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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/05/20041. Call to Order MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, April 5, 2004, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes a. March 15, 2004 5. Public Headngs a. Proposed DQ Grill and Chill (West of 1760 Beam Avenue) 1. Land Use Plan Change - BC-M (business commercial modified) to BC (business commercial) 2. Zoning Map Change - BC-M (business commercial modified) to BC (business commercial) o New Business a. Alley Vacation - East of English Street, south of County Road B (North of 2200 English Street) 7. Unfinished Business None 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations a. March 22 Council Meeting: Mr. Pearson b. April 12 Council Meeting: Mr. Trippler c. April 26 Council Meeting: Mr. Desai 10. Staff Presentations a. Workshop Session with City Council (Public Hearings) - May 3, 2004, 6:00 PM 11. Adjournment 'T MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2004 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. I1. ROLL CALL Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Jeff Bartol Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Commissioner Mary Dierich Commissioner Paul Mueller Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner Dale Trippler Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Staff Present: Ken Roberts, Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary II1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Roberts added item X. b. under staff presentations the Gladstone Redevelopment process. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the agenda as amended. Commissioner Trippler seconded. Ayes- Bartol, Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the planning commission minutes for March 15, 2004. Chairperson Fischer noticed in the March 15, 2004, minutes the recording secretary inadvertently left off the last motion for item D. the approval of a lot division, for Venburg Tire, which was corrected prior to the meeting and was inserted into the revised minutes on page 8. Commissioner Dierich had a word clarification on page 4 in the 4th paragraph. Change the word confused in the first sentence to concerned. Commissioner Trippler had a sentence clarification on page 6 in the 2nd paragraph. The words in bold should be added to the sentence and should read: Commissioner Trippler asked the applicant what the two large doors on the west side of the building are for and what was going to be on the other side of the two doors? Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the planning commission minutes for March 15, 2004, as amended. Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -2- Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes- Bartol, Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler V. PUBLIC HEARING a. Proposed DQ Grill and Chill (West of 1760 Beam Avenue) Mr. Roberts said Mr. Tom Schuette, representing the property owner, is proposing a change to the comprehensive land use plan map and the zoning map. This request is for the vacant property on the south side of Beam Avenue, between US Bank and the Ramsey County Library. Mr. Schuette is proposing these map changes to accommodate a future DQ Grill and Chill restaurant with an outdoor menu board and a drive-thru pick-up window. The specific design plans for the restaurant will require a separate review and are not being considered at this time. Commissioner Dierich asked if there was a reason this couldn't be done by a variance verses changing the zoning? Mr. Roberts said the state law doesn't allow you to do a variance for a use or zoning designation, it only allows a variance for measurements or setbacks. Commissioner Dierich asked if in the past the city had ever changed the BC-M zoning to accommodate this type of a use? Mr. Roberts said yes for the 5-8 Club, otherwise the only other BC-M zoning is along Beam Avenue. Commissioner Dierich asked how large the R3-C property was behind the residential homes? Mr. Roberts said the R3-C property is about 1.6 acres and could contain 9 units. Commissioner Dierich asked what the setback was for BC-M from residential and for BC for residential. Mr. Roberts said the setback is the same for all commercial districts. He said for a parking lot it has to be setback at least 20 feet and the building has to be at least 50 feet from another residential property. Commissioner Dierich asked if it would be more acceptable to staff to have the DQ Grill and Chill closer to the library and move the drive thru to the other side of the building so people would not exit out into the ally? Mr. Roberts said that's a detail that has not been looked into but it makes more sense to him. Commissioner Dierich asked what staff envisioned for the rest of this site if this is zoned BC? Mr. Roberts said Mr. Schuette could answer the question. Commissioner Pearson asked if there was any plan for the rest of this site? It appeared after they bulldozed the site there is a lot of debris, garbage and old tires that need to be cleaned up. Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -3- Mr. Roberts said that would be reviewed as part of the site plan review but staff hasn't gotten to that level of detail yet. Commissioner Trippler said he read the statute in the staff report and asked why the bank and the drive thru wasn't excluded from the BC-M zoning? He thought a drive thru at a bank would have the same type of problems that a drive up window at a restaurant would have and therefore, should have been excluded from the BC-M zoning. Mr. Roberts said it could have the same type of problems. The bank was built in 2002, which was the last time the BC-M code was changed. The BC-M district lists banks as a permitted use but doesn't differentiate between banks and banks with drive up facilities. He said staff may have to review that for a possible code change. Commissioner Trippler said he read the residents complaint regarding the bank drive thru window and the issue that they can hear the teller/customer conversations in their house. Mr. Roberts said as far as the speaker systems go the hours of operation for a bank are not as late as restaurant hours. Commissioner Trippler said he understands that the parcel that site is looking at will not be immediately adjacent to residential and currently there is a duplex and a single family home on the corner. He asked, isn't it possible that there could be some additional dwellings built on the properties marked R3-C, which would be practically right next door? Mr. Roberts said the properties marked R3-C would be getting close to this site. Commissioner Dierich asked staff wasn't the purpose of the BC-M zoning so there would be a break between residential and commercial property? Mr. Roberts said the code was set to have transition between properties. The city has to draw the line somewhere, which they have, however the applicant requested that the code be changed. Commissioner Bartol said it would be inappropriate to not consider what type of businesses are operating in this location and the time of day they are operating. The bank is primarily a daytime operation and the restaurants are early evenings to late nights. He asked what type of hours the city could expect from a drive thru restaurant like the proposed DQ Grill and Chill? He would compare the drive thru issues to parking lot activity that can get loud and intrusive in the evenings. He asked if there was any consideration within the BC-M zoning for the type of business that is being conducted? He said a speaker box operating during daytime hours may be more acceptable than one that is operating at all hours of the night such as until 12:00 a.m. Commissioner Mueller asked if the reason DQ Grill and Chill asked for BC zoning is for the drive thru? Mr. Roberts said the applicant's request for the zoning change is for both the drive thru window and menu board for DQ Grill and Chill. Commissioner Mueller asked if DQ only had a menu board outside would a zoning change still be required? Planning Commission -4- Minutes of 04-05-04 Mr. Roberts said yes. Commissioner Mueller asked if the applicant didn't request a drive thru pick up window and menu board then the zoning could remain BC-M? Mr. Roberts said yes. Commissioner Mueller asked what the difference was between DQ Grill and Chill and the regular DQ restaurants we are familiar with in the city? Mr. Roberts said he understood the difference to be the DQ Grill and Chill is a more upscale DQ restaurant with more seating and an expanded menu and is open for breakfast. Commissioner Mueller wondered why there was a need for 66 parking spaces as shown on the plan at the DQ Grill and Chill? Mr. Roberts said this restaurant is new to the area and that many parking spaces may be necessary for this type of an establishment. Commissioner Mueller asked if the alleyway behind the proposed DQ Grill and Chill would still be used for garbage pickup and deliveries or would it end at US Bank? Mr. Roberts said regardless of what happens with this request the existing alleyway will remain. Commissioner Mueller said in the past there have been discussions that the commission shouldn't make decisions on what "might" be built in the future but to only look at the proposal before them. He thinks it's a good idea to look at what "could" be built in the future and how that could affect the area and problems that could be created in the future. Chairperson Fischer read the Maplewood Code in the staff report on page 19, item h. and asked if the city does any monitoring to see if these uses are in compliance for noise? Mr. Roberts said staff has on occasion gone out after a complaint has been made but that subsection in the code is specifically for fuel stations and maintenance garages. Chairperson Fischer asked when staff has found the owners to be out of the noise compliance was it from the wind blowing a certain direction and making the sound carry louder or was the noise a problem to begin with? Mr. Roberts said in the 15 years that he has worked at the city more often than not the noise complaint has been because the wind and background noise has added to the problem, especially next to busy roadways such as Beam Avenue. There have probably been 2 times noise levels have been out of compliance and the city has been able to work with the owner to fix the problem. Commissioner Desai said Mr. Brandt's letter in the staff report talks about various complaints regarding the businesses in this location, such as noise, traffic, garbage, parking, etc., he asked if the city had been aware of these problems and did the city addressed these issues? Planning Commission -5- Minutes of 04-05-04 Mr. Roberts said he was not aware of these complaints until he read Mr. Brandt's letter. After reading Mr. Brandt's letter he discussed these issues with the Environmental Health Inspector who was going to go to the site to investigate and has not yet reported back to staff. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to address the commission. Mr. Tom Schuette with Azure Properties, the property managing company representing the applicant, and residing at 811 West County Road F, Shoreview, addressed the commission. Commissioner Trippler asked Mr. Schuette if it is absolutely essential that this restaurant have a speaker system and drive thru window? Mr. Schuette said yes it is. Commissioner Trippler asked if it would be possible to rotate the restaurant to another position on the property? Mr. Schuette said the DQ restaurant representatives have a concept and the drive thru is an integral part of the concept. Regarding the position of the building to the street and the signage he cannot answer. Commissioner Trippler asked if the building was placed in the back of the property as opposed to being closer to Beam Avenue to be compatible with the other buildings? Mr. Schuette said the plan is to continue to place the buildings at the back of the properties with an access road behind and in front of them and a third access across the front of the property. The largest reason for putting the building along the back is to give visibility to all of the various buildings. He said if they moved one of the buildings closer to the street it would disadvantage all of the properties. Commissioner Trippler asked what the plan was for the back south lot line and how they are going to shore that up to make that usable? Mr. $chuette said they would have to do that according to the code and requirements. Commissioner Trippler asked if anyone has approached the applicant regarding any other parcels of vacant property in that area? Mr. $chuette said the applicant has been in conversation with a variety of prospects generally restaurants but they have also had conversations with prospective office buildings. They anticipate if they did an office building that it would be along the west end where it could extend closer to Beam Avenue without hindering the visibility. Commissioner Mueller asked for more information about the Grill and Chill and the need for 66 parking spaces? Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -6- Mr. Schuette said in his experience the more parking the better it is for business. The other point is that the 71/2-acre site has cross parking arrangements with US Bank and the Outback Restaurant, which works particularly well because one is a day user and the other is an evening user. Mr. Schuette said they have encouraged the Grill and Chill to maximize their parking spaces on the site so they don't find themselves with a future parking problem. He is aware the city requires a certain amount of green space and landscaping and he anticipates they would be able to comply with the code. Commissioner Mueller said it appears the applicant is getting very close to encroaching the wetland buffer area and eventually the other buildings will have to be moved farther north. Mr. Schuette said it is possible the building will have to be moved farther north but they are not that close to closing a deal on the next site. The city has granted variances from the 75 feet, which is farther than most communities for a setback. He said they hesitate completing the deal with the DQ Grill and Chill before knowing if the city is going to welcome this proposal or not. The Maplewood Mall area is a busy regional commercial center and that is what the city wants it to be. The DQ Grill and Chill is a fun new concept and people would welcome this type of establishment in the city. Commissioner Mueller said he doesn't have a problem with the restaurant it's the issues with the site that the commission is bringing up that he is concerned with. Commissioner Trippler asked if he owns the other parcels of property? Mr. Schuette said he manages the property but a single owner owns the properties. Commissioner Trippler asked if there was a reason the DQ Grill and Chill has to be on that particular portion of property or could it be moved closer to the Ramsey County Library property? Mr. Schuette said they have reasons the DQ Grill and Chill should be moved closer to the library but DQ has indicated as recently as today that they want to be in this location. Commissioner Trippler said he has a problem with DQ being built on this particular site but he would not have a problem if it was built closer to the library and repositioned. Commissioner Dierich asked staff if the problem was the drive thru with the menu board and the outside speaker or just two of the three? Mr. Roberts said it's the drive thru pick up window and the outdoor menu ordering board that are the problem. Both are excluded in the BC-M code. Outback and Chili's restaurants have curbside delivery but in that instance customers call ahead to order and someone from the restaurant brings their order out to their vehicle and that is allowed by code. Commissioner Dierich said she is not comfortable with changing all of the property to the BC zoning and she is worried about the future of the property. She said she is okay with changing this particular piece of property to BC zoning but she is not comfortable changing the whole property to BC zoning. Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -7- Commissioner Pearson asked if the applicant could eliminate two or three parking spaces on the north to create a wider ingress/egress to Beam Avenue and directing the traffic exiting from the sites out to Beam Avenue rather than out to Southlawn Drive? He said he didn't think it was the Planning Commission's intention to have Southlawn Drive become a major thoroughfare along side the residential units. Mr. Schuette said they do have two driveways to Beam Avenue, however only one is shown on the plans. The driveways are marked right in and right out so no west bound traffic can enter from Beam Avenue. He said he believed Southlawn Drive was intended to provide access to the property, which was zoned commercial. Commissioner Pearson asked in addition to the speaker system where would other noise making equipment be located such as blowers and air conditioning? Mr. $chuette said those issues have to be addressed according to code. Commissioner Pearson asked if typically those would be on the roof of the building? Mr. Schuette said he is almost certain the equipment would be roof mounted. Commissioner Mueller asked if the plan was to have pavement across the front of the Outback Restaurant and US Bank and then stop or continue on? Mr. Schuette said the plan is to run the roadway across the Outback Restaurant, US Bank, DQ Grill and Chill and continue running it in front of future developments. The back driveway will stay there and would likely be used by the US Bank customers as well as customers of DQ. Commissioner Desai asked if the road south of the Outback and US Bank would be restricted to be used as a service road for delivery trucks? He drove there today and noticed it was a narrow road and doesn't appear to be wide enough to have two drive lanes. Mr. Schuette said it is their intent to have the roadway available for deliveries and for customers. He said the road is fairly wide and he thinks it is a 24-foot wide roadway. Mr. Schuette said DQ Grill and Chill has a serious interest in being in this location and would like to be part of the Maplewood community. They would build a nice restaurant and would be a welcome neighbor. The issue here is the zoning. By its terms it is not the right zoning for this proposal because they are not adjacent to residential property. Now that this area is developed to the point that it is to meet the modified zoning, he thinks it is more appropriate in this commercial center to have commercial zoning. Beam Avenue was heavily assessed and was built to carry the traffic and was planned for this. They are just trying to meet the demand for who wants to be in this location. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody else wanted to address the commission regarding this proposal? Mr. Jon Brandt, 2831 Southlawn Drive, Maplewood, addressed the commission. Mr. Brandt is a Maplewood resident who lives behind the proposed DQ Grill and Chill restaurant and sent in a letter with his comments and concerns, which he read aloud. His letter is shown on page 16 in the staff report. Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -8- Commissioner Mueller asked Mr. Brandt if he is the one who is building the future townhome development on the property marked R3-C in the staff report west of the proposed DQ Grill and Chill or does he have plans for the townhomes to be built by somebody else? Mr. Brandt said he is going to be the general contractor for the future townhome development and has already had discussions with community development and public works staff for possible building to begin this summer 2004. Commissioner Bartol said he is very sympathetic with Mr. Brandt's concerns. He said if no zoning changes were made another restaurant similar to the Outback Restaurant could go in that location that could create similar adverse effects that he is already experiencing or another bank could go in there as well. It seems to him that the problems that already exist with the bank and restaurant would also occur with the DQ Grill and Chill and he wanted to know from Mr. Brandt what would change having the DQ restaurant built there? Mr. Brandt said having the DQ built would only add to the already existing problems that are occurring. They recognized and accepted that there would be some commercial burden to buy residential property adjacent to commercial property. He is hoping the city will limit the commercial burden the nearby residents have to bare. If there is development on that property his hope is there would be other uses on that property such as restaurants without a drive thru, businesses that are not open on the weekends or late nights, and other businesses that fall under the BC-M zoning. The traffic flow through the commercial alleyway is something the residents never anticipated. At first they thought the alleyway would be used for deliveries to the Outback Restaurant and then US Bank came in and the residents started realizing that all the traffic from the bank would be exiting through the alleyway past their homes. Because it was a permitted use at the time objecting would not have changed a thing. The additional traffic and noise impacts that would result from an additional drive thru restaurant such as the DQ Grill and Chill would be an unacceptable commercial burden on the residential properties. Commissioner Bartol said if a drive thru restaurant is not built there another restaurant could be built there and you would still have increased delivery noise in the morning and parking lot noise in the evening as well as more traffic. Mr. Brandt said they don't have a choice regarding that, the property will be developed and the residents accepted that when they bought the residential property. The problem is if a drive thru restaurant such as DQ Grill and Chill is built in this location the traffic will exit through the alleyway and onto Southlawn Drive instead of out onto Beam Avenue. Commissioner Mueller asked Mr. Brandt what he meant by his statement "a commercial development may diminish the value of my residential property?" He asked if Mr. Brandt meant that having the DQ Grill and Chill in that location would diminish the value of his home or would it diminish the future value of the townhome development property? Mr. Brandt said his home is adjacent to the Outback Restaurant and it would diminish the value of both his home and the future townhome property. Commissioner Mueller said the planning commission is reviewing this to decide if they should change the zoning to allow for a drive thru window and speaker box. If the commission doesn't make any changes another restaurant or bank could be built in that location. Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -9- Mr. Brandt said he hopes the city controls the layout of this site for whatever gets developed in this location to help with the traffic flow with any future developments. He wouldn't mind if DQ Grill and Chill was moved closer to the Ramsey County Library away from the residential homes. He is not objecting to a DQ restaurant being in the area, he is objecting to having the commercial impacts so close to the residential homes. Chairperson Fischer asked anyone else in the audience to come forward if they would like to address the commission. Mr. Will Rossbach, Maplewood City Councilmember and Maplewood resident, 1386 County Road C East, Maplewood, addressed the commission. Mr. Rossbach said Mr. Brandt telephoned him regarding the protocol of the meeting and he decided to stop in to hear this evening's discussion. He asked planning commissioners to ask themselves what is it that has changed from when the city put this zoning into place originally to remove the zoning that was already put in place? When the BC-M zoning was put in place the idea was to protect the residential areas from commercial encroachment and being a burden to current residential areas or areas that are planned residential. He asked the commissioners to consider that statement in their decision making process for this item as well as considering the comments made by the resident. Regardless of what development goes in this location, there is an issue that nobody foresaw and that is that an alleyway behind the businesses has become a thoroughfare and that was not intended and should be addressed. He said he had asked staff for information on the bigger question of traffic in the Maplewood Mall area, but he has not received anything as of yet. The Legacy Village area has been patterned off of pedestrian friendly neighborhoods and areas requiring less vehicular use. A restaurant that has a drive thru window attracts more vehicular traffic then a restaurant without a drive thru. He would question whether that is the right move. He is concerned about the zoning being changed from BC-M to BC because of what "could" be built on the remainder of land. Before he makes his decision as a member of the city council he will get information regarding the traffic generation from the different types of use that "could" occur in this location. He thinks the way the code reads the drive thru at US Bank was an oversight and should be changed. Nobody thought of the noise that could occur from a drive thru at a bank and the impact from it on residential property this distance away. Commissioner Bartol said he would agree with almost everything Mr. Rossbach said. His comment is the potential alleyway traffic problem is not going to change no matter what gets built on this land. Mr. Rossbach said the problem with the alleyway could be changed. There is nothing that says that you have to continue to create an additional burden beyond what is already there. Any piece of property can be laid out to funnel traffic out of the area the direction you want. Commissioner Bartol said however, that is a design decision and not a zoning issue. relative to current design issues the city has an alleyway problem. Mr. Rossbach said correct. He said Commissioner Mueller asked what the hours of operation are for the DQ Grill and Chill? Mr. Roberts guessed 6:00 a.m. since they will be serving breakfast and open until maybe 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -10- Commissioner Mueller said it sounds like it would operate like a Burger King or McDonald's. Commissioner Pearson said he would not support this plan because he doesn't like the traffic flow and it would complicate the use of the alleyway that was not intended. He thinks there should be some type of barriers to change the traffic flow from the US Bank. He does not think the alleyway was intended to be a main thoroughfare for the customers exiting the bank. This is an opportunity for the city if they are going to go forward with this project to change the traffic flow and the use of the alleyway that is occurring on the backside of the property. If you move forward with this project the way the traffic flow is proposed it will only make the problem worse. Chairperson Fischer asked staff if the US Bank proposal had been reviewed by the Planning Commission or only by the CDRB? Mr. Roberts said the planning commission did not review this project because the proper zoning was already in place and the CDRB reviewed it for the design issues. Commissioner Mueller said he agrees with Commissioner Pearson's comments and he is concerned about the traffic, alleyway and the noise. He is also concerned about changing the zoning from BC-M to BC and what would happen with the remaining land. He understands DQ Grill and Chill is excited to be a part of the area and wants the city to give a little leeway. If DQ really wants to be part of Maplewood they may be willing to change a little as well to fit the zoning that is in place already. Commissioner Desai said he understands the request by other commissioners to move the building closer to the Ramsey County Library but he still has a concern with the traffic routed through the parking lot to the alleyway causing more problems for the residents. Mr. Brandt's comments are well taken and he believes there will be a lot of traffic from the DQ Grill and Chill. Young drivers will be using the drive thru and exiting the alleyway at all hours of the day and night and this is a concern for him. Unless DQ Grill and Chill can revise the traffic flow onto Beam Avenue it is not a viable proposal for him. Commissioner Trippler said he likes Dairy Queen but he doesn't like where the proposed DQ Grill and Chill is planned. If the building were moved next to the library and if the traffic were rerouted onto Beam Avenue he would be supportive to change the zoning for only that parcel. He doesn't feel comfortable changing the BC-M zoning to BC on this parcel or the parcel next to it because it is too close to the residential properties. He would recommend that the city council take a look at the BC-M zoning code to correct the problem with the drive up teller windows at banks. He doesn't know how that category was missed in the review process. He spent some time watching the traffic in that area today. Every car that exited from the drive thru window drove behind the Outback Restaurant in the alleyway and exited onto Southlawn Drive. There is hardly a car that can make the turn from the drive thru out into the parking lot and onto Beam Avenue. Therefore, he cannot support this plan. Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -11- Commissioner Dierich said she does not support this proposal either. She believes there are other areas that DQ Grill and Chill could be located in Maplewood such as across the street or in the Legacy Village area rather than this particular site. The Legacy Village area will have senior citizens, families and children that could walk to the DQ and that would be a convenient location for them. The owner of the property is not being very realistic since the alley cannot go through the wetland buffer area because the wetland is already adjacent to or into the parking lot there is no way it can go that far. She would agree with the other commissioners that DQ would be better placed next to the library and the traffic flow should exit out onto Beam Avenue. She would like to see Dairy Queen here and she would like to be able to work with both the developer and DQ Grill and Chill but she does not believe this proposal is where it should be built. Commissioner Pearson moved to ~dcpt deny the land use plan change resolution starting on page 24 of the staff report. This resolution changes the comprehensive land use plan map for the vacant property on the south side of Beam Avenue between US Bank and the Ramsey County Library from BC-M (business commercial modified) to BC (business commercial). (Changes to the recommendations are stricken and the new recommendations are in bold.) Commissioner Pearson moved to ~dcpt deny the zoning map change resolution on page 26 of the staff report. This resolution changes the zoning map for the vacant property on the south side of Beam Avenue between the US Bank and the Ramsey County Library from BC-M (business commercial modified) to BC (business commercial). (Changes to the recommendations are stricken and the new recommendations are in bold.) Commissioner Bartol seconded. Ayes-Bartol, Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on April 26, 2004. Chairperson Fischer said she would be comfortable with this proposal if the DQ moved next to the library with the open space behind it and away from the residential properties. The reasons for the denial were the planned use did not meet the BC-M requirement, and intensity too near existing and planned housing. VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Alley Vacation - East of English Street, south of County Road B (North of 2200 English Street) Mr. Roberts said Laura Schryver and Angel Bernal are requesting the vacation of an unused alley right-of-way. The vacation is requested for a 20-foot-wide alley right-of-way located to the north of 2200 English Street, between English Street and County Road B. Mr. Roberts said Angel Bernal's father and mother, Domingo and Trinidad Bernal, own the property at 2200 English Street. The property is 0.85 acres in size and is the site of the Bernal family home. The property is located to the south of the unused alley right-of-way. '] Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -12- Commissioner Pearson said the vacant land is really a site that collects garbage and litter and needs some cleaning up. Mr. Roberts said staff will make sure the Code Compliance Officer goes to the site and contacts the proper people to make sure it gets cleaned up. Commissioner Desai asked who would own the alleyway? Mr. Roberts said 10 feet on the north side would be equally divided between the two parcels to the north and the 10 feet on the south side would go to the applicant's property. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to address the commission. Ms. Laura Schryver, 2288 - 12th Avenue East, North St. Paul, addressed the commission. Ms. Schryver and Angel Bernal, her fiance, would like to build on the property. Digging into the history of the property they discovered the alleyway needed to be vacated. They are proposing to buy the land on the north side, which currently Ed Caves Associates owns. Mr. Peter Bernal, 4609 Carolyn Lane, White Bear Lake, addressed the commission. He understands the comment made about the clutter and garbage on the site. His father had a stroke a few years ago and if has been difficult for his adult children to get out and assist him with cleaning up the property. The three brothers plan on building on the property when their parents are gone. Commissioner Mueller moved to adopt the resolution on page six of the staff report. This resolution vacates the unused alley right-of-way located north of 2200 English Street, between English Street and County Road B. The city should vacate this right-of-way because: 1. It is in the public interest. 2. The city and the adjacent property owners have no plans to build an alley in this location. 3. The adjacent properties have street access. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes-Bartol, Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on April 26, 2004. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. I Planning Commission Minutes of 04-05-04 -13- IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS Mr. Pearson would have been the planning commission representative at the March 22, 2004, city council meeting, however there were no planning commission items to discuss. b. Mr. Trippler will be the planning commission representative at the April 12, 2004, city council meeting. Items to discuss include the setback variance and CUP for Venburg Tire and the Easement Vacation for Van Dyke Village. c. Mr. Desai will be the planning commission representative at the April 26, 2004, city council meeting. Items to discuss include the Land Use Plan Change and Zoning Map Change for the proposed DQ Grill and Chill and the Alley Vacation East of English Street Chairperson Fischer mentioned that she has information regarding various planning workshops, which commissioners could sign up to attend. Please see Lorraine for signing up otherwise you may contact Andrea Sindt, the department Secretary for Community Development. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Workshop Session with City Council (Public Hearings) - May 3, 2004, 6:00 p.m. Mr. Roberts reminded commissioners to mark their calendars to attend this workshop regarding which commission should hold public hearings and how often they should be held. b. Gladstone Redevelopment process Mr. Roberts said the Gladstone meeting of March 29, 2004, was cancelled primarily because staff thought the neighborhood coalition needed time to meet and put some things together. It is staff's hope to meet with the Gladstone representatives by the end of April to discuss their concerns and hopes. Staff will come back to the planning commission some time in May with more information to share. Xl. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:38 p.m.