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2018-09-13 Planning Comm Minutes Work SessionCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 A work session meeting of the Mendota Heights Planning Commission was held on Thursday, September 13, 2018 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve at 7:00 P.M. The following Commissioners were present: Chair Litton Field, Jr., Commissioners John Mazzitello, Patrick Corbett, Brian Petschel, Mary Magnuson, and Michael Toth. Those absent: Commissioner Michael Noonan. Staff Present: Community Development Director Tim Benetti, Public Works Director Ryan Ruzek, Natural Resources Technician Krista Sprieter, City Administrator Mark McNeill. Also present was consulting planner Phil Carson of Stantec. Chair Field asked Consulting Planner Carlson to summarize the earlier Comp Plan workshop. Carlson said that he had put together a memo dated September 13th, which was based on the August draft. He said that the memo showed the southeastern portion of the City as the new LR9. He said that that was incorrect, and that it should instead be LR15. Commissioner Mazzitello said that he wanted on the record that the zoning map showed the southeastern portion of the City as High Density, which is incorrect and should be changed. Mr. Carlson said on Page 2 of the memo referenced 6 lots in Friendly Hills which front on Dodd, which should be LR 15, not LR 9. He also said that Eagle Ridge near Victoria and Marie should show the two condo buildings as High Density; the rest of that property should be Medium. The apartments at Dodd and Wentworth should be Medium Density, as shown in the draft. A large amount of the North End of the City is LR5, but could be modified to LR6. Chair Field said that 6000 square foot lots would make splitting 10,000 sq. ft. lots more difficult to split. Carlson will prepare maps for both. On Page 3 of the memo, the Otrosky property was mentioned. Mr. Carlson said that several people who had spoken at the Public Hearing on re-guiding had been OK with the concept at the Public Hearing. He noted that in the Comprehensive Plan, there is no requirement to notify adjacent properties; however, the City could still notify neighbors. Commissioner Petschel noted that the two adjoining properties had also asked to be rezoned. Mr. Carlson then referenced Goal 2-4, with the goal being to enhance the natural environment. He said that that had been moved to the Com Plan chapter on Natural Resources. Goal 3-6 referenced traffic. Commissioner Mazzitello wanted to expand the reference to traffic to include regional traffic generators, such as the Vikings training complex, so that the State of Minnesota can be approached for financial assistance in addressing future construction needs. Chair Field said that regional traffic issues should be mentioned in the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Mazzitello agreed, saying that the City supports regional solutions to regional issues. Under Parks, it was noted that the Comp Plan reference should be to support the parks system, rather specifying numbers of parks staff. The Commission also preferred to reference “amenities for bicycles”, rather than specifying bike racks and repair stations, assuming that that was acceptable to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Mr. Carlson said that Page 4 of the September 13th memo referenced mostly housekeeping changes. The Commission also discussed comments submitted by Commissioner Noonan. Commissioner Magnussen also submitted her housekeeping changes to Mr. Carlson. Commissioner Mazzitello noted that TH 110 was now to be referenced as TH 62 in the Comp Plan document. Audience member Cindy Johnson asked about a reference to airplane noise on Page 2-1, which spoke of air noise in the southern part of the City. She said that aircraft noise is a problem in the northern part of the City as well. All agreed. Mr. Carlson agreed to make the change. Audience member Belina Reisman asked about setbacks in the LR5 zone, and how could smaller lots perform. Mr. Carlson said that the intent of the change to LR was to bring more of the smaller lots into compliance. Audience member Bernard Friel questioned what is being accomplished by that, stating that once created, the land use categories will apply to the entire community. He said that a future developer could ask a Planning Commission and City Council to split any lot into LR5. He said that the definitions of the different LR categories had not be disseminated until very late in the process. Mr. Carlson disagreed, and said that there may be a misunderstanding. He said that the intent of the Comp Plan is to divide the City into different land use designations. The plan itself doesn’t have “teeth”; the zoning ordinance does. He continued to say that when looking at Mendota Heights, the North End developed differently than did the rest of the City, as did Friendly Hills. He said that those neighborhoods should have a land use which is consistent with the character of the neighborhood. LR15 would be the definition for most of the rest of the City. He said that the current zoning wouldn’t allow the neighborhood character to be preserved; those would have to be redeveloped at 15000 sq. ft. lots. Mr. Friel stated again his concern that a future Planning Commissions and City Councils could allow for the change to smaller lots. He asked why it couldn’t instead be done through zoning? Mr. Carlson responded that land use defines the density and the lot sizes. He said that 5000 sq. ft. lots couldn’t be created through zoning. Mr. Friel disagreed, and stated that Mendota Heights shouldn’t be like Edina. His goal is to keep the Comp Plan narrow in scope so that such changes couldn’t be permitted. He asked what the down side is of being a non-conforming use? Audience member Rachel Quick gave an example of an apparent inability to add a shed on a small lot, due to sideyard setbacks. Commissioner Mazzitello recounted the need for a variance for the owner of a house on a smaller lot, when they wanted to do something as small as adding a bay window. Cindy Johnson asked if language couldn’t be added to prohibit developers from being able to apply for subdivisions into LR5 lots? Mr. Carlson responded that the current Comp Plan has low, medium, and high density. He said that anyone can ask to have re-guiding done. Mr. Friel said that the Comp Plan didn’t need to be changed to allow for that; he felt that it could be done through zoning. Audience member Jill Smith said that land could be subdivided, but that it should be limited in the Comp Plan. She also said that these Planning work sessions were not on the City’s calendar of events. Natural Resources—Mr. Benetti reviewed the draft Chapter 7, which covers Natural Resources. He complimented the committee which had drafted that, and the chapter on Resiliency. He said that many of the Goals and Objects in the Natural Resources Plan were from the City of Maplewood. He would like the committee to continue to refine the Chapter, and then bring it back for consideration. He asked for comments from the Commission. Commissioner Magnussen asked to clarify on page 7-2 as to what is meant by the reference to “County”. The consensus was to change that to “City”. She asked that there be a description of what the 2005 WMO Agreement was on Page 7-4. She noted that the City has a responsibility to eradicate species on the noxious weeds list, shown on Page 7-10. On Page 7-18, 13.2 should make “electric vehicle charge station” plural, and that the phrase “during and after the completion of development projects” should be eliminated. Commissioner Corbett thought that Page 7-9 was not very thorough, and asked it is could be expanded. Public Works Director Ruzek felt that it should be formatted to be consistent with other portions of the Plan. Commissioner Toth noted on 7-9 that there was a phrase “should be actively managed”. He questioned that language. The consensus of the Commission was that it should read “shall”. Commissioner Corbett said that there were many references to things that would commit the City to perform tasks. Commissioner Mazzitello said that many of these things could be worked on over time, even after the Plan revisions are adopted. A member of the audience suggested the formation of a Natural Resources Commission, which she said could “lighten the load” for others. It was noted that the draft chapter on Natural Resources did recommend the creation of such a Commission. Commissioner Toth asked about the status of Lake Augusta, and it there was a need for an outlet? Ruzek responded that the past three years have been the wettest on record which has lead to high surface water elevations, and that staff is working to resolve some of the issues at that lake. Commissioner Corbett suggested a process to review these issues was needed. Benetti said that the citizen group will look at it again. Commissioner Mazzitello said that there should be a work plan for action items, which should be prioritized. Commissioner Toth asked about the reference to icing on Page 7-13. Commissioner Mazzitello said that that was aimed at salting on streets. After discussion, it was determined that it should reference “pavement” de-icing. Resilience— Mr. Benetti said that the draft chapter was the product of a committee of 6 people, and complimented them for their work. Commissioner Corbett again felt that there were too many things that would have to be done by the City that are “big things”. Commissioner Magnussen said that it was very forward thinking, but that it would be hard for the City to do all of the items described. Commissioner Mazzitello suggested that the Plan be synced with the City Emergency Action Plan that had been drafted by the previous Police Chief, as some of the items were already done. Commissioner Petschel questioned 8-5, and asked if the City had an ordinance for natural light as it relates to solar access? Mr. Benetti said that it does not. Commissioner Petschel agreed with other sections, but said that the State’s Cap 2030 plan will be huge. He said that the City could do what it can, but actions in cities and regions elsewhere could negate our efforts. Commissioner Toth asked about active farms in Mendota Heights, and whether someone could do an on-site farm produce stand? Commissioner Magnussen said that the Orchard property had previously fallen under than category. Commissioner Mazzitello asked about beekeeping, noting that honey bees aren’t native. Ms. Johnson referenced 8.9.1, and suggested that we bring back “best practices” language for native pollinators, for large areas such as the Dodge Nature Center, cemeteries, golf courses, and schools. Other Comments—Chair Field asked for other comments from the audience. Mr. Friel noted that, as a result of the proposed changes, the September 25th hearing would have at least 6 sites that would have zoning considered for ultimate changing. Normally, all properties within 350 feet would be notified of zoning changes. As a result, it would be difficult to handle that at a single hearing. He asked how the hearing would be handled for many different sites? He said that not everyone understands that when you change the Comp Plan, you change the zoning as well. He said that the Metropolitan Land Planning Act requires that the rezoning take place within 9 months of the re-guiding. He didn’t feel that all of the sites could be handled at one hearing, and be transparent. He thought that it would be a long and disorganized hearing. Chair Field asked Mr. Friel how the previous Planning Commission had handled it. Mr. Friel replied that they hadn’t had to deal with the Comp Plan. He said that the Metropolitan Land Planning Act doesn’t require anything to be done now, other than to certify that nothing is in conflict with the Land Planning Act. He felt that the doing all of the changes at the same time will be a problem. There was discussion on how notifications should be made. Commissioner Magnussen noted that there had been three Open Houses on the Comp Plan already. Councilor Ultan Duggan, who had been in the audience, said that the Met Council had at one time said that Mendota Heights would have a population of between 15,000 and 20,000. Obviously, it had not grown that big—he said that perhaps, there may be 1000 more residents in the future. He said that population is key, and not the number of houses. He felt that the character of the neighborhoods hadn’t been addressed, and referenced the Olin property. With smaller sites, how do you keep Mendota Heights attractive going forward? When will the money come from to do that? He cautioned that the Comp Plan revisions will be large, and felt that there would need to be a couple of weeks for the City Council to digest it. He thought the Public Hearings should be divided into three. Mr. Friel stated that the 2030 Plan said that Mendota Heights was a developed community. That language as not in this plan. Commissioner Mazzitello referenced a similar phrase in the new plan, in 1-8. Mr. Friel felt that the Plan should emphasize that we are a developed community. Chair Friel discussed the process, asking if we should have a single hearing, or multiple? Mr. Benetti said that we could open the Public Hearing on September 25th, and continue it to the October Planning Commission meeting. He also suggested a joint City Council and Planning Commission meeting in October. It was decided that individual mailing would go to all affected properties, and those within 350 feet, in all 8 areas. It would define LR5 and LR9. The Commission identified October 15th at 6 PM as their preferred date for a joint meeting with the City Council. Chair Field reminded the Commissioners of the Commission’s Public Hearing meeting on the School athletic field on October 4th, and the next Open House meeting on September 25th at 4:30 PM, and the Publix Hearing at 7:00 PM. Chair field adjourned the meeting at 9:18 PM. Minutes taken by: ___________________ Mark McNeill City Administrator