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2007-02-27 Planning Comm MinutesPlanning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 27, 2007 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, February 27, 2007, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve at 7:30 pm. The following Commissioners were present: Commissioners McManus, Norton, Povolny, Dolan, Lally, and Hennes. Excused were: Commissioner Viksnins. Also present were Mendota Heights Public Works Director Sue McDermott, City Administrator Assistant Jake Sedlacek, and Planner Steve Grittman. Minutes were recorded by Becki Shaffer. Introduction of New Commissioners Commissioner Dolan introduced the new members present. Mr. Steve Norton works for the Minneapolis City Attorney's office doing civil litigation. Mr. Norton attended St. Thomas Academy and has lived at 640 Marie Avenue West with his wife for three years. • Mr. Doug Hennes is the Vice President of the University Government Relations at the University of St. Thomas and lives at 2351 Swan Drive. Mr. Hennes was previously a reporter and editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Mr. Hennes said he has lived in Mendota Heights for 4 years. Election of New Officers As Acting Chair, Commissioner Dolan called for nominations for the 2007 officers. COMMISSIONER POVOLNY NOMINATED COMMISSIONER CHRIS DOLAN FOR THE OFFICE OF CHAIR. COMMISSIONER NORTON SECONDED THE NOMINATION. COMMISSIONER MCMANUS MOVED TO CLOSE NOMINATIONS. 6 AYES 0 NAYES MOTION CARRIED — COMMISSIONER DOLAN WILL SERVE AT CHAIR OF THE MENDOTA HEIGHTS PLANNING COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2007. COMMISSIONER MCMANUS NOMINATED COMMISSIONER JOE LALLY FOR THE OFFICE OF VICE CHAIR. COMMISSIONER HENNES SECONDED THE NOMINATION. COMMISSIONER MCMANUS MOVED TO CLOSE NOMINATIONS. 6 AYES 0 NAYES MOTION CARRIED — COMMISSIONER LALLY WILL SERVE AT VICE CHAIR OF THE MENDOTA HEIGHTS PLANNING COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR 2007. Planning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 A pproval of Jan uary 23, 2007 Min u tes COMMISSIONER LALLY MOVED, SECONDED BY CHAIR DOLAN TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 23, 2007 AS PRESENTED. 6 AYES 0 NAYES MOTION CARRIED OTHER BUSINESS City Administrator Assistant Sedlacek asked for approval to move the April 24th meeting as that date falls on the same day as the Par 3 Elections. It was the consensus of the Commission to meet on April 25th at 7:30 pm in the Council Chambers. CHAIR DOLAN MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MCMANUS, TO RESCHEDULE THE APRIL 24TH PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING TO APRIL 25, 2007. 6 AYES 0 NAYES MOTION CARRIED HEARINGS PLANNING CASE #07 -05 Larry Goff 675 Marie Avenue W. Wetlands Permit Mr. Grittman reviewed a map showing the location of 675 Marie Avenue North, which is a single family parcel, zoned R -1 Residential, with an existing single family home. The applicant is seeking a wetlands permit to allow for a 12' x 12' porch addition to the rear portion of their home. This application complies with all zoning setbacks, environmental issues, and other ordinances, and Staff recommends approval, with the additional language that says in the event that there are any engineering issues that come up either before or during construction, the City has the right to review them and sign off on construction methods or any other erosion protection issues. Larry Goff, 675 Marie Avenue West, shared a picture of what the addition will look like. Mr. Goff said this addition will replace the existing deck on the home. Chair Dolan opened the public hearing. Seeing no one come forward to speak, Chair Dolan asked for a motion to close the public hearing. COMMISSIONER LALLY MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER NORTON, TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. Planning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 6 AYES 0 NAYES MOTION CARRIED COMMISSIONER MCMANUS MOVED, SECONDED BY LALLY, TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE WETLANDS PERMIT AS PRESENTED WITH THE CONDITION THAT ANY ANTICIPATED CHANGE OF GRADE OR DRAINAGE BE REVIEWED BY THE CITY ENGINEER. 6 AYES 0 NAYS MOTION CARRIED PLANNING CASE #07 -04 Pat Hoffman Hoffman - Mendota Shores 2105 Lexington Avenue South Lemay Shores Development PUD, Preliminary Plat, Wetlands Permit Mr. Grittman reviewed a site plan for the proposed Lemay Shores preliminary plat. Mr. Grittman said the property exists on the east side of Lemay Lake and the west side of Resurrection Cemetery. The parcel is currently zoned R -1 single family residential and guided for low density residential land use as the City amended the comprehensive plan to re -guide this from institutional designation when it was part of the cemetery property. In January 2007, the City reviewed a PUD concept plan for this project that included a layout that is essentially the as what is being proposed tonight. Mr. Grittman explained the City's planned unit development process. This project consists of 60 residential units and reviewed a layout map depicting a single roadway going into the project, with an emergency roadway leading to the cemetery. These units are twin homes, showing 30 buildings on the plan. The total site area that is subject to the PUD request is 68.3 acres, 48.6 of the acres are upland which is dry land and impervious surface has been calculated as 7.01 acres which is less than 15% of the total project area. The City's requirement on impervious surfaces is no more than 25% of the project site. Mr. Grittman said the gross density is less that one unit per acre (.88 units per acre). The typical single family plat in the city is about 2 units per acre. A large portion of this is due to the significant grades on the site. The applicants have also provided an exhibit that shows a significant area of conservation areas adjacent to the lake, and there will be a conservation easement along the back side of the homes next to the cemetery. The purpose of this conservation area is to protect the existing vegetation and prohibiting any construction, grading, and tree loss in that area. Mr. Grittman provided an aerial overlay showing where the homes would be located within the trees. Mr. Grittman reviewed the conditions of approval from the Metropolitan Council, relating to their approval of the amendment that was granted. The applicants have indicated that they will be complying with those conditions. Planning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 Mr. Grittman said Staff believes that the applicant has complied with all zoning regulations and recommends approval. Mr. Grittman said the Planners Report did not contain information on the fire exit roadway or the trail connections and apologized for the lack on information. Commissioner Hennes asked how visible the homes will be. Mr. Grittman said from the cemetery side, he believes there will be some filtered view of the rear portion of these buildings. Commissioner Hennes asked how wide the trail will be. Mr. Grittman said this will be an 8 -ft bituminous walking trail. Commissioner Lally asked how the developer will prevent non - emergency vehicles from using the access road. Public Works Director Sue McDermott said that access will have bollards on the pathway. Commissioner Lally asked if the water area has been used in the calculations of the density per acre. Mr. Grittman said that was not. Chair Dolan asked if the density on this project would be similar to Augusta Shores. Mr. Grittman said it will be less. Chair Dolan said the Planners Report shows that the length of the street is 2,900 ft. and the ordinance states that cul -de -sacs must be no longer than 500 ft. Mr. Grittman said the 500 ft. standard is a common one, but in some instances as the proposed project, the topography just will not allow for that standard. The PUD allows flexibility on that standard. Chair Dolan said there may be some concerns for emergency vehicle turnarounds and maneuvering. Mr. Grittman explained how the roadway will be designed and addressed these concerns. Chair Dolan asked for some insight on the affects of the tree loss and the requirements for new plantings. Mr. Grittman said there is a focus on tree preservation as well as the tree loss, and said this project will be preserving a high number of quality trees, and with the conservation easement in place, many of the trees will not be lost. The tree replacement will actually be higher than what the normal expectation is. Chair Dolan asked if a traffic study was done. Mr. Grittman said a traffic study was not done, and it's believed that 60 units, with mostly empty nesters, will not generate a lot of additional traffic. Chair Dolan asked if proper mechanisms have been set up to ensure that the developer will adhere to the requirements laid out by the Met Council. Mr. Grittman said the City should expect that the developer will follow the same process as was done with Augusta Shores. Commissioner Povolny asked if this project was reviewed by the Fire Department. Ms. McDermott said the Fire Chief has reviewed the plan and had some minor comments; Staff will be work with the developer to address these concerns. Ms. McDermott said the primary concern was to have the second access for emergency vehicles, which the Fire Chief wished to see in place. Commissioner Povolny asked if there will be fencing at the rear of the homes on the cemetery side. Mr. Grittman said he did not believe that was on the plan. Commissioner Norton asked if the fire access lane be paved. Ms. McDermott said it would be. 4 Planning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 Commissioner McManus asked if the main road will access Highway 55. Mr. Grittman said it will access a frontage road (Lemay Lake Road). Mr. Peter Coyle; Larkin, Hoffinan, Daly and Lindgren Ltd. is the attorney for the project and spoke on behalf of the applicant. Mr. Coyle gave some history of this project for the new commissioners. Mr. Coyle said this project will exceed the noise attenuation requirements from MAC and have consented to the disclosure requirements which are not part of the City's codes, but that of Met Council. The noise standards will be higher than the requirement and has committed if necessary, allow potential buyers to review the noise attenuation technology. Mr. Coyle said this site reflects a tremendous amount of care to protect as much as the natural features as possible, including the peninsula area which will be protected. There will be some modest disturbance when installing the trail connection, but the developer is happy to install this at the City's request. Mr. Coyle said this project is about one -third of the density of Augusta Shores. Mr. Coyle said the plans presented show some design views which indicate the appropriate screening of the homes. Mr. Coyle spoke about the tree conservation easement which will be in place along the rear of the homes of the residents to the west. Mr. Coyle said there has been a great deal of interest on this site from potential buyers who have been referred to by property owners in Augusta Shores. Mr. Coyle introduced Mr. Pat Hoffman; Hoffman- Mendota Shores, LLC, and Mr. Glenn Huebner; Hedlund Engineering. Mr. Coyle said the cemetery does not wish to have any fencing along the boundary, and there will be some topography and drainage issues there that will make it difficult for random vehicular access to the back of the site other than the designated fire land corridor. Mr. Coyle said there are no fire lane accesses at the Augusta Shores development, so this is an improvement over that project. Commissioner Hennes asked if there were any other developable land in this area. Mr. Coyle said the property that the applicant is currently pursing is owned by Resurrection Cemetery and it's the only property that they have left. Commissioner Hennes asked if an individual homeowner would be allowed to construct a fence if they desired on their property. Mr. Coyle said the homeowners association will regulate that and the homeowner would not be allowed to encroach into the easement area. It would be assumed that the association would not want to allow fencing. Chair Dolan asked what has been the experience at Augusta Shores regarding noise. Mr. Coyle said it has been proven to be true that the residents in Augusta Shores have been delighted and there have been no complaints. Mr. Coyle said this new project will held to higher standards with the noise attenuation. Chair Dolan asked what the project prices will be. Pat Hoffman, 13795 Frontier Court, Suite 100, Burnsville, MN 55337, said the prices will be around the $500,000 +. Planning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 Chair Dolan asked if the level of finish will be as was done before. Mr. Hoffman said it is expected that they will be equal, if not exceeding. Chair Dolan asked if the elevations will be lower. Mr. Coyle said the developer will be using a single level design and engineer elevation cut - throughs have been provided to show line of sight coupled with grade changes and affect of trees as a screening devise. Mr. Coyle said the only time there may be some visibility will be when the leaves fall. Mr. Coyle explained that the City Council specifically asked to move the homes further to the east on the other side of the road, which they have done. Commissioner Povolny said he likes the way the units are positioned towards the cemetery. Commissioner Povolny said he is concerned with the noise issue as this project is about as close to the end of the runway than most homes. Mr. Coyle said it would not have been expected to have the level of customer response that they have, and the satisfaction is huge. Commissioner Povolny said he lives north of Highway 110 and uses his air conditioner in the summer more often than not to drown out the airport noise. Commissioner Povolny said the members of ARC have expressed that they are not happy with this plan. Mr. Coyle said the property is actually more favorably treated under MAC's 2007 contour map than what the Augusta Shores property was. From a design standpoint, this property is better positioned that Augusta Shores was. Mr. Coyle said ARC did review this plan last year as a concept plan presented, and he believes that ARC recommended this proposal. Mr. Coyle said there have been no noise complaints from August Shores residents as the noise attenuation that was built into this project exceeded the standard that MAC imposes, and noise just has not been a concern. Commissioner Povolny said the Lemay Shores project is a nice use and it's very low density. Mr. Coyle said there are currently two ARC members that live in August Shores that are boastful of the quality of those homes. Commissioner Norton asked if there have been any advancements on the noise attenuation technologies that will cause these homes to be quieter inside when the windows are closed that what Augusta Shores. Mr. Hoffman said he has been inside the Augusta Shores homes, as his parents live there, and it's eerily quiet. Mr. Hoffinan said there are some new products out now which will be looked at. Commissioner McManus asked if there are any concerns with increased nutrients from the yards getting into the lake causing imbalance to the lake. Mr. Coyle said they do not see any risks. Mr. Coyle reviewed where the catch basins will be located, as well as stating that the government is regulating chemicals and fertilizer use. Ms. McDermott said this is the last review before the Planning Commissioner and the Engineering Department will be reviewing the plans to make sure they are in compliance. Commissioner McManus commended the applicant on the preparations and presentations of this well documented plan. Commissioner McManus asked for the square footage of the units. Mr. Hoffman said one would be about 2,500 sq. ft. to 3,500 sq. ft. plus. There could probably be another 10,000 sq. ft. in the overall if the buyers want to expand. The concept plan is showing each unit as being an enlarged unit. Chair Dolan opened the public hearing. C Planning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 Mark Kahn, 2370 Lemay Lake Road, said he had requested an environmental study from the City and has not seen that happen yet. He would like to see a study performed by an independent company, not by a company provided to by the developer. Mr. Kahn said there are concerns about the quality of the water as Augusta Lake used to be in good condition, but has since declined. Mr. Kahn said he has concerns about the tree loss and said the wetland permit requires that 50% of the trees be retained. Mr Grittman said the tree retention was at about 58 %. Mr. Kahn asked about a traffic study, and talked about a big dip along Lemay Lake Road. The speed limit is 45 -mph and causes a concern about safety. Ms. McDermott said the state would do the study, and explained the process, and that there is a chance the State would decide to actually increase the speed limit. Mr. Kahn spoke about the wildlife in the area and wanted assurance that all measures will be taken to protect them. Ms. McDermott said there will be no impact on the wetland systems and there will be appropriate silt fencing along the roadway to protect the lake. Ms. McDermott said the wetlands have been delineated by a professional engineer and City Staff, along with Dakota County Soil and Water, have reviewed that delineation Mr. Kahn said the city code (which he has taken from the City's website and referred to Section 12.2.7.a5 — Earthwork will not be performed during breeding season of waterfowl or fish spawning season ", requires that no earthwork be performed during breeding seasons. Ms. McDermott said Staff will work to ensure that these protections are in place. Mr. Grittman said no earthwork will be done within the wetland area. Chair Dolan said this is a good point and Staff will take this into consideration. Mr. Kahn asked if the soil protection practices that were used in Augusta Shores be used in the new development, because if it is, he will much more comfortable with this. Ms. McDermott said when the plans are reviewed, all code issues are checked for compliance, which is part of the standard review. Seeing no one come forward to speak, Chair Dolan asked for a motion to close the public hearing. COMMISSIONER MCMANUS MOVED, SECONDED BY POVOLNY, TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. 6 AYES 0 NAYES MOTION CARRIED COMMISSIONER LALLY MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HENNES, TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED PUD, PRELIMINARY PLAT, AND WETLANDS PERMIT SUBJECT TO THE RESTRICTIONS IN THE PLANNERS REPORT. Further Discussion Commissioner Hennes asked about the environmental review. Chair Dolan said it is his understanding that the mandatory requirements for environmental assessments were not triggered so any further environmental review will be done at the discretion of the City Council. Mr. Grittman said the threshold for mandatory review is probably at 200 units. Below that, the City does have the authority to ask for an environmental review and would have to petition for that review. In this case, the City Council did not feel that was necessary. Planning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 Commissioner McManus asked if there were any indications where Staff believes some environmental issues should be looked at. Ms. McDermott said with any development that takes place adjacent to a lake, Staff needs to take extra precautions to protect from possible erosion and negative affects to the water body. Ms. McDermott said she feels that the plans show that the developer is willing to do that. Ms. McDermott said that through some work that the Rogers Lake neighbors did, the City Council has approved some testing of the water quality on LeMay Lake, Lake Augusta, and Rogers Lake so Staff can monitor the water quality over time, and if additional measures need to be taken, the City can act at that time. Commissioner McManus said Mr. Kahn has raised some interesting issues but feels that the developer has done a great job. On the issue of traffic and speed, Commissioner McManus asked if the City can change the speed limit on the frontage road. Ms. McDermott said Staff would have to request a speed study from MnDOT. MnDOT looks for the 80% percentile speed which is the speed that people feel comfortable going on a particular road. Staff can ask to have that speed looked at if this is a concern. A traffic study usually looks at traffic patterns and numbers of car, and would not necessarily address the speed issue. Commissioner Lally asked if a traffic study was done for Augusta Shores. Ms. McDermott said she was not aware of any. Staff is required to provide some counts with the comprehensive plan amendment update, which was done. In a development of this nature, with mostly empty nesters, the traffic counts are significantly lower than a standard single family development. Commissioner Lally asked if the City has any standards for what size development would automatically require a traffic study. Ms. McDermott said she is not aware of any and typically would apply to larger developments were road capacity or congestion concerns are shown. Ms. McDermott said she does not feel this particular development would warrant such a study. Commissioner Lally asked if there was a traffic study done for the Ecolab development. Ms. McDermott said there was no study done. Commissioner Povolny asked what the designation was to this frontage road. Ms. McDermott said Lemay Lake Road is in MnDOT right of way, although the City maintains it. The City has been trying to get all the frontage roads turned back to the City, which is a very time - consuming process. Commissioner Povolny asked who determines the speed on these roads. Ms. McDermott said the City seeks assistance from MnDOT to set these limits. Ms. McDermott said it could happen that the highway department could be increased. Chair Dolan called for the question. 6 AYES 0 NAYS MOTION CARRIED VERBAL REVIEW Jake Sedlacek PLANNING CASE #07 -02 Greg Conway /Terry Russel Critical Area Permit • City Council approved as recommended by the Planning Commission. Planning Commission Meeting February 27, 2007 PLANNING CASE #07 -01 Mendakota Country Club Conditional Use Permit • City Council approved as recommended by the Planning Commission. PLANNING CASE #07 -03 David Ridley Permit Conditional Use Permit and Wetlands • City Council approved as recommended by the Planning Commission. COMMISSIONER NORTON MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HENNES, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:45 PM. 6 AYES 0 NAYS MOTION CARRIED Respectfully submitted, Becki Shaffer, Recording Secretar