 excluding the two meals a day served to residents which would cost about $75 per month. In answer to questions posed by the Board, it was ascertained that the building would only be geared to serve ambulatory residents and therefore could not be converted to a nursing home and that it would be 40 years before funding reg- ulations would allow the building to be used for residents other than the elderly or handicapped. Mr. Ellsworth Johnson of First American Enterprises arrived at 8:35 P.M. and participated in the hearing. He said that, although the building would be a less expensive construction than that for which the Rembrandt Company was granted a conditional use permit last year, the quality of service and safety features would be the same. The developer told the residents who questioned First American's connection with Rembrandt Company that the group comprising First American Enterprises had been developers for Rembrandt and had completely disassociated themselves with Rembrandt, which is no longer in the retirement home business. He said his company could not guarantee the second phase of an agreement such as that under which Rembrandt was granted the conditional use permit and preferred to do "a good job on one building at a time". He also told the group that there was very little possibility of his company erecting a similar building next to one they proposed but did not foreclose the possibility of erecting a similar retirement home somewhere else in St. Anthony if this one proved to be successful. • He also explained to a resident that his company felt there was more chance of First American obtaining financing from HUD than Rembrandt last year because that governmental agency had recently announced in Mpls. that Section 8 funds were going to be made available. � l L -3- When questioned why the sprinkler system was designed only for a portion of the building, Mr. Geary said the sprinkler system mould be dictated by cost. Much of the opposition voiced by some of the 13 residents present was based on • the height of the building. Mr. Roger Tobias, 3121 39th Avenue N.E. felt the height of the proposed retirement home equalled that of the Apache Medical Center, a contention which was challenged by board member, Mr. Johnson. Mr. Tobias also questioned why only 26 parking places were provided in the proposal and was told that most persons of the age of potential residents of the retire- ment home do not drive. Mr. Tobias, when the Board finally gave their approval to the plan, said he objected to the Board's only considering the usage and not the specifics when they indicated approval of the plan. Mr. Johnson said there would have to be more explicit plans for landscaping, lighting and parking presented before a building permit was issued. Mrs. Ruth Thompson, 3015 39th Avenue N.E. said she was totally opposed to a 4 story high building and read a letter from Mr. Myron Dudynsky, 3913 Penrod Lane, indicating his opposition to the same feature of the plan. Mrs. Thompson's husband, George, reiterated their dislike of the height of the building. Mrs. Thompson was also concerned that the patio noises might prove to be a distrubance to the persons who might build on the undeveloped lots adjacent to the retirement home. Mrs. Chester Nelson, 3916 Macalaster Drive, said she was opposed to the usage of the land and wanted the zoning to remain R-2. She said if the 4 story building was intended to be a buffer between Apache Plaza Shopping Center and the resident- ial area, she considered it "worse than what was being buffered" because of its height. Mr. & Mrs. Richard Cooper, 3908 Macalaster Drive, felt the height of the building should be "in relation to that of the adjoining homes and objected to the building being set so far back on the lot. Mr. Joseph Tan Wei Wong, 3917 Penrod Lane, wondered why the retirement home had to be so high and was told that only a building of that size was financially feasible. Two residents of the area, Mrs. Larry Hanson, 3917 Macalaster Drive and Mrs. Irving R. Alemn, 3904 Macalaster Drive, expressed their approval of the proposal saying there was a definite need for such a service to the edlerly in St. Anthony. The Public Hearing closed at 9:25 P.M. Before acting on the matter the following comments were some of those made by the Board: Mr. Marks said he felt this was the only practical usage of that particular land. Mr. Letourneau said he felt it was a preferable use to having a row of shops along Silver Lake Road. Mr. Rymarchick said that although he was bothered by the visual impact of the mass and height of the building, he felt the Board should accept the proposal. -4- Mr. 4-Mr. Johnson agreed with the two residents who expressed approval of the plan because he felt it fulfilled the responsibility of the community to provide a facility of this type for the elderly and that it involved a city wide as well • as neighborhood issue. Motion by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. Marks to recommend to the Council the Planning Board's approval of a conditional use permit for a retirement home to be built by First American Enterprises on the N. 28, ft. of the W. 187 ft. of Lot 13 and the W. 187 ft. of Lots 14, 15 and 16, Block 6, Mounds View Ao-ras, 2nd Addition in accordance with the plans and application presented to the Board May 20, 1975• Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was recessed at 9:43 P.M. and resumed at 9:50 P.M. for a public hearing on the request for rezoning of the lot adjacent to the proposed retire- ment home for a Country Kitchen restaurant. Mr. Gordon Hedlund, 1255 Pike Lake Drive, St. Paul, owner of the property and Mr. Wm. E. Reimer, 6132 W. lo4th St. , Mpls. , President of Country Kitchen International, Inc. presented the application to rezone the N. 5 ft. of the W. 187 Ft. of Lot 11, the W. 187 ft. of Lot 12, and the S. 87 ft. of W. 187 ft. of Lot 13, Block 6, Mounds View Acres, 2nd Addition from R-1 and R-2 to C-2 commercial to permit the construction of a Country Kitchen restaurant. They presented a site drawing of the proposed building and colored photos of the exterior and the interior as well as the pylon identification sign to be erected in front of the building. • Mr. Hedlund said he would own the building and would be involved in its construc- tion. He evaluated the project at $213,000. He also read a letter from Dick Fredlund of Wehrman, Champman Associates, Inc. , the firm which had made a land use study of that area for the City, stating that in view of the recent changes in the usage of land in the area, this proposal seemed to be a logical usage of the land. Mr. Reimer told of the "family type" restaurant he proposed to establish, the screening all his restaurants have of their garbage areas, and the hours most of them are open, which he said depended on the area in which they were situated. He said his plans called for lower than standard lighting which would be shielded in such a manner that they would not be an annoyance to the neighbors. However Mr. Reimer was unable to provide specific plans for buffering the restaurant from the adjoining property when questioned by Mr. Marks about what transition to the residential area was planned. Mr. Cowan felt there was a more desirable traffic planning possible than the access road in back of the property which would cause annoyance to neighbors from sound of traffic and glaring headlights. He also expressed his opinion that Silver Lake Road was not suitable for an all night operation. Although Mr. Reimer said a majority of the Country Kitchens in residential areas do not stay open all night, he admitted this was not true in all cases and Mr. Edward Nizielski, 4005 Penrod Lane, said he felt the proximity of the restaur- ant to Highways 35 & 694 might influence the owners of the restaurant to make it a 24 hour service operation. He told the Board he had the permission of his neighbor, Dick Hanson, to relay his opposition to the proposal as well. Z- -5- The president of the restaurant chain said that because his operation would require at least 50 parking places most of the lot with the exception of the front which would be landscaped, would be asphalt. • Mr. Hedlund felt the properties adjacent to the restaurant would probably provide the necessary buffering. In reply to questions from the residents and the Board regarding the odors which might emanate from the building, Mr. Reimer said that there had been no satis- factory filtration system designed but that all appliances within the building were filtered and proper cooking procedures would prevent such problems. Mr. & Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. A lemn, Mr. & Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Nelson, Mr. Tobias, Mrs. Hanson and Mr. Wong, expressed total opposition to the request because it was an incompatible use of the land, would produce noise, glaring lights and odors to annoy the neighborhood, did not provide acceptable buffering, involved an excessive side coverage and would discourage any home buyer purchasing a home on Penrod Lane, which was located next to the access road. Others who spoke against the proposal included Mrs. Grace McGinn, who said she felt the project was not responsible land planning; Mr. Wallace Falldin, 3929 Penrod Lane, who didn't want the smell of french fries and hamburgers added to the odors coming from Happy's Potato Chips and Mr. & Mrs. Robert Sandager, 3905 Penrod Lane who voiced similar sentiments of disapproval. The public hearing closed at 10:40 P.M. Mr. Johnson wondered why more land was not considered to accomodate the restaur- ant. ® Mr. Marks said he like family style restaurants such as Country Kitchen but felt it didn't fit into that particular location in St. Anthony. Many of the board were against setting a precedent for "spot rezoning" and felt the proposal involved bad land usage. Motion by Mr. Cowan, seconded by Mr. Marks to recommend to the Council that the request for rezoning the proposed property from R-1 and R-2 to Commercial for a Country Kitchen restaurant be denied. \Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Mr. Bowerman, seconded by Mr. Cowan to adjourn at 10:49 P.M. Motion carried. Helen Crowe, Secy. • }