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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/06/2001MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday August 6, 2001, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda o Approval of Minutes a. July2, 2001 Public Hearings None New Business a. Alamo Car Rental Conditional Use Permit (2525 White Bear Avenue) b. Code Amendment - F (Farm Residence) District c. Code Amendment - Rezonings 7. Visitor Presentations Commission Presentations a. July 23 Council Meeting: Mr. Ledvina b. August 13 Council Meeting: Ms. Dierich c. August 27 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach Staff Presentations a. Annual Tour Follow-up 10. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2001 II. III. IV, Mo CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Staff Present: Lorraine Fischer Present Jack Frost Present Gary Pearson Present Dale Trippler Present Eric Ahlness Present Mary Dierich Present Matt Ledvina ' Absent Paul Mueller Absent William Rossbach Absent Ken Roberts, Associate Planner Shann Finwall, Associate Planner Recording Secretary: Lisa Kroll APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Roberts would like to add item 9.b. under staff presentations regarding the rescheduling of the Planning Commission meeting of Monday, September 3, Labor Day. Mr. Roberts introduced the new recording secretary Lisa Kroll who also records the Community Design Review Board minutes. Commissioner Frost moves approval as amended to include item 9. b. Commissioner Pearson seconds. Ayes -- All The motion is passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Trippler corrected a misspelling on page 3, 6th paragraph, the word silt. Commissioner Dierich corrected the 7th paragraph of that page to read "it" was on the north side as opposed to "is" was on the north side. Commissioner Frost moved to approve the July 2, 2001, Planning Commission minutes as amended. Commissioner Pearson seconds. Ayes - All PUBLIC HEARING None Planning Commission Minutes 8-6-2001 -2- VI. NEW BUSINESS 6. a. Alamo Car Rental Conditional Use Permit (2525 White Bear Avenue) Ms. Finwall stated that Alamo Car Rental is requesting approval of a conditional use permit (CUP) for the rental of motor vehicles from the Maplewood Auto Center, 2525 White Bear Avenue. Staff does find that Alamo Car Rental's use is compatible with the car center and does recommend approval of their conditional use permit with six conditions, which include a revised condition number 5 which would read "the owner of the Maplewood Auto Center at 2525 White Bear Avenue will replace the stop sign and no left turn sign at the exit onto White Bear Avenue prior to the city issuing a conditional use permit for Alamo Car Rental and an added condition number 6. to read "the owner of the Maplewood Auto Center at 2525 White Bear Avenue will submit a letter of credit to the city to cover the cost of missing landscaping materials including 14 trees and 28 shrubs and the installation of those materials prior to the city issuing a conditional use permit for Alamo Car Rental. The owner of the Maplewood Auto Center will work with staff on the location and species of the landscape materials to be installed by the end of the 2001 planting season". This will allow Mr. Pollowski an opportunity to hire a landscaping firm to install all of the required plant materials by the end of the years planting season. Chairperson Fischer asked if there were any questions of the staff report. Commissioner Frost asked if Alamo Car Rental is for other car dealers or can people off the street use them as well. Ms. Finwall replied that Alamo Car Rental would be catering mainly to the local dealers; however, a customer could come off the street and rent a car from them as well. However, Alamo has indicated this would not be a majority of their business. Commissioner Frost replied that he did like the provision that was made to the landscaping plan compared to the original plan of 1988 because the original plan shows trees and bushes that he would not recommend any longer. Commissioner Frost stated that he does not understand why a left turn cannot be made onto White Bear Avenue. He could, however, understand if the no left turn was during peak times (7 - 9 a.m. and again from 4 - 6 p.m.), but it seems inefficient to turn right on White Bear Avenue and loop around and go north when the traffic is not that congested most of the day. Chairperson Fischer asked what the inspection process was to ensure that landscaping conditions are met. She could understand that a building inspector would take care of the buildings but who would be out looking at the landscaping to see if companies are in compliance. Ms. Finwall replied that conditional use permits which were approved within the city are reviewed by the city council yearly to a certain point, and then reviewed every 5 years after that. Staff looks at all aspects of the conditional use permit, including landscaping and reports any deficiencies to the city council. Mr. Roberts in addition to that, the planning staff is charged with checking things like signage and landscaping once a certificate of occupancy for a building is requested to make sure that they are complete. Chairperson Fischer asked if they are now checking the number of shrubs and trees are the actual number that was approved. Planning Commission Minutes 8-6-2001 -3- Mr. Roberts replied yes. Commissioner Dierich stated that she thought the deadline for the landscaping is going to be very tight to complete this year. Landscaping companies are very busy and having gone through this herself she knows it is going to be very hard to complete the planting process before the season ends. Mr. Roberts asked Commissioner Dierich if that was because of a shortage of materials or shortage of labor. Commissioner Dierich replied yes a shortage of labor. Currently many landscapers are booked until the end of the year. Mr. Roberts stated that he was sure with a line of credit the applicant and the board can work something out to get the landscape installed, if not this fall, then next spring. Chairperson Fischer asks the applicant to come forward and give their name and address, questions, concerns, thoughts. Steve Lewis of Alamo Car Rental, at 8000 Knox Avenue South in Bloomington, Minnesota was present. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant if he has any problems or concerns with any of the recommendations or conditions in the staff report. Mr. Lewis asked if there was a delay in the landscaping conditions what does that do to his company moving into the Maplewood Auto Center. Does the landlord have to comply with the conditions before he can move the business in? Ms. Finwall replied that as long as the city received the letter of credit or cash equity to cover that landscaping material, his opening in this center would be fine. Mr. Lewis asked if the landlord does not supply a line of credit, would that postpone his opening? Mr. Roberts replied yes. Mr. Lewis asked if the landscaping was an issue for any other occupants that went into the center before this time. Mr. Roberts replied yes. Mr. Lewis asked if this landscaping situation was not a condition for previous occupants, why must it be a condition of Alamo's? Mr. Roberts replied that the city just became aware of the missing landscaping and therefore Alamo's conditional use permit request is a good opportunity for the city to require the owner to meet the original landscaping plan. Commissioner Frost stated that it sounded like the owner is agreeable to getting this taken care of. Hopefully it is not going to be an issue for Alamo's timeline. Chairperson Fischer thanked Mr. Lewis for his questions. Planning Commission Minutes 8-6-2001 -4- Commissioner Pearson moved to recommend approval of the resolution approving a conditional use permit for rental of motor vehicles at the Maplewood Auto Center at 2525 White Bear Avenue for Alamo Car Rental with conditions as specified by staff. Commissioner Frost recommends the amendment of condition (5.) c. about the no left turn sign. He feels it should be up for review with the police. Commissioner Ahlness added to Commissioner Frost's recommendation pending a review by the chief of police, and if there were no objections it would be posted with no left turn only from 7 -9 a.m. and from 4 - 6 p.m. That way we could go forward if he has no objections. Commissioner Pearson accepted the amendments. Commissioner Trippler seconded the motion. Commissioner Ahlness asked if the police department could also look at the turning left at Caribou Coffee as well. Mr. Roberts replied he was not sure if they could do anything to change that site since they are not working with that location right now. Commissioner Ahlness replied that the city should look at it as a comprehensive plan otherwise people will drive across the parking lot to take a left turn at one exit when they can't at the other. Motion carried. Ayes - All 6. b. Code Amendment- F (Farm Residence) District Ms. Finwall stated that on June 18, 2001, the planning commission directed staff to research possible code amendments to the cities farm zone. The proposed changes were prompted by Paul Schlomka's request for a home occupation license to conduct a landscaping business from his farm zone property at 2511 Carver Avenue. This request included two conditional use permits that were associated with the business (one for a 4,224 square foot pole barn and one for the storage of commercial vehicles on residential property). Mr. Schlomka has agreed to delay his request until staff's research into possible farm-zone code changes is complete. Staff does not propose any changes to Maplewood's accessory structure ordinance, but does propose a change to the farm zone ordinance to allow landscaping or similar business with a conditional use permit within the farm zone on property of 4 or more acres. The conditional use permit would be subject to the following: ao No exterior storage of commercial vehicles, equipment, or material associated with the business. Storage of these items must be in an approved accessory structure, which must comply with the strict setback requirements of commercial buildings adjacent residential property, which specify a minimum setback of 50 feet. The accessory structure and any other areas of the lot, which are associated with the business, must comply with the landscaping and screening requirements of commercial buildings adjacent residential property. b. No more than one (1) nonresident employee shall be allowed to work on the premises. c. The hours of operation are limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Planning Commission Minutes 8-6-2001 -5- Ms. Finwall noted that Commissioner Ledvina, who is excused from tonight's meeting, expressed a concern that an individual property owner could acquire a conditional use permit for such a business on a property that is 4 acres, and then want to subdivide the property at a later time and not have the required acreage for the business. Ms. Finwall noted that all subdivisions must be approved by the city and no subdivision could take place unless the property owner with this type of landscaping business applied for and received a variance from the strict 4-acre size lot required for this type of business, or the business would have to close. Commissioner Frost asked for clarification on staff's proposed changes to the accessory structure ordinance. Ms. Finwall replied staff is not proposing any changes to the cities accessory structure ordinance. Commissioner Dierich asked for clarification on staff's recommendation for the minimum Io size for this type of business. Ms. Finwall replied that for a business such as this staff is recommending that the lot size be a minimum of 4 acres. Commissioner Dierich asked if that include things like easements that may run through the property. Ms. Finwall replied that is correct. Commissioner Dierich stated that she is uncomfortable with that because she would like to see the easements excluded because the person can't really use that land even though they own it. There is a lot of property in that southern portion of the city that there are easements on and that would make those properties less than 4 acres. Mr. Roberts replied that one thing those easements do is to make those lots more difficult to subdivide and also it creates space between homes and structures. Commissioner Trippler asked how staff decided that 4 acres was the cutoff. Ms. Finwall stated that since most of the Planning Commissioners felt that what Mr. Schlomka was proposing for his lot was reasonable, but were uncomfortable allowing it with a home occupation, Mr. Schlomka's lot at 4.34 acres was used as a guide. Commissioner Pearson stated you have to set a line someplace. Below that line it would be up to that applicant to apply for a variance which the city can weigh the validity of that application. Commissioner Trippler stated nothing in this really changes the 2,500 square feet of building structure regardless if it is 4 acres or 12 acres. He was under the impression that we were asking staff to come up with some kind of a recommendation on sizing the accessory structures more to the lot sizes. On a 1-acre plot of land a 2,500 square foot building takes up 5.7% of that total acreage. Chairperson Fischer clarified that the city would look not only at the size of the building but also at the number of acres that the applicant had when reviewing a conditional use permit for a larger accessory structure. Planning Commission Minutes 8-6-2001 -6- Mr. Roberts stated that it would be part of the conditional use permit review. Because clearly you would like to think there would be more options of where that building could fit on a 5-acre parcel verses a 1-acre parcel and what they could do for setbacks and the impact on them. Commissioner Dierich asked Mr. Roberts to explain the setback of accessory structures she is not clear on that language. Does that mean that the front of the accessory structure has to be behind the residence. Ms. Finwall answered that staff is proposing that the accessory structure meet the setback requirements for a commercial building when adjacent to residential property. This code now states that the commercial has to be at least 50 feet from a residential property line. The accessory structure ordinance also requires that an accessory structure be placed behind the residential building itself. Commissioner Dierich says that clarifies things for her. Commissioner Frost asks what the setbacks are for a building next to a right-of-way. Ms. Finwall answered that in the farm zone the front yard setback is 30 feet from the front property line and if it was on a corner lot it would be 30 feet for the side line adjacent a right-of- way as well. Commissioner Pearson thanked the staff for the work they have done on this and also to Mr. Schlomka for allowing the city additional time to come to this type of proposal. Commissioner Pearson moved approval of the ordinance amendment in order to allow landscaping and other similar businesses in the farm zone with a conditional use permit with the conditions as specified by staff. Commissioner Frost seconded the motion. Motion carried. Ayes -All 6. c. Code Amendment- Rezoning Ms. Finwall stated that during the 2001 Minnesota Legislative Session, the Builders' Association of Minnesota (BAM) and the Minnesota Association of Realtors (MAR) requested changes to the state law. The BAM and MAR proposed changes to building code interpretation, plan review fees, and zoning ordinances. These changes were proposed in an attempt to reduce market barriers to building more affordable homes. A section of the new law affects the voting requirements for zoning ordinance amendments and zoning map changes. The city's zoning code states that the city council may adopt and amend the city's zoning ordinance or map by a two-thirds majority vote of all its members. The state statute was amended to require a majority vote of all governing body members for amendments to zoning ordinances or changes to the zoning maps. An exception to this requirement is the adoption or amendment of any portion of the zoning ordinance that changes all or part of the existing classification of a zoning district from residential to commercial or industrial. In this case the governing body must have a two-thirds majority vote (at least 4 out 5) in favor of all its members. To comply with the new state law requirements, staff is proposing a zoning code amendment to reflect a new majority vote requirements for amendments to zoning ordinances or changes to the map. Planning Commission - 7 - Minutes 8-6-2001 VII. VIII. Commissioner Frost moved to approve the proposed code change. Commissioner Pearson seconded the motion. Motion carried. Ayes - All VISITORS PRESENTATIONS - None COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS Item (a.) regarding the city council meeting on July 23, 2001. Commissioner Ledvina is absent so Mr. Roberts spoke of the content of the meeting. Mr. Roberts stated that the city council approved the vacation of Lydia Avenue. They also looked at buying three homes on Larpenteur Avenue by Champps Restaurant that had been flooded. These are three homes that sit in the Iow point of Adolphus and Larpenteur Avenues. Last fall one of them had the sewer back up and had several feet of sewage in their basement. Then this spring with the heavy rains 3 of the homes had problems with flooding by the storm water. Mr. Roberts stated that the city thought it would be best to buy the homes and negotiate a price, tear them down, re-grade the lots, and then resell the lots. This will end up costing the city $250,000 to $280,000. Commissioner Pearson asked if the council discussed the need for the anti-back up valves on the sewer lines, otherwise the problem will occur all over again. Mr. Roberts stated they will have to remind the engineers about that. Chairperson Fischer asked Commissioner Dierich if she was available for the August 13, 2001 meeting. Commissioner Dierich responded yes she was. Commissioner Fischer stated that Commissioner Rossbach is not present to state if he was available for the August 27, 2001 meeting. Chairperson Fischer asked if there had been many phone calls about the new parking ordinance that went into effect on August 1. Mr. Roberts replied that in two days he had received about 4 calls from one street recently. Commissioner Trippler requested that for at least the next couple meetings if staff could supply a report of those calls from the chief of police and how many cases they actually went out and investigated. Mr. Roberts stated that he has received those calls as well as the Environmental Health Officer, Bob Wenger, and they have not kept track of those calls, but it would be something that could be done. He was not sure if the police department had been getting those calls or not. He stated he was not clear on who is getting what calls. He could check into that for the planning commission members. Planning Commission - 8 - Minutes 8-6-2001 Chairperson Fischer wanted to make sure that when officials are going out to check complaints that they check to see that vehicles are not too close to properties. Chairperson Fischer reminded the commission that Tuesday, August 7, 2001 was Maplewood Night Out. IX. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Annual Tour Follow-up Mr. Roberts asked members if they are getting bored with the tour because the attendance was not very good. Chairperson Fischer mentioned if they do the city tour again they need to get a quieter bus with a working microphone. Mr. Roberts replied that they were required to get a bus with a lift on it and were told it had a microphone. Unfortunately the microphone was for the driver only. Commissioner Trippler said it was so loud he could not hear any speakers because people were being so loud talking amongst themselves and the bus itself was so noisy. Members mentioned to Mr. Roberts that maybe it would be nice in the future to tour other cities that may have something that the city of Maplewood could profit from and see how that would relate to what Maplewood could do with their city. Members stated that they see the city of Maplewood when they drive around on their own and would be interested in seeing cities they don't see everyday like Shoreview or Stillwater. Mr. Roberts asked Chairperson Fischer if the consensus was to continue the city tours or not or did they want to discuss that amongst themselves. Chairperson Fischer stated that several members were missing from the meeting and we should address it again at the next meeting to get an answer on that. Commissioner Trippler stated he thought they could discuss that subject during a light agenda night. A couple of meetings were cancelled and he thought they had asked for an opportunity in some chamber setting for a chance to discuss educational things or items that people had been thinking about. Mr. Roberts asked if it should be tabled and members replied yes. b. Rescheduling of September 3, 2001 meeting Mr. Roberts asked members if they could reschedule the Monday, September 3, 2001 Planning Commission meeting because of Labor Day. The consensus of the members present was to reschedule the meeting to Tuesday, September 4, 2001. X. ADJOURNMENT Chairperson Fischer adjourned the meeting at 8:18 p.m.