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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/17/20021. Call to Order MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, June 17, 2002, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes a. May 20, 2002 5. Public Headng None 6. New Business a. Conditional Use Permit Revision - Hmong Alliance Church (1770 McMenemy Street) b. Conditional Use Permit - Sinclair Fuel Station (223 Larpenteur Avenue East) c. Manufactured Home Park Closing Ordinance Amendment d. Annual Tour e. Follow-up from meeting with Barb Strandell f. Planning Commission Applicant Interviews 7. Unfinished Business None 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations a. May 28 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach b. June 10 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer c. June 24 Council Meeting: Mr. Pearson d. July 8 Council Meeting: Ms. Junek 10. Staff Presentations 11. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2002 I. CALLTO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. I1. ROLL CALL Commissioner Mary Dierich Commissioner Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Matt Ledvina Commissioner Jackie Monahan-Junek Commissioner Paul Mueller Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner William Rossbach Commissioner Dale Trippler Staff Present: Present Present Absent Present Present Present Present Present Ken Roberts, Associate Planner Chris Cavett, Assistant City Engineer Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary III. APPROVAL OFAGENDA Commissioner Rossbach added item 6. g. Kohlman Creek update. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the agenda as amended. Commissioner Rossbach seconded. Ayes-All The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the planning commission minutes for May 20, 2002. Commissioner Rossbach moved to approve the planning commission minutes for May 20, 2002. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes - Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler Abstention - Dierich, Monahan-Junek PUBLIC HEARING None. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -2- VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Conditional Use Permit Revision - Hmong Alliance Church (1770 McMenemy Street) Mr. Roberts said the St. Paul Hmong Alliance Church, at 1770 McMenemy Street, is proposing to build an addition onto the south side of their existing parking lot. They also are proposing to add a playground to the east side of the church building and a new driveway from the expanded parking lot to DeSoto Street. The applicant is requesting: A conditional use permit (CUP) revision. Specifically, they want city approval to change the approved site plan to expand their parking lot, to add the new driveway to DeSoto Street and to add a playground. The city code requires a CUP for churches. 2. Approval of project plans. On May 12, 1997, the city council approved a CUP revision and the design plans for this site. These requests were for the church to expand their building by adding space for Sunday school and a solarium to the front of the church. The church is meeting the conditions of their CUP and staff is not aware of problems, other than the traffic from the site, with the church. The proposed parking lot expansion meets the requirements for the CUP and would fit the site. If approved, the parking lot would grow from 95 spaces to 254 spaces (an increase of 159 spaces). This expansion should meet the parking needs of the church for the next several years. Proper landscaping and screening would ensure that nearby homes are buffered from the parking lot. The proposed playground should be a good fit and should not cause any problems. In addition, the city has approved several CUPs for church expansions in the past few years. Mr. Roberts said the proposed plans show a new driveway from the expanded parking lot to DeSoto Street. The neighbors near the church have mixed reactions to this part of the proposal. Those living on or near McMenemy Street thought the new driveway would be a good idea and those living on or near DeSoto Street thought that the new driveway was a poor or dangerous idea. One neighbor said the city should deny this project because there already is too much traffic from the church. City staff has not received any traffic complaints from neighbors about the existing church and parking lot layout. The new driveway to DeSoto Street however, is a change to the site and the area that is a concern to many of the neighbors, it is their opinion that DeSoto Street, because of its condition and design could not handle the additional traffic. The neighbors also are concerned that the additional traffic from the church would make DeSoto Street unsafe for pedestrians and for the homeowners on the street. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -3- Because of the neighbors' concerns, the church agreed to have a traffic study done. They hired Benshoof and Associates, Inc. to study the existing traffic patterns and to prepare an analysis of what will happen if the church adds the driveway to DeSoto Street. This study shows that about 60 additional vehicles would use DeSoto Street between the driveway and Larpenteur Avenue during the church peak hour on a Sunday morning. The study also notes that "the impacts of the volume increase on this segment of DeSoto Street will not be significant, because there are fewer than 10 homes along DeSoto Street south of the proposed driveway location. Also, this volume condition would occur only for a few hours one day per week." The traffic study has three conclusions. Specifically, the traffic consultants recommend that the church construct the driveway for three reasons: It will not create adverse impacts on DeSoto Street. It will improve convenience for church users. It will reduce the Sunday traffic volume on McMenemy Street. The city should monitor the parking demand and traffic situation and keep track of any complaints after the church completes the project. If traffic and parking problems occur, the city council could require the church to close the driveway to DeSoto Street or make other changes to the site. Mr. Roberts said 31 properties within 350 feet of the church property were surveyed. There were 15 replies. Three were in favor, nine were opposed, and three had comments. Commissioner Trippler asked where DeSoto Street is in the future plans for upgrading and what its upgraded condition will be when it gets done? Mr. Cavett said DeSoto Street is on the city's capital improvement plan for 2005. Beginning in the fall of 2004 the city will start holding neighborhood meetings to discuss the improvements and issues relating to DeSoto Street. This is a state aid street and is a minor collector street. When they do construction on those types of streets, they try to design the streets as narrow as possible. This preserves a neighborhood feel, reduces traffic, and hopefully slows speed down. They try to address traffic calming and pedestrian safety when they do construction projects like this. Commissioner Trippler said when he walked the site he noticed a steep drop in grade. Isn't a 7% drop in grade really steep for a driveway? Mr. Cavett said ideally the city would like to see a 5% drop in grade. Up to a 10% drop is acceptable, and the city standard is up to a 13% drop in grade. The applicant, Mr. Kao Lee, the parking lot plan committee chair, and representative for the Hmong Alliance Church at 1770 McMenemy Street addressed the commission. He said the church has been established since 1989. At the time they had only 600 members including children. They had constructed a little less than 100 parking spaces. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -4- Mr. Lee said adding the Sunday school and two church services is the reason they need to add more parking spaces to accommodate the additional people. Currently it takes the church visitors about 30 minutes to leave the parking lot. They feel their best interest is to have a driveway to DeSoto Street. They also base the need to have this driveway for emergency vehicles to have an alternate route out of the parking lot. They recently had an emergency and the fire chief told them they really should have an alternative way out of the parking lot. Commissioner Rossbach said the letters and comments from the neighbors have indicated that they believe the church could alleviate some of their traffic concerns by having additional church services. For instance having additional services on Saturday evening and having more than two services on Sundays. Mr. Lee said there has been some discussion in the church governing board regarding that. They believe church services should only be on Sundays. At this point they would prefer to continue Sunday services, but Saturday service is not out of the question permanently. Commissioner Trippler asked what the blocks of time are that the church is used? Is it only used on Sunday's? Mr. Lee said the first church service is from 9:00-10:30 a.m. and the second church service is from 12:00-1:30 p.m. The church is only used for services on Sundays. Commissioner Dierich asked if it would be possible to have a left turn only sign at the end of the driveway that goes to DeSoto Street? And would it be possible to bring the curbing around so that it encourages people to go to the left rather than the right? Mr. Lee said they would like the traffic to go down to Larpenteur Avenue. If the city decides that they will have a no right turn leaving the church parking lot, then the church will deal with that. If the people coming out from the church cannot go out to Larpenteur Avenue, then this will affect the people that live in that direction. Change is needed, he said. The church has a very long frontage on DeSoto Street and the church pays taxes on that property. The church has the right to use that frontage for a driveway. The church needs the driveway. It's not just that they want the driveway. Mr. Lee feels if the church gets the driveway, then they don't need a police officer directing traffic. One of the neighbors asked how many people the church currently serves at each of their church services. Mr. Lee said currently each service has between 600 and 700 people including children. A neighbor said the traffic study stated there would be about 50 to 60 cars coming out of each church service. He said that is hard to believe if there are 600-700 people at each service. That is between 1,200 and 1,400 people, and 50 to 60 cars do not seem nearly enough. He also asked if there is a school proposed at the church site at some time in the future? Mr. Roberts said the plans show a future addition and a future gymnasium, but that is not being approved at this time. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -5- A neighbor said there is traffic leaving from St. Jerome's Church as well which is a block and a half away. There is also traffic from the new 70-unit apartment building at Roselawn Avenue on Sundays. If the church is used during the week, be aware that it is also on a school bus route. There are a lot of children getting on and off the bus in that area. It has become a regular racetrack, especially when school is out. The following neighbors spoke about the proposed parking lot expansion, driveway and playground addition: 1. Joe Kolasa, 1855 DeSoto Street North 2. Audrey Duellman, 1843 DeSoto Street N. (also represented Joe Duellman at 1835 DeSoto St) 3. Lonny Piche, 1784 DeSoto Street North 4. Dale Crosby, 1801 DeSoto Street North 5. Dick DuFrene, 1721 DeSoto Street North 6. Connie Piche, 1784 DeSoto Street North 7. Diana Longrie-Kline, 1778 DeSoto Street North 8. Katie Freimuth, 1802 Burr Street North 9. Dick Freimuth, 1802 Burr Street North 10. Phyllis HamilI-Little, 1699 DeSoto Street North 11. Jeff Solum, 1858 DeSoto Street North 12. Amy Petterson, 1764 DeSoto Street North 13. Jon Carlson, 1856 DeSoto Street North 14. Kristi Wheeler, 1780 DeSoto Street North 15. Jolie Cummins, 1790 DeSoto Street North 16. James Benshoff, Benshoff & Associates, 10417 Excelsior Blvd. Suite Two, Hopkins These were some of the comments shared with the commission: a. If a school gets added to the church they will have to have buses coming in and going out DeSoto Street. They ask that the commission look and think ahead for the neighborhood. b. Emergency vehicles would be coming from McMenemy Street so keep that in mind with the redevelopment of DeSoto Street. c. The neighbors are very concerned about many of the issues and feel that it should be looked at one step at a time. DeSoto Street is a very narrow road and to widen it will be very costly. Because of the grade it would be very difficult. DeSoto Street is 24 feet wide and one neighbor said he heard the minimum standard is 28 feet wide. If there are two cars that meet on DeSoto Street and there is somebody on a bike, there is nowhere for that biker to go. He is surprised there has not been a head-on collision on that street yet. f. At the neighborhood meeting they heard the church would like their congregation to grow to 2,000 members. Currently their congregation is at 1,400 members or so. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -6- The church owns the house to the south. There has got to be something they can do to exit from that property. Maybe getting rid of one of the ponds and making a four lane wide driveway exiting from the property would be a possibility. There are other alternatives. If you straighten out DeSoto Street, you are also allowing speeders to go even faster through that area. People have gone as fast as 70 mph until the curve in the road. That is what finally slows them down. People seem to think it is a racetrack. i. The church is a great neighbor to have. The neighborhood is just concerned about the safety and what is good for the neighborhood. The church runs 6 to 7 nights a week with activities. It is a social gathering spot for the community and traffic will keep increasing. There are always kids playing in the parking lot all week. It does not make sense to make any changes until DeSoto Street is redone. Then they should take another look at the driveway addition after the playground, parking lot and DeSoto Street changes are done. The traffic study company should have put a traffic counter down on the south end of the street towards Larpenteur Avenue. Even the applicant said many of the members leave from church that direction. m. The neighbors believe traffic complaints have been registered with the non-emergency police department. That traffic information should be checked out, provided, and put into the report. n. Maybe the applicant could hire a sheriff or police member to direct traffic out of the parking lot. o. There are several blind driveways on DeSoto Street and it can be very dangerous to increase traffic on this stretch of road. The city should extend the notification process farther than 350 feet from the proposed development. It affects many people beyond that many feet. Perhaps even a mile away would be good. Even though the city puts up the proposed development signs with the telephone number to call for more information, often times you are driving too fast to write the phone number down or even see the phone number. Many times it is on too busy of a street and you cannot slow down or stop to see the telephone number. There are cars parking on McMenemy Street already from the overflow from the church. When the congregation grows they will be parking out on DeSoto Street as well. This will only cause more safety problems and exasperate the problem. With the road being this narrow, if you have a car trying to get past the parked car with oncoming traffic, this could make for a dangerous situation. Many of the residents do not have property large enough to put in a turnaround in their driveway area. This would make it much safer backing out with the blind driveways. With the speed that drivers have, it can be quite dangerous trying to back out of your driveway. You need to take caution at all times. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -7- The apartment building on the other side of Roselawn Avenue is not a good neighbor. The homeowners by the proposed driveway will eventually move and then the homes will become rental properties. These changes will deteriorate the neighborhood. This is a neighborhood that is a nice place to raise a family. Houses that are affordable and the neighbors are good. He thinks the church is making their problem the neighborhood's problem. It should not be that way. He wondered if the street could handle that kind of traffic. If they drive by his driveway every Sunday, he has to have a lot of traffic going by his residence. This would not make him happy. u. They bought the house because of the quietness of the neighborhood. Having more traffic will eliminate the quietness of the area. The neighbors feel that because of the structure of McMenemy Street the church should be using this street instead of DeSoto Street. They can solve their problem using part of the property they already own, but are choosing not to. w. This issue really boils down to convenience for the parishioners' verses safety. x. Why didn't the city do the traffic study instead of the applicant hiring a company to do the traffic study? y. The traffic study counted cars but did they count runners, walkers, and kids riding bikes? There are people using this street too, not just cars. This is a safety issue for everyone. A neighbor said she has a child with Down Syndrome and she is concerned he will get out of her fenced in yard and run down the street and get run over with additional traffic from the church. Mr. James Benshoof with Benshoof and Associates, traffic consultant for the church, addressed the commission and made the following comments: *He said there is definitely a need for the second driveway on DeSoto Street for the Hmong Alliance Church. *About 86% percent of the traffic leaving the church turns to the south onto McMenemy Street. *Benshoof and Associates did the traffic study on a Sunday and a Tuesday. Doing a traffic study once is pretty typical to get complete data. *Mr. Benshoof said there could be monitoring done by the city for the traffic and parking situation. If there were problems found the city could meet with the church and possibly shut down the second driveway if need be. *Mr. Benshoff said there are approximately 934 cars that use DeSoto Street daily. This is fairly typical in a residential area regardless of the width of the street. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -8- A majority of the commission members said at this point they would vote for the parking lot expansion and playground addition. After DeSoto Street is improved and widened, they would vote for the church to have a driveway at that time. Currently members felt there are other ways the church could improve traffic flow out of their parking lot. The church could add additional church services or hire a sheriff or police officer to direct traffic in and out of the parking lot for each church service. Many of the neighbors were not in favor of the driveway being added at any time, even after DeSoto Street is improved. The commission members would hope that the neighbors would take into consideration the needs of the church when the time comes to hear this proposal in the future for the additional driveway. Commissioner Rossbach moved to adopt the resolution on pages 37 and 38 of the staff report. This resolution revises the conditional use permit for a church at 1770 McMenemy Street. This permit is based on the standards for approval required by the code and subject to the following conditions (additions to the permit conditions are underlined; deletions are crossed out and changes are in bold): All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community development may approve minor changes. This approval includes the parking lot expansion and the proposed playground. Denying the driveway access onto DeSoto Street. 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. Regularly maintain the grounds and pick up the debris as well as maintain the decorative wood screening fences along the north side of the site. Scuth and 4. The city council shall review this permit in one year. 5. The city council may require additional parking spaces if a parking shortage develops. The plans for the future church addition and future gymnasium are not approved. These P-hase~t shall be submitted to the city council for approval of a revised conditional use permit. The city council may require the church to make changes to the site, if the council deems it necessary or prudent, during future reviews of the conditional use permit. The church shall provide adequate screening of the new parking lot from adjacent homes by planting, berming or both. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes-Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Mueller, Pearson, Rossbach Nays --Trippler Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -9- Commissioner Trippler voted nay because of the elimination of the driveway to DeSoto Street. Chairperson Fischer asked commission members if at the time DeSoto Street is improved would they vote yes for the driveway access onto DeSoto Street for the Hmong Alliance Church? Commission members said yes. Commissioner Mueller said he encourages the Hmong Alliance Church to reapply for the driveway access after DeSoto Street gets improved. The motion passed. This goes to the city council on July 8, 2002. b. Conditional Use Permit - Sinclair Fuel Station (223 Larpenteur Avenue East) Mr. Roberts said Sinclair Oil Corporation is proposing to expand and remodel the Sinclair Gas Station located at 223 Larpenteur Avenue East. The expansion includes a 290-square-foot addition to the convenience store, refacing of the convenience store, and construction of a 50-foot x 56-foot, 2,800-square-foot, fuel-island canopy. The six existing fuel dispensers will be replaced with four new pumps. These fuel pumps will have two vehicle fueling stations each, for a total of eight, and will allow for payment at the pump. The proposed expansion and remodeling will be consistent with Sinclair's Rice Street gas station remodeling that was approved by the city council last October. The applicant is requesting that the city approve a conditional use permit to operate a motor fuel station within the business commercial, BC, zoning district. Sinclair gas station was constructed in the late 1970s. The building is 1,641 square feet in area and houses a small convenience store and three automobile service bays. Budget Towing currently leases the site for their towing and tire operation. They also sell gasoline under the Sinclair name. Sinclair was constructed before the city's requirement that a conditional use permit be obtained for a motor fuel station within the business commercial zoning district. Because of the expansion of their facility, a conditional use permit for the motor fuel station is required. Staff finds that the expanded facility meets the nine standards of requirement for a conditional use permit as specified in the resolution on pages 21 and 22 of the staff report. The city code states that no motor fuel stations within 350 feet of a residential lot line shall be operated between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Sinclair is located next to residential properties to the south, in St. Paul, and residential properties to the west that include three city- owned housing replacement lots on the corner of Larpenteur Avenue and Adolphus Street. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -10- Budget Towing has been operating their business 24 hours a day for the past year. Once the remodeling and expansion of the motor fuel station is complete, Sinclair Oil Corporation proposes to meet the citys required hours of operation and limit their business from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. In addition, with the new style of fuel pumps that allow payment at the pump, many fuel stations have been allowing 24-hour, pay-at-the-pump fueling between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. as well. The three existing automobile service bays will be removed and a 290-square-foot addition will be constructed on the east side of the building. Interior of the building will include a convenience store, office, and restrooms. The existing roofline on the exterior of the building will be refaced with a new fascia system to create a flat-roof appearance. Exterior building materials include stucco, brick, and windows. The canopy will be 2,800 square feet in area and 19 feet in height, which is three feet higher than the building. Overhead canopies within a motor fuel station are required to be set back at least 15 feet from the street right-of-way. Sinclair's new canopy will be set back 15 feet from the Larpenteur Avenue right-of-way. There are two existing driveways located on Larpenteur Avenue. City code specifies that driveways must be set back at least 30 feet from intersecting rights-of-way. Sinclair's westerly driveway is approximately 18 feet from the intersecting Adolphus Street right-of-way. Chris Cavett, Assistant City Engineer, states in his review of the project that the west driveway should be eliminated and a new driveway constructed on Adolphus Street. The driveway should be centered on the pump aisle, which is 30 feet from the intersecting rights-of-way. City code requires a motor fuel station to have at least four parking stalls, plus one stall per fuel pump. The parking stalls in front of the fuel pumps count toward the overall parking requirement. Sinclair Oil Corporation is proposing eight parking stalls in addition to the eight parking areas in front of each fuel pump. The existing parking lot does not have curb and gutter and is constructed up to the Larpenteur Avenue right-of-way and approximately 12 feet at its closest point to Adolphus Street. City code requires that all parking lots have curb and gutter and be set back 15 feet from street rights-of- way. With the reconstruction of the parking lot, Sinclair is proposing curb and gutter as well as a 10- foot setback to Larpenteur Avenue and a 20-foot setback to Adolphus Street. Increasing the parking lot setback to the required 15 feet on Larpenteur Avenue is not possible because of limited space between the fuel island pumps and the new parking lot curb. The new 1 O-foot parking lot setback to Larpenteur Avenue will create a more conforming parking lot. For this reason, and because the parking lot will be located 30 feet from the paved portion of Larpenteur Avenue, staff finds the 10-foot pavement setback adequate. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -11- Larry Feldsien, representing Sinclair Oil Corporation, addressed the commission. He said they are trying to convert this from an automobile service station to a convenience store while continuing to sell gasoline. They hope by making the changes that they have proposed in the staff report they can improve their business. Budget Towing is currently operating the Sinclair Oil station. Once it is converted it would not be leased by anybody else, and employees of Sinclair Oil Corporation would run the Sinclair gas station. They would operate during the hours proposed by staff. They do have some concerns about the driveway off of Adolphus Street and the minimum width of 24 feet. The cost of the drainage appears to add $10,000 to the total cost. Mr. Cavett said Sinclair Oil Corporation would be the first service station that the city has had to deal with NURP standards. Commissioner Dierich asked the age of the tanks at the Sinclair Oil station? Mr. Feldsien said the tanks were installed in either 1988 or 1989. They are steel tanks and they have provided all the upgrades. There will be overfill and overspill systems on them. They have an automated tank gage on them. Sinclair will be putting in new tank piping, and that will be made of plastic. Commissioner Mueller moved to adopt the resolution on pages 21 and 22 of the staff report approving a conditional use permit to operate a motor fuel station within the business commercial, BC, zoning district for the Sinclair gas station located at 223 Larpenteur Avenue East. Approval is based on the findings required by ordinance and subject to the following conditions: (additions are in bold). The fuel station's hours of operation, including pay-at-the-pump fueling, are limited to 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The applicant shall comply with all requirements of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regarding fuel tanks, fuel spillage, monitoring wells, any contaminated soil, etc. All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community development may approve minor changes. Adding the driveway onto Adolphus Street. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of the city council's approval or the permit shall become null and void. The city council may extend this deadline for one year. e. The city council shall review this permit in one year. Commissioner Dierich seconded. Ayes -All The motion passed. This goes to the city council on July 8, 2002. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -12- c. Manufactured Home Park Closing Ordinance Amendment Mr. Roberts said the All Parks Alliance for Change (APAC), and many manufactured home park residents in Maplewood, requested that the city council pass an ordinance that would guarantee park residents financial assistance to relocate if their park closed. On February 25, 2002, the city council directed staff to review this request and forward a recommendation to them. Staff has invited the five Maplewood manufactured home park owners and representation from APAC to attend the planning commission meeting to discuss APAC's request. On April 9, 2002, the Maplewood Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) discussed this matter. The HRA tabled this issue until the city receives notification of a manufactured home park closing. They felt that since there are no proposed or pending closings at this time, there is no urgency to act immediately. The HRA discussed the needs-vs.-greed aspects of APAC's suggested ordinance. The HRA also wanted to know from the city attorney if the city would have sufficient time to enact an ordinance at the time of a proposed park closing that would be applicable to that park or if it would only apply to future closings in the city. (The city attorney said that, in such a case, an ordinance enacted would apply to future closings, not to a current one.) Staff has not formed a recommendation about this matter. The input received at the planning commission meeting will aid staff in forwarding a recommendation to the city council. Mr. Roberts said in 1987, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a law allowing cities and municipalities to pass park-closing ordinances (Minnesota Statutes, Section 327C.095). The purpose of such an ordinance is to help protect citizens living in manufactured home parks in the event of a park closing by requiring park owners to reimburse homeowners for relocation costs if their home can be moved, and it not, purchase the manufactured home. The City of Maplewood received a proposed manufactured home park-closing ordinance for the city council's review from All Parks Alliance for Change (APAC). APAC is a non-profit organization that serves as a tenants union for manufactured home owners. They help organize park residents to understand and protect their rights as specified in state law. APAC sent a mailing to a majority of the city's park residents regarding their proposed ordinance. In the mailing they requested that the residents show their support of a park-closing ordinance by signing their name and address to a postcard and sending it to the city. To date, the city has received 190 postcards in support of the proposed ordinance. On February 25, 2002, after reviewing APAC's proposed manufactured home park-closing ordinance, the city council directed staff to review the request and forward a recommendation to them. Staff is requesting input from the Maplewood Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA) to assist us in our review of APAC's request, and the many manufactured home park residents' request, for the city to pass a manufactured home park-closing ordinance. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -13- The park-closing legislation came out of a situation in Bloomington when Lyndale Lodge Manufactured Home Park was sold for redevelopment as a car dealership. Many of the homes were too old to move and therefore forced the residents to sell their homes for very little. This left many of the residents financially devastated and homeless. Alarmed by these events, the legislature passed the park closing law in 1987. The law states that a park owner must notify the city and the residents of a park closing nine months prior to the proposed closing. Once notice is received, the city must hold a public hearing to review the impacts that the park closing may have on the displaced residents and the park owners. The city may require payment by the park owner to be made to the displaced resident for reasonable relocation costs. If a resident cannot relocate the home to another park within 25 miles of the park that is being closed, the resident is entitled to relocation costs based upon an average of relocation costs awarded to other residents. The law further states that the city may also require that other parties, including the city, involved in the park closing provide additional compensation to residents to mitigate the adverse financial impact of the park closing upon the resident. After the law was enacted, the City of Bloomington adopted a park-closing ordinance and required the Lyndale Lodge Manufactured Home Park owner to reimburse the park residents for relocation costs or purchase the homes. The park owners brought the City of Bloomington to court over the ordinance claiming that it was a land taking. The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld Bloomington's ordinance in Arcadia vs. City of Bloomington, 1994, and the park owners were required to reimburse the homeowners for relocation costs or purchase the homes. Thirteen cities within the State of Minnesota currently have park-closing ordinances: Apple Valley, Bloomington, Burnsville, Hopkins, Elk River, Dayton, Fridley, Lake Elmo, Mounds View, Oakdale, Red Wing, Roseville, and Shakopee. Most of these ordinances require that park owners reimburse manufactured home owners to relocate their homes within 25 miles. If relocation is not possible, the park owner or land developer must purchase the home for the market value as determined by an independent appraiser approved by the city. In addition, some cities' ordinances place a cap on the amount of reimbursement. For example, the park owner or land developer would only have to reimburse up to 20 percent of the purchase price of the park or the assessed value of the park. Two cities within the State of Minnesota, Brainerd and Willmar, reviewed park-closing ordinances and chose not to pass one. Both of these proposed ordinances were brought on by actual park closings. APAC's proposed ordinance mirrors Elk River's ordinance passed in 1997. It states that the park owner or land developer shall pay the displaced resident the reasonable cost of relocating the home to another park within 25 miles. Reasonable costs include expenses incurred in moving the home and personal property, insurance for replacement value of the property being moved, and cost of repairs or modifications that are required in order to take down, move and set up the home. If the home cannot be moved, the resident is entitled to relocation costs based upon an average of costs awarded to other residents plus the park owner or land developer must purchase the home at the amount equal to the estimated market value of the home. APAC's proposed ordinance does not include a cap on the amount that a park owner or land developer would have to reimburse the residents. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -14- Upon notice of APAC's proposed manufactured home park-closing ordinance, Traci Tomas, agent for the St. Paul Tourist Cabins, submitted a letter to the city regarding her experience with park-closing ordinances passed in the cities of Fridley and Shakopee. As a manufactured home park owner representative, Ms. Tomas found that the City of Shakopee's ordinance allowed for the most flexibility for possible future city development of manufactured home park properties. St. Paul Tourist Cabins and Maplewood Manufactured Home Park have older manufactured homes, many of which would not meet current building code standards. Since the St. Paul Tourist Cabins have been under new ownership as of last year, six of the older manufactured homes have been removed. The new owners state that they will be replacing the older homes with newer homes. Beaver Lake, Rolling Hills, and Town & Country have a mix of new and old homes. These three parks have given residents the opportunity to trade-in their existing manufactured home for newer models, or when a resident leaves, the park owners purchase the older home and replace it with a newer home. Manufactured home park residents own their home but rent the land the home sits on. The average cost of a new manufactured home is from $30,000 for a standard size to $60,000 for a double wide. The average cost of an older manufactured home varies widely from $500 for the oldest models to $4,000. Rental space is approximately $270 per month and usually covers sewer, water, garbage, and snow removal. There are no studies to indicate the average annual income of manufactured home park residents within the City of Maplewood. However, a study of manufactured home park residents in East Bethel, Minnesota, conducted by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs in 1998, indicated that the mean annual household income of manufactured home residents was from $10,000 to $29,999. APAC points out that it would prove difficult to find an available manufactured homesite within a 25-mile radius of a park within the City of Maplewood because of the Iow vacancy rates. Also, many of the manufactured homes are older and cannot be moved. Because of this and the fact that most of these homeowners have lower income, a park closing could prove to be a financial catastrophe for many of the city's residents. As stated by APAC, residents living in conventional homes receive compensation when their property is sold for redevelopment. However, residents that own a home within a manufactured home park are not guaranteed any kind of compensation if their park is closed because they do not own the land that their home sits on. APAC states that a park-closing ordinance would ensure that the residents of the manufactured home parks in Maplewood would receive fair compensation for their homes in the event a park closes. Mark Brunner, executive vice president of Minnesota Manufactured Housing Association (MMHA), states that such an ordinance would hinder redevelopment within the City of Maplewood due to the added expense to the developer. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -15- Mr. Brunner points out that bank lenders may also be more hesitant to refinance loans for park upgrades and improvements if such an ordinance were in place and questions the fairness of how the values of the manufactured homes are determined in some of the existing ordinances. Also, MMHA believes that the language in the law which states "other parties involved in the park closing may provide additional compensation to residents" is intended to not only mean the park owner or developer, but entities such as the city, housing redevelopment authority, or other entities that may be able to tie into reimbursement. Mr. Brunner states that the current law gives the manufactured home residents the protections needed because it allows cities to determine compensation to the residents at the time of a closing. MMHA is opposed to such an ordinance because it could be considered a land taking and would put a burden on the property owner. Commissioner Trippler said in regard to the letter from Jeff Swanberg of APAC, he asked staff if a resident has to move because the city bought the street out, would the city pay for the land and the moving of the home and all of the property in it? Mr. Roberts said if it was a public project they would pay for the home and land, and there would be some relocation costs involved. The following people spoke regarding the Manufactured Home Park-Closing Ordinance: 1. Jeff Swanberg, 969 Frost Avenue, St. Paul Tourist Cabins 2. Richard Smith, 1056 Bellecrest Drive, Town & Country Mobile Home Park 3. Renae Bronson, 1083 Deauville Drive, Town & Country Mobile Home Park 4. Dan Le, Attorney for APAC in St. Paul 5. James Paist, Executive Director of APAC 6. Tiffany EIIswoan, 946 Frost Avenue, St. Paul Tourist Cabins 7. Robert Ogilvie, 1249 Antelope Way, Beaver Lake Estates Mr. Jeff Swanberg of 969 Frost Avenue in the St. Paul Tourist Cabins addressed the commission. He also represents APAC. He wanted to correct some misrepresentations and facts. He said there were eight court cases filed by management, and seven of those were dismissed. The one case was brought through the court system. The individual was given time to correct some problems and did not do so. He moved out but his home is still standing. He has lived at the St. Paul Tourist Cabins for 2~ years now and enjoys living there. It is close to Lake Phalen, close to the parks, and close to the Gateway Trail. He said it would be a perfect spot for a townhouse development to be built. For this reason, he and the residents are fearful that they will lose their homes to a development, and this is why they would like to see this ordinance passed. He is a Iow-income individual, and the residents are financially vulnerable. This ordinance would give them the security and the protection the residents need in the City of Maplewood he said. Mr. Richard Smith at 1056 Bellecrest Drive, Town & Country Mobile Home Park addressed the commission. He said he has done a lot of research regarding mobile home parks. To move a single-wide mobile home costs $10,000 not including the mileage that is $250 a mile and $250 to hook you up. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -16- That is because there is a shortage of people doing manufactured homes because nobody wants to be involved in mobile homes anymore. There isn't enough Iow-income housing for people anymore. If you live in an apartment, you have no privacy and can hear your neighbors through the walls. In a mobile home you have your own yard and privacy, and it is a safe environment. Mr. Smith said most people buy mobile homes in place already. To get out of one mobile home park and into another, there is a 31/2-year waiting list. Most of the time they want you within a 25- mile radius. To move anything over that, you have to pay a driver $100 and pay for a night's stay. Once you disconnect it, you can't just reconnect it. The mover just sets you up and blocks you up. Then you have to pay the city you moved into to put in new meters, and they charge you for the electricity. Then the sewer and water needs to be checked out. There is not a municipality that will let you move a mobile home onto the property within 50 miles. Then if you do, the mobile home has to be doublewide and you have to have at least 5 acres of property. Then the city allows you up to three years to build a permanent home on the property and remove the mobile home from the property. Mr. Roberts clarified that the city code states you can have a mobile home on a lot in the City of Maplewood, but it has to be a doublewide mobile home. Commissioner Mueller asked staff if there was any indication why Brainerd and Willmar did not pass the manufactured home park-closing ordinance? He said he would be curious what their reasoning was. Mr. Dan Le, attorney for APAC in St. Paul, addressed the commission. When a park closes, the people have no say. They lose their homes, their friends, and their neighborhood. They deserve compensation for relocating their lives. They don't own the land, but they do own the home and they are not given fair market value like you would get if you lived in a stick-built home. This has to do with owners of manufactured home parks that are offered a deal to sell the whole park and they take the money and run. This leaves the mobile home owners homeless with only nine months to find another home. Nine months is not enough time for somebody to find another home and make arrangements to move their things. There are five mobile home parks in this fine city of Maplewood. Two parks have 254 mobile homes and one has 357 mobile homes. This is a huge amount of people to displace. Is the City of Maplewood comfortable with deciding the fate of that many homes in a period of nine months? This ordinance is preventive and it does not cost the city anything. It is going to benefit the city greatly if it should ever happen here in Maplewood. This also protects the interest of people with affordable housing. Commissioner Pearson said he has been in the manufactured home park business for over 25 years. They do it far better than any government agency out there, and it does not cost the government any money. They do the upkeep, all the streets, lights, and infrastructures with the residents help. Mr. Pearson asked Mr. Le when the property at the St. Paul Tourist Cabins was for sale a long time, why didn't APAC help the residents get together and buy the property as a co-op? He said if his mobile home park community was being threatened to close, he would be the one doing a co-op with the community and buy the park. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -17- Commissioner Trippler asked Mr. Le why he believes people that live in mobile homes see themselves as different from people living in condominiums, apartment buildings, or townhouses? He said there seems to be a monetary difference, but there doesn't seem to be any equity difference. Mr. Le said there is a big difference in equity. When you as a homeowner sell your property, it is your decision and you get the profit from the sale. It is not their decision, and they are not entitled to those profits from the property. You are also talking about a difference of 254 or 357 homes verses one home. He doesn't think Maplewood has a problem attracting a developer to the City of Maplewood. This is one of the "cons" because they could take over any one of these manufactured home parks. Mr. James Paist, Executive Director of APAC, addressed the commission. He said he is a renter. Being a renter, you don't own the unit as you would a manufactured home, and this is why they deserve compensation and a renter doesn't. This is why state lawmakers took action on this issue in the City of St. Paul in 1987. The mobile home park in Bloomington called the Lyndale Lodge Manufactured Home Park closed, and the people had no place to go. People were living in their cars, and there was a lot of negative press for the City of Bloomington. That was the inspiration for this law that was passed in 1987. He believes any owner of manufactured home parks in Minnesota since 1987 should be aware of this law, and it is a cost of doing business and a cost of development. Mr. Paist said currently there is not a threat of a park closing in the City of Maplewood at this time. Ten of the thirteen cities that have taken this action so far have done so far without a park closing. They did it at the request of the park residents who asked for it to be passed. This is all done without using any public tax dollars. Most recently, the neighboring cities of Oakdale and Roseville passed this ordinance. This is about affordable housing and fairness. This is about families and having this security in place. Neither of these two cities have nearly as many manufactured homes as the City of Maplewood does. The answer to the question earlier about where was APAC when the park was for sale to purchase the park as a co-op. The only time the right of first refusal kicks in for residents is if a closure is announced. The residents don't get the right to match the developer's offer if it just switches hands from one park owner to another. The residents were never informed until the park was sold, so they could not form a co-op. The reason the law was passed was to allow cities to pass this ordinance to protect the residents in the manufactured home parks. The commission requested staff to contact the cities of Oakdale and Roseville that passed this ordinance. Staff should find out why those cities chose to pass the ordinance and what was stated in the ordinance. Commissioner Mueller asked staff what they would like the commission to do with this information. Mr. Roberts said staff would like the commission to provide as much specific direction on the things the commission is not clear on or would like more information on. Then staff can research and bring back more clear information to the commission. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -18- Commissioner Pearson would like to form a task force to form an ordinance for the City of Maplewood implementing an ordinance will be difficult because of the price comparison in the different manufactured home parks. These ordinances have a cap rate. Whatever price a buyer is willing to pay for an ongoing park they use a cap of 20% of that price as a maximum that can be paid out to the residents in that community. 20% is not adequate for residents in Beaver Lake Estates and Town and Country because they have a greater value than other manufactured homes in other parks. Mr. Roberts said the direction from the city council is they have not decided if there should be an ordinance for the manufactured home parks. That is step one. They were looking for direction from the HRA and the Planning Commission. The next step is how to implement that ordinance. If a task force was set up, it would have to be appointed by the city council. Chairperson Fischer said she would like to see why the cities of Brainerd and Willmar did not pass the ordinance and their reasons they chose not to pass the ordinance before making any decisions. Commissioner Mueller said he thought it was interesting that there were no representatives from any of the parks at the meeting to state their comments. Mr. Roberts said he did get a telephone call from the owner of Rolling Hills, and they were against the ordinance. Commissioner Pearson said he would like a clear interpretation from the city attorney of how he came to the conclusion that he came to in the report. Commissioner Rossbach moved to table this item. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes -All The motion is tabled until staff has more time to get some questions answered that were brought up during this discussion. Mr. Roberts will update the commission when the information becomes available for a report. d. Annual Tour Mr. Roberts handed out a list of possible sites for the annual city tour that will be held Monday, July 29, 2002, at 5:30 p.m. He asked commission members to look at the list and choose a few sites they would be interested in stopping at. He would also like the commission to decide whom to invite for the tour. The consensus of the commission was to have fewer sites and stay longer at each site to have discussion. e. Follow-up from meeting with Barb Strandell Commissioner Rossbach moved to table this item. Commissioner Trippler seconded. Ayes -All Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -19- f. Planning Commission Applicant Interviews The first applicant to be interviewed was Richard Currie Mr. Currie has no problem making the meeting day and time. He has no problem visiting the sites ahead of time. He does not approve of the roundabout at English and Frost. Everything else in the city seems to be going well. He wants to be on the planning commission to give some input. The second applicant to be interviewed was Tushar Desai Mr. Desai has no problem with the meeting day and time. He has no problem visiting the sites ahead of time. He has a bachelor degree in industrial and mechanical engineering and a master's degree in business. He has been managing engineering and manufacturing-related businesses for the past 25 years. He has experience in dealing with technical issues related to buildings, OSHA regulations, and building-construction regulations throughout his career. He has managed anywhere from 1 to 300 people. He would like to be on the planning commission because he would like to give time back to the community. He thinks the Maplewood Community Center is the best thing that Maplewood did. He is a member and takes advantage of using the facilities. One thing that the city could work on is the notification process of 350 feet of a proposed development. It should be sent out to people at least in a six-block radius. Sometimes even reading the proposed development sign is hard to get the phone number down fast enough. It would also be nice to have a sign up saying "future site" for Boca Chica for example. He believes the Hillcrest area needs redevelopment, and he is happy to see that will be redeveloped in the near future. He also thinks the commission should limit the time people speak at the podium to move the meeting along. Sometimes people bring things up when this is not the forum to bring them up in. The third applicant to be interviewed was Brad Lagoon Mr. Lagoon has no problem making the meeting day and time. He has no problem visiting the sites ahead of time. He did construction work for a short time but otherwise he has no specific education or experience that would qualify him for the planning commission position. He wants to give back to the community. He works in state workers comp, so there would be no conflict of interest. He has also applied for the police commission as well as the planning commission position. He grew up in White Bear, but he is not too familiar with Maplewood. The fourth applicant to be interviewed was Reginald Meissner Mr. Meissner has no problem making the meeting day and time. He has no problem visiting the sites ahead of time. He is retired now and wants to be involved in other areas. His experience is in commercial signs. He was in the sign business for 42 years and he just retired in 2002. He is interested in the planning commission because he wanted to be involved in the Hillcrest redevelopment area project. He lives in that area and wanted to be involved. He would also like to see what is good for business in Maplewood and what is good for the residents. He thinks the traffic is bad on White Bear Avenue by Maplewood Mall. He likes the city, and other than the traffic, he has no negative comments. He thinks tonight's meeting could have been moved along quicker. A lot of the comments were repeated over and over again. Maybe there should be a time limit on how long a person can speak on certain development issues. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 -20- The commissioners rated the applicants with 4 being the highest score for a candidate and 1 being the lowest score for a candidate. The highest number total means the highest rated: Richard Currie ................... 9 Brad Lagoon .................... 12 Reginald Meissner ............ 23 Tushar Desai ................... 26 The final decision will be made by the city council during their interviews set for July 22, 2002. g. Kohlman Creek Update Commissioner Rossbach gave the update on Kohlman Creek that is located in the Tillges Development Area and the discussion that was held at the city council meeting June 10, 2002. Mr. Rossbach reviewed the ordinance and gave the definition of what a creek is in the City of Maplewood. He stated that he thought Kohlman Creek is protected by a 100-foot buffer, (which is 50 feet on each side of the creek). He stated that the Watershed District does not enfome the ordinances of the city. They have their own set of criteria that they use when they develop their recommendations. The hydrologist that Mr. Rossbach spoke with said he would not be in favor of putting the 250 feet of creek into a pipe. Mr. Rossbach said the city is running out of creeks to protect. He would like to know how the commission feels on this item and if the city council should revisit this decision. Commissioner Rossbach moved that the planning commission request the city council to provide an explanation for their decision on Kohlman Creek on the Tillges Development. This should be in a public forum as to the city council's decision-making process. Commissioner Mueller seconded. The motion is passed. Ayes - All VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS VIII. None. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS IX. None. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Mr. Rossbach was the planning commission representative at the May 28, 2002, city council meeting. This discussion was tabled until the next planning commission meeting. X= XI. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-17-02 dm -21- Ms. Fischer was the planning commission representative at the June 10, 2002, city council meeting. This discussion was tabled until the next planning commission meeting. Mr. Pearson will be the planning commission representative at the June 24, 2002, city council meeting. Ms. Monahan-Junek will be the planning commission representative at the July 8, 2002, city council meeting. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Staff presentations were tabled until the next planning commission meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 a.m.