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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 14, 2007 c..tru\...~ c.v::v C I T Y o F U)1Jj-.\-C./) <f - a ~ -07 NDOVE 0 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 -AUGUST 14,2007 The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairperson Daninger on August 14,2007,7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Chairperson Daninger, Commissioners Tim Kirchoff, Michael Casey, Valerie Holthus, Devon Walton, Douglas Falk and Dennis Cleveland. Commissioners absent: None Also present: City PI armer, Courtney Bednarz Associate Plarmer, Andy Cross Associate Plarmer, Chris Vrchota C Others APPROVAL OF MINUTES. July 24, 2007 Motion by Walton, seconded by Falk, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried on a 5-ayes, O-nays, 2-present (Holthus, Kirchoff), O-absent vote. PUBLIC HEARING: VARIANCE (07-02) TO VARY FROM SIDE YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 771141sT AVENUE NW. Mr. Vrchota stated the applicant is requesting a variance to the side yard setback to allow for the construction of a deck. Commissioner Walton asked if the original size was for lOx 13 or was it sized down. Mr. Vrchota indicated it was the original plan. Motion by Walton, seconded by Casey, to open the public hearing at 7:04 p.m. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. 0 No one wished to address the Commission. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - August 14, 2007 0 Page 2 Motion by Casey, seconded by Falk, to close the public hearing at 7:05 p.m. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Commissioner Walton asked by the photos shown in the packet, were the buckets where the footings would be. Mr. Vrchota indicated it appeared to be that way. Mr. Tim Ehlers, 771l41st Avenue NW, stated the buckets were ten feet out from the ledge. Commissioner Walton asked if ten foot wide was what Mr. Ehlers wanted or was it to minimize their concerns. Mr. Ehlers stated it is actually thirteen feet wide to match the door but it is ten feet off the house. He stated this was the original size he was looking at. Chairperson Daninger stated they have current zoning ordinances to try to eliminate some of these issues. He wondered if staff had any idea how many they may see before what they have done to correct this starts to work. Mr. Vrchota indicated they do not have any idea but they could pull the surveys of homes built over time if needed. Chairperson Daninger indicated they did not need that Commissioner Walton stated that was exactly why the correction was made and it fits 0 right in. Motion by Walton, seconded by Casey, to recommend to the City Council approval of the proposed variance. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Mr. Vrchota stated that this item would be before the Council at the August 21, 2007 City Council meeting. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AMENDMENT (07-10) TO ALLOWEXPANSION ON THE METROPOLITAN MOSQUITO CONTROL SITE LOCATED AT 1280 BUNKER LAKE BOULEVARD NW. Mr. Bednarz explained the applicant is requesting an amendment to their conditional use permit to allow additional office space, a new storage building and additional parking area. Mr. Bednarz discussed the staff report with the Commission. Commissioner Holthus wondered who the governing board was for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District. She wondered if it was owned by an individual. 0 Mr. Richard Gauger, President and Owner of Gauger Engineering, Inc., representing Metropolitan Mosquito Control District for all of their construction work in all seven Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - August 14, 2007 0 Page 3 counties. He stated the Board consists of County Commissioners from all seven counties. He stated this is a public entity created by the State. Motion by Walton, seconded by Casey, to open the public hearing at 7:16 p.m. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Mr. Richard Gauger reviewed their plans with the Commission. Commissioner Kirchoff asked if they have discussed combining access with the Highway Department. Mr. Gauger stated that issue was discussed at the Park & Recreation Committee meeting this past week and it was determined that the spacing is too great to make the combination. Commissioner Kirchoff asked if there was a concern with having irrigation. Mr. Gauger stated they would work with staff as to whatever that would involve. He stated they have very little green space available to them with the exception of the native plantings around the site. Mr. Wayne Gilbert, Architect, stated the reason for the no irrigation is they are developing a sustainable green project on this site. One of the aspects of that is not 0 having irrigation and using natural or drought resistant plants. Commissioner Holthus asked if they had a sample or photo of the metal material to be used on the building. Mr. Gauger indicated it is intended to have the look of an EIFS or stucco material and it is an insulated panel. Chair Daninger stated the Sheriff's Department is making a new complex on the site next to this and he wanted to make sure this was addressed and fits into their plans. Mr. Gauger indicated this is something they are aware of and the entire complex has been looked at. He noted they are quite a ways east of what they are planning on doing. Chair Daninger asked if this plan was the reason some of those trees were excavated in the front of this building. Mr; Gauger stated nothing has been done on the property they lease but work may have been done on the right-of-way for road improvements. Chair Daninger indicated in the photograph in the packet shows landscaping and he wondered if this was some of the landscaping they are going to see. Mr. Gauger stated that was the concept plan and the Parks Department is providing input for this and the type of trees. He stated they are in the process of making an application to the Building Department for their review and there will be a more detailed presentation. Mr. Gilbert showed the sidilig sample to the Commission for review. 0 Motion by Casey, seconded by Kirchoff, to close the public hearing at 7:28 p.m. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - August 14, 2007 0 Page 4 Commissioner Falk stated he would like to have irrigation at this site because he thought it would enhance the building site. Commissioner Kirchoff agreed and thought it would enhance the area around the building. He did not think the entire site would need to be irrigated. Chairperson Daninger asked if everyone was comfortable with the building architecture. Commissioner Kirchoff stated he liked it a lot more than what was there now. The Commission discussed possible wording in the motion for irrigation on site. Commissioner Walton wondered if there was any need to go out the back side of this development to tie into the big complex that the County Sheriff s Office is building. He wondered if they thought that through. He also asked if there could be an opportunity to have an access road back through the County towards Hanson for the large trucks. He also thought if there is an opportunity for a frontage road with the County and their offices and this one, he hoped they would bring it up and talk about it and come up with a plan so there are fewer concerns with traffic on Bunker Lake Boulevard. Motion by Walton, seconded by Falk, to recommend approval of the proposed 0 conditional use permit amendment with the proposed architecture illustrated in the attachments and a variance for partial irrigation of the property and to have the applicant work with staff to find a suitable compromise on the irrigation plan. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Mr. Bednarz stated that this item would be before the Council at the August 21, 2007 City Council meeting. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT AMENDMENT (07-09) AMENDING APPROVAL OF A CHURCH ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT 475 ANDOVER BOULEVARD NW. Mr. Cross stated last December, Sambulsa of Minnesota, Inc. received approval for a Conditional Use Permit to add a temple to an existing house located at 475 Andover Boulevard. The applicants would like to change those plans and build a separate prayer room on the site, leaving the existing house untouched. Mr. Cross discussed the staff report with the Commission. Commissioner Kirchoff wondered what they were going to do with the existing house. Mr. Cross said it will continue to be a residence for the one person remaining on site. 0 Commissioner Walton stated they had a double driveway on the property and according to the site plan they have a double driveway servicing the neighboring property. He asked Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - August 14, 2007 0 Page 5 if they are getting rid of the loop driveway that formerly serviced this property and he wondered if they were fine with the distance to the comer on the new driveway. Mr. Cross indicated they were. He stated the driveway that appears on the drawing is a rough conceptual drawing and the one that will appear on the commercial site plan will undergo a thorough review and will have to meet the minimum safety distance. Commissioner Walton asked if the existing parking lot distance is far enough away from neighboring property line. Mr. Cross stated that it was. The minimum setback for the parking lot is twenty feet and there is also a screening requirement for around the parking lot. Motion by Walton, seconded by Kirchoff, to open the public hearing at 7:41 p.m. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Mr. Jack Prescott, Member of Congregation, stated they are running on a small budget and by building a separate building it will save them a considerable amount of money. He proposed to just irrigate the screening on the south and east side of the building because they will have someone on site at all times to water everywhere else. Commissioner Falk wondered what the new structure will look like compared to the 0 existing one. Mr. Prescott stated the present building currently has a rough wood type of siding on it and they will take the siding off that and replace it with vinyl to match the new building. Commissioner Kirchoff stated the reason they gave the variance for irrigation to the Mosquito Control site was because they were planning on having natural draught resistant plantings on site. He stated this was not given just because it was a commercial site. He stated there were two findings for the variance. Bunker Hills Park is a natural native vegetation area. Mr. Bednarz thought it was important to understand the way the Code provides the regulation for irrigation. He reviewed the code with the Commission. Mr. Prescott indicated if they were to irrigate the entire property they would have problems because they do not have City water. The applicant showed the site plan of the area and explained where they planned on putting the building, parking lot and landscaping. Commissioner Falk asked if they are going to be putting in a larger septic. Mr. Cross stated the Engineer has been looking at this and they will be required to submit a septic system plan. 0 Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes-August 14,2007 0 Page 6 Commissioner Falk asked if the driveway will be paved. The applicant indicated it would be. Commissioner Falk asked if it would have curb and gutter. The applicant stated it would. Motion by Walton, seconded by Kirchoff, to close the public hearing at 7:55 p.m. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Commissioner Walton wondered if the parking lot would have lighting. Mr. Cross indicated it would. Commissioner Falk asked if the irrigation would be in ground or would it be above ground sprinklers. Mr. Cross stated it would be in ground irrigation. Chairperson Daninger stated if this was denied, this would go back to the original plan. Mr. Cross indicated that was correct. Motion by Walton, seconded by Holthus, to recommend approval of the Conditional Use Permit amendment as presented. Motion carried on a 7 -ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Mr. Cross stated that this item would be before the Council at the August 21,2007 City 0 Council meeting. WORK SESSION A. Consider Interim Performance standards for Hughs/W estview Industrial Parks Mr. Vrchota stated a couple of months ago City Code Enforcement staffreceived a complaint about a roll-off dumpster business being operating from a property in the Hughs Industrial Park. After an inspection was done and the owner of the property was contacted,it was determined that the roll-off business had been operating from the property for nearly 2 years. Staff determined that a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) was needed to operate the roll-off service on the property. The City Code requires that when a commercial site is expanded or the use is changed so that a CUP is required, the entire site be brought up to the City's zoning standards, including: parking lot pavement, curb and gutter, landscaping, lighting, etc. Based on the types of businesses located in the area, the age of the properties, and current land values, the property owners have indicated that it would not be financially feasible to make all of the required site improvements. In response to this issue, staff brought up two options for the Council to consider, as this 0 may also affect other property owners at Hughs/W estview Industrial Park. Option 1 was to create a new zoning district, for instance an "1-2" zone, to establish a different set of standards for the rural industrial park. Option 2 was to establish a set of interim Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - August 14, 2007 0 Page 7 performance standards that would be in place until city sewer and water become available. After receiving input from the City Attorney, the Council decided that the second option was preferable. If the City were to create a set of interim performance standards in the City Code for use in the rural industrial park, it would create some flexibility over how strictly the City's zoning standards are applied to these businesses. This would allow the City to require essential improvements to the properties while also allowing the businesses to expand or be otherwise improved in a financially feasible way. Mr. Vrchota reviewed the types of requirements that the City could offer flexibility on and the return for the reduced zoning standards. Mr. Vrchota stated the interim performance standards would be crafted so that they only apply to the rural industrial park for the limited period of time. The intent is that the interim performance standards would remain in place until city sewer and water services are available to the industrial park. After these services are made available through the Rural Reserve, all properties in the Hughs/W estview Industrial Park would need to be brought into compliance with the performance standards that are in place at that time if any further expansion, site improvements, or change of use is made. 0 Mr. Vrchotaexplained that the City cannot waive, modify, or vary from the Building Code, Fire Code, or National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Any structural changes or expansion to the buildings or changes of use inside the buildings would trigger Fire and Building Code requirements, possibly including the installation of fire suppression systems. Expansion of impervious surface area would trigger storm water ponding/treatment requirements under the NPDES. While meeting this requirement could require a significant investment, they are not negotiable. Laws and statutes adopted at levels higher than the City mandate that they be met. Commissioner Holthus thought the interim performance standards that she read about in the rural area made sense because they do not have City sewer and water and considering the costs associated with putting in the curb and gutter and irrigation, she thought it made sense. As far as how flexible they should be, she thought they should always look at when they decide how much leniency they are going to give based on those previous standards. She thought they should first consider safety. Will their decision affect or create unsafe working or traffic conditions? They should consider the effect on the general public, the neighborhoods around that area. She thought they should consider if the general public is going to that location as customers and she thought they should also consider if it is reasonable and appropriate. She stated they should discuss what level of improvement they should expect so when a business expands or changes a user that requires a CUP, they might have staff review some of the items and determine whether or 0 not they are appropriate andreasonable. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - August 14, 2007 0 Page 8 Commissioner Cleveland asked when in the foreseeable future they can see City water and sewer go that far north. Mr. Vrchota stated at this point it is difficult to pin a date on that. He stated it all depended on when the Rural Reserve area develops. Commissioner Cleveland stated he did not want to have an open ended interim time because that would give the businesses an excuse not to improve their site. Commissioner Kirchoff stated he liked what Commissioner Holthus said. He stated they are trying to work their way to Unproving the area but easing up on some things and getting towards what Commissioner Holthus stated. He liked the idea of having staff review plans. Commissioner Holthus thought they should be able to be flexible in this area because it is a rural type of area and it may not be reasonable to require all the lighting that a typical commercial area would be required to do. The applicant could go to staff to apply for a variance because they felt it was not reasonable or appropriate in the area. She did not know how much they want staff to accomplish or how much flexibility they would have. Chairperson Daninger agreed with wondering how much flexibility to give staff. He would rather have this set up as some sort of review standard. 0 Commissioner Falk thought there should be some sort of check and balance sheet for commercial areas. Mr. Bednarz stated what they have heard fromthe business owners out there is that they are concerned with approaching the City with a CUP application because they do not know what kind of requirements are going to come into play. He stated if they can put some type of standard in place and be consistent with at least what they can look at or consider would be helpful for them. He did not think a true case by case basis would help. Chairperson Daninger asked if their goal was to state there should be something and there should be a set standard or is stafflooking for the Commission to tell them what the standard is. Mr. Bednarz thought they were looking for a yes or no answer whether this is worth pursuing and if the answer is yes, he suggested instead of taking a numerical or ratio approach, to take a look out there to see what is there now and think about if someone wanted to expand an operation out there what they should do to make it right. Commissioner Walton stated in the commentary it.states '"the property owners have indicated it would not be financial feasible to make all the required site improvements" and he believed they discussed thoroughly before with the used car dealership they were trying to establish. They imposed standards on him that they have in place today and he did not like it and came back twice but he did go by the standards they established and 0 put in a nice looking business out there. He stated this was also his comment that it would not be financially feasible out there. He found a way to do it and got it done. If the City made the used car business come up to their standards why should they develop Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - August 14, 2007 0 Page 9 interim standards just because they have one or two people making the same statements he made at the very beginning? If anything, he was the one they should have given variances and made exceptions for. He thought it would be wrong to change the standards now for a couple of other businesses. Commissioner Kirchoff explained he liked what was said but maybe it was a matter of looking at use changes instead of what is being done on the property. Mr. Bednarz stated the Council did allow a number of variances for the used car business site. He stated a very substantial investment was made by the owner but not to the full measure of the performance standards. Chairperson Daninger asked how their performance standards compared to other cities. He stated he was not in favor of changing the standards. Commissioner Walton wondered how the roll off business came to be established in Andover. Mr. Vrchota stated they are renting some back lot area from the property owner who runs another business in the main building on the site and they are using part of the back storage area. 0 Commissioner Walton asked if the business would have to leave Andover if the City did not grant them some variances for their operation to run. Mr. Vrchota indicated that was correct or they could apply for the conditional use permit and meet all of their performance standards. He stated they would still need the CUP for the exterior storage. What they are looking at is what improvements would need to be made to the site as part of that approval. Chairperson Daninger asked the Commission how they felt about this issue: Commissioner Holthus thought it was a good idea to have the interim performance standards. Commissioner Casey indicated he was leaning towards keeping it the same as a precedence establishment. Chairperson Daninger indicated he also wanted to keep this the same. Commissioner Kirchoff stated they need to keep it the same but they are open to some of the variances that will go on with each individual property as they come along. Commissioner Falk stated he would like to leave it the same and likes the standards that the city has set. Commissioner Cleveland stated he was tom. He did not like the idea of having a two tiered system. It doesn't seem that this is an unreasonable request but he also did not think their standards are too high. Commissioner Walton stated he wanted to leave it the same. Consensus of most of the Commission was to leave this policy as is based on recent history. 0 Commissioner Walton stated they have a variance process and there were some things granted towards the end of the process to help the used car dealership come along and Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting 0 Minutes - August 14, 2007 Page 10 help get it completed but there was also a significant investment out there that was made to get the business going. Chairperson Daninger stated in reference to the used car dealership he had a lot of neighbors ask him what was going to be done to make it look nicer because they drive by it everyday and there is an expectation in Andover that they want their neighborhood to look good. Commissioner Holthus did not think the interim standards are to allow things' to not look good. Chairperson Daninger stated that was correct but how long could they not improve their property. Commissioner Holthus did not think it was something that would create a lower standard or something that is not attractive. She thought it was something to ease the current standards and make it more reasonable for those businesses. Chairperson Daninger agreed and indicated he was still willing to work on it because they make it so difficult to not meet the standards that nothing gets done. Something that Commissioner Holthus is suggesting is not something he disagrees with and there is some merit there and if Council guides them to review that further they will. Commissioner Walton stated a suggestion was made when they reviewed the used car dealership about the applicant not know if the business will do good and that he did not 0 want to spend a lot of money to improve the site if it was not going to survive. The applicant asked the City to allow him to try to get off the ground with the business and get it going before the improvements were imposed and the City would not allow it. They could have had that applicant do part of the improvements but that did not happen. He thought they will be looking at this again in the near future. B. Receive Copy of Land Use and Sewer Chapter of Comprehensive Plan for future discussion. Mr. Bednarz stated preparation of the decennial comprehensive plan update has reached a point where substantive review can be made by the Planning Commission and City Council. Mr. Bednarz reviewed the intent of the future discussion with the Commission. OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Bednarz updated the Planning Commission on related items. Mr. Bednarz mentioned that on September 11, the St. Francis District is going to have a bond referendum, which means the Commission cannot start their meeting until 8:01 or 0 they could move the date. The Commission decided to start the meeting at 8:01 p.m. on September 11,2007. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting 4i Minutes - August 14, 2007 Page 11 Chairperson Daninger asked about Clocktower Commons and the progress. Mr. Bednarz updated the Commission on what is happening. Commissioner Walton wondered if a person can live on the Sambulsa church site because he thought this was a commercial site or does it fall into another category. Mr. Bednarz indicated the CUP for a church on a residential property is what they approved and is really the same as it is for any church in town. Mr. Cross noted this does not change the zoning of the property; it remains a residentially zoned property. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Falk, seconded by Casey, to adjourn the meeting at 8:46 p.m. Motion carried on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Respectfully Submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary 0 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. C