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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/05/2007 MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5,2007 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Harland Hess Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner Dale Trippler Commissioner Joe Walton Commissioner Jeremy Yarwood Commissioner Robert Martin Commissioner Joseph Boeser Staff Present: Absent Present Present Present Absent Absent Present Present Present Ken Roberts, Planner Alan Kantrud, City Attorney III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the agenda as submitted. Commissioner Boeser seconded. The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. October 2, 2007 Ayes - all Commissioner Pearson moved approval of the minutes of October 2, 2007, as submitted. Commissioner Boeser seconded Ayes - all The motion passed. b. October 16, 2007 Commissioner Pearson moved approval of the amended minutes, deleting Commissioner Yarwood's comments before adjournment on page four and adding the following to the end of the third paragraph on page 2: "Commissioners... .and iterated the importance of public safety in the design." Commissioner Hess seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all Planning Commission Minutes of 11-5-07 -2- V. PUBLIC HEARING 7:00 Lot Width Variance and Lot Division (1805 Arcade Street) Planner Roberts presented the staff report. Dick Smith of Jendi Properties addressed the commission and explained his request. The public hearing was opened to the public. Tony Savanya, 1787 Arcade Street and adjacent to the applicant, asked that the gate on the applicant's rear property at the end of the Mr. Savanya's driveway be removed or closed off. There were no other comments from the public. The public hearing was closed. Commissioner Yarwood moved the planning commission recommend: 1. Adoption of the variance resolution. This resolution approves a 15-foot lot width variance for the property at 1811 Arcade Street. The city is basing this approval on the fact that the lot area and lot width variance are in keeping with the surrounding properties and the ability of the applicant to prove a specific hardship for the lot width variance that meets state law requirements including: a. The problem requiring the lot width variance in this circumstance is a problem that the current owner did not cause (i.e., location of the existing house). b. The new lot width will be in keeping with the two single-family properties to the south, which both have 50-foot-wide lots. c. The variance and creation of separate lots for the existing houses in this location will not change the character of the area as surrounding properties are all single family houses with similar lot sizes. 2. Approval of the lot division site plan date-stamped September 21 , 2007, for a lot division request to subdivide the 57,945 square-foot single-family lot located at 1805 Arcade Street into two single-family lots. Lot division approval is based on code requirements (Section 34-14 - lot divisions) and is subject to the following: a. Submit a revised survey to staff for approval which shows that Parcel B maintains a lot width of at least 60 feet. b. Submit a cash escrow or letter of credit to cover 150 percent of the following: 1) Removal of all portions of the existing driveway which are within five feet of the shared property line. 2) Construction of a new driveway for Parcel A. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-5-07 -3- 3) Construction of a new garage door to be located on the east side of the attached garage on Parcel A. 4) Conversion of the existing house or construction ofa new single family house on Parcel A to meet city zoning and building code requirements. c. Lot A must be combined with Parcel B. d. If the lots are to be sold or deeded to another party, deeds describing the two new legal descriptions for both lots. e. Once the above-mentioned conditions are met, the city will stamp the surveyor deeds. These must be recorded with Ramsey County within one year of the date of the lot division approval or the lot split will become null and void (city code requirement). f. Prior to issuance of a grading or building permit for any improvements to Parcel A or Parcel B, the following must be submitted to staff for approval: 1) Proof that Ramsey County has recorded the lot division. 2) A signed certificate of survey showing the location of all property lines and the location of the improvements which must maintain all required setbacks. Commissioner Hess seconded Ayes - all Commissioner Boeser asked staff to respond to the neighbor's request to remove the gate at the rear of the applicant's property. Planner Roberts said that staff will review the gate issue with the applicant. 7:30 Conditional Use Permit - Commercial Truck Parking (1003 Century Avenue North) Planner Roberts presented the staff report. The commission discussed with staff the issue of setting precedence and the history of CUP permit approvals for commercial truck parking. The applicant Tom Tachney was present and addressed the commission. Mr. Tachney explained he leases the truck he uses from Ryder Transportation in Roseville. His job is to visit businesses to pick up used printing rollers from printing presses. He then palletizes them for transport out of the state to be reconditioned and resold. The commission discussed that Mr. Tachney is attempting with his application to resolve this issue and whether approval of the CUP would set a precedent for parking a commercial vehicle in a residential area. Commissioner Pearson suggested that the CUP might be approved for one year only to encourage the company to find another solution to the truck parking problem. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-5-07 -4- City attorney Kantrud explained that once the CUP is approved, there would need to be a change in the conditions in order to revoke the permit. The public hearing was opened to the public. There were no comments from the public so the public hearing was closed. Staff read the city code about conditional use permits for commercial vehicles in R-1 areas. The commission noted the neighboring property owners are in favor of the truck being parked on the applicant's property. The commission also discussed what code limits might apply to deny the permit. The commission considered how they might allocate a period of time to allow the applicant to find another place to park the truck. Commissioner Boeser moved the planning commission recommend approval of the resolution approving a conditional use permit for Mr. Thomas Tachney to store or park one heavy commercial vehicle (one enclosed delivery truck) on the property at 1003 Century Avenue North. This permit shall be subject to the following conditions: 1. The owner or operator of the truck doing the following: a. Residing on the property. b. Parking the truck on the existing driveway or on the gravel parking pad. c. Not parking the truck on a public street. d. Maintaining the driveway and parking pad in good condition. 2. The owner or operator shall not let the truck's engine idle for more than thirty (30) minutes in anyone (1) hour period. In no circumstances may the owner or operator idle the engine for more than two periods, lasting thirty (30) minutes each, in one twenty-four (24) hour period. There shall not be any engine idling that disturbs the neighbors between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. 3. The owner or operator shall not do any maintenance or repair of the truck or commercial equipment on the property. 4. The owner or operator shall not load or unload the truck on the property or on adjacent properties. 5. The city council shall review this permit in six months. 6. No hazardous materials shall be stored in the truck while on the applicant's property. Commissioner Martin seconded Ayes - Fischer, Boeser, Martin Nays - Hess, Yarwood, Pearson Commissioner Fischer noted her reasons for voting for approval of this CUP are that this is a permitted use with conditions under city code and it meets those conditions under the ordinance, and that there have not been any complaints on this property. Planning Commission Minutes of 11-5-07 -5- Commissioner Hess said his reasons for voting for denial of the CUP are that he feels that this has already changed the neighborhood and he noted in the neighborhood a "commercial- looking" truck parked on Century Avenue and a pickup truck with a flatbed parked on the street, that the "general flavor" of the neighborhood is changing and that "if it is allowed here, we can also do it" and this is not what the neighborhood wants to see. VI. NEW BUSINESS None VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Ordinance Amendment - Dynamic Signs Planner Roberts presented the staff report and responded to questions from the commission. Planner Roberts said the Eagan city code has not yet been fully reviewed by staff, but there will likely be modifications the commission may want to review and recommend to the design review board and the city council. The commission discussed the driver distraction factor of the size and setback location of the sign and the size of the lettering. City attorney Kantrud noted that there are existing standards set in the code for factors such as setbacks relating to text size. Tom McCarver of Clear Channel explained that on a sign malfunction issue there is a power cutoff switch installed which can be remotely switched to deactivate the sign. Mr. McCarver noted that with a sign malfunction, the sign will never move any faster than originally programmed, but a malfunction could turn off a portion of the sign. Commissioner Yarwood moved to recommend that the community design review board draft a dynamic display code amendment based on the Eagan code, particularly taking into account the maximum amount of time a sign can change. The proposed change should also address prohibited signs. Commissioner Hess seconded. Commissioner Boeser recommended the following friendly amendment to the motion to include the following language as part of the motion: "The planning commission delegates the drafting and recommendation of the code amendment authority to the community design review board. When the board considers this they should take under consideration on and off-site dynamic display signs." The friendly amendment was accepted. The commission then voted: The motion passed. Ayes - all Planning Commission Minutes of 11-5-07 -6- VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. October 22 Council meeting: Commissioner Martin reported on the meeting. b. November 12 Council meeting - No Meeting c. November 26 - Council Meeting: Commissioner Boeser d. December 10 Council meeting: Commissioner Yarwood e. Commissioner Martin reported on the November 3 walking tour in south Maplewood. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Planner Roberts reminded the commission of the election on the 6th XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.