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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/04/1995CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 4, 1995 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 7:06 p.m. by Chair Alan Felkner. Members Present: Alan Felkner, Karen Edgeton, Dave Swanson, Frank Blundetto, Paul Oberg, Diane Nagler and Marcia Cowling. Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Rick Kelley, Kathy Bodmer,. Keith Gordon,. and Sharon Hills. Others Present: See the sign-in sheet. Z. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Felkner asked Staff and the Commission members if they had any changes to the proposed agenda. There being. none, he called for its approval. MOTION: Member Swanson moved, seconded by Member Cowling, to approve the draft agenda as submitted. The motion carried 7 - 0. 3. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 20, 1995 MINUTES Chair Felkner asked Staff and the Commission members if they had any changes to the draft minutes submitted in the packet. It was noted on the first page under the approval of the September 6, 1995, minutes that the motion maker was Member Cowling rather than Member Oberg. There being no other changes, Chair Felkner called for approval of the amended minutes. MOTION: Member Cowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to approve the amended minutes of September 20, 1995. The motion carried 7 - 0. 4. CONSENT ITEMS - None - 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Apple Valley Chrysler Plymouth Condition Use Permit for Outdoor Display and Storage Chair Fellrner opened the public hearing with the standard remarks. The item was introduced by Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer. Ms. Bodmer identified the site location on Planning Commission Minutes October 4, 1995 Page 2 the southwest corner of Galaxie Avenue and 151st Street. The property is currently guided on the Comprehensive Plan for general business uses, and is zoned under a planned development for a variety of auto service and sales uses. A conditional use permit is required for outdoor display and storage. Ms. Bodmer noted that the planned unit development standards stipulate that a minimum of 5% of lot area be devoted to buildings in new car sales and storage lots. In this particular case, the lot is not contiguous to the exisflng Apple Valley Chrysler Plymouth dealership, being separated by 151st Street. If the property on both the north and south sides of 151st Street is combined, then the recent addition to the Apple Valley Chrysler Plymouth building on the north side would bring the total lot occupancy to 5.4% which would be above the minimum required. Ms. Bodmer also noted that the City Attorney's office recommends that any conditional use permit approved for sales and storage on this southern property have a stipulation that it continue to be held in joint ownership with the Apple Valley Chrysler Plymouth dealer on the north side.. Ken Nordby of NAI Architects then approached the Commission. He thanked Ms. Bodmer for her introduction and thorough analysis in the Staff report. IIe then referred to the site plan and addressed some of the concerns over the raised display area. He noted that the front face of the raised display area would have a decorative block treatment rather than bare concrete. He said that the lighting. plan was just now being submitted to the City and that they will average 20 to 25 foot candles on the storage and display lot. Chair Felkner noted that recent changes in state. law concerning the maximum. amount of time allowed for site plan and zoning issues indicates that the Commission should take action this. evening. Commissioner Edgeton asked the petitioner to point out where the raised display area was occurring on the site plan. Mr. Nordby pointed out the area along. Galaxe Avenue and a small portion along 151st Street. Commissioner Edgeton asked how high this display area was. Mr. Nordby responded that it was about two feet above grade. Commissioner Edgeton then asked if there was any landscaping in front of the display area. Mr. Nordby stated that the only landscaping would be the boulevard trees previously installed by the City along the road. He also pointed out that the keystone rock faced block would face the edge of the display area. Chair Felkner asked Staff if they were satisfied with this treatment. Ka by Bodmer stated that Staff would still like to see some low landscape plantings in front of the raised display area. Commissioner Edgeton stated that she was not too concerned about the face of the 151st Street platform, but was concerned about the Galaxie Avenue side because it is part of the City's ring route. She would like to see some shrubs along that face. Commissioner Blundetto asked the petitioner if they had any concern about an automobile accidentally rolling off the edge of the display platform. Mr. Nordby stated that Planning Commission Minutes October 4, 1995 Page 3 they were not concerned about this, but would be more concerned about the installation of a barrier curb which would very likely cause customers viewing the cars to trip and fall off the edge. Chair Felkner asked if the cars on the raised display area would be unlocked. Mr. Nordby stated that all of the cazs in the lot would be locked, and would only be unlocked by an accompanying. sales person upon request. Commissioner Swanson asked if the raised display area would be constructed of poured concrete. Mr. Nordby explained that it would be a poured concrete product with an exposed aggregate finish on the top, and the backside would be a washed concrete face. The side facing the street would have a keystone facing. Chair Felkner asked if there were any other Staff issues. Ms. Bodmer stated that the display platform issues had been adequately addressed, and that the site lighting plan. had just been received and would be reviewed by the Council. Chair Felkner then asked if there were any members of the public wishing to address this item during the hearing. Mark Hebert approached the Commission and stated that he was the owner and operator of the Mr. Tire. and Auto Mall located on the north side of 151st Street. He stated that he was glad. to see this vacant property being developed for another auto related use. There being no further comments, Chair Felkner closed the hearing with the standard remarks. Commissioner Edgeton asked if Staff had any concern over pedestrian crossings of 151st Street between this storage and display lot, and the main building and facility on the north side of the road. Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer stated that Staff had not evaluated this issue in detail, but noted that there was a sidewalk along Galaxie Avenue; 151st Street is stopped at Galaxe. Commissioner Nagler noted that 151st Street loops through and then has a T Intersection at County Road 42. She thinks that it has a relatively low amount of traffic and would not be difficult for a pedestrian to cross safely. Commissioner Swanson asked what assurance the Commission would have that the raised display platform would be built as stated by the petitioner. Community Development Director Rick Kelley stated that these conditions would be within the conditional use permit resolution approved by the City Council, and that they should further be referenced in the Planning Commission recommendation. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the conditional use permit with the conditions as stated by Staff. The motion carried 7 - 0. Planning Commission Minutes October 4, 1995 Page 4 MOTION: Member Cowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the site plan and building permit authorization, subject to the platform surfacing, facing and landscape treatments as stipulated by Staff. The motion carried 7 - 0. SB. Diamond Path Townhomes II Chair Felkner opened the public hearing with the standard remarks. Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer introduced the item, which is located at the dead end of Echo Lane, south of Diamond Path and west of Pilot Knob Road. This item has appeared before the Planning. Commission at previous meetings under request to rezone to an "M-3C" category. This new public hearing deals with an "R-5" duplex zoning and preliminary plat for 12 dwelling units.. This is a much lower density than had been discussed before and is the result of ongoing soil investigation which has revealed much of the site is not economically feasible to build on because of the depth of poor soils. Commissioner Edgeton asked what the density would be in an "R-5" zone. Ms. Bodmer stated that the "R-5" zoning district requires a minimum of 7,500 square feet of land area per dwelling utrit, and that 12 units are being proposed here. Tom Bisch of Heritage Development approached the Commission. He said that this has been an extremely difficult piece of land to work with, and that he wished to thank the City Staff (Kathy Bodmer; Keith Gordon; and Rick Kelley) for working closely with them on possible alternative development plans that were economically feasible. He said the density is at 2.4 units per acre, and that less than 10,000 square feet of existing wetland would need to be altered in order to accommodate the roadway construction project. He said that. they have continued to retain the existing landscape buffer on the north side of the property adjacent to the. existing townhome development, and that the length of the cul-de- sac has been shortened to reduce costs. and to minunze the amount of hard surfaces on the site. He stated that the discovery of poor soils has dramatically limited the amount of building locations. Even with the lower density and shorter cul-de-sac, there are still a few setback variances which must be approved in order to keep the buildings off the poor soils. Commissioner Edgeton asked if the extent of the poor soils has kept the developer from staggering the building setback locations, as had been suggested by the Commission. Mr. Bisch stated that this was the case. Commissioner Edgeton asked if the building design wiLi be modified to try to address the barracks look when uniform setbacks have to be used. Commissioner Swanson suggested perhaps varying roof lines might work. Mr. Bisch stated that the roof lines will be broken between units and that half of the building face will have brick. Chair Felkner asked Staff if there were any other issues which needed to be addressed. Ms. Bodmer noted that while the individual lots for the duplex units greatly exceed the 7,500 square foot minimum, there are a few of them which are less than 50 feet in width. This narrow width is a result of the poor soils which has pushed the building pads closer together than normal. She also noted that in "R-5" districts, all lots. are presumed to Planning Commission Minutes October 4, 1995 Page 5 front upon a public street; in this case a private street is being used for 10 of the dwelling units, and technically requires a variance. Private streets are more typically permitted in multi-family zones. Because a portion of the wetland is proposed to be filled for the street construction, there is a 60 day notice required to allow comment on the filling from affected state agencies. Ms. Bodmer concluded by stating that the Commission may wish the developer to prepare a plan that identifies the limits of the poor soils to better understand the selected development plan, and that also a new elevation plan of the two unit building be submitted to identify the building materials and breakup of the roof line. Commissioner Nagler asked if a landscape plan had been prepared. Ms. Bodmer stated that landscape plans aze only required for commercial and multifamily projects and plats. Since this is an "R-5" duplex plat, there is no City requirement for a specific landscape plan. Commissioner Edgeton asked the. size of the water surface on the north pond. Mr. Bisch stated that the water held in this ponding area is seasonal and does not actually have a permanent water surface. Commissioner Edgeton asked the City Engineer if the street design for the cul-de-sac is different than typically used in the City. Mr. Gordon stated that the long "tail" of the shared private drive coming off the. end of the cul-de-sac makes it appear strange. However, there would be a valley gutter at the edge of the public street surface to delineate where the private drive begins. Mr. Gordon also noted that the standard cul-de-sac in diameter in the City is 94 feet, and that. because there are so few units on this cul-de-sac, it has been reduced to a 90 foot diameter. Commissioner Edgeton asked what the standazds for an emergency vehicle turnaround on the private drive would be. Mr. Gordon stated that they are required if the private drive is over 150 feet in length. Mr. Bisch noted that the townhome association would be responsible to plow and maintain the. private drive, and that the association and documents for the Diamond Path Townhomes I area would be amended to include these 12 units within. it. Commissioner Edgeton asked if Building Number Two could be turned slightly. The Engineer for Heritage Development explained the soil boring tests which have occurred on the site, and the varying depths of poor density soil which have limited their ability to site or turn buildings on the property. Chair Felkner then opened the hearing to public comment. Chip Birquist of 12851 Eastview Ctiuve approached the Commission. He noted that with the "12-5" zoning district, no overflow off street parking is being provided, and stated that the City might want to be aware that some parking within the public street cul-de-sac would likely occur. He also stated that the wetland azea currently has about a 30 square yard portion that holds water and freezes over during the winter months. Mr. Bisch stated that the reason some water is retained over the winter months is that the existing farm driveway blocks the natural Planning Commission Minutes October 4, 1995 Page 6 flowage. When this property is developed and a storm sewer is installed, the wetland would drain out during the winter months. There being no further comments, Chair Felkner closed the hearing with the standard remarks. Chair Felkner then asked Staff how the new state timeline requirements would be affected by the need to go through a separate review for the wetland filling process. He was informed that when a separate agency has an independent review process such as this, the 60/120 day clock of the new statute does not begin until that separate agency's review process has been complete. Chair Felkner then reminded the petitioner that they would like to see building. elevation of the new duplex units at the next meeting. 6. LAND USE/ACTION ITEMS A. Academy Townhomes Commissioner Swanson left the Planning Commission dais at this time. Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer introduced the item which is located north of 143rd Street, between Hayes Road and Gazdenview Drive. She noted that since the Staff report was prepazed, a new site plan was delivered to the City, which has been distributed to Commissioners this evening. Staff has not had an opportunity to perform a thorough analysis of this latest plan. Chair Felkner stated that he would. prefer time to look over this. plan before it is formally discussed before the Commission and any action taken. Conunssioner Edgeton asked why the plan had not been formerly reviewed. Ms. Bodmer stated that it was received yesterday, and that Staff had not had an opportunity to look at it in detail yet. Commissioner Edgeton asked what the outstanding issues were over this proposed development. Ms, Bodmer stated that the plan submitted in the packet. has a small parking lot. in the southeast corner which was not usable due to the steep trail leading up to the amts. The new plan has demonstrated some parallel parking along the north. access drive. Setbacks need to be confirmed here. The revised grading plan also shows slopes in excess of 3 to 1, and no foundation plantings have been identified on the plan. The City has received several objections to the proposed vacation of the unconstructed portion of 142nd Street from neighbors living to the north of the project. The City has also received a verbal objection from Northern Natural Gas concerning the grading plan and location of parking in the northeast portion of the site, but the Northern Natural Gas representative believes that revisions on the latest plan can be changed to become acceptable. Sharon Hills of the City Attorney's office then distributed a memorandum from Mike Dougherty to the Commissioners. This memorandum deals with. ownership of property beneath street easements or platted right-of-ways. She noted that the real issue for the City here is whether or not the right-of-way is being used for a public access purpose. Any potential property tax issues would not be significant. Chair Felkner asked what "significant" would be. Ms. Hill stated that she did not have numbers available, but again noted that this does not affect the actual title to the property if the adjacent right-of-way is vacated. Chair Felkner asked that Staff try to get ballpark figures from the County Assessor's office at the next meeting. Planning Commission Minutes October 4, 1995 Page 7 Commissioner Oberg asked what the difference between this unconstructed portion of the street is from that of Eleanor Lane. Community Development Duector Rick Kelley stated that there are two primary differences. Number one, the developer will formally request a vacation of the unconstructed portion of the street. And number two, all adjacent parcels have access to other improved public streets. Commissioner Edgeton asked what impact the vacation has regarding the City's requirement for greenspace. Mark Hebert, the developer, stated that if the street is vacated, the half of the right-of-way that he would be able to use will allow him to meet the requirement. for 60% greenspace and 20% maximum building coverage. If the street were not vacated he would probably haue to drop at least one dwelling unit. He stated that irrespective of the vacation of the street, the existing topography dictates that access to the site needs to occur onto 142nd Street at the northwest corner. Commissioner Blundetto stated that he was concerned over trying to discuss and analyze the new data represented by the revised site plan that was just distributed this evening. He said that he feels a need to take the time to review and digest this revised site plan prior to discussing it. Commissioner Edgeton noted that the site is properly zoned for multi-family uses, and that if no variances are necessary, the. City should not beat the project to death. with an extended review. Commissioner Nagler stated that she was concerned about trying to evaluate a site plan that they had just received this evening, especially if Staff has not had time to evaluate it either. Commissioner Oberg asked for the developer to try and explain in a few sentences the difference between the plan submitted this evening and the one. that was included in the packet. Commissioner Edgeton asked that Staff try to display both the old and. the new plans together on the overhead projector. Mr. Hebert stated that number one, he had eliminated the remote parking. lot in the southeast corner. Number two, he had added two groups. of four parallel parking stalls on the north access drive by moving the buildings about nine feet south. Number three, he had eliminated the paving and grading issues over the pipeline in the northwest corner of the site. And number four, he had revised the grades in order to save a few more mature oak trees. Commissioner Blundetto raised the issue of the 142nd Street vacation again. He stated that i± had been represented that the 1976 plan submitted when this property was initially zoned showed what? Mr. Hebert stated that that old development plan had indicated a street going through, but only on the south 30 feet of the right-of-way. Part of the right-of-way as it is platted now on the north came from the Sherman Heights plat which was not filed until 1979. Commissioner Blundetto stated that he would still like to see a neighborhood map with the site plan overlaid upon it in order to understand how all of the properties relate to one another. Commissioner Cowling asked City Engineer Keith Gordon if it was possible for the townhomes to receive access from Hemlock Court in the southeast. Mr. Gordon stated that Planning Commission Minutes October 4, 1995 Page 8 while anything is possible, this would be very difficult and probably is not practical because of the steep slopes. Chair Felkner asked Mr. Gordon to compare the proposed slope to Butte Avenue, which is the steepest street in the City and is closed over the winter months. Mr. Gordon stated that Butte is an 18% slope and that at a 5 to 1, this would probably be a little bit more, about 20%. Chair Felkner stated that the Commission would hold this item over to the next meeting. and hope that they would be able to make a recommendation. at that. time.. 6B. Kennedy Sign Variance Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer introduced the item and said that several weeks. ago the Commission had. reviewed a similar request on a sketch plan basis. At that time the Commission had directed Staff to evaluate and prepare an ordinance revision to accommodate sign copy on canopies. Given the current workload, planning and legal staff will probably not get around to making these revisions. until late fall or early winter at the earliest. Kennedy Transmission has stated that they wish to put the sign up this fall, and have therefore pursued a vazance request. While canopy signs are currently permitted in the ordinance, they are limited to a one foot by six foot area as a pedestrian oriented sign. Kennedy Transmission is requesting to place the canopy and sign copy only over the employee entrance on the west side of the building.. They would. remove the existing building sign located. near the top of the building wall on this face. The sign area would be 48 squaze feet, which. would be less than the maximum permitted for sign copy based on the floor area of Kennedy Transmission. Commissioner Edgeton asked what the size of the existing building sign to be removed was. No one present knew the answer to that question. David Kennedy of Kennedy Transmission explained what they were trying to accomplish with the canopy sign. Commissioner Blundetto stated that he still felt that some judicious tree trimming of trees located on the neighbor to the north would help Kennedy Transmission's visibility issues. MOTION: Member Swanson moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the sign variance. The motion carried 7 - 0. There was a general discussion among the Commissioners who felt that the final request from Kennedy Transmission represented a good compromise from that discussed at the sketch plan. DISCUSSION ITEMS Chair Felkner noted that he had discovered that three of the Commission members would not be available for the October 11th meeting. It was suggested that the informal Planning Commission Minutes October 4, 1995 Page 9 meeting be rescheduled. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Oberg, to move the informal meeting from October 11th to October 25th. The motion carried 7 - 0. Rick Kelley reminded the Commissioners that the Metropolitan Council will be holding an open forum the evening of October 9th. Information on this meeting had been previously distributed. 9. ADJOURNMENT .MOTION:: Member Edgeton moved, seconded by Member Gowling, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 7 - 0. The meeting adjourned at 8:34 p.m.