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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 05151979 Meeting Sheet IIIIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII 105994 Box: 36 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1979 Document: PL MINUTES 05151979 r i CI`T'Y OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING BOARD MINUTES May 15, 1979 The meeting was called to order at 7 : 30 p.m. by Chairman Pro Tem Klick. Present for roll call: Jones , Bjorklund, Klick, Sopcincki and Rymarchick. Absent: Marks and Bowerman Also present: Jim Fornell , City Manager Ron Berg, Administrative Assistant Mr. Marks arrived at 7 : 32 p.m. and chaired the remainder of the meeting. The minutes for the April 17 Board meeting were corrected as follows : Page 2 , para 1: Correct spelling of "Swale" para 7 : In the fourth line it should be indicated that "most roads are built well within the City ' s right of way" rather than "are not built within the City' s right of way" . • Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr . Klick to amend the minutes to indicate in the last paragraph of the first page that the proposed Hansen structure "will actually be ' 20 ' rather than ' 25 ' feet from the platted street" . Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Bjorklund to approve the minutes for the April 17 , 1979 Board meeting as corrected and amended . Motion carried unanimously. Chairman Marks opened the Public Hearing on the St. Anthony National Bank ' s application for a variance to the City Ordinance which regu- lates off-street parking, at 7 : 35 p.m. when he read the notice which had gone out to property owners in the area. Mr. Fornell confirmed that all notification regulations for such a hearing had been met and the required application fee paid. No one present objected to the contents of the notice nor reported failure to receive same . The concerns of Board members and Minneapolis neighbors regarding the placement of parking spaces and driveway, the provisions for snow storage, landscaping and the screening of the triangular shaped vacant lot between Lowry Avenue and Kenzie Terrace, which the bank had pur- chased for a parking lot, were answered by the bank ' s architect , Wil Johnson, and its president, Peter Meyers . Mr . Johnson presented the site and landscaping plans for the lot, which is located across Kenzie Terrace from the new bank building on the corner of Lowry and Stinson Boulevard, and told those present its use will be exclusively for bank employees and renters of the top floors of the bank , saving the parking around the bank for its patrons . Mr . Johnson said the additional set backs were needed on all three sides to maximize the • use of the site to provide thirty 10x20 foot parking spaces . He pointed out the hardiness of the ground cover planned for the planted areas and named the types of "major size" trees to be placed on the lot which are also named and described on the site plan , along with existing trees to be retained as well . The lighting which is to be erected as a safety measure for employees who work at night, will be low level and directed in such a manner as not to be an annoyance to the residents across the street. Mr. Meyers agreed with Mr. Klick that arrangements could be made to turn the lights off later in the evening. Five Minneapolis residents were present to voice their opposition to placing the entrance to the lot on Lowry Avenue where they felt there was already too . much traffic generated by Kentucky Fried Chicken and the PDQ building, just east of this lot, who also have driveways off Lowry. They were concerned whether the snow plowed from the lot would be dumped on their side of the street as had been the practice for the other two businesses. These included Esther Baker and Donald Best who live at 2341 and 2342 Taft Street N.E . , another man who said he lived at 2338 Taft Street N.E. , and Helen Kara, 2343 Roosevelt Street N.E. The hearing was recessed from 7 : 55 p.m. to 8 p.m. to give Mr. Johnson an opportunity to show the residents the plans and discuss their concerns . • When the hearing was resumed, Mr. Fornell explained that comments regarding the use of the area as a parking lot, per se , should be considered out of order since the hearing was scheduled only regarding the setback variances without which the bank could utilize the lot for any commercial purpose it chose. He answered Mrs . Kara ' s objec- tion to "St. Anthony allowing an entrance to the parking lot from a Minneapolis street" by telling her he was certain St. Anthony had participated in the assessment of that street as had the two busi- nesses who were accused of generating traffic. He also cautioned residents that they might find a parking lot less objectionable than other uses which might be developed there because of the property ' s C-Commercial zoning. The Public Hearing was closed at 8: 10 p.m. for comments from Board and staff. Mr. Fornell told the Board he will contact the owners of the two businesses, who were the target of the residents ' complaints , regarding their trash disposal and snow removal . Mr. Jones said he had no objections to the variances as requested, but felt there was a need for better screening of the lot from the residential across Lowry. He also said he was certain the bank officials would be re- sponsive to any complaints regarding their employees ' use of the lot. All Board members expressed concern for the safety of those who cross Kenzie Terrace to reach the bank and Mr . Bjorklund felt the bank should provide some type of sidewalk across the planted area for • the handicapped. I -3- The Manager wanted the responsibility of the safety of pedestrians • left to the bank and Hennepin County , which controls Kenzie Terrace. He said the logical point for pedestrian crossing would be at the intersection of Stinson Boulevard and Lowry Avenue where there will be a semaphor installed this summer. Whether a curb cut can be made on Kenzie Terrace will also be left to the county and he doubted whether they would allow a mid-block crosswalk in view of the hazards pedestrians are exposed to in the cross walk a few blocks down Kenzie Terrace. Mr. Bjorklund agreed with Mr. Jones that there was not adequate buffering of the site in the plan between the residences across the street and the building east of the proposed lot. He thought at least three parking stalls, rather than one suggested by Mr . Johnson, should be reserved for snow storage and felt since a precedent had been set in many cases throughout the City for allowing nine rather than ten foot wide parking spaces , this route might be taken to maxi- mize the use of the lot, but thought the parking bumpers were planned too close to the lot line . He offered amendments to the following motion which reflected these changes . Motion by Mr. Rymarchick and seconded by Mr. Klick to recommend Council approval of setback variances of two feet on the east side , four feet on the Kenzie Terrace side, and seven feet on the Lowry side of Lot 1 , Block 1, Kenzie Terrace Addition (approximately 2510 Kenzie Terrace N.E. ) , which will permit parking for the St. Anthony National Bank, as proposed within the setbacks , finding that : • 1) because of the unique shape of the property, it probably would be a problem to develop any other commercial use, especially considering the associated parking requirements; 2) no apparent desire is demon- strated, through these variances , to increase the value , but rather just to maximize the use of this odd-shaped lot; and 3) strict ad- herance to City ordinance would hinder the maximum use of the pro- perty for a parking facility by limiting the number of automobiles and making the use unreasonable. Recommendation of approval is made contingent upon thc. owner being responsible : to either provide ade- quate snow storage on the property or to have it hauled away; to pro- vide density of planting and screening along the Lowry Avenue side to an opaque or near opaque visability, and to a height of no less than four feet; parking bumpers are to be positioned at least six feet from the lot line in all cases ; and the owners are urged to encourage their employees to cross at the appropriate locations ; and the owners are to follow their planting proposals as presented. ,Motion carried unanimously. At 8 : 50 p.m. Chairman Marks opened the Public Hearing on the request from Mr. and Mrs . Leonard Toth for a four foot side yard setback variance to the City Zoning Ordinance which will allow them to com- plete the existing porch and add a vestibule on their home at 2900 Roosevelt Street N.E. • c I -4- The Chairman read the notice of the hearing which had been sent to • all residents within 200 feet of the improvement and the Manager verified that all other requirements for such a hearing had been met. Mr. and Mrs . Toth were the only persons present to speak for or against the proposal . Mr. Toth reiterated his written reasons for making the addition to his home and pointed out the fact that the house was built 28 feet from the property line in 1950, long before the new ordinance re- quiring a corner lot structure to be 45 feet from the street had been adopted. He also told the Board that when 29th Avenue was rebuilt , the width of the roadway was increased to within 13 feet of his lot line and noted the homes adjacent to his are closer to the street than the proposed addition will be. The Public Hearing was closed at 8 : 56 p.m. Mr. Fornell agreed with the justifications given ay the applicants and said he was not opposed to the proposal . Mr. Bjorklund wanted the setbacks of homes adjacent to the Toth ' s measured, but it was agreed surveying would be too costly . Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Klick to grant the variance requested which will permit the proposed improvement of the Toth residence on Lot 8 , Block 4 , Murray Heights Second Addition, as pre- sented, which will maintain the existing roof line of the home, • finding that strict adherance to the existing City ordinance require- ments for a corner lot will place undue hardship on these applicants since the property was platted and improved prior to the adoption of the present ordinance and the resulting property setbacks will be consistent with the adjacent properties . Motion carried unanimously. Sid Johnson, builder of three double bungalows at 39th Avenue N.E. and Macalaster Drive, was present for the discussion of possible splitting of the three for private ownership rather than rental pur- poses . He blamed his lack of foresight for not requesting this usage for the structures when he was granted the variances necessary to their contruction. He felt their placement on the site was mandated by the City and gave the tinancial reasons for wanting to change their usage . Mr. Johnson also recjmm-nded the concept for compre- hensive plan consideration. Mr . Berg had provided the information requested by the Board regarding how other communities had dealt with this new concept for housing and suggested four methods of handling it for City adoption. He also attached to this memorandum the policy statement from the Metropolitan Council on the concept of alternative housing which they encouraged communities to develop to provide affordable housing to all segments of the population . • -5- Each Board member indicated which approach he would favor if the • concept were to be adopted by the City , and expressed their concerns with the inherent problems of dual ownership of one structure , viewing a homeowners association as the best remedy. They also indicated a desire to retain control over the location where these concepts might be developed and questioned whether any existing two-family dwelling could be converted to the new usage. Mr . Jones was specifically opposed to the zero lot line concept favoring instead a common area controlled by a home owners association which could arbitrate dif- ferences . Motion by Mr. Bjorklund and seconded by Mr. Rymarchick to recommend to the City Council that the City staff, in conjunction with the City Attorney, be directed to draft the guidelines for the conditions , including a homeowners association, which must be met to allow con- dominium ownership in a R-2 (residential two-family dwelling) district under special use permit and that these guidelines be presented for Planning Board review and recommendations . Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Klick left the meeting at 10 : 10 p.m. Mr. Fornell commented on his May 11 memorandum informing the Board of the request from John Penne for his concept review of possible service office development for the existing residential structure on the Hedlund property . No one from the Penne Realty firm appeared • to discuss the request. Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Rymarchick to table the request from Penne Realty until such time as a representative of that firm appears before the Board to provide additional information as to how the property in question is to be utilized. Motion carried unanimously. Council action at their last meeting regarding the request from the M & M Development Corporation that the City allow road access and provide storm sewer service for the warehouse they propose to build on Roseville property off Anthony Lane, was reported by the Manager . The Board agreed with him that City staff should attempt to get more specific information from Roseville as to how they propose to service this and other undeveloped property adjacent to Anthony Lane. Mr. Bjorklund expressed his concern as to what extent Board members are governed by the Open Meeting-Law, and the Manager will research the matter with the City Attorney. Bill Weber, of B.R.W. , Inc. , discussed with the Board members specific changes they were suggesting in the material for the City ' s Compre- hensive Plan he had provided. It was suggested that each Board member should indicate his own suggestions in writing on the copies , for • submission within a week to Mr. Weber, for incorporation into the final draft which will be presented for their consideration. I': was agreed that a separate work session would probably be neces.;ary and May 21 was the date tentatively set for the session . -6- The Manager also suggested attendance at the noon meeting of the Apache businessmen with the shopping center owner, C . J. Rien, on May 31, which might prove very informative . Action on the letter which had been prepared by City staff to reflect the Board' s reaction to the capital improvement program for the school district was deferred for further revision. Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Sopcinski to adjourn the meeting at 12 : 20 a.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe HC: pjr i I i I I 1 1