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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/18/1995 CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES January 18,1995 1. CALL TO ORDER Prior to the meeting being called to order, the oath of office was administered to new Commissioner Paul Oberg by City Clerk Mary Mueller. The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. by Chairman Alan Felkner. Members Present: Alan Felkner, Frank Blundetto, Karen Edgeton, Marcia Cowling and Paul Oberg. Members Absent: James Cady and Len Miller. Staff Present: Rick Kelley, Kathy Bodmer, Mike Dougherty and Keith Gordon. Others Present: See the sign-in sheet. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Fellrner asked Staff and the Commission Members if they had any proposed amendments or changes to the agenda. There being none; he called for its approval. MOTION: Member Cowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to approve the draft agenda as submitted. The motion carried 5 - 0. 3. MINUTES OF JANUARY 4,.1995 Chair Felkner asked Staff and Commission Members if there were any proposed changes to the draft minutes submitted with the Planning Commission packet. There being none, he called for approval of the minutes. MOTION: Member Cowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to approve the minutes of January 4, 1995, as submitted. The motion carried 5 - 0. 4. CONSENT ITEMS -None - Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 2 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Apple Valley Chrysler Expansion Chair Felkner opened the public hearing with the standard remarks. Assistant City Planner Kathy Bodmer presented the item, which. is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of County Road 42 and Galaxie Avenue, boundaried on the south by 151st Street. The property is designated on the City's Comprehensive Plan for either Retail or General Business uses. It is currently zoned for General Business use. An automobile dealership is a permitted use in this zoning district. The existing building is constructed of a tip-up concrete panel, with a raked corduroy finish. Subsequent to the construction of this building, the City amended its exterior building material standards in commercial districts to require either all brick or natural stone. The property owner wished to expand the building, and to use the same type of concrete panel with a raked corduroy finish, The use of a building material other than brick or natural stone now requires a conditional use permit. Because the building expansion exceeds 50 percent of the existing building, if a conditional use permit were not approved,. the City would also have the authority to require the existing structure to be refaced with exterior materials that conform to the current City regulations. The developer would paint the addition to match the existing building;. which is a light gray color with a double red bandmg feature neaz the top. They also intend to replace the tinted glass. along the upper tier of the display windows with clear glass. Ms. Bodmer then displayed an overhead transpazency with the three criteria required to allow approval of a conditional use permit. She noted that two-thirds of the surrounding buildings currently have materials other than natural brick and stone and that the proposed addition would be constructed of a material of comparable quality. Staff is recommending that if a concrete panel is used, it be of the same color as the underlying or natural color of the existing concrete panels. Bodmer noted on the site plan that. the parking area on the east side of the building would be removed to accommodate the building expansion, and that the remaining area on this side would contain a raised automobile display area and extensive landscaping. She noted that on the site plan a certain number of parking stalls are being designated for customer and employee parking purposes as requested by Staff. Since one of the purposes of the expansion is to provide for space to accommodate the Isuzu vehicle line, as well as the Chrysler products, it will be important for the property owner to manage the inventory so that customers and employees aze not squeezed out of the parking lot. Ms. Bodmer noted that the petitioner has suggested a maintenance bond to allow the use of a painted masonry unit as opposed to an impregnated color unit. The reason for this is that the Planning Commission Minutes January 18,1995 Page 3 light gray color that they wish to use on the building is not a stock color available in impregnated units. It is Staffs opinion that an ongoing maintenance bond presents an administrative burden to the City, and that everyone would be better off if the underlying color of the precast unit all matches so that if the paint ever needed to be removed, the natural color would match. Ken Nordby of NAI Architects then spoke. He stated that the underlying color of the existing concrete panels is a stock color and will be easy to match with the panels that they wish to purchase. This means that in the future the owner would have the ability to remove the paint and apply a clear chemical sealer so that the walls would not have to be repainted. Commissioner Oberg asked if the removal of the parking aisle and tier on the east side of the building might present a traffic circulation problem. Mr. Nordby stated that they are trying to cluster the customer parking area primarily on the north side. of the building. The customer parking provided on the south side is intended to be used for parts and service work. He does not believe that this will create a problem. He also: noted that if the sales exceed their projections, the property owner may pursue the acquisition of a remote lot for storage of inventory. He said that this is a typical approach. Chair Felkner and Commissioners Edgeton and Blundetto stated that they felt the addition of green space and landscaping on the east side of the building was very desirable, and did not feel that any circulation problem would exist. Chair Felkner asked if Staff felt that a maintenance bond for the painted masonry units was desirable. Staff responded that it was not. Chair Felkner then asked if the petitioner had any further comments or presentation. Mr. Nordby stated that he was excited over the addition of the landscape feature on the east side of the building because it would be a real asset for the site. He also noted that it was important to them to receive approval to use the tip-up concrete panel to match the existing building rather than have to use brick or natural stone. Chair Felkner then asked if there was any public comment. There being none, he closed the public hearing. Chair Felkner noted that it is the policy of the Commission not to act on an item the same night as its hearing,. but if it is a noncontroversial item, the Commission will entertain an action. He then asked if a Commissioner wished to place a motion on the table for approval. Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 4 MOTION: Member Edgeton moved, seconded by Member Gowling, to recommend approval of the conditional use permit for the alternate exterior building materials, subject to the new concrete panels having an underlying color which matches the underlying color of the existing panels. The motion carried 5 - 0. MOTION: Member Edgeton moved, seconded by Member Gowling, to recommend approval of the site plan and building permit authorization for the Apple Valley Chrysler addition, in accordance with the attachments. The motion carried 5 - 0. SB. Comprehensive Plan Amendment -Utility Chapter and Sanitary Sewer Chair Felkner opened the public hearing with the standazd remarks. Acting Community Development Director Rick Kelley presented the item. He noted that the existing sanitary sewer service in the City is divided up among three primary districts: the east trunk district, the central trunk district, and the west tmnk district. At this time, only the eastern and western trunks have been constructed, with the most northern portion of the central district being provided sewer service via a diversion to either the east or the west districts. The existing text of the Utility Chapter in the Comprehensive Plan notes that the installation. of the missing southern portion of the central trunk should be programmed for some time after the year 1995. Based on the recent past rate of growth in the community, the City Engineering Staff have performed an analysis that indicates both. the east and the west trunks will be at or above capacity at the time the remaining vacant property in the eastern and western service districts are developed. These calculations are based on the average sewage flow generation from the expected uses. If specific heavy water and sewer users end up locating on these undeveloped properties, such as hotels, restaurants, or certain industrial plants, the trunks will actually be over capacity. For this reason, it is recommended that the Comprehensive. Plan be amended to provide for installation of the missing. southern central trunk in the year 1995. Mr. Kelley then displayed a series of transparencies that indicated the missing trunk portions and what is being proposed for construction at this time. The trunk that is proposed to be constructed would actually come up from the City of Lakeville and terminate at Apple Valley's southern border along County Road #46. Installation of other trunk or lateral connections from County Road #46 are not being programmed at this time, but the City would have the opportunity to make these extensions when they are deemed desirable. Commissioner Blundetto noted that this had been discussed at a previous Commission meeting, and that the Council had been discussing it for some time as well. He asked how far down along the approval process the project has gone. City Engineer Keith Gordon and City Attorney Mike Dougherty responded that at this time the City Council has approved the Planning Commission Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 5 installation of the trunk in concept, and have directed the Engineer to prepare plans and specifications for its installation. It is necessary for the City's Comprehensive Plan to be amended to change the installation date for this central trunk before the process can go further. Even after the Comprehensive Plan has been amended, there will be a number of additional steps, such as the preparation and execution of the joint powers agreement with the City of Lakeville; additional Metropolitan approvals; issuance of permits from the Pollution Control Agency and Department of Natural Resources, and an environmental assessment worksheet review process. Commissioner Blundetto asked if the Commission would see this issue before it again. City Engineer Keith Gordon noted that since the Commission deals only with the broader policy issues, this would be the last time that they would see it, presuming that an action is taken this evening. There being no public comments on this issue, Chair Felkner then closed the public hearing and asked if the Commission desired to make a recommendation on it. MOTION: Member Oberg moved, seconded by Member Gowling, to recommend approval of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment as submitted for the sanitary sewer trunk installation in the central trunk district. The motion carried 5 - 0. 6. LAND USE/ACTION ITEMS -None - 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS - None - 8. OTHER BUSINESS - None - 9. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, ±o adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 5 - 0, and the meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Commissioner Blundetto reminded Staff that the inclusion of City Council meeting minutes with the Commission packets was important to all of the members.