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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/03/2003MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, February 3, 2003, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes a. January 22, 2003 5. Public Headng None 6. New Business a. Ohlson Landscaping (1949 Atlantic Street) (north of Frost Avenue) 1. Conditional Use Permit (Metal Building) 2. Conditional Use Permit (Outdoor Storage) 7. Unfinished Business None 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations a. January 27 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach b. February 10 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer c. February 24 Council Meeting: Mr. Pearson 10. Staff Presentations a. Reschedule February 17 Meeting (President's Day) - Wednesday, February 197 11. Adjoumment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2003 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Rossbach called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. I1. ROLL CALL Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Tushar Desai Present Mary Dierich Present Lorraine Fischer Absent Matt Ledvina Present at 7:03 p.m. Jackie Monahan-Junek Present Paul Mueller Absent Gary Pearson Present William Rossbach Present Dale Trippler Present Staff Present: Shann Finwall, Associate Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Desai moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the planning commission minutes for January 22, 2003. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the planning commission minutes for January 22, 2003. Commissioner Trippler seconded. Ayes-Desai, Dierich, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler Abstentions-Ledvina, Monahan-Junek V. PUBLIC HEARING None. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-03-03 -2- VI. NEW BUSINESS Ohlson Landscaping (1949 Atlantic Street (north of Frost Avenue) Ms. Finwall said Erik Ohlson and Stephanie Jacques are proposing to construct at 6,800-square- foot metal building at 1949 Atlantic Street. The building will house two businesses to include Ohlson Landscaping and Oehrlein Lawn and Landscape, with two office units and two separate service bays. The proposal requires two conditional use permits, one for exterior storage and the second for a metal building within the Business Commercial zoning district. Staff is recommending approval of the CUP for a metal building and denial of the CUP for exterior storage. Commissioner Ledvina said he noticed different square footage figures given for the building in the staff report. He asked staff which number was correct? Ms. Finwall said according to the site plan the building is 50 feet deep by 136 feet wide. Commissioner Trippler said this proposed structure is in his neighborhood and he is very familiar with the area. He wonders why staff feels that the outdoor storage of landscaping materials is not conducive to the neighborhood. There are hundreds of junky cars, machinery, cranes and heavy equipment that are parked in the next two lots. The last time he walked on the Gateway Trail people were throwing garbage bags of empty beer cans over the barrier onto the trail. He said there is a monopole there and the rest of the buildings are made of metal. He asked staff what the noise limitations were on the surrounding companies such as D & D, Al's and George's garage? Ms. Finwall said none of those businesses have limited hours of operation. Many of those businesses are existing as nonconforming uses which grew over time. Many of them don't have the required conditional use permits for exterior storage. There are a lot of things in the area that are unsightly. She said, however, staff does not feel that the city should be bound by those nonconformities considering the fact that the area will possibly be redevelopment. Staff has to take a look at this proposal with that in mind as well as complying with the existing ordinances. The area has a vast amount of exterior storage, metal buildings, and run down buildings, but it is something that the city would like to alleviate. She said this used to be the old downtown Maplewood and the city has a vision for this area. Commissioner Trippler said this piece of property is looking better than it has in the past 17 years he has lived there. He doesn't understand why the other buildings are allowed to do whatever they want. He thinks it is unfair to the applicant to have such restrictions put on Ohlson Landscapes, Inc. Commissioner Dierich asked staff if the applicant's land were in another zoning district would a metal building have been allowed? Ms. Finwall said a metal building is allowed only in a farm zone as a permitted use and this is a Business Commercial zone. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-03-03 -3- Commissioner Dierich stated Mr. Ohlson mentioned in his letter in the staff report that they may be doing small engine repair and tune-ups. She thought that required a special use permit because of the hazardous waste generated on the premises. Ms. Finwall said auto repair would require a conditional use permit, however, repair of the landscape vehicles that the applicants own is an accessory use of their business, therefore, it does not require a separate conditional use permit. The applicants will be bound by the fire and pollution control standards that will be required for changing oil and things of that nature. Commissioner Dierich asked staff how that was different from the Schlomka property when the city would not allow him to perform those types of repairs? Ms. Finwall said Mr. Schlomka's property was zoned farm residence and the city changed the ordinance for him to allow a landscaping business within that zoning district as a conditional use permit. She said a condition of his conditional use permit was no exterior storage, however, repair of his own landscape vehicles was not conditioned. Commissioner Monahan-Junek said a commission member asked staff if other businesses were bound by certain hours of operation, she wondered if the city had a noise ordinance? Ms. Finwall said yes, the city has a noise ordinance, which states no excessive noise from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday which follows the recommended hours of operation for this business. Chairperson Rossbach asked the applicant to address the commission. Ms. Stephanie Jacques, C of O and Vice President of Ohlson Landscapes, Inc. residing at 1706 Barclay Street in Maplewood, addressed the commission. She said the drawing of the building in the staff report is at a preliminary stage. In working with Ms. Finwall they have shared a few different ideas for this proposal. They want a nice building that conforms to the plans of the future. This would include adding landscaping, perennials, and working around the Gateway Trail. She said they are willing to do pretty much anything for this proposal. They're proposing their metal storage building to be the same color as the maintenance building at the Keller Golf Course. She said the vehicle repair being done inside the building is only done if it is absolutely necessary. Larson Diesel normally inspects the trucks, which is also where the repairs are done. Emergency repairs would be done inside the building where it is warmer. Any oil changes that are done would be put in containers and taken off the site. She said the hours of operation start after 7:00 a.m. and if they did have to work until 7:00 p.m. it would be to clean up and maybe to wash the vehicles. She said they really need this building built. She needs to have an office building where they can do their work because currently she is working out of her home and it isn't very convenient. Commissioner Monahan-Junek asked the applicant if they are proposing to store rock and black dirt in the storage bins? Mr. Jacques said they would store rock in the storage bins but not black dirt. The rock gets used very quickly so they need bins to constantly store the rocks in. She said they need four bins to store their landscaping supplies in. Basically the landscapers would drive a bobcat to the storage bins, load up and be on their way to the job site to do the work. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-03-03 -4- Commissioner Ledvina said the city engineer that reviewed the proposal noted there was a difference with the site plan that shows sediment basins. He asked how the planning commission could understand how the grading plan would work with the site plan? Ms. Jacques said all of the water drains toward the street. She said they have taken brush off of the property that needed to go. She does not think the runoff onto the Gateway Trail is an issue. Ms. Jacques said she would like to work with the engineer regarding the grading plan and go forward with this building. Ms. Finwall said the city engineer could not be here as a representative tonight but he will be at the city council meeting Monday, February 10, 2003. Commissioner Ledvina said the hand drawing of the site plan in the staff report show storage bins that are located within a sedimentation basin. Ms. Jacques said a lot of what the planning commission is looking at in the staff report was done preliminary before the engineer that they're working with had the chance to look at the property. Commissioner Ledvina asked the applicant if it was their intention to store trucks outside as indicated on the site plan? Ms. Jacques said they would need to store trucks outside. They have four pickups, two dump trucks, two bobcats, and three trailers and the business is still growing. They do have lawn equipment that would be stored inside the building. Chairperson Rossbach said there are a lot of dumpsters on the property. He asked if they belong to the neighbors next door and why are the dumpsters there? Ms. Jacques said the neighbors are temporarily storing the dumpsters on the property but they never keep them full. The neighbors are growing as well and are in the process of looking for land. The neighbors understand that when the metal storage building goes up, they will have to move. Commissioner Trippler said the city staff is proposing to deny the applicant's request for exterior storage for several different reasons and what impact would this have on your application? Ms. Jacques said it would have a major impact on them financially because the building would have to be larger. A building this size will not accommodate the pieces of equipment that Ohlson Landscape and Oehrlein Lawn and Landscape has. She said over time this building would be enhanced. They are planning on staying in this location for a few years and the building has to work "with" them. Otherwise, they would have to find another location because of their continued growth. The land would not be ruined, it would be enhanced and one day when they move, somebody else could remove the metal storage building and build another more permanent building. Commissioner Pearson said he assumes the fertilizer would be stored inside the building. Ms. Jacques said if they did have to store fertilizer, it would be in granule form only and it would be stored inside. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-03-03 -5- Commissioner Pearson asked the applicant if they would be willing to bring the north fence line six to eight feet south to provide more area for vegetative screening to the Gateway Trail? Ms. Jacques said they would be open to any screening ideas. Commissioner Monahan-Junek said she feels the city would be putting a restraint on this landscape company if they were required to store vehicles in the building. If the applicant would be required to screen the three sides of the property she does not feel there is a need to put a restriction of storing the vehicles inside the building. Trucks are parked outside of companies all over the city. As long as it is screened and the applicant is agreeable to the screening she thinks the commission should consider the outdoor storage of the vehicles. Chairperson Rossbach asked if staff is referring to not allowing outdoor storage of materials or is it for the storage of vehicles, equipment and everything? Ms. Finwall said the ordinance reads "the exterior storage, display, sale or distribution of goods or materials". She said it does not define exterior storage as their landscape vehicles. The conditional use permit is for the exterior storage landscape materials. Ms. Finwall said, however, with a conditional use permit the commission could add a condition that the applicant can't store the vehicles outdoors. Staff is recommending no exterior storage of landscape materials. She said as Ms. Jacques has stated their business has grown and continues to grow. This causes concern for staff in the fact that the applicant is already proposing four storage bins. She said when you open the door to exterior storage suddenly it looks like another Patio Town on Highway 36 with bins all over the place. She said in this case, staff is referring to the landscape material and not the vehicles. Chairperson Rossbach said in the staff report there was a comment made regarding moving the materials inside or designing a separate building to house the materials. He asked if it is staff's concern that the building will be visible from the Gateway Trail and from Atlantic Street? Ms. Finwall said one of the staff's concerns would be the noise, such as the bobcats running and the digging in the bins for rocks or materials. Also for the visual aspects from the Gateway Trail, for the residential property owners to the north, and for any future land uses that may come up including multi-family housing. Commissioner Trippler asked the commission to look at page 21 of the staff report. He said this is a photo of what that area looks like and has for years. He said there are so many vehicles, junk and brush along that area, it just looks terrible. He believes the landscape business will put visual barriers up and landscape and it will look 100 percent better. He said as far as the noise situation goes, he used to walk the Gateway Trail every weekend and some of the other businesses in the area are so loud between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. that you can hardly hear yourself think. He said maybe at the CDRB meeting February 11, the board could put some restrictions on the number of storage bins the applicant could have. He personally would like to change the first recommendation in the staff report from denial to approval. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-03-03 -6- Commissioner Dierich said she is more concerned about the metal storage building then she is about the storage bins. She said asking the applicant to put dormers and rock facing on the building is expensive, you may as well build a new building because of the high cost involved. She would like to see a more permanent building and go from a CUP to a variance here and let the applicant have the storage bins then to put up another metal building in this location. She does not think there is a way to screen that area without berming from the Gateway Trail because there is nothing that could grow that high that quick. She feels the applicant needs to have the outdoor storage to store the landscape materials. Commissioner Pearson asked staff if the conditional use permit would be reviewed on a two or three year basis? Ms. Finwall said the conditional use permit would be reviewed yearly until such time that all the conditions are met then it can be brought back to the city council when there are problems or if there is an expansion. However, staff can always enforce CUP conditions. Chairperson Rossbach said he tends to agree with some of the comments that have been made. He said the city is taking the word of the applicant that they will do a good job setting the metal storage building up. In his opinion, some landscape businesses don't do a good job keeping their property up. Chairperson Rossbach said although the city is concerned about the noise level, he does not see anything outside the norm that the applicant would be doing. Chairperson Rossbach said he favors a nice looking metal building if it is improved a bit, it would be less expensive than building a block or stick built building. The building does not become as expensive, so in ten years or so if the applicant decides they have grown so much they need to move then somebody else could buy this property and take it down and rebuild something that may fit in the area better. He would be in favor of allowing the applicant to have the outside storage as long as the city states in the conditions they have to screen the area excessively. When a motion is made the planning commission should be very specific in what exterior storage the commission will allow the applicant to have. Commissioner Ledvina said he wants to make sure the city gets a very detailed plan from the applicant which identifies screening in relation to the grading plan, the screening, the location of the bins etc. The site plan becomes part of the CUP and enforceable where things are located on the site. Commissioner Ledvina moved to approve the request of Erik Ohlson and Stephanie Jacques for a conditional use permit for exterior storage at 1949 Atlantic Street. The applicant is required to develop a detailed site plan that identifies the locations of storage for landscaping materials and the storage of vehicles on the site. The applicant shall work with the city staff in developing a detailed screening plan for outdoor storage for vehicles or landscape materials. (Chan.qes to the original staff recommendation and conditions are in bold and deletions have a strike throuqh them). Planning Commission Minutes of 02-03-03 -7- Commissioner Ledvina moved to approve the attached resolution on pages 28 and 29 of the staff report. This resolution approves a conditional use permit for Erik Ohlson and Stephanie Jacques to construct a 6,800-square-foot metal building within the Business Commercial zoning district at 1949 Atlantic Street for a landscaping business. The city council bases the permit on the findings required by code, and the conditional use permit is subject to the following conditions: a. There shall be no noise-making business activity conducted in the lot, or made by vehicles entering or leaving the lot, between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., Monday through Saturday, or all day Sunday as required by code. b. All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community development may approve minor changes. · . c. The conditional use permit shall be reviewed by the city council in one year. Commissioner Pearson seconded. The motion passed. Ayes-Desai, Dierich, Ledvina, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler This item will go to the community design review board Tuesday, February 11,2003, and to the city council meeting on Monday, February 24, 2003. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Mr. Rossbach was the planning commission representative at the January 27, 2003, city council meeting. Mr. Rossbach said items that were discussed were: The 2002 PC annual report was approved. The planning commission members that had terms that were up for reappointments were reappointed. The CUP for the accessory building for Mr. Brown's carport on Keller Parkway was approved. The sign for Mr. Tillges was tabled for further discussion. Highwood Farm townhome proposal was moved to the city council meeting on Monday, February 10, 2003. There was discussion regarding the traffic report and the realignment of County Road D. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-03-03 -8- b. Ms. Fischer will be the planning commission representative at the February 10, 2003, city council meeting. The Highwood Farm townhome proposal will be discussed. c. Mr. Pearson will be the planning commission representative at the February 24, 2003, city council meeting. The CUP for Ohlson Landscapes, Inc., will be discussed and it will be a public hearing. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Reschedule Monday, February 17, 2003, planning commission meeting because of President's Day to Wednesday, February 19, 2003. A telephone call was made to each planning commission member. Out of the nine members, there were seven commission members that can attend. Planning commission members Mr. Desai and Ms. Dierich are unable to attend. Ms. Finwall said regarding the sign for Mr. Tillges, he met with staff and has agreed to reduce the size of the sign. The size will remain 20 feet high and 14 feet wide but the two bases will be reduced to 2 feet and the sign face will start 6 feet from ground grade. This will give visibility underneath the sign. Ms. Finwall said the reason the Beam Avenue sign was discussed was because Mr. Tillges was requesting a variance to the required setback whereas the sign on the Hazelwood Avenue will comply with the 10-foot setback. Xl. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.