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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 9, 2014M U 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 . (763) 755 -5100 FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.ANDOVERMN.GOV Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Agenda September 9, 2014 Andover City Hall Council Chambers 7.00 p.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes —August 26, 2014 Regular Meeting 3. Public Hearing: Amend Conditional Use Permit — Used Vehicle Sales — 3138 162 nd Lane NW — John Buzick 4. Other Business 5. Adjournment The Regular Bi- Monthly Meeting of the Andover Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairperson Holthus on September 9, 2014, 7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Chairperson Holthus, Commissioners Timothy Cleven, Dean Daninger, Lynae Gudmundson, Bert Koehler IV, Kyle Nemeth and Steve Peterson. Commissioners absent: None. Also present: Community Development Director Dave Carlberg Associate Planner Brett Angell Others X APPROVAL OF MINUTES. August 26, 2014 Commissioner Nemeth stated on page four, paragraph 4, the last sentence should read: "...most likely neighbor-hoe d neighbors that are speeding through the area." Motion by Daninger, seconded by Nemeth, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried on a 6 -ayes, 0 -nays, 1- present (Peterson), 0- absent vote. PUBLIC HEARING. Amend Conditional Use Permit — Used Vehicle Sales — 3138 162nd Lane NW— John Buzick Associate Planner Angell noted the purpose of this item is to hold a public hearing and take input on an amended Conditional Use Permit for used vehicle sales. Associate Planner Angell reviewed the proposed amended Conditional Use Permit with the Commission. ►:J Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — September 9, 2014 Page 2 © Commissioner Gudmundson asked if there were any plans to remove the signs of the businesses that are now vacated. Mr. Angell indicated he was not positive and deferred the question to the applicant. Commissioner Gudmundson wondered if anyone had physically inspected the property lately. Mr. Angell indicated he has gone through the property but did not go behind the gate or go inside the buildings. Chairperson Holthus asked if the building shown on the site plan is the large one in the back. Mr. Angell showed the Commission the front and back buildings. He noted where the existing businesses are located in each building. He also showed where the gates are located. Chairperson Holthus wondered if customers would need to go through the gates to get to the used auto sales. Mr. Angell stated the used auto sales are done mostly by appointment only. They do mostly wholesale sales and are not there very often. Their numbers are listed on the signs and most business is done online. Chairperson Holthus asked if all of the autos listed for sale will be located in the buildings on the property. Mr. Angell indicated that was not necessarily true, they just have to have an identifiable five stalls and do have the potential to have the five for each one inside but it is not necessary. Commissioner Gudmundson asked if each dealer can only have five cars onsite at a time. Mr. Angell indicated five car stalls is the minimum, they could have more than that. He did not see a maximum amount in the State Statute. Commissioner Nemeth stated in the resolution it states in part one "the applicant shall obtain approval of all additional sales licenses from the City Council as required by the City Code ". They have had the one instance with the one car salesman who did not have a current valid license so is there a procedure in place to ensure that does not happen again in the future. Mr. Angell stated they have done a good job of checking renewals. He stated it is something that can be monitored. Commissioner Nemeth thought something should be looked at to ensure there is a secondary address for the agents in order to be able to contact them. Mr. Angell stated they have most of the information in their records. Commissioner Nemeth stated in regards to the hours of operation, it is in the resolution but he wondered who set the hours. Mr. Carlberg stated that goes back to the original CUP approval. He stated the hours can be changed if so desired by the Commission. Commissioner Nemeth stated in the Resolution, Item four, last sentence states "The © display area is designated for the exclusive use of the dealership and is distinguished from any other businesses inventory." He wondered if there are names on the cars or Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — September 9, 2014 Page 3 © some other way to distinguish one dealer's vehicle from another dealer's. Mr. Angell showed a photo with signs that distinguished which stalls are for which dealer. He thought that was the best way to handle the issue. Commissioner Nemeth wondered if the signage would be permanent. Mr. Angell indicated that was correct. Commissioner Koehler asked if there were any complaints from people in the area regarding noise or the business operating at 6:00 a.m. Mr. Angell stated he has not received any calls since he started with the City in October 2013. Commissioner Koehler asked if the City does a spot inspection or are the signs posted distinguishing the business inventory done in good faith. Mr. Angell stated an inspection could be made, he was not sure if one has been done in the past. Mr. Carlberg indicated it has not been done in the past but he felt an inspection does need to be done. He thought with the CUP, they need to follow up with site visits to make sure that it does get done and complies with the conditions of the approved resolution. Commissioner Daninger asked if there were any improvements that needed to be done. Mr. Angell stated the main thing would be to add the signage to distinguish the parking spots. Commissioner Daninger wondered if there was some landscaping that could be required to be done. Mr. Angell indicated that was addressed at the last amendment. He thought everything looked good so the primary issue would be signage. Mr. Carlberg noted there are interim performance standards in the Hughes Industrial Park that guided the improvements that were necessary when the parking area was expanded in the last amendments approval. Commissioner Peterson asked if there is any history regarding the hours of operation. Mr. Angell indicated there was not. Motion by Daninger, seconded by Koehler, to open the public hearing at 7:16 p.m. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, 0 -nays, 0- absent vote. Mr. John Buzick, applicant, 66127 1h Avenue NE, East Bethel, updated the Council on the history of the business. He stated everyone that is currently on site has a sign. Commissioner Gudmundson wondered if Mr. Buzick was going to take down the apparel and decking signage. Mr. Buzick stated the decking business is still there until the end of the month and he will remove the apparel sign. Commissioner Gudmundson asked if the only businesses on site are auto sales and not repair. Mr. Buzick stated there is a resident who does do minor repairs on cars and is not a used car dealer but he has been there for years. Mr. Carlberg indicated staff will need to look into this because they were not aware of the repair business. 1J Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — September 9, 2014 Page 4 Commissioner Peterson asked if the gates are left unlocked to allow people to go and look at vehicles. Mr. Buzick indicated the gates are locked at all times and customers are only allowed access when an appointment is made with a seller. Commissioner Peterson asked if there is signage that lists all of the businesses as you enter. Mr. Buzick indicated there is not any signage except on the individual doors of the used vehicle sales businesses. He stated he would like to do a sign that lists everyone in the building. Commissioner Peterson asked if there are other businesses that would have parking requirements beyond the repair operations. Mr. Buzick stated there was not. Commissioner Koehler asked if there are any other businesses, besides the auto repair business, that are not used auto sales. Mr. Buzick stated the only other one is the deck business. Commissioner Nemeth asked Mr. Buzick if he makes sure the used auto dealers have licenses and if not, refers them to the City for licensing. Mr. Buzick stated he would be happy to direct them to City staff but he did not think it should be his responsibility. © Chairperson Holthus asked what the maximum number of cars would be onsite at one time. Mr. Buzick stated there would probably be 42 vehicles and there would be more available parking beyond that. He stated not many people sell vehicles onsite but they have to have an office to keep their paperwork for the State and must have a dealer's license if they sell more than five vehicles. Commissioner Gudmundson asked for clarification on the first two business licenses that were approved. Mr. Angell reviewed the license approvals with the Commission. Commissioner Peterson asked if the hours of operation are a concern to any of the businesses or Mr. Buzick. Mr. Buzick did not think there was a history of anyone coming too early or late and he thought it was fine with the dealers. Motion by Koehler, seconded by Daninger, to close the public hearing at 7:34 p.m. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, 0 -nays, 0- absent vote. Commissioner Gudmundson asked if Mr. Angell will need time to do some more research before the Commission votes on this. Mr. Angell indicated he would not need more time. Motion by Koehler, seconded by Cleven, to recommend to the City Council approval of the amended Conditional Use Permit for Used Vehicle Sales on the condition that the © auto repair business is not an actual commercial business. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — September 9, 2014 Page 5 ID Commissioner Peterson offered a friendly amendment to the motion to include "the applicant add appropriate signage to the outside of the business. Commissioner Koehler agreed to the amendment. Commissioner Gudmundson stated she had some concerns that were already not in compliance with the first CUP. She wondered if there should be additions to the motion regarding the vehicles that are not running at this time. Chairperson Holthus stated the motion was to accept this based on an inspection by staff. Mr. Carlberg thought the first concern was to confirm that the auto repair being done on the premises is not a commercial business because that affects parking onsite. He noted they will also check on inoperable vehicles to make sure they are properly screened and stored according to City Code. Commissioner Koehler believed the signage was addressing the idea of signage at the end of the driveway, not signage on the specific building which is the reason for the proposed amendment and he thought it was a good idea. Mr. Carlberg stated as a condition to say they have to have signage when they already meet the requirements is a little bit of concern from staff's standpoint. To start dictating businesses have to provide signage that they are not required to do is a little bit of a stretch. The applicant needs to remove the outdated signage and if he wants to add signage that would be fine but staff did not think it should be a part of the conditions of approval. Chairperson Holthus asked if the Commissioners who made the amendment are willing to withdraw it from the original motion. The Commissioners indicated they did not want to withdraw the amendment. Commissioner Koehler stated if they are being asked to approve a Conditional Use Permit there can be some improvements to make the area look like something they want in Andover and to put a sign at the front of the driveway is not onerous and most of the businesses would have signage seen from the road. Chairperson Holthus asked for a restatement of the motion. Commissioner Koehler restated the motion for the Commission. Motion by Koehler, Seconded by Peterson to recommend to the City Council approval of the amended Conditional Use Permit for Used Vehicle Sales upon inspection of the auto repair business with the addendum of signage being placed at the entrance to the driveway stating what businesses are available on this site. Commissioner Cleven asked if they are now going to require all businesses going forward with a CUP to install a street sign for their business. Commissioner Peterson stated this is a unique case where there are multiple businesses in one location behind © locked fence. He did not think they were setting a precedent going forward that every CUP had to follow this requirement. MW Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — September 9, 2014 Page 6 Commissioner Koehler thought this was a unique case where the businesses are not seen. There is signage on the building but it is not visible so they would like a sign that is visible to a passerby. He was under the impression that Mr. Buzick was planning on installing a sign so if the property owner wants to do this then he didn't think it was a big deal. Commissioner Cleven stated if the property owner was willing to do that, then he would go along with it. But it was his understanding that most of the business being done on the property is either on the internet or through some type of communications prior to arriving at the building so they will know the address and where they are going. He thought the signage on the building was adequate. Commissioner Koehler thought they were talking about the same signage, which is on the building facing the street. Commissioner Peterson asked if all of the businesses are listed on the signage on the building. Mr. Angell showed on the drawing where the signage is located. Commissioner Gudmundson stated she would not be in favor of making the owner put the other businesses on the signage. She thought those signs need to be removed if the businesses are no longer on the property. Motion failed on a 3 -ayes, 4 -nays (Daninger, Cleven, Gudmundson, Nemeth), 0- absent vote. © Commissioner Koehler asked to reintroduce the motion without the signage. Commissioner Daninger stated when it comes to signage he would like to see anything that is no longer valid removed but he would like to see a signage application come up separately from the applicant so it can be reviewed by staff, the Planning Commission and City Council. Motion by Koehler, seconded by Cleven, to recommend to the City Council approval of the amended Conditional Use Permit for Used Vehicle Sales on the condition that the auto repair business is not an actual commercial business. Motion carried 4 ayes, 3 nays (Daninger, Gudmundson, Peterson), 0- absent vote. Community Development Director Carlberg stated that this item would be before the Council at the September 16, 2014 City Council meeting. OTHER BUSINESS. Community Development Director Carlberg updated the Planning Commission on related items. S Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — September 9, 2014 Page 7 ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Gudmundson, seconded by Nemeth, to adjourn the meeting at 7:54 p.m. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, 0 -nays, 0- absent vote. Respectfully Submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.