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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/01/1995-CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES November 1, 1995 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chair Alan Felkner. Members Present: Alan Felkner, Karen Edgeton, Dave Swanson, Paul Oberg, Diane Nagler and Marcia Gowling. Members Absent: Frank Blundetto. Staff Present: Rick Kelley, Tom Lovelace, and Mike Dougherty. Others Present: See the sign-in sheet. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Felkner asked Staff and the Commission members if they had any changes to the proposed agenda. Conmussioner Oberg stated that he would like to add under "Other Business" a brief discussion of the sign regulations. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Swanson, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion carried 6 - 0. 3. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 18, 1995 MINUTES Chair Felkner asked Staff and the Commission members if they had any changes to the draft minutes submitted in the packet. There being none, he called for their approval. MOTION: Member Oberg moved, seconded by Member Swanson, to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion carried 6 - 0. 4. CONSENT ITEMS - None - 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None - Planning Commission Minutes November 1, 1995 Page 2 6. LAND USE/ACTION ITEMS A. Valley Commercial Park 2nd Addition Assistant Planner Tom Lovelace presented the item, which deals with the block of commercial property bounded by Pennock Avenue on the west, 145th Street on the north, Glenda Drive on the east, and 146th Street on the south. The property is currently designated on the Comprehensive Plan for Retail Business use, and is also zoned Retail Business. A public hearing was held at the previous Planning Commission meeting to consider changes in the Comprehensive Plan and zoning designations to some combination of Limited Business and/or General Business. Mr. Lovelace then gave a brief history of why this proposed change in land use designations was occurring. It had been precipitated by a request of Dakota Rental to relocate its business on several of the vacant lots on the southern portion of this block. Such a relocation would have required either a rezoning of the property, or an amendment to the permitted or conditional uses within the existing Retail Business zone. Mr. Lovelace stated that White Funeral Home now has an interest in those vacant lots, and that a Limited Business zoning would be necessary for a funeral home to locate there. Commissioner Nagler asked which businesses would become nonconforming if the property was zoned to a Limited Business category. Mr. Lovelace stated of all the existing businesses currently operating under the Retail Business categories, the vast majority of them also are permitted within the Limited Business category. The only one which would become a nonconforming use would be the emergency animal. care veterinary clinic located on Pennock Avenue. The Apple Valley American Legion located on Glenda. Drive is listed as a conditional use in a Limited Business category. Commissioner Edgeton asked if a conditional use permit was also required for a private club, such as the legion, to exist in a Retail Business zone. Community Development Director Rick Kelley reviewed the Retail Business ordinance and reported that it was. in fact a conditional use in a Retail Business. category as well. Commissioner Swanson asked what would happen if the veterinary clinic leaves. Mr. Lovelace stated that when the clinic ceased business, it could not be reestablished, and the building would have to be used for some other permitted Limited Business use. MOTION: Member Nagler moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for the entire subject lot to a Limited Business designation. The motion carried 6 - 0. MOTION: Member Nagler moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of a rezoning of the entire block to a Limited Business classification. The motion carried 6 - 0. Planning Commission Minutes November 1, 1995 Page 3 Rick Kelley noted that the City Council will review the Comprehensive Plan designation change at their November 7th meeting. A subsequent act to rezone the property would have to await review of the Comprehensive Plan amendment by the Metropolitan Council. Commissioner Gowling thanked Staff for the additional neighborhood maps which identified the adjacent business uses for this item. 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Livable Communities Act and Ordinance Evaluation Rick Kelley noted that as part of the participation by the City in the Livable Communities Act, we will be expected to evaluate our current zoning regulations and other ordinances to determine if any of them create inadvertent barriers or difficulties in the production of affordable housing units. One of the issues which has come up from time to time, and which has been discussed by the Commission at several meetings, has been the provision requiring a conditional use permit for synthetic building materials on multifamily buildings. While the City has typically approved this type of conditional use permit, it unfortunately often becomes a point of contention with neighborhood groups which feel that the City is allowing a developer to get away with some type of construction standard that is not otherwise. allowed. In order to do away with that perception, it has been suggested that the City amend its zoning regulations to allow these types of synthetic building materials by right, and under specific criteria which does not require a formal conditional use permit. Commissioner Swanson noted that the last several years has seen a dramatic improvement in the quality and appearance of synthetic siding materials such as vinyl, aluminum, and steel. He said that while he could understand people's concerns and reluctance to see it used on large multifamily buildings in the past, he does not believe that concern is any longer warranted. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to duect Staff to investigate and draft proposed ordinance amendments concerning the use of synthetic building materials on multifamily buildings, and to set a public hearing before the Planning Commission to review such an ordinance amendment. The motion carried 6 - 0. Planning Commission Minutes November 1, 1995 Page 4 8. OTHER BUSINESS A. Signage Coimuissioner Oberg stated that he wished an opportunity to discuss this item since this evening's agenda was quite light. He said that in the short time that he has been on the Commission, he has noted that the two or three times that commercial signage variances appear before the Commission, the focus on business identity and visibility seems to have had a rather narrow focus. He referenced, for example, the recent discussion for the Kennedy Transmission awning canopy sign. He said that because the canopy was going to be internally lit and was an appendage to the building, some of the Commissioners felt that the entire canopy itself should be treated as a sign for determination of calculating sign area, while others felt that only the area containing the .letters or signed copy should be subject to the sign area calculations. He said that in discussing the issue of whether or not the canopy as a building architectural feature was a sign, it made him think of other azchitectural features which reflect a corporate identity. He referred to such things as the oversized American flag being flown at the Perkins Restaurant; the style and high pitched red roof of the Pizza Hut; and such things as the red, white, and black striped canopies at the Boston Market; and even such things as church steeples. He said this could obviously be carried to the point of abswdity, such as having the roof of a building designed to actually look like the product that is sold inside. He said that he has wondered whether other Comnssioners have ever drawn similar parallels between building designs and signage. Alan Felkner said that regarding the Kennedy Transmission canopy sign, it was true there had been discussion among the Commissioners whether or not the lit canopy should be considered to be a sign in its entirety. He said that Staff review of adjacent communities' ordinances indicated that the standard operational procedure is to consider only the sign copy area, and not the entire canopy within the calculations. Rick Kelley stated that many of the issues that Commissioner Oberg has raised deal with what are referred to as "trademazk" buildings. He said that often in older communities with large numbers of historic buildings, there are specific regulations which prohibit the construction of such "trademark" buildings in order to ensure architectural compatibility with the older structures. He said that in the case of Apple Valley, where our downtown has been essentially created from scratch in the very recent past and does not have any historic buildings, it would be very difficult to justify a prohibition against "trademark" buildings. 9. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Oberg, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 6 - 0. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.