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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.10.08 PC MinutesMinutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of October 8, 2015 Chair, Kleissler called the meeting to order at 6:58 p.m. PRESENT: Arcand, Kleissler, Knauss, Lessard, McRoberts, Rosenquist ABSENT: None. STAFF: Bryan Bear, City Administrator Rachel Leitz, Community Development Assistant Approval of Minutes for the Planning Commission Meeting of August 27, 2015 Commissioner Rosenquist made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Arcand, to approve minutes for the meeting of August 27, 2015. All Ayes. Motion carried. McRoberts abstained. DigniCare Senior Living and Memory Care — Site Plan and PUD Leitz gave a presentation regarding the request of approval of a Site Plan and Planned Unit Development (PUD) for a senior living and memory care facility. The property totals 3.34 acres and located south of 130th St. N. and east of Forest Blvd. (TH 61.) She stated The PUD General Plan will rezone the parcel from Single Family Detached Residential (R-3) to Planned Unit Development (PUD). The senior living facility is proposed to be 32 units, which includes 18 assistant living suites and 14 memory care suites. Leitz described that the applicant was requesting flexibility to allow senior housing as a land use, allow a density of 9.5 units per acres, where 3-4 units per acre is allowed in the R-3 zoning district, and to allow a 22 ft. rear yard setback, where 30 ft. is the minimum allowed by ordinance. In exchange for this flexibility, the developer is proposing quality building materials, exceeding landscape requirements, attempting to save on site trees, developing a unique piece of property that has been challenging in the past, and proposing a higher density project without the higher intensity building and traffic. Leitz stated that staff recommends approval of the Site Plan and PUD for DigniCare, subject to the findings and conditions in the attached ordinance and resolutions. She also stated that the applicant was in the audience if the Planning Commission wanted to address any questions to him. Commissioner McRoberts asked why the density was listed at 3-4 units per acre and then later states 8 units per acre. Leitz explained that the property is currently in the Single Family Detached Residential zoning district, which has a density of 3-4 units per acre, but within the 2030 Land Use Plan, the property is seen to be changed to Medium Density Residential, which would change the density to 8 units per acre. Commissioner Arcand asked for an explanation of the dedicated right of way for TH 61. Bear stated that the Met Council and MnDot have designated TH 61 as a roadway that is anticipated to be expanded through their corridor plan. The issue is that there is no funding plan to go along with the corridor plan and therefore, the road is currently not on any list for improvements at this time. Chair Kleissler invited the applicant to speak at 7:26 p.m. Brian Winges, a representative of DigniCare, came to the podium to speak. He thanked the Planning Commission for accepting the application and asked if he could answer any questions. Commissioner Arcand asked the applicant if this was his first project. Mr. Winges stated that he developed the original Comforts of Home senior living facility north of the post office. He stated that the proposed building will be slightly larger than the Comforts of Home facility and offer higher quality materials for the outside. Mr. Winges also stated that the proposed facility will have the same impact on the surrounding area as the Comforts of Home facility, which is very little. Commissioner Mcroberts asked the applicant to explain how with 32 units, he only expects 1-3 visitors at a time. Mr. Winges stated that he wishes there were more people coming to visit, but realistically, there aren't many. Commissioner Arcand asked if the rendering that was provided was pretty close to what the actual building would look like. Mr. Winges stated that the rendering is very close. He stated the locations of projects he has recently done to exemplify the color schemes and quality materials. Commissioner Knauss stated that there seems to be a demand for senior living facilities, but asked how that will be effected by the construction of Keystone Place at LaValle Fields. Mr. Winges stated that they've done their due diligence in studying the demand and they do not believe Keystone Place will have an effect. He explained that the proposed facility is on the far end of any care scale, almost to the level of a nursing home. Commissioner Knauss inquired as to how many staff would be needed if all 32 units are full. Mr. Winges directed the question to Audrey McElwain, who would be managing the Hugo facility. She stated that there would generally be four caregivers in the day and two at overnight. Chair Kleissler opened the public hearing at 7:31 p.m. Maurice Johnson, 12655 Fenway Ave., approached the podium. He explained that learning the facility is proposed to be one story alleviated many of his concerns. He did have one questions regarding the existing topography providing an 8 ft. drop in grade by 127th St. He asked how this grading change will be handled. Mr. Johnson also stated that he believes that this site is a tough one to work through and he stated that he would feel comfortable with approving the proposed PUD. Jeff Lutz, 12760 Ferrara Ave., approached the podium. He asked what the area in the back of the building would be used for, because that area comes closer to the property line. He also asked about the lighting in the back of the building, if there would be a restaurant smell from the kitchen, construction times, trash pick-up cycles, and if the large trees on the east of the property would be removed. He lastly inquired as to how the City makes sure the proposed building materials and landscaping are installed. Commissioner McRoberts asked about the rear yard setback and how that is measured, especially with the patio. Bear stated that the patio and retaining wall do come closer to the property line, but when measuring setbacks, they are calculated from the property line to the foundation. Commissioner McRoberts wanted to clarify that the patio would not be covered. Leitz stated that was correct. Dan Bordenave, 12523 Fenway Ave., approached the podium. He asked if there would be construction traffic going down Fenway Ave. to access the site, or if they would be using the new access off of TH 61. He also stated that he had a concern with four employees taking care of 32 people and the lights on the building being too bright. Vann Clipper, 12536 Fenway Ave., approached the podium. He stated that he had a question on the number of times the trash would be picked up from the facility and construction traffic using Fenway for access to the site. Todd Jagoe, 12752 Ferrara Ave., approached the podium. He stated that he was involved with a previous development who proposed a nice landscape plan, but never installed it. He requested that the neighborhood be worked with for screening as a buffer between the facility and the neighborhood. Chair Kleissler closed the public hearing at 7:43 p.m. Chair Kleissler invited the applicant to the podium to address some of the questions. Brian Winges approached the podium. He began by saying that they would like to communicate with the neighborhoods, especially the Beaver Ponds neighborhood, as the project moves forward. Mr. Winges stated that the back area porch will rarely be used at night and the lighting out there was all conforming to City required specifications. He asked the City staff to confirm this. Leitz stated that City does have requirements for lightings and the proposed lighting is downcast lighting. Mr. Winges moved on saying the kitchen prepares three meals a day for the residents. He stated that the facility does not offer a menu for food options, but instead has a set meal plan. He described that this does not provide for any restaurant smell and also helps cut down on the amount of trash generated. He stated that other facilities generally have 1-2 trash pick-ups a week. Mr. Winges said he has helped build many facilities and the company is known for doing what they have proposed. He stated that the business also thinks it's important to make the building look of quality and welcoming with materials and landscaping. Mr. Winges asked City staff about construction traffic, as he wasn't aware of requirements at this time. Bear stated that it is a little early in the process to talk about finalized construction routes, but that there will be an access off of TH 61 and we could try to focus construction traffic to use that road. However, Bear described that the entire site will likely be under construction at the same time so there may be some amount of use on Fenway Ave. Mr. Winges stated that as the process moves forward, he would try to use the access point off of TH 61 as much as possible. McRoberts asked if the access off of TH 61 could be constructed sooner so the site could be accessed from 127tH Bear stated that there is a likelihood that the entire site would be constructed at the same time. Mr. Winges went back to the landscape plan and stated that he is very sensitive to providing a buffer for the neighborhood and has been working with staff on the plan. He directed Leitz to discuss this further. Leitz stated that the trees on the east side of the property will likely all have to come down with the proposed grading plan. She stated that to accommodate this, staff and the applicant had been working on providing a landscape buffer to properties to the east and to the south. She named the number and variety of trees proposed on the back (east) side of the property and stated that the applicant had made significant changes to the grading plan, which has helped save many trees to the north. Jeff Lutz, 12760 Ferrara Ave., approached the podium. He asked for clarification that all of the trees from 127th St. to the end of the proposed structure would likely be taken down. Leitz stated that those trees will most likely all be taken down, unless some sort of accommodating of grading can happen when site construction occurs. Mr. Lutz asked if the grading would be brought up to the level of the back yards. Leitz stated that was correct and that she recalled that the grade would be brought up around 2-3 feet. Mr. Lutz asked about the size of the trees that would be planted. He stated that the trees that are currently on site provide a huge buffer for the Beaver Ponds neighborhood and the landscape buffer is one of the biggest concerns for the residents along that east property line. McRoberts asked if Leitz could repeat the number and species of trees proposed in the back (east) of the site. Leitz stated that there were 5 Black Hill Spruce, 4 White Pine Birch, 5 Autumn Purple Ash, 2 River Birch, and 2 Hackberries. McRoberts encouraged that the applicant go a little heavier on conifers, particularly the Black Hill Spruce, as these trees do not lose leaves in the fall and winter and can still provide a good screen. Mr. Winges approached the podium and said that the trees were 6-8 foot trees. Leitz then began to answer other questions from residents. She stated that the City requires approved construction and landscape plans. Approved construction plans are given to the building official and when inspections occur on properties, the building inspector makes sure the plans are being followed. Leitz also described that she is required to go to the site and make sure every bush and tree is planted according to the landscape plan. She stated that no certificate of occupancy will be granted until the site matches the plans. Mr. Lutz asked if those are the requirements, what happened to the development to the south. Bear said that this is the first City staff have heard of this issue. He stated that City staff can go back and look at the plan and see what the issues were. He described that the City has good procedures in place, currently, to ensure what is shown on the plan actually translates to the field. Leitz asked Mr. Winges if he could address the facility hours. Mr. Winges said the building would be staffed 24 hours a day. Mr. Lutz asked what the construction hours are. Bear stated that by ordinance, construction hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Bear asked if the applicant could address the 8 foot flexibility on the rear yard setback. Mr. Winges stated that they have used every inch of the site they could to get in all the requirements for a facility like this. He described that with having to dedicate 39 feet of right-of-way, it really limited the site and pushed the building back. Bear also asked Mr. Winges if he could answer Mr. Johnson's question regarding the existing grade of the property. Mr. Winges stated that the building has to be where it is positioned with the constraints of the site. He described that his engineers have worked with the grading around the building and have come up with an acceptable plan. Commissioner Arcand asked if there would be fill brought in. Mr. Winges stated there would be some fill brought in, but to raise the site higher than proposed would likely have an impact on the neighbors. Commissioner Knauss asked when future development occurs to the east, how would 127th continue if it isn't being extended to the property line for this project. Leitz stated that the developer who is developing the property to the east would be required to continue 127th St. from the cutoff point on this property through their development and connect it to another stubbed road. Commissioner Knauss also stated that she had noticed that residential properties surround Mr. Winges' previous project, Comforts of Home, and wondered if staff had received any complaints on that property. Bear stated that staff hadn't received any complaints. Vann Clipper, 12536 Fenway Ave., asked how long construction of this site would take. Mr. Winges stated that construction generally takes around 6 months. Mr. Clipper asked if Fenway Ave. would be used as construction access to the site because he is nervous that the large equipment would damage the road. He believes that the access off of TH 61 should be built before construction starts on the site. Bear stated that staff is comfortable with talking to the contractors about construction timing, phasing, and access to the site during the pre -constructions meeting before any activity starts. He described that in any project, the City generally discourages construction traffic driving on residential streets, but the streets are public and sometimes traffic is out of the City's control. Mr. Canniff, owner of Inter -Plant Sales located at 5212 130th St., approached the podium. He asked about the regularity of ambulances coming to the facility. Audrey McElwain, DigniCare representative, came to the podium. She stated that there will be emergencies on site, so she expects that there will be some ambulances, but at other facilities there is usually an ambulance every 6 months. She also stated that in some situations, they will call an ambulance in a non -emergency situation and they will come without their lights and alarm on. She added on that the majority of the residents in the facility will be on hospice, which means they don't call the ambulance for them any longer. Maurice Johnson, 12655 Fenway Ave., approached the podium. He stated that when Northern Pines was being built, they had temporary construction access off of TH 61 until they built the last two homes. He believes that it would be possible to put a temporary construction access on the property for this site and requests that staff looks into that. An audience member asked what the timing is on construction. Bear stated that if the plan is approved, it would go to the City Council in a couple of weeks. After that, there is still more work to be done in regards to getting approved construction plans. He stated that the applicant has indicated that they would like to start working on the site still this fall. Commissioner Rosenquist commented on Mr. Winges' previous development, Comforts of Home. He stated that he has never heard any issues about traffic to the site and believes City staff has a good handle on access roads for construction traffic. Commissioner McRoberts stated that he believes this is a difficult site. He commented that the facility doesn't seem like it will generate a lot of traffic and will be a relatively quiet place. His concerns were to provide an adequate buffer from the facility and the properties to the east and to avoid using Fenway Ave. as much as possible. Commissioner Knauss stated that she can understand people's concern for the 22 ft. rear yard setback, but that it seems like the 39 feet of dedicated right-of-way is a hardship imposed by public entities. She described that it wouldn't seem like there would be any flexibility asked for if that right-of-way wasn't required to be dedicated. She stated that because of this hardship imposed by another entity, flexibility on this ordinance would seem fair to make this site viable for a project like this. She also stated that she believed this project seemed good for this property and would provide a transition between TH 61 and the single family homes. Lastly, she stated that the applicant's previous project doesn't seem to have had any issues and has been well received by the community. Commissioner Knauss made a motion, Commissioner McRoberts seconded, to recommend approval for the rezoning of the site from R-3 to PUD. All Ayes. Motion carried. Abstained by Commissioner Lessard. Commissioner McRoberts made a motion, Commissioner Rosenquist seconded, to recommend approval of the PUD General Plan. All Ayes. Motion carried. Abstained by Commissioner Lessard. Commissioner Knauss made a motion, Commissioner McRoberts seconded, to recommend approval of the Site Plan. All Ayes. Motion carried. Abstained by Commissioner Lessard. Appointment of Vice Chair Leitz stated that she had sent out an e-mail to the Planning Commission stating that both Commissioner Arcand and Commissioner Rosenquist were nominated for the Vice Chair position. She had stated that after a conversation, Commissioner Rosenquist would prefer Commissioner Arcand to take the position, if elected. Commissioner Rosenquist made a motion, Commissioner Arcand seconded, to move the appointment of Vice Chair off the table for discussion. All Ayes. Motion carried. Commissioner McRoberts nominated Commissioner Arcand for the Vice Chair position. No other nominations. Commissioner McRoberts motioned, Commissioner Rosenquist seconded, to appoint Commissioner Arcand as the Vice Chair of the Planning Commission. All Ayes. Motion carried. Adiournment Commissioner McRoberts made a motion, Commissioner Lessard seconded, to adjourn at 8:23 p.m. All Ayes. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Rachel Leitz, Community Development Assistant