HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 06182002 Meeting Sheet
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Box: 34
Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 2002
Document: PL MINUTES 06182002
1 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
2
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
5 JUNE 18, 2002
6 7:00 p.m.
7
8
9 I. CALL TO ORDER
10 Chair Melsha called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
11
12 II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
13 Chair Melsha invited the Council and the audience to join in the Pledge of Allegiance.
14
15 III. ROLL CALL.
16 Commissioners present: Chair Melsha; Vice Chair Stille, Commissioners Hanson, Hoska,
17 Steeves, and Thomas.
18
19 Absent: Commissioner Tillman.
20
21 Also present: Assistant City Manager Susan Hall.
22
23 IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA.
24 Motion by Commissioner Thomas, second by Vice Chair Stille, to approve the meeting agenda.
4 Motion carried unanimously.
27
28 V. PUBLIC INPUT.
29 Chair Melsha invited anyone in the audience to come forward at this time and address the
30 Commission on items that are not on the regular meeting agenda.
31
32 Hearing no comments, Chair Melsha moved forward with the agenda.
33
34 VI. MEETING MINUTES.
35 6.1 Review/Approval of the Planning Commission meeting minutes of April 16, 2002.
36 Motion by Vice Chair Stille, second by Chair Melsha, to approve the Planning
37 Commission meeting minutes of April 16, 2002.
38
39 Motion carried unanimously.
40
41 VII. COMMUNICATION WITH CITY COUNCIL.
42 7.1 Designate a Planning Commission member to the City Council regular meeting of
43 June 25, 2002.
44 Chair Melsha indicated that he and Vice Chair Stille would consult with each other and
45 determine who, between the two of them, was available to attend the next City Council
46 meeting on June 25, 2002.
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
Page 2
1 VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS.
2 7.1 Culvers Restaurant. 4000/4004 Silver Lake Road NE:
3 Chair Melsha opened the public hearing at 7:04 p.m.
4
5 Hall provided the Commission with a background on the proposed Culvers Restaurant in
6 the 4000 Block of Silver Lake Road, and the items that are related to the development:
7
8 Hall indicated that there were two different square footages totaled on the drawing by the
9 petitioner, and that city staff was asking for some final plans to show the square footage.
10 Hall has been told that the final square footage on the proposed building was 5218 square
11 feet.
12
13 Hall continued that there are plans for an accessory building, but have seen no plans. She
14 stated that finals plans should show an accessory building.
15
16 Hall indicated that the City Engineer has indicated that the petitioner will need to obtain a
17 permit from Ramsey County for a curb-cut, as well as a maintenance agreement.
18
19 Hall stated that the City will need more information on storm-water and sediment plans
20 before final approval.
46 Hall stated that the City's planning firm, DSU (Dahlgren, Shardlow and Uban), has
23 examined the plans and have offered some comments which were passed on to the
24 petitioners. DSU indicated that the plan needed to make some adjustments in order to
25 meet the Northwest Quadrant's redevelopment planning process.
26
27 A. Conditional use permit for a drive-through restaurant and because restaurant is
28 located less than 250 feet from a residential zoning district.
29
30 Steve Sparks came forward and introduced Chris McGuire, McConn Construction, who
31 was the probable general contractor for the project if all permits were issued, etc. Sparks
32 indicated that McGuire has built 27 Culvers restaurants to this point.
33
34 Chair Melsha requested that McGuire review the site plan, and building design. He
35 indicated that they have toned down the traditional appearance of the building, choosing
36 colors that are in the same color-family,but less vibrant, at the request of DSU.
37
38 Chair Melsha asked why the site plan designed by DSU does not work for McGuire, as
39 he prefers it to the one presented by the petitioners. He responded that both plans will
40 work, but that the question is which one works better.
41
42 McGuire continued that DSU's site plan does work in that it achieves all of the essential
43 elements, but it creates some bottlenecks and some confusing points for customers
coming on and off the property.
5
46 McGuire continued that customers like the convenience of front-of-the-building parking,
47 which the site plan by DSU does not include.
48
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
Page 3
1 Chair Melsha indicated that the petitioner's site plan had a lot of parking on the north
2 side of the lot, which would have customers walking through the drive-through path. It
3 was also stated that the west-end parking was for employees.
4
5 Commissioner Thomas confirmed that 33% of Culvers' business comes from the drive-
6 through business. He continued that all of that business would exit via Silver Lake Road.
7
8 Chair Melsha stated that another reason that he was interested in moving the building
9 was that they only had 4.25 feet that the building would need to be moved in order for
10 them not to need the rear yard variance.
11
12 Sparks responded that the situation that exists with the need for the variance is that it
13 does not serve the purpose in the best possible way for neither the restaurant, nor the
14 City. However, he stated that there exist a number of ways that they could eliminate the
15 need for the rear yard variance, although it was his hope that the Commission would
16 realize that the way that the petitioner's site plan positioned the building was the best
17 way.
18
19 McGuire stated that the DSU site plan would require the food service semi-truck to
20 utilize a drive-through parking space.
16 Commissioner Steeves clarified that their was one-way traffic coming out of the drive-
23 through, and that incoming traffic from the north enters and turns left immediately.
24
25 Commissioner Thomas stated that one of the principals that DSU was attempting to
26 achieve with their plan was to minimize the parking in the front of the building. He
27 continued that he would still contend that it would make more sense to have the drive-
28 through traffic both entering and exiting via Silver Lake Road.
29
30 McGuire stated that Silver Lake Road is the primary source of access. He continued that,
31 according to their plan, there were no parking spaces along Silver Lake Road; DSU's site
32 plan has 12 twelve parking spaces along Silver Lake Road, which runs a lot of traffic
33 right back into the intersection.
34
35 Commissioner Steeves asked about the retaining wall between the residential district and
36 the discussed property and what type of grading, if any, existed there. Sparks responded
37 that the graded differential was at least ten feet.
38
39 Mc Guire continued that the speaker for the drive-through is designed to eliminate the
40 need for shouting out orders.
41
42 Commissioner Steeves asked about the stairway leading up to the roof, in terms of
43 vandalism, and aesthetics. McGuire stated that he agreed with Commissioner Steeves'
concerns regarding the ladder,but stated that it was a State Law requirement in
5 Minnesota.
46
47 Sparks added that they placed the ladder at the least visible point of the building at their
48 Vadnais Heights location.
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
• Page 4
1
2 Commissioner Steeves asked what the drainage plan was for the site. McGuire stated
3 that he has not yet reviewed the information submitted by the civil engineer for the
4 project regarding drainage.
5
6 Vice Chair Stille asked for clarification on the easement. Sparks stated that the two
7 different easements are issues that need to be resolved before closing on the property.
8
9 Commissioner Hanson stated that the rear yard variance was, essentially, created by the
10 City, in the request for a meeting space.
11
12 Chair Melsha asked what McGuire could do to accommodate the roof design
13 recommendation by DSU. Sparks stated that he felt that the one thing that they could
14 agreeably do to help accommodate the recommendation by DSU was to significantly cut
15 off one of the roof peaks, which will cut the roof peak from 25 feet to 18.6 feet.
16
17 Commissioner Thomas asked if they have discussed the option of adding a second level,
18 and stated that the Commission needs to consider how this building structure will fit in
19 with all of Apache. Sparks stated that he would rather shrink the floor plan to 120
20 seating capacity, than add a second floor.
4 Commissioner Thomas stated that he was reluctant to let go of the recommendation by
23 the City's planner, DSU.
24
25 Commissioner Hoska stated that he felt the proposed location of the store was not a
26 problem, nor was a second story necessary. He added that he felt that the people of
27 Culvers have made their compromises, and that the City of St. Anthony was beginning to
28 micro-manage the project when the City has asked for an establishment like Culvers for a
29 long time. He stated that he felt that it was time to move forward with the project.
30
31 Chair Melsha asked the Commission if there were any other questions to address to
32 Sparks, or McGuire.
33
34 Commissioner Thomas asked if the City would want the more decorative lighting on
35 southbound Silver Lake Road to be compatible with the other lighting fixtures along
36 Silver Lake Road. McGuire stated that the standard fixtures are a painted brown steel 25-
37 foot pole light.
38
39 Commissioner Thomas asked when the semi-truck loading and unloading took place.
40 Sparks stated that it was largely up to their distributor, but requested that food delivery be
41 completed by 10:30 a.m. Otherwise,he continued, they request that delivery happen
42 after 1:00 p.m.
43
Chair Melsha asked about the accessory building. McGuire stated that the footprint on
5 the building was 12 feet wide and 24 feet deep. Sparks stated that the building was to
46 store a trailer and a refrigerated custard cart which is taken to community events.
47
i
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
• Page 5
1 Chair Melsha clarified that they did not have a problem with cutting down the roofline.
2 Sparks confirmed that they do not have a problem with that.
3
4 Chair Melsha stated that the reason for the concern over storm water run-off was due to
5 the constant struggle of storm water run-off on Silver Lake Road.
6
7 B. On-site parking variance for a required number of spaces for every 50 square
8 feet of floor area for a fast food, take out, or convenience restaurant.
9 Sparks stated that, from an operational perspective, the site plan generates an
10 adequate number of parking spaces with the 70 that are currently outlined.
11
12 Chair Melsha stated that they must show hardship in order for the City to consider the
13 variance.
14
15 McGuire stated that, in essence, they would need to have a lot more property, or cut
16 down the building in order to comply. He added that the additional land was not
17 available, and that to lessen the building anymore would not make it a viable
18 operation for anyone.
19
20 C. Combine Lot 1, Block 1, Apache Plaza with Lot 2,Block 1, Apache.
Chair Melsha asked where they are on the purchase agreement with Exhaust Pro.
Sparks indicated that they are in on-going agreement with the three parties involved.
23
24 D. Rear yard setback variance request of 4.25 feet to meet the 20 feet setback
25 requirement.
26 Chair Melsha stated that they need to show hardship, and that the easement exists.
27 He stated that there is a small piece of the building that results in the non-compliance,
28 and that they had to display why the property could not be put to reasonable use
29 without the variance.
30
31 McConn stated that the essence of that was that the City has requested the additional
32 space to be put in the front of the building, which is where they have the conflict.
33
34 Vice Chair Stille asked if this was the best plan for the area when attempting to
35 accomplish all of the various requests. McConn stated that they started with three
36 different plans, and that the one that they have presented is the only logical placement
37 of the building in order to accomplish all of the functional aspects of the operation.
38
39 Vice Chair Stille asked if the gray-shingled roof on the restaurant in Blaine would be
40 a better option for St. Anthony. McConn stated that he was unsure of the reason for
41 the gray-shingled roof,but that the metal roof was more durable and had a longer life.
42
3 Chair Melsha closed the public hearing at 8:29 p.m.
5 Chair Melsha stated that his opening thought on this entire issue was that they would
46 not be dealing with this project, if they were further along on the Apache
47 redevelopment project, and that it was not the ideal way to do the planning for the
48 development.
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
• Page 6
1
2 Commissioner Thomas stated that he would not be in favor of approving the
3 conditional use permit due to the inconsistency of the Culvers plan with the DSU
4 plan. He added that the City has hired DSU for this purpose, and that they need to
5 pay attention to what they recommend.
6
7 Vice Chair Stille stated that he agreed with the comments by Commissioner Thomas,
8 adding that it was no fault of the applicant. He asked if there were any specifics on
9 the lighting that needed to be included in the recommendation.
10
11 Commissioner Steeves stated that they wanted to be certain that the lighting for
12 Culvers along Silver Lake Road match the lighting plan that is required of that area.
13
14 Chair Melsha stated that he would want to include a condition that the landscaping be
15 properly pruned and maintained.
16
17 Commissioner Stille suggested that they add a condition that all garbage is collected
18 on the premises daily.
19
20 Chair Melsha stated that the accessory building would need to be built of the same
materials as the restaurant itself.
6 -
23 Motion by Chair Melsha, second by Commissioner Steeves, to recommend approval
24 of the conditional use permit for a drive-through restaurant at 4000/4004 Silver Lake
25 Road Northeast with the following conditions:
26 • Everything should be in accordance with the plans that Culvers has submitted,
27 except as otherwise provided here.
28 • Hours of operation are from 10:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m., seven days a week.
29 • Lighting will be in accordance with the plan submitted, except that on the Silver
30 Lake Road side, the lighting should match the lighting fixtures that have already
31 been implemented on Silver Lake Road.
32 • Roof-line will be cut down from its current 25 feet to 18 feet, 6 inches uniformly
33 across the entire building.
34 • Plans for the accessory building to be approved by the City's building inspector;
35 building shall not exceed 12 feet by 24 feet, and materials used shall be consistent
36 with those on the main building.
37 * Applicant shall confer with and attain approval from City's engineer with respect
38 to drainage issues, a maintenance agreement, if needed.
39 • A permit attained from Ramsey County for a curb-cut, as necessary.
40 • Landscaping shall be appropriately pruned and maintained.
41 • There should be no visible trash on the site for more than 24 hours at a time.
42 • The ladder to the roof shall be fenced and secure in order to keep out
04 unauthorized persons.
45 Motion carried 5-1, Commissioner Thomas opposed.
46
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
• Page 7
1 Vice Chair Stille stated that he had a difficult time finding hardship in the parking
2 variance request.
3
4 Commissioner Steeves stated that this Ordinance should be moved forward so that the
5 package would be ready to go.
6
7 Commissioner Thomas stated that he agreed with Commissioner Steeves that they should
8 move forward with the Ordinance and change the code at a later date.
9
10 Motion by Commissioner Steeves, second by Commissioner Thomas, that given the
11 constraints of the site and the owners requirements placed upon the applicant by the
12 City's parking Ordinance, the Planning Commission believes this creates undo hardship
13 for the applicant and that they would grant a variance as outlined in Staff's report.
14
15 Motion carried unanimously.
16
17 Chair Melsha asked City Staff if the City Attorney and City Engineer would review the
18 re-plat plan.
19
20 Motion by Chair Melsha, second by Commissioner Hoska, to recommend approval to
combine Lot 1, Block 1, Apache Plaza with Lot 2, Block 1, Apache Plaza, subject to the
6 following conditions:
23 0 Approval of the City Attorney and City Engineer.
24 • Proof of title by the applicants for both lots.
25
26 Motion carried unanimously.
27
28 Commissioner Hanson stated that the City has created the request for variance in many
29 ways because they have asked the applicants to expand their store from their original
30 thought.
31
32 Motion by Commissioner Steeves, second by Commissioner Hanson, that given the
33 ingress/egress requirements of this site as well as the desire if the City to have a larger
34 facility on this site, to grant a variance of a rear-yard setback of 4.25 feet to meet the 20
35 feet setback requirement.
36
37 Motion carried unanimously.
38
39 2.1 City of St Anthony,Amend City Ordinance relating to the definition of"garage"
40 and "accessory building" and to regulate the size of garages in residential districts.
41 Chair Melsha opened the public hearing at 9:00 p.m.
42
Hall stated that this amendment has to do with the floor area ratio and how it is figured.
She stated that the issue arose this spring in the plans for a new single family home at
45 3501 Downers Drive. The builder, Tom Brama, did not agree with how the floor area
46 ratio was figured and had a different interpretation of the code than the Building Official.
47 Brama did not believe that the garage should be treated as part of the floor area of the
48 home.
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
• Page 8
1 Hall indicated that city staff recently reviewed the code and believe the definitions of
2 accessory building and garage is ambiguous to the definition of floor area ratio. For
3 clarity's sake, the City Attorney's office recommends amending the City Ordinance as
4 follows:
5 • (Redefine the term) Garage: An accessory building or portion of a principal
6 building which is principally used for the storage of motor vehicles owned by
7 occupants of the principal building.
8 • (Redefine the term) Accessory Building: A separate building or structure or a
9 portion of a principal building or structure used for accessory uses.
10 • (Add to/Amend) Floor Area Ratio: The garage is not included in determining the
11 floor area ratio as it is considered an accessory building.
12
13 Hall added that, in addition to the above, the City may want to restrict the gross floor area
14 of a garage cannot exceed 1000 square feet. Also, the City may want to add the garage
15 cannot be bigger than the principal structure.
16
17 Motion by Chair Melsha, second by Vice Chair Stille, to recommend approval of the
18 Ordinance change based on the following reasons:
19 0 The current Ordinance is ambiguous with respect to the definitions of garage and
20 accessory building.
• The proposed change clarifies the ambiguity, as well as maintaining the spirit of
16 the floor area ratio in the first place.
23
24 Motion carried unanimously.
25
26 2.1 City of St Anthony,Amend City Ordinance Section 1400.10, subd. 5(2) regulating
27 the placement of ground signs.
28 Chair Melsha opened the public hearing at 9:07 p.m.
29
30 Hall indicated that there has been some confusion,particularly on the staff level, about
31 where the 15 feet is counted from (public street, property line)with ground signs. She
32 continued that the bottom line is, and the biggest reason for the amendment, is the sign
33 cannot be placed in an easement. The City intentionally did not use property line because
34 in some circumstances the property line was in the middle of the street and would likely
35 cause more confusion.
36
37 Hall stated that staff recommends, for clarification purposes, the approval of the
38 amendment to the City Ordinance in relation to the placement of ground signs.
39
40 Chair Melsha closed the public hearing at 9:10 p.m.
41
42 Motion by Commissioner Thomas, second by Chair Melsha, to amend the City
Ordinance Section 1400.10, subdivision 5(2) regulating the placement of ground signs to
46 read: Signs must be located at least 15 feet from the curb line of any public street and
45 cannot be placed within any street right-of-way, nor governmental easement.
46
47 Motion carried unanimously.
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
• Page 9
1
2 2.2 City of St. Anthony,Amend City Ordinance Section 1640.03 to remove wax in the
3 production of candles and the production of home fragrance products as a
4 manufacturing_permitted use in the Light Industrial district.
5 Chair Melsha opened the public hearing at 9:14 p.m.
6
7 Hall stated that, at the request of applicant Village North, LLP, on November 27, 2001,
8 the City Council adopted wax and accented wax manufacturing processes to be added
9 under permitted conditional use in the Light Industrial district. She continued that the
10 applicant then requested a conditional use permit for a company called Essenco to
11 occupy the building at 280137 1h Avenue Northeast. Essenco manufactures candles.
12
13 Hall continued that, from the beginning, residences were leery of the smells and
14 problems that could come from manufacturing of candles. The City wrestled with how to
15 balance the interests of the business owner and impacted residents. As time went on,
16 various residents in the vicinity of the candle manufacturer commented to city staff and
17 many were quite bothered by the scented smells. In March, the manufacturer approached
18 the City for a more permanent conditional use permit and later pulled back the request
19 before going to City Council.
20
Essenco's conditional use permit runs through September 1, after which point they will
1 l
need to cease all operations in St. Anthony. Making this amendment change means that
23 candle manufacturing will no longer be permitted in St. Anthony.
24
25 Hall stated that the City found out through this case how difficult it is to measure the
26 nuisance level of smell. City staff recommends approval of this City Ordinance a
27 mendment. Chair Melsha closed the public hearing at 9:15 p.m.
28
29 Motion by Vice Chair Stille, second by Chair Melsha, to amend the City Ordinance,
30 Section 1640.03 to remove wax in the production of candles and the production of home
31 fragrance products as a manufacturing permitted conditional use in the Light Industrial
32 district due to the potential of smells and the nuisance it may cause to surrounding zoning
33 districts.
34
35 Motion carried unanimously.
36
37 IX. INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
38 9.1 Northwest Quadrant Redevlopment Update.
39 Susan Hall indicated that on June 25, 2002 at 1:30 p.m. there will be a meeting in
40 Council Chambers with some state and federal officials, Metropolitan Council, County
41 Commissioners, and City Council to explain the City's situation and learn what money is
42 out there to help. Hall added that there will be a bus tour of Apache following the
43 meeting. In addition, She indicated that all Planning Commissioners are welcome, as well
q5 as residents.
46
47
48
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
• Page 10
1 X. ANNOUNCEMENTS.
2 Commissioner Hanson asked if the City Council should still have a moratorium on any new
3 construction in order to prevent these individual projects from coming along.
4
5 Commissioner Hanson stated that the new library has opened and is a very nice facility. He
6 indicated that a hair salon should be opening in the former shoe store by July 1, 2002.
7
8 Commissioner Hanson indicated that Barry Tedlund, Fitness Crossroads, has contacted all
9 business-owners regarding beautification of the shopping center through flowers and any other
10 simple options that do not require a lot of paper work.
11
12 Commissioner Hanson indicated that Len Pratt met with the Kiwanis Club last week, which was
13 very informative regarding the goings-on of the Northwest Quadrant redevelopment.
14
15 Chair Melsha asked if there was any news on the opening of the wine bar. Hall indicated that
16 she did not know of anything.
17
18 Commissioner Thomas stated that he is not against Culvers, but against incremental planning,
19 which is what got them into this mess with Apache years ago.
20
Commissioner Thomas stated that he was happy that the City Council decided to allocate some
money to hire the Greater Minneapolis Metropolitan Housing Corporation.
23
24 Commissioner Thomas stated that he distributed an article on two opposing views of housing
25 rehabilitation. He added that he would like to reconvene the sub-committee to address housing
26 rehabilitation in the City of St. Anthony in the near future.
27
28 Commissioner Steeves stated that he was happy to see the progress that they were making. He
29 added that he was encouraged that there was ongoing progress on the Northwest Quadrant
30 Redevelopment project.
31
32 Chair Melsha echoed Commissioner Hanson's statement over a moratorium.
33
34 Commissioner Hoska stated that he was glad that they were a commission who could agree to
35 disagree. He added that he was very glad that Culvers was likely to be approved by City
36 Council.
37
38 Vice Chair Stille stated that he was disappointed that Culvers would be coming to St. Anthony
39 with their own proto-type.
40
41 Vice Chair Stille added that he felt that they should listen to DSU's recommendations, as he
42 feels they are the best in the business.
43
Hall stated that she felt that the Council's decision to join the Northeast Housing Resource
-- 5 Center will be a great step.
46
1
Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2002
• Page 11
1 Hall stated that two proposals have been received by the City for the 5 single-family housing lots
2 on Kenzie Terrace. This will likely move forward with the redevelopment that will consist of
3 some senior rental town-homes after a developer has been selected by the City Council..
4
5 Chair Melsha congratulated Susan Hall on her wedding last month. Commissioner Thomas also
6 commended Hall on her preparation for this evening's meeting, in light of her wedding and
7 honeymoon.
8
9 XI. ADJOURNMENT.
10 Motion by Commissioner Hanson, second by Vice Chair Stille, to adjourn the meeting at 9:36
11 p.m.
12
13 Motion carried unanimously.
14
15
16
17 Respectfully submitted,
18
19
20 Courtney Seesz
6 Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.
23
0