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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-04 PC Minutes MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA TUESDAY, MAY 04, 2010 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Commissioner AI Bierbaum Commissioner Joseph Boeser Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Robert Martin Commissioner Tanya Nuss Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner Dale Trippler Commissioner Jeremy Yarwood City Staff Present: Present Present Present Present Present Present Absent Present Absent Tom Ekstrand. Citv Planner The commission expressed sympathy to the family of Sergeant Joe Bergeron and observed a moment of silence in his memory. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the agenda as submitted. Commissioner Desai seconded The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. March 16, 2010 Ayes - all Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the minutes of March 16, 2010 as submitted. Commissioner Desai seconded The motion passed. b. April 6, 2010 Ayes - Bierbaum, Desai, Fischer, Martin, Nuss, Trippler Abstention - Boeser Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the minutes of April 6, 2010 as submitted. Commissioner Boeser seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all Planning Commission Minutes of 05-04-1 0 -2- V. PUBLIC HEARING None VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Cell Phone Tower Ordinance Discussion Planner Ekstrand presented the staff report explaining that the evaluation of the cell phone tower ordinance is one of the commission's 2010 goals. Planner Ekstrand said staff will bring this matter before the commission in late summer, but at this time he is requesting direction from the commission regarding whether the city should hire a consultant to address mapping the city for possible future tower locations. Commissioners noted that technology development is increasing efficiency and has created smaller and smaller pieces and that eventually towers should also have smaller components. Commissioners agreed that since the number of requests for tower installations has decreased while the number of requests for collocations has increased, they felt the ordinance is working. The commission suggested a review of the ordinance to add a condition requiring that if a tower is no longer needed, that the tower be completely removed by the owner. Planner Ekstrand noted that although the planning staff was not notified of any tower removals, the building inspection staff would have been notified and required complete removal and site restoration. Commissioner Trippler moved to direct staff to review the tower ordinance and submit revisions to the planning commission. Commissioner Boeser seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all b. 2010 Tour Route Planning Planner Ekstrand presented the staff report explaining suggested tour visits and asked the commission for additional direction and ideas. Commissioner Trippler suggested a walking tour of one area with a snack along the way. Commissioners responded that a walking tour would not be feasible for some commissioners and also, an alternative would then be needed in case of inclement weather. Commissioner Boeser suggested limiting the bus tour to a part of the city and noted that he feels the trails and paths suggestion would be interesting. Mr. Boeser also favored visiting the Spoon Lake basin and suggested the natural drainage system across from Costco. Planner Ekstrand responded that naturalist Ginny Gaynor has presentation materials on the drainage system beneath the Costco parking lot and of the area across the street and he felt it would be very educational and worthwhile for the commissioners to see. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-04-1 0 -3- A possible tour site of the Gladstone area was also suggested. It was agreed that if the tour is limited to a smaller area of the city, the Legacy Village site, the White Bear Avenue improvements and the Costco drainage sites would be useful. Staff said he would get together a draft of the tour for the commission's review. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. April 26, 2010 City Council Meeting: Planner Ekstrand reported on this meeting. b. Upcoming City Council Meeting of May 10,2010: Commissioner Yarwood is scheduled to attend; Commissioner Nuss is the alternate representative. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS-IN-SERVICE TRAINING a. Dropping Designated Public Hearing Times-Discussion Commissioners suggested either setting no public hearing times or setting a time for the first public hearing with any additional hearing set to follow the completion of the previous hearing. After further discussion with staff, the commission decided that this is the first time they recall a problem with a hearing time, that it is important for applicants to have a scheduled time for each hearing item and therefore, decided to continue with scheduling a time for each public hearing. b. Side by Side Land Use Plan/Zoning Maps-Discussion Planner Ekstrand said that city staff has requested that the zoning changes be completed before the side by side land use plan/zoning maps are done. The commission made map suggestions and agreed to complete the zoning changes first. Planner Ekstrand said he would get a copy of each of the 13 neighborhood maps to the two new commissioners. XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:13 p.m.