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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPZ - March 8, 2011C ;2 l / k'• %�' IL 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 March 8, 2011 Andover City Hall Council Chambers x 7.00 p.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes —December 14, 2010 4. PUBLIC HEARING: Conditional Use Permit (11 -01) for Outdoor Storage at ABC Mini Storage located at 13624 Hanson Boulevard NW. 4. Other Business 5. Adjournment H 0 PLANNINGAND ZONING COMMISSIONMEETING AIIARCH 8 2011 The Regular Bi- Monthly Meeting of the Andover Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairperson Kirchoff on March 8, 2011, 7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Chairperson Kirchoff, Commissioners Dennis Cleveland, Lynae Gudmundson, Valerie Holthus, Michael Olsen, and Devon Walton. Commissioners absent: Chairperson Daninger. Also present: City Planner, Courtney Bednarz Others OATII OF OFFICE Commissioners Holthus and Olsen took the Oath of Office. December 14, 2010 Motion by Cleveland, seconded by Holthus, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried 10 on a 4 -ayes, 0 -nays, 2- present (Walton, Olsen) 1- absent (Daninger) vote. PUBLIC HEARING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (11 -01) FOR OUTDOOR STORAGE AT ABC MINI STORAGE LOCATED AT 13624 HANSON BOULEVARD NW. Mr. Bednarz noted the purpose of this item was to hold a public hearing and take input on the application for a Conditional Use Permit at ABC Mini Storage for outdoor storage. Commissioner Olsen asked if Council had taken a position regarding the variance legislation. . Mr. Bednarz responded the Council was following legal advice to issue variances very carefully. Commissioner Olsen stated it appeared the Supreme Court had limited the variance rules and had basically tied the hands of the Cities. Motion by Walton, seconded by Cleveland, to open the public hearing at 7:13 p.m. Motion carried on a 6 -ayes, 0 -nays, 1- absent (Daninger) vote. Kraig Domogalla, ABC Mini Storage, 13624 Hanson Boulevard NW, stated he had owned the mini storage business since 2004 and he was attempting to get additional income as his property taxes have raised significantly the past few years. He noted this area would be used for boat and other outdoor storage. He noted this had a gravel base and had remained untouched since he purchased the property. He did not believe buses had been stored on the site prior to his purchase. He noted there was a back gate, but that gate was locked. He indicated hours and access would not change. He stated he would add additional cameras to cover the storage area. He stated everything that would be stored was on a month to month lease and he would not allow junk to be stored on the property. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — March 8, 2011 Page 2 L ID ] Commissioner Cleveland asked what type of storage he was talking about. Mr. Domogalla stated he believed he would have approximately 22 stalls for rent. Commissioner Cleveland asked if any of the area was paved. Mr. Domogalla responded there was no pavement and there was a power line easement overhead, so he could not build any structures. He stated the best that could be done in this area was storage, which could be moved as needed. Commissioner Cleveland asked if the amount of impervious surface would be an issue. Mr. Bednarz responded that it would not. He added that east side of the site drains to Grouse Street and the pond to the south. The City Engineer had been consulted and it was his belief that the drainage would continue work the same. Commissioner Gudmundson inquired about the current snow storage. Mr. Domogalla responded he had a lot of room to put snow and if necessary he would not rent a few storage units, or he would truck it off site. Commissioner Walton asked how many people accessed his site. Mr. Domogalla responded that very few people visited the site maybe a dozen at most per day. © Commissioner Gudmundson asked how would a fee be based versus an indoor unit and were all of the units now filled. Mr. Domogalla responded the fees would be half of the cost of an indoor storage and he currently had all of his units rented out except one. Commissioner Walton asked if he was on site. Mr. Domogalla responded he was on site during normal hours of operation. Commissioner Gudmundson asked if this was granted, would the landscaping, etc. need to be met. Mr. Bednarz responded they could require compliance, grant variances, or change the requirements. Commissioner Holthus asked how many variances would be necessary if this was approved. Mr. Bednarz responded three variances would need to be granted if compliance was not required. Commissioner Walton asked how tall the fence was on the backside. Mr. Domogalla responded the fence was six feet. Commissioner Walton stated there might not be an opportunity to pave the area as Xcel had the right to approve it. Commissioner Walton asked why Grouse Street could not be the main entrance. Mr. Domogalla responded Hanson Boulevard traffic allowed easy in and out traffic and he also invested $45,000 for the service road. © Motion by Walton, seconded by Cleveland, to close the public hearing at 7:28 p.m. Motion carried on a 6 -ayes, 0 -nays, 1- absent (Daninger) vote. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — March 8, 2011 Page 3 © Commissioner Olsen stated he was amicable to the idea of the CUP, but he had a concern about the variance requests due to the Supreme Court decision. He stated he understood the reason the applicant wanted the CUP. Commissioner Walton noted since the Commission was not the authority for granting this, all they could do was discuss and make a recommendation and it would be up to the City Council to either approve or disapprove the CUP. Commissioner Olsen stated his concern was that if the CUP request was denied, the applicant could not apply for another year for another variance. Mr. Bednarz stated they needed to keep in mind what the findings were if they choose to approve variances and if there was potential other sites that could make similar requests. Commissioner Gudmundson stated she was concerned about the visual aspect of the request. She stated it is contrary to the city's efforts to improve sites along Bunker Lake Boulevard. She indicated she was not in favor of the CUP. Mr. Domogalla noted this was an industrial area. Commissioner Olsen believed that with the city's regulations for parking on residential lots this is a service that is needed in the community. Commissioners Cleveland, Holthus and Walton stated they were in favor of the CUP. Q Commissioner Olsen stated he did not have an issue with storage on the gravel. Commissioner Walton stated with respect to curb and gutter they had required paving and curb and gutter be put in for a used car dealer in a similar situation. Commissioner Olsen noted that business had cars parked on and it was being used as a parking lot. Chairperson Kirchoff noted there was another site within the other industrial park where full compliance was not required. Mr. Bednarz stated that was correct. He added that using the interim performance standards established for that area the Council required improvements to the front parking area adjacent to the street, but not to the yard at the rear of the lot. Commissioner Cleveland believed if the applicant needed to meet all of these requirements, he would be out of business. He noted this was a unique property and business. Commissioner Gudmundson stated she did not agree with waiving the paving requirement and she also wanted to see curbing. © It was the consensus of a majority of Commissioners that they were comfortable with gravel and there was not a need for additional curbing. Commission Cleveland stated he would like to see an effort with respect to landscaping. Mr. Domogalla stated the hard part with landscaping was that there was very little area for Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — March 8, 2011 Page 4 © landscaping and Xcel had removed what landscaping there was, with the exception of five trees. He stated this site had been there a long time and it was a unique site. Commissioner Cleveland asked if he could plant shorter trees along the Xcel line. Mr. Domogalla responded Xcel would need to approve anything along their line and the trees removed were not that tall. Chairperson Kirchoff asked if he could do anything along the fence line. Mr. Domogalla responded the fence was on the property line. He could put landscaping on the outside of the fence in the right -of -way, but there was no irrigation in that area. He stated on the inside of the fence behind the slats would be less visible. Commissioner Olsen asked if the city would allow planting in the right -of -way. Mr. Bednarz stated that they would prefer not to, but if it were required and the constraints of the site made it necessary, the minimum distance from the back of the curb would be eight feet. Commissioner Cleveland asked if planters outside the fence could be used. Mr. Bednarz responded staff would prefer to not have any planters in the right -of -way. Commissioner Olsen asked if there were any security issues with the slatted fence. Mr. Domogalla responded he has not had any issues and he would be putting cameras in the back. © He noted the gate also closed automatically at 6:00 p.m. Chairperson Kirchoff stated he believed they were looking at screening in lieu of landscaping. Commissioner Walton suggested the items in the storage area be covered with a material that was the same color to blend into the color of the building. He stated any funds given to landscaping should maybe be put towards additional screening or a taller fence. Mr. Bednarz stated the Commission could recormnend a taller fence. He noted a ten foot fence would require a building permit. Commissioner Gudmundson stated she still had a concern regarding the visual aspect of the property and she would like additional landscaping. It was the Commissions consensus to not require the 20 -foot setback for front yard parking area setback. Commissioner Cleveland stated he was in favor of sending this to the Council with the recommendation for the three variances. Commissioner Holthus stated she did not believe it was necessary to put in an entire new fence. She agreed with the other variances. ® Commissioner Gudmundson stated she would not approve this request. She did not believe there was a hardship shown and she wanted the applicant to comply with the ordinances. Commissioner Walton responded he was in favor of the CUP. He recommended that something be done to bring monotone coloring to everything that was back there. Regular Andover Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes — March 8, 2011 Page 5 x Chairperson Kirchoff did not believe there was a material change to this property, but rather just a use change. Motion by Holthus, seconded by Cleveland, to recommend to the City Council approval of Resolution No. R , to approve a Conditional Use Permit for Outdoor Storage for ABC Mini Storage as written with the recommendation fresh Class 5 be put down in the storage area. Motion carried on a 4 -ayes, 2 -nays (Gudmundson, Olsen), 1- absent (Daninger) vote. OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Bednarz updated the Planning Commission on related items. Motion by Holthus, seconded by Gudmundson, to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m. Motion carried on a 6 -ayes, 0 -nays, 1- absent (Daninger) vote. Respectfully Submitted, DWI Kathleen Altman, Recording Secretary Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. H