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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 12, 2006 o CITY OF NDOVE ~'Q.Q WlJlHcn 16-i6-(jp PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING - SEPTEMBER 12,2006 The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairperson Daninger on September 12, 2006,8:01 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Chairperson Daninger, Commissioners Tim Kirchoff, Rex Greenwald, Michael Casey, Valene Holthus, Devon Walton and Michael King. Commissioners absent: There were none. Also present: City Planner, Courtney Bednarz Others o APPROVAL OF MINUTES. August 22, 2006 Motion by Kirchoff, seconded by Casey, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried on a 6-ayes, O-nays, I-present (Greenwald), O-absent vote. PUBLIC HEARIlVG: REZONING (06-06) TO CHANGE THE ZONING FROM SINGLE FAMILYRURAL RESIDENTIAL (R-1) TO SINGLE FAMILY URBAN RESIDENTIAL (R-4) FOR PROPERTY LOCATED SOUTHEAST OF THE INTERSECTION OF ANDOVER BOULEVARD NW AND PRAIRIE ROAD NW. Mr, Bednarz reviewed the staff report with the Commission. Commissioner Greenwald asked how hard it was to change the speed limit to a lower speed on Andover Boulevard as they develop. Mr. Bednarz stated a speed study would need to be done on the road. Commissioner Kirchoff stated they needed to be careful about doing a speed study because sometimes the speed will actually go up instead of down. o Commissioner Greenwald thought most of the requirements for the road from the County were because of the speed of the road. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2006 Page 2 Commissioner Greenwald stated another issue was tree preservation. He stated the letter from the County states "no plantings or signs will be permitted within the County Right of Way." And that is a lot to keep that line of sight let alone he thought they were going to want some kind of signage that they put in front of the development that then they would have to put it on someone's easement. Commissioner Kirchoff stated it was standard policy for the County Highway system and this is nothing different than anywhere else. Commissioner Greenwald stated except for those issues, they are all based upon the fact that it is fifty miles an hour to that comer. He thought it seemed logical to him that if they were going to do this, they would look at lowering the speed limit close to the intersection. Commissioner Greenwald stated he was confused on the traiL He asked where the trail would be if they did the plat as is. Mr. Bednarz showed on the map where the trail would be and indicated the future trail would be on Andover Boulevard when the City dedicates dollars to construct that traiL The decision point is whether there will be a trail along the creek or through the center of the development. In terms of the Commission's role, they would be looking to see what their preferences would be but ultimately the Council will have to authorize some additional studies along the creek if they want to pursue that location. o Commissioner Kirchoff stated if they are going to use 144th as an option for a trail, that would not require any cost, it would just be using the road. Mr. Bednarz indicated it would probably be an off street trail along that stretch of local street. It can be constructed fairly easily. Commissioner Holthus asked if a trail were constructed on 144th, then no trail would be constructed along the creek. That would be replacing the option of the trail along the creek. Mr. Bednarz stated that is the staff recommendation, that it would be an either/or for those two. Chairperson Daninger asked if this was seen as a sketch plan. Mr. Bednarz indicated it was reviewed early last year. Chairperson Daninger wondered if they knew about the flood plain back when the sketch plan was reviewed. Mr. Bednarz stated the flood plain was not as defined then as it is now in terms of dividing it into the one hundred and five hundred year and the limitations that are imposed by that. Chairperson Daninger asked Mr. Bednai:z to show them what staff recommends regarding the sewer run. Mr. Bednarz discussed where the sewer will run. Chairperson Daninger wondered why the applicant did not follow the street. o Chairperson Daninger asked why the Commission was asked to make a recommendation on the traiL Usually that is brought forward to them by the Park Commission. Mr. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2006 Page 3 Bednarz stated times have changed and final decision is made by the Council. Because there are trails that show up on their official maps, they wanted to point out to the Commission that there are some issues with a trail along the creek and to provide another option for consideration. Commissioner Kirchoff asked how a private property acquired an easement from another piece of property. Mr. Bednarz stated there would need to be a private negotiation process with the property owners where the easement is needed. There is some property within the overall sketch plan that is controlled by other developers but that would still need to be negotiated and they would have to provide the City with recordable easement documents of sufficient width to provide the utilities to meet the City Code requirements for how they would need to be constructed. Motion by Casey, seconded by Holthus, to open the public hearing for both the Rezoning and Preliminary Plat at 8:40 p.m. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. o Mr. John Mohlencamp indicated he was speaking on behalf of Karmen Mohlencamp, 140 Andover Boulevard. He stated Ms. Mohlencamp sent a letter to the Commission and she had some concerns. One concern is that she had been watching the meetings and reading the minutes and the statement the Commission has made is that the development cannot affect surrounding properties and she wondered if this was true. Chair Daninger indicated this was correct. Mr. Mohlencamp stated the first issue is the drainage of the property being developed coming onto her property. Additional drainage from the developments cul-de-sacs and or property including and not limited to snow removal piles, etc., would negatively affect her property and buildings and she would like to respectfully request a thirty foot setback on both temporary cul-de-sacs on l44th Lane NW and l44th Avenue NW, Mr. Mohlencamp stated another issue Ms. Mohlencamp had was the tree preservation. She understood that the developer was planning on grading up to the property line and installing a street and constructing a retaining wall. The retaining wall would go from l44th Lane NW to 144th Avenue NW. She felt this would destroy tree roots and ultimately kill trees. She requested a setback to the edge of the drip line of her trees. Mr. Mohlencamp stated another issue was regarding the sewer and water plan. The concern was who was responsible for replacing the entrance to her driveway for the sewer line going through and will it be of good quality. She also noted the sewer and water main located to the east of her property may affect her property including damage to trees and land erosion. She requested the sewer and water main continue on Butternut Street to Andover Boulevard and west to the development. o Mr. Mohlencamp stated another issue was regarding if Ms. Mohlencamp had the option of deferring assessments because she did not want it at this time and would maintain a well and septic system. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2006 Page 4 Mr. Mohlencamp stated since there is only one access going into the development, is there an emergency exit required and since the sketch plan meeting back in March, it seemed like the County indicated Butternut Street would be closed if another opening was created and he wondered if this would be true. He also wondered if the Coon Creek Watershed Management Organization also had to be reviewed in order for this plat to go through. Mr. Duane Bates, 219 142nd Avenue NW, asked what side of the creek was proposed for the trail system. Mr. Bednarz stated it would need to be on the north side of the creek. On the south side of the creek is private property and the City would not be able to take the appropriate easements for this. Motion by Walton, seconded by Casey, to close the public hearing at 8:53 p.m. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Mr. Bruce Carlson, Kodiak Homes was at the meeting to answer questions. o Mr. Brad Wilkening, Hawkins and Anderson, explained the purpose of the retaining wall is so that when the grading is done on this project, there will not be any grading necessary on the adjacent property someday when development does occur, most likely the retaining wall will not be required depending on how that property is developed. To make the drainage and things work on this property, it is necessary to put a retaining wall into place along the property line. Chairperson Daninger asked what the length of the retaining wall is. Mr. Brad Wilkening explained it is roughly three hundred feet. Commissioner Kirchoff asked if the development property will be higher or lower than the property to the east. Mr. Brad Wilkening indicated it would be lower in order to create the backyards for the lots and to keep the drainage within the site. He stated the retaining wall will be three feet overall with one area being seven feet tall. Commissioner Walton asked what the widths of the lots were that are affected by the ten foot setback of the retaining wall. Mr. Brad Wilkening indicated they are eighty feet. Chairperson Daninger asked how close they were going to grade to the property line. Mr. Brad Wilkening stated they show areas grading right up to the property line and if they were to avoid that they would need to add more retaining wall or change the lot configuration or the building type. o Chairperson Daninger asked for an explanation of the sewer route. Mr. Carlson stated he did not want to go that way because he did not want to spend more money. He reviewed what steps he has taken to try to get the sewer line to go straight across but indicated he did not have that option. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2006 Page 5 Commissioner Greenwald asked what the plan is on the five hundred year flood plain. Mr. Carlson thought this was just a fringe. Mr. Brad Wilkening explained the area in question to the Commission. He stated they can fill in a five hundred year flood but they would need to change the map by doing a letter of map amendment. lbis would allow the homeowner to not carry flood insurance. The hundred year flood plain is more complicated. He reviewed the problems with filling it in. It was noted the development had a lot density of 1.5 units per acre. Commissioner Greenwald wondered if the neighbor's driveway would be fixed by the developer. Mr. Carlson stated it would be replaced by them. Mr. Carlson indicated the homes would not be starter homes; they will be $375,000 to $500,000 homes. o Commissioner Kirchoff stated another concern was possibly killing trees along the. property line. He wondered how the retaining wall will impact the trees along the property line. Mr. Carlson stated they would need to approach this subject at the time the retaining wall would be constructed. He stated he was going to try to save as many trees as possible because it made the lots more valuable. Commissioner Holthus asked how many trees were they prepared to transplant on this site. Mr. Carlson stated they were preparing to transfer as many trees as possible in order to save them. Chairperson Daninger stated he had a concern with the existing home that is to remain there the way it is. He indicated he would not grant a variance for this and he wondered what could be done. Mr. Carlson indicated he did not know and explained the reasoning the City staff had that requires a variance for the home. Chairperson Daninger asked if they needed a variance for a cul-de-sac. Mr. Bednarz indicated this was included in the report. Commissioner Holthus reviewed the variances with the Commission. 1. Variance to allow the cul-de-sac extending beyond five hundred feet. 2. Variance to allow a rear yard setback of 21 ,9 feet for the existing home. o Commissioner Greenwald did not think they have ever denied a variance to allow a long cul-de-sac when there was a ghost plat in place. They could discuss an emergency access. Chairperson Daninger wondered what would happen with the water when the snow melts. Mr. Bednarz stated temporary cul-de-sacs are held back ten to fifteen feet from the property line to allow space for drainage within the development. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2006 Page 6 Commissioner Greenwald stated he was questioning how the retaining wall to the east is affecting the existing property. Commissioner Kirchoff indicated the property in the development will be lower than the existing property so he did not think there would be a drainage issue. Commissioner Greenwald stated regarding the trees, there are exact guidelines regarding the size and type of tree and he thought the grading people knew the guidelines already. Commissioner Walton stated his only question about the retaining wall is the value of the home that could be constructed on the property. He wondered where they would require a setback from. Chairperson Daninger wondered if anyone on the Commission was comfortable with this plan to discuss all of the issues. The Commission indicated they were not comfortable with all of the issues. Chairperson Daninger stated he was not comfortable with the variance on the existing home and could not approve this based on that. o Commissioner Holthus thought in general this entire project seemed to be a little premature because of all of the variances and conditions. She thought so much needed to be worked out. Commissioner Kirchoff stated in regards to a trail, if they commit a trail to 1 40th , that would mean that trail is committed to frontage of lots through out the entire development and he was not sure that was a good idea. He thought it might be better on Andover Boulevard or on the outskirts of the development. Commissioner Holthus stated one will be on Andover Boulevard no matter what goes but it would make sense to have a trail along the creek because that is where it is further to the west and would be more aesthetic. Commissioner Walton stated as he looked at the overview of the plat, it feels as this area, because it is a very rich area for tree growth and whenever you see development with numerous lots with standard city size lots within them, they will have wide spread tree removal. With the retaining wall issue, it looks like something needed to be done with part of the map differently. Would it be possible to have the lots bigger to reduce tree fall out and to drive the kind of prices they are talking about for homes. Commissioner Greenwald thought because of the six or seven issues, he wondered if the developer could revamp this and bring it back for further review and discussion. o Commissioner Kirchoff stated the flood plain issue will be cut and dried. The trail can be worked through and the sewer is an engineering concept and he thought there is no way it can go the way the City recommends it to go. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2006 Page 7 Commissioner King did not think a cul-de-sac variance is an issue because they have granted them before. Commissioner Greenwald indicated he has never seen a situation where they have had to put a retaining wall at the end of a development. Chairperson Daninger asked regarding the trail, where the Commission would like to see it. Commissioner King stated he would rather see it on the creek. The rest of the Commission agreed. Commissioner Daninger asked the Commission regarding the existing home; there must be another way to work it out. Commissioner Greenwald thought they could move the road. He thought there were other ways to configure the development to make it work. Commissioner Greenwald stated he did not see an issue with the rezoning and indicated he would make a motion approving this. Motion by Greenwald, seconded by Kirchoff, to recommend to the City Council approval of the rezoning based on the fact that times and conditions have changed. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. o Mr. Bednarz stated that this item would be before the Council at the September 19,2006 City Council meeting. PUBLIC HEARING: PRELIMINARY PLAT OF HICKORY MEADOWS, A SINGLE-FAMILY URBAN RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT LOCATED SOUTHEAST OF THE INTERSECTION OF ANDOVER BOULEVARD NW AND PRAIRIE ROAD NW. Mr. Becmarz explained the Commission is asked to review a Preliminary Plat for Hickory Meadows. The proposed plat contains 45 lots at the center of the sketch plan. Mr. Bednarz discussed the staff report with the Commission. Motion by Casey, seconded by Holthus, to open the public hearing at 8:40 p.m. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. This item was combined for discussion with the previous item. Motion by Walton, seconded by Casey, to close the public hearing at 8:53 p.m. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. o Commissioner Kirchoff stated they have two options for the sewer, to go up Butternut Street and around however the neighbor had a suggestion too. o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2006 Page 8 Commissioner Walton asked if the straight up and over approach provide better access in the future for acreage lots if they were to develop to the north to come off that trunk as well. Mr. Bednarz stated in this case the properties on the north side of Andover Boulevard are guided to remain as a rural existing development and not to be served by that trunk sewer which has been dedicated elsewhere. Commissioner Walton asked where the trunk sewer line will come from the area north of that. Mr. Bednarz showed on the map where those areas will be served from. Commissioner Kirchoff asked if they recommend this and the City Council passed the resolution that the sewer will not go through the way the City has recommended, because the City cannot force the sewer through private property. Mr. Bednarz stated the sewer is the largest issue and the fIrst issue to be decided by the Council. If they do not entertain the proposed sewer route then another agreement needs to be reached for it, Mr. Bednarz suggested staff work in preparation of the resolution for the Council based on the Commission's recommendation. o Motion by Greenwald, seconded by King, to recommend approval of the Preliminary Plat for Hickory Meadows with staff changing the verbiage in the Resolution and with the following stipulations: 1. Trail off of Coon Creek based upon the study 2. Flood plain is acceptable with the findings 3. Clarify the Sewer verbiage 4. Grant the variance on the existing structure. Commissioner Casey withdrew his second of the motion because of the issue of the distance of the existing home. Commissioner King seconded the motion. Commissioner King thought the variance and the distance for the setback for the side lot is they are looking at a home that is existing and there is no way they are going to move a $750,000 house, so to not allow a variance for seven feet does not make a whole lot of sense. Motion carried on a 4-ayes, 3-nays (Daninger, Casey, Walton), O-absent vote. Mr, Bednarz stated that this item would be before the Council at the September 19, 2006 City Council meeting. o OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Bednarz updated the Planning Commission on related items, o Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - September 12, 2006 Page 9 ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Casey, seconded by Kirchoff, to adjourn the meeting at 9:54 p.m. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Respectfully Submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, lnc, o o