HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-18 PC Packet
AGENDA
MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION
Tuesday,March18, 2014
7:00PM
City Hall Council Chambers
1830 County Road B East
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Agenda
4. Approval of Minutes
a.February 18,2014
5.Public Hearing
a.Approval of a Conditional Use Permit Revision and Design Plans for Verizon Wireless Ground
Equipment at Hillwood Drive and Sterling Street
6.New Business
7.Unfinished Business
8.Visitor Presentations
9.Commission Presentations
a.Commission presentationfor the February 24, 2014 city council meeting. Commissioner
Donofriowas scheduled to attend. There were no items requiring planning commission
representation.
b.Commission presentation for the March 10, 2014city council meeting. Commissioner Kempe
was scheduled to attend. The item scheduled for review wasthe right-of-way easement
vacation for the city-owned property at County Road D and Hazelwood Street.
c.Commission representation for the March 24, 2014 city council meeting. Commissioner
Lindstromis scheduled to attend. At this time, there are no anticipated items requiring
planning commissionrepresentation.
d.Commission representation for the April 14, 2014 city council meeting. Commissioner Ige is
scheduled to attend. The anticipated item for review is the right-of-way conditional use permit
for Verizon Wireless.
10.Staff Presentations
11.Adjournment
DRAFT
MINUTESOF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION
1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18,2014
1.CALL TO ORDER
A meeting of the Commissionwas held in the City Hall Council Chambers and was called to order
at 7:00p.m.by Chairperson Desai.
2.ROLL CALL
Paul Arbuckle, CommissionerPresent
Al Bierbaum, CommissionerPresent
Tushar Desai,ChairpersonPresent
Yaya Diatta, CommissionerPresent
John Donofrio, CommissionerPresent
Allan Ige, CommissionerPresent at 7:10 p.m.
Bill Kempe, CommissionerPresent
Donn Lindstrom, CommissionerPresent
Dale Trippler, CommissionerPresent
Staff Present:
Tom Ekstrand, Senior Planner
Melinda Coleman, Assistant City Manager
3.APPROVAL OF AGENDA
CommissionerTripplermoved to approve the agenda as submitted.
Seconded by CommissionerKempe.Ayes –All
The motion passed.
4.APPROVAL OF MINUTES
CommissionerTripplermoved to approve theJanuary 21,2014, PCminutes as submitted.
Seconded by CommissionerKempe.Ayes –All
The motion passed.
5.PUBLIC HEARING
a.Approval of a Right-of-Way Easement Vacation over City Owned Property north of
Cardinal Pointe, 3003 Hazelwood Street
i.Senior Planner, Tom Ekstrand gave the report on the Approval of a Right of Way
Easement Vacation over City Owned Property north of Cardinal Pointe, 3003 Hazelwood
Street and answered questions of the commission.
Chairperson Desai opened the public hearing.
Nobody came forward to address the commission.
February 18, 2014 1
Planning CommissionMeetingMinutes
Chairperson Desaiclosed the public hearing.
Commissioner Trippler moved to adopt the resolution vacating the public right of way easement
which covers the city-owned property north of 3003 Hazelwood Street. The purpose for the
subject right of way easement was for the construction of the County Road D and Hazelwood
Street Realignments. Those roadways are now built and this excess right-of-way easement is not
needed any longer for roadway purposes.
Seconded by Commissioner Donofrio.Ayes –All
The motion passed.
6.NEW BUSINESS
a.Presentation by Andrew Hughes of Sherman Associates, developer of the
former Maplewood Bowl property at 1955 English Street.
i.Senior Planner, Tom Ekstrand gave the report and introduced Andrew Hughes.
ii.Project Manager, Andrew Hughes, Sherman Associates gave the presentation for the
former Maplewood Bowl property at 1955 English Street and answered questions of the
commission.
iii.Link Wilson, Kaas Wilson Architects,addressedand answered questions of the
commission.
iv.Assistant City Manager, Melinda Coleman answered questions of the commission.
No action was needed.
b.New Member Orientation by Melinda Coleman, Assistant City Manager.
i.Senior Planner, Tom Ekstrand introduced the item.
ii.Assistant City Manager, Melinda Coleman gave a power point presentation on new
member orientation and answered questions of the commission.
No action was needed.
c.Economic Development Discussion by Melinda Coleman, Assistant City Manager.
i.Assistant City Manager, Melinda Coleman gave the economic development discussion
and answered questions of the commission.
No action wasneeded.
7.UNFINISHEDBUSINESS
None.
8.VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
None.
9.COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS
a.Commission presentation for the January 27, 2014, city council meeting. Commissioner
Diatta was scheduled to attend. There were no planning commission items on the agenda.
b.Commission presentation for the February 10, 2014, city council meeting. Commissioner
Bierbaum was scheduled to attend. The items scheduled for review were the 2013 Planning
Commission Annual Report and the wording change to the Planning Commission Rules of
February 18, 2014 2
Planning CommissionMeetingMinutes
Procedure.Staff stated the city council passed those items and thanked the planning
commission for their work on the commission.
c.Commission representation for the February 24, 2014, city council meeting. Commissioner
Donofrio is scheduled to attend. At this time there are no anticipated items requiring PC
representation.
d.Commission representation for the March 10, 2014, city council meeting. Commissioner
Kempe is scheduled to attend. Theanticipated item for review is the right-of-way easement
vacation for the city owned property at County Road D and Hazelwood Street.
10.STAFFPRESENTATIONS
a.March 4, 2014, Planning Commission Meeting –Staff announced the March 4, 2014,
Planning Commission meeting has been cancelled. The next PC meeting will be March 18,
2014.
11.ADJOURNMENT
Chairperson Desaiadjourned the meeting at 8:41p.m.
February 18, 2014 3
Planning CommissionMeetingMinutes
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Charles Ahl, City Manager
FROM:
Tom Ekstrand, Senior Planner
Melinda Coleman, Assistant City Manager
DATE:
March 10, 2014
SUBJECT:
Approval of a Conditional Use Permit Revision and Design Plans for Verizon
Wireless Ground Equipment at Hillwood Drive and Sterling Street
Introduction
Verizon Wireless is proposing to:
Add cell phone antennas to the water tower at the corner of Hillwood Drive and Sterling
Street.
Place a 12-foot by 30-foot prefabricated equipment room/generator room structure at the
base of the water tower.
Place an 8-by 16-foot, six foot tall chain link fence on the northwest end of the proposed
building to surround ground equipment.This fence would have a blackvinyl coating.
The antennas are permitted by ordinance as “co-locations.” This proposal, however, will
require a conditional use permit (CUP) revision and design approval because of the proposed
building.Refer to the attachments.
Requests
Approval of a CUP revision for the proposed expansion of the existing communications
facilityby adding the proposed prefabricated building.
Approval of the design plan for the proposed structure. The community design review board
(CDRB) will review this request on March 25, 2014,
Background
April 11, 2005: The city council approved a conditional use permit (CUP) to allow Ramsey
County to install 800MHz antennas and the ground structure at the water tower site. The CUP
was subject to the following conditions:
1.All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community
development may approve minor changes.
2.The proposed construction of the new antenna facility must be substantially started within
one year of council approval or the permit shall become null and void. The council may
extend this deadline for one year.
3.The city council shall review this permit in one year.
4.Any antenna or equipment that is not used for a year shall be deemed abandoned and the
city may require the owner to remove it.
5.Ramsey County shall be responsible for costs and implementation of any corrections or
changes necessary because of interference or other problems caused by this facility. The
county shall make any such corrections or changes in a timely manner.
The city council also approved the design plans subject to the following conditions:
1.Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issued permits for this project.
2.Before the city issues a building permit, citystaff must approve the following:
a.A certificate of survey for the project area that shows the proposed new construction,
the location of the property lines and existing site features around the proposed
lease area.
b.A revised landscape and screening plan that:
(1)Shows the preservation of as much of the existing vegetation as possible.
(2) Shows the clean-up and the restoration of all turf areas with sod.
c.A driveway, sidewalk, grading, drainage and erosion control plan for the project site.
d.The plans for the equipment building that show the proposed exteriors with the
designs, colors and materials.
e.Project plans and specifications that meet all the requirements of the city building
official.
3.Before getting a certificate of occupancy, the applicant shall remove and dispose of any
debris and ensure that the site is cleaned up.
4.If any required work is not done, the city may allow temporary occupancy if:
a.The city determines that the work is not essential to the public health, safety or
welfare.
b.The city receives a cash escrow or an irrevocable letter of credit for the required
work. The amount shall be 150% of the cost of the unfinished work.
5. All work shall follow the approved plans. The director of community development may
approve minor changes.
Discussion
Building Design
The proposed 12-foot by 30-foot equipment building would have a brick-embossed concrete
exterior and be colored dark walnut. The structure would be 10.5 feet tall and would be placed
on the property, not constructed on site. The existing equipment structure on site for Ramsey
County is also a brick-embossed structure. Staff recommends that the proposed structure
match the color of the existing one.
There would also be an 8-foot by 16-foot, six-foot-tall chain link fenceinstalled at the northerly
end of the proposed structure to enclose and protect external electrical equipment referred to as
the “cable bridge section.” The proposed fence would be chain link material with a black vinyl
coating. The black vinyl coating would make the fence less visible and is, therefore, a good
choice.
Landscaping
Seven evergreen trees would be removed for the new structure and seven replacement
evergreens planted. The new trees should be at least six-feet-tall to comply with code.
Building Official’sComments
Dave Fisher, the building official, commented that hewill need signed plans from adesign
professional.Also, he will need approvalof this project by the St. Paul Regional Water Services
since the proposal is on their site.
Engineer’s Report
Refer to the engineering report from Steve Love, assistant city engineer. The applicant would
need to comply with Mr. Love’s conditions as stated in his report.
Assistant Fire Chief’sComments
Butch Gervais, assistant fire chief, commented that there are no issues.
Police Comments
Chief Paul Schnell has no issues with the proposal.
CUP Findingsfor Approval
The zoning ordinance requires that the city council find that all nine “standards” for CUP
approval be met to allow a CUP. In short, these state that the use would (refer to the resolution
for the complete wording):
Comply with the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning code.
Maintain the existing or planned character of the neighborhood.
Not depreciate property values.
Not cause any disturbance or nuisance.
Not cause excessive traffic.
Be served by adequate public facilities and police/fire protection.
Not create excessive additional costs for public services.
Maximize and preserve the site’s natural and scenic features.
Not cause adverse environmental effects.
The proposed 12-by 30-foot structure would meet the above criteria and would not create any
negative issues. The applicant is proposing to plant evergreen trees to buffer the proposed
structure which will help to screen it. Also, the elevation of the site is considerably higher than
surrounding homes which would diminish its visibility.
Neighbor’s Comments
Staff surveyed the 52neighboring property owners within 500 feet of the site. There was only
one reply. That resident only asked about the mailing radius for our notification. There were no
comments for or againstthe proposal.
Budget Impact
None.
Recommendation
A.Adopt the conditional use permit revision resolution approving the expansion of the cell
phone and public safety communications facility at the St. Paul Regional Water Services
water tower site at the corner of Hillwood Drive and Sterling Street. Approval is basedon
the findings required by ordinance and subject to the following conditions (additions are
underlined):
1.All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the citydate-stamped February 18,
2014. Thedirector of community development may approve minor changes.
2.The proposed construction of the new antenna facility must be substantially started
within one year of council approval or the permit shall become null and void. The council
may extend this deadline for one year.
3.The city council shall review this permit in one year.
4.Any antenna or equipment that is not used for a year shall be deemed abandoned and
the city may require the owner to remove it.
5.Ramsey County shall be responsible for costs and implementation of any corrections or
changes necessary because of interference or other problems caused by this facility.
The county shall make any such corrections or changes in a timely manner.Ramsey
County shall be responsible only for their communications equipment.
6.Verizon shall be responsible for costs and implementation of any corrections or changes
necessary because of interference or other problems caused by their communications
equipment.
7.The applicant shall comply with the conditions noted in the engineering report by Steve
Love dated February 13, 2014.
8.The applicant shall provide written approval of this project by the St. Paul Regional
Water Services since the proposal is on their site.
B.Approve the plans date-stampedFebruary 18,2014for the proposed equipment building for
Verizon Wireless to locate on the water tower site at the corner of Hillwood Drive and
Sterling Street. Approval is subject to the following conditions:
1.Approval of design plans is good for two years. If the applicant has not begun
construction within two years, this design review shall be repeated.Staff may approve
minor changes to these plans.
2.The applicant shall obtain a conditional use permit from the city council for the proposed
expanded use of the site with an additional building and equipment by Verizon Wireless.
3.The applicant shall replace all evergreen trees that are removed for the proposed
equipment building with at least that same number of trees. The replacement trees shall
be at least six feet tall. The applicant shall make sure to maintain these trees and keep
them watered.
4.If the building projectresults in a need for a retaining wall at the base of the proposed
pre-fabricated buildingdue to grades,the applicant shall provide a detail of this wall for
staff approval.
5.The proposed structure shall match the pattern and color of the existing structure.
6.The applicant shall comply with the conditions noted in the engineering report by Steve
Love dated February 13, 2014.
7.The applicant shall provide an irrevocable letter of credit or cash escrow in the amount of
150 percent of the cost of installing the landscaping, before getting a building permit.
Reference Information
Site Description
Site size: 1.36acres
Existing land use: Water tower with antennasand ground equipmentto serve Ramsey County
public safety needs
Surrounding Land Uses
The water tower site is surrounded by single family homes.
Planning
Land Use Plan designation: G(government)
Zoning: R1(single dwelling residential)
Application Date
The application for this request was considered complete on February 18, 2014. State law
requires that the city decide on these applications within 60 days. The deadline for city council
action on this proposal is April 19,2014.
Attachments
1.Conditional Use Permit Revision Resolution
2.Land Use Plan Map
3.Zoning Map
4.Location Map
5.Site Plan
6.Aerial Photo
7.Building Design Plan
8.Engineer’s Report dated February 13, 2014
9.Plans date-stamped February 18, 2014(separate attachment)
p:sec12-28\Verizon on Water Tower Site at Hillwood and Sterling/Verizon Ground Equipment
Proposal PC Report2 14 te
Attachment 1
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REVISION
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Verizon Wirelesshas applied for a conditional use permit revision be allowed to
expand the wireless communications facility which is in place at the St. Paul Regional Water
Services water tower site.
WHEREAS, Section 44-1327of the city ordinances requires a conditional use permit for
communications towers, includingtheir support equipment, in residential zoning districts.
WHEREAS, this permit applies to the property located at the southwest corner of Hillwood Drive
and Sterling Street. The legal description of this property is:
OutlotB, Beth Heights First Addition, according to the recorded plat in Section 12, Township 28,
Range 22 in Ramsey County, Minnesota. (PIN 12-28-22-43-0012)
WHEREAS, the history of this conditional use permit is as follows:
1.On March 18, 2014, the planning commission held a public hearing. The city staff
published a notice in the paper and sent notices to the surrounding property owners. The
planning commission gave everyone at the hearing a chance to speak and present written
statements. The planning commission also considered the reports and recommendation of
city staff. The planning commission recommended that the city council approve this permit.
2.On ____________, 2014, the city council considered reports and recommendations of the city
staff and planning commission.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the city council _________ the above-described
conditional use permit, because:
1.The use would be located, designed, maintained, constructed and operated to be in
conformity with the City's Comprehensive Plan and Code of Ordinances.
2.The use would not change the existing or planned character of the surrounding area.
3.The use would not depreciate property values.
4.The use would not involve any activity, process, materials, equipment or methods of
operation that would be dangerous, hazardous, detrimental, disturbing or cause a
nuisance to any person or property, because of excessive noise, glare, smoke, dust,
odor, fumes, water or air pollution, drainage, water run-off, vibration, general
unsightliness, electrical interference or other nuisances.
5.The use would generate only minimal vehicular traffic on local streets and would not
create traffic congestion or unsafe access on existing or proposed streets.
Attachment 1
6.The use would be served by adequate public facilities and services, including streets,
police and fire protection, drainage structures, water and sewer systems, schools and
parks.
7.The use would not create excessive additional costs for public facilities or services.
8.The use would maximize the preservation of and incorporate the site's natural and
scenic features into the development design.
9.The use would cause minimal adverse environmental effects.
Approval is subject to the following conditions:
1.All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the citydate-stamped February 18,
2014. The director of community development may approve minor changes.
2.The proposed construction of the new antenna facility must be substantially started
within one year of council approval or the permit shall become null and void. The council
may extend this deadline for one year.
3.The city council shall review this permit in one year.
4.Any antenna or equipment that is not used for a year shall be deemed abandoned and
the city may require the owner to remove it.
5.Ramsey County shall be responsible for costs and implementation of any corrections or
changes necessary because of interference or other problems caused by this facility.
The county shall make any such corrections or changes in a timely manner.Ramsey
County shall be responsible only for their communications equipment.
6.Verizon shall be responsible for costs and implementation of any corrections or changes
necessary because of interference or other problems caused by their communications
equipment.
7.The applicant shall comply with the conditions noted in the engineering report by Steve
Love dated February 13, 2014.
8.The applicant shall provide written approval of this project by the St. Paul Regional
Water Services since the proposal is on their site.
The Maplewood City Council _________ this resolution on _______, 2014.
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