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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 12172002 Meeting Sheet IIIIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII a 105532 Box: 34 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 2002 Document: PL MINUTES 12172002 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY 3 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING 4 5 December 17, 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, 17 Hoska, Steeves, Thomas, and Tillman. 18 Absent: None. 19 Also present: Assistant City Manager Susan Hall. 20 21 IV. PUBLIC INPUT. 22 Ms. Pettit presented the Commission with a handout and explained that first year teacher in St. 23 Anthony make roughly$30,000 a year, that a starting custodian earns $26, 478 a year and that 2Pstartingpolice officers make $38,572 a year. She indicated the median price for a home in St. Anthony was$189,000 and that these salaries would not cover a mortgage of this size. 26 27 V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. 28 Chair Melsha asked that Item 9.3 be moved to the January meeting. 29 30 Motion by Commissioner Hoska, second by Commissioner Stille, to approve the meeting agenda 31 with the change above. 32 33 Motion carried unanimously. 34 35 VI. MEETING MINUTES. 36 6.1 Review and Approve Planning Commission Minutes of October 15, 2002. 37 Motion by Commissioner Hoska, second by Commissioner Thomas, to approve the 38 Planning Commission meeting minutes of October 15, 2002. 39 40 Motion carried unanimously. 41 42 VII. COMMUNICATION WITH CITY COUNCIL. 43 7.1 Designate a Planning Commission Member to the City Council regular meeting of 44 January 14. 2002. 45 Chair Melsha indicated that Commissioner Tillman was available to attend the next A-0 - City Council meeting on January 14, 2002. VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS. 8.1 Bill Bauske, 2611 301h Avenue Northeast, variance request of 11 feet for a proposed 3 distance of 4 feet from the property line for a non-window mounted AC unit. 4 5 Chair Melsha opened the public hearing at 7:05 p.m. 6 7 Ms. Hall stated that Bill Bauske, 2611 30'hAvenue Northeast, is requesting a variance of 8 11 feet from the side yard property line for a non-window mounted air conditioning unit. 9 City ordinance states that non-window mounted air conditioning units must be at least 15 10 feet from any property line. She indicated Mr. Bauske's application shows there is only 11 four feet available between the house and the property line. The applicant proposes the 12 location of the air conditioning unit to be installed outside the basement window, per 13 attached drawings. One item to note is once the base is placed on the ground, the air 14 conditioning unit may be even closer than four feet to the property line. 15 16 Ms. Hall advised that Mr. Bauske states in his petition for variance the undue hardship is 17 due to the placement of the house so close to the property line, and that he would be 18 unable to have central air in his home. The extraordinary circumstances that exist include 19 the placement of his house four feet from the property line. The purpose of adding central 20 air is for comfort in the summer months, as two windows units do not cool portions of 21 the house, according to the applicant. The building of the home in the 1920's and/or the 22 drawing of property lines created the alleged difficulty or hardship. 23 P2Ms. Hall explained that the applicant has also looked at putting the air conditioning unit in the northeast corner of his lot, which is nine feet from the property line. Considering 26 the air conditioning unit must be one foot from the structure (according to the contractor) 27 and the proposed air conditioning unit to be installed will rest on a two foot by 3-foot 28 base, the applicant said he would still be in violation of the ordinance and in need of a 29 variance. The applicant also notes there are hardships/costs associated for him with 30 placing the air conditioning unit in the northeast corner of the lot. 31 32 Ms. Hall advised that Mr. Bauske has been in communication with the adjacent 33 neighbor at 2613 301h Avenue; they are in support of his application. 34 35 Bill Bauske, 261130'Avenue NE, thanked staff for her report. Mr. Bauske stated 36 his foundation is limestone and noted he is most comfortable with placing the air 37 conditioner on the east side yard so as to use the basement window for access to 38 eliminate the need to drill through the limestone. 39 40 Chair Melsha asked why the northeast corner of the house was not an option. Mr. 41 Bauske stated this would require drilling through the limestone for the tubing needed 42 for the air conditioner. He stated this was an option,but he would prefer the unit 43 right next to the basement window on the east side. 44 45 Commissioner Tillman asked why the unit had to be on the east side of the home. Mr. Bauske stated the west side of his home was his rear yard. He indicated he has a patio and sidewalk on the west side of his home that he does not want to disturb. 48 Vice Chair Stille asked if the four feet side yard setback was accurate. Mr. Bauske stated this should be a fairly accurate measurement as he did locate the stake. 3 4 Chair Melsha stated he would be in favor of locating the air conditioning unit in the 5 northeast corner of the lot and not the side yard, as this would reduce the setback 6 amount and would greater screen the unit. 7 8 Chair Melsha asked how long Mr. Bauske has lived in this home. Mr. Bauske stated 9 he has been in this home for 10 years. 10 11 Commissioner Steeves asked what type of land was to the north of his home. Mr. 12 Bauske stated his neighbor to the north has a deep lot and noted this land was an open 13 backyard. 14 15 Commissioner Tillman asked why the unit could not be placed on the west side of the 16 property. Mr. Bauske stated it would be preferable on the east side of the home 17 because it is closer to the furnace as suggested by the contractor. 18 19 Commissioner Hanson asked if this air conditioner would be replacing two window 20 units. Mr. Bauske stated this would be the case. He explained he recently installed 21 new windows and did not want to harm the windows integrity by placing the window 22 units in them next spring. 2 Chair Melsha closed the public hearing at 7:20 p.m. 2 26 Commissioner Tillman asked Staff for rationale behind the 15-foot setback. Ms. Hall 27 noted she was not certain of the reasoning behind the 15-foot requirement, although 28 noise is probably part of the reason. 29 30 Vice Chair Stille stated he felt a home does need air conditioning, which could be 31 another condition to the hardship for this applicant. Chair Melsha agreed. 32 33 Commissioner Thomas indicated he felt the ordinance could be revisited and that the 34 15-foot requirement was a bit much. 35 36 Chair Melsha noted he was not comfortable putting the unit on the east side of the 37 home by the window,but instead near the northeast corner. Commissioner Steeves 38 agreed stating the placement of the home on this lot is not optimal for locating an air 39 conditioning unit outside the home. He added that the northeast corner would be best 40 for neighboring properties as well. 41 42 Vice Chair Stille indicated the noise factor for the neighboring property to the east 43 should not be a concern, and added he would like to locate the unit in the northeast 44 corner of the property. 45 Commissioner Tillman stated she felt the unit could be located on the west side of the 4 home and added that she felt an air conditioner was not a necessity and did not create 48 a hardship on the applicant. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2002 Page 4 • Commissioner Hoska stated he had no issue with the location on the northeast corner of the property in keeping the unit close to the furnace as a compromise. Vice Chair Stille questioned if the unit were to be placed in the northeast corner if it would require both a rear yard and side yard setback. Ms. Hall stated this would be case,but that the variances would not be as great as the other proposed location. Commissioner Tillman indicated Mr. Bauske would require a 10-foot variance from the rear yard and side yard setbacks in the northeast corner of the property. Motion by Commissioner Stille, second by Commissioner Hoska, to recommend approval of the request of Bill Bauske, 2611 30`h Avenue Northeast, for a rear yard and side yard variance of 10 feet for a proposed distance of five feet from the property line for a non-window mounted air conditioning unit based on the rationale this request would prohibit the applicant from installing an air conditioning unit and putting his property to reasonable use; and that the location of the furnace in the home and the placement of the home on the property was a hardship; and that the home was built in the 1920's before the ordinances were instituted; and that this request would not prohibit the detriment of the neighborhood. Motion carried unanimously. • IX. INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION. 9.1 Preliminary Site Plan for Autumn Woods Senior Housing, 2500 Block of Kenzie Terrace. Ms. Hall indicated that City staff has met twice with President Paul Brewer of LaNel Financial Group concerning their plans for construction of a senior housing development called Autumn Woods Senior Housing in the 2500 block of Kenzie Terrace. At this point, they would like to bring their plans forward for informal review and discussion to get feedback on their preliminary site plan. They hope to bring final plans to the Planning Commission for a full public hearing in either January or February. They anticipate construction beginning Spring 2003. Ms. Hall explained that LaNel Financial Group proposes to develop a market rate senior rental townhouse style building. The preliminary plan submitted by the developer shows a total of 34 units with 1 and 2 bedroom units, along with various common activity and recreation areas. There will be both exterior and interior entrances to units. The building has two and three stories with underground parking. Seven surface parking spaces are shown on the preliminary site plan. Ms. Hall advised that according to the developer, the townhomes will have individual entries to the street and courtyard on the first floor and also to a center hall that will access the underground heated garage. The building exterior will closely match the adjacent and existing Autumn Woods development with its step down design at the ends of the building. The entire development will tie together well, according to the developer. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2002 • Page 5 Ms. Hall noted that the preliminary plan shows encroachment into the required 25-foot side yard setback. It is not noted on the plan what the side yard setback is. All other required setbacks are met. LaNel will be asking for a Planned Unit Development (PUD), which will offer flexibility for both them and the City. In exchange for not meeting the side yard setback, the City might ask for extra landscaping or lighting, for example. Ms. Hall explained that the property, once constructed, will be managed by Lang Nelson Associates and become part of the Lang Nelson community of high quality senior rental homes, according to the developer. The development proposed is similar to The Arbors in White Bear Lake, which was recently completed by LaNel. Paul Brewer,president of LaNel Financial Group, presented the Commission with his proposed development and reviewed the Autumn Woods apartments. Mr. Brewer reviewed the site plan of this property,the grade changes and noted this building would be geared towards active seniors, 65 years and older. He stated the building would have no medical or nursing services available. Mr. Brewer indicated there would be an underground parking garage for the seniors within this unit. Mr. Brewer noted the additional property would create additional parking stalls and would share a driveway with the existing apartments. He indicated the one-bedroom units were roughly 828 square feet and that the two bedroom units were between 1,100 • tol,200 square feet. Mr. Brewer stated there would be common areas on each of the floors for media centers, exercise areas and a community room with kitchenette for residents to use. Mr. Brewer reviewed several other units that he developed in other communities to show the quality workmanship of his company. He indicated the proposed building would mostly resemble a complex completed in White Bear Lake, MN. Commissioner Hanson asked if the development would be proposing a curb cut along Kenzie Terrace. Mr. Brewer stated he would be proposing this to the County. Commissioner Thomas asked what the proposed rents would be for this development. Mr. Brewer noted this would run from $1.30 to $1.50 per square foot or roughly$1,200- $1,400 per month. Commissioner Thomas questioned what the vacancy rate was at Autumn Woods at this time. Mr. Brewer indicated this was very low at this time, remaining under 5%. Chair Melsha asked if there was a need for senior housing within St. Anthony. Mr. Brewer stated this was in great demand within this city. Vice Chair Stille asked if LaNel Financial Group would be owning this unit or just • managing it. Mr. Brewer stated LaNel would own and manage this property. Vice Chair Stille asked if any landscaping was proposed for this site. Mr. Brewer Planning Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2002 Page 6 • indicated the landscaping details would come back to the Commission at a future date. Commissioner Hanson asked if Mr. Brewer was working with the City to purchase this property. Mr. Brewer stated he is in the process of putting together a preliminary plan and development agreement to go forward with the purchase of this property. Commissioner Hanson asked for the purchase price of this site. Mr. Brewer stated this property would be $150,000. Commissioner Hanson asked for the total cost of this development and what tax implications it would have for the City. Mr. Brewer indicated the proposed development would run around $4.5 million with roughly$100,000 in tax revenue yearly for the City. Commissioner Tillman questioned if LaNel would be interested in going forward with the development without the variance. Mr. Brewer stated he has tried to move the building,but because of the small lot, he felt this was the best location and placement of the building for this lot. Commissioner Thomas indicated he felt this was a lovely development and noted it would compliment the St. Anthony Shopping Center. He noted his only concern was if St. Anthony seniors would be able to afford the proposed rents. • Chair Melsha thanked Mr. Brewer for his presentation and stated this was a great looking building as proposed. He noted Mr. Brewer would be back before the Commission in January or February with further plans. 9.2 Discuss Second Hand Goods/Pawn Shop Ordinance Amendment. Ms. Hall explained that the City Council has asked the Planning Commission for a recommendation on a revised Second Hand Goods Dealers ordinance and a new ordinance regulating pawnshops in St. Anthony while a moratorium has been placed on issuance of any aforementioned licenses. As stated at the October 15, 2002, Planning Commission meeting, the course of action likely is that the City's second hand goods dealers' ordinance will be revised and the new pawnbroker ordinance will be adopted. Ms. Hall noted the proposed pawnbroker ordinance was drafted by Chris Smith of Dorsey and Whitney. Chair Melsha asked that Mr. Smith walk the Commissioner through the draft ordinance. Mr. Smith stated the proposed ordinance deals with pawnbrokers and not with secondhand good dealers. He stated this could be combined or modified if so desired by the Commission. Chair Melsha asked if there are the same concerns between pawnbrokers and secondhand goods dealers. Mr. Smith stated pawnbrokers could be having more criminal activity in • dealing with stolen goods but stated secondhand goods dealers are not exempt from these activities. He indicated he felt the city would be wise to license both of these operations. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2002 Page 7 • Mr. Smith ran through the proposed pawnbroker ordinance with the Commission. He indicated the Commission would need to develop a fair license fee and investigation fee amount. Mr. Smith stated he could check with neighboring communities to see what their fees are. Mr. Smith noted the most important feature of the ordinance was the mandated daily reports to police. He indicated this helps track stolen goods. Mr. Smith reviewed the firearms requirements and noted the Commission could limit the sale of such items if desired. He also encouraged the Commission to review the zoning code to see where in the City this type of establishment could be located. Chair Melsha thanked Mr. Smith for reviewing this Ordinance and asked for comments from the Commission. Commissioner Hoska thanked Mr. Smith for his work on this Ordinance and stated he felt it was very thorough. Commissioner Thomas asked if the City could prohibit a "checks cashed" type operation within the City. Ms. Hall stated she felt this was a prohibited use within the community. • Commissioner Steeves thought it would be worth the Commission's time to consider the distance between pawnbrokers to keep them spread out. Chair Melsha agreed. Commissioner Steeves asked if a minimum investment requirement should be placed on this ordinance. Mr. Smith stated he felt this was not a concern for this type of operation. Commissioner Tillman asked how the Commission felt about firearms. Commissioner Steeves indicated he felt the sale of firearms should not be allowed. Chair Melsha questioned how the Commission felt about this ordinance and if this should go forward or continue to be reviewed. Commissioner Steeves stated he felt the Commission was in agreement on most issues and could finalize this discussion at the next meeting after receiving comments from the police chief. Chair Melsha asked if the secondhand goods portion should be made a part of this ordinance. Mr. Smith suggested separating the secondhand goods dealers' ordinance from the pawnbroker's ordinance as this was the policy of most cities. The Commission agreed with this suggestion. Mr. Smith noted he would revise the ordinance and report back to the Commission at the • next meeting. 9.3 Annoint ChairNice Chair for 2003. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes December 17, 2002 • Page 8 This item was tabled to the January meeting. 9.4 Northwest Ouadrant Redevelopment Update. Chair Melsha noted there was a committee meeting on December 16, 2002. Ms. Hall mentioned there would be an open house for the Northwest Quadrant Redevelopment on January 16, 2002 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. She noted this open house would allow residents to see the proposed site plan the development team and steering committee have been discussing. Commissioner Thomas stated he was quite pleased by the information that was presented at the December meeting. Commissioner Steeves indicated he was pleased with the proposed site plan stating this style was exactly what he was looking for. He noted he was pleased with the developer and the other developments they have done. Vice Chair Stille agreed adding that the developer has a vested interest in the property, which makes this even more exciting. X. ANNOUNCEMENTS. Commissioner Tillman thanked Commissioner Thomas for his service on the Planning • Commission. Commissioner Hanson also recognized Commission Thomas for his service. Commissioner Steeves wished Commissioner Thomas well. Chair Melsha thanked Commissioner Thomas for volunteering for the Commission and for his hard work and innovative thinking. Commissioner Hoska agreed stating he has done a great job as a Commissioner. Vice Chair Stille noted he enjoyed working with Commissioner Thomas. Commissioner Thomas read a prepared statement to the Commission. He stated it was nice to be thought of as innovative by the Commission members. X1. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Commissioner Hanson, second by Commissioner Hoska, to adjourn the meeting at 8:51 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Heidi Guenther Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. ST, A:ITHONY CITY COWICIL MIS UTES AND AGEMAS 19G5