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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 11201979 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIIIIIII 106008 Box: 36 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1979 Document: PL MINUTES 11201979 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES November 20, 1979 The meeting was called to order at 7 : 45 p.m. by Chairman Marks. Present for roll call: Bowerman, Marks, Sopcinski and Enrooth. Absent: Rymarchick, Bjorklund and Jones. Also present: Jim Fornell, City Manager and Ron Berg, Administrative Assistant. Motion by Mr. Bowerman and seconded by Mr. Sopcinski to approve as submitted the minutes for the Planning Commission meeting held October 16 1979. LTy Motion carried unanimously. Commission members indicated their desire to continue to have the Council minutes included with their agenda. Mr. Sopcinski will represent the Commission at the next Council meeting, the date for which has been changed from November 27 to December 4 . The next Planning Commission meeting will be December 11, with recom- mendations from that meeting reported to the Council on December 18 . Mr. Marks urged all Commission members to attend the State Planning Agency seminar on planning to be held at the Radisson South, December 13 and 14 , assuring them the information they receive at this seminar should be invaluable towards their service as Commission members. At 7: 50 p.m. the Public Hearing was opened on the vacation of the 14 x 80 foot alley easement across the property at 4017 Silver Lake Road which is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Bona, as petitioned by the three affected property owners October 29, 1979 . Because the signed petition precluded the necessity for notices, only the publi- cation requirements for such a hearing had been met, Mr. Berg told the Commission. In his memorandum of November 16, he had given the staff recommendation that the vacation be granted. There was no one present to speak either for nor against the proposal. The Public Hearing was closed at 7 :51 p.m. Motion by Mr. Bowerman and seconded by Mr. Enrooth to recommend Council approval of the Bona request for vacation of that part of the alley lying north of a line drawn between the southeast corner of Lot 25 and the southwest corner of Lot 8 and lying south of a line drawn between the northeast corner of Lot 24 and the northwest corner of Lot 7 , all in Block 17, Soo Marie Park, in accordance with the re- quest of the petitioner. • Motion carried unanimously. -2- 8 : 01 p.m. the Public Hearing was opened on the Bernard Blanske ;request for vacation of the south half of the roughly developed gravel path known as Old Sunset Lane (39th Avenue N.E. ) which leads to the holding pond known as Mirror Lake. Mr. Berg confirmed that since Mr. Blanske owns all the property which falls within the area requiring notification of the hearing, only publication of the notice of the hearing had been necessary. The Manager confirmed that the City would not oppose a vacation of part of that 66 foot wide path as long as the exact location of the existing roadway can be identi- fied, which has not been done on the survey dated July 7 , 1977 , sub- mitted by Mr. Blanske. He also said the Public Works Director had requested the vacation be subject to a 10 foot snow storage easement on the south side of the road. David Volkman, 3009 Harding Street N.E. , said he was present at the request of Mr. Blanske who is in Arizona so he can relay the Commis- sion' s actions on the request to him. About a dozen of the residents of that area were present to indicate their concern with the mini storage facility proposed to be built by Mr. Blanske on the property south of the roadway, which was the subject of the Public Hearing scheduled to follow at 8 : 30 p.m. They did not, however, address the question of the vacation. The Public Hearing was closed at 8 : 13 p.m. Motion by Mr. Bowerman and seconded by Mr. Enrooth to table action on the Blanske vacation request until further information has been • provided or the July 7, 1977 Survey of Certificate has been amended to indicate the actual location of the existing roadbed of Sunset Lane. Motion carried unanimously. -While waiting for the next public hearing, the progress of the Comprehensive Plan and delivery time of the Commission minutes were discussed. Commission members agreed they should have the minutes and agenda of the next meeting delivered sometime the weekend pre- ceding the meeting so onsite inspections can be made in their free time preceding each meeting. ---The meeting was recessed at 8 :25 p.m. and resumed at 8 : 31 p.m. for the Public Hearing on the Blanske variance requests for the develop- ment of the property zoned Light Industrial, located at approximately 3829 Foss Road, which will permit construction of a mini storage facility with a caretaker residence included. Mr. Berg indicated all publication, notification and application requirements for such a hearing had been met. Russell A. Teske, 3821 Foss Road, reported failure to receive such a notice, but since he has just recently purchased that property from Jeffrey Olson it was determined the notice had been sent to the previous owner instead. No one present objected to the content of the notice. Mr. Berg read the November 6 letter from Mr. Blanske which accompanied his applica- wo tion for variances in which he gave what he felt were the justifica- tions for granting the variances requested; and the Chairman read 1 -3- . e Administrative Assistant' s November 16 .recommendations regarding the proposal, for the benefit of the residents present for the hearing. Mr. Jones arrived at 8 : 37 p.m. Mr. Volkman drew the Commission' s attention to the Planning Commission minutes for their meeting March 15, 1977 , which addressed the zoning of this property and adjacent property at the time the Fudali property was rezoned for the Foss Townhouse complex. Copies of the pertinent portions of those minutes had been included in the Agenda. Mr. Teske said his property next to Blanske ' s is already experiencing a drainage problem and he was concerned that further changes in the Blanske property elevations will increase his problems. He was told the City Public works Director is aware of these problems and is working with the Fudalis on a drainage system for the townhouses which it is hoped will solve Mr. Teske' s problems as well. Mr. Teske was also concerned about the height of the fence proposed to be built by Mr. Blanske. Dr. Leo Zaworski, 3763 Foss Road, expressed his concern with the machines and vehicles being stored on the Blanske property close to the Mirror Lake shoreline, wondering whether such development is not regulated by the Department of Natural Resources. Dale Lindman, 3745 Foss Road, another townhouse resident, said he was concerned with the setback of the proposed facility in relation to the existing adjacent buildings. Dr. Bruce O'Brien, 3737 Foss Road, president of the Foss Townhouse Owners Association, said he echoed the concerns of Mr. Lindman and other townhouse residents and • felt more information was needed before those residents could give an informed opinion regarding the proposed development. Mr. Volkman told the Commission Mr. Blanske had indicated to him his willingness to "put whatever the City wants on that property" , but reminded them the property owner has the option of developing the property within the City requirements as best he can whether he chooses a permitted use, such as a body shop, or whatever. Dr. O 'Brien felt the parking requirements for such a development would probably prevent that usage of the property and Mr. Berg confirmed the parking requirements for the mini storage facility would be for at least 47 spaces, which he felt would not be realistic since there would probably never be more than two or three vehicles parked on the site at a time. Mr. Jones later questioned this assumption saying this type of facility is often used by construction companies who store materials and vehicles for daily use which would generage more traffic than other expected uses. Mr. Fornell gave the history of that property and its zoning as well as the steps which had led to friction between competing land uses in that neighborhood. The Public Hearing was closed at 9 :19 p.m. when no further input was offered by the attending residents. Mr. Berg reiterated that a decision regarding the request could probably not be made until a determination is agreed to as what classification the use falls in since mini storage facilities are not specifically addressed in the City Zoning Ordinance and the size of variances for setbacks and parking cannot be determined until the existing roadbed for Sunset Lane is identified. There was agreement -4- that no residence can be permitted in a Light Industrial zoned area without a zoning change. Questions of whether the Commission' is governed by past Commission' s actions as well as whether hardship had been sufficiently demonstrated by Mr. Blanske were fully explored. The absence of grading plans and siting the building in relation to adjacent structures and the lakeshore in the site plans were also noted. How the proposal will fit into the Comprehensive Plan for that property was questioned by Mr. Jones and he wanted Mr. Blanske to be aware that this will in all probability be a factor in the Commission' s decision regarding the variances necessary for the mini storage development. Mr. Volkman said he did not believe construc- tion will be started until spring in any event. A desire to let the Council know how the Commission viewed the proposal led to the following: Motion by Mr. Jones and seconded by Mr. Bowerman to inform the Council that the Blanske request for variances for a mini storage facility be tabled, feeling that though the use may be an acceptable one for the Light Industrial zoned area, the missing information such as grading, landscaping, lighting and drainage plans, as well as the inability to set specific side and front yard and lakeshore setbacks and the timeliness of the Comprehensive Plan make a decision at this time difficult. The Commission is also anxious to ascertain whether the Council will consider rezoning the property to bring it into confor- mance with recommendations for land use of the property as contained in the Comprehensive Plan. Motion carried unanimously. The Commission also requested that Staff research the proposed residential use of the property, the possibility and the steps required to amend the ordinance to permit a mini storage facility, and the legal ramifications of down-zoning the property. r A discussion followed with Thomas Ruvelson of T and H Enterprises, Inc. , 2147 University Avenue, on the request from Slumberland that they be allowed to substitute for their existing signage at 2945 Pentagon Drive N.E. an interiorly lighted fluorescent sign which will have changeable copy to reflect special sale items for which a 25 square foot variance to the City Sign Ordinance requirements will be neces- sary. The sign consultant reiterated Slumberland' s desire, as re- flected in his letter of November 16, to remain in the St. Anthony Shopping Center in spite of its depressed economic conditions. He agreed that all signage in that location should be upgraded and uni- form and that the company would be amenable to having the permit issued for only one year so it can be brought into conformance with any new signage program should such be developed. He told the Com- mission members the absentee landlords of the center had, through the Towle Company, at one time contacted him regarding a possible plan 'for such changes, but said he had no futher communications with them since. Since the sign will be one the company has on hand and • the costs of making the substitution in the range of $1, 100, Mr. Jones suggested its allowance would not appear to substantially af- fect the comprehensive planning in progress for that area. -5- Motion by Mr. Enrooth and seconded by Mr. Marks to recommend Council approval of the 25 square foot variance to the sign area requirements of the City Sign Ordinance which will permit Slumberland to erect the 180 square foot sign they propose, identifying their building at 2945 Pentagon Drive, believing this improvement might aid in in- creasing the viability of business conditions in this center and would not appear to be a major consideration in the development plans for the area. Motion carried unanimously. Red Owl officials had requested the consideration of new signage for their store in the same shopping center be postponed until the next Commission meeting. The question of how to classify print shops so the City may react to the application for such a facility under the Hedlund PUD was considered in light of Mr. Berg' s memo of November 16 where a tour of similar operations on which Mr. Enrooth had taken him and Mr. Fornell was reported. Mr. Jones was told there does not appear to be a way for facilitating the hearing process required for such ordinance changes. Motion by Mr. Bowerman and seconded by Mr. Sopcinski to recommend to the Council that the City Zoning Ordinance should be amended to provide for copy service print shops of up to 1,200 square feet under the "B" , Service Office classification with from 1,201 to 3, 000 square feet considered as a "C'r, Commercial, use and from 3,000 square feet up to be classified as "LI" , Light Industrial. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Berg informed the Commission that upon his review of the Roseville Comprehensive Plan, he found no matters or issues which are of any particular interest or which may affect the City of St. Anthony. Mr. Berg told the Commission a Public Hearing on the proposed amend- ment of the City Zoning Ordinance, to permit a minimum of 9 x 19 foot . parking stalls will be held during their December 11 meeting. He also stated that a public hearing would be held at that time for designating the number of required parking stalls for sit-down rest- aurants. It was suggested that it might be advisable to have the interviews and select a replacement on the Commission for George Marks, who has been elected to the Council, in December, with the Chairman for 1980 selected after the new member has been appointed by the Council. All members who were present expressed a willingness to serve on the Commission another year. Motion by Mr. Sopcinski and seconded by Mr. Jones to adjourn the meeting at 10: 58 p.m. • Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary