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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007.09.13 PC MinutesMINUTES HUGO PLANNING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 13, 2007 Call to Order Chairman Schumann called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. PRESENT: Bailly, Kleissler, McRoberts, Moore, Rosenquist, Schumann, Weidt ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Bryan Bear, Community Development Director (CDD) Michele Lindau, Secretary Rachel Simone, Associate Planner Approval of Minutes of August 9, 2007 Schumann made motion, Kleissler seconded, to approve the Planning Commission minutes of August 9, 2007 as submitted. Ayes: Bailly, Kleissler, McRoberts, Moore, Rosenquist, Schumann Abstain: Weidt Motion carried. Modrow Home Occupation Interim Use Permit The Commission held a public hearing to consider the application of Joseph Modrow, 7180 177th Street North, for an Interim Use Permit (IUP) to operate a home occupation from his property. The business known as Top Notch Sewer involved sewer and drain cleaning. Home occupations are allowed as an accessory use by ordinance under certain standards. Home occupations that do not conform to those standards may be conducted by an IUP. The Associate Planner explained the home occupation involved the exterior storage of vehicles and equipment for the business on the property. Also, the applicant's normal business hours were from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. but he also did emergency work on nights and weekends. The applicant was requesting an IUP to allow exterior storage and to operate in the evenings and on weekends in case of emergencies. McRoberts asked if the Interim Use Permit would stay with the property and he asked about the screening. The CDD stated that the IUP would not run with the property. The applicant Joe Modrow was present with his wife and three children. He said they respected the neighbors and tried to keep their property looking nice. They would plant more trees if necessary. Planning Commission Minutes — September 13, 2007 Page 2 Schumann opened the public hearing. John Olson, 7097 177th Street North, said the residential neighborhood was now industrial businesses. Big trucks cause wear and tear on the streets, back-up beepers are used at night, and he is bothered by the smell of the diesel trucks. He said he thought the business did not belong there. Rick Arcand, 7270 177th Street North, said the big trucks beep and sit and idle, especially the diesels in the winter. He felt it was not appropriate in the residential district. Mike Gibbs, 6381 177th Street, said he agreed with Olson. He also said there was a posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour on 177th street, and the trucks travel faster than that. James Arcand, 6740 177th Street North, said when he moved there 23 years ago it was a nice, quiet neighborhood. He had seen an increase in traffic and dust with the diesel trucks on the roads. Mary Beth Olson, 6321 177th Street North, said the 30 mph is not observed, and she does not feel safe walking her dogs along the road. She had concerns about the safety of the children on their bikes. She would like it to remain a nice, quiet neighborhood. Lee Jasinski said when his family sold the land, it was suppose to be used as residential. He concurred with what the others had said. Nancy Klein, 6620 177th Street North, was concerned about setting precedence. There were two other properties for sale on the street and she was concerned there may be more businesses moving in. Michele Burke, 6740 170th Street North, said there were vehicles coming and going all day long. There were no other comments, and Schumann closed the public hearing. Moore questioned what types of vehicles were traveling up and down the roads. Rosenquist said there were too many trucks and it looked like industrial property. He was concerned about setting precedence, and said his interpretation of a home occupation was a business run from a home. Kleissler was concerned about the exterior storage of the vehicles. McRoberts said development is a fact of life regardless or where you live, but the number of vehicles parked outside of the building was beyond the scope of the ordinance. Bailly said she thought they had adequate screening on the property, but she had concerns about the traffic and sound. Modrow explained that he rented in Little Canada until the business downsized. He did have Planning Commission Minutes — September 13, 2007 Page 3 some big trucks, but was in the process of selling them. He had the semi for sale, which the beeping was from. He will have one single axel pumper truck only to be used for emergencies, and a pumper jetter truck used approximately once a month. The van would only be used for an additional employee if they got one. He said he only drives 20 mph down the road, and had told other employees to go slow. McRoberts asked about the number of vehicle trips. Modrow explained his work schedule, saying he sometimes came home for lunch if he was working locally. He said the truck doesn't leave that often. Moore surmised that if he picked up new clients, he would be using all the trucks. Modrow explained that most of his accounts would not use the big trucks. Bailly asked if the trucks needed to run prior to use. Modrow said the pumper truck runs for about ten minutes. Weidt asked how often they make emergency calls. Modrow said once or twice a week, it would all depend. He said there was another person who took the truck home with him, and they took turns on service calls. Weidt asked about how often the diesels were taken out and what the size of the trucks was. Modrow said the big jobs were scheduled for mornings; only the van leaves at night. He said the truck held 2000 gallons. Bailly suggested a condition specifying certain hours the pumper and jetter trucks would be allowed to run. Rosenquist said that would be difficult to put a condition on when the trucks ran; if he needed it, he needed it. Rosenquist said he did not think it should be operated at all. Weidt asked Modrow how long he had lived there. Modrow said he had been there for a year and a half. Schumann said they were missing the spirit and intent of home based businesses. The screening was good but he had problems with the nature of the business and felt they may be doing the applicant a disservice by allowing it when he should be looking for someplace else to run the business. Modrow said he did not understand how his business was different than a farm business. McRoberts explained the standards set in the home occupation ordinance allowed for exceptions Planning Commission Minutes — September 13, 2007 Page 4 in the rural district if there was not sufficient impact on the neighborhood. The reason for denial would be due to the impact on the neighborhood. Weidt said the trucks were the biggest problem, and they could be stored on an off-site location. McRoberts made motion, Rosenquist seconded, to deny the IUP for Modrow to operate Top Notch Sewer on the basis that the degree of exceptions are likely to negatively impact the neighborhood. All Ayes. Motion carried. L'Allier Home Occupation Interim Use Permit The Commission held a public hearing to consider the application of Jeremy L'Allier, 7130 177th Street North for an Interim Use Permit (IUP) to allow a home occupation as an accessory use on the property. The applicant operated a concrete construction business from his property known as L'Allier Construction. The Associate Planner explained the applicant indicated he did not conduct concrete work on the property but equipment and materials for the business were stored on the property and three seasonal employees reported to the property in the morning and left their vehicles there. The applicant was requesting an IUP to allow for exterior storage of the equipment and to allow for additional employees. There was also a second driveway on the property that the applicant would need to obtain a driveway permit for. The Associate Planner added that, due to personal reasons, Mr. L'Allier was not currently residing on the property. Rosenquist questioned the screening because the trees appeared to be on the neighbor's property. He also asked about the size of the trucks. The applicant, Jeremy L'Allier, said he had a single axle and a one -ton pickup truck. Schumann noted that one of the criteria was that he be a resident. L'Allier explained it was a personal matter and not part of his business. He said his business was seasonal, mostly spring, summer, and fall. He had lived there for four years and ran the business and helped out the neighbors. He said he put down calcium fluoride on the road in front of his home and did not drive back and forth. Moore asked if he ran bobcats. L'Allier said he sometimes used the bobcat to load trucks. Rosenquist asked about the hours. L'Allier said he ended around 5 o'clock. Planning Commission Minutes — September 13, 2007 Page 5 Weidt asked about chemicals stored on site. L'Allier said he stored five -gallon buckets of concrete sealer on site. McRoberts pointed out the trees screening the property from the west were the neighbor's trees. L'Allier said he would plant more if necessary. Rosenquist asked about the distance between the driveways. L'Allier said it was approximately 250 feet. Weidt asked about the width of the lot. Staff said it appeared to be approximately 350 feet. Schumann opened the public hearing. John Olson, 7097 177th Street, said he lived directly across the street from L'Allier and L'Allier had total disregard for the neighborhood. His lights shine directly into their home, lights on the pole building are on 24 hours a day, and there was also a boxcar on the property that had motion lights on it. He said there was excessive traffic and a six-foot high fence with a commercial dumpster in front of it and a porta-potty behind it. He said he had seen them come home at 8:30 at night. He had observed the forms for the concrete being burned and cutting and stacking of forms as early as 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning. He has heard dump trucks dumping concrete and there were five -six vehicles parked in back. Mr. Olson introduced his wife Mary who showed pictures she recently took of the property. She explained that their home was 110 feet from the road. Mike Gibbs, 6381 177th Street North, said he had nothing personal against the applicant but he had seen vehicles driving over the 30 mph limit. Roxanne Ketcham, 7050 177th Street North, said she had lived there since 1974. She sees all his equipment and sometimes 12-15 cars, even on the weekends. She disapproved of the business in the neighborhood. Rick Arcand, 7270 177th Street North, said it was an eyesore; trees for screening would take a long time to grow. The accessory driveway was extremely rutted compared to other driveways in the area. He said he hoped the Commission would recommend denial. Mary Beth Olson, 6321 177th Street North, said she had nothing personal against the applicant but she did not like the additional traffic. She had bought the house in 1984 and was unhappy it could turn into a commercial neighborhood. She had concerns about the amount of traffic and the speed. Lee Jasniski said he owned the property to the west of Mr. Olson and the L'Allier property was Planning Commission Minutes — September 13, 2007 Page 6 an eyesore. He said he was familiar with what the concrete business involved, and it should not be in a residential area. Bill Klein, 6620 177th Street North, said there was a lot of traffic and the large trucks often drove over the curb on 177th Street. Michele Burke, 6740 177th Street North, said the traffic was bad. She said she had been there for ten years and wants the neighborhood to stay quiet. Mary Olson said the business had grown over the last four years. The location of the second driveway had put a lot of stress on them. She is sometime awoken by the diesel trucks. There were not other comments so Schumann closed the public hearing. Rosenquist questioned the situation of his residence. L'Allier explained his family had moved there in 2003 and only his wife and kids were living there for now, but the situation would be changing. Weidt and Moore had no questions or comments. Rosenquist said the pictures showed more items than were indicated in the staff report. He said it was not fitting for the neighborhood, and it looked more like light industrial. Kleissler agreed that it appeared there was more going on than what had been implied. McRoberts said the storage was excessive and not what would be expected in a residential district. He stated that the applicant does not live there. McRoberts said he could not support the request. Bailly said the area looked to be more like light industrial than residential, and she felt it did not meet the spirit of a home business. Schumann said the element of unobtrusiveness was not there, and it looked like improvements could be made by fencing the exterior storage, but it far exceeded what was allowed. He commented that people living in the neighborhood had substantial investment in their property. Rosenquist made motion, McRoberts seconded, to deny the Interim Use Permit for L'Allier base on the fact that he did not reside on the property and there was excessive storage with no screening. All Ayes. Motion carried. The Commission took a short break. Update on September 6, 2007 Comprehensive Plan Open House Planning Commission Minutes — September 13, 2007 Page 7 The CDD updated the Commission on the Open House that was held on September 6, 2007 where the residents were invited to review the latest draft land use, transportation, sewer, water, and parks plans. Many residents attended and commented on these plans. A workshop will be scheduled to discuss rural planning in the eastern portion of the City. Schumann encouraged members of the Commission to attend all comprehensive plan meetings and open houses. 2007 City Wide Bus Tour The CDD reminded the Commission of the City wide bus tour to begin at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at the Hugo Elementary School. Adjournment McRoberts made motion, Bailly seconded, to adjourn at 9:15 p.m. All Ayes. Motion carried. Michele Lindau, Secretary Planning Commission