Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017.08.10 PC MinutesMinutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of Thursday, August 10, 2017 Chair, Kleissler called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. PRESENT: Arcand, Kleissler, McRoberts, Tjernlund. ABSENT: Lessard. STAFF: Bryan Bear, City Administrator Rachel Juba, Planner Rachel Leitz, Community Development Assistant Approval of Minutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of July 27, 2017 Commissioner McRoberts made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Arcand, to approve minutes for the meeting of July 27, 2017. All Ayes. Motion carried. Fable Hill 4th Addition Amendment to the Preliminary Plat and PUD Juba presented on an application amending the preliminary plat and PUD for Fable Hill 4th Addition. Juba stated that the requested applications would add three lots to the previous approval. In 2003, the Fable Hill PUD General Plan was approved allowing 60 lots (14 single family and 46 detached villas) and the proposed plan now shows 63 lots (9 single family and 54 detached villas). Juba described that 26 of the villa lots have already been final platted. Juba stated that the revisions to the plan are relatively minor and the plan layout maintains a development pattern that complies with the approvals for the Fable Hill PUD. Staff recommended approval of the amendment to the preliminary plat and PUD, subject to the conditions listed in the resolution. Commissioner Arcand asked if the proposed plan had any revisions to lot widths. Juba stated that the lot widths have not changed from the previously approved PUD. Commission McRoberts requested Juba give details on a resident’s e-mail that was received. Juba explained that the Planning Commission received an e-mail from Lee Rodel, 4485 Fable Hill Pkwy., requesting the developer to have a construction entrance as this project continues to move forward. Juba stated that she talked to Mr. Rodel and explained that the developer doesn’t own any adjacent property, therefore having a separate construction access is difficult. Juba described that emergency services has reviewed these plans and does not see a need for another outlet for these residents. Chair Kleissler invited the applicant to the podium to speak. David Hempel, Engineer for the project, approached the podium. Mr. Hempel stated that they were also forwarded the e-mail from Mr. Rodel. He described the City’s guidelines for construction hours and stated that they also have expectations of their contractors, whom are being monitored to ensure limited impact to residents. Commission McRoberts addressed a specific sentence in Mr. Rodel’s e-mail describing the developer making a previous commitments for a separate construction access to this project. Commission McRoberts asked the applicant if there were any previous commitments for this secondary access. Len Pratt, developer, approached the podium. Mr. Pratt stated that he does not own or have control over adjacent properties to be able to have a separate construction access. He stated that he has provided access to Planning Commission August 10, 2017 Page 2 these adjoining properties for future development. Mr. Pratt stated that he understands resident’s concerns about traffic and he tries to have most of the construction that requires large trucks/equipment complete their work within a shorter time frame. Chair Kleissler opened the public hearing at 7:27 p.m. Patrick Cahill, 4625 Fable Hill Rd. N., approached the podium. He asked the developer why the plan has a decreased amount of single family homes and an increased number of villas, how the wetlands were going to be impacted behind their home, and the timing of the construction of the roads. Mr. Pratt stated that the wetlands will not be touched. He described the proposed plan and stated he believed there was a more natural point to break up the villa product from the single family homes. Mr. Pratt stated that they hope to have pavement and curb installed by October 2017. Mr. Hempel stated that the plan will be developed in phases, therefore only the phase one roads will be completed by October 2017. Darren Carlson, 4633 Fable Hill Rd. N., approached the podium. He stated that Mr. Pratt has done a lot for the Fable Hill development and community. He stated that there seems to be a lot of unnecessary traffic on his road because people believe it outlets to Elmcrest. He asked the City if they could look into putting some signage up stating the road was a dead end. Juba stated that she would talk to the Public Works department about this concern. John Devoe, 4736 Preserve Ct. N., approached the podium. Mr. Devoe expressed concerns about speeding and people running stop signs in the development. He stated that Pratt has done an excellent job in the development and doesn’t believe there is much traffic related to the construction of the homes. Mr. Devoe stated having more signage, specifically regarding dead ends, may be helpful to residents in the neighborhood. Matt Christenson, 4653 Fable Hill Rd. N., approached the podium. He stated that he was told that the homes proposed to be constructed behind him were to be all single family homes. He is concerned that we are allowing even more villas within the next phase of the development. Mr. Pratt stated that the proposed plans always had villa homes within the next phase of development. He stated that there is a large wetland complex the homes that separate the products. Mr. Christenson stated that it’s not the separation of the housing products that’s the concern, its more about the type of neighborhood and believing more families with young children would be moving into this neighborhood. Mr. Pratt stated that the market has dictated the product types and he wants to ensure the Fable Hill area maintains the quality that’s currently seen there. He believed to do that, the product type and number has had to change slightly with demand. Chair Kleissler closed the public hearing at 7:42 p.m. Chair Kleissler asked staff how the comments regarding stop signs and signage, specifically the dead end signs, would be handled by staff. Planning Commission August 10, 2017 Page 3 Juba stated that the City has had discussions with the HOA about the stop signs, which were installed after the development was constructed. She stated that she will talk to the public works department about dead end street signs. Commissioner Arcand asked staff what the stop sign discussion involved with the HOA. Juba stated that concerns were brought up by the HOA that residents were speeding on the roads within Fable Hill. The City and HOA collaborated and stop signs were installed within the development. One of the issues seems to be that since the signs were installed after development occurred and weren’t planned during the approval process, residents don’t expect stop signs in that area and therefore, are sometimes not abided by. Commissioner Tjernlund stated he believed the proposed plans are minor adjustments from the previous approval and has no issues with what is proposed. Commissioner Arcand agreed. Commissioner Tjernlund made a motion, Commissioner Arcand seconded, to recommend approval of the amendment to the Preliminary Plat and PUD for Fable Hill 4th Addition, subject to the conditions listed in the attached resolutions. All Ayes. Motion carried. Comprehensive Plan Update Mary Matze with Landform Professional Services, the City’s contracted Planner, gave an update on the 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update, specifically regarding the land use chapter. Matze gave a background of discussions surrounding the topic of eastern Hugo and the eastern Hugo open house. She summarized that staff believed additional info from the feasibility study would be helpful in figuring out if development could occur in this area in the future. Staff recommended that no changes are made to the current land use plan and the Planning Commission allow staff to continue to meet with land owners and get a better feel for what eastern Hugo residents want. Matze then discussed the mixed use land use designation. She stated that staff recommended evaluating characteristics for each mixed use district to set better parameters for future development. Matze described the topic of extending services to 165th Street N. She stated that staff recommended reviewing the land use designations and evaluate timing and feasibility for extending services. She also stated that staff will be having conversations with the property owners in that area to understand their position. Lastly, Matze discussed the area of Elmcrest (north of Frenchman Rd.). She stated that staff recommended reviewing the land use designations and understanding more thoroughly if those are appropriate with planned upgrades to the roads, future connections, and the Lino Lakes land use plan. Matze concluded by asking the Commissioners if any additional areas should be studied, if any areas needed to be omitted or if there were any additional concerns. Commissioner Arcand asked staff if comments regarding eastern Hugo came from eastern Hugo residents. Juba stated that the majority of residents in attendance at the eastern Hugo workshop were from eastern Hugo. She stated that staff focused on getting them to participate in the discussion through individual letters. Planning Commission August 10, 2017 Page 4 Commissioner Tjernlund asked for clarification on the options the City has for serving eastern Hugo in the future and how the Met Council is involved. Juba stated that the City could utilize the flexible development ordinance if residents in eastern Hugo wanted to be served with sewer or not. In either case, land would be preserved either for future development or for natural resources. She stated that staff believed people who attended the eastern Hugo workshop seemed happy with how things are operating currently, which would mean no changes and a 1 unit per 10 acre density. Juba stated that staff doesn’t believe we have enough information currently to determine if eastern Hugo should be in the long term sewer service area or not. She described that since the feasibility study was never finished, the City doesn’t know for a fact if it’s even reasonable to sewer a part of eastern Hugo. Juba believed it was reasonable to finish the feasibility study to get more information on the options the City has moving forward. Commissioner Tjernlund asked if by finishing the study it would give more concrete choices to our residents. Juba stated that if the study is finished and there is an area that will never be able to be served by sewer, it opens up conversations with the Met Council about potentially having reduced property sizes in that area. Commissioner Tjernlund stated that he is glad completing this study will open the door for more answers for Hugo residents. He then asked staff what the goal was for studying the mixed use areas. Kendra Lindahl, Planner with Landform, stated that staff hopes to define the potential future uses in these areas while comparing them with the other surrounding uses. She stated that it is staff’s goal for developers and residents to better understand what they can do with their property. Matze concluded with describing the next steps with the Planning Commission and reviewing future meeting dates. Adjournment Commissioner McRoberts made a motion, Commissioner Arcand seconded, to adjourn at 8:18 p.m. All Ayes. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Rachel Leitz, Community Development Assistant