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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/06/2008 MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA TUESDAY, MAY 6,2008 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Commissioner Joseph Boeser Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Harland Hess Commissioner Robert Martin Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner Dale Trippler Commissioner Joe Walton Commissioner Jeremy Yarwood Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Staff Present: Ken Roberts. Planner Chuck Ahl. Actina Citv Manaaer Bob Mittet. Finance Director III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the agenda as submitted. Commissioner Hess seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. April 15, 2008 Commissioner Trippler moved approval of the amended minutes of April 15, 2008 adding "other" before "government" and "s" after "ordinance" in the second paragraph under "b." on page eight. Commissioner Pearson seconded Ayes - Fischer, Hess, Martin, Pearson, Trippler, Walton, Yarwood Abstentions - Boeser, Desai The motion passed. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-06-08 -2- v. PUBLIC HEARING 7:10 p.m. 2009-2013 Capital Improvement Plan Acting City Manager Chuck Ahl presented the staff report, explaining that there are $76 million in projects and improvements included in this proposed plan. Mr. Ahl said this capital improvement plan includes only a one-half percent increase in proposed spending and the reason for this is that the city does not have the funds to do what staff has identified as needing to be done. Mr. Ahl discussed the projects that will not be done and are not included in this capital improvement plan due to lack of funds. Commissioner Trippler said in reference to Mr. Ahl's comment that Maplewood's residential values have decreased four percent, that he recently met with a realtor who advised him that metropolitan area residential values have decreased by nine percent. Mr. Ahl responded that Ramsey County's residential values have decreased by nine percent, but Maplewood's residential values have decreased by four percent. Commissioner Martin questioned staff as to how the projects are prioritized and deferred. Mr. Ahl responded that it is a combined effort of using city staff's knowledge and experience. Mr. Ahl explained using the example that all streets are evaluated and rated by city engineering staff every three years, with the worst rated streets being repaired the first year of the plan. Commissioner Yarwood asked how state aid funding is dispersed and if it can be used only for designated projects. Mr. Ahl responded that state aid projects can be ninety percent bonded and state aid funds can be used only for the specific project designated. Commissioner Hess asked what the funds designated for Gladstone Savanna would be used for. Mr. Ahl responded that the city has received a Pollution Control Agency grant to do an environmental analysis and cleanup of the chemicals left in the railroad yard area of the savanna. Commissioners asked questions regarding some specific city projects and asked staff to explain how projects are financed and budgeted and the project bonding process. Staff responded with the information requested. The public hearing was opened for comments from the public. There were no comments. The public hearing was closed. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the 2009-2013 Capital Improvement Plan. Commissioner Trippler seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all Commissioner Yarwood said he wanted to inform the city council that he feels strongly that the city needs to make a significant, upfront investment in the Gladstone area phase one project in order to see this project move forward successfully. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-06-08 -3- VI. NEW BUSINESS a. 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update - Land Use Plan Review and Discussion Planner Ken Roberts presented the staff report and mentioned that a site analysis form is included for commissioners to prioritize their top ten features to be considered for impact on future development. Commissioner Yarwood noted that there is considerable confusion within the city council, commissions and staff regarding the precedence of the land use plan designations versus the zoning designation for consideration of a property and that this fundamentally changes the comprehensive plan process. Mr. Yarwood said that until this issue is ruled on and answered legally, there should not be further comprehensive plan discussion. Commissioner Pearson said he agrees with Mr. Yarwood on this issue and referred to a past discussion on Hillcrest redevelopment where there was confusion with what designations take precedence. Planner Roberts responded saying that part of the process of the comprehensive plan update is to review parcel by parcel to eliminate inconsistencies between land use and zoning designations of sites. Rose Lorsung of MFRA explained she discussed with the city attorney the issues with the land use and zoning designation precedence. Ms. Lorsung said that the Land Use Planning Act, administered and enforced by the Metropolitan Council, documents that the residential how-much question is addressed in the comprehensive guide plan and not the zoning district. Ms. Lorsung suggested that the city attorney be requested to issue the commission a memorandum with information regarding the matter of land use versus zoning. Ms. Lorsung asked commissioners for comments regarding the text description designations provided to the commission and the need for discussion on neighborhoods. Ms. Lorsung suggested the rural low density development range be revised from .5-1 unit per acre to 2.5 units per net acre for sewered areas. Commissioner Fischer mentioned that a few of the older developed neighborhoods have existing one- acre lots with an occasional % acre lots on some of the side streets. Ms. Fischer said that in preserving the character of the neighborhood, the existing one-acre lots be looked at as a low density residential rather than as a very low density land use. Commissioner Yarwood commented that he would like the second sentence of the rural density residential description declaring "that it is not intended to have a full complement of public services" stricken. Mr. Yarwood said that he feels there is an intent to keep the semi-rural feel to some areas of south Maplewood. Mr. Yarwood explained that he is not necessarily in favor of a two-acre lot minimum in the south Maplewood area, but would prefer to maintain flexibility to encourage other options such as clustering development to minimize the footprint. Ms. Lorsung responded that this flexibility is what the city needs and will be accomplished through the zoning district. Commissioner Fischer asked whether there should be a higher use density than the mixed use and high density housing designation since the medium density housing designation allows for housing to be stacked. Ms. Lorsung responded that the range of the use would be adjusted to a more suitable number to be allowed. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-06-08 -4- It was decided that the commissioners would review the proposed text designation information and submit their written comments to either Mr. Roberts or Ms. Lorsung. Ms. Lorsung said she will compile the commissioners' suggestions of the top ten features for the city's use to impact future development and she will submit a list of the results ranked by importance to the commission at the next meeting. b. 2008 Annual City Tour Planner Ken Roberts confirmed the date of June 30 for the annual city tour. Mr. Roberts asked the commission to review the list of tour sites and let him know of any suggestions or changes. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS . April 28 Council meeting: Planner Roberts reported on this meeting. . May 5 Council meeting: Mr. Trippler reported on this meeting. . May 12 Council meeting: Mr. Hess will attend if needed. . May 26/27 Council meeting: Meeting was canceled. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS None XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m.