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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/07/20002. 3. 4. 5. 10. 11. Call to Order Roll Call Approval of Minutes a. January 19, 2000 Approval of Agenda Public Hearing a. MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, February 7, 2000, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East United States Post Office Annex Building (1686 Gervais Avenue) 1. Land Use Plan Amendment (M1 to G) 2. Conditional Use Permit New Business a. Maplewood Retail Center (2271 White Bear Avenue) 1. Parking Lot Setback Variance 2. Conditional Use Permit b. Historic Resources Management Plan Review - Robert Overby Unfinished Business a. 1999 Annual Report Visitor Presentations Commission Presentations a. January 24 Council Meeting: Mr. Thompson b. February 14 Council Meeting: Mr. Mueller c. February 28 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach Staff Presentations a. Reschedule February 21 meeting (Presidents Day) - February 22 or February 23? Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2000 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:03 P.M. II. ROLL CALL Commissioner Lorraine Fischer Commiss~oner Jack Frost Commissioner Matt Ledvina Commissioner Paul Mueller Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner William Rossbach Commissioner Michael Seeber Commissioner Milo Thompson Commissioner Dale Trippler Present Present Present Present Present Present Absent Present Present III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. January 19,2000 Commissioner Frost moved approval of the minutes of January 19, 2000, amended to have the last sentence of the first paragraph on page 6 read "should be considered." Commissioner Rossbach seconded. Ayes--Fischer, Frost, Ledvina, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler Abstain--Mueller, Thompson The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Ledvina moved approval of the agenda, amended to add 9 d. Consideration of Metro Transit Bus Service. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. V. PUBLIC HEARING United States Post Office Annex Building (1686 Gervais Avenue): Land Use Plan Amendment (M1 to G) and Conditional Use Permit Ken Roberts, associate planner, presented the staff report. Commissioner Ledvina asked staff's opinion on the nighttime deliveries. Mr. Roberts responded that staff did not see delivery by one truck as a problem because this is an existing commercial building with a similar use as before. He also noted that there is a park across the street from the facility. Chip Lindeke of Rafferty Rafferty Tollefson Architects, the designer for this project, was present. Larry Bock represented the Post Office at the meeting. Mr. Lindeke said the post office does not own this building. According to Mr. Bock, the hours of operation will predominantly be about Planning Commission Minutes of 02-07-00 -2- 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any trucks in the middle of the night would just be dropping off mail and would only be there about 10 to 15 minutes. Chairperson Fischer opened the public hearing. There was no comment from the audience so the public hearing was closed. Commissioner Frost moved the Planning Commission recommend: Adoption of the resolution which amends the comprehensive land use plan from M1 (light manufacturing) to G (government facility) for the proposed North St. Paul Post Office Annex at 1686 Gervais Avenue. Approval is because the proposed post office annex would comply with the commercial and industrial development policies in the Maplewood Comprehensive Plan. Adoption of the resolution which approves a conditional use permit for the North St. Paul Post Office Annex at 1686 Gervais Avenue. Approval is based on the findings required by the code and subject to the following conditions: 1. All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community development may approve minor changes. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of council approval or the permit shall become null and void. The council may extend this deadline for one year. 3. The city council shall review this permit in one year. The applicant shall instruct all drivers to access and exit this site via White Bear Avenue to avoid the residential neighborhood to the west. Mail deliveries to that neighborhood are exempted from this. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. VI. NEW BUSINESS Maplewood Retail Center (2271 White Bear Avenue): Parking Lot Setback Variance and Conditional Use Permit Ken Roberts, associate planner, presented the staff report. Commissioner Trippler asked if the city had considered the potential "bottleneck" that will be created by this center. He wondered if an egress road to parallel Highway 36 was a possibility. Ken Haider, city engineer, has had a number of requests lately to look at alternatives and conceivably have an access directly from this site to Cope Avenue. He felt the site access was "as good as it gets around there." Even thought it gets crowded at lunchtime, Mr. Haider felt that the situation seemed to work. He didn't know if there was a better way to direct this traffic. Commissioner Rossbach asked where the runoff from this site goes. Mr. Haider said it goes north to the highway ditch, then west to Knuckle Head Lake (Cope and Hazelwood), then to the south of Cope Avenue and through a series of pipes westerly to English Street, and then north under the highway to Guertin Pond. Peter Hilger of Portfolio Design Services, Susan Nesvold of Reliance Development Company, Planning Commission Minutes of 02-07-00 -3- L.L.P., Christine Moss of Landform Engineering Company, and Dan O'Mara of Portfolio Design Services were present at the meeting. Mr. Hilger described this as an "access-challenged site." He thought it should be noted that there is a driveway, where parking is not allowed, which cuts across the McDonald's site from this site and, therefore, allows a clearer exit. Mr. Hilger said possible tenants will be Kinko's on the north, a restaurant such as Davanni's on the south, perhaps a Starbucks, and also an office retail use. They are not fully certain of the tenants at this point. Mr. Hilger anticipated that construction would start in the spring, if all approvals are received, and be completed by mid-summer. He confirmed that the center would be open 24 hours per day if Kinko is the anchor tenant. Commissioner Frost moved the Planning Commission recommend: Adoption of the resolution which approves a ten-foot parking lot setback variance for the proposed Maplewood Retail Site at 2271 White Bear Avenue. Approval is based on the following findings: The proposed five-foot-wide green strip would meet the spirit and intent of the ordinance in combination with the wide highway boulevard. The highway right-of-way ranges in width from 52 feet to 100 feet adjacent to the proposed north/northeast lot line. With the proposed five feet of setback, there would be 57 feet to 105 feet of green space to the shoulder of the highway off ramp. This is well over the typical green strip width between a parking lot and a street which is 25 to 30 feet (15 feet of setback and 10 to 15 feet of boulevard). The parking lot setbacks proposed are substantially better than the existing ones. Currently the Bali Hai parking lot is at the lot line, and in areas, extends into the right-of- way. The applicant's plan would improve this current situation. Complying with the code would cause the developer undue hardship because of circumstances unique to the property. The site is difficult to fit a development since it has three street frontages and has an irregular shape. Bo Adopt the resolution which approves a conditional use permit for a building in an M-1 (light manufacturing) district to be closer than 350 feet to a residential district. The proposed building would be 200 feet from the nearest residential district. The city bases the approval on the findings required by code and is subject to the following conditions: 1. All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of council approval or the permit shall become null and void. The council may extend this deadline for one year. 3. The city council shall review this permit in one year. 4. The applicant shall revise the landscape plan, for community design review board approval, providing trees on their site along the White Bear Avenue frontage. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-07-00 -4- B. Historic Resources Management Plan Review--Robert Overby Melinda Coleman, director of community development, introduced Robert Overby, a representative of the Maplewood Historical Society. She gave a preview of the proposed resources management plan and offered comment from the city staff's perspective. She thought it was basically "a great plan and will be a great opportunity for the city to document our historic resources." Ms. Coleman said the cost of staffing the commission would need to be addressed by the city council. Ms. Coleman listed completing the blank dates on page 2 of the plan as one of her concerns. She commented that it was a good starting point to inventory and evaluate historical resources that are present in Maplewood. Ms. Coleman didn't think city staff would have the expertise to do this. She thought one of the key points for the historical society, if the city establishes a historic preservation ordinance, is that it becomes eligible for federal funds. Ms. Coleman thought all the planning goals "were great." Her main concern with the planning policies was how they would be staffed (No. 5 of the policies). She asked what that meant for the city. Ms. Coleman also wondered who would do the preservation planning report on property that is being considered as a heritage landmark. She emphasized that the city "does not have the staff here to do that kind of thing." Ms. Coleman thought that getting anyone else involved in the demolition permits would delay the process and made no sense to her unless it is something that needs to be protected. She saw no problem with reviewing plats, rezonings, etc. but felt it should only apply to significant properties that the city was trying to protect. Ms. Coleman spoke about the 60-day rule that applies to plats, etc. and was concerned about the amount of review that could be done in this timeframe. Ms. Coleman said, since this proposal would become part of the comprehensive plan, the planning commission needed to approve it. She felt that some policy issues needed to be discussed before this became part of the plan. Commissioner Frost said he was "very uncomfortable at this point" without some staff recommendations. Ms. Coleman wanted to open a discussion with the members of the historical society that were present. She didn't think there were many parts of the historical plan that would concern the planning commission. Chairperson Fischer noted that the format of the management plan was different from the rest of the comprehensive plan. Ms. Coleman explained that this submittal was the historical commission's "first attempt at trying to get what they want." She thought some of the content would not need to be in the comp plan. Commissioner Mueller asked if there was a dollar amount associated with staffing an advisory panel such as this. Ms. Coleman replied that real costs are involved, i.e. about $5,000 to staff the planning commission. Commissioner Mueller interpreted the commission, because of specific wording, as a mandatory rather than advisory group that offers information and helps in making decisions. Commissioner Pearson "was very uncomfortable with this" because it seemed like a program that was "very, very shod on specific and very long on form and developing authority before the fact." Chairperson Fischer questioned if some of the problem was that in other sections of the comprehensive plan there is not specific reference made to the planning commission and its role. She said there is an ordinance that established the planning commission, and its duties and the bylaws existed before the comprehensive plan. Ms. Fischer compared that to this historic preservation group that is about to be sunseted and does not have an ordinance establishing it or bylaws. Commissioner Pearson felt that this commission could possible impede future redevelopment throughout the city. Commissioner Trippler asked if this was a "political issue" and why the Planning Commission Minutes of 02-07-00 -5- commission was being sunseted. He also wondered if something like this does not go into the comprehensive plan, would the commission cease to exist. Robert Overby, a member of the Maplewood area historical society, and Pete Boulay, also a member of the society and the commission, were present. Mr. Boulay said the historical commission was created during the 40th anniversary of the city of Maplewood. He listed some of the tasks given to the commission as finding photographs of all the past mayors, planning a celebration for the 40th anniversary party, forming a Maplewood area historical society, and advising in any historical matter that might arise in the area. Mr. Boulay said one of the troubles they had was that people did not recognize the society as a viable commission. Part of the reason they wanted to implement this management plan was to assure that they would be notified of happenings before it would be too late to do anything about them. Mr. Boulay said a list of historical properties has been compiled. There are approximately 70 homes and 24 businesses on the list. A Ramsey County historic site survey in 1982 and a century home project were used as the original basis for the list. Chairperson Fischer asked that a copy of the list be given to staff. Mr. Boulay mentioned the arch that was a part of the former Kroger food site at White Bear Avenue and North St. Paul Road as something that was historically architecturally significant. This arch was taken down about four or five years ago. He said that at least a picture would have been taken of the arch before it was destroyed if the commission had known it was to be removed. Commissioner Rossbach asked about the existence of a list of criteria that would help to determine if a building was historic, not just old. Mr. Overby said that setting the period and architectural style for a structure would be a part of doing the inventory. Commissioner Thompson referred to the Secretary of the Interior's standards as a basis for design review. He said "some of the federal regulations that have been created frighten me a little bit." Mr. Overby had a copy of the standards and said they are being used on the Bruentrup farm project. Mr. Thompson said he was in favor of the proposal. Commissioner Mueller asked what the commission does, why they do it, and how they would work together with other groups and the city. Mr. Overby spoke about the three sample plans he used as a reference. He felt the historic preservation commission was advisory to the city council, not mandatory. He said historic properties should be identified and noted on the city's maps. This should then be taken into consideration when proposals are presented to the planning commission or city council. Mr. Overby said the commission needs to prepare a set of information and procedures so they would know how to react to a proposal. This commission would like to provide advisory comments. He did not see these things "happening overnight" and felt it needed to proceed in steps. Ms. Coleman questioned if there was authority to refuse a demolition proposal because the structure was on the historic list. Mr. Overby answered that if a historic preservation district was established, the city would have some authority to restrict the modification of the exterior of buildings. Mr. Boulay gave the "poor farm" barn on White Bear Avenue that is on the historic register as an example. The interior of that building can be altered, but not the exterior. He mentioned that Lois Behm, a former employee of the city, did assist the commission and was paid for her work. There is no city staff working with the group at this time. Commissioner Pearson would like to see the list of homes. He also asked for an instance where notification of the commission might have made a difference in the outcome. Mr. Boulay said the Ostregren house on Edgerton Street ( the old Maplewood Heritage Center) was a good example. The best building, according to Mr. Boulay, was the Hockmuth house (on Highway 61 between Sparkle Auto Sales and Gulden's Restaurant) that was destroyed about ten years ago. This was the only building in Maplewood that Ramsey County felt should be saved at all costs. Mr. Boulay spoke about other old buildings in Maplewood. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-07-00 -6- Mr. Overby confirmed that a goal was to ensure that the historical commission continued to exist past the end of this year. He thought they could provide comments to the community design review board on historical resources. Ms. Coleman felt the best thing to do at this point was to take the proposal to the city council to see whether they wanted the commission continued. She said the planning commission had identified some concerns that staff will work on. Commissioner Thompson encouraged that the standards for historic preservation that begin on page 61 of the Secretary of the Interior's standards and guidelines as the required basis for design review decisions be highlighted. Mr. Overby said those standards apply primarily when the structure is either on the register or eligible for it. The Maplewood list only includes the Ramsey County poor farm as being on the national historic register and about five that could be on the register. It was the consensus that the planning commission will table this historic resources management plan and staff will bring it to the city council. If the council so directs, staff may bring this back to the planning commission for further consideration. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. 1999 Annual Report Ken Roberts, associate planner, noted the changes he has made to the report since the last planning commission meeting. Chairperson Fischer asked it the planning commission and council action could also be listed under the conditional use permits and revisions. Chairperson Fischer suggested that Number 6 in the 2000 Activities be broadened. She thought it should state, "provide input to HRA, on housing redevelopment and program issues, and other pertinent commissions." Ms. Fischer thought item 4 of the 2000 Activities should state "have information (including maps) about the comprehensive plan, and commissioners, available at the open house." Melinda Coleman commented that Ms. Fischer and Mr. Rossbach help staffed the information booth in 1999. She said that this year, because of our GIS program, there will be "lots of really neat maps" to hand out. Ms. Coleman encouraged participation by other planning commissioners. Chairperson Fischer proposed having a copy of the planning commission and city council agendas displayed on the cable channel with the meeting notices. She thought item 1 of 2000 Activities should say "have an annual tour of sites of interest." Commissioner Trippler suggested holding meetings to discuss unresolved and or new planning issues on some nights when the regular planning commission meeting is canceled due to lack of applications. Commissioner Rossbach thought a motion could be made to further discuss a topic, in the normal meeting time, if the person who initiated it feels strong enough about it. Ms. Coleman thought it was a great idea and asked the commissioners to tell staff when there is an issue that needs more time. Ms. Fischer felt it could be mentioned under the visitor presentation section of the meeting. Commissioner Frost moved approval of the 1999 Planning Commission Annual Report, amended to add planning commission and council action to the 1999 Conditional Use Permits and Revisions, and make the following changes to 2000 Activities: 1. Have an annual tour of sites of interest; 4. Have information (including maps) about the comprehensive plan, and commissioners, available at the open house; and 6. Provide input to HRA, on housing redevelopment and program issues, and other pertinent commissions. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-07-00 -7- VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS There were no visitor presentations. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS A. January 24 Council Meeting: Mr. Thompson reported on this meeting. B. February 14 Council Meeting: Mr. Mueller will attend this meeting. C. February 28 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach will attend this meeting. D. Metro Transit--Jack Frost Jack Frost notified the commissioners that the metropolitan transit commission has proposed a revision of service to the Ramsey County northeast area. He said many of the existing routes will be canceled, new routes will be started, and there will be express bus service from Maplewood Mall to downtown all day. With the new policy, there would be no bus service along McKnight Road, north of 11th Street in North St. Paul. He said the Maplewood Mall will be used as a large transfer station. Mr. Frost recommended that Maplewood send a letter to the Metropolitan Council indicating that they would like to see service provided to the northeast section of Maplewood, along Mc Knight Road, that would enable riders to get to Maplewood Mall during peak hours. They could then transfer to an express route to downtown, Minneapolis or 3M. Mr. Frost said there will also now be all day service from Maplewood Mall to Rosedale. There will be a public hearing Thursday at 12 at the Metro Council offices in Mears Park Centre. Comments will also be taken on their web site and by phone. Melinda Coleman asked Mr. Frost to put some notes together that she could take to the city council on Monday. Mr. Frost agreed to do this. Ms. Coleman questioned how these changes get made without city and resident input. Mr. Frost said there were news releases, newspaper articles, a web site announcement, and a distribution to bus riders. These changes should happen in about nine months. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Melinda Coleman brought up rescheduling the February 21 meeting. The majority of the commission was available on the 23. The concensus was that the next planning commission meeting will be February 23. The White Bear Avenue Corridor Study is having a final open house on Tuesday, February 15, 1999, at 7 p.m. This will be at the District 2 Council office at Epworth Methodist Church, Furness Parkway and Sherwood. A follow-up meeting with the steering committee will be on February 24 at 5 p.m. in the Maplewood City Council Chambers. Commissioner Thompson attended the White Bear Study session on signage. He thought they seemed to be copying the concept that Maplewood has used. Mr. Thompson felt that Maplewood looked very acceptable and commended staff on their "foresight and practice." IX. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m.