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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay 11, 2010 0 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304. (763) 755-5100 FAX (763) 755-8923. WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Agenda May 11,2010 Andover City Hall Council Chambers 7:00 v.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes - April 13, 2010 3. PUBLIC HEARING (Continued): City Code Amendment to consider changes to City Code 5-4 Weapons to update hunting regulations. 4. Other Business 5. Adjournment 0 0 C I T Y o F 0 NDOVE 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 -MAY 11,2010 The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting ofthe Andover Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Vice Chairperson Kirchoff on May 11,2010,7:05 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Chairperson Daninger (arrived at 7:45 p.m.), Commissioners Michael Casey, Dennis Cleveland, Lynae Gudrimndson, Valerie Holthus, Tim Kirchoff and Devon Walton. Commissioners absent: None. Also present: City Planner, Courtney Bednarz Others 0 APPROVAL OF MINUTES. April 13, 2010 Motion by Casey, seconded by Walton, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion can-ied on a 6-ayes, a-nays, I-absent (Daninger) vote. PUBLIC HEARING: CITY CODE AMENDMENT TO CONSIDER CHANGES TO CITY CODE 5-4 WEAPONS TO UPDATE HUNTING REGULATIONS. Mr. Bednarz noted the Commission received a lot of public input and made significant progress in reaching a consensus on the discussion items at the last meeting. The Commission wanted to discuss items 4, 6 and 8 further before making a recommendation to the Council. Mr. Bednarz reviewed the proposed Ordinance changes with the Commission. The Public Hearing was carriedforwardfrom the previous meeting. Mr. Luke Davich, 2780 South Coon Creek Drive, stated he has ten acres and the way 0 things are set up now, he cannot even bow hunt on his property. He did not believe he should be restricted on his property. He noted he sees deer on his property daily and Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - May 11, 2010 0 Page 2 feeds them. Commissioner Kirchoff asked if Mr. Davich was currently in an area where all hunting is restricted. Mr. Davich indicated he was. Mr. Davich thought the restriction was ridiculous especially for bow hunting deer. He indicated he was at the meeting to get the restriction removed. He stated he used to work at Federal Cartridge and he knew a lot about ammunition and distance and a shotgun with a slug is not going to hurt anyone where he lives. Mr. Davich stated he purchased his property because of all the wildlife in the area and he cannot do anything on the land. Mr. Bednarz asked Mr. Davich what type of hunting he was proposing. He stated he would prefer shot gun and slugs for deer but his kids like to use bow hunting because in his opinion no one will get hurt. Mr. Don Wilson, 14920 University Avenue NW, stated the last time they were at the meeting they were discussing 2.5 acres and self imposed some rules the residents could accept. They have also gone around and had a petition signed by people in the area that this would involve and they have 16 signatures out of 47 so far. They are trying to get bow hunting allowed in their area because 2.5 acres should be sufficient and it was his understanding that north of 161 sl Avenue hunting is allowed on 2.5 acres. He thought if others are allowed to hunt on 2.5 acres he should be able to hunt on his too. He did not think where the parcel is located should matter. He would like to be able to hunt using a 0 bow only while in a tree stand so nothing will be hurt ifhe were to shoot downward and miss, the bow would go into the ground and not onto another parcel of land. He noted that even the people that said no, three so far, indicated there were too many deer in the area and that something needed to be done but they did not want to shoot the deer themselves. Mr. Lee Packer, 3074 161s1 Avenue, stated he was at the meeting when the Ordinance was originally passed and the understanding he had for the Ordinance changes was that there were people out hunting in areas where they should not be but what heard was that they were people from other cities coming up to hunt. Since the ordinance passed he has been to the City to get his permit and had his neighbor's sign that it would be fine for him to hunt. He would rather not have to do this but he would rather hunt than not. He wanted to make sure nothing changes in his area. He stated they have had a problem with deer eating their crops and in the past have hunted the deer to lower their numbers. He would like to avoid having to get permission from the neighbors but he would still come in and get a permit from the City to hunt. He stated he would rather have it stay slightly restrictive now and have it keep going then to eliminate everything and have problems come up and then have hunting taken away completely. Motion by Walton, seconded by Casey, to close the public hearing at 7:30 p.rn. Motion carried on a 6-ayes, O-nays, I-absent (Daninger) vote. 0 The Commission reviewed Items 1-3 and agreed the changes were acceptable. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes-May 11,2010 0 Page 3 Mr. Davich asked what chance there was of getting the ordinance changed to allow hunting on their property. Vice Chairperson Kirchoff indicated they will be discussing this. The Commission reviewed Item 4; minimum parcel size for hunting with shotguns, and discussed their opinions. Commissioner Casey was in concurrence that ten acres was sufficient size for a shotgun. Commissioners Cleveland and Gudmundson disagreed and felt the acreage should be larger. Commissioner Gudmundson stated she was not sure about what the size should be. She reviewed some of the other cities she looked at regarding size. She thought they had already agreed to leave the distance alone and seems as if they want to stick with the 500' minimum firing distance that by increasing the minimum parcel size they basically do the same thing as ifthey had wider distances. It offers more protection. She suggested increasing the size to 20+ acres. Commissioner Walton thought they should leave this at 10 acres and 2.5 was too small. Commissioner Casey agreed they needed to keep this at 10 acres and then keeping it with the 500 foot distance from occupied structures which is structured from the DNR. 0 Commissioner Holthus agreed. Commissioner Gudmundson did not think 10 acres would be sufficient for shotguns, especially when looking at the dimensions in the examples and the article describing how far a slug travels. There were two Commissioners in favor of 20 acres and four Commissioners to leave the acreage at 10 acres. The Commission reviewed Item 5; minimum firing distance for hunting with bows, and agreed with the proposed changes. The Commission reviewed Items 6 and 7 concerning bow hunting and discussed their opmIOns. Chairperson Daninger an-ived at 7:45 p.m. , Commissioner Gudmundson asked ifthe DNR sets the 150 feet for distance. Mr. Bednarz indicated they did not and it is a local requirement. He reviewed what the DNR requirements were regarding hunting. Commissioner Gudmundson thought they were focusing more on the acreage and not the 0 distance. She thought they should leave this one and move to the acreage one. She Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes - May 11, 2010 0 Page 4 wondered if they should look at more cities and find out if the City is being too lenient and possibly opening themselves up for some dangerous situations. Commissioner Cleveland indicated he was on 2.5 acres and placed his home in the center and he thought 150 feet was too close for him. He noticed some of the other cities for this particular kind of ordinance have 300 feet which would effectively eliminate all the hunting with bows on 2.5 acre parcels and he would be in favor 0000 feet instead of 150 feet. Commissioner Kirchoff stated this would not restrict the property owner if expanded to a larger acreage. The Commission felt 2.5 acres was fine to hunt with bow. Five commissioners felt the 150 feet buffer was sufficient. Two commissioners were in favor of increasing the minimurn firing distance from structures for bow hunting. Commissioner Gudmundson did not feel 150 feet was a large enough buffer. Commissioner Casey felt 150 feet was more than adequate for bow hunting. The Commission reviewed Item 8; the prohibited hunting zone and discussed their opmlOns. 0 Commissioner Cleveland stated he was not in favor of changing the status of any parcel in a prohibited zone. Commissioner Gudmundson agreed. Commissioner Walton disagreed and felt they had more potential problems for wildlife, vehicles and people if they cannot hunt in these areas. He thought they should be allowed to hunt with bow only on 2.5 acres whether on prohibited zone areas or not. Commissioner Cleveland stated he was not in favor of redrawing the map and there will not be an impact on the deer herds on 2.5 acres. He felt the deer will weed themselves out because they will starve to death if not hunted. Commissioner Cleveland felt this item should be left alone. Commissioner Kirchoff supported changing the 2.5 acres and did not think going to the Council for a special exemption on each plot would do any good; it will just take up the Council's time. Councilmember Casey agreed as long as it is for bow hunting only. Commissioner Walton agreed, Commissioner Gudmundson indicated she was against it. Commissioner Holthus stated she was worried about bow hunting on a 2.5 acre plot next to an urban development. She felt the City needed to have a consistent ruling on where one can bow hunt and she felt 2.5 acres was fine but she did not know what the solution to that would be if they are next to R-4 parcels but she would be open to looking at that. She noted it was illegal for an arrow to go across the property line if you do not have 0 permission to hunt on the neighbors land. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes-May 11,2010 0 Page 5 The Commission reviewed Items 9-12 and agreed the changes in the draft ordinance amendment were acceptable. Mr. Bednarz stated in discussions with the DNR, one concern the wildlife manager indicated was land that Anoka Countywas intending to purchase land along Cedar Creek and the Rum River, part of which is in Andover, with State and Federal funding and they would require hunting to be allowed. Right now that example on the map, hunting is allowed. The DNR's concern was that there not be a local requirement that restricts hunting on State funded and purchased land. He wanted to know if the Commission wanted to write into the code that State funded land purchased would allow hunting or be. aware of that so that if changes occur in the future that it is not prohibited. It is not being prohibited now but they could go a step further and write it into the Code as a safeguard. Commissioner Kirchoff thought this should be mentioned somehow so if it does come up in the future it will be looked at. Commissioner Walton thought they could add some language to the Code for future reference so it does not get forgotten about. Chairperson Daninger thought they should leave it alone at this time. Commissioner Casey agreed because things could change in the future. The consensus ofthe Commission was to make no change at this time. 0 Motion by Walton, seconded by Casey, to recommend to the City Council approval of the draft amendment for changes to City Code 5-4 Weapons to updated hunting regulations to reflect the discussions. Motion can-ied on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Mr. Bednarz stated that this item would be before the Council at the June 1,2010 City Council meeting. OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Bednarz updated the Planning Commission on related items. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Walton, seconded by Kirchoff, to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. Motion can-ied on a 7-ayes, O-nays, O-absent vote. Respectfully Submitted, Sue Osbeck, Recording Secretary 0 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. - -