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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/19/2008 MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2008 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Harland Hess Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner Dale Trippler Commissioner Joe Walton Commissioner Jeremy Yarwood Commissioner Robert Martin Commissioner Joseph Boeser Staff Present: Present Present Present Present Present Absent Absent Absent Present Ken Roberts, Planner Tom Ekstrand. City Planner III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the agenda as presented. Commissioner Hess seconded Ayes - all The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. January 29, 2008 Commissioner Trippler moved approval of the minutes of January 29, 2008 as presented. Commissioner Pearson seconded The motion passed. b. February 4, 2008 Ayes - all CommissionerTrippler moved approval of the amended minutes of February 4,2008 deleting under New Business "and SWOT analysis results" from the second paragraph, changing language in the fourth paragraph to read "clarification of the differences between the requirements for a developed community as opposed to our former status as both a developed and developing community," changing "parochial" to "private" and eliminating number five and adding "Commissioner Trippler requested the address for the new Maplewood Library be included." Commissioner Pearson seconded The motion passed. Ayes - Desai, Fischer, Hess, Pearson, Trippler, Walton, Martin Abstention - Boeser Planning Commission Minutes of 02-19-08 -2- v. PUBLIC HEARING 7:00 p.m. Conditional Use Permit - Xcel Energy Electrical Substation (1480 County Road D) Planner Ken Roberts presented the staff report regarding the proposed by Xcel Energy to changes the existing electrical substation. Mr. Roberts explained the proposal is to add another transformer and electrical distribution feeders to the existing site. Chris Rogers was present representing Xcel Energy and spoke on the need for the changes to their electrical substation due to overloads on the system from the added growth in the Highway 61 and Beam Avenue commercial and residential areas. Mr. Rogers clarified that there will be three new feeders with this project. Commissioner Hess questioned whether any feeder lines would be added. Mr. Rogers responded that feeder lines would be added and referred this to Caroline Peterson for additional information. Caroline Peterson, substation engineer for Xcel Energy, explained the feeders will be brought out of the station underground, but she did not know if they would continue underground from there. Mr. Hess responded that he hoped this excavation of the underground lines could be coordinated with other ongoing development in the area. Commissioner Boeser said he thinks the roads in this area have been completed, but the parking lots are not yet done. Commissioner Fischer asked Mr. Rogers if there was any problem with any of the conditions of the staff recommendation. Mr. Rogers replied no. The public hearing was opened for comments from the public. Elizabeth Sletten, 2747 Clarence Street North, said she has asked the city for a copy of the conditional use permit related to the wood chip site on the Xcel Energy site and she has not received it. Ms. Sletten referred to the Ramsey County compost site on Beam Avenue that was closed by the city council in 2000. There were no further comments from the public; the public hearing was closed. The commission discussed this wood chip site as opposed to the past Ramsey County compost site. Commissioner Fischer asked staff if there are odors coming from other sites in this area. Staff responded that he has not personally received any complaints. Commissioner Boeser mentioned that he has lived in this area for the past two years and has not smelled any strange odors in that area. Commissioner Trippler moved to adopt the resolution approving a conditional use permit for Xcel Energy to have and expand the electrical substation and related electrical system operations and a wood chipping and transfer operation on their property at 1480 County Road D. The city bases this approval on the findings required by the ordinance and is subject to the following conditions: 1. All construction and activities on the site shall follow the site and project plans as approved by the city. City staff may approve minor changes to these plans and the city council must approve major changes to the approved plans. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-19-08 -3- 2. Any fence over six feet tall requires a building permit issued by the city. The city building official will require the submittal of a structural plan for the proposed fence approved by a registered engineer with the building permit materials. 3. Xcel Energy must start the installation of the new transformer and associated site work within one year of council approval or the permit shall become null and void. The council may extend this deadline for one year. 4. The city council shall review this permit in one year. Commissioner Pearson seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Concept Plan Review - Legacy Village PUD Changes (Kennard Street and County Road D) 1. Rental Town House Site (Legacy Parkway - Kennard Street to Hazelwood) 2. Retail Site (Flandrau Street and County Road D) City planner Tom Ekstrand gave a brief presentation explaining that representatives of the Hartford Group wish to discuss with the commission alternative use and design ideas for the undeveloped areas of Legacy Village. Mr. Ekstrand said this item has been brought before the commission for discussion only and staff will not need a recommendation this evening. Mr. Ekstrand introduced Frank Janes of Hartford Group. Frank Janes addressed the commission and explained that Hartford Group is looking for informal discussion with the commission regarding the possible alternative use and design for the undeveloped area of Legacy Village. Mr. Janes explained to the commission the Hartford Group's possible commercial site development revisions. Mr. Todd Geller of Victory Capital Corporation explained that this corporation currently owns and manages about 600,000 square feet of retail, industrial and office space. Mr. Geller said Victory Capital Corporation expressed concern with the back of the building on County Road D, but did move forward with a purchase agreement. Mr. Geller explained the following design concerns with the building rear facing County Road D: 1) signage on both sides of the building, 2) delivery and loading in the front of the building, 3) security issues due to the parking lot being shielded from County Road D, 4) trash collection from the opposite side of the parking lot from the building, 5) car traffic lighting disturbance, 6) existing design does not allow for a drive-through, 7) facade is designed with four fronts of glass making a restaurant or coffee shop use with a kitchen or storage in the back nearly impossible. Commissioner Desai said he does not have a problem with this design of flipping the building and feels it may be an improvement for the neighboring townhomes. Commissioner Hess said he also feels the revised retail/commercial design makes sense. Mr. Janes explained that the style for the proposed building would be very similar to the approved plan. Commissioner Pearson questioned how the delivery and loading is proposed for the new design. Mr. Janes explained that the new design is not perfect due to grade constraints, but the new design allows for deliveries in the area of the drive-through. Commissioner Pearson suggested that an area for the trucks to pull off of the roadway for deliveries should be considered. Mr. Pearson also was concerned about the poor soils in the area where the hotel would be located. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-19-08 -4- Patrick Sarver, director of development for Hartford Group, said the current design allows two 12-foot travel lanes and a 6-foot parking aisle along the southern part of Village Trail East. Mr. Sarver explained that Hartford felt these areas could be used for delivery parking for short periods of time. Commissioner Boeser said that he likes the design of flipping the building, but was not in favor of parking the trucks in front of the townhomes. Mr. Boeser said he does not like the entry on Village Trail East, because that allows commercial traffic to use that road. Mr. Boeser suggested blocking off Village Trail East completely to control commercial traffic in the residential area and having entrances on both County Road D and Flandrau. Mr. Sarver responded that in order to be sensitive to the private drives in the area, the commercial drive and Village Drive East were positioned to handle the Ashley Furniture truck traffic for deliveries. Mr. Sarver said that Ashley Furniture has legal access to these roads. The commission discussed the traffic congestion in this area with Hartford Group's representatives. Commissioner Trippler was concerned that the continuity of the design of the Legacy area be maintained and encouraged the developer to preserve the established design. Mr. Trippler did not feel that flipping the building would improve the truck access or parking for deliveries. Mr. Trippler agreed with Mr. Pearson that there may be poor soils in the proposed site of the four-story hotel location. Commissioner Pearson mentioned the need for recreational facilities in the residential part of the development. Mr. Janes thanked the commission for their comments on the commercial proposal and proceeded to explain plans for the residential development. Mr. Janes explained that due to the current housing market, townhomes are no longer a viable product and therefore, the developer is instead proposing to build a rental apartment building. Mr. Janes said that the developer proposes to retain as many of the existing trees as possible. Commissioner Boeser commented that the plans for the childcare facility are a good choice for that area, but he does not think the plan for a four-story hotel fits in with the surrounding area. Mr. Boeser said that with the proposed hotel and apartments buildings and parking lots, he is concerned with maintaining the existing trees on that site. Mr. Boeser questioned the developer about plans for maintaining the overall look of the development. Mr. Janes said there is a two-acre parcel in the residential part of the project that will be dedicated to the city for development of a children's play area. Commissioner Trippler encouraged the developer to rotate the childcare facility ninety degrees to align the facility east and west on County Road D, with the parking lot located south of the facility. Staff commented that this might move the play area from behind the building and negatively locate it to the street side of the building. Mr. Trippler said he would like to see the hotel building limited to three stories and suggested the four-story hotel be revised to three stories to better the fit the style of the neighborhood. Mr. Janes thanked the commission for their comments and said that they would make revisions to the plans. Planning Commission Minutes of 02-19-08 -5- b. 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update 1. Land Use Plan Exercise 2. Goals and Objectives Worksheet Planner Ken Roberts explained it is now time to begin preparing for updating the land use plan. Mr. Roberts presented copies of land use plan information to the commission. Mr. Roberts asked the commissioners to complete the Goals and Objectives Worksheet and Land Use Plan Exercise and return them to him at the March 4 commission meeting for discussion. Commissioner Trippler asked staff to clarify some color designations on the neighborhood use map given to the commissioners. Mr. Roberts clarified the color designations and mentioned he will mail a better copy of the 13 neighborhood maps to the commissioners in the coming week. Commissioner Fischer questioned the map colors used for different multiple uses in the area east of Beebe Road, between Holloway and Ripley. Planner Roberts said staff would review this area. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS Elizabeth Sletten, 2747 Clarence Street North, spoke regarding EPA concerns with the old compost site on Beam Avenue. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS Chair Fischer noted the invitation to attend the Maplewood Historic Preservation Commission meeting on February 21. . February 11 Council meeting: Commissioner Pearson reported on this meeting. . February 25 Council meeting: Not needed. . March 10 Council meeting: Commissioner Trippler will attend. . March 24 Council meeting: Commissioner Yarwood will attend. Commissioner Trippler submitted a New York Times article called "Caution - Signs Ahead for Gadget Laden Cars" to be forwarded by staff to the city council. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Planner Roberts notified the commission of the City Anniversary Party - February 23, 2008 at the Maplewood Community Center. XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.