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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL PACKET 04172012CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS I. CALL TO ORDER. II. ROLL CALL. III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. IV. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA. V. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES OF MARCH 20, 2012. VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS. NONE VII. CONCEPT REVIEWS. NONE VIII. OTHER BUSINESS. A. Introduction of Consultant Planner. Mark Casey, City Manager. IX. REPORTS FROM STAFF. X. COMMUNITY FORUM. Individuals may address the Planning Commission about any item not included on the regular agenda. Speakers are requested to come to the podium, sign their name and address on the form at the podium, state their name and address for the Clerk's record, and limit their remarks to five minutes. The Planning Commission may refer the matter to staff for a future report or direct the matter to be scheduled on an upcoming agenda. XI. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. XII. ADJOURNMENT. F:Tlanning Commission\2012 \4 \04172012 pc agenda.doc 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 20, 2012 7:00 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER. Chair Heinis called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL. Commissioners Present: Chairperson Heinis; Commissioners Chaput, Cincoski, Crone, and Poucher. Absent: Commissioners Jensen and Niccum. Also Present: Assistant City Manager Kim Moore- Sykes. III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Chair Heinis invited the Commission and the audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA. Chair Heinis read a statement to be included as part of the record and stated the Conditional Use Permit related to the St. Anthony Business Center is not on the agenda. He stated the City has a statutory time frame up to 120 days to take action and this item will be scheduled for a future Planning Commission meeting after the City's study, approved on March 13, 2012, is complete. Mr. Ferdinand Peters appeared before the Planning Commission and stated he appeared at the Planning Commission on February 21" in which they followed the procedures of the City for requesting a Conditional Use Permit. He stated he has the City's official legal newspaper that included a notice that there would be a public hearing tonight and the notice was published following proper procedures on February 291h. He indicated they were told by Mr. Casey that the Planning Commission makes recommendations to the City Council and is an advisory body constituted as an instrumentality of the City and in that regard, his people are here tonight, the architect is here, and he is the real estate attorney representing these people who are not familiar with the laws of the State and the City. He asked the Planning Commission if it would review their application tonight for an assembly area in the basement for their prayers. He stated the applicant is a religious organization and the City Manager told him he is aware of the Federal law regarding religious issues that apply to this situation. He added he felt that his clients deserve to know if the Planning Commission will change the agenda and put this matter on the agenda this evening. Commissioner Crone advised that the Planning Commission will adhere to the agenda in front of it this evening. She thanked Mr. Peters for coming and stated he was earlier informed the City Council has imposed a moratorium. She noted that Mr. Peters was welcome to attend the Community Forum later and the Planning Commission has a concept review on the agenda this evening and this item will be given the floor this evening. Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 20, 2012 Page 2 2 Mr. Peters stated they were told last week that they were on the agenda and a notice was 3 published in the City's legal newspaper that a public hearing would be conducted this evening. 4 He stated that by doing this to his client, the City is affecting a substantial property right of a 5 religious organization. He stated they delivered all the papers for the Conditional Use Permit 6 request and the filing fee was paid on February 14, 2012, one month before the City Council 7 passed the moratorium on this request for a Conditional Use Permit for a small prayer room. He 8 asked for the reason why the City Council passed a resolution on March 13th without telling his 9 client ahead of time that the City wanted to conduct a study specifically about requests for 10 Conditional Use Permits by religious organizations for an assembly area. 11 12 Chair Heinis suggested that the issue be taken up with the City Council. 13 14 Mr. Peters stated their Conditional Use Permit request predated this moratorium by one month 15 which means they came in beforehand and deserve to be heard. 16 17 Chair Heinis stated that unless there is a motion to add this item, it will not be on the Planning 18 Commission agenda tonight. 19 20 Motion by Commissioner Crone, second by Commissioner Cincoski, to approve the meeting 21 agenda of March 20, 2012. 22 23 Motion carried 5 -0. 24 25 V. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES. 26 27 Motion by Commissioner Poucher, second by Commissioner Chaput, to approve the February 28 21, 2012, Meeting Minutes. 29 30 Motion carried 5 -0. 31 32 VI. COMMUNICATION WITH CITY COUNCIL. 33 34 None. 35 36 VH. PUBLIC HEARINGS. 37 38 None. 39 40 VIII. CONCEPT REVIEWS. 41 42 1. 2708 MURRAY AVENUE NE — LOT COVERAGE VARIANCE; NON - 43 CONFORMING LOT 44 45 Assistant City Manager Moore -Sykes presented the staff report and explained the applicant is 46 interested in remodeling his property by adding a second floor to the existing structure and Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 20, 2012 Page 3 rebuilding the driveway. She stated the current lot coverage is 42% and the revised plans indicate lot coverage will be under 40 %. 4 Mr. Jared Hoylo, 2708 Murray Avenue NE, appeared before the Planning Commission and 5 explained that their lot is 7,248 square feet and current coverage is over the 40% requirement. 6 He indicated they are unable to conform to the side yard setback and presented a survey of the 7 property showing the 5' setback on the east and west lot lines. He stated the proposed renovation 8 will attach the garage from the alley to the house and they plan to offset the garage to allow for 9 the east line setback. He stated their property angles from 60' to 55' in the back alley so they 10 cannot continue the garage on a straight line. He presented photographs of the property and 11 stated they are expanding an approximate 6' x 10' piece of the property that will allow them to 12 attach a 22' garage. He noted the current plans will remove the existing concrete which will 13 place the lot under the 40% requirement for hardcover. He also presented an architectural 14 drawing of the proposed addition. 15 16 Commissioner Chaput requested the applicant provide the site plan, photographs, and drawings 17 to the City Council. 18 19 Mr. Hoylo agreed to provide that information at the time of the public hearing. 20 21 IX. OTHER BUSINESS. 22 23 None. 24 25 X. REPORTS FROM STAFF. 26 27 None. 28 29 XI. COMMUNITY FORUM. 30 31 Chair Heinis requested that comments be limited to five minutes and requested that individuals 32 state their name and address for the record. 33 34 Mr. Ali Giarushi, 6720 132 "d Street North, appeared before the Planning Commission and stated 35 he is a real estate broker and Muslim activist. He referenced the Zoning Ordinance Code, item g, 36 regarding assembly halls and convention halls, and stated before they put an offer on the 37 building, he talked to Assistant City Manager Moore -Sykes and asked about the building and 38 whether this would be an allowed use. He indicated that just a week before their Conditional 39 Use Permit meeting, things changed and he felt this was strange. He stated that this does not 40 have to do with the building but it has to do with one thing only and he hoped that the City 41 would not go through this. He added they need to work with the City and are here this evening 42 requesting the Planning Commission to put this on the agenda. 43 44 Mr. Michael Medina, 1618 Hague Avenue, White Bear Lake, appeared before the Planning 45 Commission and stated he is the architect on this project and has worked with other Muslim 46 communities. He stated the idea was to come to the City early in the process, especially with a Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 20, 2012 Page 4 1 building of this size, and to follow procedure. He indicated they met with City officials before 2 starting any drawings to see if there were any red flags, to make changes, and make sure this fits 3 the community and at that point, one of the issues was that the building is not sprinklered. He 4 stated they found the basement was sprinklered and they felt it would be perfect for a prayer area 5 so they went ahead with the planning. He stated they were surprised when they received a letter 6 late last Friday saying the public hearing was cancelled without any explanation other than a 7 moratorium was imposed to study the issue further. 8 9 Mr. Khaddar Abdi, 1247 St. Anthony Avenue, St. Paul, appeared before the Planning 10 Commission to speak on behalf of the Islamic Center. He stated they are grateful for the 11 welcome they have received and there is a need for them to find a place in which they can pray, 12 come together, and build their community just as other communities enjoy the privilege of 13 worship places without limitation. He stated they have raised the funding to buy this building 14 and were extremely joyous to find a place in which they could come together and pray, however, 15 they are frustrated now. He hoped that the Planning Commission would hear their case and felt 16 this would be a positive addition to the community. He stated they are sorry that it has been 17 rejected because they were happy to tell their friends they have found a place and they hope that 18 their dream will come true. 19 20 Chair Heinis pointed out that the request has not been rejected and the request has not gone 21 through the entire process yet. 22 23 Imam Sheikh Saad Musse, 115 West 3151 Street, Minneapolis, appeared before the Planning 24 Commission and stated they were happy to come to America with its nice government, peace, 25 and safety, with different colors, different cultures, different faiths, and they are working 26 together and making peace without harassment. He stated his message today was to make peace 27 in yourself, in your family, in your neighborhood, in your city, state, and nation. 28 29 Ms. Munazza Humayun, 2021 East Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, appeared before the 30 Planning Commission and stated the Conditional Use Permit application was supposed to be on 31 the agenda and she wanted to bring perspective to the issue. She stated the issue of mosque 32 permits being rejected is a national concern and in the past two years, 35 mosque projects have 33 been rejected. She asked that the City not be added to the list of cities that have rejected 34 Conditional Use Permits for mosques. She stated the Muslim community is looking for 35 transparency tonight about why this study is being proposed at this time and the timing is 36 suspicious. She stated they want answers about how long the study will take and why this study 37 was proposed at this time. 38 39 Chair Heinis stated that the City does not have a timeline other than the study has to be 40 completed within 120 days of the Conditional Use Permit application. He added that nothing has 41 been rejected and the City Council desires to review the wording of its Ordinances. 42 43 Mr. Peters stated the question is that there is a moratorium on the issuance of Conditional Use 44 Permits but there is no moratorium on the Planning Commission following its own rules to make 45 a recommendation on a Conditional Use Permit. He presented a copy of the Zoning Code, 46 amended June 28, 2011, and questioned why the City needs to study it again. Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 20, 2012 Page 5 2 Mr. Giarushi stated the City has the right to change its Zoning Code after their request is heard. 4 Mr. Sadik Warfa, 620 East Franklin, Minneapolis, appeared before the Planning Commission 5 and stated they are concerned about the moratorium. He stated they are American like everyone 6 else and are concerned about the City's action and asked the Planning Commission to reconsider 7 because they did everything asked by the City. He stated they raised money, bought the land, 8 and they want to make sure their children receive a good solid education. He asked that the 9 Planning Commission please consider this and approve this proposed mosque. 10 11 Mr. Mohamed Heban appeared before the Planning Commission and stated he is one of the 12 community organizers and wants to bring their voice here. He asked the City to support their 13 project and indicated they want to make sure all Muslim residents have a place to go and bring 14 their children and where they can share and teach other people. 15 16 Mr. Bill Volna appeared before the Planning Commission and stated his son previously had an 17 earnest money contract to buy this building for $1.2 million and convert it into a business 18 property. He stated that in the course of his son's due diligence, it became evident that the 19 building needed a new boiler and air conditioning system and it would take approximately $1.3 20 million to put the building in a position to bring in revenue to pay the $100,000 in annual 21 property taxes. He stated his concern is there has to be a limit to the amount of area in the City 22 that can be dedicated to those institutions that do not support the system. He stated he has been 23 assessed $10,000 for road repairs being done this summer. He stated the City is going to lose 24 $100,000 in property taxes that this building would have yielded and urged the City to get 25 someone in this building with a cash flow. 26 27 Mr. Peters stated his client is only asking to use the basement area which is not rented to anyone 28 now and is the only area that is sprinklered, and use it for an assembly area. He explained his 29 clients want to rent the rest of the building to office tenants and stated they have four new tenants 30 and taxes are being brought into the City. He stated the only part they might request for tax 31 exempt status is the small prayer room downstairs which is less than 15,000 square feet. He 32 indicated there has been some misrepresentation in the media about the building being turned 33 into a mosque which is not true; they are asking for one small room in the basement to be a 34 prayer area. He noted they are not going to do anything to change the use of the building as 35 office space. He referenced the 120 day timeframe and noted the City Council can ask for 60 36 more days if it provides cogent, valid reasons why it needs 60 more days. He stated this 37 application preceded the moratorium and the moratorium is only on the issuance of Conditional 38 Use Permits. He showed the public hearing notice contained in the newspaper and reiterated 39 there was nothing to prevent the Planning Commission from considering this item. 40 41 Commissioner Crone stated a moratorium is in place and the City has informed Mr. Peters that 42 there will be a pause before further action is taken. 43 44 Mr. Peters reiterated they are present tonight because the City told them to be here and they are 45 following the City's rules. He stated they meet all the City's requirements and there is no way 46 the Planning Commission can say no; if it does, it would be arbitrary and capricious. He noted Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 20, 2012 Page 6 1 the Legislature is considering a statute that would prevent governments from enacting 2 moratoriums because they have been abused and it has been abused here. 3 4 Mr. Giarushi stated this building is currently 40% vacant and they do not intend to exempt the 5 building except for the portion being used as a prayer room. He stated they are trying to get 6 more tenants in the building and they are not here to abuse the system. He indicated they will 7 only use 15% of the building and the rest is taxable and the value of the building will go up. 9 XII. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. 10 11 None. 12 13 XIII. ADJOURNMENT. 14 15 Motion by Commissioner Crone, second by Commissioner Cincoski, to adjourn the meeting at 16 8:15 p.m. 17 18 Motion carried 5 -0. 19 20 Respectfully submitted, 21 Barbara Hughes 22 Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.