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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 24, 2001 r 'i . '-J ~) o o o COULd; QJ2-I uYLCttiA'l g I H J 01 CITY of ANDOVER PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING - JULY 24,2001 The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairperson Jay Squires on July 24,2001, 7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Chairperson Jay Squires, Commissioners Douglas Falk, Tim Kirchoff, Mark Hedin, Larry Dalien, Dean Daninger, and Rex Greenwald. Commissioners absent: There were none. Also present: City Planner, Courtney Bednarz Planning Intern, Jason Angell Others APPROVAL OF MINUTES. June 26, 2001. & July 10, 2001 Motion by Hedin, seconded by Falk, to approve the minutes from the June 26,2001 meeting and the minutes from the July 10, 2001 meeting as presented. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. ORDINANCE AMENDMENT: (01-03) - TO REVIEW AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE NO. 219 AN ORDINANCE REGULATING AND CONTROLLING WEEDS AND GROWING GRASSES AND OTHER HARMFUL VEGETATION IN THE CITY OF ANDOVER. City Planner Courtney Bednarz explained that the City Council has requested the Planning and Zoning Commission to review this ordinance as it pertains to urban and . rural lots and to provide a recommendation. He stated that the report provides a distinction between lawn and maintenance requirements for urban and rural lots, and a penalty to discourage owners of vacant property to use the City as a mowing service. Mr. Bednarz stated that the current lawn maintenance ordinance requires all properties to maintain a grass height ofless than twelve inches in height. Although five review criteria are provided in the ordinance to determine whether the grass and/or weeds on a property / '\ ' \ \.J \J Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - July 24, 2001 Page 2 / constitute a nuisance, these criteria are so broad and subjective that they could apply to any property with lawn areas that are not maintained. Mr. Bednarz stated that there are many rural properties within the City that are partially maintained and some that aren't maintained at all. In the urbanized portions of the City, smaller lots that are not maintained can quickly cause problems on adjacent properties that are maintained. He mentioned that while it is important for rural properties to be maintained so as to not to cause problems on adjacent properties that are maintained, it isn't realistic to require property owners to mow several acres on a regular basis. Mr. Bednarz stated that the current ordinance limits the penalty to the cost of mowing plus a 20% administrative fee. The City received bids from a number oflawn maintenance services and chose to sign a contract with the service that proposed the most reasonable hourly rate, therefore it is often cheaper for owners of vacant property to allow the City to maintain their property than do it themselves. There are at least four properties that the City has exclusively and consistently maintained over the past several years, in addition there are several other properties that the City mows occasionally through enforcement process. Mr. Bednarz explained that for these reasons an additional penalty is being proposed to be added to the ordinance to encourage compliance. He mentioned that this penalty " j wouldn't take affect until the second violation has occurred. It is also important to know that property owners are given notification and an opportunity to take corrective action before the penalty is applied. Commissioner Kirchoff asked ifhe would have to mow the forested areas, wetlands, and storm water ponds on his urban property. He mentioned that his property is adjacent to an undeveloped park and wondered what effect the ordinance would have on park maintenance. Mr. Bednarz questioned if Commissioner Kirchoff is suggesting wetlands, forested areas, and storm water ponds be included in the ordinance as exemptions for both urban and rural properties. As regards park maintenance, the ordinance amendment would require 30 feet to be mowed adjacent to maintained lawn areas unless an exemption were provided. Commissioner Hedin questioned Commissioner Kirchoff how the old ordinance applies to his property. Commissioner Kirchoff stated that what is there now isn't in compliance with the old ordinance. Mr. Bednarz stated that it's important to note that the actions staff takes are on a complaint basis only. \ " ) , '\ U Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes -July 24,2001 Page 3 '-.) " Commissioner Dalien stated that the way the amendment is written it seems that someone that has 40 acres with no house on the property would be required to mow the ditches, a 30 foot wide strip, and the front yard setback. Mr. Bednarz stated that the boulevards are currently required to be mowed by Ordinance 106. The 30 foot strip would be required only if the neighboring property is maintained. Chair Squires suggested there be something stated in Section 3, Parts B & C, about it being required in "residential zoned properties". Commissioner Kirchoff questioned if the City of Andover would have to maintain the park near his home based on the amendment to the ordinance. Mr. Bednarz stated that the park should be maintained. Commissioner Kirchoff questioned if it would just take one complaint and the City would be out there maintaining the property. Mr. Bednarz stated that the property owner is notified and given ten days to correct the situation. Commissioner Falk agreed with Commissioner Kirchoff in that the agricultural land shouldn't be required to mow their grass but the residential areas should be required. " / Chair Squires questioned what would be the definition of grass. Mr. Bednarz stated a definition of grass could be 'any vegetative groundcover'. Chair Squires stated that he was at a greenhouse recently and noticed they had a lot of ornamental grasses. He stated that many people might think ornamental grasses are weeds. Mr. Bednarz agreed that a definition of grass should be included in the ordinance. Commissioner Kirchoff stated that it's his understanding that he's not allowed to touch the wetland areas on his property. Commissioner Dalien mentioned that a 1/3 of his backyard would be considered a forested area and there really are no grasses or weeds that grow in that area. Chair Squires questioned what the definition would be for forested area. Mr. Bednarz stated one could be constructed based on the density of trees in an area. Commissioner Greenwald questioned what triggered the Council and Commission to review the ordinance and consider an amendment. Mr. Bednarz explained that the City Council wanted to review the ordinance since it applied uniformly to both urban and rural lots, and because it isn't practical to require the same criteria in the rural areas as the urban areas. \ ) Commissioner Greenwald explained that he lives in an urban area ofthe City, however he has let an area on his property grow as a natural area to act as a boundary. He mentioned ~j u " Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes -July 24,2001 Page 4 that this area contains a whole sortment of grasses/weeds including poison ivy. Mr. Bednarz stated that any noxious weeds are required to be removed. Chair Squires stated that the intent of the Council is to loosen up the standard for the rural areas, recognizing that it isn't practical to require the same requirements. Commissioner Dalien stated that it's interesting because most of the complaints have been on urban lots. Chair Squires stated that the City consistently reviews all the ordinances and makes any changes that seem necessary. Commissioner Kirchoff stated that he does like the idea of a penalty and how it's been set up. He questioned how much it costs the City an hour when any work has been dont:. Mr. Bednarz stated that the City pays approximately $24/hour and bills the property owner when the work is completed. Commissioner Daninger questioned what would happen if a farmer that in that past has farmed his property, however recently decides to change and doesn't do anything with the area. He questioned what would happen ifthere were a neighborhood of houses next to , the tall grasses/weeds. He stated that he doesn't think he himself would complain, j however suggested the Commission discuss it as a possibility. Chair Squires stated that when someone decides to move next to a farmer, that is one thing they should choose to accept either way. Commissioner Greenwald stated the goal ofthe amendment is to relax the standards in the rural areas, and increase the penalties for those not abiding. Commissioner Hedin stated that he likes the idea of the penalties. He questioned what would happen ifthere weren't any reference to lots larger than one acre, therefore no standards. Commissioner Dalien stated that there is a certain expectation with lots 2.5 acres and larger, therefore ifthere were no restrictions some may choose to let the whole area go natural. Commissioner Hedin stated that what the Commission is trying to accomplish is for the rural property owners to maintain the extreme areas. Commissioner DaIien stated that this could cause even more problems that it would solve. Commissioner Hedin stated people are going to be taking care ofthe properties like they have been taking care of in the past, therefore things wouldn't get worse even if the '__ ) standards are loosened. CJ u Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - July 24, 2001 Page 5 , , Commissioner Daninger stated that since the penalty is increasing the property owner is going to say I need to cut the grass or I may get a complaint, therefore overall the penalty could reduce the number of complaints. Mr. Bednarz stated that indeed if people are aware that there is a penalty it should reduce the number of complaints. Commissioner Dalien questioned if staff checked with surrounding cities to see what they have for ordinances controlling weeds and grasses. Mr. Bednarz stated that they did research to find out what other communities have for an ordinance such as this, however not all of the cities have been able to get back to us. He stated that the table of information should be ready for a meeting in the near future. Planning Intern Jason Angell gave a brief summary of the information that has been gathered so far on the ordinances from surrounding cities. Commissioner Greenwald questioned if other cities have a penalty system in place. Mr. Angell stated that one City contracts it out, therefore they charge for the trailer, mower, gas, etc., which totaled up to be approximately $150/hour. Commissioner Kirchoff stated that he feels people should be able to maintain areas in the urban parts ofthe City as a natural area if they so desire. '. / Commissioner Daninger questioned if it would be possible to have some exceptions to the rules. Chair Squires suggested staff prepare a table of information from surrounding communities for the next Planning Commission meeting. He went on to summarize the changes the Commission recommends: . Adding an exemption for agricultural properties to Section 3, Parts B & C. . Adding a definition for grass, forested areas, and heavily forested areas in Section 2. . In Section 3, Part B, adding the language "except wetland and wetland buffer areas maintained in its natural state and heavily forested areas". . In Section 3, Part C - 1, removing the language "at least". . In Section 3, Part C, add a subheading #4, to state "Heavily forested areas, wetlands, and storm water ponds. . Including a definition for heavily forested areas to state something like "where the density of trees makes it impractical to maintain a grass cover". Commissioner Falk questioned how large is the forested area. Chair Squires stated that it could be any size, the criteria would be that one couldn't maintain it since a mower wouldn't fit through the area and/or the grass wouldn't grow. '\ Commissioner Daninger mentioned that the grass probably wouldn't grow if it were a ) heavily forested area. l) \.J Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - July 24, 2001 Page 6 Commissioner Hedin stated that the goal of the amendment is to reduce the number of complaints of the neighbors and encourage property owners to comply. He questioned if these two objectives will be accomplished when it goes before the Council. Mr. Bednarz stated that indeed the amendment will help address the current complaints, furthermore the other intent is to make the ordinance easier to understand. Chair Squires stated that the more concrete the standards are and the clearer the language the fewer complaints the City will receive. He stated that at the next Planning Commission meeting the amendment will be reviewed with the changes and the following meeting a public hearing will be scheduled. OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Bednarz introduced David McKay as the new Associate Planner for the City of Andover. Mr. McKay went on to give a brief history of his education and past work experiences. Mr. Bednarz explained that one Commission member is being asked to volunteer for the Sports Complex Task Force. Commissioner Hedin and Commissioner Daninger volunteered. It was determined that Commissioner Hedin would be the representative from the Commission on the task force. Commissioner Dalien announced that he will be absent at the next Planning Commission meeting. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Daninger, seconded by Dalien, to adjourn. Motion carried on 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:57 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sara Beck, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. "- I '- -'