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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/21/2004MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, June 21, 2004, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes a. June 7, 2004 5. Public Headngs None o New Business a. Maple Tree Townhouses (Southlawn Ddve) Preliminary Plat 10. 7. Unfinished Business None 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations a. June 14 Council Meeting: Ms. Dierich b. June 28 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer c. July 12 Council Meeting: Mr. Pearson Staff Presentations a. Annual Tour 11. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2004 (This meeting was not cablecast) I. CALLTO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Jeff Bartol Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Commissioner Mary Dierich Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Michael Grover Daniel Lee Paul Mueller Gary Pearson Dale Trippler Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Staff Present: Ken Roberts, Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary Erin Laberee, Staff Engineer III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Trippler seconded. Ayes - Bartol, Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Grover, Lee, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the planning commission minutes for June 7, 2004. Chairperson Fischer had several clarifications to the minutes. On page 3, in the seventh paragraph, first line, change the word estimates to believes. On pa_ae 7, in the fourth paragraph, second line, delete the word not. On pa.qe 17, in the first paragraph, change the word assist to desist. In the third paragraph, after the words decision is, add the word still. On pa_~e 18, in the fourth paragraph, remove the word planning in the second sentence and change commission to commissions. On pa.qe 22, in the fifth paragraph, in the second sentence, add the word never after he has also. On page 23, in the second paragraph, it should read: Chairperson Fischer said if the commission had the prerogative to submit two people's names and *~' ......... ~-'~*'~'~ the council te chose one of the two names, that may meet some of the concerns about thc c!t'.-'ct!cn thct !c being expressed here. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-21-04 -2- Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the planning commission minutes for June 7, 2004, as amended. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Ayes - Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Grover, Lee, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler Abstention - Bartol V. PUBLIC HEARING None VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Mapletree Town houses (Southlawn Drive) Mr. Roberts said Mr. Jon Brandt is proposing to build nine town houses (in three, 3-unit buildings) and ten additional detached garage spaces in a development called Mapletree Townhomes. It would be on a 1.51-acre site on the west side of Southlawn Drive, south of Beam Avenue. A homeowner's association would own and maintain the common areas. The proposal would have three, 3-unit town house buildings, two detached garage buildings (with a total of 10 parking stalls) and a 20-foot by 40-foot maintenance/community building. Each town house would have a two-car attached garage, a deck and a patio area. There also would be 11 open parking spaces. Commissioner Trippler asked if the second proposed utility plan shown on page 28 of the staff report was the preferred plan by staff? Mr. Roberts said correct. Commissioner Trippler asked if it would be possible to raise the elevation of the property so the buildings would be high enough so a gravity sewer fed line would work? Two out of the three buildings are high enough for a gravity line but the third building is too Iow. Commissioner Trippler asked if enough fill could be brought in to raise the third building? Ms. Erin Laberee, Maplewood Staff Engineer, said that would require structural retaining walls to be built and additional fill and that gets very expensive. However, the developer could better address the issue. Commissioner Dierich asked if there was an impervious surface allotment for medium density as there is for single family? Mr. Roberts said only if it is in a shoreland district and that this development is not. Commissioner Dierich asked who the owner is of the property behind US Bank? Mr. Roberts said the property west of Mr. Brandt's property is owned by Ramsey County open space and the other part is owned by the city as part of Hazelwood Park. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-21-04 -3- Commissioner Bartol asked if the shoreland district excluded a creek? He did not see Kohlman Creek in any of the drawings in the report. He asked if the creek was of concern to this property and the answer was, no it was not, other than its proximity to the property. Mr. Roberts said a planning commissioner previously had much discussion about what the correct definition of a creek or a stream was. The watershed district allowed the creek to be put into a pipe near the new Tillges Medical building because some of it had been disturbed earlier. The city code about protecting creeks and streams only applies to the first 50 feet next to the water site and this is at least 100 to 200 feet away from Kohlman Creek. Commissioner Bartol said he assumed the holding pond and the sump hole would be constructed before any building began. During the construction process there is a lot of dirt and silt that gets washed into the holding pond. His concern is that the pond would be damaged before construction was complete. Mr. Roberts said it's his understanding if there were problems with the pond the developer would be responsible for digging the pond out and making it right. Staff would have to monitor the building and site construction until some type of turf establishment was done. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to address the commission. Mr. Jori Brandt, the applicant for Mapletree Townhomes, 2837 Southlawn Drive, Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said he didn't have a formal presentation for the commission but he was available to answer questions. Commissioner Trippler asked if the applicant had checked into raising the elevation of the third building so a gravity fed sewer line could be put in? Mr. Brandt said they had looked into that. The property is about 20 feet below the street and would require an enormous amount of fill. That end of the property would be so high above the surrounding ground and it would require significant engineering of retaining walls to hold the property above the surrounding land. Commissioner Trippler asked if that would cost more than putting in the gravity fed sewer line? Mr. Brandt said it would be about a half an acre of area that would have to be raised. From discussions with consultants he assumes that process would be cost prohibitive and that was ruled out very early in the discussion process. Commissioner Desai asked if the development would be done in phases or would certain buildings just be built in phases? Mr. Brandt said buildings 5 & 6 would be built simultaneously. He said they are hoping for an occupancy permit for Building number 1 this fall. They plan on framing buildings 2 and 3 this fall and hope to complete construction on those two buildings over the winter. Lastly, the garages on lot 4 would be constructed next spring. They are planning on having a layer of asphalt put down for the winter. Commissioner Dierich asked if Mr. Brandt could further discuss the landscape plan? Planning Commission Minutes of 06-21-04 -4- Mr. Brandt said Bachman's designed the landscaping plans shown on pages 30 through 33 in the staff report. The plan is to add more spruce trees to the landscape plan and will replace some of the dogwood trees that were proposed by Bachman's along the driveway and on plan details c and d in the staff report. Commissioner Dierich said she was looking for additional height in the landscaping plan and wondered how screening would take place with the current plan. Mr. Brandt said they would be adding evergreen trees in all the landscaped areas and would be adding more deciduous trees on the plan. He wasn't aware of the tree replacement plan until Mr. Roberts pointed it out to him. Because of this they are more than willing to plant more trees on the property as there are many spots on the property for additional trees. Commissioner Bartol said the fire marshal's comments were somewhat vague. He is concerned about the maneuvering of emergency vehicles and how they would get to certain areas of the property. Mr. Roberts said access to the west of the building doesn't necessarily mean access by emergency vehicle. As long as emergency personnel can get back there by foot, that was the main concern. He said staff would double check with the fire marshal again to ensure there are no issues or concerns regarding proper access. Commissioner Mueller moved to approve the Mapletree Townhomes preliminary plat (received by the city on May 24, 2004). The developer shall complete the following before the city council approves the final plat: 1. Sign an agreement with the city that guarantees that the developer or contractor will: ao Complete all grading for overall site drainage, complete all public improvements and meet all city requirements. b. Place temporary orange safety fencing and signs at the grading limits. c. Pay the city for the cost of traffic-control, street identification and no-parking signs. Provide all required and necessary easements (including all utility easements and ten- foot drainage and utility easements along the front and rear lot lines of each lot and five- foot drainage and utility easements along the side lot lines of each lot. Have the city engineer approve final construction and engineering plans. These plans shall include grading, utility, drainage, erosion control, tree, and street plans. The plans shall meet all the conditions and changes listed in the memo dated June 8-14, 2004, and shall meet the following conditions: a. The erosion control plans shall be consistent with the city code. b. The grading plan shall: Planning Commission Minutes of 06-21-04 -5- (1) Include proposed building pad elevation and contour information for each home site. The lot lines on this plan shall follow the approved preliminary plat. (2) Include contour information for all the land that the construction will disturb. (3) Show housing pads that reduce the grading where the developer can save large trees. (4) Show the parking lot and driveway grades as allowed by the city engineer. (5) Include the tree plan that: (a) Shows where the developer will remove, save or replace large trees. This plan shall include an inventory of all existing large trees on the site. (b) Shows no tree removal beyond the approved grading and tree limits. (6) Show drainage areas and the developer's engineer shall provide the city engineer with the drainage calculations. The drainage design shall accommodate the runoff from the site and from the surrounding areas. c. The driveway, parking lot and utility plans shall show the: (1) Water service to each lot and unit. (2) Repair of Southlawn Drive (street and boulevard) after the developer connects to the public utilities and builds the private driveways. 3. Paying for costs related to the engineering department's review of the construction plans. 4. Change the plat as follows: ao Add drainage and utility easements as required by the city engineer. This shall include an easement for the water main and easements for any other public utilities on the site. The Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) shall approve the description and location of the easement for the water main. bo Show drainage and utility easements along property lines on the final plat. These easements shall be ten feet wide along the front and rear property lines and five feet wide along the side property lines. c. Label the common area as Outlot A. 5. Secure and provide all required easements for the development including any off-site drainage and utility easements. The developer shall complete all grading for public improvements and overall site drainage. The city engineer shall include in the developer's agreement any grading that the developer or contractor has not completed before final plat approval. Commissioner Pearson seconded. Planning Commission -6- Minutes of 06-21-04 7. If necessary, obtain a permit from the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District for grading. 8. If the developer decides to final plat part of the preliminary plat, the director of community development may waive any conditions that do not apply to the final plat. 9. Submitting the homeowner's association bylaws and rules to the city for approval by the director of community development. These are to assure that there will be one responsible party for the maintenance of the private utilities, parking areas, driveways, landscaping and common areas. 10. Record the following with the final plat: a. All homeowners' association documents. b. A covenant or association documents that addresses the proper installation, maintenance and replacement of any retaining walls. The applicant shall submit the language for these dedications and restrictions to the city for approval before recording. 11. Obtain a NPDES construction permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Ayes - Bartol, Desai, Fischer, Grover, Lee, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler Nay- Dierich Commissioner Dierich said the reason she voted nay was because she believed there was too much impervious surface for the size of the site and thought the additional garages should be removed from the plan. The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on July 12, 2004. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-21-04 -7- IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Ms. Dierich was the planning commission representative at the June 14, 2004, city council meeting. Ms. Dierich said there were four agenda items to discuss however, two of the items were taken off the agenda by the applicants so they could take further action before bringing the items to the city council. Trout Land development west of Highway 61 and the new County Road D is being reworked because of the planning commission's desire to have a decrease in density and that the developer had a specific builder interested in the townhomes and wanted to bring the plan back in a completed form. Heritage Square Second Addition was adding parking to the plan as recommended by the planning commission. The twin homes for Olivia Gardens didn't pass and was tabled because of the lay out of the development. The developer has agreed to a time extension and will bring the item back to the city council on July 12, 2004. The Land Use Plan & Zoning Map Changes for Ron Rygwalski at 2086 Edgerton Street passed ayes all. b. Ms. Fischer will be the planning commission representative at the June 28, 2004, city council meeting. Items to discuss include the Code Amendment for public hearings, Code Amendment for the planning commission chairperson, and the Heritage Square Second Addition, assuming the revised parking plan gets to staff on time. c. Mr. Pearson will be the planning commission representative at the July 12, 2004, city council meeting. Items to discuss include the Mapletree Townhomes on Southlawn Drive, the Cahanes Estates Plat at 2415 Minnehaha Avenue, and the Trout Land Development behind Gulden's and Venburg Tire off the new County Road D and Highway 61. Chairperson Fischer discussed the memo sent by the City Manager's office regarding the invitation to attend the city council meeting on June 28, 2004. Mr. Will Rossbach, 1386 County Road C, Maplewood city councilmember, addressed the commission, regarding the memo. He said the reason he came to the meeting was to make sure the commissioners received the invitation by the city council and to ask if there were any questions. Commissioners said they did not have any questions but stated their comments were relayed in the minutes of June 7, 2004, for the city council to review. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Annual Tour Mr. Roberts said at the June 7, 2004, planning commission meeting, the commission picked Wednesday, July 28, 2004, as the date of the annual tour. Planning Commission Minutes of 06-21-04 -8- After sending notices to all commissions and city staff regarding this date, several people informed Mr. Roberts that they would not be available on this date. Mr. Roberts said these include at least two council members and at least three department heads. As such, the commission may want to pick another date for the tour. The first week of August on the 4th or 5th also are possible tour dates. After further discussion and checking their calendars, the commissioners agreed Wednesday, August 11th or Thursday, August 12t~, 2004, works best for the commissioners. Xl. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m.