Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/02/20011. Call to Order MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, January 2, 2001, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes a. December 18, 2000 5. Unfinished Business None New Business a. Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall Conditional Use Permit (925 Century Avenue North) b. 2000Annual Report 7. Visitor Presentations Commission Presentations a. January 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Frost b. January 22 Council Meeting: Mr. Ahlness c. February 12 Council Meeting: Mr. Trippler o Staff Presentations a. Note: January 15, 2001 meeting rescheduled to Wednesday, January 17, 2001 10. Adjournment II. III. IV. MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, JANUARY 02, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Commissioner Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Jack Frost Commissioner Matt Ledvina Commissioner Paul Mueller Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner William Rossbach Commissioner Dale Trippler Commissioner Eric Ahlness Commissioner Mary Dierich Present Present Absent Present Present Absent Present Present Absent Staff Present: Ken Roberts, Associate Planner Chris Cavett, Acting City Engineer Recording Secretary: Lori Hansen APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Pearson moved approval of the agenda, as submitted. Commissioner Frost seconded. Ayes-All The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES December 18, 2001: Chairperson Fischer noted under the December 11th Council Meeting, staff updated the commission on the sign condition with Affordable Auto. Staff also announced the city council election after Ms. Fischer discussed the current status of the public safety dispatching. Ms. Fischer also asked that Mr. Thompson be added to item C under staff presentations. His term also expired on the 31 st of December. Commission Frost moved approval of the revised minutes of December 18, 2000 as amended. Commissioner Pearson seconded the motion. Ayes-All The motion passed. Planning Commission Minutes of 01-02-2001 -2- V. PUBLIC HEARING A. Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall--Conditional Use Permit--(925 Century Avenue North). Ken Roberts gave the staff report for the city. Gil Shipshock, of the Mounds Park/Oakdale Jehovah's kingdom Hall, is proposing an expansion of the Kingdom Hall at 925 Century Avenue North. They will be building a 1,120-square-foot addition onto the west end of the existing building. They would also be building a 24 x 24 foot two-car garage to replace the small shed on the property, enlarge the parking lot by adding 17 more spaces south of the existing parking lot, and close the southerly driveway into the site. The applicant is requesting that the city council approve a conditional use permit for the church expansion. Staff does not feel the proposed church and parking lot expansion would cause any negative effect for the neighbors as long as the precautions noted in the conditions are taken. The applicant is proposing to replace their parking lot lights with downward-cast fixtures. This type of fixture would eliminate light overspill onto neighbors' properties. Neighbors to the south of the proposed property are concerned with storm water and storm water run off, and that the adjacent parking lot could cause flooding and create drainage concerns. Chris Cavett, the Acting City Engineer, is confident that if the applicant makes the recommended revisions to the plans and provides all the information he has outlined, there should be no negative effect on the neighbors to the south by storm water run-off. With the parking lot expansion, the applicant has proposed to add trees adjacent to the property line to provide screening. The trees alone will not meet the city screening requirement of an 80% opaque screening. Therefore, staff is recommending that a screening fence be added so that the screening requirement is met and that there will not be headlight glare shining onto the neighbors to the south. Mr. Frost asked about the resident at 2404 Harvester who had the concern of headlight glare. Staff felt the 80% screening requirement would alleviate this concern. Also, in the conditions it requires that the applicant review with staff the need for additional screening on the north side of the parking lot for this home. Gil Shipshock, Chairman of the Building Committee for Jehovah's Witness, was present for the applicant. Mr. Mueller was concerned with the site lights that were on all night long shining in the neighbor's windows. The applicant responded in saying they are switching to a shoebox type fixture therefore the lighting is controlled and will not flow over into the neighbors lots, and the lights will also be put on timers so they will be shutting off in the evening. Regarding the headlight concern for the resident at 2404 Harvester, the revised plans will create one-way traffic flow which will redirect the swing of vehicle lights away from the neighbors. Mr. Trippler wanted to know how much activity was in the evening hours as opposed to during the day? Mr. Shipshock responded in saying that there are meetings on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. All the other activity is during the day, generally on Saturdays and Sundays. Jerry Hicks was present representing his daughter and her husband who live at 2707 Brand Avenue East. He read a letter to the commission addressing their concerns with the proposed expansion of Jehovah's Witness. The letter gave a brief history of the property at 2707 Brand Avenue East. It included the history of water problems in the basement of the property, and the problems with leaking since his daughter purchased the property last spring. Planning Commission Minutes of 01-02-2001 -3- Mr. Hicks and his family did not feel the proposal is the right site for a "rain garden". They feel the rain garden will fill up and when the water percolates into the ground, will flow toward the basement of all the homes between the church and the standing water a few hundred feet away. They also feel the snow accumulation will lead to other problems and that the church should be required to haul the snow way within three days of a snowfall. In summary, they stated: "Now is the time to correct a problem that was created when this parking lot was originally installed. With the expansion, it will only get worse and the homeowners are the ones that will have a problem. This church should not be treated any differently than your neighborhood business nor should the residents have any less protection by the city from possible damage by runoff. Have the church protect the residents by directing the water to the center of the parking lot and be drained to a storm sever. Possibly have them contour the lot so all runoff will go down their driveway toward Century and then into the ditch. Have the snow removed after a significant snowfall." Mr. Pearson asked if a "truth in housing" was available to the home owner before they bought their house, and Mr. Hicks said it was. He stated with the history of the home and the price they were asking, it was a good buy. Mr. Cavett stated the character of the property is changing by a very small percentage. Right now 100% of a given area is draining to the south and the proposal is going to capture 75% of that runoff. Eighty five percent of all rainfall events are less than ½ inch. Most rainfalls will be captured and absorbed into the ground. Mr. Cavett felt this proposal actually improves the drainage situation for the neighbors to the south. Mr. Cavett also noted two years ago the city completed a project in that neighborhood where a sixteen foot boring was done directly in front of the property line at 2707 Brand Avenue. At that time there was no ground water observed in the boring, which is way below that basement level of a home. A copy of the boring log was provided for Mr. Hicks. The city engineering staff feels wet basement problems are typically caused by an issue with landscaping or grading. There are several things that can be done in the immediate area of the home that can help the infiltration of water around the basement foundation. Angela Stafholt, 2707 Brand Avenue East, reiterated the concerns they have regarding the drainage of Kingdom Hall property. They realize they are at the bottom of a hill and naturally water flows down the hill. They are very concerned with piles of snow in their backyard, and what is going to happen when it melts. They felt even if there is a berm built it will not help the melting of snow, and would like to see the snow hauled away. They are not disputing the expansion of Kingdom Hall, but they are looking at this as an opportunity to correct a current water problem that will and can get worse with the adding of the blacktop. Mr. Trippler asked if the city of Maplewood has a position on snow removal for businesses and churches. Mr. Roberts stated they do not. Ms. Fischer added "until they would lose required parking spaces that were necessary for their permit". Staff responded in saying technically that was a possibility. Mr. Cavett noted the city and the watershed district's philosophy is to contain as much flow as possible on site, and encourage stormwater infiltration. The idea is to not pipe the water and ship it down stream. Once that happens, it becomes someone elses problem. With a proposal what needs to be looked at is: what is the existing condition, what is the proposal, and what impact will there be on the adjacent properties? The engineering staff feels what is proposed seems to be a better management from what is there now. Mr. Frost noted that he trusts the city engineer's opinion about this proposal for the storm water runoff in that it is going to be a better proposition than what is now there. Planning Commission Minutes of 01-02-2001 -4- Mr. Frost moved the planning commission to adopt the resolution to approve a conditional use permit for the Mounds Park/Oakdale Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall building and parking lot expansion proposal at 925 Century Avenue North. Approval is based on the findings required by the code and subject to: 1. All construction, renovations and improvements shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community development may approve minor changes. 2. The proposed use 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. Site lights shall only be used when needed at night for services or other church functions. They shall not be on all night. Ayes-5 (Fischer, Frost, Mueller, Trippler, Ahlness) Nays-1 (Pearson) Mr. Pearson stated he was uncomfortable approving a proposal that would be adding impervious surface that could be drained away from adjoining neighbors, but was not. Motion carries. This proposal will go the city council on January 22nd. B. Planning Commission's 2000 Annual Report. Mr. Roberts gave the staff report for the city. The city code requires that the planning commission prepare an annual report each year. This report is to include the commission's activities in the past year and the major projects scheduled for the new year. Mr. Trippler asked what the status of the Carpet Court proposal was. Staff responded in saying the acquisition of more property fell through and they are working on revised project plans. Mr. Mueller asked if Amusement City was approved for the Pizza Parlor. Staff will double check if the commission approved this proposal. Ms. Fischer asked that Mike Seeber and Milo Thompson's expiration dates of their terms be added to the report. The commission would like to see a study be completed on the area west of Maplewood Mall (including the Hajicek property) for land use and transportation issues. Another 2001 activity the commission would like to add is a study and consideration of possible revisions to the city's telecommunications ordinance and meet with telecommunications providers to better coordinate the installation of telecommunications equipment (including monopoles) in Maplewood. Mr. Trippler moved the planning commission to approve the planning commission's 2000 annual report as amended. Mr. Frost seconded. Ayes-All Motion carries. VII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS Planning Commission -5- Minutes of 01-02-2001 None VIII. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. January 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Frost will attend. b. January 22 Council Meeting: Mr. Ahlness will attend. c. February 12 Council Meeting: Mr. Trippler will attend. STAFF PRESENTATIONS The January 15, 2001 meeting was rescheduled to Wednesday, January 17, 2001. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m.