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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 10161979 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIIIIIII 106006 Box: 36 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1979 Document: PL MINUTES 30161979 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING BOARD MINUTES • October 16 , 1979 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Marks at 8 p.m. Present for roll call: Bjorklund, Marks, Rymarchick, Bowerman and Sopcinski . Absent: Jones and Enrooth (arrived at 8 : 02 p.m. ) . Also present: Jim Fornell , City Manager and Ron Berg, Administrative Assistant. The following changes were made in the minutes of the Board meeting held September 18 : Page 3 , para 2: Last sentence should read "His tenta- tive timetable is for a building a year at this point in time. " Page 4, para 2: Last sentence should read: "Mr. Blanske and Mr. Bjorklund independently reported that Mr. Hedlund did not oppose the va- cation of the alley. " • Page 7, para 2 : The motion made by Mr. Jones and Mr. Bjorklund was "carried unanimously. " Motion by Mr. Bjorklund and seconded by Mr. Sopcinski to approve as amended the minutes for the Board meeting held September 18 , 1979 . Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Marks will represent the Board at the Council meeting October 23. At his suggestion, the election of a Chairman Pro Tem for the remainder of 1979 was added as No. 10 of the Agenda. At 8: 05 p.m. the Public Hearing to consider the preliminary plat for the A. J. Herlitz Addition on the former school district property on Silver Lake Road between 33rd and Hilldale Avenues was opened by the Chairman. Mr. Berg confirmed that all notification and publication requirements for such a hearing had been met and no one present either reported failure to receive such notice nor objected to its content. The City Attorney had reviewed the proposed plat and found it in conformance with the City Zoning Ordinance. There were no problems detected from the soil bearings which had been taken on the site. • -2- Ron Murphy, of Comstock and Davis, Inc. , confirmed that the survey of the property indicated the proposal meets all •the requirements of the City ordinance and those set by the school district for its usage. He then answered questions regarding the water main easement along the east property line put to him by Mr. Bjorklund and Harvey Roloff, 3012 Hilldale , and Mr. Fornell assured Mr. Roloff the residents of Hilldale can expect only a minor, if any, inconvenience when the new dwellings are connected to the water and sewer systems . A. J. Herlitz, of Herlitz Construction, Inc. , 2415 Brookridge North, told the three residents present the driveways for at least two homes facing Silver Lake Road will be located on 33rd and Hilldale to avoid the hazardous access onto that busy street. The valuation of the five homes he proposes to build on the site will be between $100 , 000 and $135,000 , and if he tried to fit six dwellings in, they would necessarily be of lesser value and would not fit in with the other homes in the neighborhood, he told Mr . Marks . Mr. Berg said it would be necessary to grant variances to permit six homes on the site. Oscar Hallgren, 3017 Hilldale , said he lives just east of the proposed Lot 3 and was concerned that the dwelling not be built too close to his home which is only five feet from the property line. He was assured there will be at least 20 feet between the structures , even if the dwelling is built right up to the utility easement. • Mr. Murphy answered Mr. Bjorklund's questions regarding solar access by saying he saw no problem between Lots 3, 4 , and 5, but between Lots 1 and 2 "it will be tough to do and will depend on the specific siting of the structures on the lots . " The Public Hearing was closed at 8 : 35 p.m. The Chairman said the proposal meets all City requirements as to land use, setbacks and lot size and also is consistent with the school district's intention for developing the property. Mr. Bjorklund wanted the latter made a part of the motion of approval , but Mr. Rymarchick suggested this be indicated instead by a letter to the school board. Motion by Mr. Rymarchick and seconded by Mr. Bowerman to recommend Council approval of the preliminary platting as presented by Comstock and Davis drawing #4247 for the property bound by Silver Lake Road, 33rd Avenue N.E. and Hilldale Avenue N.E. , finding that the proposal as presented conforms to the City Zoning Ordinance under the existing R-1 , single family zoning and is compatible with the surrounding land use. Mr. Bjorklund's friendly amendment making the approval "contingent upon the intended driveways for Lots 1 and 3 entering 33rd and Hilldale Avenues respectively" was accepted and the motion, as amended, was carried unanimously. r . -3- The proposed restaurant parking revisions which had been tabled in August were then considered. Mr. Berg reiterated the inadequacies he saw in the existing ordinance regarding the parking requirements for sit down restaurants where only one stall is required for every 300 square feet. No parking requirements were set where no seating plan is submitted since it was agreed a seating plan should be speci- fically addressed in any site plan submitted for such a facility. Motion by Mr. Bjorklund and seconded by Mr. Rymarchick to accept the recommendations of City staff and recommend Council approval of the proposed addition to the City Zoning Ordinance which will re- quire a minimum of one parking space for every two seats in a sit down restaurant with the related definition of a sit down restaurant added to the ordinance as proposed. Motion carried unanimously. Seven additional pages of material prepared by Mr. Berg to be included in the new sign ordinance were then considered. There were marked differences of opinion as to whether gasoline stations and shopping centers should be exempted from the prohibition of pole/pylon signs . The Chairman viewed such exemptions as discriminatory, but others contended it is doubtful whether such prohibitions could be legally upheld in the face of existing non-conformance with the sign ordi- nance throughout the City. Mr. Sopcinski saw some free standing signs at gas stations as posing traffic hazards. Mr. Bowerman felt trying to prohibit this type of signage in all circumstances was • an "exercise in futility" and suggested instead that "the intent and purpose of revising the sign ordinance should be to see signage is strategically and intelligently placed throughout the City and not used nor abused in the residential areas. " He wanted to "leave the ordinance alone" and respond to each sign application on its own merits. Mr. Fornell wanted the location of any proposed sign and its elevation required on the site plans for such signage. Motion by Mr. Bjorklund and seconded by Mr. Marks to delete from the sign ordinance subdivision addition on the prohibition of pole/pylon signs everything written after the words "are prohibited" . Voting on the motion: Aye: Marks Nay: Bjorklund, Rymarchick, Bowerman, Sopcinski and Enrooth. Motion not carried. Other changes were suggested regarding projecting roof and fascia signs which will be incorporated into the final draft to be prepared by Mr. Berg for Board consideration. —Consideration was then given to the proposal from Hobie Swan regarding • the remodeling of the existing beauty/barber shop at 2501 Kenzie Terrace, for an administration office to serve the Lowry Grove Trailer Park. The City Attorney had advised that the Public Hearing on the -4- proposal which is set to be held during the Council' s October 23 meeting is "essentially a technical procedure since the City cannot legally deny the permit. " However, the Board indicated its concern with the existing barber pole in front of the barber shop in the following: Motion by Mr. Bowerman and seconded by Mr. Bjorklund to request the Council take under advisement during its consideration of Mr. Swan's remodeling plans for the beauty/barber shop that the existing signage for the barber shop is non-conforming to the City Sign Ordinance and, at least in one instance, constitutes a traffic hazard and this con- dition should be addressed before the building permit for the re- modeling is issued. Motion carried unanimously. Gordon Hedlund then presented the plans for the Accurate Instant Print operation which he proposes to establish in the existing residence at 3909 Silver Lake Road under the Hedlund PUD. He addressed the submission requirements for the proposal in his letter of October 8, and told the Board nine parking spaces, of whatever size is required, will be provided for the facility. An 18-inch retaining wall of creosote logs will be installed on the east side of the parking lot and Mr. Hedlund felt the existing trees on the site and neighboring lots should provide ample screening. The existing garage will be removed when it is no longer needed to store the building materials • for the remodeling which Mr. Hedlund will do himself. The developer said he will require good identification of the operation and would like a monument-type sign similar to his neighbor, the Cadwallader Realty Company. Mr. Fornell told the Board this particular type of print shop is not clearly defined in the City Zoning Ordinance and an amendment to the ordinance will probably be required to establish whether it is a "B" service office, or "C" commercial, use. The PUD specifies only a "B" use for this property and the City cannot issue a re- modeling permit to Mr. Hedlund until the zoning classification of the proposed use is established. The Board agreed any action on the submission data for the proposal would not be relevant until the question is clarified. Since Mr. Hedlund could not give a clear definition of the operation himself, Mr . Enrooth, who has some ex- pertise in this field, agreed to meet with his consultant to estab- lish such a definition for consideration as to its proper zoning. It is estimated a final determination can probably not be expected much before December , since an ordinance amendment requires readings before the Council and publication following its adoption. The plans for a free-standing sign for the St. Anthony Village Shopping Center, which is intended to identify the Saliterman shopping area, were considered next. Mr . Berg' s October 12 memo addressed the legal ramifications of denying the sign request. Also discussed was the question of a moratorium on all building permits in that area while the City 's Comprehensive Plan is being developed. -5- irman Marks supported the moratorium viewing the shopping center Pas ign, the Swan proposal and possible remodeling of the Three Circles projects to be considered in the same context. Mr. Fornell cautioned against precipitous action suggesting instead the utilization of the services of the Minnesota Project as offered in a September 24 letter at no charge in the area of public policy analysis and community-economic development and following the Mayor's suggestion that a task force of business and community leaders be formed in a further attempt to facilitate private involvement in the economic rebuilding of that particular area before tax increment financing is undertaken. He told of the willingness of Elliott Saliterman to meet with them to discuss and to determine what his future plans for the shopping center are. The Manager then told of his most recent meeting with the group who are interested in senior housing to be build across Kenzie Terrace from the shopping center, a project which the Chairman felt might possibly fit well within the corhprehensive planning as proposed. Motion by Mr, Enrooth and seconded by Mr. Bjorklund to request the Council to table action on the request for the shopping center signage until at least the second Council meeting in November in order to give the Board sufficient time to analyze whether a capital expenditure of this type is consistent with the proposed Comprehensive Plan. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Bjorklund had obtained information on solar access which he passed on to the staff for possible incorporation into the City Zoning Ordinance. He indicated he would be interested in the posi- tion of Chairman Pro Tem which had been unfilled since Mr. Marks moved up to the chairmanship. Mr. Bowerman placed Mr. Bjorklund's name in the nomination. No other name was submitted. Motion by Mr. Bowerman and seconded by Mr. Sopcinski to close nomina- tions. i Voting on the motion: Aye: Bowerman, Sopcinski, Marks , Rymarchick, and Enrooth. ' Abstention: Bjorklund. Motion carried. Voting on Mr. Bjorklund's appointment: Aye: Bowerman, Sopcinski, Marks, Rymarchick and Enrooth Abstention: Bjorklund. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Sopcinski and seconded by Mr. Rymarchick to adjourn the meeting at 10 :55 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary