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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/20/2007 MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesdav. February 20, 2007, 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. February 6, 2007 5. Public Hearings None 6. New Business a. Pond Overlook Town Houses - Concept Plan Review (2161 County Road 0) b. Election of Vice-Chairperson c. Resolution of Appreciation - Michael Grover d. Planning Commission Rules of Procedure 7. Unfinished Business None 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations February 12 Council Meeting: Mr. Desai February 26 Council Meeting: Mr. Hess March 12 Council Meeting:?? (was to be Ms. Dierich) March 26 Council Meeting: Ms. Fisher 10. Staff Presentations 11. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20,2007 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Michael Grover Commissioner Harland Hess Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner Dale Trippler Commissioner Joseph Walton Commissioner Jeremy Yarwood Staff Present: Present Present Absent Present Present Absent Present Absent Ken Roberts, Planner Michael Thompson, Staff Engineer present until 7:30 p.m. Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Roberts requested the addition of a discussion regarding the Trunk Highway 49 Task Force under Staff Presentations. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the agenda as amended. Commissioner Desai seconded. The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ayes - Desai, Fischer, Hess, Pearson, Walton Approval of the Planning Commission minutes for February 6, 2007. Because Commissioner Trippler was going to be absent for the meeting so he called the Recording Secretary on February 16, 2007, with his changes to the minutes. On page 8, in the 4th paragraph, 9th line, correct the spelling of grade aided to aradated. On page 20, in the 5th paragraph, last line, third word, remove the extra word we. On page 24, in the yth paragraph, 2nd line, insert a space between incase changing it to in case. Chairperson Fischer had corrections on pages 3, 10, 14, and 20. On page 3, in the 4th paragraph, 8th sentence, the sentence should be reworded to read Brad Scheib. from Hoisinaton Koealer Group pointed out throuah the plannina process it was determined that those parcels would be auided for future development if it was found to be feasible. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -2- Chairperson Fischer had corrections on page 8, in the 4th paragraph, second line, change the word ceme to c.!!,me. On page 10, in the 3rd paragraph, 11 th line, it should read She has two residential lots behind flere her propertv right up to the trail. On page 14, in the 4th paragraph, last line change bud up to abut, on page 20, in the 3rd paragraph, third line, change pcacc meal to piece meal. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the planning commission minutes for February 6, 2007, as amended. Commissioner Hess seconded. Ayes - Fischer, Hess, Pearson, Walton Abstentions - Desai V. PUBLIC HEARING None. VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Pond Overlook Town Houses - Concept Plan Mr. Roberts said Mr. Doug Andrus, representing Andrus Homes, is asking the city to provide him with preliminary comments about a proposed senior housing development. He has prepared a preliminary site plan that shows 10 housing units (in five, two-unit town houses) for persons aged 55 and over. This development would be on about two acres of land between County Road D and 1-694 on the property known as 2161 County Road D. A homeowners' association would own and maintain the common areas. To build the proposed development, Mr. Andrus would need the city to change the zoning map for the site from F (farm residence) to R-2 (double dwellings). For R-2 areas, the city plans for single dwellings on lots of at least 6,000 square feet of area and double dwellings on lots of 12,000 square feet in area (6,000 square feet for each unit) The R-2 zoning in Maplewood allows for single or double dwellings. Commissioner Walton said staff mentioned noise is going to be an issue with this concept plan being so close to the freeway. The twin home units are designed to be walkouts and he is concerned about the two northern twin home units walking out onto the freeway with the noise potential problem. Mr. Roberts said those are concerns the applicant is looking from the commissioners in the review of this concept plan. The applicant will need to show the city that noise isn't going to be an issue here. Whether the noise is handled by using landscaping, berming, using better building products, higher insulated windows, higher rated insulation or whatever it takes, that is what the city is going to require. These are details that are important to bring to the attention of the applicant to make them aware of concerns early on in this process while the project is in the concept stage. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -3- Commissioner Hess said what is the typical allowance for a two acre plot like this in an R-2 zoned area with this development for five twin homes? Mr. Roberts said it is consistent with the comprehensive plan for the density allowed in the R-2 Land Use District so it's not overly dense. If this was a typical twin home development on a straight street it might be a lower density but it's still consistent with the standards in the comprehensive plan. Chairperson Fischer said with R-2 zoning for a standard lot you would need a lot with 12,000 square feet rather than 10,000 square feet. For five twin homes with R-2 zoning that would require 60,000 square feet and this is 2 acres of land which means it's probably got over 80,000 square feet of land. Mr. Roberts said correct. Commissioner Hess wondered about the possibility of having security fencing around the area with the 1-694 highway corridor and the pond area. He also wondered about possible water infiltration problems with walkout units. When he went to visit the site he noticed the pond was quite a bit lower than this section of land but because it's next to a water source. His concern is these units will have full basements and he wonders if water will be a problem. Mr. Roberts said you are right the pond is quite a bit lower and staff isn't sure the pond has an outlet. The area facing the freeway has a four foot tall chain link fence. There is also fencing along one side of the pond. The city's practice is not to fence small ponding areas for ease of maintenance and in case of an emergency situation if someone needed to be rescued. If someone needed to gain quick access to the pond you wouldn't want to have to try and get through a fence. One thing the city would be checking for is the high water level of the pond and what the maximum water height of this pond is which is something the water shed knows and how water problems would relate to these units having walkout basements. Staff is confident that the city would require at least 3 or more soil borings from this site. Because of the public improvements that may tell the city if there is ground water here and if this would affect the walkout units. Commissioner Desai asked iflhere were any sound level standards the contractor would have to follow with building residential homes so close to Highway 1-694? Mr. Roberts said there are sound standards required by the State of Minnesota. Staff isn't sure of the standard decibel level requirements. Commissioner Desai said using landscaping and berming isn't going to help mitigate noise levels here. He asked if the state was planning on putting up a sound barricade wall to help with noise in this area? Mr. Roberts said staff has notified the state of this concept plan and have not received the state's comments. The State of Minnesota has commented with other projects near freeways that the state is not in the business of putting up sound barricades and that there just isn't enough money in their budget for that. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -4- Commissioner Desai said he would be interested in asking the builder if they have experience building homes close to the freeway and what concerns the neighbors experienced with noise? Mr. Roberts said staff is aware of one development the applicant built in White Bear Township near 1-35E, and maybe they can speak to that experience. Commissioner Pearson said if water is draining on the north side of that and these are going to be walkouts will the contractor have to irrigate deeper into the roadway to prevent a pocket occurring where the walkouts will be and drainage will end up there? Mr. Roberts said the applicant will have to pay careful attention to the grading plan to make sure water doesn't get back to the walkout units and make sure the water drains the way they say it's going to drain. That's something staff, engineering, and the applicant are going to have to pay close attention to. Commissioner Walton said regarding the infiltration rate, on the last page of the engineering comments, is that going to be an infiltration basin and if the infiltration rates that were tested would work there? Mr. Roberts said it staffs understanding the infiltration basin would hold water for a while and eventually infiltrate. Michael Thompson, Maplewood Staff Engineer, addressed the commission. He said the infiltration basin would be designed to hold water for up to 48 hours and after that the water would drain out. Staff said .23 inches per hour is a very conservative number but is the standard rate. Mr. Roberts said if it were designed differently or if they provided a detailed engineering plan, they may be able to increase that rate to drain quicker but that is the minimum standard that the city accepts. Chairperson Fischer said the engineering comments in the packet were received February 8, 2007, and she asked if there had been any additional items that have come up since then? Mr. Thompson said no. Commissioner Walton said on page 3, paragraph one in the staff report, staff stated reduced town house setbacks should lessen the amount of grading and tree removal on the property. He asked how it would be possible not to lose trees on the site? Mr. Roberts said the theory of having reduced setbacks is if these have 25-foot setbacks instead of 30-foot setbacks then they are that much closer to the street. Maybe there are some areas in the back that don't get graded along the fence line. It may be that 98% of the site is graded and they can save three or four trees. Commissioner Pearson said when they are at the point of doing the soil borings, would it be possible to get a copy of the soils report? Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -5- Mr. Roberts said yes. Mr. Thompson made a note of that. Commissioner Hess asked about site lighting here? Mr. Roberts said as part of the public improvement project the city would require a street light at the end of the cul-de-sac and the lighting on each of the units would be the typical fixtures that are put on a home by the front door and garage area. Commissioner Walton said while he was walking along County Road D he noticed the road was very narrow and if seniors are going to live there the narrowness of the road could be a safety issue because there are no sidewalks there. Mr. Roberts said staff hadn't given that a lot of consideration but that part of County Road D isn't heavily traveled. The trail through the Bruentrup Farm and the open space is used quite a bit. It may come to a point where the city has to put in a crosswalk. Unfortunately residential developments are built on County Roads and pedestrians need to be aware of safety concerns. Chairperson Fischer asked if there had been a history of pedestrian safety issues in the area considering the senior cottages are located to the west? Mr. Roberts said staff isn't aware of any pedestrian safety issues. Staff speculates that the trail on the Bruentrup Farm property and on the open space property to the south keeps the pedestrians off the street at this point. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to address the commission. Mr. Doug Andrus, Andrus Homes, 2440 Charles Street North, Suite 210, North St. Paul, addressed the commission. He said he has received some good questions and comments tonight and feels he can bring the preliminary plat back for review. Chairperson Fischer asked if the applicant had any concerns regarding the engineering comments on page 16? Mr. Andrus said no. As far as the noise concerns regarding building residential homes this close to the freeway, he said he built a townhome development in White Bear Township past County Road H2 and that development was his best selling development yet. He estimates it was because of the location next to the freeway and the traffic flow drawing interest. There is an STC rating for window and building material ratings. He said he plans on getting the highest rated windows possible and put those windows on the units that face the freeway. On the exterior walls we plan to use a sound channel that we designed. That is a metal channel that holds the sheetrock out % inch from the stud walls. The sound hits the exterior wall and it transfers noise through the stud walls but if you can transfer the noise by holding the sheetrock out % inch the noise drops down. He said he has used quite a few websites for ratings on fiberglass insulation with ratings of 50 which is a pretty high rating. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -6- Commissioner Desai asked if the applicant had been required to check on the decibel levels for projects in other cities? Mr. Andrus said no. The problem they encountered with noise came from the bathroom exhaust fan that vented through the roof on units that faced the freeway. The noise from the freeway would come through the flapper on the roof and go down through the ceiling. Mr. Andrus said to eliminate that problem we ran the bath fan exhaust down through the floor trusses and that seemed to solve that problem. Commissioner Desai asked if he informs the buyers of the potential of existing noise concerns? Mr. Andrus said we are up front about it and we put something in the covenants and the association papers regarding noise concerns. The noise exists and the potential buyers can see and hear it. He wants to make sure people don't come after him or after the City of Maplewood regarding the noise. Chairperson Fischer asked if Mr. Andrus had any questions for the commission? Mr. Andrus said no. Chairperson Fischer asked if anyone else wanted to speak regarding this concept plan? Nobody came forward. Mr. Roberts said the commission has given the applicant some good comments and questions. b. Election of Vice-Chairperson Chairperson Fischer spoke for Commissioner Dale Trippler who was absent from tonight's meeting. She stated that Commissioner Trippler would like to be considered as Vice-Chairperson on the Planning Commission when the commission votes to elect a new Vice-Chairperson. The Planning Commission wrote their nominations for Vice-Chairperson on paper and handed them to staff. Mr. Roberts counted the votes. The vote was 4 votes for Tushar Desai as Vice-Chairperson and 1 vote for Dale Trippler. c. Resolution of Appreciation - Michael Grover Mr. Roberts said Michael Grover has resigned from the Planning Commission. Staff has attached his letter of resignation and a resolution of appreciation for him. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the resolution of appreciation for Michael Grover. Commissioner Desai seconded. Ayes - Desai, Fischer, Hess, Pearson, Walton The motion passed. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -7- This item will go to the City Council on March 12 or March 26, 2007. d. Planning Commission Rules of Procedure Mr. Roberts said Section L of the Rules of Procedure says that the commission is to review the rules at their first meeting each year. Since the Planning Commission meeting January 16, 2007, the city manager reviewed the commission's Rules of Procedure. He suggested several changes to the rules before staff sends them to the City Council for approval. As such, staff is bringing the rules back to the commission with additional proposed changes. The parts of the rules the city manager suggested changing include: The Meeting Schedule, Election of Officers, and Appointments. Mr. Roberts said regarding the statement "The Planning Commission shall elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson at the second planning commission meeting in January each year." The existing language makes it difficult to do if the openings on the planning commission haven't been filled yet by the second meeting. Chairperson Fischer said it might be difficult if somebody was elected chairperson or vice- chairperson and the person didn't get reappointed. That would cause the planning commission to have another election. Mr. Roberts said the ideal situation would be if the City Council did the reappointments in December then the planning commission could have everyone in place by the second meeting in January. Commissioner Desai said if the City Council has not found new planning commission members by December to replace terms that were up or any resignations that had been received any time of the year could be a bad time. He said he feels the planning commissioners that are here during the first two meetings of the year should be the ones to vote for chairperson and vice-chairperson to keep the process moving. Mr. Roberts said even if the commission had a full planning commission by then, how would the new people know who to vote for unless they had been following the planning commission meetings and know who they would like as chairperson and vice-chairperson. Chairperson Fischer asked iflhere had been any discussion among the city council for the future procedures that the city council would consider filling or making reappointments in December rather than waiting until the middle of January? Mr. Roberts said not that he has heard. Chairperson Fischer asked if there was anything in the December workload for the city council that would make it prohibitive to go through the process at that point in time? Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -8- Mr. Roberts said the biggest thing is the adoption of the budget which the city council usually does the first meeting of December. The ideal situation would be for the appointments to be done before the end of December or the first meeting in January. However, situations come up and there is really no good way to predict things, especially in city government. Chairperson Fischer said Commissioner Trippler brought it up before that the Rules of Procedure state the planning commission set their own meeting night but now the City Council has set the meeting nights, should the ordinance be changed by the City Council before we do the changes to the Rules of Procedure so we are in sync because if the ordinance is going in a different direction then the planning commission is stuck in the middle. Mr. Roberts said that is why staff included the Maplewood Code with the Planning Commission Rules and Procedures because it states in Sec. 2-249 the Planning Commission shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson at the second Planning Commission meeting in January each year. As the Planning Commission rules are written you are in agreement with the city code as it stands. Chairperson Fischer questioned whether the commission should change the Planning Commission Rules of Procedures if the ordinance hasn't changed yet? Commissioner Desai said he thinks the City Council should change the ordinance first. Mr. Roberts said the question is who should initiate the change to the ordinance, city staff, the City Council, or the city manager? Chairperson Fischer said if the Planning Commission decided to leave the things that are dictated by the ordinance in place then the changes the Planning Commission would change tonight would be on page 4, item F. Planning Department and item J. Appointments. Commissioner Desai questioned item J. Appointments and the text that is stricken that says By following thc currcnt city appointmcnt policy. Mr. Roberts said he wasn't sure about that. For long time commissioners like Gary Pearson and Lorraine Fischer, the Planning Commission used to hold their own interviews when openings occurred and the commission would vote and rank the applicants and pass that along to the City Council who would then make the final decision. In more recent times the city has just had enough applicants for openings and the City Council has done the interviews for the boards and commissions. Each City Council sets their own rules regarding how they want to do things. That language that is proposed to be stricken in the Rules of Procedure is not really necessary because the same City Council makes the appointments. Whether they are following the city policy doesn't really matter because the City Council makes the appointments. Commissioner Pearson said when he applied to be on the commission years ago the interviews were all handled by the City Council and then it changed to the interviews being done by the commission and the final decision was made by the City Council. Nowthe process has gone back to the way it was years ago when he applied. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -9- Commissioner Desai said he agrees that the City Council is going to make the decision regarding who gets appointed to the Planning Commission but he would still expect there be an established protocol that the City Council follows. And that is what he interprets with the City Council Appointment Policy because it's not a helter-skelter process where the city manager, the Mayor or the City Council does whatever they feel like doing. Commissioner Desai said they follow a set of protocols to make things happen and those protocols should be defined in existence so that anybody who wishes to see the procedures should be able to see it and understand the process. If that protocol doesn't exist, then he would recommend that the City Council create that, pass it, amend it and go forward from there. Mr. Roberts said you may want to make that as a separate motion. Commissioner Pearson said there were a number of times when the Planning Commission would interview an applicant and that person would obviously have the background that could be better applied to a group like the CDRB or some other group. That may be one reason the City Council wants to look at all the applicants by bringing everyone into the same application process. Commissioner Pearson asked what the timeline is to get the ordinance changed by the City Council? Would that be a long drawn out process? Mr. Roberts said the City Council would need to have two readings of it and staff has not seen this on the agenda yet. It may not be on the radar screen yet so staff has no way of knowing what the timeline is at this time. Commissioner Desai asked if this request to have the city ordinance changed by the City Council needed to be done first before the Planning Commission changes the Rules of Procedure? Mr. Roberts said if you want to make that recommendation you could. Chairperson Fischer asked if the City Council wants the Planning Commission to change the Rules of Procedure to reflect the current practice even though it is contrary to the ordinance or would they change the ordinance so the Planning Commission can bring the Rules of Procedure in accordance with the ordinance? Mr. Roberts said if the planning commission wants to take no action on this until the Planning Commission gets feedback from the City Council you can. If the Planning Commission wants to send the changes the commission wants to make to the city council and separate motions with other ideas you can do that too. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -10- Commissioner Hess said he agrees with Commissioner Desai's comments. It makes more sense to have the City Council review these procedures and get something down that the Planning Commission reviews before the Planning Commission makes a decision. He said he had an interesting conversation with a Lake Elmo City Councilmember. Commissioner Hess told him he served on the Maplewood Planning Commission and that his term was up for re-election. Commissioner Hess said the Lake Elmo City Councilmember said their Planning Commission members rotate through each year so the people serve until they decide to resign or someone else approaches the city looking for an opening. There are no definite term limits. In some ways that process would help the commission because we are short commission members and this is an unpaid position and that way you would still get people that want to serve. The only potential problem is that it precludes continuous movement of people through the system in a way that the current system allows for. Chairperson Fischer said when a persons' term comes up they often assess their life and if it is getting too busy and they decide not to renew their term an opening would occur. That would still allow new applicants to interview for an opening. Mr. Roberts said the commission is structured with three groups, each with three year terms so in theory there should be continuity if people stay on as volunteers. However, when someone resigns from the commission that changes the process. With previous city councils, if a commissioner wanted to serve another term the city council generally accepted that, but the current practice has been that everyone needs to reapply and new applications come in and the City Council interviews everybody. If someone in the community wants to apply they have the chance to serve and current members can re-interview to try and renew their terms. Commissioner Desai moved to recommend the City Council make the necessary changes in the city ordinance about the planning commission. The Planning Commission will review any ordinance changes and then make changes to the Planning Commission Rules of Procedure so the wording is in consistent with the new or revised city ordinance. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes - Desai, Fischer, Hess, Pearson, Walton This item will go to the City Council on March 12, 2007. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Mr. Desai was the Planning Commission representative at the February 12, 2007, City Council meeting. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -11- Commissioner Desai said the discussion included the 2006 Planning Commission Annual Report and the Appreciation for Mary Dierich, which the City Council passed. The Rules of Procedure for the Planning Commission was to be brought back to the Planning Commission for review. Commissioner Desai said the city council said they appreciate the thoroughness of the planning commission reports and the depth of the questions and comments that are reflected in the planning commission minutes. They thanked the planning commission forthe work they do and asked him to pass the comments along to the planning commission members. There were two items that the city council had a difference of opinion on from the planning commission recommendations. He said he was impressed and wanted to compliment the Mayor and councilmember's for the way they conducted themselves during the meeting and the time the meeting adjourned. b. Mr. Hess will be the Planning Commission representative at the February 26, 2007, City Council meeting. The only item to discuss is the Comprehensive Plan Amendment - Gladstone Redevelopment Plan (for the English Street and Frost Avenue area). c. Mr. Pearson will be the Planning Commission representative at the March 12, 2007, City Council meeting. Items to discuss include the Planning Commission Rules of Procedure and possibly the Resolution of Appreciation for Michael Grover. d. Ms. Fischer will be the Planning Commission representative at the March 26, 2007, City Council meeting. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Trunk Highway 49 Task Force discussion Ramsey County has convened a Task Force to study the needed improvements to Rice Street from south of Trunk Highway 36 in Maplewood to north of County Road J in Lino Lakes. The roadway was formerly called Trunk Highway 49 and has been converted to Ramsey County from MnDOT. On December 18, 2006, the council appointed four members to the Task Force. Michael Grover has given his resignation from the Planning Commission and is unable to serve on this Task Force. A new member from the Planning Commission should be appointed. Dale Trippler had previously expressed interested in serving on this Task Force, although Mr. Trippler isn't present. Confirmation of Dale Trippler's willingness to serve cannot occur until his return from vacation. The City Council appointed the following members to the Task Force December 18th, 2006: 1. A business representative from the corridor: Ernie Schroeder from Schroeder Milk 2. A community representative: Michael Grover a member of the Planning Commission 3. A council member: Kathleen Juenemann Planning Commission Minutes of 02-20-07 -12- 4. A staff member: Public Works Director, Chuck Ahl The Rice Street corridor from south of Trunk Highway 36 to north of County Road J is a congested arterial that handles large volumes of traffic, especially in the p.m. peak periods due to the mix of commuters and retail establishments that use Rice Street for access. Maplewood's biggest concern in the corridor is the congestion at the Rice Street Trunk Highway 36 interchange/bridge. Maplewood has some large traffic generators at this location for Cub Foods and Schroeder Milk. On the north side of County Road B at Rice Street, St. Jude Medical (in Little Canada) has recently expanded the facility and is looking to expand their campus again in the near future. This has the potential to add up to 400 additional employees to the 650 jobs at their two Little Canada sites. Little Canada and Ramsey County are working on moving Trunk Highway 36 Rice Street interchange forward for improvement since MnDOT has no plans for an upgrade until the 2025+ timeframe. These improvements, along with the remainder of the corridor, will be the subject of the Trunk Highway 49 Task Force. The Trunk Highway 49 Task Force meetings would take place at the Ramsey County Public Works building in Arden Hills, the third Wednesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. The planning commission felt that serving on this Trunk Highway 49 Task Force would be difficult to commit to with the meeting starting at 5:00 p.m. The planning commission asked if this could be brought back to the next meeting since Dale Trippler who was absent this evening had said he would be interested in serving on that task force. XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:10p.m.