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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/15/19981. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes May 18, 1998 4. Approval of Agenda MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, June 15, 1998 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East o Public Hearings A. Cardinal Pointe Senior Housing (Hazelwood Street) Land Use Plan Change (M-1 to R-3(H)) Conditional Use Permit for Planned Unit Development Parking Reduction Authorization New Business A. Special Approval - Saint John's Hospital Lot Division (1575 Beam Avenue) B. 1998 City Tour Visitor Presentations Commission Presentations A. May 21 Council Meeting: Mr. Frost B. June 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Pearson C. June 22 Council Meeting: Mr. Frost? D. July 13 Council Meeting: Mr. Knoll Staff Presentations Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA JUNE 15, 1998 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. II, ROLL CALL Commissioner Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Jack Frost Commissioner Milton Knoll Commissioner Matt Ledvina Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner William Rossbach Commissioner Michael Seeber Commissioner Dale Trippler Commissioner Milo Thompson III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV, May18,1998 Present Present Absent Absent Present Present Present Present (arrived at 7:12 p.m.) Present Commissioner Frost moved approval of the minutes of May 18, 1998, amended to remove Commissioner Thompson's name from the list of those voting aye on VI. B. Hermanson Dental Conditional Use Permit. Mr. Thompson was not in attendance at this meeting. Commissioner Pearson seconded. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ayes--Fischer, Frost, Pearson, Rossbach Abstain--Thompson, Seeber Commissioner Pearson moved approval of the agenda as submitted. Commissioner Frost seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS Cardinal Pointe Senior Housing ( Hazelwood Street)--Land Use Plan Change (M-1 to R-3(H), Conditional Use Permit for Planned Unit Development, and Parking Reduction Authorization Ken Roberts, associate planner, presented the staff report. Ken Haider, city engineer, responded to Commissioner Rossbach's concern about dropping the planned major collector street that would connect Highway 61 and Hazelwood Street between Beam Avenue and County Road D. Mr. Haider said the city feels it is "virtually impossible to ever build that portion of roadway from Highway 61 to Hazelwood." He felt there is too much wetland in this area and the soils are very bad. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-98 -2- Mr. Haider said that in the future, if Highway 61 goes back to county jurisdiction as proposed, an interchange at Highway 61 will be considered to give access to County Road D. Vehicles could exit from 1-694 and merge with County Road D on the west side of Highway 61. On the east side of Highway 61, traffic could either veer to the right and access County Road D or go left to enter the freeway. He said a signalized intersection would enable traffic control. Mr. Haider concurred with Commissioner Rossbach that Beam Avenue and/or White Bear Avenue cannot handle all the traffic in this area, particularly when additional development occurs near the Maplewood Mall. Commissioner Rossbach proposed including some reference to the future plans for County Road D. Mr. Haider agreed and thought it would be included when the comprehensive plan is reviewed this year. Mr. Rossbach also inquired about a manner that would require future development in this area to fund a portion of the cost of roadways to service the area. Mr. Haider said a TIF district could be established, when or if a major development occurs on the large undeveloped portion of this area, to provide money for roadways or public improvements. Commissioner Frost suggested a change in the code that would require an appropriate number of parking spaces for senior housing rather than asking for a variance on an individual basis. Melinda Coleman, director of community development, commented that during a previous discussion of this with the city council, the council decided that a variance gives more leverage for parking requirements if the use of the project would change at some time in the future. Commissioner Trippler was concerned about the deep terrain at the back of the building, the lack of sidewalks, the size of the proposed patio, and the poor accessibility to area amenities for the senior residents. Mr. Roberts said the developer is including a five-foot concrete sidewalk along Hazelwood Street. He said eventually the sidewalk will be continuous from this site to Beam Avenue. There was discussion about the market for senior housing and its affect on public services. Melinda Coleman addressed the issue of a market analysis being required for this development. She said this council requirement was a "carry-ovef' from a tax-increment financed project. Because public dollars were involved in the previous units, the council examined the need for senior housing more closely. Mr. Roberts said that the sentence "the city may approve any development with more than five acres and more than one use or building with a CUP in any zoning district" on page nine of the staff report should be eliminated. This is no longer applicable. Paul Sentman, of Presentation Homes, commented on some of the commission concerns. He said this project will be financed with HUD-guaranteed funds that require one of the occupants to be 62. He mentioned that the trail to the west between this site and the golf course is owned by the railroad and is needed to service a large NSP transformer in the vicinity. Mr. Sentman explained that the market study was done in a large area from 35E to Highway 120 and Stillwater Avenue to White Bear Lake. He said this is a cooperative project, where each individual is a shareholder. Construction is not allowed to start, with HUD financing, until the units are 90 percent presold. Mr. Sentman said typically 80 percent of the residents of a unit such as this come from the area within six to eight miles of the project. Commissioner Pearson was interested in where the mechanical units would be placed because of the noise factor. Mr. Sentman said there would not be any large equipment, other than the NSP transformer, servicing the whole building. Each unit would have its own system. Chairperson Fischer opened the public hearing for comments from the audience. George Supan, 3050 Hazelwood Street, asked if the new plan showed all the changes that were discussed at a previous neighborhood meeting the developer had with the area residents. Mr. Roberts pointed out that a driveway had been realigned further south and some landscaping was increased. Commissioner Thompson previously commented, in regard to concerns over the height of the building, that tall trees in Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-98 -3- the neighborhood would help shield the view from these homes. Mr. Supan responded to this by saying that the issue was not the existing trees but the "angle of the missing trees." He said the recommendation at the meeting was to move the driveway to the north, not the south, because of visibility from the hill. He felt the position of this driveway was a major issue and a safety concern. Mr. Sentman said they brought the driveway south so they also could bring the evergreen trees further south and place them so the houses across the street would see the trees instead of the driveway. He felt placing the driveway at this position did enable the driver to see over the crest and view oncoming traffic. He also advocated a reduction in the speed limit in this location from 40 to 30 miles per hour. Gerald Peterson, 3016 Hazelwood Street, felt the driveway should go further north because of the amount of weekend traffic on this road and the visibility near the crest. He mentioned the need to have the sidewalks be continuous to Beam Avenue. Mickey Gebhard, 3062 Hazelwood Street, questioned the affect of this development on area house values and taxes. Mr. Roberts didn't feel it would affect taxes. He said it has been the experience in Maplewood that this type of housing, as opposed to commercial or industrial use, is not a detriment to a neighborhood. Mr. Sentman described the cooperative-housing concept. He said there is a contract with Presbyterian Homes to manage the development for the first five years. Since there were no further comments, the public hearing was closed. Ken Haider, city engineer, said staff did visually look at the proposed location of the driveway. Commissioner Rossbach was concerned that the driveway be located in the best possible location. Mr. Roberts said the commission could recommend a continuous off-street walkway as a condition of the PUD. Mr. Haider stated that the city council periodically considers a budget for winter maintenance of sidewalks within the city. State law allows city to decide this, and the Maplewood council has decided against allocating funds for cleaning of the walks. In addition, businesses and homeowners are not required to maintain their sidewalks. Commissioner Trippler thought provision should be made in this recommendation to require a sidewalk to Beam Avenue in order to allow seniors more access to area amenities. Commissioner Rossbach moved the Planning Commission recommend: Approval of the resolution which changes the land use plan from M-1 (light manufacturing) to RH (residential high density) for the 6.75-acre site of the Cardinal Pointe senior housing development. This resolution also drops the planned major collector street between Beam Avenue and County Road D that would have connected Highway 61 and Hazelwood Street. The city bases these changes on the following findings: 1. This site is proper for and consistent with the city's policies for high-density residential use. This includes: a. Creating a transitional land use between the existing Iow density residential and commercial land uses. b. It is on a collector street and is near Saint John's Hospital, shopping, an arterial street, parks and open space. 2. This development will minimize any adverse effects on surrounding properties because: a. The proposed on-site pond and large setback from the street will separate the senior housing from nearby homes. b. Studies have shown there will be no adverse effect on property values. c. There would be no traffic from this development on existing residential streets. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-98 The city does not plan to build the proposed collector street between Beam Avenue and County Road D that would connect Highway 61 and Hazelwood Street because the existing wetlands and golf course would make it difficult to build a street in this area. Approve the resolution which approves a conditional use permit for a planned unit development for the Cardinal Pointe senior housing development. The city bases this approval on the findings required by code. (Refer to the resolution for the specific findings.) Approval is subject to the following conditions: All construction shall follow the plans date-stamped May 11, 1998. The city council may approve major changes. The director of community development may approve minor changes. 2. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of council approval or the permit shall end. The council may extend this deadline for one year. The owner shall not convert this development to non-seniors housing without the revision of the planned unit development. For this permit, the city defines seniors housing as a residence occupied by persons that are 62 years of age or older. 4. There shall be no outdoor storage of recreational vehicles, boats or trailers. Residents shall not park trailers and vehicles that they do not need for day-to-day transportation on site. If the city decides there are excess parking spaces available on site, then the city may allow the parking of these on site. 6. If the city council decides there is not enough on-site parking after the building is 95 percent occupied, the city may require additional parking. The developer shall provide an on-site storm shelter in the apartment building. This shelter shall be subject to the approval of the Director of Emergency Preparedness. It shall have a minimum of three square feet per person for 80% of the planned population. The developer shall give the city a market study. This study must document that there will be enough demand from seniors (62 or older) to keep this a senior housing project. The city must approve this study. 9. The city council shall review this permit in one year. 10. The city engineer shall specifically review the placement of the driveways to ensure that they are positioned in the best locations considering traffic safety and existing residential neighbors' views. 11. The developer shall provide a sidewalk to connect from the south property line of the proposed development to the north property line of the proposed convenience store development at the corner of Beam Avenue and Hazelwood Streets. *The developer must complete these conditions before the city issues a grading permit or a building permit. C. Approve 149 parking spaces (108 garage spaces and 41 open spaces), rather than the 216 spaces required by code, because: Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-98 -5- The parking space requirement is not proper for senior housing, because there are fewer cars per unit in these projects. The city has approved fewer parking spaces for other senior housing, including the Village on VVoodlynn and the Carefree Cottages. Commissioner Frost seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Special Approval--Saint John's Hospital Lot Division (1575 Beam Avenue) Ken Roberts, associate planner, presented the staff report. Mr. Roberts answered questions from the commission. Kyle Davis, a representative of HealthEast Saint John's Hospital, was present at the meeting. Mr. Davis said they hoped to close on the financing by the end of June and wondered how long it would take for the city attorney to prepare the hold-harmless agreement. It was agreed by Mr. Davis and city staff that the applicant's attorney would prepare this agreement. Commissioner Rossbach questioned why this variance was not part of the original proposal. Mr. Davis said this request is strictly for financing purposes, and the need for it was discovered later on in the project. He explained that this medical-office building is a "for-profit" business of HealthEast, and the remaining portion of the work being done at Saint John's is financed through tax-exempt bonds. Mr. Rossbach commented that this did not appear to be a "well thought-out situation" and was not a good way of doing business. Commissioner Frost moved the Planning Commission adopt the resolution which allows the division of the HealthEast Saint John's Hospital property at 1575 Beam Avenue into two lots, one of which would not front on a public street. This resolution requires that the property owner complete the following conditions before the city will sign the new deeds for the lot division: The legal description for the lot division shall follow the plan shown on page 7 of the June 16, 1998 staff report. The Director of Community Development may approve minor changes. 2. Record the following with Ramsey County: ao A perpetual access easement that allows ingress and egress from the landlocked parcel (Parcel 2) across Parcel 1 to the public street. The Director of Community Development may approve minor changes to plans. b. A perpetual easement agreement that allows the users and owners of Parcel 2 to park their vehicles on Parcel 1. c. An agreement against the property that: (1) Holds the city harmless from any liability for using the private driveway or any delay in emergency vehicles finding the structure(s). (2) States that the property owners shall maintain, plow and sand this driveway to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Safety. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-98 -6- Install a sign at Hazelwood Street and the driveway that states the address of the future structure(s). Commissioner Pearson seconded. Commissioner Rossbach inquired if city staff had thought about any future problems this variance might cause for the city. Mr. Roberts said that the cost for the city's time involved in any future revisions to the property line would be paid by future application fees. Chairperson Fischer shared Mr. Rossbach's concern because of "unique cases" in the past that have eventually set a precedent. Mr. Roberts discussed what could happen if this variance was denied. Ayes--all The motion passed. B. 1998 City Tour Ken Roberts referred to the memorandum in the agenda packet about scheduling a city tour. The consensus of the commission was to have the tour on August 17, 1998, as a first choice. VII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS There were no visitor presentations. VIII. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS A. May 21 Council Meeting: Mr. Frost reported on this meeting. B. June 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Pearson reported on this meeting. C. June 22 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer will attend this meeting. D. July 13 Council Meeting: Mr. Knoll is scheduled to attend this meeting. IX. STAFF PRESENTATIONS There were no staff presentations. X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:57 p.m.