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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 04171979 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIIIIIII 105992 Box: 36 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1979 Document: PL MINUTES 04171979 . s CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING BOARD MINUTES April 17, 1979 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Marks at 7 : 30 p.m. Present for roll call: Klick, Marks , Sopcinski and Rymarchick (Jones at 7 : 31 p.m. ) . Absent: Bowerman and Bjorklund. Also present : Jim Fornell, City Manager Ron Berg, Administrative Assistant Motion by Mr. Rymarchick and seconded by Mr . Klick to approve as submitted the minutes for the Board meeting held March 20 , 1979 . Mr. Jones will represent the Board and report its recommendations to the Council at their meeting, April 24 , 1979 . Mr. Marks opened the Public Hearing on the Elmer Hansen variance petition at 7: 35 p.m. Mr. Bjorklund arrived at 7 : 36 p.m. • A copy of the notice of the hearing was provided by Mr. Berg and was read by the Chairman. The City Manager confirmed that all notification requirements for the hearing had been satisfied and the application fee paid by Mr. Hansen. There was no one present who reported failure to receive the notice nor who objected to its content. The applicant was the only person in attendance to speak for or against the proposal . He showed revised plans for the single family dwelling he proposes to build at 4033 Silver Lake Terrace for which he is requesting an additional front yard depth set- back of five feet to the 25 foot setback for which the Council had granted a variance to the Zoning Ordinance on January 23 , 1979 . Mr. Hansen argued that though the front yard setback will only be 20 feet where 30 is required, the proposed structure will actually be 25 feet from the platted street and there will be 1 , 000 square feet of roadway added for which he is paying the cost. Also, his home ' s resulting front yard will be consistent with three other homes on that cul du sac which are less than 20 feet from the road. He reminded the Board members that he had the complete approval of the neighborhood to his proposal and answered concerns raised regarding potential problems with the City' s snow storage in the easement he had granted, by saying he has always experienced less snow storage problems than any other homes on the cul du sac. In response to questions from • ` -2- Mr. Sopcinski and other Board members regarding drainage after • the new roadway and driveway are installed, Mr . Hansen answered by telling them the road will be tipped and the driveway curved enough and a swail and retaining wall would be provided to in- sure natural flow from the street to the lake . Mr. Hansen also informed them that his basement will be constructed 12 feet above the lake level and that the entire area to Apache will be flooded before his basement. Although the other homes on the cul du sac might very well not be in conformance with the City Zoning Ordinance , Mr. Berg said their non-conformance had probably been grandfathered in since he could find no record of any variances on the lots in question being granted. In his memorandum of April 12 , he had responded to the variance petition by saying the City staff had no objec- tions with the current proposal . The hearing was closed by Mr. Marks at 8 p.m. for Board considera- tion of the request. The minutes of the Board ' s January 16th recommendation for approval of the original proposal for the dwelling were reviewed for Mr. Rymarchick, who questioned whether the same findings could be found for the current request . Mr. Klick agreed with him that hardship could not be justified in the current proposal . Mr. Fornell answered Mr. Sopcinski ' s concerns regarding the City ' s • responsibility towards potential problems with drainage when the driveway is raised, by telling him the City controls the grade of all lots through the grading permit. Mr. Jones, who is a neighbor of Mr. Hansen, said he foresaw no problems with the proximity of the proposed structure and the existing Hansen home since the living and family rooms of the latter face in the other direction. It was agreed that whoever purchases this house will be aware of the proximity although there is more space than required by ordinance between the structures . Mr. Jones also reported no objections to the proposal from the owner of the adjoining house most affected by the new structure, Dr. Good, who he said saw the structure as providing him shelter from the northwest winter winds . Mr. Bjorklund expressed his opposition to the proposal by saying there will only be room on the proposed driveway to park one or tcao cars while the average residence in the City is at least 40 feet from the street since most roads are not built within the City 's right of way, as is Silver Lake Terrace . He coupled this objection with his belief that the City had already been more than lenient in the variances they had already granted for the originally proposed s-.:ructi:re and disagreed that this was a unique situation. He concluded by saying, "It ' s the old story of wearing us down" . • 9 -3- Motion by Mr. Klick and seconded by Mr. Rymarchick to recommend • Council approval for reducing the front yard depth setback for the single family dwelling, proposed to be constructed by Elmer Hansen on Lot 1, Block 1 , Olson Addition, by an additional five feet from the 25 foot front yard depth setback approved by the Council, finding that: granting the variance will not destroy the unique and unusual characteristics of that particular area of the City because the new structure will be consistent with the front yard setbacks of existing structures on that cul du sac; taking into consideration the fact of the additional usable dedicated land the City is gaining through the lot split; road vacation and variances which have already been granted to Mr. Hansen; and noting no neighbor opposition to the proposal at either of the two hearings on the requested changes . Voting on the motion: Aye: Klick, Rymarchick , Marks and Sopcinski Nay: Bjorklund Abstention: Jones Motion carried. Robert Bartz, 1382 Cherry Hill Road, appeared before the Board • to present a conceptual analysis of a proposal from himself and Sid Johnson that would allow a split of three double bungalows being built on the corner of 39th Avenue N.E. and Macalaster Drive with resulting private ownership. The Manager explained these could be compared to condominiums for which there is no common area, and that the six units might be brought into conformance with the City Ordinance by replatting the whole development into that many lots and through the granting of variances to the or- dinance. Recommendations from the City Attorney regarding the most viable alternatives for handling the split of the buildings for indivi- dual ownership was presented by Mr. Berg, who had written the staff opinion that the concert seemed basically sound and might provide another option to prospective house buyers for afford- able housing in the City. It was also his and Mr. Fornell ' s contention that such ownership could be anticipated to provide better maintenance of the structures , thus preserving property values in the neighborhood. Mr. Bartz told of the successful application of the concept by the John Larson Company in Lakeville, where the City of Lakeville was able to fit a similar conversion of double bungalows into the comprehensive planning for the city. The Declaration of Convents , Conditions and Restrictions, and other supporting documents by which this was accomplished, were included in Mr. Berg ' s memoran- dum for the Board' s reaction. g -4- Mr. Klick saw greater monetary benefit to the owners of the • property who would sell each unit for approximately $60 , 000 than to the City , and wondered, in spite of a disclaimer by Mr. Bartz, whether the double bungalows had been built with the idea of conversion in mind after the variances necessary to their construction had been granted. Mr. Sopcinski questioned the effectiveness of several articles in the Convenant and saw a lack of recreational facilities for the young families who might be expected to purchase the units . Mr. Bjorklund was "repelled by all the chopped up lots" which would result, and though he felt the concept of low cost pri- vately owned homes was an attractive one, it was not appropriate for that single family neighborhood. He and Mr. Sopcinski pre- dicted conflicts between adjoining owners regarding maintenance which could only be solved through court action. Mr. Fornell said similar problems are common between single family and multiple family residents as well . The "change in times " might justify a new approach to affordable housing and he urged the Board to keep an open mind regarding the concept. Mr. Rymarchick had raised the question of the density of the development, but the Manager told him the "density is already established since the units are already there" . Mr. Jones stated this concept has been encouraged by the Metro- politan Council, but he agreed that the questions raised by the Board should be researched before any decision is made. Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Klick to table the matter for further staff study of how other communities of similar density to St. Anthony have handled similar projects . Voting on the motion to table: Ave : Jones , Klick, Bjorklund, Sopcinski and Rymarchick Nay : Marks Motion carried. As has been the City policy, the final plat of the Hansen property was presented for Board review. Motion by Mr. Bjorklund and seconded by Mr. Sopcinski that having discussed fully the questions relating to lot lines , easements , setbacks and street vacation for the proposed plat, and having received the City Attorney 's recommendations and findings on the matter, the Board recommends Council approval of the final platting of Hansen' s Silver Lake Addition. Motion carried unanimously. • -5- The Manager gave the justifications , as he saw them, for con- sidering alternatives to the existing Apache liquor operation and to increase its productivity as it is a vital source of income for the City. He pointed out the hard choices which might necessarily have to be made between economic realities and good planning practices . Mr. Berg, with his memo of April 12 , had included all the data he saw as pertinent to the matter. Included was the March 21 memo from Mr. Fornell to the Council suggesting twelve different courses of actions , including re- siting of the lounge and/or bottle shop, for which Board mem- bers gave their preferences. Mr. Bjorklund said he saw No. 10 , the remodeling of the Apache lounge and chancing a reasonable lease in 19(')6 , as his first choice with No. 11 , remodeling the lounge now and enlarging the Stonehouse bottle shop in 1986 , his second choice. His third choice would- be No. 5, Wards Auto Store. Mr. Sopcinski favored No. 11, though he questioned whether the shopping center pro- vided the right atmosphere for a lounge. Mr. Klick also preferred No. 11 and No. 10 , which he felt should be considered as one. He also saw the viability of the Wards Auto Store, which seemed to be the choice of many residents he had questioned on the matter. Mr. Jones agreed, saying that if the City could buy the land, • that would be his first choice. If, however, as Mr. Fornell had said, none of the Apache property was for sale, he favored No. 2, the site south of Twin City Federal , where there would be access and parking for both bottle shop and lounge operations . He was definitely opposed to the Hedlund site. Mr. Marks said he is personally opposed to any liquor business , but realistically would decide on a site which would be economi- cally advantageous to the City with proper regard for the sur- rounding neighborhood. Mr. Rymarchick had no opinion at this time . Board members reacted to the Capital Improvements Program for School District No. 282 which had been submitted to them, as required by law, as part of comprehensive planning. Mr. Rymarchick questioned whether remodeling the high school for a middle school inclusion could be considered a capital improvement and a land use which should be addressed by the Planning Board. The Chairman ruled that the capital expenditures involved in the District No. 282 Capital Improvement Program are land use issues and therefore appropriate for Board consideration. Mr. Bjorklund stated his assessment of the plan as "an excellent one in spite of its deficiency in not addressing the costs of remodeling for the middle school , nor for the supporting structures" . The chairman replied by telling him that more specific information could not be provided at this time because of the great differ- ences in opinion as to the degree of separation necessary between the senior and middle school. -6- Mr. Jones reported a meeting he had attended where the possibility of using the Silver Oak school building as a joint city adminis- trative office for both St. Anthony and New Brighton was explored. Mr. Klick reported a rumor that Parkview might be reopened as an elementary school. He felt the program offered by the School District had not sufficiently considered the eventuality of some- thing happening in the City such as the residential development of the St. Anthony Shopping Center area which might increase the number of school children in the District. He also saw a chance that a strong transportation system down Silver Lake Road might affect the school population. He felt the same demographic pattern which had been used 15 years ago to erroneously predict a raise in school population resulting in the building of Wilshire and Silver Oak was being accepted to predict a, diminishing school population. Mr. Marks did not believe the report foreclosed any such eventualities, but only addressed the school populations as they are now projected. Mr. Bjorklund's motion that the matter be tabled until the next meeting died for lack of a second. City staff will raise these questions in a letter they will prepare for Board consideration to be sent to the School District. The Board accepted Mr. Berg' s suggestion that he complete the • body of the proposed sign ordinance and submit it for their approval in May. Due to the late hour it was also agreed to defer, to a later date , the slide presentation on tax increment financing and alternative redevelopment processes which had been scheduled. Motion by Mr. Klick and seconded by Mr. Bjorklund to adjourn the meeting at 10: 45 p.m. Motion_ carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary Planning Board 4-20-79 pjr � 2