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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/02/20031. Call to Order MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, June 2, 2003, 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 19, 2003 5. Public Heatings a. 2004 - 2008 Maplewood Capital Improvements Plan b. Legacy Village (County Road D and Southlawn Drive) Comprehensive Plan Amendment Zoning Map Change Conditional Use Permit for Planned Unit Development Preliminary Plat New Business a. Conditional Use Permit Revision - Saint Paul Regional Water Services McCarron's Treatment Plant (1900 Rice Street) 7. Unfinished Business 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations a. May 27 Council Meeting: Ms. Dierich b. June 9 Council Meeting: Mr. Rossbach c. June 23 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer 10. Staff Presentations 11. Adjoumment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2003 I. CALLTO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. I1. ROLL CALL Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Tushar Desai Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Mary Dierich Matt Ledvina Jackie Monahan-Junek Paul Mueller Gary Pearson William Rossbach Dale Trippler Present Present Present Absent Present Present Present Present Present Staff Present: Melinda Coleman, Assistant City Manager Chuck Ahl, Public Works Director Tom Ekstrand, Assistant Community Development Director Ken Roberts, Associate Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Mueller, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the planning commission minutes for May 19, 2003. Commissioner Trippler had corrections on pages 6 and 9 of the May 19, 2003, minutes. On page 6, in the first paragraph, in the tenth sentence, change the word ~ to integral. On page 9, in the third paragraph, in the second sentence, it should read: when,~'~",,.. ,""~"~'~'""h'-'""~,..,u, ,.....,, ,....... ~...,., .......*h,~... rule ""'~ '"'o'~"' it ,",c ""'~'~"'" *~'"" was eliminated, his neighborhood thought it *~"-~ was a good option. In the tenth sentence, it should read: it would be a poor policy to have one parking ordinance in one area of the city and another parking ordinance in a different area of the city. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the planning commission minutes for May 19, 2003, with proposed changes. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 Commissioner Trippler seconded. V. PUBLIC HEARING -2- Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Mueller, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler a. 2004-2008 Maplewood Capital Improvements Plan Mr. Roberts said the city updates this report each year and Dan Faust, Finance Director, will show a video presentation to the planning commission. Any comments or questions that the planning commission may have can be addressed after the video presentation. Mr. Dan Faust, Finance Director of Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said the Capital Improvement Project document was provided to the planning commission in their packet. The letter of transmittal from the city manager provides an introduction to the material in the document. A large part of the document was based upon city goals that were established at a city council and management staff retreat held on July 30, 2002, and February 18, 2003. The 30- minute video presentation summarizes the items within the capital improvement plan. The planning commission watched the CIP video. Mr. Richard Fursman, City Manager of Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said the Capital Improvement Project is subject to availability of funds. A major portion of the Capital Improvement Projects will include road, sewer, and water projects. A lot of the money for these projects will come from special assessments and state aid. As these projects are completed in the city the property owners in Maplewood would be assessed. In 2004, the City of Maplewood will take an assessment to see what type of resources will be available to the city. Fortunately, the City of Maplewood will not be hit as hard as they had predicted. Unfortunately, the City of Maplewood loses 100% of its State Aid as well as a significant portion of the city's Home Value Credit. Commissioner Trippler said he noticed in the video presentation that some of the streets were in really bad condition and were not slated for work until 2007 and other streets that did not appear to be in that bad of condition were slated for work in 2004. He asked how the city decides which projects get done and when? Mr. Fursman said each street is graded by the engineering staff and then goes through a rating system as to what type of condition it is in. Each area on the video does not accurately show the best or worst area of the street. Commissioner Trippler said another area he noticed was Lions Park, which is slated for improvements in 2007-2008 and is in need of new playground equipment and improvements and Hazelwood Park, is slated for a new irrigation system in 2006. In his opinion, Lions Park needs repair before Hazelwood Park needs an irrigation system. Mr. Fursman invited Mr. Bruce Anderson, Parks and Recreation Director, to address that comment. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -3- Mr. Bruce Anderson, Parks and Recreation Director of Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said Harvest Park is the primary ball field in northern Maplewood. There are five ball fields at Harvest Park and the number of participants that use Hazelwood Park in relationship to Lions Park justifies moving that project up in the priority list for funding. Lions Park may be a site that may revert back to different use other than a playground and park. Development on that site is still being analyzed and that is why the work has been delayed. Lions Park has had some significant water problems even though the park had been filled in. The city is looking at longer- term usage for the Lions Park area and one idea is to turn part of it into a storm water holding pond. Chairperson Fischer said on page 1-10 of the report it refers to the sanitary sewer sump pump removal program and it says its anticipated that as many as 20% of the homes in Maplewood have illegal connections. She asked where the 20% figure comes from and how it was arrived at? Mr. Chuck Ahl, Public Works Director of Maplewood, addressed the commission. The 20% figure of homes with illegal sump pump connections comes from the Metropolitan Council. It is estimated that because of the age of the home and the type of construction, 1 in 5 homeowners have sump pumps. Because the sump pumps are supposed to be discharged into your backyard they become a nuisance to people. The fact that it is easier for people to put the hose from the sump pump into the laundry tub or drain, Maplewood is paying to treat clear water that is perfectly clean. Chairperson Fischer asked Mr. Ahl how the city would handle homeowners illegally draining their sump pumps? Mr. Ahl said the city could provide an educational program, which would let people know there are alternatives out there. There are grants that the city could get to correctly connect the sump pump drainage. Another option is when a water meter is changed out they could go in and check the sump pump to see that it is draining properly. The city could also go door to door to do sump pump inspections to check for correct set-up. Commissioner Trippler said on page 3-52 of the report it talks about the Gladstone Savannah improvements and the construction of a sitting area near a well. He asked for clarification about the well? Mr. Anderson said the history of that site is that it has the deepest well in Ramsey County, which is close to 700 feet deep. When the railroad yard was in that location, they were required to use clear pristine water for the steam engines. When the city purchased the property they received a waiver so the well did not have to be sealed. Then 2 years ago the well was found and sealed and now there is a monitoring site there. Commissioner Rossbach asked what the economics were for the city to determine to invest a couple million dollars into an area such as the Gladstone or Hillcrest Area? Mr. Ahl said the experience of many cities has been to plant the seed by investing money into the area to attract developers. Once the developers see the city is willing to invest money in an area the developers are drawn to invest in redevelopment. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -4- Mr. Ahl said a year ago the city stated they wanted the Hillcrest area to be a priority, however, the city invested in the roundabout in the Gladstone area because developers came to the city stating they noticed the city's interest in redeveloping the area. He said there is still a lot more work to do to redevelop the area. Mr. Ahl said this can be done with colored concrete, streetscapes, light posts, and flower baskets, but investing money in the area is the first step to attract developers to invest in redeveloping the area. Commissioner Rossbach said it seems the city continues to incur more and more debt when they are already in debt. How is it that the city will get rid of their debt when the city is paying off less debt now then they are gathering each year? It does not seem like that's the correct thing to do. Mr. Faust said there is a section in the five-year capital improvement plan on debt capacity on page 2-1 of the report and the city's objective is not to decrease debt over the next five years. The objective is to finance as many projects as possible that are high priority projects for the city but make sure that the city doesn't issue debt beyond the city's means. One way to deal with that issue is to deal with bond ratings. If the city is dealing with too much debt compared to other city's then that can have an adverse effect on the city's bond rating. Beyond the city's debt there are three other factors that are evaluated when a bond rating is assigned, which is on page 2-1 in the second paragraph. The other factors are economic, administrative and fiscal factors. Economic means the local economy. Maplewood has a strong tax base especially with 3M headquarters, which accounts for over 1,4 of the city's tax base. They look at the administrative factors, city management, their credentials and track record. Fiscal factor means the city's history with the annual budget and the size of its reserves. In terms of debt ratios, Mr. Rossbach indicated the city's debt is going up and the per capita debt is going up. On page 2-7 there is a graph that indicates the debt ratio to market value and that is pretty stable over the ten-year period. Commissioner Rossbach asked how much trouble the city would be in if the national economy does not recover? He said there has been discussion about deflation and the city is tying everything to what the market value is. Mr. Faust said it gets down to how the bonds will be paid back and what is the funding source for the debt service on the bonds? Most of the bonds that the city will be issuing have pretty secure funding sources. A large part will be paid for by special assessments, property taxes and state aid so the funding source is pretty solid. It would be a different situation if the funding source would be income taxes and sales tax because that is more directly related to the ups and downs of the economy. Commissioner Rossbach asked if the city would have significant property tax increases? Mr. Faust said the city is just beginning the budget for 2004. The preliminary projections indicate there will be a very small property tax increase for the City of Maplewood payable in 2004. Commissioner Rossbach asked if the frontage road that is proposed on TH 61 is going to be paid for by the city or by the car dealerships? Mr. Ahl said there are no city funds involved in that particular project. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -5- Commissioner Rossbach said he would like to have more discussion regarding the development of the Gladstone area regarding whether the city of Maplewood should be in the developing business or not. In his opinion, the city should not be in the development business. It doesn't seem that city government is set up to be in the developing business. There is a chance of accusations being made when the city is involved in things outside of the governmental role. Mr. Ahl said the city agrees with that statement. That statement Mr. Rossbach referred to was only made if the city cannot find a developer for the Gladstone area. Commissioner Pearson said on page 2-3 in the report the projected debt and a large portion of the tax base is being based on growth and the completion of Legacy Village. With the Legacy Village property being the last large parcel left to develop in Maplewood, he wondered how much planning; additional funding or debt will the city be looking at as a result of less tax growth on new development? Mr. Faust said the tax base equates to the market value projections and the numbers are on page 2-6 of the report. Those numbers on page 2-6 are conservative and do not include Legacy Village. Chairperson Fischer asked Mr. Faust why the 2004, projected market value on page 2-8 of the report is less than the 2003 projected market value? Mr. Faust said he looks at what the estimated full market value is for the previous five years and calculates the annual percentage change average and then applies that percentage to the last known value. The drop is due to the way the tax assessor is calculating the estimated market value. Mr. Faust said there were two large tax appeals in the City of Maplewood. The 3M headquarters complex received a large reduction in their taxes and the Maplewood Mall contested their value and received an adjustment downward as well. Commissioner Trippler said in the report it states the city is going to be purchasing some communications equipment and he wondered if that was for two different units and if they would be purchased in sequence? Mr. Dave Thomella, Police Chief of Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said in the report one communication equipment system is coded (FD) for the fire department and the second page is coded (PD) for the police department, which includes the upgrades to the communications center in the city hall building. Mr. Thomella said the rest of the funding is for the mobile and portable radios, which are required on these frequencies. Commissioner Pearson asked if the trail from Maryland Avenue into the Priory area was still needed. When the trail went in north of Maryland Avenue it was a fire department access road to the backside of the Pondview Apartments. Commissioner Pearson asked if the trail is still needed for the fire department and if so is the trail wide enough for the fire trucks? Mr. Ahl said staff would have to investigate that question further because staff from the fire department and police department did not have an answer to that question. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody in the audience wanted to speak regarding the 2004 capital improvement plan? Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -6- There were no audience members that came forward to address the commission. Commissioner Rossbach moved to recommend to the city council that they adopt the 2004-2008 Capital Improvement Plan. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Mueller, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on June 9, 2003. b. Legacy Village (County Road D and Southlawn Drive) Ms. Coleman said staff scheduled this meeting for the planning commission to review the various requests by the Hartford Group for the proposed Legacy Village development. City staff sent out over 375 public hearing notices for this meeting. After sending the public hearing notices out the Hartford Group had asked for an extension on the review of this project and they are making revisions on the site plan based on the comments from the meeting between the planning commission and the city council on Monday, May 19, 2003. Ms. Coleman said the plan is to bring the revised site plan back to the planning commission on July 7, 2003. Another public hearing notice will be mailed out for that meeting. Ms. Coleman apologized to the audience members who came to this meeting for the inconvenience. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody in the audience wanted to address the planning commission regarding this proposal. Mr. Paul Hajicek, 25699 Kruger Avenue, Chisago City, addressed the commission. His family is the present owner of the property that is proposed for the Legacy Village and he would like an update of the progress of this project. Ms. Coleman said things are going relatively well. The city council, planning commission, and the community design review board, saw a site plan of the Legacy Village proposal on May 19, 2003. She gave Mr. Hajicek a copy of the proposal and the staff report. At the joint meeting, several commission members made comments regarding the changes that they had and now the Hartford Group is making revisions. Ms. Coleman said the concerns related to the amount of retail that was being proposed, the amount of affordable housing and where the housing would be located, and the types of townhouses that were being proposed were some of the concerns. The planning schedule that was made for the Legacy Village over a year ago became more complicated and is taking longer than the city staff anticipated. Ms. Coleman said the comprehensive land use plan is scheduled for approval with the city council on July 14, 2003. After that is approved the Hartford Group will bring the building elevations to the city for approval by the various committees. Mr. Scott Uttley, Managing Partner of the Best Western Maplewood Inn, 1780 County Road D East, addressed the commission. He wants to make sure that the city is following the parameters that were set to preserve the corporate feel for this project because that is a piece that is missing in the area to support the existing areas. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -7- Mr. Uttley said the reason the corporate offices are so important is because the vehicle traffic would not add to the traffic congestion problems that occur in the evening and the weekends. He wants some assurance that the development would not move forward without the corporate piece of the development followed through. Commissioner Rossbach assured the speaker that the corporate piece he mentioned had been brought up by several commission members and is a high priority. Commissioner Dierich asked Ms. Coleman if there had been any more discussion regarding reducing the amount of affordable housing in the Legacy Development and adding it to another area of the city such as in the Gladstone or Hillcrest development area? She remembered hearing discussion about that at the city council meeting on May 19, 2003. Ms. Coleman said city staff is working on that. There will be a presentation on affordable housing on Monday, June 9, 2003, at 6:00 p.m. All of the committees are invited to attend as well as the Lakeview Church who have been very involved in the affordable housing issue. The discussion will be about what affordable housing is and how much of it is currently in the City of Maplewood, what it looks like, and future affordable housing in Legacy Village, Gladstone and the Hillcrest area. Then on Monday, June 23, 2003, at 6:00 p.m. there will be a meeting with the Maxfield Research Group who will be presenting their findings of their market study with the Hillcrest and the Gladstone area. Commissioner Dierich asked Mr. Ahl if he could tell her why the Legacy Village development would have private roadways rather than public roadways cared for by the city? Mr. Ahl said private roads are becoming a trend. With private roads the city does not plow or sand the roads nor do they repair the roads, which saves the City of Maplewood tax dollars. The development community has control over the different setbacks and design standards although the city applies a local standard to them. The roads are also required to have emergency standards for proper access. Staff said the Legacy Village discussion should be tabled until the July 7, 2003, planning commission meeting. Commissioner Pearson moved to table the Legacy Village discussion until July 7, 2003. Commissioner Dierich seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Mueller, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion is tabled. VI. NEW BUSINESS Conditional Use Permit Revision - Saint Paul Regional Water Services McCarrons Treatment Plant (1900 Rice Street) Mr. Roberts said the Saint Paul Regional Water Services is proposing to make changes and additions (listed in the staff report) to their facilities at the McCarrons Water Treatment Plan at 1900 Rice Street. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -8- Mr. Roberts said these changes and additions include a two-story, 36,000-square-foot office building, a one-story, 11,230-square-foot meter shop and warehouse, a one-story, 17,350-square- foot vehicle maintenance and storage building, and a future cold vehicle storage building. Mr. Roberts said the design plans were reviewed at their CDRB meeting May 27, 2003. Commissioner Trippler asked if for some reason the city did not grant the 20-foot variance on the setback could the city still require the SPRWS to do the modification work with the 40-foot variance? Mr. Roberts said yes. Commissioner Trippler said the only justification he saw for setting the building back 40 feet is that the SPRWS needed space to turn their trucks around. He asked if that was the only reason? Mr. Roberts said he would defer that question to the applicant. Commissioner Trippler asked what considerations the city staff gave to agreeing to the setback? Mr. Roberts said one of the main criteria was the grade on the property. Commissioner Pearson said there are 6 to 8 parking spots on the south side of the proposed new water treatment building, he asked if those spots are meant to go on the south side of the roadway because the blueprint does not show that. Mr. David Wagner, Project Manager, (SPRWS) St. Paul Regional Water Services, 400 Commerce Building, Eight- 4th Street East, St. Paul, addressed the commission. Mr. Wagner said regarding the question asked by Mr. Pearson, they are trying to separate the high security area of the water treatment complex from the medium and lower security area by bringing all of the parking to one location for security purposes. Commissioner Trippler asked the applicant about the need for the 20-foot variance on the setback from the stream and if it would be absolutely impossible to construct the garage 60-feet from the stream? Mr. Wagner said they would do whatever the City of Maplewood requests them to do. He said from an operational standpoint, they would like to have the 20-foot variance. Operationally it will be an easier environment to operate the trucks and equipment with the proposed variance. They could build the garage without the variance but it would be safer for everyone to have the extra space. He said Jim Butler from the architecture company could comment further on that. Mr. Jim Butler, Associate Vice President, (HGA) Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc., 701 Washington Avenue North, Minneapolis, addressed the commission. He said there are vehicle maneuverability issues on the property. It is a large challenge to locate buildings on the property and miss underground utilities. The property slopes 30 feet from the north to the south so they are going to tier the property to make two flat areas, thus moving the building back allows them to have proper maneuvering and ramps. Currently, the gravel yard slopes down into trout brook and there is no green space next to the fence. By positioning the building there and providing the area with a new green space, this improves the site drainage and moves the site drainage away from going directly into trout brook. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -9- Mr. Butler said then they can enclose the drainage that is piped off to the water pond itself. Commissioner Rossbach asked how long the water utility has been on this site? Mr. Wagner said the first plant was built around 1920 with various improvements throughout the years. Commissioner Rossbach said chances are the water utility created the gravel yard? Mr. Wagner said correct. Commissioner Rossbach said the statement in the staff report states the circumstances are not created by the applicant, which is incorrect. He said the water utility has manipulated the circumstances that are there. Mr. Wagner said yes, the water utility created those circumstances. Commissioner Rossbach said he would like to discuss what is happening along the stream. He said he could be open to allowing a variance here but he wants the water utility to do as much as possible along the entire length of the stream. If the water utility did some significant buffer improvements he may be more apt to agree to the variance. Commissioner Rossbach said he is interested in creating a buffer in the area. Even though the section of the stream is outside of the project area, he thinks that the buffer that is there is also degraded. If the city would consider the entire day lighted area of the stream that the water utility has available to them, and what the city can do to enhance it, he would be more apt to agree to put a building within 40 feet of trout brook. His position was the water utility should restore the buffer along the whole stream and not have any buildings within the buffer area and follow the code. Commissioner Rossbach does not feel there is a hardship here and nobody other than the water utility created the hardship. If he could say the water utility was doing everything they can to make sure there is a decent buffer around the stream then the city should give them a break. Mr. Wagner said the area south of the roadway is wide-open ground area. He feels the water utility and the architects (HGA) have done a good job of making this site work because it is a very difficult site to build on. They are trying to bring their buildings together so that operationally things work for the water utility. Commissioner Rossbach said when Mr. Trippler asked if the water utility could build without the variance Mr. Wagner replied the water utility would do whatever the City of Maplewood asks them to do. He also said they could build the garage without the variance but it would be a safer environment with the variance. Commissioner Rossbach said the commission is trying to make this site work for the City of Maplewood. It seems to him a good trade off would be that the city looks at the entire length of the day lighted stream and restoring the buffer as much as possible in those areas. In the southern part of the property it may a good idea to plant natural grasses for an undisturbed buffer area. In order for him to feel good about granting the variance he wants the water utility to do as much as they can to the whole stream that they have access to. Mr. Wagner said the water utility could look at that area south of the entrance at Rice Street with very little hardship to the water utility and probably make some improvements to the stream as well. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -10- Mr. Roberts asked commissioner Rossbach if it would be his intention to expand on the area south of the entrance road, which is on page 5 in the recommendations? Commissioner Rossbach said it would be his desire to have the water utility improve the buffer area and or stream as stated by the applicant in the total expanse of the day lighted stream that the property abuts. He would view that as a trade off for the city giving the water utility a reduced variance area for their cold storage building. Over the years the stream has been desecrated and this would give the city a chance to get a little of the stream back. Commissioner Trippler asked if he is correct that the approval is subject to the applicant doing recommendations 1,2, and 3? He asked if that meant that the water utility has to do the buffer improvement now or does it mean that when and if the water utility decides to put this building in they are required to do this? Mr. Roberts said it was staff's intent that this would be done as part of the project whether the future building gets built or not. Commissioner Trippler said he agrees with Mr. Rossbach that it is a good trade off and that recommendation A. 1. on page 5 needs to be revised. Commissioner Mueller said he agrees with Mr. Rossbach and Mr. Trippler. He asked when the city made these rules for the 60-foot setback? He doesn't necessarily feel it is fair for the commission to say that the water utility messed up and they should have known better. The water utility did not do anything illegal. Mr. Roberts said the wetland protection ordinance was adopted in approximately 1994 but clearly the water utility has had a yard and they have been out there much longer. Commissioner Rossbach said he didn't mean to imply that the water utility intentionally created this problem but the property owner created their own problem. Commissioner Dierich asked how traffic fits into this on page 8 in ordinance requirement number 2 and 3? She read traffic is moving from 10 semi-trucks a day to 70 semi-trucks a day. She asked what kind of comments have you heard from engineering? Mr. Roberts said all the comments he received are in the report. They are not all semi-trucks that are coming and going into the site. Commissioner Dierich said she would like to see the applicant do something more exciting on the exterior of the building elevations to improve the aesthetics. Chris Cavett had many things that he talked about in his report and she is concerned about number 1., 6, and 7. She asked if staff had received the reports yet? Mr. Roberts said the applicant has those reports and they are revising the plans based on comments from the watershed district. Before the building permits are issued, the engineering department has to approve the plans and they will make sure those changes are on the plans before any permits are issued. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -11- Commissioner Dierich said she was looking at the drainage issues and it says the upper lot was going to drain into an area and the lower area would drain into the storm water retention area and all of that drains into trout brook. She asked if there were going to be treatments done to the water before it drains into trout brook? Mr. Roberts said the existing ponding area is going to get some reconfiguring and shaping to better accommodate the runoff from this project site as well as the larger area. There will be some standing water but a lot of it settles in and infiltrates into the ground. He doesn't know the engineering details but there are some overflows and maybe Mr. Wagner can talk about them. Most of the water is intended to stay on site and settle after going through the rainwater garden and into this pond. Commissioner Rossbach moved to approve the resolution on pages 45 and 46 of the staff report. This resolution is for a 20-foot stream setback variance for the construction of a vehicle storage building at the McCarrons water treatment plant at 1900 Rice Street. The city approves this variance because: (changes are in bold, deletions have been stricken through.) Strict enforcement of the code would cause undue hardship because of circumstances unique to the property ""~ "'"* .... *"'~ ~"' *~' ...... '* ......... The 60-foot-wide stream buffer requirement would make development of this site difficult. The variance would be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the ordinance, since the applicant would greatly improve a portion of the stream buffer over its present state and the proposed development plans will treat storm water from the site with rainwater gardens, bio- retention basins and other best management practices. Approval is subject to the applicant doing the following: Dedicating a 40-foot-wide stream protection buffer easement along the west property line adjacent to the future cold storage building and creating a buffer along the entire length of the stream contained in or bordering their property. The created buffer shall be the full required 50 feet in all areas possible. This easement shall be prepared by a land surveyor, shall describe the boundary of the buffer and shall prohibit any building, mowing, cutting, filling or dumping within the buffer. The applicant shall record this easement before the city issues a building permit. Submitting a revised landscape plan for the restoration of 4(;)-feet-ef the stream-protection buffer on the west side of the site. This plan shall show extensive use of native plantings and grasses and shall be subject to staff and watershed district approval. 3. Installing city approved signs at the edge of the stream-protection buffer that prohibit any building, mowing, cutting, filling or dumping within the buffer. Commissioner Rossbach moved to adopt the resolution on pages 47 and 48 of the staff report. This resolution approves a conditional use permit revision for the addition of four buildings, a new parking lot and associated site plan changes for the Saint Paul Regional Water Services McCarrons Water Treatment Plant at 1900 Rice Street North. The city bases this approval on the findings required by the code and is subject to the following conditions: Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -12- 1. All construction shall follow the approved site plan. The director of community development may approve minor changes. 2. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of council approval or the permit shall become null and void. 3. The city council shall review this permit in one year. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Mueller, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on June 23, 2003. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Ms. Dierich was the planning commission representative at the May 27, 2003, city council meeting. Ms. Dierich said the Dearborn Meadow townhouse CUP was approved, the comprehensive sanitary sewer plan update was approved with the commission's recommendations instead of staff's recommendations. The Maplewood Auto Center was approved but the applicant appealed the recommendations by the CDRB and it will go back to the city council. Mr. Roberts said Ms. Coleman is proposing that the city council write an ordinance regarding the licensing procedures for group homes and the spacing of how many group homes there may be in an area. b. Mr. Rossbach will be the planning commission representative at the June 9, 2003, city council meeting. Items to be discussed will be the Capital Improvement Plan for 2004-2008 and the street and alley vacations for County Road D and Hazelwood. c. Ms. Fischer will be the planning commission representative at the June 23, 2003, city council meeting. The Saint Paul Regional Water Services McCarrons Treatment Plant CUP will be discussed. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-02-03 -13- Commissioner Rossbach commented on the preliminary project review on Mendota Homes and there were a few things that were worth noting. He does not think it's a good idea for developers to think that when they come into the city they can put all the wetlands on the project into one wetland and put a straight road in and have houses arranged neatly in a row. Some of the wetlands he saw from the road looked degraded but as a general rule of thumb he doesn't think that is the way the city should go. Commissioner Rossbach said in the Mendota Homes write up it says the development site has two significant characteristics that make this variance necessary. The existing small wetland areas on the site are disbursed throughout the property in a way that makes a cohesive housing development impossible while preserving these areas. He wanted to point out those comments and hopes that if the city would move to combining wetlands into one wetland that the city is also getting all the buffer area. When the city was dealing with the realignment of County Road D it seems there is buffer area around all those wetlands now and the city should have at least that amount of buffer area if the city is going to allow combining wetlands into one wetland. His other comment is that the garage forward design went out of style along time ago and he thinks the city would be making a mistake to allow buildings to be built like big garages. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Mr. Roberts said the city council approved the south Maplewood sewer study and from that the city council liked the 2-acre minimum lot size requirement. There are three sewer districts that are least likely to get sanitary sewers. The city staff will be preparing a proposed 2-acre minimum lot-size zoning district to be added to the code. Mr. Roberts said just as a reminder notices will be sent out regarding the meetings Ms. Coleman discussed on June 9 and June 23 at 6:00 p.m. Xl. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.