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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/15/2004 MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, November 15, 2004, 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. November 1, 2004 5. Public Hearings 7:00 Conditional Use Permit Mapletree Group Home (2831 Southlawn Drive) 6. New Business Concept Plan Review. The Woodlands PUD (McMenemy Street) 7. Unfinished Business None 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations November 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Trippler November 22 Council Meeting: Mr. Desai December 13 Council Meeting: Mr. Ahlness 10. Staff Presentations Reschedule 12-6 PC Meeting: Tuesday 12-7 or Wednesday 12-8? 11. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2004 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 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 Present Present Absent Present Present Absent Present Ken Roberts, Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary "Vice-Chairperson Desai spoke as Acting Chairperson during the meeting when Chairperson Fischer had trouble with her voice. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Bartol moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Trippler seconded. The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ayes - Ahlness, Bartol, Desai, Fischer, Grover, Lee, Trippler Approval of the planning commission minutes for November 1, 2004. Chairperson Fischer had a correction on page 4, last paragraph, change the word whey to when. Commissioner Trippler had corrections on pages 4, 7, and 12. The corrections were: On page 4, first paragraph, 11th line, after the words variance request the sentence should read The length of the variance request usually lasted for 90 days. Mr. Ost said when he requested a change, Julie Snyder, the licensing agent said there was a different procedure that had to be followed now. On page 4, second paragraph, change the word mood point to moot point. On page 7, second paragraph, second line, delete the word it. On page 12, first paragraph, sixth line, delete the word what. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -2- Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the planning commission minutes for November 1, 2004, as amended. Commissioner Desai seconded. Ayes -Ahlness, Bartol, Desai, Grover, Trippler Abstentions - Fischer, Lee V. PUBLIC HEARING (7:06- 9:05 p.m.) a. Conditional Use Permit - Mapletree Group Home (2831 Southlawn Drive) Mr. Roberts said Mr. Jon Brandt, representing the Mapletree Group Home, is requesting that the city approve a conditional use permit (CUP) for the property at 2831 Southlawn Drive. This request is to allow the Mapletree Group Home to have up to 12 residents live in the residential facility (group home) on this property. State law allows Mapletree to have up to six residents living in the group home without city approval. To have more than six residents in the home, the city must approve a CUP for the property. Commissioner Trippler said he would prefer to see the residents that are "for" and those that are "against" the proposal indicated on the map and would like that information included in future staff reports. He read in the staff report of the 25 properties surveyed, nine replies were against the proposal. However, before the meeting began staff handed an additional letter to the commissioners from a resident who was also against this proposal. According to the list of objections listed on page 3 of the staff report, he only sees five objections to this proposal and after the late submittal of the letter now makes six objections. He asked where the addresses were for the remaining neighborhood objections that Mr. Roberts received. Mr. Roberts said he received telephone calls from four other neighbors on South lawn Drive and Radatz Avenue opposing the request but the neighbors did not specify their exact address. Commissioner Trippler asked how staff knew for sure the callers lived in the neighborhood if the callers did not give staff their exact address. Mr. Roberts said he relied on the fact that the neighborhood residents called and said they received the mailing from the city regarding this proposal and wanted to share their comments regarding the proposal for the Mapletree Group Home. Commissioner Bartol asked if staff knew iflhere was a shortage of group homes in Maplewood? Mr. Roberts said he wasn't sure there was a need for more group homes in Maplewood, however, the operators of the group homes have stated there is a waiting list and a demand for their services. Group homes operate out of individual homes, multiple locations or they expand within the facilities that they already have. He can't give numbers of how many people are on a waiting list but he gets the sense from speaking to the directors of these group homes that they could double the capacity and still not have enough room for people on the list. He isn't sure if that was a city wide or a Ramsey County problem. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -3- Commissioner Desai said he remembered hearing during a past commission meeting compared to other communities in the twin cities metro area Maplewood had a large proportion of group homes. Mr. Roberts said the number of group homes had been looked at on a county-wide basis. As a percentage of the county population verses the number of group homes, Maplewood has more than their fair share of group homes based on population. He doesn't have numbers to share regarding how many group homes there are metro wide. Commissioner Desai asked what staff meant by their recommendation for additional electronic monitoring equipment? Mr. Roberts said he was referring to an electronic security system. This would alert the staff if a resident was trying to leave through a window or door during the night. Commissioner Desai said according to the letter handed out by staff this evening from Nicole Zuk at 2799 Southlawn Drive, she stated she spoke to the Ramsey County Assessor and was told because of the number of residents at the group home, homeowners that wanted to sell their house would be required to disclose there was a group home with sex offenders living there. Mr. Roberts said because of the law that was recently passed by the State of Minnesota, home sellers have to notify potential home buyers of any substantial or important facts about the home and the area of the home that could affect the buying decision of a potential buyer. The home seller is required by law to release information such as a road project that would include assessments, or a shopping center being built down the block, or an existing facility such as this. Commissioner Bartol asked staff if that was true or if it referred to only six or more residents in the group home? Commissioner Desai said when the commission looks at the overall community's interest in this he would be concerned if neighbors are affected by this group home and don't even know how this would affect them if in the future they tried to sell their home. Chairperson Fischer said if a person didn't relinquish this information they could be sued in the future for not releasing the fact that they knew a group home existed in the neighborhood and did not state that up front. Commissioner Trippler said he understood for the city to approve a CUP the city must find that the proposal meets several findings. He asked if the applicant was required to show a hardship in order for the city to grant a CUP? Mr. Roberts said no, hardships are for variances but not for a CUP. A CUP is more subjective and the applicant has to show how they meet the findings in the ordinance that are in the resolution. Mr. Jon Brandt handed Mr. Roberts information regarding the sellers properly disclosure to share with the commission. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -4- Mr. Roberts said under the "No Duty to Disclose" portion it states there is no duty to disclose the fact that the property was or is occupied by somebody with HIV or aids, that there was a suicide, accidental death, natural death or perceived paranormal activity. That it is located in a neighborhood containing any adult family home, community based residential facility or nursing home. There is no duty to disclose information regarding an offender who is required to register under Minnesota Statutes 243-- or about whom notification is made under that section which is predatory offender or sex offenders. If the seller in a timely manner provides a written notice about the information about the predatory offender registry and the person is registered with the registry may be obtained by contacting the local law enforcement agency where the property is located. Commissioner Grover asked if the property owner that owns the vacant property behind the group home had been contacted about this proposal? Mr. Roberts said yes, Mr. Brandt is the owner of that property which has been approved by the city council to build nine townhomes there to be called the Mapletree Townhomes. Commissioner Bartol said regarding the "No Duty to Disclose" piece of information given to staff by Mr. Brandt, did that refer to registering as an adult sex offender or as a juvenile sex offender? He wasn't aware juvenile sex offenders were required to register with the state? Mr. Roberts said this piece of information does not state people have to register, it only states you as a home seller do not have to disclose information about an offender who is required to register with the state. You as a home seller can direct people to find that information at other sources. He was not aware however, if a sex offender had to register as an adult or as a juvenile. Commissioner Desai said he read the letter from Azure Properties objecting to this proposal and asked if staff knew which homes Azure Properties managed on South lawn Drive? Mr. Roberts said he wasn't sure but he believed it was the homes across the street from the group home. Azure Properties also owns the Chili's property, US Bank property, and the Outback Steakhouse property, as well as the property next door to the Ramsey County library where they had proposed building a DQ Chill & Grill which was denied by the city council. Commissioner Lee asked if staff knew how many group homes could be located within one neighborhood? He said essentially this proposal would be like having two group homes on the same block. Mr. Roberts said he didn't know how many group homes could be located in one neighborhood. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to address the commission. Mr. Jon Brandt, representing the Mapletree Group Home, 2831 Southlawn Drive, Maplewood, addressed the commission. Mr. Brandt spoke from 7:45 p.m. until 8:45 p.m. and the following is a condensed version of what he said during his presentation. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -5- Mr. Brandt said he has been a resident at 2837 South lawn Drive since 1989, which is next door to the Mapletree Group Home and he has been the Founder and Director of the Mapletree Group Home since 1991. He provided handout materials to the planning commission and he discussed aloud the handout page by page. He said he does not "want" to be here tonight, he "has" to be here tonight. He would like to go on quietly operating the Mapletree Group Home as he has for 13 years but because of the new state laws, Mapletree may be legislated out of existence in the summer of 2005. He is not aware of other group homes that deal with the population of young adults they work with. The Phoenix Group Home works with young adults with chemical dependency issues and the Mapletree Group Home works with young adults with a history of sexual offenses. Mr. Brandt said a few years ago he went into the neighborhood to let the neighbors know Mapletree Group Home planned to expand. He was surprised to hear how many neighbors did not know the Mapletree Group Home existed in this neighborhood. This was good news for him because when it comes to group homes, no reputation is a good reputation. The Mapletree Group Home was created to fill a need in the juvenile system. It's a residential program that can work with kids who have made some serious mistakes with their behavior but are low risk offenders. In the late 1980's he began to search for the ideal location in the twin cities for a group home to serve this population and established the following criteria. (See handout #1) It should be in close proximity to Ramsey, Washington, Dakota, Anoka and Chisago Counties. Should have easy freeway access, employment opportunities for residents, close to a Community or Technical College, variety of special educational facilities, parks and recreational opportunities, close to a community center or YMCA, close to health care facilities, close to a library, good public transportation, and have a location on the edge of a neighborhood rather than in the center of one. They found that location on South lawn Drive in Maplewood and opened the Mapletree Group Home in 1990. (See handout #2) for the Mapletree Time Line (See handout #3) for the New Licensing Laws - MN Statutes/Rules Chapter 2960 go into effect on July 1,2005. This is a sampling of the new licensing laws but is by no means complete. Mr. Brandt said because of the new licensing laws that would go into effect in July 2005, Mapletree cannot meet the new licensing laws as they are currently organized. Mr. Roberts asked Mr. Brandt if he could briefly explain why the state has changed the laws and require the new rules. Mr. Brandt said about 4 or 5 years ago the state legislature directed the (DOHS) Department of Human Services and the (DOC) Department of Corrections to bring their licensing laws together. The licensing laws had not been rewritten since 1964 so the legislature directed the two organizations to solicit feedback from correctional facilities, foster homes, group homes, and residential treatment centers from across Minnesota to rewrite the licensing laws. They participated in public hearings over the last 3 years at which time input was solicited for the new licensing laws and those laws were finalized 6 months ago and go into effect July 1, 2005. (See handout #4) for the three options Mapletree Group Home has to work from. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -6- Mr. Brandt said one option is to expand Mapletree at their existing location, (for more information see Handout #5). Option two is to open a second group home spreading new licensing demands over more staff at two locations. They would apply for a waiver from the state which they were told would be granted to continue to operate with a sleep staff at night and would not be subject to community approval. This is not a viable plan for Mapletree because it takes some of the problems they have at one facility and moves it to another location. Lastly, their third option isto close the Mapletree Group Home all together. If the facility closes, ultimately the community beyond Mapletree will suffer. The same kids that live at Mapletree would be released from correctional facilities and into the community without the support and supervision that they need, without finishing school, without building job skills, without saving money to have an apartment, without having a chance to be sober outside the walls of a correctional facility, without having a chance to put into practice the things they learned in treatment. Many of these young men will turn to drug abuse and drug dealing, will become homeless, and will begin to commit crimes as adults that the Mapletree Group Home tried to prevent when they were juveniles. The truth is it takes a village to raise kids in today's society. Mapletree can't do it alone and they aren't. Each of the young men at the Mapletree Group Home have a placement team which include, a probation officer, county social worker, their parents when available, sometimes outside therapists, and the staff at Mapletree. They have a psychologist that holds groups with the boys, and they have a tutor that comes in once a week to help with homework and help track progress at school. All the boys must be in school or working to complete a GED, the boys are expected to have jobs, they work in the community and are required to save 80% of their earnings. When problems are identified at work Mapletree meets with their employers to help the boys build job skills and become better employees. Some of the boys are required to do community service or pay restitution and give something back to the community. Mr. Brandt said until now a state law shielded small group homes and foster homes from community restrictions and made it possible to operate without local supervision. Because he is requesting to increase their license capacity beyond 6, they have become subject to the jurisdiction of Maplewood. Mapletree has been operating with the city's trust for many years and now to stay in existence they need the city's consent. Under Minnesota law, local communities have no control over the placement offoster or group homes with fewer than 6 residents. Forthis reason there are hundreds of group and foster homes across Minnesota that have 6 or fewer residents. Most small group homes in Maplewood and across Minnesota are for developmentally disabled adults. This allows people to live in the community rather than in an institution. The typical size group home for troubled youth across Minnesota is 10 to 12 residents. Some programs are licensed for 14 to 20 kids, but with that many kids it's becoming more of an institution than a group home. Mapletree needs to expand to stay in existence and are asking for a licensing capacity of 12 residents. It is unlikely they will have 12 kids except during occasional peak periods. Most likely they will have 10 to 11 kids which is where they need to set their budget. During certain budget crisis they have had to go into their reserves to pay their bills. Because they have reserves they have never had to make harsh decisions such as taking kids or keeping kids that don't belong at Mapletree. They will never make decisions for financial reasons that will compromise community safety just to keep beds full. (See handout #7 for further information). Mr. Brandt said Mapletree has had about 108 kids come through the group home in 13 years. Nearly all the boys at Mapletree fall under the opportunistic category and are at a lower than low risk (as shown on the handout). Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -7- Mr. Brandt asked for the planning commissions support for the approval of a conditional use permit for Mapletree (see handout #8). As part of a conditional use permit for 12 residents at Mapletree they are proposing the following program changes. (see handout #9 for these changes). Chairperson Fischer invited the public to come forward and speak regarding this proposal. The following people spoke during the public hearing for the CUP for Mapletree Group Home, 2831 Southlawn Drive. 1. Nicole Zuk, 2799 South lawn Drive. 2. Micky Manders, 2804 Southlawn Drive. 3. Earl Steinbring, 1795 Radatz Avenue. 4. John, a former resident at the Mapletree Group Home. 5. Paul S., Licensed Psychologist. Nicole, Zuk, 2799 Southlawn Drive, Maplewood, addressed the commission. Ms. Zuk said she understands and sympathizes there should be group homes for boys that have committed crimes who deserve a second chance. Does she want those boys living two doors down from her when she has two young daughters and the majority of the residents are sex offenders, absolutely not! Her father has worked with at-risk kids for years and won the KARE 11 award for that. When she shared this information with her father he thought there was a definite conflict of interest. Because Mr. Brandt is the Owner and Director of the Mapletree Group Home this is leaning towards a financial aspect for Mr. Brandt to make money off this proposal. Especially since Mr. Brandt owns the property behind the group home where he will build nine town houses. She said he seems to have his own monopoly going. She went to the open house at the group home on Sunday, November 14, 2004, and still has concerns. Currently there is no awake-staff there now, they have one staff member and his room is in the basement bedroom in the far corner. The boys in the home currently sleep in the upstairs bedrooms. There is no security system in place yet. The staff member that gave her the tour told her in the four years he has worked at Mapletree there have been two attempts to sneak out when the kids unscrewed the bolts in the windows. She talked to Police ChiefThomalla on Wednesday, November 1 0,2004, and he said in the past 10 years there have been over 100 phone calls to the Maplewood Police Department regarding the group home and there have been a number of walk-offs and runaways. She spoke to the Ramsey County Attorney's office and she spoke with the Maplewood City Clerk. She also spoke with Ramsey County Assessor, Pete Fredrickson, who told her Wednesday, November 1 0,2004, that if they tried to sell their house the fact that she lives near the Mapletree Group Home would have to be disclosed in the paper work. She said unfortunately, when they bought their home in 1998 the fact that a group home was operating in this neighborhood wasn't disclosed to them. He said because of the licensing requirements it didn't have to be disclosed since there were 6 boys or fewer there, but if there were more than 6 boys at the group home they as the home sellers would have to disclose that information if they tried to sell their house. Mr. Fredrickson said it would not affect their property value but they probably wouldn't get their asking price based on the property value if that information was disclosed. She said basically most people are not going to want to buy a house next to 12 felon boys. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -8- Ms. Zuk said her parents bought a house in St. Paul and ran into a similar situation. Her parents found out after they signed the real estate papers, that there was a sex offender in the neighborhood and tried to back out of the agreement. Because of the situation, her parents ended up paying considerably less than the asking price for the home because of this. She spoke with the Ramsey County Commissioner, Victoria Rhinehart, and asked who sets the guidelines for security and supervision over group homes. Ms. Rhinehart's Human Resources Department is looking into that and will contact her with more information. Before her and her husband realized a group home was there her husband came home from work at about 6:20 a.m. and witnessed two boys holding a pellet gun. It appeared the boys were going to the open space next to her house maybe to shoot rabbits. Had they known there was a group home operating next door they would have called the police to report the boys had pellet guns. She isn't sure what the level of supervision is because these boys are free to roam the neighborhood. Two months ago one of the boys from the home had a girlfriend that would pull into her driveway, the boy would run down and jump into the girl's car and they would drive down to the dead end to probably have sexual relations. Ms. Zuk said during the course of all of her telephone calls she has been asking who inspects group homes and how often that inspection takes place, but nobody has had an answer to that question yet. Mr. Brandt rents out a home next to her home and it has been a constant revolving door of renters moving in every 6-to-12 months. Most of Mr. Brandt's renters are college age and often hold parties and the next morning beer bottles and glasses are strewn on her property. When she asked the staff member that gave her the tour what the success rate was for the residents at Mapletree he wasn't sure but guessed a 50% success rate. Mick Manders, 2804 Southlawn Drive, Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said his daughters were "cat called" by some of the boys at the Mapletree Group Home. Another incident that occurred was some of the boys at the group home threatened to beat up his son and a friend that was over. When this occurred, Mr. Manders said he telephoned Mr. Brandt and said some pretty harsh words to him, but never contacted the police. Mr. Manders said he had also seen the boy running down to the parked car and to have sexual relations with the girl driver just as Ms. Zuk did. In fact over a two week time frame he saw the boy do this five to six times. The boy looked at Mr. Manders face, point blank with a grin on his face while running to the parked car with the girl waiting inside. Mr. Manders said he doesn't understand how you can have sexual offenders living in a group home, and they are that free to run around. He wants to know where the security and supervision is. Mr. Manders said 14 years ago Mr. Brandt came before the city council and said he wanted to build homes in this location. He never said he wanted to build a group home on South lawn Drive, tonight Mr. Brandt commented that he had told the city council he planned on building a group home here. He never stated to the neighbors he was going to have a group home with sexual offenders living there and now he wants to double the number of boys living there from 6 to 12. There are many young girls that walk up and down the streets to the mall and surrounding area. There are also a lot of girls that live in this neighborhood and he doesn't feel comfortable knowing the freedom these boys with sexual offenses have living here. There is also the open space behind the property. It seems there are too many temptations for the boys living in the group home. As far as resale value for these homes, he's sure none of the commissioners would buy a house knowing sexual offenders were living within 100 yards of the home. He thanked the planning commission for their time. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -9- Mr. Earl Steinbring, 1795 Radatz Avenue, Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said he has lived in this house since 1952. Azure Properties owns two houses and rents them out. Those people that rent those homes never received a letter from Maplewood stating there was a public hearing for the group home. He said maybe it's because they are renters. When Mr. Brandt came around to get signatures from the neighbors for approval to build these homes Mr. Brandt told him his mother would be living in one of the duplexes. Had he known Mr. Brandt was going to have a group home with sexual offenders living there, he would have never signed his name to the petition. John, a former resident at the Mapletree Group Home, addressed the commission. The reason he is here tonight is to support the Mapletree Group Home and what they do to help young adults. These are not sexual predators. He said he would not be here today if it weren't for the support of the staff at the Mapletree Group Home. He came to the group home out of a treatment center which was a very uncomfortable place to be. He lived at Mapletree about 10 years ago; he got a job, went to school, and did what he needed to do to complete the program. It is easy to say people don't want this group home in their backyard. John said he has his own children now; he works at his job and is a success because of the program at Mapletree. A lot of what he has accomplished wouldn't have happened, couldn't have happened, if it weren't forthe program at Mapletree. To close Mapletree down means you are saying to the kids you are better off in jail because society and the community doesn't want you. When you feel that way, why would you try to succeed in any other place in your life. He never had a problem with the people in the community. Mapletree was a nice place to live. It wasn't as comfortable as living in your own place but he gave up that right with his history. The kids need this type of home. If programs like Mapletree weren't located here this type of group home could be located someplace else. Without group homes like this, these young adults would be locked up in jail. If this is an opportunity for kids to get help we should want the kids to get the help they need, not put them in jail and get no rehabilitation. It's not easy for the kids living there, it is not easy for the staff, and it is not easy for the community. As Mr. Brandt said, it takes a community to raise youth today. He hopes his presence here can help this program because without the program at Mapletree he would not be standing here or be the person he is today. He thanked the commission for their attention. Paul S., a Licensed Psychologist, addressed the commission. Paul said he has been the licensed psychologist since the inception of the Mapletree Group Home in 1991. Much of the success for the residents at the Mapletree Group Home is directly related to Jon Brandt and the quality of staff Mr. Brandt has been able to acquire. He said the typical resident is 16 to 18 years of age up until 21 years of age and that these adolescents are in need of transitional living arrangements. They are often continuing in their treatment in some manor whether that be AA, individual therapy or treatment. Most of the residents are on probation and are continually monitored to evaluate their risk to the community. Over the years the referral sources have gotten to know the staff at Mapletree and who would best transition from prior placements to Mapletree. Residents who are referred are considered to be compatible to the services and support of the group home and its staff. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -10- Paul said the residents are expected to follow the rules and expectations. These expectations include, but are not limited to, accountability, community safety, attend high school or Vo-Tech, work on a full or part time basis depending on their educational needs and goals, they are required to complete court-ordered community service or restitution, participate in Mapletree therapy groups, and independent skill groups, meet regularly with a Mapletree case manager, and develop individualized treatment goals. Paul said they are also expected to participate in their staffing and progress reviews. The screening process that is referred to Mapletree is typically a phone call made to Mr. Brandt or staff and final material reviewed. Assuming the adolescent is not actively psychotic or diagnosed with a significant neurological impairment, arrangements are made to meet with the potential referent for a face-to-face interview. If the file review and the initial meeting go well, arrangements are made for a day or overnight visit. The rules and expectations at Mapletree are discussed and the needs of the adolescent are reviewed. The placement visit is intended to evaluate the appropriateness of the referral and to attempt to determine if a match exists between the adolescent, Mapletree's program and the existing residents. Occasionally new residents are accepted on a provisional basis. Once a resident arrives at Mapletree a treatment plan is developed in coordination with other treatment plans such as the county social worker. Often psychological testing is administered to determine the needs, goals, insights and strengths of the resident. Paul said Mapletree has enjoyed a good relationship with the Maplewood Police Department, North St. Paul High School and its neighbors over the years. Paul said expanding this program, no doubt will tax the staff and the program, but it will also raise potential concerns due to the increased number of potential residents. Community safety has always been the top priority not only for Mapletree but for the referral sources, community partners, employees, neighbors, the residents' families, and the young adults themselves. Poor decision making and on-going criminal or antisocial behavior often makes for incarceration as an adult. The stakes are high for the young men which are referred to Mapletree. The young men that are referred to Mapletree are often in need of a safe and structured living environment and are encouraged and expected to transition back into the community with the support of staff, residents, other professionals, and family members, if available. These young men have complex histories and have struggled with a variety of issues, often coexisting mental and chemical health diagnosis. They experience family of origin dysfunction, attachment issues and conduct disorder, just to name a few. Mapletree's primary goal is to assist these young men in assimilating back into the community and use the new tools they have acquired along their journey in a positive pro-social manor to become valued citizens. He thanks the commission for the opportunity to speak tonight and for listening to him. Commissioner Ahlness asked if the applicant had any special rights owning a duplex to divide or construct in a way there could be more than one group home? Mr. Roberts said the zoning is R-2, which by ordinance, is for single-family homes or double dwellings. That is how the home to the north can exist as a single family home even though it is zoned R-2. In this case Mr. Brandt was allowed to convert the garage to a separate apartment because he has the R-2 zoning. The main house functions as one house with its own garage and separate entity, then the garage was converted to a separate apartment with its own kitchen. He said in a way the property is already functioning as two separate homes with the apartment for two residents and the main part of the home housing six people. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -11- Acting Chairperson Desai asked why Lieutenant Kevin Rabbett of the Maplewood Police Department didn't find significant public safety concerns but Nicole Zuk said when she spoke to Police Chief Thomalla he stated there were over 100 phone calls to the police department over the past 10 years? If you divide the number of complaint calls over 10 years that comes to about 10 calls a year, which still seems significant to him. Mr. Roberts said when the police department provided their comments for the staff report that information was not included or broken down so all staff has to refer to is the comments from Lieutenant Rabbett. He hopes to get more information broken down for the report that would go to the city council. If there were issues to be concerned about, he assumed he would have received more details. Mr. Roberts said he took Lieutenant Rabbett's comments as being supportive of the program at the Mapletree Group Home. Commissioner Grover referred to the conditional use permit resolution on page 15 of the staff report. Item number 2. states the use would not change the existing or planned character of the surrounding area. He asked Mr. Roberts if he could give further information regarding that condition? Mr. Roberts said basically everybody will have a different perception or opinion of what changes the existing or planned character of the surrounding area. He said to use the past proposal that came before the planning commission to build a DQ Grill and Chill next to the US Bank property. During that review, planning commissioners were concerned that a drive-thru and speaker system would change the character of the neighborhood and that it would affect the surrounding property. That proposal was denied by the city council. He said one could argue that adding six more residents to the existing group home wouldn't change the character of the surrounding area because the home already exists. Commissioner Bartol said because the state is requiring the Mapletree Group Home to comply with additional steps, financially Mr. Brandt cannot run this group home with six residents. Also Mr. Brandt said he had to dip into the reserve bank account during a time of crisis. If he cannot get city approval for the CUP to have more than 6 residents, Mr. Brandt cannot build his bank account back up to assist with paying the bills. This is a make or break situation for Mr. Brandt. Either the city approves the CUP or the Mapletree Group Home may have to close down. If anybody's property is going to depreciate with this group home here it would be Mr. Brandt's property located behind the group home where he proposes to build nine townhomes. Commissioner Trippler asked if that was something the commission should be considering? He asked if the city had seen any bank accounts to verify if the city did not grant the CUP Mr. Brandt would have to close the Mapletree Group Home? Acting Chairperson Desai said he understood Mr. Brandt's financial hardship was not in the current stage but he would be under a financial hardship when the new state guidelines took place in July 2005. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -12- Commissioner Trippler said he understood that. The city should assume this is an on-going business. Mr. Brandt is projecting what his costs would be in order to meet the criteria and the new law in 2005. His projections mayor may not be valid because there has not been a financial accounting of whether or not Mapletree could stay in business with six residents. He asked if that was a valid reason for the commission to grant or not to grant the CUP? In his opinion that was not one of the criteria the commission was being asked to evaluate. Commissioner Grover said he would agree. According to page 15 and 16 of the staff report that is not one of the criteria for the commission to follow. Commissioner Trippler said it may be a consequence of not granting the CUP but he is not sure that is what the planning commission is being instructed to weigh. This is a residential community with a group home with six residents. The question is will there be a difference at the group home doubling the occupancy. If they have six residents now and it's working out, doubling the number of residents may not be better. It sounds like they are running a wonderful facility with six residents although he has heard testimony that the Mapletree Group Home has run into some problems. He's not sure changing the occupancy number is the right thing to do and he's not sure changing that number fils in with the existing character of the neighborhood. As staff stated earlier, this is a subjective decision that each commissioner is going to have to make. Personally he doesn't feel comfortable doubling the size of this facility in this neighborhood. Commissioner Ahlness said Mr. Brandt made some compelling arguments regarding the service he offers at the Mapletree Group Home. Something to consider is state law has been established to protect group homes for up to 6 residents. The wisdom of this law is to preserve the residential and family oriented nature of the program and of the neighborhood. As the state statute would change and go into effect July 1, 2005, that number remains at 6 residents. The market will decide whether this group home stays or goes. The responsibility of the commissioners is to determine whether or not increasing the number of residents from six to twelve is a good fit for the neighborhood. There has to be a balance between community and the provider. He thinks that is already provided by the state code at 6 residents. For these reasons, he is going to vote against this proposal. Chairperson Fischer said one of the concerns she heard was that services that were available in the larger setting wouldn't be available for six or fewer number of residents in a group home. As the state mandates better security and services, the state must feel those things are not in place and should be. Her subjective opinion is that one larger group home would affect the neighborhood less compared to two smaller group homes. A larger group home is not a perfect setting in every neighborhood and this group home is located almost on top of the Maplewood Mall. Commissioner Bartol said Commissioner Ahlness compared this group home to a market. These are county dollars and from time to time there is not enough tax dollars to go around. When the state can't find the tax dollars, these young adults are the ones that would end up suffering. If there was a great deal of money to be made from owning and operating a group home he believes there would be more than one group home like this in the State of Minnesota. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -13- Commissioner Bartol said as Mr. Brandt stated in his speech, his staff workers make what a beginning teacher would make, obviously people are not in this field to make money. He believes with the new state statutes the Mapletree Group Home would have to comply with the rules and regulations and some of the concerns of the neighbors could disappear. According to Mr. Brandt's handouts, handout #9 seems like he is reaching out to the neighbors and including them in the process and he commends Mr. Brandt for that. In addition, this CUP would be reviewed in one year. For the sake of the young adults that are in need of this program, he believes the city should grant this CUP and review it in one year review and see how things are working out. He would encourage the commissioners to recommend approval of this CUP. Acting Chairperson Desai said he can't understand managing six residents makes this a difficult financial situation. When voting as a planning commissioner he doesn't take financial situations into consideration. He's trying to objectively look at this based on a planning commissioners responsibility according to city staff recommendations as well as taking into consideration what the neighborhood has to deal with and live with. Acting Chairperson Desai said when he heard there had been over 100 phone calls to the police department from this address with six or fewer residents living at the group home this concerned him. Increasing the number of residents from six to twelve could result in even more telephone calls to the police department. He is concerned about the neighbor's comments and concerns that the commission heard tonight as well the statements included in the staff report. He thinks there may be a better location for a group home of twelve residents in another neighborhood, but not in this neighborhood. For these reasons he will be voting against this proposal. Commissioner Lee said he thinks increasing the number of residents from six to twelve is asking for trouble. He said he's voting against this proposal as well and has taken into account the comments shared by the neighbors. Commissioner Grover moved to recommend to approve deny the resolution starting on page 15 of the staff report. Denying a conditional use permit for the Mapletree Group Home to have up to 12 residents living in their residential facility at 2831 South lawn Drive. Commissioners Ahlness, Desai, Grover, Lee and Trippler said the reason they recommended to deny the CUP for the Mapletree Group Home was that the proposed use would change the existing or planned character of the surrounding area and the use would depreciate property values. Commissioner Trippler seconded. Ayes - Ahlness, Desai, Grover, Lee, Trippler Nays- Bartol, Fischer The motion to recommend denial passed. This item goes to the city council on Monday, December 13, 2004. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -14- VI. NEW BUSINESS (9:06 - 9:32 p.m.) Concept Plan Review - The Woodlands PUD (McMenemy Street) Mr. Roberts said Mr. Brian Bourassa, representing Integra Homes, is asking the planning commission to provide preliminary comments about a proposed town house development. He has prepared a preliminary site plan that shows 24 town houses (in 16 detached townhomes and four twin homes) in a development called The Woodlands. It would be on a 6.6-acre site on the east side of McMenemy Street, north of Kingston Avenue and south of the Hmong Church. A homeowners' association would own and maintain the common areas. The design of the buildings is not finalized, but Mr. Roberts expects that each building would have horizontal-lap vinyl siding, aluminum soffils and fascia and brick veneer on the fronts. In addition, each unit would have a two-car garage. Mr. Roberts asked that the planning commission to review the requests in the staff report and discuss the proposed preliminary plan. Commissioner Trippler said most of the good trees would be taken out when the four homes are built along the west edge. He is concerned about the tree preservation during the building of this development. Mr. Roberts said that is certainly a concern, the developer is also required to provide storm sewers and ponding areas on the site, which could remove quite a few trees from the site. Commissioner Trippler said there are two houses off McMenemy Street that just barely meet the minimum setback requirements from the lot edge. He also asked if the developer spoke to the property owners at 1746 and 1748 McMenemy Street to see if they would be willing to sell in order to make this development flow better. Mr. Roberts said the developer is talking to the owners at 1748 McMenemy Street to buy the back of their property. He said the city has not approached any of the neighbors about selling their properties. Commissioner Trippler asked if the engineering department has evaluated the grading for the road that goes along the southern corridor towards the east? Mr. Roberts said as far as he knew the applicants have not prepared a grading plan yet so the engineering department would not have had the opportunity to review any grading plans yet. Commissioner Grover asked what kind of clientele the developers expected to attract with these townhomes and twin homes. When he read the developers would ask over $300,000 for these homes he was quite surprised. Acting Chairperson Desai asked the applicant to address the commission. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -15- Mr. Brian Bourassa, representing Integra Homes at 12721 Overlook Road, Dayton, addressed the commission. With respect to the tree preservation, they have twisted and turned many of the townhome units and will provide a side loaded garage in order to save as many trees as possible. They have a tree inventory for the entire site. He said when they come back to address the planning commission for their formal presentation they will have a definitive plan so the commission will have a clear idea what the development would look like. Integra Homes prefers to have neighborhood meetings to get input from the neighbors. The grading concerns on the east side of the property will be challenging. They have not completed a grading plan but they will comply with the engineering guidelines. Mr. John Matthews will come up and speak to the market or clientele they hope to attract. Commissioner Trippler asked if they were planning on having a retention pond or a permanent wetland area? The location of the pond on the west side has a half dozen oak trees there and his understanding is that oak trees don't do well under water. Changing the character of the 6.6 acres with impermeable surface means more runoff. He would recommend they engineer the ponds to operate like rain gardens to be reinfiltration basins. He would hate to see the trees on the west side be taken out by standing water. He isn't sure how they will make the grade on the east side because this will definitely be a challenge. Mr. Bourassa said they are describing these areas as ponding areas. Depending on how the soil report comes out and depending on where the water table is, will determine whether or not there is a permanent pond or not. Commissioner Trippler asked if it was really necessary to wedge the units in as shown on the northeast and southeast corner of the site map off McMenemy Street? Mr. Bourassa said they would take a look at that and asked if Commissioner Trippler was concerned about the proximity of the units to the property line? Commissioner Trippler said he is concerned about the units and the proximity of the road and the possibility that a child walking out the front door could get hit. Mr. John Matthews, Real Estate and Mortgage Consultants (RMC), addressed the commission. Mr. Matthews said the home at 1748 McMenemy Street was built a few years ago and is worth roughly $380,000 and would be unaffordable for the developer to purchase. They may be working with the other property owner to see if it's feasible to work something out. The clientele they plan to sell these units to would be singles, couples, empty nesters, and retired people. The location is close to Highway 35E, downtown, and close access to the malls, which helps in the selling of the units. Acting Chairperson Desai said he doesn't like cookie cutter design of some townhome developments so the layout of these units is quite interesting to him. Mr. Bourassa said because of the side loaded garages, keeping the trees on the site, and angling of the units, this puts a different prospective on the whole development. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -16- Commissioner Grover said he is concerned about the neighbors on Kingston Avenue and asked how the developer proposed to gain access to the site. He asked if they would be removing the homes on the north side? Would you construct the street on the south side through the easement that currently exists? Mr. Bourassa said this would be a single phase construction project so the grading would have to be done at the same time. The sanitary sewer and water main would have to come from McMenemy Street and connect off of Kingston Avenue. Commissioner Grover said he likes the uniqueness of this development as well. He said you may have some neighbors in opposition of this development. There may not be opposition to the development itself, but more in how access would be granted and the construction process of large trucks driving through the area. This may alleviate some of the concerns that may be raised at the neighborhood meeting. The church and the neighbors to the north wouldn't be as affected as the residents to the south during this construction process. Commissioner Ahlness said he likes the design of the development. He thinks the developer is doing a good job with this development, it will enhance and increase the character and value of the neighborhood and would sustain the tax base, which is good for the City of Maplewood. The neighbors may resist this development because of how the new residents would have access to the site. Mr. Roberts said the applicant will take the commission's comments and come back for a later presentation. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Mr. Trippler was the planning commission representative at the November 8,2004, city council meeting. Mr. Trippler said the Home Occupation License for a Photography business for David Grupa at 1994 Duluth Street was discussed and was tabled until November 22,2004. The CUP for University Auto at 1145 Highway 36, passed ayes all. b. Mr. Desai will be the planning commission representative at the November 22,2004, city council meeting. Items to discuss include the Home Occupation License for a Photography business for David Grupa at 1994 Duluth Street, and the CUP forthe Phoenix Group Home at 1936 Craig Place. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-15-04 -17- c. Mr. Ahlness will be the planning commission representative at the December 13, 2004, city council meeting. The only item to discuss is the CUP for the Mapletree Group Home at 2831 Southlawn Drive. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Reschedule December 6,2004, PC Meeting because of a budget hearing in city council chambers to either Tuesday December 7, or Wednesday December 8,2004. Acting Chairperson Desai asked planning commissioners which date would work best with their schedules. The consensus was to reschedule the planning commission meeting to Wednesday, December 8, 2004. XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:43 p.m.