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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 27, 2026 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING – JANUARY 27, 2026 The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairperson Loehlein on January 27, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Chairperson Nick Loehlein, Commissioners Roger Grout, Scott Hudson, Chuck Naughton, Jonathan Weinhold, and Ryan Winge Commissioners absent: None. Also present: City Planner Peter Hellegers and Associate Planner Aidan Breen PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – November 12, 2025 Regular Meeting. Motion. The Chair assumed a motion to approve the November 12, 2025, Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes as presented. The Motion passed on unanimous consent, with Commissioners Naughton and Winge being present. PUBLIC HEARING: Interim Use Permit for Mining and Land Reclamation – 3261 th 160 Lane NW, Andover, MN 55304 (Applicants: Scott and Heidi Jenkins). City Planner Hellegers reviewed the applications requesting an Interim Use Permit (IUP) for mining/land reclamation, not to exceed 1,680 cubic feet of dirt, for the construction of th a berm on their property at 3261 160 Lane NW. The location was indicated on a map. During the summer of 2025, the property owners began stockpiling dirt on the property but did not have an Interim Use Permit for mining and land reclamation. City staff notified the property owners that an IUP would be required, and the applicants have been working on the materials they need for a complete application. Staff are proposing an expiration date of February 1, 2028 (5 years is the longest amount of time an IUP can be granted under City Code 12-14-12-E). If at that time the applicant is not complete with the proposed berm and has additional need for mining/land reclamation, Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – January 27, 2026 Page 2 they would need to apply for a new IUP or IUP extension and obtain City Council approval. Mr. Hellegers reviewed the Amount/Type of Fill Permitted, Haul Route, Erosion Control, Coordination with other Agencies, and Interim Use Permit Standards. The Conditions for IUP Approval were also provided. Also provided for Commission consideration were Draft Resolution of Approval, Draft Resolution of Denial, Site Location Map, Staff Review #1 of Grading Plan, Applicant Narrative, Applicant Response to Questions, and Proposed Grading Plan (Currently Under Review). The Planning and Zoning Commission is asked to hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to the City Council regarding the interim use permit request. Commissioner Winge asked if the IUP will need to be renewed at the expiration or if the work needs to be completed by that date. Mr. Hellegers stated there is a maximum of 5 years, and the applicant intends to have the work completed by the due date. If needed, the IUP could be requested to be extended. Commissioner Winge noted this is a newer home and asked if there was consideration for a secondary drain field. Mr. Hellegers stated sites like this generally have two drain field locations. There should be significant space. Commissioner Weinhold referred to the property owner's letter asking if the City would be adding sound barriers to the area and asked if that had been answered. Mr. Hellegers stated he does not believe there is a sound barrier plan at this time. Commissioner Grout referred to the haul road and asked if provisions been made for erosion control for the haul road. Mr. Hellegers stated Staff will work with the applicant. Chair Loehlein opened the public hearing at 7:15 p.m. Mr. Justin Rossmeisl, 3098 162nd Ln NW, representing the applicant. He stated that if silt fencing is needed, it will be provided. Commissioner Weinhold stated that the IUP is good through February 1, 2028. Is there a reasonable expectation that the project will be completed? Mr. Rossmeisl stated it will be done. Chair Loehlein closed the public hearing at 7:17 p.m. Commissioner Weinhold stated his only concern is if the work doesn’t get done after approval is granted, and what the recourse of the City would be. Mr. Hellegers stated that typically the City would require the property owner have the material be restored or have a security to have the work completed or restored. Motion by Commissioner Hudson, seconded by Commissioner Winge, to recommend that the City Council approve the Interim Use Permit for Mining and Land Reclamation – Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – January 27, 2026 Page 3 th 3261 160 Lane NW, Andover, MN 55304 (Applicants: Scott and Heidi Jenkins). Motion carried on a 6-aye vote. PUBLIC HEARING: Consider a City Code Amendment to 12-14-17: Residential Building Standards; to allow roof pitches of less than 4:12 on single-family dwellings – City of Andover (Applicant). Mr. Hellegers reviewed a resident who contacted the City and was looking into a custom architectural design for a new home that would utilize sections of flat and low-sloped roofs. The Zoning Regulations chapter of City Code requires that single-family dwellings have a sloped roof with a 4:12 pitch. The request is to consider a proposed change to City Code Section §12-14-17-C to allow exceptions for flat or low-sloping roofs on properties outside of the Metropolitan Urban Service Area. The Code 12-14-17-C was provided. The proposed revision is “Deviations from these standards, for architectural purposes, located outside of the metropolitan urban service area, may be approved by the Board of Design Control.” Mr. Hellegers reviewed a PowerPoint presentation. The Commission is requested to provide a recommendation to the City Council. It is anticipated that the City Council will review the City Code Amendment at its meeting on Monday, February 2, 2026. The draft ordinance for approval was provided. Commissioner Naughton asked if requests would be approved administratively rather than coming before the Commission. Mr. Hellegers stated the ARC Committee would review any requests. Commissioner Winge referred to the proposed revision and asked how MUSA factors in this. Mr. Hellegers stated that for properties outside of MUSA, there would be less impact. There is further discussion needed for including it within the MUSA. Chair Loehlein asked if this could be tied to a particular zoning district. Mr. Hellegers stated it could. Associate Planner Breen stated it could be limited to a particular zone. Chair Loehlein opened the public hearing at 7:35 p.m. Mr. Brandon Pakola, 15420 Kiowa Street NW, currently lives in Maple Grove. He said the staff did a great job presenting this. He stated his lot in Andover is on the Rum River and is a secluded 5-acre lot. He spoke to the zoning discrepancy about flat and low slope roofs.. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – January 27, 2026 Page 4 Chair Loehlein closed the public hearing at 7:40 p.m. Commissioner Grout would open the City to some more modern architectural homes. He would be more supportive if this were available to all residents regardless of zoning. Commissioner Weinhold stated the City is looking for more flexibility in this amendment. Staff is looking to test the water, and this could be extended in the future. He would be in favor of applying this to non-MUSA at this time. Commissioner Winge stated that the added language is an opportunity for the design board to approve this. He would be more on board with opening this up. He asked who made up the board. Mr. Hellegers stated that the board includes many departments within the City. Commissioner Winge would be more inclined to open it up city-wide. This is a more objective review than a subjective review. If a request goes through ARC and meets all the building standards, that would be the end of the line. It could be appealed to the City Council if ARC denied the request. Mr. Breen stated that individual homes do not generally come before the building department. There are a few other provisions in the building section of the Code related to design and architecture. Chair Loehlein stated that the suggestion was made to remove the MUSA portion and open it to all of the City. Staff was asked about review through ARC versus review through the Commission. Mr. Hellegers stated in the latter scenario it would come before the Planning Commission as a CUP if that were the process were determined. One of the biggest issues in that type of process is time. The ARC Board meets every two weeks and allows for faster turnaround of requests than to run it through the commission. He would not recommend the CUP and commission review process for this issue. Commissioner Winge asked the Commissioners their thoughts on the proposed language or opening it up to the entire City. Commissioner Hudson is in favor of opening it up. Commissioner Naughton agreed and noted some variations in architecture would be good. Commissioner Winge stated his only reservation would be if there was a PUD with 10 units stacked with one sloped roof. Motion by Commissioner Hudson, seconded by Commissioner Weinhold, to recommend that the City Council approve the City Code Amendment to 12-14-17: Residential Building Standards; to allow for roof pitches of less than 4:12 on single-family dwellings – City of Andover (Applicant), deleting the “outside the MUSA” provision. Motion carried on a 6-aye vote. PUBLIC HEARING: Consider City Code Amendment – City Code 4-1-2-F; 12-14-3; and 12-14-8-D-3 – Increased Penalties for Repeat Infractions of City Code Within One Year – City of Andover (Applicant). Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – January 27, 2026 Page 5 Associate Planner Breen reviewed that the Planning and Zoning Commission is requested to review a City Code Amendment to increase penalties for repeating City Code violations for some of the most frequently received City Code Complaints. On July 22, 2025, and November 25, 2025, during City Council work sessions, the City Council discussed various proposals for additional enforcement avenues for properties that had frequent violations of the Andover City Code and/or those properties that do not make meaningful progress in resolving their violations after an initial citation is issued. Mr. Breen reviewed a PowerPoint presentation. For the 3 most commonly enforced violations of City Code, provisions added for: nd  2 violation within a year. rd  3 or more violations within a year. nd 2 violation:  Double fines. rd 3 violation:  Triple fines.  Option for a mandatory court hearing. This amendment would have applied to 2-3 properties in 2025. The Planning and Zoning Commission is requested to hold a public hearing and make a recommendation on the City Code Amendments to the City Council. The text of the proposed amendments was provided for the Commission. Also provided for Commission consideration were the Draft Ordinance, City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes of July 22, 2025, and November 2, 2025. Commissioner Weinhold stated a possible scenario. He asked how he would be notified if he had a violation on his property. Mr. Breen provided the Code enforcement process on a chart. The enforcement process will not change with the increased penalties. Commissioner Naughton stated he does not believe the City can mandate a court appearance. Fines can be paid before going to Court. Mr. Breen stated that one of the options when the city sets its citation penalties with the Minnesota court system is whether or not a citation requires a mandatory hearing. Chair Loehlein noted that there were slight variations in the added code text across the different sections of code and asked if this was intentional. Mr. Breen stated that these discrepancies were not intentional and the same language would be added to each section of city code. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes – January 27, 2026 Page 6 Commissioner Winge stated this is straightforward and asked if this is like what other Cities do. Mr. Breen stated this is the recommendation from the City Attorney, who is aware of what other Cities do. Chair Loehlein opened the public hearing at 8:20 p.m. No one appeared to address the Commission. Chair Loehlein closed the public hearing at 8:22 p.m. Motion by Commissioner Winge, seconded by Commissioner Naughton, to recommend the City Council approve City Code Amendment – City Code 4-1-2-F; 12-14-3; and 12- 14-8-D-3 – Increased Penalties for Repeat Infractions of City Code Within One Year – City of Andover (Applicant). Motion carried on a 6-aye vote. Motion by Commissioner Grout, seconded by Commissioner Winge, to recommend that the changes be consistent. Motion carried on a 6-aye vote. OTHER BUSINESS. The items from the November 12, 2025, Planning and Zoning meeting were approved by the City Council. On January 28, 2026, there will be a meeting on the Bluebird roundabout. The 2025 Annual Report will be finalized shortly. ADJOURNMENT Chair Loehlein adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Debbie Wolfe, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.