Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/03/2005 MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, January 3, 2005, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road BEast 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes a. December 20, 2004 5. Public Hearings None 6. New Business a. Training Session - City Attorney's Office b. Planning Commissions Rules of Procedure c. Planning Commission's 2004 Annual Report 7. Unfinished Business None 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations December 27 Council Meeting: No Meeting January 10 Council Meeting: Mr. Grover January 24 Council Meeting: Ms. Fisher February 14 Council Meeting: Ms. Dierich 10. Staff Presentations a. Reschedule January 17 Meeting (MLK Holiday) - Wednesday January 19? 11. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, JANUARY 3,2005 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Eric Ahlness Commissioner Jeff Bartol Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Commissioner Mary Dierich Commissioner Michael Grover Commissioner Daniel Lee Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner Dale Trippler Staff Present: Present Present until 9:06 p.m. Present Absent Present Present Absent Present Present Melinda Coleman, Assistant City Manager Ken Roberts, Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Pearson seconded. The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ayes - Ahlness, Bartol, Dierich, Fischer, Grover, Pearson, Trippler Approval of the planning commission minutes for December 20, 2004. Chairperson Fischer recommended moving the line on page 5 that stated Chairperson Fischer stepped away to page 4, immediately following the sixth paragraph. It should read Chairperson Fischer stepped away for 5 to 10 minutes. Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the planning commission minutes for December 20, 2004, as amended. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes - Ahlness, Dierich, Fischer, Grover, Pearson, Trippler Abstention - Bartol Planning Commission Minutes of 01-03-05 -2- V. PUBLIC HEARING None. VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Training Session - City Attorney's Office (7:10 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.) Mr. Roberts said commissioners were sent a packet of information from the city attorney's office. Mr. Chad Lemmons, one of the city attorneys working in Land Use and Zoning matters is here to give a presentation. Mr. Chad Lemmons, Attorney with Kelly & Fawcett, P.A., 2350 Piper Jaffray Plaza, 444 Cedar Street, St. Paul, addressed the commission. Mr. Lemmons gave additional handouts to planning commissioners to refer to. Mr. Lemmons discussed things such as Public Hearings, Conditional Use Permits, Easements, Variances, and the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance. Conditional Use Permits In Maplewood there are nine standards in the city code that must be met. If one of the nine standards isn't met you have a case against the Conditional Use Permit. However, if all nine standards are met, the law requires you to grant the Conditional Use Permit. If you as a planning commissioner think one of the standards has not been met, you must give detailed reasons why you believe the standard hasn't been met. The city staff does a good job in the staff reports stating why a Conditional Use Permit should or should not be granted. The city council has the right to place conditions on a Conditional Use Permit in addition to the nine standards that must be met. Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance In Maplewood the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance work together. State statutes require the Zoning Ordinance and the Comprehensive Plan agree with each other. In rare instances where the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance do not agree with each other, according to the legislature, the Zoning Ordinance controls the situation and the Comprehensive Plan must generally conform to that. The Metropolitan Council requires that each city update their Comprehensive Plan every 10 years. Spot zoning is zoning for an area 1 acre or smaller and is illegal. Economic need: When an applicant comes before the planning commission and states there is an economic need for a project that is not a basis for the planning commission to approve or not approve a project. Economic need is not one of the standards for approving a CUP but it can be a factor for approving a project. Planning Commission Minutes of 01-03-05 -3- Disagreeing with recommendations by city staff: It's okay for Planning Commissioners to disagree with city staffs decision to recommend or not recommend approval of a project but you need to state that as "I disagree and here are the reasons I disagree". City staff has their reasons for the recommending or denying a project as well as planning commissioners have reasons for their opinions or decisions they make. Voicing concerns about the project reflects the fact that people have thought about the project and have discussed the issues. Easements Easements are rights to use the property for a certain purpose. The actual fee ownership remains with the landowner. The landowner's use of the property is limited to a use that doesn't interfere with the easement. This includes things such as proper drainage on the property. Public easements are controlled by the city and are held in trust by the city for the public. The city has the right to determine if the easement is being breached or not. If the act of the person who isthe underlying fee owner of the property impedes the purpose of the easement, the city has the right to seek an injunction to remove the impediment so the proper flow of water can take place. Public Hearings The chair has the power to set time limits on the length of time a speaker can speak which should be identified at the beginning of the meeting. It's at the chairs discretion to allow people to speak longer or cut their speaking time short. If a speaker is repeating discussion that has already been talked about the chair has the power to stop the speaker and let them know that subject matter has already been heard and to only bring up new discussion items. b. Planning Commission Rules of Procedure Mr. Roberts said the planning commission should review the rules of procedure. Section L of the rules says that the commission is to review the rules at the first meeting each year. Mr. Roberts proposes changes to Section J, under Appointments, to reflect the current city council policies. If the commission wants to make other changes, they may propose them. Commissioner Ahlness asked staff if this would be the appropriate place to insert a recommendation for Rules of Procedure for Public Hearings? Mr. Roberts said yes. Commissioner Ahlness recommended that the planning commission adopt the 2004 Maplewood Public Hearing Policy and Procedures as the public hearing policy with the change of limiting comments to 10 minutes in lieu of the 5 minutes as written. Planning Commission Minutes of 01-03-05 -4- Commissioner Ahlness thinks it serves the public interest and the applicant's case to help focus on their comments and come to the point. The Chairperson may extend the allocated time forthe applicant to speak. The ten minute time frame is not to cut them off; it is merely to help them stay focused on the subject. The ten minutes would begin after their presentation is over and would include the applicant's comments and questions from the city staff or planning commission. This would provide for good order. Mr. Roberts said he believed the five minute time limit shown on the public hearing handout was intended for the public testimony to comment on the subject matter and not for the applicant or developer. Mr. Roberts said he's never heard of limiting time for an applicant to state their case. Chairperson Fischer said she is not comfortable limiting the applicant's time. Commissioner Trippler said the chairperson has the power to limit time for the public to speak regarding the project but an applicant comes in to give a presentation to sell their project to the commission and should not be limited to a specific timeframe. If the discussion were to get too lengthy the chair can set a time limit. Chairperson Fischer asked for a second motion. The motion failed for a lack of a second motion. Commissioner Trippler moved to adopt the Planning Commission Rules of Procedure with the changes staff proposed on page 4 item J. Commissioner Grover seconded. Ayes - Bartol, Dierich, Fischer, Grover, Pearson Trippler Nay - Ahlness Commissioner Ahlness said he voted nay because the planning commission should look at rules to help govern behavior and expectations for the applicant. This would assist the speaker to be aware what the planning commission expects from the applicant. Commissioner Trippler suggested that city staff let the applicant know before the meeting what is expected of them from the planning commission and to limit their comments to the subject matter. The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on January 24, 2005. c. Planning Commission's 2004 Annual Report Mr. Roberts said the city code requires that the planning commission prepare an annual report to the city council by their second meeting in February. This report should include the planning commission's activities from the past year and the major projects for the upcoming year. Planning Commission Minutes of 01-03-05 -5- Mr. Roberts said terms are due for renewal for Commissioners Bartol, Desai, and Fischer and they should let Mr. Roberts know if they are interested in serving on the planning commission for another term. Commissioners noticed corrections to term expirations and an inconsistency in the report regarding the Summerhill Development which staff will correct. Commissioner Grover moved to approve the Planning Commission's 2004 Report with the noted corrections. Commissioner Bartol seconded. Ayes - Ahlness, Bartol, Dierich, Fischer, Grover, Pearson, Trippler The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on January 24, 2005. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. No planning commission representation was needed for December 27, 2004, because the city council meeting was cancelled. b. Mr. Grover will be the planning commission representative at the January 10, 2005, city council meeting. The only item to discuss will be the CUP for Walking in Faith Church at 2385 Ariel Street. c. Ms. Fischer will be the planning commission representative at the January 24,2005, city council meeting. Items to discuss include Maplewood Imports Auto Center at 2450 Maplewood Drive, Planning Commission Rules of Procedure and Planning Commission's 2004 Annual Report. d. Ms. Dierich will be the planning commission representative at the February 14, 2005, city council meeting. Planning Commission Minutes of 01-03-05 -6- Chairperson Fischer asked staff to send a calendar of the Gladstone Task Force meetings to commissioners that did not receive one. A Gladstone Task Force meeting calendar was sent to Commissioners Jeff Bartol, Mary Dierich, and Michael Grover. HRA members Joe O'Brien and Beth Ulrich were sent calendars as per the chairs request. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Reschedule January 17, 2005, Planning Commission Meeting because of the Martin Luther King holiday. Mr. Roberts has a class Tuesday, January 18, and there is a Gladstone Task Force meeting on Wednesday, January 19. After polling the planning commission it was decided to reschedule the meeting from Monday, January 17, 2005, to Thursday, January 20, 2005. Two public hearings will be held during the Thursday, January 20, 2005, meeting. The Public Works building expansion CUP revision and the Pondview Apartments request to build a fourth apartment building at Ivy Avenue and Ferndale Street. XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:23 p.m.