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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/15/2003MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, September 15, 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. August 4, 2003 5. Public Headngs None 6. New Business a. Easement Vacation (1280 Belmont Lane) Gruber's Power Equipment (1762 White Bear Avenue) 1. Moratorium Vadance 2. Parking Lot Setback Variance 3. Conditional Use Permit for Expansion of Exterior Storage c. Proposed Swimming Pool Fence Code Amendment d. Planning Commission Applicant Interviews 7. Unfinished Business 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations a. August 11 Council Meeting: Mr. Trippler b. August 25 Council Meeting: Mr. Desai c. September 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Mueller d. September 22 Council Meeting: ?? (was to be Mr. Ledvina) e. October 13 Council Meeting: Ms Dierich 10. Staff Presentations 11. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2003 I. CALL TO 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 Present Present Mary Dierich Present Jackie Monahan-Junek Present Paul Mueller Absent Gary Pearson Present William Rossbach Present Dale Trippler Present Staff Present: Ken Roberts, Associate Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary II1. APPROVAL OFAGENDA Mr. Roberts requested to remove item 6. d. Planning Commission Applicant Interviews because one of the applicants were unable to attend the meeting. Commissioner Rossbach added item f. 9. under Commission Presentations. Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the agenda as amended. Commissioner Rossbach seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Rossbach had a clarification to the minutes on page 7, in the sixth paragraph, under number 2. His intent was for number 2. to say the redevelopment zone could be only initiated by the city and not by a developer. Commissioner Dierich moved to approve the planning commission minutes for August 4, 2003, as amended. Commissioner Trippler seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler Abstention - Rossbach Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -2- V. PUBLIC HEARING None. VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Easement Vacation (1280 Belmont Lane) Mr. Roberts said Mr. David Newburg, representing Wa and Cha Vang is asking the city to vacate an existing drainage and utility easement on the property at 1280 Belmont Lane. This easement is under a detached garage on the property Commissioner Trippler wondered if the easement diagrammed on page 6 of the staff report extended further south or does it end at the back of the property line? Mr. Roberts said he was not sure. Unfortunately this is one of the few plats that the city does not have a recorded copy of at city hall. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to address the commission. Mr. David Newburg, representing Wa and Cha Vang addressed the commission. He said the applicants would like to get this easement vacation taken care of to clear up the title. Commissioner Rossbach moved to approve the resolution on page seven of the staff report. This resolution is for the vacation of an unused drainage and utility easement on the property at 1280 Belmont Lane. The reasons for the vacation are as follows: 1. It is in the public interest. 2. The easement is unused. 3. The easement is not needed for drainage or utility purposes. Commissioner Trippler seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on October 13, 2003. Chairperson Fischer asked staff if there was any other way to get a copy of the plat? Mr. Roberts said if the city could get a copy of the plat as recorded with Ramsey County staff could do some further checking. b. Gruber's Power Equipment (1762 White Bear Avenue) Mr. Roberts said representatives of Gruber's Power Equipment at 1762 White Bear Avenue are proposing to purchase .258 acres of land from the adjacent Junior Achievement property at 1800 White Bear Avenue. They would use this land to expand Gruber's exterior storage area. Gruber's also wants to construct a 1 O-foot high metal fence to screen the expanded storage area. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -3- Mr. Roberts said on July 7, 2003, the planning commission tabled Gruber's and Junior Achievement's requests in order to allow Gruber's and Junior Achievement time to modify their plans to order to address the following concerns: 1) fence height not to exceed 10 feet to alleviate the need for a fence height variance; 2) extension of the parking lot lease agreement with Junior Achievement to one year; 3) painting the metal fence a two-tone color; and 4) the removal of 5 feet of Junior Achievement's parking lot to alleviate the need for a parking lot setback variance. Commissioner Dierich asked if the commission approves the outside storage is it just the outside storage that gets the CUP or does the whole lot get the CUP? Is the CUP reviewed annually or is there a set time? Mr. Roberts said a CUP is applied to the entire property for a specific use. The typical review time is after one year but that time frame could be shorter and could be longer. Commissioner Dierich asked if the city has ever denied a CUP? Mr. Roberts said yes only on an initial application. Commissioner Trippler asked on page 5, in the paragraph on exterior storage it states that it is clear that it would change the planned character of the proposed Hillcrest Village Redevelopment Area. Commissioner Trippler said it was not clear to him and he asked staff to clarify that. Mr. Roberts said to him it means based on the way the zoning ordinance is coming together and based on the Hillcrest Redevelopment Plan, the elements of the zoning code as proposed as an overlay district would not allow outdoor storage and that is part of the planned character of the new zoning code if it is adopted by the city council. Hopefully, that will be in place November 1, 2003. If that were the case, expanding an outdoor storage area would not be consistent with that plan and character. Commissioner Trippler said if the ordinance were to pass then there would not be any outdoor exterior storage of any kind? Mr. Roberts said that was his understanding. Chairperson Fischer said what about the outdoor storage at the Super America gas station where they store and sell outdoor charcoal, salt pellets and windshield fluid? Mr. Roberts said the city would have to determine how much outdoor storage that exists already would be grandfathered in. Commissioner Trippler asked Mr. Roberts to explain what the term human-scale meant on page 6, number 6 in the staff report? Mr. Roberts said human-scale means the fence at 10-feet tall is too large and imposing. Human- scale means more friendly and at human sized level. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -4- Commissioner Pearson said when the HRA began reviewing this ordinance he asked what this kind of zoning would do to existing businesses in the area that wanted to expand or remodel. On page 21, in section 2.03 in the last line, it states "the city may issue building permits for the expansion or remodeling of existing structures". He said if he had know that this would be so rigid and the city would take a chance of losing good functioning businesses he would'ye never supported it. He hopes this is something the city council does not make permanent. Mr. Roberts said section 2.03 is the language that is used for the moratorium, which is still in effect until the end of October 2003. It states Maplewood businesses can do interior remodeling but does not allow additions or expansions of space on the exterior. Commissioner Pearson said the paragraph says, "the city may issue building permits for the expansion or remodeling of existing structures." To him that means they should be able to expand outdoor storage. Mr. Roberts responded that means expansion of existing structures but when you are talking about outdoor storage then you are talking about zoning code issues, which do not fall under building code issues. Chairperson Fischer asked if that meant a fence was not a structure? Mr. Roberts said yes it is but Gruber's also wants to expand to the east and have a larger outdoor storage area then they currently have and that is one of the catches. The moratorium is temporary and it will end at the end of October. Commissioner Pearson asked if the city council is going to look at voting to make this permanent? Mr. Roberts said the city council will be looking at the new Hillcrest zoning code, which the planning commission will review again within the next month to make a recommendation to take to the city council. Whether or not to include outdoor storage and more types of business is the process the city has been going through for the last few months. The ordinance with all the uses, setbacks, and densities, will be in one package to look at before going back to the city council. Commissioner Pearson said in his opinion this needs a lot of work. Commissioner Rossbach said regarding Gruber's, if you are going to plan on redeveloping and creating a different development scenario than what already exists then at some point you have to stop developing what is already there. So, the question is, when does the city stop allowing developing? Why should the city allow Gruber's requests, which involve several variances to the already existing ordinances? What is it that makes it so appealing to allow Gruber's to make these alterations and allow something that doesn't fit any of the other ordinances? Aren't the city's other ordinances important here? Commissioner Rossbach's opinion is the city has problems in other areas of the city. There hasn't been a rigid enough policy of how the city is going to guide development and now there is a hodgepodge of buildings that just don't look appealing. Commissioner Rossbach said if the city is going to do a proper development they need to say these are the rules and then they need to stick with them. He believes the commission should at least know what the new rules are before the commission allows Gruber's to do anything. Let the new ordinance be fully developed so the commission knows what they are giving up if they allow Gruber's to build. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -5- Commissioner Pearson said his concern is that the commission would be looking at this new ordinance in such a straightjacketed manner that it would not be an accommodating use. Commissioner Desai said he understands the point Mr. Rossbach was trying to make that many of the zoning ordinances have not been defined yet but at the same time he looks at the need for the hardware store to exist in this community. They are doing a good business and the local community needs them. He asked how can the city work with Gruber's to make this work for everyone? He realizes there are variances but he wonders how can the city work with these variances along with Gruber's to get them in compliance with the variances to make everyone happy? It doesn't make sense to him to delay doing anything because of the moratorium and the Hillcrest Redevelopment Plan when the commission doesn't know if it would be 1 year, 5 years or 10 years before any redevelopment would begin. Commissioner Dierich said everyone that the city has had discussions with has said it will be a long long time down the road before the city would begin to look like the vision of the Hillcrest Redevelopment Plan. She said she wants the city to move in the direction of the redevelopment plan but the city has been told that density is going to prevent the city from moving in this direction. Her feeling is that Gruber's will have outgrown their location and will move by the time the Hillcrest Redevelopment Plan even begins. Commissioner Rossbach added that Gruber's has "already" outgrown their location and want to continue operating in a location they have outgrown and that is the problem. Gruber's wants the city to approve an expansion when maybe Gruber's should be looking for another location in the city to rebuild so they can expand their business the way they would like to. Commissioner Trippler said it doesn't seem that this is a huge investment for Gruber's that would tie Gruber's into "having" to stay put in order to recoup their investment due to the cost of the expansion. They have been a good neighbor and business to the city. Granting this request would make the eye sore of outdoor storage go away and make it look a lot better in the long run. If Gruber's grows anymore they will have to move someplace else. Maybe when Gruber's is ready to move the city will be ready to start the Hillcrest Redevelopment Plan even though that could be over ten years down the road. He really doesn't like to grant variances but in this case it could be a good thing. The city allowed Super America to rebuild when the city knew that area would be redeveloped. Commissioner Monahan-Junek agrees with the Hillcrest Redevelopment Plan and she doesn't see a timeframe on the horizon, therefore, she has a hard time turning Gruber's away for an expansion. This is long term and Gruber's may outgrow their location and find a new location within the community. Commissioner Rossbach said a lot of the redevelopment that will happen in the area will be due to attrition and businesses will outgrow their site which will make land available that can be used as part of the redevelopment plan. He said commission members say they don't see a time line on the horizon but he thinks the time line is now. This is the beginning of the process and this is a business that is outgrowing their site. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to come forward and address the commission. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -6- Mr. Matt Gruber, Gruber's Power Equipment, 1762 White Bear Avenue, Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said for some reason the lease is still a problem in the staff report and he wondered why. At the last meeting staff said they wanted to see a longer lease between Gruber's and Junior Achievement such as a year. Mr. Roberts said he thinks the problem is that the lease is still temporary. If Junior Achievement were to sell the property and the new owner wanted their land back, then Gruber's would run into a problem. Mr. Gruber asked why a four or five-year lease wasn't required compared to the one-year lease they already worked out? Mr. Roberts said it is a situation of should have, would have, and could have. If Gruber's had more property to expand they would not have to be leasing space from Junior Achievement. Mr. Roberts said a one-year lease is better than a month-to-month lease but staff still has concerns about problems in the future. Commissioner Monahan-Junek said she understood Mr. Gruber met with Ms. Finwall. She asked if he had a clear understanding that Gruber's is part of the redevelopment area and depending on what happens financially in a year or ten years Gruber's could've made this investment and it may not be long term and may end up relocating? Mr. Gruber said yes they understand that. But at the same time the city does not know the exact time line. It has been suggested that they have outgrown their location, which they agree with. However, it is easier and more affordable for them to stay where they are compared to buying another lot and rebuilding. He said he does not understand why their business is whited out on the Hillcrest Redevelopment Plan and there is no zoning ordinance for their property. Commissioner Trippler said the only variance that seems to be problematic is the five-foot parking lot setback. Commissioner Trippler asked why Gruber's was unable to reach an agreement with Junior Achievement regarding the parking lot setback? Mr. Gruber said an agreement was made. If that's what it would take to get this approved they would remove the five feet of asphalt and move it north to the five feet requested. He asked by law are they required to remove the asphalt? Commissioner Trippler asked if the commission were to not grant this variance then the setback would have to be there on the north side? Mr. Roberts said correct. Commissioner Desai asked if Gruber's agreed with the drainage and grading issues in the staff report? Mr. Gruber said yes. Commissioner Pearson asked staff if there were any problems currently with the drainage and grading on the site? Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -7- Mr. Roberts said he did not believe there was but Mr. Gruber could answer that. Mr. Gruber said no, there are currently no drainage or grading problems on the site. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody else wanted to speak on this proposal to come forward and address the commission. Mr. Scott Carver, representing Junior Achievement at 1800 White Bear Avenue, Maplewood, addressed the commission on behalf of Gruber's Power Equipment. He only sees one variance that Gruber's and Junior Achievement is requesting, which is the parking lot setback. He said when they were here two months ago they asked the commission and staff what length of lease they would like to see and were told a one-year lease and that is what they put in place. As virtue of the lease he does not feel the setback is necessary because it causes an indirect drainage flow to the existing drains and causes Gruber's customers to have to walk another five feet. The city is moving the recommended parking further from the Gruber's building. He does not see that the variance is that big of a deal. If both parties are willing to do what it takes. He is disappointed that Ms. Finwall was not present at the past meeting and is not present tonight. Mr. Roberts came out to the site and met with representatives from Gruber's and Junior Achievement. To his knowledge Ms. Finwall has never come to the site. Ms. Finwall references in the report the difficulty of lowering a 10-foot-10-inch fence to 10 feet high. To lower the fence is basically a matter of unscrewing the metal panels, lowering them 10 inches and screwing the metal panels back on. He is frustrated that this has taken 14 months to get this done. He said both parties waited two months in the hope that they would get a different opinion from staff. Mr. Carver said they made the adjustments that were requested and the staff report has not changed from the previous report. Nothing in the staff report addresses the benefit of making these changes. One benefit is that by expanding the lot you have moved the semi trucks off of White Bear Avenue from loading and unloading the supply. A second benefit is that it cleans up the front of the building and the look of the neighborhood. They are trying to put a 1/4 of an acre back on the tax role and he didn't think it would be this hard to do. Both Junior Achievement and Gruber's met with Ms. Finwall and she led them to believe that the time line before the Hillcrest Redevelopment Plan begins from a staff prospective was one-to-three years. Mr. Carver said when he looked on the map he noticed the Junior Achievement building didn't exist and where their building is currently there was a road through the middle of the parking lot. Mr. Carver said Junior Achievement looked for 18 months for a building to move from Edina to Maplewood and he is not inclined to move out in the next 6 months. He said the only way to get more parking is to put parking behind the building and Junior Achievement or Super America own the property around it. Mr. Carver said that would require a driveway to be put in past the building to get to the parking lot and that would only leaves space for a 20-foot wide building so he doesn't know how that fits in with the vision of Hillcrest. Mr. Carver said Junior Achievement was not notified that Super America would be building an outbuilding behind their building and he thinks it looks like an outhouse. Junior Achievement has been trying to be a good neighbor and they don't seem to be getting anywhere. The city keeps talking about parking being an issue. He asked why it wasn't it an issue that the medical building across North St. Paul Road has patients parking in the Junior Achievement parking lot because they don't have enough of their own parking and the employees from the doctors office park in the video store parking lot. He realizes Gruber's is asking for a variance and that is why parking is an issue now. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -8- Commissioner Rossbach asked Mr. Carver how would he suggest fixing the parking problem that the other businesses have due to lack of parking space? Mr. Carver said he didn't know the answer. Commissioner Rossbach said redeveloping the area may fix the problem of lack of parking. Mr. Carver said there is probably a good chance that redeveloping the area would fix the parking problems. Having just moved into the area he does not want to look at property that is not being maintained. One of the reasons Junior Achievement stepped forward was to improve the look and appearance of the Gruber's site. He wondered how the city sees a golf dome fitting in with the vision of the redevelopment plan. Commissioner Pearson said staff said leasing verses owning the parking lot space from Junior Achievement is really a catch 22. If Gruber's bought the property from Junior Achievement it probably wouldn't be compatible because it does not fit in with the spirit and intent of the property. Gruber's could spend a lot of money purchasing the additional property so they wouldn't need a lease and Gruber's could still be denied. Commission member Trippler moved to approve ~ the land use requests by Gruber's Power Equipment at 1762 White Bear Avenue and Junior Achievement at 1800 White Bear Avenue as follows: minor subdivision, Hillcrest Village moratorium variance, 5-foot parking lot setback variance, and conditional use permit for the expansion of exterior storage. The city is approvinc~ ~these land use requests because: (changes to the motion are underlined and deletions are stricken) The city council has formally supported the Metropolitan Council's proposed Hillcrest Village Redevelopment Plan. This plan is based on smart growth principles, which help create livable neighborhoods where homes, jobs and services are linked by walkable streets. Gruber's Power Equipment is located in the Hillcrest Village Redevelopment Plan. An objective of the Hillcrest Village Redevelopment Plan is to help guide changes within the area in order to create a village center with an active street life that mixes shops, workplaces, housing, recreation and civic uses, and avoids commercial uses that are not residential friendly, such as exterior storage. 3. There are no unique hardships or circumstances that warrant approving the 5-foot parking lot setback variance. Commissioner Rossbach asked to have the questions divided individually. Commissioners agreed to vote on each recommendation individually. Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the minor subdivision. Commission member Pearson seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion passed. Planning Commission -9- Minutes of 09-15-03 Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the Hillcrest Villaqe moratorium variance. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes - Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Trippler Nay- Rossbach The motion passed. Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the Conditional Use Permit for the expansion of exterior stora,qe. Commissioner Pearson seconded. The motion passed. Ayes - Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler Commissioner Rossbach moved to deny the 5-foot parking lot setback variance. Commissioner Monahan-Junek seconded. The motion failed. Ayes - Monahan-Junek, Rossbach, Trippler Nays-Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Pearson Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the 5-foot parking lot setback variance. Commissioner Desai seconded. The motion passed. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Pearson Nays - Monahan-Junek, Rossbach, Trippler This item goes to the city council on October 13, 2003. c. Proposed Swimming Pool Fence Code Amendment Mr. Roberts said staff is proposing that the city council amend the requirements for fencing around swimming pools to accept alternatives to fencing. The current ordinance requires that a four-foot-tall fence to prevent small children from accessing the pool without supervision surround a swimming pool. If the fence is closer than four feet to the edge of the water, this fence must be at least six feet tall. Code allows a four-foot-tall fence around the yard to suffice for the pool fence. Commissioner Trippler asked staff to explain what a self-latching or self-closing gate is. Mr. Roberts said a self-latching gate is a gate with springs on it that automatically swings shut. The only way the gate door would remain open is if it was propped open. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -10- Commissioner Rossbach said if the walls of the pool are four feet in height he is not sure how you can say it requires a self-closing gate around it. Mr. Roberts agreed that is not written clearly enough. Commissioner Rossbach said on page 2, in the second paragraph of the staff report it states the intent of the ordinance is to prevent a very small child or toddler from accidentally falling into a swimming pool. He asked where the intent statement came from? Mr. Roberts said the intent came from staff. Commissioner Rossbach said he thought the intent was to keep kids from intentionally entering a pool. He thinks the intent should be to prevent older kids from accessing your pool and swimming when you are not there. There has been discussion in the ordinance about having a non- climbable fence and that would be geared towards intentional entry and not for a small child accidentally wondering into the area. Mr. Roberts said staff is not proposing an amendment to the intent portion of the code. However, he said he agrees with Commissioner Rossbach's statements. Commissioner Rossbach said he thinks all pools should have a pool cover because having a pool cover would help prevent children from accidentally falling into the pool. Commissioner Dierich asked if this ordinance would allow a resident to put an in-ground pool in with only a pool cover without requiring a fence around it? Mr. Roberts said yes. Commissioner Dierich said she doesn't agree with that. Many people leave their in-ground pools uncovered and not having a fence around it can cause an accidentally drowning. She believes the ordinance should require a pool cover for in-ground pool plus a fence around the pool. Commissioner Desai said he doesn't agree with the sentence in the staff report regarding the use of terrain and tree/shrub growth as a barrier around the pool in lieu of a fence. In his opinion shrubs do not provide a safe barrier to keep children from drowning. He asked staff what age group the intent is made for to keep out of the pool area with a fence? Mr. Roberts said he thinks the intent is for two groups. One is for young children and the second is for unauthorized people. He said if tree/shrub growth was to be the barrier for the pool the pool would need to be covered. Commissioner Trippler said he doesn't believe people will use a pool cover in place of a fence. People use the pool and they forget to cover it back up, therefore, leaving the pool exposed with no fence around it. In his opinion, saying you are going to use a pool cover in order to forgo the expense of building a fence around the pool is an easy way out. The city does not have the time or the manpower to drive around and make sure pools are covered and he has a real problem with that. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -11- Commissioner Pearson said it all boils down to liability. He said in the event you have an accidental drowning in your pool your insurance company is going to make sure you as the homeowner have taken all reasonable steps to make sure nobody could gain access. Because of the liability, all homeowners should want to have a fence around their pool with a self locking gate and keep it closed at all times. Having a fence around a pool may be a requirement of the insurance company anyways. Commissioner Monahan-Junek said if she had an in-ground pool she would have a cover over the pool and a fence around it as a precaution because a fence makes it a little harder for somebody to get to the pool. Chairperson Fischer said she is troubled by the ordinance definition on page 4 of the staff report. It reads: Though not used for swimming, this definition includes artificial ponds constructed for landscaping purposes, which shall also be subject to the requirements of this chapter. She questioned how you could prevent a drowning in an artificial pond used for landscaping or drainage purposes? Commissioner Trippler said whether it's a landscaping or drainage pond, or a pool you only need 3 inches of water for someone to drown. To him if the intent is to keep a child from drowning a fence should be required around the pool. The ordinance cannot cover every situation and the city will do the best they can with the wording of the ordinance, however, he is troubled with the way the ordinance currently reads and said it needs a lot more work. Commissioner Rossbach said he would like to have the last paragraph deleted in the current ordinance on page 4 of the staff report. He would also like to have the last sentence deleted from the definition of the ordinance regarding landscaping ponds. Commissioner Rossbach moved to adopt the swimming pool fence ordinance amendment on page 4 of the staff report with the following changes to the ordinance: In Section 1 under the definition strike the sentence Though not used for swimming, this definition includes artificial ponds constructed for landscaping purposes, which shall also be subject to the requirements of this chapter. Also, strike the bottom paragraph of the ordinance in Section 2, on page 4 of the staff report. Commission member Pearson seconded. Ayes- Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Monahan-Junek, Pearson, Rossbach, Trippler The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on October 13, 2003. VII, UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII, VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -12- IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Mr. Trippler was the planning commission representative at the August 11, 2003, city council meeting. The two planning commission items discussed included the R-I(R) Rural residential zoning district, which passed ayes all and the Maplewood Office Park that passed ayes all. b. Mr. Desai was the planning commission representative at the August 25, 2003, city council meeting. The only item pertaining to the planning commission was the Hmong American Alliance Church, which was tabled until September 22, 2003, so questions of the city council could be answered. c. Mr. Mueller was to be the planning commission representative at the September 8, 2003, city council meeting; however, there were no planning commission items to review. d. Mr. Rossbach will be the planning commission representative at the September 22, 2003, city council meeting. The only planning commission item will be the Hmong American Alliance Church that was tabled for further discussion from August 25, 2003. e. Ms. Dierich will be the planning commission representative at the October 13, 2003, city council meeting. Items to be discussed will be Gruber's Power Equipment at 1762 White Bear Avenue and the Proposed Swimming Pool Fence Code Amendment. f. Homeowner's Association discussion. Commissioner Rossbach said a resident from either Crestview Court or Drive commented that for more than 25 years there was a homeowners association that had covenants where he lives. In more recent times, someone built a shed and built it by the city's setback ordinances of a 5 foot rear and side setback. The covenants through the homeowner's association required a 10-foot setback so they were seeking some information on that. The information they received was that after 25 years the homeowners association and its covenants cease to exist. This raised a red flag for Commissioner Rossbach because the planning commission deals with association language in its recommendation of developments. He thought it would be nice to have staff do some further research into further information regarding this issue. Mr. Roberts said the city attorney reviews covenants and homeowner's association rules as part of the staff review of developments. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS None. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-15-03 -13- Xl. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.