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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/01/19991. Call to Order MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, February 1, 1999 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes a. December 21, 1998 b. January 4, 1999 4. Approval of Agenda 5. New Business a. Election of Officers b. 1998 Commission Annual Report c. Residential Parking Ordinance 6. Visitor Presentations 7. Commission Presentations a. January 11 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach b. January 25 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer c. February 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Pearson d. February 22 Council Meeting: Mr. Frost 8. Staff Presentations a. Reschedule February 15 meeting - President's Day 9. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA FEBRUARY 1, 1999 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Lorraine Fischer Present Jack Frost Absent Matt Ledvina Present Paul Mueller Present Gary Pearson Present William Rossbach Present Michael Seeber Present Milo Thompson Present Dale Trippler Present Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV. December 21, 1999 Commissioner Rossbach moved approval of the minutes of December 21, 1998, amending the last line of the second paragraph under VII. Visitor Presentations to read "... they have disagreements." Commissioner The motion passed. Pearson seconded. B. January 4,1999 Ayes--Fischer, Pearson, Rossbach, Thompson Trippler Abstain--Ledvina, Mueller, Seeber Commissioner Ledvina moved approval of the minutes of January 4, 1999, as submitted. Commissioner Trippler seconded. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ayes--all Commissioner Rossbach moved approval of the agenda, revised to add 5.d. By Laws. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-01-99 -2- V. NEW BUSINESS A. Election of Officers Ken Roberts, associate planner, asked the commission to elect a chairperson and vice- chairperson. Commissioner Pearson nominated Lorraine Fischer as chairperson. Commissioner Rossbach seconded the nomination. It was moved that the nominations be closed. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayesmall The motion passed. Chairperson Fischer asked for a vote. Ayes--all Chairperson Fischer was elected chairperson. Commissioner Pearson nominated Jack Frost as vice-chairperson. Commissioner Rossbach seconded. Chairperson Fischer asked for a vote. Ayes--all Commissioner Frost was elected vice-chairperson. B. 1998 Commission Annual Report Ken Roberts, associate planner, presented the staff report. Commissioner Trippler said he attended all commission meetings last year. Mr. Roberts said he will change the record to reflect this. As a matter of interest, the dates of planning commission action on land use plan and zoning map changes will be added to the report. Commissioner Thompson was interested in the number of unbuildable lots, because of city restrictions, in Maplewood. Mr. Roberts thought there were very few lots less than 60-feet-wide. Of these, many have wetland or ponding problems and will never be built on. Mr. Roberts did not feel this was much of a problem in Maplewood. These smaller lots often are combined wit~ neighboring properties or divided and combined with two or more properties. Commissioner Thompson referred to a project being done in the Powderhorn Park area of Minneapolis in regard to this type of lot. Chairperson Fischer spoke about the problems some of the older, existing homes have in regard to parking. These homes were built on smaller frontage lots, have single-car garages and the minimum setback from neighboring properties. It is almost impossible for the homeowner to access his backyard for additional vehicle or boat storage. Commissioner Trippler said one of the reasons he was on the planning commission was because an eight-bedroom house was put on a 45-foot lot next door to him. Commissioner Rossbach said he would be strongly against reducing lot sizes or setbacks. Commissioner Rossbach moved approval of the Planning Commission 1998 Annual Report as submitted with the addition of the dates of the 1998 land use plan and zoning map changes. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-01-99 -3- Commissioner Seeber seconded. Commissioner Ledvina asked how the video tape of the public hearing process under 1998 Activities would relate to the planning commission. Mr. Robert's said it was the commission's idea a few years ago. Chairperson Fischer recalled it as a tape that could be played when having a comprehensive plan meeting. This tape would explain the plan, the process of the meeting, and the roles of the various city government bodies. Ms. Fischer said this tape was Iow priority and was never made. Commissioner Ledvina suggested that a tape might be available through the American Planning Association. Mr. Robert's will check on this. Commissioner Seeber said he was involved in this type of business and offered his assistance. Ayes--all The motion passed. C. Residential Parking Ordinance Ken Roberts, associate planner, presented the staff report. He said the area that was of concern was the number and location of vehicles parking in yards. Mr. Robert's mentioned the instance where a sailboat was parked in the front yard of a home in October and covered with a large blue tarp for the winter. He said Maplewood has no ordinance prohibiting this. Another case is where a family has more operable and licensed cars than room to park them so they use the front lawn. Mr. Robert's offered some possible approaches to the problem. Commissioner Rossbach commented that his driveway was dirt and, therefore, he was a little concerned about that part of the proposed ordinance that said he could not park on something that wasn't dust-free. Chairperson Fischer asked the commission to keep in mind the looks of many Maplewood neighborhoods when establishing parking criteria. Mr. Robert's said that, as this ordinance is currently drafted, only front yard parking is being considered. Commissioner Seeber felt parking cars in the backyards was also an issue. He cited a case in his neighborhood. He felt this ordinance was important and merited consideration. Commissioner Trippler questioned what "an area intended for parking" included. Mr. Roberts used a landscaped area as an example of a space which was not intended for parking. The commissioners discussed the definition of driveway. Commissioner Rossbach asked about the requirement that houses on collector streets have a turnaround area. Mr. Roberts suggested that existing turnarounds could be grandfathered in but a requirement made that new or improved turnarounds be up to current standards, i.e. hard-surfaced. Commissioner Mueller was surprised that, in observing parking throughout the city, there aren't more regulations about what can be parked in front yards and for how long. Chairperson Fischer mentioned that there is no overnight street parking in Maplewood. Commissioner Thompson felt that parking a motorhome in a driveway in front of a house destroys the setback ordinance. He said attitudes change as people have older children who drive cars and need space to park them at home. Mr. Thompson felt there has to be a limit somewhere to maintain the quality of a neighborhood. He just asked that whatever is decided, the ordinance should be enforceable. Commissioner Mueller mentioned other cities where motorhomes and snowmobiles must be parked in places other than front driveways. He suggested a "happy medium." Chairperson Fischer talked about the difference between landscaping and parking area. She said garage size is not as restrictive as it once was. She questioned whether it is better to have more green Planning Commission Minutes of 02-01-99 -4- area or more impervious surface. Ms. Fischer was "very reluctant to say you couldn't be driving over rock or things of that nature" and used a previous personal circumstance to explain her position. Commissioner Seeber wanted to be very careful about the use of gravel because it spreads out into the yards and streets. Ken Roberts said most of the parking complaints are on vehicles. He thought that about ninety percent of the junked vehicles that are reported to the city are either not worth licensing or are moved to storage in a garage. Commissioner Rossbach felt there could be a potential problem with vehicles parked in the side and backyard. He wondered if the ordinance should be expanded to call for some type of screening if the vehicle is to be parked to the side or back of the home. Mr. Rossbach thought it might be a good time to address whether Maplewood should allow parking of large motorhomes on residential lots. He suggested differentiating between the parking of "toys" and transportation. Commissioner Rossbach said the commission possibly needed to define a driveway and even set some limits as to how big a driveway could be. He felt he would have a difficult time restricting parking of vehicles that are necessary for daily life, but not recreational vehicles. He also did not want conditional use permit requests to allow other parking. Commissioner Mueller thought another issue was the meaning of parking, whether overnight or for an extended period of time. Commissioner Pearson suggested an ordinance addressing a hard-surface driveway for new construction that covered size and allocation. He did not see a problem or hardship with this ordinance as it pertained to front yards. Ms. Fischer cautioned that not all homes have room to get a vehicle into their backyard or space to park on the side. Mr. Mueller thought if a vehicle is to be parked in the front, it should be on a hard-surfaced parking spot, not just put on the front yard. Commissioner Rossbach commented that it was basically the neighbors who disliked looking at the car parked in the yard as the homeowner obviously was not bothered by it. Ken Roberts said this was simply referred to the commission by the city council for input and no change was mandated. Chairperson Fischer asked staff to get actual figures on how many parking complaints are made to the city. Mr. Roberts stated that the only time a complaint would be logged is if there is an actual violation. If someone was calling to get information on parking restrictions, they would only be given that information but the call would not be documented. Ms. Fischer said she would also be reluctant to see yard "cemented in for a temporary situation." Commissioner Trippler asked for the actual language included in the ordinances used by Stillwater and Woodbury. Commissioner Rossbach said his thought was to recommend to the city council that they take no action with this. However, if the council does take action, he suggested the ordinance be complete and include parking only on designated areas and no storage of recreational vehicles, boats, etc. unless they are fully screened from the neighbors. Mr. Rossbach thought the ordinance could define a driveway and address the whole yard. Commissioner Mueller was interested in how other cities write their ordinance and he would like to see some of these. Mr. Roberts cautioned that many of the cities do not allow parking in the back which differed from Mr. Rossbach's suggestions. Commissioner Pearson "tended to agree" with Mr. Rossbach but thought this should be tabled until an ordinance that addressed the entire lot and size of the lot was developed. He felt some lots should be allowed storage under certain conditions. Mr. Pearson said he would like to see how the ordinances from Oakdale, White Bear Lake and Woodbury are written. He liked some of the ordinances that were simply written and stated nothing ahead of the front-yard setback. He thought this could also be extended to the rear of the house setback to take care of Planning Commission Minutes of 02-01-99 -5- sideyards. Commissioner Pearson thought the potential was to see more and more front yard parking for various reasons. Commissioner Ledvina said he would support development of this type of ordinance. He felt this iS becoming more of an issue because people have more possessions. Commissioner Rossbach asked if the consensus was in favor of designing an ordinance that would improve perception of the neighborhood. He thought people could be allowed to store things along as they could be properly screened and a minimum distance from property line. He also suggested some regulation on parking large motorhomes. Some of the commissioners agreed with Mr. Rossbach. Commissioner Rossbach moved the Planning Commission table the residential parking ordinance for further information until the next planning commission meeting. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. The planning commission took a 5-minute break to allow staff time to make copies of the planning commission by- laws. The copy machines were shut off so staff was unable to make copies. D. By-Laws Commissioner Ledvina moved the Planning Commission table the consideration of the by-laws until the next planning commission meeting. Commissioner Trippler Ayes--all The motion passed. VII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS There were no visitor presentations. VIII. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS B. C. D. January 11 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach reported on this meeting. January 25 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer reported on this meeting. February 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach will attend this meeting. February 22 Council Meeting: A commissioner will not be needed at this meeting. Chairperson Fischer asked for an update on the former Shopper's City site. Ken Roberts said he thought a roofing permit has been applied for. IX. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Reschedule February 15 Meeting, President's Day: Ken Roberts thought it was probable that this meeting might be canceled. An alternate date was not selected and staff will notify the commissioners of the meeting status. Ken Roberts updated the commission on the Bruentrup farm. It was his understanding that the historical society was working with some local legislators to secure some state funding to move at Planning Commission Minutes of 02-01-99 -6- least some or all the farm buildings off the site into the nearby park. He said staff viewed a concept plan the previous week the showed two large retailers occupying the site. X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m.