Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/06/20001. Call to Order MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Thursday, July 6, 2000, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes a. June 5, 2000 b. June 19,2000 New Business a. US West Telecommunications Monopole Conditional Use Permit (1194 County Road C) b. Super America (1750 White Bear Avenue) 1. Conditional Use Permit 2. Parking Reduction Authorization 6. Visitor Presentations Commission Presentations a. June 26 Council Meeting: Mr. Thompson b. July 10 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach c. July 24 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer 8. Staff Presentations 9. Adjournment I. CALL TO ORDER MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2000 Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Lorraine Fischer Jack Frost Matt Ledvina Paul Mueller Gary Pearson William Rossbach Milo Thompson Dale Trippler III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA IV. Present Present Absent Absent Present Present Present (arrived at 7:27 p.m.) Present Commissioner Frost moved approval of the agenda as submitted. Ayes--all Commissioner Pearson seconded. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. NEW A. June 5, 2000 Commissioner Frost moved approval of the minutes of May 1, 2000, amended to correct the spelling of Bob Tillges' name on page three. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. June 19, 2000 Commissioner Frost moved approval of the minutes of June 19, 2000, as submitted. Commissioner Rossbach seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. BUSINESS U.S. West Telecommunications Monopole Conditional Use Permit (1194 County Road C East) Ken Roberts, associate planner, presented the staff report. He then answered questions from the commissioners. Dale Casper, the site coordinator for U.S. West Wireless, had no additional comments but thanked staff for the presentation. He said the KSTP site would not work for an antenna because of interference with the AM towers. Planning Commission Minutes of 07-06-2000 -2- The engineer for U.S. West Wireless stated that there was no way they could collocate on the KSTP tower because AM towers are electrified. He said they are required by the FCC to work with the two nearby stations so as not to interfere with the signals. According to the engineer, the 150-foot tower could cover a range of 3 miles, depending on the population (number of users), and the topography of the area. Commissioner Pearson moved the Planning Commission recommend: Adopt the resolution which approves a conditional use permit to allow up to a 75-foot-tall telecommunications monopole and related equipment. This approval is for the property at 1194 County Road C. The city bases this approval on the findings required by the ordinance and is subject to the following conditions: 1. All construction shall follow the site plans dated May 26, 2000, as 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. 4. The applicant or owner shall allow the co-location of other providers' telecommunications equipment on the proposed tower with reasonable lease conditions. 5. Any antenna that is not used for a year shall be deemed abandoned and may be required to be removed. 6. The applicant or US West shall post a bond or other guarantee with the city to ensure proper removal of the antenna and monopole and the restoration of the site. Before the city issues a building permit for this monopole, the church shall build a trash enclosure (as required by the 1994 CUP approval for the church ) and restripe the parking lot. Commissioner Frost seconded. Commissioner Rossbach commented that there were other areas on the site that would be better suited for location of the antenna, such as the "tongue area" or the back of the building near the existing trees. He felt the location chosen was most convenient for U.S. West to service the antenna and shelter their equipment. Ken Roberts replied that one reason this site was chosen was so that the monopole with a new light attached could replace the existing telephone pole. Ayes--Fischer, Frost, Pearson Nays--Rossbach, Trippler Abstention--Thompson Commissioner Thompson arrived at the meeting at 7:27 p.m. and abstained from voting on this item. The motion passed. Planning Commission Minutes of 07-06-2000 -3- SuperAmerica (1750 White Bear Avenue): Conditional Use Permit and Parking Reduction Authorization Ken Roberts, associate planner, gave the commissioners revised plans that were received from SuperAmerica on Wednesday, July 5, 2000. He noted that the driveway layout on White Bear Avenue was changed from two openings to one and the parking in front of the building was rearranged. Mr. Roberts then summarized the staff report. He said the community design review board disagreed with the staff and recommended approval of the 15-foot setback variance. Chairperson Fischer invited the members of the planning commission to make a separate motion on this variance if they agreed or disagreed with the staff report and the review board recommendation. Mr. Roberts mentioned that Commissioner Ledvina (who was not in attendance at this meeting) called to speak about his concern in regard to outdoor storage. Mr. Roberts thought there might be a way to limit storage outdoors but said it was very difficult to prohibit it. Michael Cronin was present representing SuperAmerica. Gary Gerlach, the district manager and manager of the this store, also was present. Mr. Cronin said they would like to reserve the right to have some outdoor cabinets for storage. Products would not be displayed or sold outside. Mr. Cronin then addressed the contamination that was found during an underground tank replacement project in 1993. Eleven monitoring wells were installed, nine on-site and two off-site, to monitor this pollution. The result has been that the pollution is not moving, has not gone away, and is not off the site. He said that the reconstruction and moving the tanks to the other end of the site would allow SuperAmerica to then treat or remove the contaminated soil. Mr. Cronin said the main reason for the 15-foot building setback variance request is to try to improve the internal vehicle circulation on the site and maintain "some kind of relationship between the store, where the cashier's are, and the canopy." Commissioner Trippler suggested contacting the two residents that have the monitoring wells on their property to let them know that whatever transpires with their wells is not contingent on this construction happening or not happening. Commissioner Thompson asked if Maplewood was unrealistic in their parking requirements because of the number of parking reduction requests. Mr. Cronin that 1:200 is a fairly tight ratio because typical ratios are 1:250 or 1:300. He said that most of SuperAmerica's customers use the pump islands as parking. Various cities recognize the parking at the pumps as part of the parking requirement. Mr. Cronin's impression was that Maplewood required more parking per site than most surrounding communities and did not count parking at the pumps in their parking requirement. Commissioner Frost moved the Planning Commission recommend: Adopt the resolution which approves a conditional use permit to rebuild and enlarge a motor fuel station at 1750 White Bear Avenue. Approval is based on the findings required by ordinance 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. Planning Commission Minutes of 07-06-2000 -4- 3. The city council shall review this permit in one year. 4. The applicant shall comply with all requirements of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regarding fuel tanks, fuel spillage, monitoring wells, any contaminated soil, etc. Approve a parking-reduction waiver to allow 11 parking spaces (five fewer than the code requires). The city is approving this request because: 1. Most of the customers that would be in the store at a given time are fuel customers who would leave their cars at the pump islands. 2. A reduction in the parking requirements is justified to create more efficient traffic flow within the site. Commissioner Rossbach seconded. The motion passed. VI. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS There were no visitor presentations. VII. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS Ayes--all June 26 Council Meeting: Mr. Thompson reported on this meeting. July 10 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach is scheduled and Mr. Trippler will be a back-up. July 24 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer will attend this meeting. Commissioner Rossbach commented on the proposed Highpoint Ridge project that was considered at a previous meeting. In retrospect, he felt that the commission should have tabled this project. Mr. Rossbach thought it should be suggested to the city council that they table this project if the plans are not complete. VIII. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Ken Roberts said it was doubtful if there would be a meeting on July 17. He reminded the commissioners of the city tour on July 31, 2000. IX. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.