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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017.10.12 PC MinutesMinutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of Thursday, October 12, 2017 Chair, Kleissler called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. PRESENT: Arcand, Kleissler, Lessard, McRoberts, Tjernlund. ABSENT: None. STAFF: Bryan Bear, City Administrator Rachel Juba, Planner Rachel Leitz, Community Development Assistant Approval of Minutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of September 14, 2017 Commissioner Arcand made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Tjernlund, to approve minutes for the meeting of September 14, 2017. All Ayes. Motion carried. Commissioner McRoberts abstained. Kevin Muramatsu – 5611 152nd Street N. Unit #3 – CUP Request Leitz presented on a conditional use permit application to allow retail space as a supplementary use to a gunsmithing facility located at 5611 152nd Street North, Unit #3. She stated that the property is located within the Peloquin Industrial Park and the applicant plans to take over a 2,000 square foot unit that once held Jim’s Motorcycle Shop. Leitz described that the gunsmithing work is a permitted use within the General Industrial (I- 3) zoning district, however a conditional use permit is required to utilize 25% of the floor area for retail sales. Leitz described the parking evaluation staff conducted for the 6,500 square foot building. It’s in staff’s opinion that the parking is adequate for the general use of the building and that adding a small retail component will not adversely affect the parking needs on the site. Leitz described the standards used to review the application including spirit and intent, character of the area, and adequate road access. It was in staff’s opinion that the request would not be out of character with the surrounding area and the applicant is asking to use the property in a reasonable manner. Leitz stated it was in staff’s opinion that the applicant meets all requirements necessary to approve a conditional use permit and recommended approval of the conditional use permit for 400 square feet of retail space located in unit #3 of the property located at 5611 152nd Street North, subject to the conditions listed in the resolution. Chair Kleissler asked the applicant if they would like to speak. Kevin Muramatsu, applicant, approached the podium. He stated he had nothing to add to the presentation but would take any questions the Commission may have for him. Commissioner Arcand asked if he was a manufacturer. Mr. Muramatsu stated he is not a manufacturer and only does gunsmithing work. Commissioner Arcand asked if he was affiliated with JP Enterprises. Mr. Muramatsu stated he does some work with JP Enterprises as a subcontractor. Chair Kleissler asked the applicant what the retail hours would be. Mr. Muramatsu stated the hours will be 3:00-7:00 pm, Wednesday–Saturday. He stated that as the business grows, the hours will likely increase. Planning Commission October 12, 2017 Page 2 Chair Kleissler opened the public hearing at 7:10 p.m. No one in the audience spoke. Chair Kleissler closed the public hearing at 7:11 p.m. Commissioner McRoberts made a motion, Commissioner Arcand seconded, to recommend approval of the conditional use permit, subject to the conditions listed in the attached resolution. All Ayes. Motion carried. The Lincoln Group – Creekside Heights Concept Plan Juba presented on a concept plan application for The Lincoln Group for a project to be known as “Creekside Heights,” located on 132 acres east of TH 61 and west of Oneka Lake. The proposed development is planned to consist of 251 housing units with a gross density of 1.9 units per acre and a net density of 3 units per acre. Juba described that the property is currently vacant and does contain some challenges regarding wetlands, an existing drainage ditch and high ground water. Juba stated that the applicant would like to get feedback on the project in regards to the general layout, road circulation, park dedication, and access. Juba concluded by stating that staff believes that the layout of the proposed development is generally good and the applicant has done a good job providing a mix of housing products, openspace, and trail connections. She stated that there are several items that the applicant would need to work on in order to meet the intent or the City’s Comprehensive Plan and the PUD ordinance. Staff offered a variety of recommendations listed below: 1. Clustering of the Villa Home product and/or providing adequate transitions between product types. 2. Provide a more significant buffer for the townhomes to be separate from the industrial uses to the west. 3. The phasing should be revised to include the connection and development outlet to Highway 61. Evaluation of the phasing of the full built out should be provided. 4. Stormwater Re-Use for irrigation. 5. The applicant should continue to work with staff on the road alignments, more specifically on the northwest portion of the site. 6. Planning of the commercial properties along Highway 61, adjacent to the main entrance to the development. 7. The trail corridor that meanders through two residential lots should be widened to provide a view of the lake to create an entrance to the lakefront trail. 8. Provide a tree inventory and plan for what trees will be preserved and removed. Specifically on the south boundary. 9. Full description of the park land dedication request. Commissioner Arcand asked for an explanation of the shoreland district. Juba stated that the DNR requires the City to adopt a shoreland ordinance. Per state statute, any property within 1000 ft. of the ordinary high water mark of the lake is within the shoreland district. There are also different classifications for lakes. Those classifications have different standards for lot sizes and setbacks for development. Planning Commission October 12, 2017 Page 3 Commissioner Arcand asked if the existing park south of the proposed development had the facilities to handle the size of the proposed new development. Juba stated that its in staff’s opinion that the park can adequately serve this development, however, the concept plan will go to the Parks Commission next Wednesday for their review and comments. Commissioner Tjernlund asked staff to explain the incorporation of commercial uses into this development. Juba stated that the applicant needs to consider and plan the commercial uses around the project. For example, there is a commercial business with a building directly south of the proposed access to the development. It is important to make sure the business can function properly, has proper access, still has the ability for vehicle circulation, etc. Chair Kleissler asked the applicant if they would like to speak. Danny Lincoln, Developer, and Richard Wilburn, Project Engineer, approached the podium. Mr. Wilburn stated that he would like to discuss a couple points brought up in the presentation. He described that only the villa products will be slab on grade, while the rest of the products, including the townhomes, will have basements. He stated that they are currently proposing 256 units (including 76 villas, 136 single family, and 44 townhomes). Mr. Wilburn described the challenges of the site including 25 acres of wetlands, a ditch crossing the property, Oneka Lake, high ground water, and an Xcel Energy transmission line bisecting the property. Mr. Wilburn discussed that they are currently working with MnDOT on the intersection and access into the development to ensure it is successful and functions properly. He discussed the layout of the roads within the development and stressed the importance of the main north and south connector road. Commissioner Tjernlund asked the applicant what they are proposing for park dedication. Mr. Wilburn stated that they will be asking the Parks Commission to consider providing credit for the trail along the wetlands on the south and east portions of the property, as well as consider some of the smaller high land areas. He stated the rest of park dedication would be made up in cash dedication. Mr. Lincoln stated that they will be looking at using stormwater reuse for the development. He also described working with the commercial property owner to purchase property to better accommodate access into the development. He stated his efforts were not successful so they are now planning the best traffic control design with the current building/parcel continuing its present use. Mr. Wilburn discussed the roundabout. He stated the roundabout design helps with the access issues, since the commercial piece of property’s driveway is directly across from 159th Street. He stated that the they want to make sure the roundabout still functions properly when the parcels around the development and along TH 61 develop in the future. Commissioner Arcand asked staff how much input the City can put in about the traffic control design. Juba stated that the City has been helping facilitate the conversation, but ultimately MnDOT will be approving the traffic control design and installation. Arcand asked the applicant if MnDOT has reviewed the currently proposed roundabout design. Planning Commission October 12, 2017 Page 4 Mr. Wilburn stated that MnDOT has not yet reviewed the proposed roundabout design, but they are starting that process now. Commissioner Lessard stated that he is concerned about some of the housing products being too close and not buffered properly from the industrial/commercial uses along TH 61. Mr. Wilburn stated that they can mitigate sound through tree plantings and screening measures. Chair Kleissler asked the applicant to explain their plan for the large stand of trees on the south end of the development. Mr. Wilburn stated that they are trying to save as many as possible, but with the constraints on the property and having to building the land up to meet low floor requirements, quite a few will be removed. Juba stated that this is a concern of staff. She described that part of the PUD is preserving natural resources. She encouraged the Planning Commission to discuss the preservation of the large stand of trees with the applicant. Mr. Lincoln stated that they would be willing to plant trees on the neighboring properties, if those residents would allow it. Commissioner Arcand stated his concern for phase one traffic flow because a portion of phase one doesn’t have an outlet onto TH 61. He commented that all of phase one needs to have an exit onto TH 61 to prevent a large amount of traffic from going through the existing neighborhoods to the south. Mr. Lincoln stated that there are approximately 45 lots proposed in phase one that would need to go through the neighborhoods to the south for entrance/exit to the development. He described that they would ask for construction access off of TH 61 and install a culvert to cross the ditch so all construction traffic wouldn’t have to go through existing neighborhoods to access the site. He stated that he believed there would be approximately 12 homes occupied prior to access off of TH 61 being constructed for the entire development. Mr. Lincoln didn’t believe that these few occupied homes would have a large impact on traffic for the existing neighborhoods to the south. Commissioner Arcand stated that this proposal doesn’t seem unreasonable, however conditions would have to be made in a development agreement requiring when construction of the outlet to TH 61 is needed to be built. Commissioner Arcand stated that he wants the developer to be aware that traffic will be an issue to the residents south of this development. Commissioner McRoberts stated that he would like the developer to return with another concept plan with changes that address the concerns of the Commission. The Planning Commission agreed with Commissioner McRoberts. Juba reminded the Planning Commission that this application is a sketch plan and comments should focus on the overarching fundamentals of the development. She stated that the Commission and City staff can get into the details when the preliminary plat is submitted, however, staff recommends the Commission review and comment on staff recommendations and comments on the concept plan at this time. Planning Commission October 12, 2017 Page 5 Commissioner Tjernlund recognizes the difficulties and challenges this site offers. He believed the zoning change to a PUD was wise and flexibility should be looked at for the lot sizes and setbacks because of the difficulties of the site. Commissioner McRoberts stated that all nine recommendations that City staff commented on are valid and need attention. He stated he would also recommend the applicant review their requests for lot sizes and setbacks. The Planning Commission agreed with Commissioner McRoberts. Juba stated that staff is comfortable with a variety of lot sizes and setbacks for different housing products within the development. The described those can be further assessed as the project moves forward. Commissioner Tjernlund stated he would like the developer to focus on a buffer between the commercial/industrial users and the residential homes. He explained that planting larger trees so the buffer is effective right away may be something that needs to be looked at. Commissioner Tjernlund commented that he would like the applicant to continue to work with staff as the project moves forward on the variety of issues commented on by the Commission and as provided by staff. The Planning Commission agreed with Commissioner Tjernlund. Commissioner McRoberts stated that the comments from the Commission could mean a full new evaluation of the development site plan. The Planning Commission agreed with Commissioner McRoberts. Discussion on 165th Street N. Improvements Juba stated that one of the outcomes of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan gatherings has been requests from property owners in the 165th Street neighborhood to have a meeting regarding how and when sewer/water services will be extended to this area. Juba described some discussion topics that may arise while having this conversation, including if the sewer could be provided from somewhere else, if this would be a City facilitated project with assessments, and if a study could be completed to figure out how the properties in this area could be served. Juba described that sewer and water services are typically extended with development. She stated that growth management policies within the existing Comprehensive Plan discourages leapfrog development and levying assessments against the properties that are not ready for development, possibly forcing them to sell. Juba wanted the Planning Commission to discuss the City holding an informal meeting for the property owners in this area. City staff would provide them with information and get input from the residents to then figure out how the City could help accomplish the neighborhood’s goals. The Planning Commission agreed that the City should facilitate a meeting with the neighborhood and get their input on future development of their properties and their interest in extending sewer and water services. Approve Rescheduling of December Planning Commission meetings to December 21st Juba stated that we reschedule the meetings every year in December. The regularly scheduled December meetings are on December 14th and 28th. Staff recommended consolidating these meetings into one meeting to be held on December 21st. Planning Commission October 12, 2017 Page 6 The Planning Commission recommended staff to send out an e-mail to all Commission members so all may check their calendars and bring the item back at the October 26th Planning Commission meeting. Adjournment Commissioner McRoberts made a motion, Commissioner Lessard seconded, to adjourn at 8:41 p.m. All Ayes. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Rachel Leitz, Community Development Assistant