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2001-10-23 Planning Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES OCTOBER 23, 2001 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, October 23, 2001 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. The following Commissioners were present: Chair Lorberbaum and Commissioners Betlej, B. McManus, M. McManus, Hesse, Dolan, and Friel. City Staff present were Public Works Director Jim Danielson and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister. Also present was Planner Steve Grittman of NAC. Minutes were recorded by Becki Shaffer. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Lorberbaum stated that there was a corrected version of the August minutes sent to the Commission. If anyone did not receive, they are to contact Linda Shipton at City Hall. Chair Lorberbaum asked for corrections to the minutes of September 25, 2001. Commissioner B. McManus referred to paragraph 6, last sentence, should read, "He feels that the character of the neighborhood should not require standard setbacks and the Commission should approve reasonable approaches to the requirements." Commissioner Friel made the following corrections: • Page 7 - strike paragraph 3 in its entirety. o Page 9, second last line should read, "...that this should be consistent with the policy used in other older neighborhoods." • Page 11 — there was a motion seconded and adopted to table the Zoning Ordinance Amendment — Fences and was not reflected in the minutes. CHAIR BETLEJ MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER FRIEL, TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER 25, 2001 AS CORRECTED. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 MOTION CARRIED 1 Planning Commission Meeting October 23, 2001 PLANNING CASE #01 -36 JOE FILHART, 1033 DELAWARE CUP FOR DETACHED GARAGE AND VARIANCE FROM SIDE YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENT Chair Lorberbaum introduced this planning application and asked Mr. Grittman to provide an overview of this planning application. Mr. Grittman presented and reviewed the site plan to allow the construction of a detached garage greater than 144 square feet in size. The applicant wishes to replace an existing 250 square foot single stall detached garage with a 720 square foot two stall detached garage. Mr. Grittman stated that this building seems to be suited to the property in teims of size and depth and a variance is not recommended. Planning staff recommends approval of the Conditional Use Permit to allow this construction. Commissioner M. McManus referred to the question of Commissioner Hesse that confirmed this lot is narrower than other lots in the area, and that if the proposed garage were shifted more to the west, how would the cars be maneuvered. Mr. Grittman stated that if the building were shifted 5 feet to the north, the garage door would be located behind the house and would make it difficult to get a car into the garage. With the building moved further back, this then could allow for the movement of the car. Commissioner Friel stated Mr. Grittman made reference to the size of an accessory structure in Section 7.2(10), which Mr. Grittman stated there is an allowance for a 144 square foot building without a Conditional Use Permit for a shed, but to do a garage -sized building, it is needed. Chair Lorberbaum invited Mr. Joe Filhart to address questions from the Commission. Mr. Filhart stated that if he moved the garage back any further to allow maneuvering of vehicles that would place the garage below the power lines. Mr. Grittman stated that it is likely that Mr. Filhart would not be allowed to build under the power lines. Mr. Filhart added that on page 2, paragraph 3 where it refers to the detached garage being 5 feet from the north side, it is actually the south side. He also has his neighbor on the south side, Mr. Bob Spurs, in the audience and stated Mr. Spurs has no objection to the variance. A letter from Marcus Mattison, who lives on Chippewa, was received stating his support, as well as a letter from Terry Olson who lives on the north side. Commissioner Dolan asked Mr. Grittman and Director Danielson if the power lines located as they are change their opinion as to if a variance would be acceptable. Mr. Grittman replied that it appears that if the building can't be moved back, the access to the garage would be restricted if moved to the north side; and it would change his opinion. A two -car garage is required by code and given the way it looks, that's the maximum depth. There is probably little flexibility in this case, unless the garage is moved 60 feet or more back. 2 Planning Commission Meeting October 23, 2001 Chair Lorberbaum opened the public hearing. Mr. Bob Spur, 1037 Delaware, the property owner to the south, stated he has no difficulty with the variance for a 5 -foot setback versus the required l0 -foot setback. He believes this is a more effective use of the lot because it is so narrow. There is also some green space to the back of the lot, and if the garage were moved more to the center of the lot, a lot of this green space would be eliminated. COMMISSIONER FRIEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISISONER DOLAN TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 MOTION CARRIED COMMISSIONER BETLEJ MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER B. MCMANUS, TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AND APPROVAL OF A VARIANCE AS REQUESTED BY THE APPLICANT WITH THE HARDSHIP BEING, LOCATION OF THE LOT IN CONNECTION WITH THE POWER LINES. Further Discussion Commissioner B. McManus stated that as an amendment, it might be possible to get the car in if the garage is moved over, but he would not want to see the car backing into the corner of the house. The motion should also mention the difficulty of the maneuverability of the car. The motion has been seconded and amended as follows: COMMISSIONER BETLEJ MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER B. MCMANUS, TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AND APPROVAL OF A VARIANCE AS REQUESTED BY THE APPLICANT WITH THE HARDSHIP BEING, LOCATION OF THE LOT IN CONNECTION WITH THE POWER LINES, AND THE DIFFICULTY OF VEHICLE MANUVEURING. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 MOTION CARRIED 3 ) Planning Commission Meeting October 23, 2001 Administrative Assistant Patrick Hollister stated the next council meeting would start at 8:00 pm as it is election night, and the meeting cannot be held while the polls are still open. PLANNING CASE #01-37 SAWHORSE BUILDER/DR. EUL KANG 705 SYVANDALE COURT WETLANDS PERMIT FOR DECK Chair Lorberbaum introduced this planning application and asked Mr. Grittman to provide an overview of this planning application. Mr. Grittman presented a map of the applicant's property, showing the very steep grade dropping down to the wetland area to the rear of the property, and the existing deck. The deck has been found to be in a seriously deteriorated condition and the applicant was told by the City Inspection Department to repair it for safety reasons. The applicant is proposing to replace the existing deck with a smaller one, the lower section would be removed, and the upper section is of a slightly narrower dimension, with less extending out over the bluff. The materials that will be used to landscape the newly exposed ground will be of natural materials. Mr. Grittman stated the plans for this project are consistent with the requirements of the Wetland Ordinance. Dr. Eul Kang stated that all he wants to do is have a new deck installed to replace the existing deck, which is rotting. Commissioner Betlej asked if plans were in place to provide against land erosion and storm water run-off during construction, such as silt fence. The contractor stated that he would put such plans in place. Chair Lorberbaum opened the public hearing. Seeing no one present, COMMISSIONER B. MCMANUS MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DOLAN TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 MOTION CARRIED 4 Planning Commission Meeting October 23, 2001 ) COMMISSIONER BETLEJ MOVED, SECONDED BY CHAIR LORBERBAUM, TO APPROVE A WETLANDS PERMIT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT STAFF HAS PLACED IN THE PLANNING REPORT ) AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 MOTION CARRIED PLANNING CASE #00-35 ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT - FENCES Chair Lorberbaum introduced this case, which was tabled from the September 25th meeting. COMMISSIONER FRIEL MOVED, SECONDED BY B. MCMANUS, TO TABLE THIS MATTER UNTIL THE NEXT PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING IN NOVEMBER. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 MOTION CARRIED VERBAL REVIEW — JIM DANIELSON 1. Case No. 01-32: DS of Centre Point (GNB) variance request for two new signs located at Lexington Avenue — was approved 2. Case No. 01-33: Patrick Conroy, Conditional Use Permit request for a 6 foot fence along the right of way adjacent to the Burrow's farm — approved 3. Case No. 01-34: Mike Klehr request for a variance to allow a wrap around deck - approved OPEN DISCUSSION o Chair Lorberbaum reminded the Commission of the public workshop scheduled for October 30th at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers. (There will be sandwiches provided to the Commission members, Council members and City Staff at 6:00 pm). Please RSVP to Linda Shipton at City Hall. o Administrative Assistant Hollister stated that there would be agendas with packets of information for preparation for the workshop topics delivered to the Commission prior to the meeting. 5 Planning Commission Meeting October 23, 2001 • Commissioner Friel asked if photos of motorhomes, boats, and trailers that are in residential yards throughout the community would be provided. Administrative Assistant Hollister stated photos were taken that illustrates examples of the subjects that will be on the agenda for the workshop. Town Center Chair Lorberbaum acknowledged that the Commission has received a revised copy of the Master Plan Concept for Town Center. She stated there have been some changes made during the last City Council, one of the most notable is the entrance to Town Center off Highway 110 that has caused the Council to consider realigning some of the retail space more towards the new entrance area so signage will be more visible from Highway 110. There were a few other changes in addition, and the plan was adopted by the City. Commissioner Friel asked if this access off Highway 110 has been approved by the State. Director Danielson stated there is tentative approval from the MnDOT city representative and she is processing a permit through her staff members. It is possible this off ramp will be paid for by state aid funds and that will be the time for final approval. Commissioner Friel asked if there is a contingency plan. Director Danielson stated there is none. This access will be a "right -in only ". Administrative Assistant Hollister stated there is a specific access design that the City has prepared in the case MnDOT approves. There have been some slight modifications to the plan that MnDOT has not seen yet. Director Danielson stated the City plans on keeping all the existing access points that were previously planned, along Dodd Road and this particular one is an additional access to the site. Chair Lorberbaum stated it was her understanding the site design guidelines would be provided to the Commission, such as signage, in November. Administrative Assistant Hollister stated that was correct. Administrative Assistant Hollister gave a brief update of the last Council meeting regarding quick -take procedures in terms of land acquisitions for all the Town Center properties. Also, the City has retained Landfoisi to do additional engineering work and prepare the PUD application for Town Center. The application for the PUD Concept Plan will be submitted to City Hall in time for the November Planning Commission meeting. At the same time, the Commission will be receiving the latest draft version of the design guidelines for the Town Center development. Commissioner Friel asked to have a traffic count and density report as part of the Town Center presentation. Administrative Assistant Hollister stated these items are already a part of the materials required. Chair Lorberbaum added that Commissioner Friel would 6 Planning Commission Meeting October 23, 2001 like for the Planning Commission to see this information even if it is not a part of the requirements. Commissioner B. McManus stated the plans still seem tentative, and he noticed that one of the buildings on the plan is marked "Bank ". Has a bank been selected for that particular building? Administrative Assistant Hollister stated the Town Center consultants are envisioning a bank there, but there is no specific plans. The marketing consultants think this building would be an attractive place for a bank. Administrative Assistant Hollister stated that the December meeting will fall on the 25"' (Christmas Day), and it is customary for the Commission to skip the December meeting. It is assumed that the December meeting will not be held. Typically, the Planning Commission passes a motion recommending the City Council to cancel the December Planning Commission meeting. This can be formally done at the November meeting. COMMISSIONER FRIEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BETLEJ, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:05 PM. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 MOTION CARRIED 7