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2007-07-24 Planning Comm MinutesPlanning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 24, 2007 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, July 24, 2007, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve at 7:30 P.M. The following Commissioners were present: Vice Chair Lally, Commissioners McManus, Norton, Povolny, Viksnins and Hennes. Also present were Public Works Director Sue McDermott, Assistant to the City Administrator Jake Sedlacek, and Planner Steve Grittman. Minutes were recorded by Becki Shaffer. Vice Chair Lally regretfully announced that Chair Chris Dolan has resigned from the Planning Commission and would not be present at this meeting. Vice Chair said Chair Dolan recently moved to Sunfish Lake, and this will present an open position on the Planning Commission as well as the position of Vice Chair. Vice Chair Lally added to the agenda for discussion of City Ordinances on the Planning Commission, Title 2 Chapter 1 Section 3: Officers for the Planning Commission. This discussion will be held under the Verbal Review. Approval of June 26, 2007, Minutes A few small typos will be corrected by the Recording Secretary. Commissioner Viksnins moved, seconded by Commissioner Norton, to approve the minutes of June 26, 2007 as corrected. AYES 6 NAYES 0 Hearin -as PLANNING CASE #07 -24 Nate Sherburne / RJ Ryan Construction for Gabriel Financing 1171 Northland Drive Variance Planner Steve Grittman reviewed a map showing the location of 1171 Northland Drive, which is a parcel zoned B -3 General Business and is located on Northland Drive and Highway 55. The surrounding parcels are zoned either B -3 or Industrial. The applicants are requesting a variance to construct a free standing sign on the property near the corner of the two roadways. The parcel has a setback requirement of 100 -ft from MN Highway 55. The City previously granted an eleven foot variance to the setback from Highway 55 to allow for the principle structure to be placed in its current location. The applicant is looking for a variance that will allow the sign to be just 20 -ft from the edge of Highway 55. Staff feels there is already adequate room on the property to locate this sign without the variance, and recommends approval of the requested front yard setback variance but only to the extent of 11 feet. This 11 Planning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 foot variance would match the amount of variance granted to the building, consistent with the ordinance intent. Commissioner Norton asked Mr. Grittman if he was aware of any properties in the city that has a sign placed in a similar manner. Mr. Grittman said the industrial district to the west has a 40 -ft required setback and there are a number of properties that have been granted a 20 -ft setback allowance to place signage. These applicants have typically been representative of United Properties and they have indicated that they have preferred a PUD to allow for signage setbacks, and this is a common practice for the City to allow for in the industrial districts. Commissioner Norton asked if the applicant is asking for 20 -ft. setback as well. Mr. Grittman said that was correct. Vice Chair Lally asked if the setback is from Highway 55, or is it a front yard as the address is on Northland Drive. Mr. Grittman said it's related to the setback on Highway 55. Commissioner Viksnins said that if the City enforces the 89 -ft setback as shown on the map, the sign would be parallel to the bushes and plantings on the south side of the building. Mr. Grittman said if the building line were extended, it would show that this would be an allowed location for a sign. Commissioner Hennes asked about the topography of that area. Mr. Grittman said the area slopes toward Highway 55. Commissioner Hennes said the vantage point of the sign set back where it would be allowed may be better. Mr. Grittman said from a height standpoint, it would be. Vice Chair Lally asked about the sign lighting. Mr. Grittman said he would need to investigate that further. Nate Sherburne, representing RJ Ryan, explained how they need to work with the 30 -ft setback from the curved part of Northland Drive, and if the sign were moved further back as the Planner suggested, the visibility would be lessened. Mr. Sherburne said Highway 55 from the applicant's property line is 105 -ft, and the sign would be 125 -ft from Highway 55. Vice Chair Lally said the Planner uses the distance from the right of way. Commissioner Hennes said he would like to know exactly how this sign will be placed and if it's angled toward traffic heading northwest, how would it affect traffic coming from the northwest. Mr. Sherburne explained how the traffic would flow and how the visibility would be affected. Commissioner Hennes said if the sign had to be moved back some distance, would the sign be oriented differently. Mr. Sherburne said they have not even considered this, and if the sign is moved back, all exposure to the highway would be cut off. The sign design would have to be re- worked. Mr. Sherburne said they have the minimum parking spaces that are allowed, and the parking lot is set in stone from the previous Council approvals. Commissioner Viksnins asked for the definition of hardship, and what does the applicant feel is unique about this parcel to cause that hardship. Mr. Sherburne said the hardship is due to the way the site is set up, being very tight and the parking is very tight as well. The code being as it is, the only other option would be to place the sign up behind the parking lot. Commissioner Viksnins asked what type of business this is. Mr. Sherburne said it's a mortgage company. Commissioner Viksnins asked to what extent would a sign need visibility; would it be walk in traffic or is this signed needed simply because it may be more difficult for customers to find this office. Mr. Sherburne said it's about getting the name out there in order to advertise to passing motorists. Commissioner Viksnins asked if getting the name out would be a part of their marketing and advertising portion of the business, and added that he can understand if this was a walk in business, such Planning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 as a dry cleaner, that clearly needs high visibility in a highly traveled area. Commissioner Viksnins said this mortgage business does not strike him as being that type of building /function that would need that type of visibility. Mr. Sherburne said there is a possibility, and would be beneficial to the company, to display mortgage rates on this sign. Mr. Sherburne noted that this idea has not yet gone to the City for review. Commissioner Viksnins said hardship and beneficial are two different things. Mr. Sherburne said one could make that case but as far as the hardship, he sees that the property owner wants to be given a fair chance that this good lot has. Commissioner Viksnins asked if the building has signage. Mr. Sherburne said the building does has signage, and provided a picture showing this signage. Vice Chair Lally asked for more clarification on placing rates on the sign. Mr. Sherburne said they were looking at a digital sign, but that is not allowed in the city. Vice Chair Lally asked Mr. Sherburne to indicate on the map a place that would be a reasonable location for a sign based on the current ordinance and not using a variance. Vice Chair Lally asked about the lighting. Mr. Sherburne said it has been planned to put in some ground lighting. Vice Chair Lally asked if there were any other tenants in the building. Mr. Sherburne said there were none. Vice Chair Lally asked Mr. Sherburne why the signage on the building would not give adequate visibility. Mr. Sherburne said the site is deep and the building sign loses its purpose. Commissioner Povolny asked about the SuperAmerica sign and was there a variance granted for that. Commissioner Povolny said this sign looks very close to the highway, and somewhat in line of what Mr. Sherburne is asking for. Mr. Grittman said he believes a variance was granted for the building. Commissioner Povolny said this was the same type of variance that Gabriel Financial Group was given. Commissioner Povolny said it seems that SuperAmerica's sign far exceeds what Gabriel is asking for. Staff will need to do some research on what the SuperAmerica project entailed. Mr. Grittman said when looking at variances, one needs to find the unique conditions of the property, and therefore, any decision on the Gabriel request should not be bound by what was done with SuperAmerica. Commissioner Norton asked Staff if there are any timing issues on this project as the Planning Commission may want to spend more time on this proposal. Mr. Grittman said this application is dated June 28th, and there could be an extension place on this. Commissioner McManus said the applicant has never shown what the negative impact would be if this sign were placed back to the 11 -ft. location as the Planner has recommended. Mr. Sherburne said the design of the sign would have to be changed. Commissioner McManus said that any design issues will not apply in this discussion. Mr. Sherburne said if the sign was placed on this spot, it would serve the same purpose of the building sign. Mr. Sherburne said the applicant is looking for the extra viewing from Highway 55. The hardship would then be defined as the applicant would not receive sufficient visibility to this business, as well as United Properties having been granted setbacks for their plans. Commissioner McManus said it's most likely that people seeking out this type of business will not be simply driving around looking for some type of mortgage company, but they will already know where this company is and can easily find it. They will not be simply driving in "off the street ". Commissioner McManus said they could have their sign in the location that the ordinance will allow, and be able to have a much larger sign. Mr. Sedlacek said the sign could be double sided, and at be doubled in size. Commissioner McManus said he would need to see a hardship defined as something more than a public relations concern. 9 Planning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 Commissioner Hennes asked if the acceptable site be visible from traffic coming from the northwest because of the way the parking is laid out. Commissioner Hennes said he would be concerned that this site would not be visible because of cars being parked there. Mr. Sherburne said that would affect this visibility. Commissioner McManus said if the parking is an issue then perhaps raising the sign up 10 feet. Mr. Sherburne said the proposed sign is pushing the limit, and he is concerned that a larger, higher sign may not look as professional. Vice Chair Lally opened the public hearing. Seeing no one coming forward wishing to speak, Vice Chair Lally asked for a motion to close the public hearing. Commissioner McManus moved, seconded by Commissioner Hennes, to close the public hearing. AYES 6 NAYES 0 Commissioner Viksnins moved, seconded by Commissioner McManus, to recommend approval of an 11 -ft. setback variance based on the fact that the building has obtained that kind of variance in the past, and with the finding that there are no other unique hardships identified of the property. Further Discussion Commissioner McManus said another option could be to table this as he would be unhappy if a previous planning commission has given some gas station the right to have their sign near the road and the present commission is prohibiting this applicant from doing the same thing. Commissioner Povolny said SuperAmerica's sign is between the parking lot and the highway, and is most likely further towards the highway than what this applicant is asking for. Commissioner McManus said there may be some other circumstances that this commission should look at and thinks it may be better to table for further review. Vice Chair Lally said the SuperAmerica may have had a different hardship than what could be applied in this case. Vice Chair Lally said he can see a need for this type of signage closer to the highway when one is getting low on gas or needs some emergency items from that store, and does not believe this would be the case with a mortgage company. Commissioner Povolny said these are both businesses and both have the need for customers to find them, and the mortgage company sign is much softer than the pylon sign for SuperAmerica. Commissioner Viksnins withdrew his motion and added that with the comments he has heard, it would take something more to identify the hardship as he has not heard any during this discussion. Commissioner McManus said this may give the applicant more time to review their options. Commissioner Hennes said he believes there could be something out there that can be worked on. Mr. Sedlacek said Staff will prepare the 60 -day extension for this application. Planning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 Commissioner Norton moved, seconded by Commissioner Povolny, to table this case to the next meeting. AYES 6 NAYES 0 PLANNING CASE 07 -25 James Hanson 796 Sibley Memorial Highway Critical Area Permit Mr. Grittman reviewed the map showing the location of 796 Sibley Memorial Highway. This property is zoned R -1 Residential and contains a single family home. The applicant is seeking a critical area permit to allow for the placement of an accessory structure. This structure is already in place, and located just behind the existing home. The building meets all the zoning ordinance requirements and there are no particular zoning issues with the home itself. It does not appear to impact any critical area issues as well, and is not likely to create any drainage concerns or erosion controls in that area. Mr. Grittman noted that there are some on -going code enforcement issues with this property. The applicant owns both Lot 6 and 7 of the Goodrich Happy Hollow plat. The existing home currently sits directly on the property line between the lots. Staff recommends approval of the critical area permit as it is consistent with those rules with the conditions that these two parcels are combined to take away the non - conforming issues. Staff also places the condition that any and all previous code enforcement requirements are resolved. Commissioner McManus asked for the status of the code enforcement issues. Public Works Director Sue McDermott said this is the last item to be fixed. There were some other issues last year with property maintenance and it is her understanding that these issues have all been addressed. Vice Chair Lally said there were some drainage issues on this property. Ms. McDermott said those issues have been corrected, although there are still some issues with the neighboring property that have been going on for several years. The Engineering Department has spent considerable time on this property making sure the grading has been done correctly and it now to Staff's satisfaction. Vice Chair Lally asked about some property line concerns. Ms. McDermott said those have all been resolved. James Hanson, 796 Sibley Memorial Highway, said his parents previously owned the property and when they purchased this pre- fabricated shed, they were told by the salesperson that no permits are needed in the City of Mendota Heights. Mr. Hanson said he has since acquired this property and has been in the process of bringing this property up to full compliance. Commissioner Norton asked how long the shed was there. Mr. Hanson said he believes to be from 2004. Commissioner Viksnins asked how the applicant learned he needed a permit. Mr. Hanson said when Ms. McDermott and the Paul Berg were checking on the grade for the problem between the neighbor, they saw the shed and asked if there was a permit granted. Mr. Berg asked Mr. Hanson to begin the process to obtain the permit. Planning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 Commissioner Hennes asked the applicant if he had any objection to combining the lots. Mr. Hanson said he does not believe this has anything to do with the critical area permit. Ms. McDermott said she will meet with Mr. Hanson to explain all the details on this. Ms. McDermott said if he wants to uncombined them at a later time, Staff will work with him through that process. Mr. Hanson said the forefathers of Mendota Heights granted permission to his father to place the home on this lot line, and believes he should not have to worry about this. Commissioner Norton said this is not a problem, and that Staff will help him with the process. Vice Chair Lally opened the public hearing. Seeing no one coming forward wishing to speak, Vice Chair Lally asked for a motion to close the public hearing. Commissioner Norton moved, seconded by Commissioner Viksnins, to close the public hearing. AYES 6 NAYES 0 Commissioner McManus moved, seconded by Commissioner Hennes to recommend approval of the critical area permit as presented, with the condition that the applicant is requested to combine the two parcels of land into a single one by the City, and that all code enforcement requirements are taken care of. AYES 6 NAYES 0 PLANNING CASE 07 -26 Jon Richardson /John and Linda Roszak 1235 Culligan Lane Critical Area Permit Mr. Grittman reviewed the map showing the location of 1235 Culligan Lane, in which the applicant is requesting a critical area permit to replace four existing stair structures attached to the existing home. This application does not indicate any disturbance to existing land and vegetation, and Staff recommends approval of the permit. Mr. Grittman noted that some of the stairways violate the setback requirements but Staff does not believe there is a requirement for a variance in this case, as the new stairs will be replacing the existing ones. Mr. John Roszak, 1235 Culligan Lane, was present to answer questions, and introduced his contractor, Mr. Jon Richardson. Mr. Roszak explained how these stairs are old and in dire need of repair /replacement. Mr. Roszak said the stairs leading to the front door are very steep and he would like to correct this by making the steps less steep to ensure easier access. Vice Chair Lally opened the public hearing. Seeing no one come forward to speak, Vice Chair Lally asked for a motion to close the public hearing. Planning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 Commissioner Viksnins moved, seconded by Commissioner Norton, to close the public hearing. AYES 6 NAYES 0 Commissioner Povolny moved, seconded by Commissioner Norton, to recommend approval of the critical area permit as presented. AYES 6 NAYES 0 PLANNING CASE 07 -27 City of Mendota Heights Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance (Accessory Structures) Mr. Grittman said the City has encountered a few requests over the past fall /winter related to accessory building size. The current code requirements in Mendota Heights allow accessory building up to 144 square feet in the standard single family zoning district. Mr. Grittman said a few requests have come in for buildings much larger than this. Staff would like to review the ordinance to see whether or not these regulations were appropriate, or need to be amended. A brief survey was conducted on surrounding communities to see where Mendota Heights regulations compared and included this survey in the Commissioners packet. Mr. Grittman said it is very common to have these shed allowances in the range of what Mendota Heights allow, some of them are smaller (120 square feet) and some are larger (250 square foot). A few of these communities do not allow these sheds at all, but only allow a detached structure that is required to be a garage. Mr. Grittman said a proposed ordinance was drafted for discussion purposes only that says not more than one building up to 200 square feet in area for properties of four acres or less. Added to that clause it says that no door opening shall exceed 6 -ft in wide or 7 -ft in height, which would not allow a garage door. Mr. Grittman said he was looking for some further discussion on this issue. Vice Chair Lally said there has been no public hearing notice sent at on this. Mr. Grittman said there has not because this case is only for discussion purposes only. Any changes to the ordinance would then require a public hearing and some of this discussion may also go to the City Council. Commissioner Hennes said this is dealing only with sheds, and not detached garages. Mr. Grittman said that was correct. The detached garage ordinance is separate from shed allowances. Commissioner Hennes said 750 square feet is essentially a two and one half garage. Mr. Grittman said that would be a small three car garage. The smallest three car garage that is typically seen would be in the range of 650 square feet to 700 square feet. Planning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 Commissioner Viksnins asked about the issues that came up over the fall /winter and asked if there were any similarities with these cases. Mr. Grittman said one of the requests was for a slight expansion (12 x 16) for a shed. There was another case where the remodeling of an existing detached structure where the applicant had already exceeded the code allowance. Commissioner Viksnins said applicants can be viewed on a case by case basis. Mr. Grittman said they would have to show a hardship for a variance on why they would need a larger shed. Vice Chair Lally asked if there are standard sizes for pre- fabricated sheds. Mr. Grittman said they are mostly 10 x 12, and specific only in the R -1 and R -1 -A districts. Commissioner Povolny asked about using a conditional use permit process. Commissioner Povolny said he current owns a large lot and a very large detached garage. Because he can have this is one of the reasons he still lives in the city. Commissioner McManus asked how Staff came up with 200 square feet. Mr. Grittman said it's a round figure. Commissioner McManus said this applies to lots which are 4 acres or less; what happens to lots over 4 acres? Mr. Grittman said the ordinance has a different set of standards. Commissioner McManus asked if there are any 4 acre lots left in Mendota Heights. Commissioner Norton said there are. Mr. Grittman said 4 acres is an existing threshold that is used. Commissioner McManus said he agrees that 200 square feet is better than the current rule because it gives more flexibility for homeowners wishing for a slightly bigger shed. Mr. Grittman said 200 was not totally random, as Staff wanted to keep it under the threshold of what is typically seen for garage sizes. A 10 x 20 garage could be built, but are more likely to see a single car garage sizes as 12 x 40. Vice Chair Lally asked if there will be public comments gathered on this. Mr. Grittman said it would be up to the Planning Commission to decide that. Mr. Grittman said if this is something the Planning Commission would like to pursue, Staff will continue working on this. If the Planning Commission feels it should be dropped, Staff will discontinue working on it. Commissioner McManus said this ordinance could be loosen up at bit to meet the needs of friends and neighbors who have more snow blowers, electric and power equipment, etc. and is probably a reasonable endeavor for the City to consider. Commissioner Povolny said he agrees with Commissioner McManus. Commissioner Norton said he think this should continue and would rather see an architecturally pleasing garage on a new home, or newly remodeled home, than imposing the 1,200 square foot limit on the garage space and not have a shed at all. People need more storage space. Vice Chair Lally asked Staff to keep them updated on this progress. Mr. Sedlacek asked if the Planning Commission would like this to go to the City Council. Commissioner Norton said it would be beneficial to have Council input on this as they will have the final say. Commissioner McManus said it would be better to see what the Council wants to do before going through an Planning Commission Minutes July 24, 2007 elaborate study. Mr. Sedlacek said it would then be safe to say that the Planning Commission has an appetite for conducting a public hearing on this. Vice Chair Lally said it would be good to see how many applications have been received during the past four years and see what the demand is. Verbal Review Planning Case No. 07 -19 Dodge Nature Center CUP and Variance • Approved by the City Council as recommended by the Planning Commission. Planning Case No. 07 -20 Louis Closmore Variance Approved by the City Council as recommended by the Planning Commission. Planning Case No. 07 -21 Mendakota Country Club Wetlands Permit • Approved by the City Council as recommended by the Planning Commission. Planning Case No. 07 -22 Brian Farley Variance Approved by the City Council as recommended by the Planning Commission. The applicant further provided information for the second story addition as well. Planning Case No. 07 -23 Theodore Benz Wetlands Permit • Approved by the City Council as recommended by the Planning Commission. Resignation of Chair Chris Dolan Vice Chair Lally reviewed the resignation of Chair Chris Dolan, who has recently moved to Sunfish Lake. Vice Chair Lally said he believes the City Council will be recognizing Chris for his service at an upcoming meeting. Vice Chair Lally will automatically assume the responsibilities of the Planning Commission Chair, and there will now be an opening on the Planning Commission, as well as having to elect a Vice Chair for the rest of the year. The consensus of the Planning Commission was to hold the election for the Vice Chair at the next meeting. Commissioner McManus moved, seconded by Commissioner Hennes, to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 Pin Respectfully submitted, Rebecca Shaffer, Recording Secretary