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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-15 PC Minutes MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA TUESDAY, JUNE 15,2010 I. CALL TO ORDER Vice-Chairperson Desai 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 Absent Present Absent Present Present Present Tom Ekstrand. Citv Planner Michael Martin. Planner Shann Finwall. Environmental Planner Ginnv Gavnor. Natural Resources Coordinator Michael Thompson. Citv Enqineer Steve Kummer. Staff Enqineer III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Planner Ekstrand welcomed the environmental and natural resource commission, who was present at the meeting for both of the public hearing items. Planner Ekstrand explained that the request by Mogren Landscaping to relocate to a temporary site has been stricken as part of the Goodwill proposal, Item S.b. of this agenda. Mr. Ekstrand explained that Mogren Landscaping will submit a separate request at a later date for a temporary landscape storage site. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the agenda as submitted. Commissioner Trippler seconded Ayes - all The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. May 18, 2010 Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the minutes of May 18, 2010 as submitted. Commissioner Pearson seconded The motion passed. Ayes - Bierbaum, Boeser, Desai, Martin, Pearson, Trippler, Yarwood Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-1 0 -2- b. June 1, 2010 Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the minutes of June 1, 2010 as submitted. Commissioner Pearson seconded Ayes - Bierbaum, Boeser, Desai, Martin, Pearson, Trippler Abstention - Yarwood The motion passed. V. PUBLIC HEARING a. Wetland Buffer Variance and Conditional Use Permit for a Planned Unit Development Request, The Shores at Lake Phalen Senior Housing Proposal by Kaas Wilson Architects, 940 Frost Avenue Planner Martin presented the staff report for this request by Jack Rajchenbach and Albert Miller of Maplewood Senior Living, LLC, to redevelop the 7.02-acre former St. Paul Tourist Cabin site located at 940 Frost Avenue with a senior housing development. Planner Martin said the project, to be called The Shores at Lake Phalen, will consist of 10S units of senior housing in a three- story building with underground parking. Ron Leaf, a consultant for the city, gave a presentation on the storm water maintenance requirements and wetland improvements for this proposal. Link Wilson, of Kaas Wilson Architects, was present representing the owners and developers. Mr. Wilson gave a presentation explaining the request for variances is needed to preserve many of the existing trees on the property. Mr. Wilson said they will be providing 30 cubic feet of storage with shelves per resident in individual storage rooms in the building. Mr. Wilson said they are requesting a 2S-foot setback variance from the wetland and they will be improving the water quality of the wetland tremendously. Commissioner Boeser asked where the loading and unloading will occur for this development. Mr. Wilson said the loading and unloading for the kitchen will occur through the garage. Mr. Boeser said the commission in the past has discussed requiring 10-foot parking spaces for senior developments and asked Mr. Wilson his thoughts on the 10-foot spaces and what would be their ability to move on the 10-foot spaces. Mr. Wilson responded that this facility would not have independent seniors, but will serve only memory care and assisted living seniors. Mr. Wilson said the parking spaces would generally be used by guests and staff. Mr. Wilson suggested that 10- foot-wide spaces be designated for residents, staff parking be underground and visitors use the 9 %-foot-wide parking spaces. Commissioner Trippler said they are proposing to employ 120 people, but will have only S2 parking spaces. Mr. Wilson responded that there will be five shifts for the 120 employees. Mr. Wilson said that at any given time there would be 18-20 staff parked and approximately 10 residents who drive. Mr. Wilson said that even if a granddaughter came with 20 visitors to see her grandmother, he feels there will be adequate parking. In response to a question from Mr. Trippler on staffing numbers, Mr. Wilson showed an overhead diagram and explained how the building would be staffed. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-1 0 -3- Commissioner Pearson said he feels the above ground parking spaces need to be 10 feet wide. Mr. Pearson said he feels the two designated handicapped spaces near the entrance is not enough handicapped parking. Commissioner Pearson asked if soil borings were done on the property previously. Engineer Michael Thompson responded that soil borings were done and the applicant will be submitting a copy to the city. Commissioner Pearson asked for a copy of the soil borings report when it is received. Commissioner Trippler questioned whether a wetland can really be rejuvenated by man and asked if the city has had any experience with this. Engineer Thompson responded affirmatively and sited the Highway 61 and County Road B wetland that the Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District improved with dredging and sediment removal. Ron Leaf, of Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District and consultant for the city, presented information detailing improvements that have been made to wetlands in the area and said that soil borings were then done on these wetlands to show they are improved. Commissioner Boeser suggested that since this is a senior facility and for safety reasons, a railing should be erected on the entire retaining wall. The public hearing was opened to the public for comments. The following people spoke: Mindy Mac Runnel questioned whether there will be enough parking for family celebrations held at the facility. Virginia Davis, of Frost Avenue and East Shore Drive, asked if there would be any walking paths with this facility. Planner Martin responded that there is a trail planned for the west side of the building from the sidewalk to Frost Avenue. Engineer Thompson explained that this trail was proposed to be five feet, but the fire marshal has requested that it be a ten-foot drivable surface. Mr. Thompson said there is a sidewalk running on the south side of the driveway entrance on East Shore Drive that would be connected to a trail that is part of a public improvement project. David Hesley, 2607 White Bear Avenue, said he owns a 60-unit senior facility on Gervais Avenue and a 70-unit facility with underground parking in Mahtomedi. Mr. Hesley said he wanted to give feedback regarding parking concerns. Mr. Hesley said he has been an owner of these facilities for 1S years and they have not had any issues at his facilities with the number of parking spaces provided. Mr. Hesley said the majority of seniors at the facility do not drive, so there is plenty of existing parking. There were no further comments from the public; the hearing was closed. Commissioner Yarwood moved approval of the conditional use permit resolution. This resolution approves the conditional use permit for a 10S senior-housing planned unit development with the Shoreland Overlay District of Phalen Lake. Approval is subject to the following conditions: a. The engineering department shall review and determine approval of all final construction and engineering plans. These plans shall comply with all requirements as specified in the city engineering department's June 7, 2010 review. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-1 0 -4- b. All construction shall follow the plans date-stamped May 24, 2010 and with revisions as noted in this approval. The city council may approve major changes to the plans. City staff may approve minor changes to the plans. c. The project is approved with 28 underground and 24 surface parking spaces. This is a parking reduction of 1S8 parking spaces (210 parking spaces are required per city code.) d. The project is approved with a 147-square-foot floor area reduction in the required unit floor area for the memory care and assisted living studio units (S80 square-foot units are required per city code; 433 to S78 square-foot units are proposed.) e. The project is approved with a 20-foot front-yard setback along Frost Avenue for the one- story dining room and kitchen portion of the building (30-foot front-yard setback required per city code.) f. The project is approved with storage space of not less than 30 cubic feet for the memory care and transitional care units (120 cubic feet of storage area per unit required per city code.) g. All signs on the property must be approved by the community design review board. h. Approval is conditioned on the owner constructing or funding a Gladstone neighborhood entry monument sign at the intersection of Frost Avenue and East Shore Drive. i. Approval is conditioned on the applicant implementing interior or exterior signage which reflects the previous use of the property as the St. Paul Tourist Cabin site. j. The approved landscape plan and tree preservation requirements shall be subject to monitoring by city staff to assure compliance. Minor modifications to these plans shall be subject to review by staff while major modifications shall require city council approval. k. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of city council approval or the permit shall end. The city council may extend this deadline for one year. I. The city council shall review this permit in one year. Commissioner Trippler seconded Commissioner Pearson suggested a friendly amendment to modify Item c. adding "1 O-foot" to the 24 surface parking spaces requirement. Commissioner Yarwood said he did not want to require all 24 spaces to be 1 O-foot-wide spaces and thereby increase the impervious surface. Mr. Yarwood suggested language be added to Item c. recommending but not requiring, that "the applicant seek to develop on average, 10-foot-wide surface parking spaces." Commissioner Pearson agreed with Commissioner Yarwood's suggested language for the friendly amendment. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-1 0 -5- The commission voted: Ayes - all The motion passed. Commissioner Pearson moved adoption of the resolution approving wetland buffer variances from the Manage C wetland on the east side of the site. Approval is based on the following reasons: a. Strict enforcement of the ordinance would cause the applicant undue hardship because complying with all of the wetland buffer requirements stipulated by the ordinance would deplete the site area, substantially diminishing the development potential of this lot. b. Approval of the requested wetland buffer variance would benefit the adjacent wetland because the wetland is currently in poor condition and development of this site will allow for rehabilitation of the wetland and buffer areas. c. Approval would meet the spirit and intent of the ordinance since the proposed restoration and mitigation of the wetland buffers will greatly improve the quality of the wetland. Approval of this wetland buffer variance is subject to the following conditions: a. All permits and approvals by the Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District will need to be secured. b. Satisfy the requirements set forth in the staff report authored by Mr. Thompson, dated June 7, 2010. c. Satisfy the requirements set forth in the staff report authored by Ms. Finwall and Ms. Gaynor, dated May 28, 2010. Commissioner Yarwood seconded Ayes - Bierbaum, Boeser, Desai, Martin, Pearson, Yarwood Nay - Trippler The motion passed. Commissioner Boeser moved approval of the lot division request to subdivide the 7.02-acre parcel located at 940 Frost Avenue. This lot division approval is subject to the following conditions: a. Satisfy the requirements set forth in the staff report authored by Mr. Thompson, dated June 7, 2010. b. Satisfy the requirements set forth in the staff report authored by Ms. Finwall and Ms. Gaynor, dated May 28, 2010. c. Submit to the city a revised plat showing the southern lot labeled as Lot 2, Block 1 , and showing the boundary line shifted to the south to meet residential density requirements as determined by the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Subject to staff approval. d. The applicant shall pay cash connection charges for the new multi-family lots for connection to the water main and sanitary sewer main. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-1 0 -6- e. Deeds describing the two new legal descriptions, including the required trail, drainage and utility easement descriptions must be drafted and stamped by the city. Ramsey County requires this acknowledgment of approval to record the deeds. These must be recorded with Ramsey County within one year of the date of the lot division approval or the lot split will become null and void (city code requirement). f. Prior to issuance of a grading or building permit for the new development on the new lots, the following must be submitted to staff for approval: 1) Proof the Ramsey County has recorded the lot division. 2) A signed certificate of survey showing the location of all property lines. 3) Grading and drainage plan. 4) All necessary permits for sanitary sewer and water must be obtained. Commissioner Trippler seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all b. Wetland Buffer Variance, Goodwill Store Proposal by Kelco Services LLC, 2S80 White Bear Avenue Planner Tom Ekstrand presented the staff report for this request by Jim Kellison of Kelco Services to demolish the two existing buildings at 2S80 and 2S82 White Bear Avenue and replace them with a new Goodwill store. Planner Ekstrand again explained that the part of this request by Mogren Landscaping to relocate to a temporary landscape storage site has been removed from this item and will be considered separately at a later date. Planner Shann Finwall presented information on the wetland buffer variances proposed. Commissioner Trippler had a question regarding the parking required for this proposal and city code requirements. Jim Kellison of Kelco Services responded saying they have revised the required parking spaces, based on a recommendation by the community design review board for 10-foot spaces, and they are now proposing 76 10-foot parking spaces with proof of parking at 79 spaces. Mr. Kellison gave a presentation explaining details on the wetland buffer variances requested and the proposed drainage on the site. Commissioner Boeser asked the applicant to explain the traffic flow in and out of the site. Mr. Kellison noted the plan for entry and exit flow of traffic and said it may be possible for the semi trucks to make deliveries at an off-peak time to help with traffic congestion. The public hearing was opened for comments from the public. The following people spoke: David Hesley, 2607 White Bear Avenue, said he is part of the business and economic commission. Mr. Hesley said Mogren Landscaping's temporary storage site was proposed to be relocated behind his building and he suggested a forum to discuss the ramifications of this redevelopment. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-1 0 -7- Commissioner Yarwood asked if the vision for Mogrens is to remain in this area or ultimately to move somewhere else in Maplewood. Staff responded that Mogrens' temporary storage site was initially proposed for the property south of the car wash. Mayor Will Rossbach, 1386 County Road C East, spoke cautioning the commission not to have discussion about something that is not on the agenda and to stick to discussing the Goodwill request. Mayor Rossbach said the commission could be accused of using information that is not relevant for making their decision and could cast aspersions on the commission's decision making process. Commissioner Martin suggested that since buildings are being demolished and businesses are being displaced, the business and economic commission should review this request. Commissioner Boeser disagreed with Mayor Rossbach saying that this agenda item will cause a displacement of one of the current occupants and to take into consideration the domino effect of what's going to happen with the current property and how it affects the landscape of the area. Commissioner Yarwood agreed with Commissioner Boeser saying that it is within the purview of the planning commission to take a broader approach and look at what is happening in the entire area when evaluating the proposals. Commissioner Boeser said the piecemealing of the series of events that are going to come down the pipe are being piecemealed and proposed from a single source. Commissioner Trippler asked for clarification on the approval of waivers regarding the wetland buffer variances. Mr. Trippler said the lot has not changed since they looked at it and he does not understand why it is an undue hardship for the applicant to comply with city ordinances. Staff explained that it is always difficult to estimate what a "hardship" is, but in this instance there will be improvements made to the buffer where there are none existing and secondly, it drastically reduces the original buildable area. Natural resource coordinator Ginny Gaynor said the wetland ordinance allows for averaging for the hardship reason and asked if the wetlands have been calculated to see if they meet the requirements under the wetland ordinance. Ms. Gaynor said that part of the goal of the wetland ordinance pertaining to redevelopment is to make the wetland better and the wetland buffer proposed for this project is a huge improvement. Commissioner Trippler said he is in agreement with most of this project, but he will not support variances when they exceed SO percent of the setback. Jim Kellison spoke again saying that if averaging calculations were done on the entire wetland setback from the property line, he is certain the setback would be well over SO feet. There were no further public comments; the public hearing was closed. Commission Yarwood said it is a nice proposal and a creative use of a challenging property and he is comfortable with what he sees and he is supportive of it. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-1 0 -8- Commissioner Trippler moved approval of the parking waiver allowing the applicant to provide six fewer parking spaces than city code requires. Commissioner Boeser seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all Commissioner Boeser moved to strike the prior motion and second approved by the commission and replace it with the following "approval of the parking waiver allowing the applicant to provide fewer parking spaces than city code requires per the recommendation provided by the community design review board. Commissioner Trippler seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all Commissioner Bierbaum moved adoption of the resolution approving wetland buffer variances from the creek on the north side of the site and the Manage C wetland on the east side of the site. Approval is based on the following reasons: 1 . Strict enforcement of the ordinance would cause the applicant undue hardship because complying with all of the wetland buffer requirements stipulated by the ordinance would deplete the site area by approximately one half of its original size, substantially diminishing the development potential of this lot. 2. Approval of the requested wetland buffer variances would benefit the adjacent wetland and creek because the site is presently developed up to the wetland and creek edges. 3. Approval would meet the spirit and intent of the ordinance since the proposed restoration and mitigation of the wetland and creek buffers will greatly improve the quality of the creek to the north and the wetland to the east. 4. The Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District has approved the applicant's plans. S. Approval of the wetland buffer variances shall be subject to complying with all of the conditions of approval in the Environmental Review report by Shann Finwall, Maplewood Environmental Planner and Ginny Gaynor, Maplewood Natural Resources Coordinator, dated May 14, 2010. Commissioner Pearson seconded Ayes - Bierbaum, Boeser, Desai, Martin, Pearson, Yarwood Nay - Trippler The motion passed. Commissioner Trippler moved to combine the two lots currently addressed as 2S80 and 2S82 White Bear Avenue into one legally described property. The applicant shall provide evidence that these lots have been combined as one before getting a building permit. Commissioner Pearson seconded The motion passed. Ayes - all Planning Commission Minutes of 06-15-1 0 -9- VI. NEW BUSINESS None VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a.2010 Tour Route Planner Ekstrand explained the route for the upcoming summer tour and noted the Spoon Lake neighborhood preserve and infiltration basin and Kohlman Park improvements have been added. The commission suggested that the Gladstone redevelopment area be dropped from the tour and the dinner break moved up to follow the second stop. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS Mayor Will Rossbach said he is very much in favor of discussion of all of the ideas that the planning commission has about various planning and development things in the city. Mayor Rossbach said when he advises the commission to use caution, as he did tonight, it is because he has sat as a planning commissioner for 14 years, has sat as a council member for six years, and has received training experience on how to not get sued. Mayor Rossbach said the commission cannot introduce evidence into the discussion and findings that have to do with things not before the commission. Mayor Rossbach encouraged the commission to be on solid ground with solid findings. Mayor Rossbach said he would discuss with the city manager getting input from other commissions submitted before the planning commission schedules public hearings. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. June 14, 2010 City Council Meeting: Commissioner Bierbaum reported. b. Upcoming City Council Meeting of June 28, 2010: Commissioner Fischer will attend. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS None XI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:33 p.m.