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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecember 12, 2006 o o o 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304. (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923 . WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING - DECEMBER 12, 2006 The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairperson Daninger on December 12,2006, 7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Chairperson Daninger, Commissioners Tim Kirchoff, Rex Greenwald, Michael Casey, Valerie Holthus and Devon Walton (arrived at 7:06 p.m.). Commissioners absent: Commissioner Michael King. Also. present: City Planner, Courtney Bednarz Associate Planner, Chris Vrchota Assistant City Engineer, Todd Haas . Others APPROVAL OF MINUTES. November 28, 2006 Motion by Kirchoff, seconded by Casey, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried on a 4-ayes, O-nays, I-present (Greenwald), 2-absent (King, Walton) vote. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (06-11) TO ALLOW OUTDOOR STORAGE ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT 13533 JAY STREET NW. Mr. Bednarz stated the application is seeking to use the site for storage of dumpsters and concrete equipment and materials as described in the attached letter. Outdoor storage is a conditional use in the Industrial Zoning District. Mr. Bednarz discussed the staff report with the Commission. Chairperson Daninger excused himself from discussion and voting because of a conflict of interest. Commissioner Walton arrived at 7:06 p.m. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - December 12, 2006 o Page 2 Commissioner Greenwald asked if all the other businesses in the area under the same guidelines of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. or do any of them have Conditional Use Permits that waiver from that. Mr. Bednarz stated presently because of the age of most of the other businesses in that industrial park, they are not subject to those requirements. Commissioner Greenwald indicated he understood this business because they used roll offs at his work and 7:00 a.m. is really late in the day for any kind of business that has to do with construction. He stated this was an issue they needed to talk about. He wondered what the concern specifically the City had. Mr. Bednarz indicated the early morning or late evening when people are sleeping, this was for the residential neighborhood to the south. He thought the applicant has a proposal for traffic in and out of the business that may be an alternative to this. Commissioner Greenwald thought they needed to consider that because in the summer half of the construction day is over by 7:00 a.m. o Commissioner Greenwald asked on the site drawing shown, he wondered if this was above and beyond what was in the staff report. Mr. Bednarz stated it was not. For the commercial site plan, they will need a survey drawing that shows the dimensions of the parking area, drive lanes, setbacks from side property lines. A survey drawing that provides dimensional data for the entire site. Commissioner Greenwald stated not having any onsite storage of refuse, debris, refuge, salvage material could be an issue in the future and being in this business he could foresee them having a light truck come in with a full load because the dump was closed and he wondered if this would not be allowed under this. Mr. Bednarz stated the staff recommendation is that dumpsters would be emptied before returning to the site. Commissioner Casey stated on the drawings submitted he noticed only one entrance and one egress and he wondered if staff and the Fire Chief was okay with this. Mr. Bednarz stated if there is not a loop through the site, there will have to be some kind of turn around for emergency vehicles. Motion by Casey, seconded by Greenwald, to open the public hearing at 7:11 p.m. Motion carried on a 5-ayes, O-nays, I-present (Daninger), l-absent (King) vote. Mr. Neil Mesdale, Owner of Craftsman Concrete and partner of Nitti Roll Off, and Rodney Lee, Premier Commercial Properties indicated he was representing both the buyer and seller of this property. o Mr. Mesdale stated regarding the dumpsters they also wanted to know if they could get by with leaving full dumpsters onsite until morning because dump sites close at night. The dumpsters are tarped and would be dumped in the morning. He stated his trucks would be parked inside. Mr. Lee stated all trucks with debris will be parked inside the building but the roll offs would be outside. He stated they are asking for 5:00 a.m. start o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - December 12, 2006 Page 3 time for the roll offs and they would like to go north onto Bunker and then to take a right. Mr. Mesdale indicated that was correct. He noted they would like to stay off of Jay Street if possible. Vice Chair Kirchoff asked if all the debris will be in the container and not stored onsite. Mr. Mesdale stated there will not be any debris in containers; it will be removed everyday unless the dump is closed. Mr. Lee indicated there will not be any materials stored onsite. Mr. Lee asked if staff was asking for a wood fence on the east side. Mr. Bednarz indicated the applicant proposes a chain link fence with slats and there would be a wood fence on the south side to screen it from residential properties. He stated staff's concern with the chain link fence is the fence will not adequately screen this property from others. Commissioner Greenwald wondered what the applicant would be storing outside. Mr. Mesdale stated they would be storing steel containers, fifteen to twenty maximum. o Commissioner Greenwald asked if they have ever had a situation where someone could park right up to the fence like proposed. He thought because the area was all paved the applicant should be able to park to the fence. Mr. Bednarz stated the issue is an existing parking area that was all part of one site that now has a property line down the middle. The 10' setback requirement may not have considered this situation. He stated if there are things the Planning Commission thinks they could be flexible on, it should be stated. Alternatively if they approve things just subject to the City Code, when they get into that commercial site plan process, they will be asked to meet the stringent requirements. Commissioner Walton asked how this site compared to their current site. Mr. Mesdale stated this site is three times the size of their site in Blaine. He stated he has run out of space at his current site. Commissioner Walton was concerned if this site would be large enough. Mr. Mesdale stated it was. Commissioner Walton wondered if the entrance was large enough to accommodate their equipment. Mr. Mesdale stated the entrance was more than adequate even with the center median because there are two lanes on Jay Street. Motion by Greenwald, seconded by Walton, to close the public hearing at 7:27 p.m. Motion carried on a 5-ayes, O-nays, I-present (Daninger), I-absent (King) vote. Vice Chairperson Kirchoff stated he would agree about changing the time limit restrictions. He thought all of the businesses in the area were well on their way before 7 :00 a.m. o Commissioner Greenwald stated they have to be aware that there could potentially be an empty truck coming in on Station Parkway to pick up a box earlier than 7:00 a.m. so there is the potential for noise. He thought they should allow the 5 :00 a.m. start time. He o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - December 12, 2006 Page 4 also thought they should have screening to the south. Vice Chairperson Kirchoff agreed and indicated the applicant was willing to screen the area. Commissioner Walton stated he was ok with the screening to the south. One thing he was considering was they should have consistent height in fence. He agreed the fence to the south should be solid and he was fme with the chain link fence with slats but the slats should be replaced if they start to break. Commissioner Holthus thought an earlier start time was fine and a chain link on the east side is also ok. She stated she was disappointed there are no neighbors at the meeting. Mr. Bednarz stated he received one phone call requesting information on the proposal. The resident did not express opposition. Vice Chairperson Kirchoff wondered what the Commission thought about having full, tarped containers onsite. Commissioner Greenwald stated he was fine with this because they would be tarped and he was sure the owners would not want debris blowing all over their property. o Motion by Greenwald, seconded by Casey, to recommend to the City Council approval of the conditional use permit (06-11) to allow outdoor storage on property located at 13533 Jay Street NW, changing item three to 5:00 a.m. and screening on the south should be a solid wood fence and allow a chain fence on the east side with a zero lot line along requiring trucks with full dumpsters be stored inside the building. Commissioner Walton wondered if they had a noise ordinance that would affect dumpster loading and unloading. Mr. Bednarz indicated they do have a noise ordinance based on decibel level over a period of time and it also depended on the time of day. He did not think this ordinance would be violated. Motion carried on as-ayes, O-nays, I-present (Daninger), I-absent (King) vote. Mr. Bednarz stated that this item would be before the Council at the December 19, 2006 City Council meeting. OTHER. Chairperson Daninger stated Commissioner Greenwald would not be reapplying for his Commission position and he wanted to thank him for his six years of service. Commissioner Greenwald stated it has been an honor working with this Planning Commission. He also stated the Council has done an outstanding job listening to their recommendations. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - December 12, 2006 o Page 5 Chairperson Daninger recessed the meeting at 7:40 p.m. to move it to Meeting Rooms A&B. .Chairperson Daninger reconvened the meeting at 7:43 p.m. WORK SESSION: a. City Code ll-3-6 Buildability Staffhas a number of discussions with the City Council on the issue ofbuildability over the past year. Some amendments to the City Code are being proposed as a result of these discussions. Mr. Vrchota made a presentation to the Commission regarding three issues regarding buildability. Issue 1: Buildability on Urban Lots o Commissioner Kirchoff stated when they have the building pad and they go to the 116.5 feet, going back to putting a deck, patio or storage shed, they can put that on anything so they are not looking at going into a wetland drainage easement, they are just looking at lousy soil. He stated looking at some of the homes that have added a deck he agreed people are not ending up with a backyard after the deck is on the house. Mr. Vrchota stated the City Council was surprised that footings for decks were being put in easements and they wanted this looked at. Mr. Haas stated the only change in Issue 1 is the builder will have to remove the poor soils and build a larger building pad, which may lead to fewer homes in a development. Commissioner Greenwald asked if they were changing some consistency and will there be some inconsistency where people could tell. Chair Daninger did not think there would be because they will be developing an entire neighborhood ata time. Commissioner Greenwald indicated he liked this because it may help the developer from creating neighborhoods with too many lots. Chairperson Daninger stated the developer would have to build larger buildable lots so they would not be able to put as many houses in a development. Commissioner Greenwald indicated they needed to be aware that there will be some lots in the development that may need a variance because they will not meet the requirements. Commissioner Kirchoff stated he liked this and did not see a negative to this. o o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - December 12, 2006 Page 6 Chairperson Daninger indicated if they have more buildability, there maybe more excavation of trees. Commissioner Walton stated there maybe developments that would be hard to develop because of the wetlands and marshes. Chairperson Daninger indicated this was just a work session and there will be a public hearing where developers and builders will have a say. He wondered how this compared to other cities. Mr. Vrchota stated staff would meet with the builders and developers before a public hearing to get their thoughts and that he would get the Planning Commission information regarding other cities before another meeting regarding this. Commissioner Kirchoff stated even if this did not go forward, the idea with putting on a ghost deck or accessory would be great. Issue #2: Wetland Buffer Commissioner Kirchoff indicated he would support this because it would give the owner more of a backyard. Chairperson Daninger thought this sounded ok with him. o Commissioner Holthus wondered if there was a difference between a DNR protected wetland and a regular wetland. Mr. Haas indicated there was not a difference. Commissioner Holthus thought this made sense. Issue #3: Deck Footings Placed within Easements. Commissioner Kirchoff wondered if the requirement would be to go to the max of what is allowed. Mr. Vrchota indicated they could do this but it would be more of an indication of what the owner would be able to build in the future. Chairperson Daninger thought the concern was when the yard is small and there maybe obstacles. Mr. Vrchota stated they should show the maximum reasonable deck they could put on the house in the plans. Chairperson Daninger wondered who would have to prepare the ghost plan. Mr. Vrchota indicated the surveyor would need to provide it. Commissioner Walton thought they should have a stamp placed on the survey indicating "the survey is the maximum that could be built" so there was not any question about it in the future. Commissioner Casey agreed and thought this way everyone will know what is expected up front and there could not be any question about it later. o Chairperson Daninger wondered if the buyer would ever actually see the plat map. Commissioner Kirchoff indicated they would see it if they were to go get a building permit. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - December 12, 2006 o Page 7 Commissioner Walton wondered if there was a way they could indicate this at the plat stage. Commissioner Greenwald did not think they should do this at all. He thought the buyer would be able to tell if there was room for a deck or not. Mr. Bednarz thought this was an important point and things may change in the future. Mr. Bednarz indicated they would not really know what kind of house would be built at the plat stage and the buildable area would be larger if issue # 1 was implemented. Chairperson Daninger stated this may raise awareness and educate people before they want to build. Commissioner Holthus thought this was a good idea and if in the future things change, this would not be able to change because it is ghost platted on the plan. Mr. Vrchota indicated this would not constitute a building permit; the owner would still need to get a permit. Commissioner Walton stated he liked this idea because it would be informative to everyone. o Commissioner Kirchoff wondered where there should be a ghost plat for a deck because some houses the decks wrap around the house and others have more than one deck. Chairperson Daninger thought they should just go out a certain distance from the home to show how far out a deck could be built but do not indicate where on the house the deck would be. b. End of year conversation Mr. Bednarz indicated this was the last meeting of the year and he wanted to give the Commission the opportunity for input on what could be done better. He stated in 2007 they will be looking at the public hearing notice requirement around the radius of lots to see if they should increase the distance in rural areas. Chairperson Daninger stated he really liked the pictures and comparisons. He also liked it when staff outlined the plats. Commissioner Greenwald thought staff should review Council decisions on what the Planning Commission discussed at the end of the meeting. Commissioner Walton wondered if they could get a trend report on if the City Council agrees or disagrees with the Planning Commission decisions and what percent. Mr. Bednarz indicated this could be done verbally if the Commission wanted that. o Commissioner Greenwald wondered how they are doing on the restaurants by Tanners and he also wondered if TCF Bank was going to go in. Mr. Bednarz stated there will be information in the next Planning Commission newsletter. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - December 12, 2006 Page 8 CommissiOIier Greenwald wondered what was happening with the power station at Bunker and Hanson and if there was a plan to ever move it. Mr. Bednarz did not think it would be moved. The best case scenario, long term, would be to try to hide it. Commissioner Greenwald wondered when Hanson Boulevard would be closed. Mr. Bednarz thought it would close in March 2007. The project is thought to be finished in 2008 when Hwy 65 would close. He noted this project is slated to be done in two years. OTHER BUSINESS. There was none. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Greenwald, seconded by Casey, to adjourn the meeting at 8:38 p.m. Motion carried on a 6-ayes, O-nays, I-absent (King) vote. o Respectfully Submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. o