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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/19/1997CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 19,1997 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Plamiing Commission meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.. Members Present: Alan Felkner, Frank Blundetto, Diane Nagler, Joe McNamara, and Karen Edgeton. Members Absent: Marcia Gowling and Paul Oberg. Staff Present: Rick Kelley, Kathy Bodmer, and Dennis Miranowski. Others Present: See the sign-in sheet. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Felknet 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 Nagler moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to approve the agenda as submitted- The motion carded 5 - 0. 3. APPROVAL OF JANUARY 22, 1997 MINUTES AND FEBRUARY 12, 1997 MINUTES Chair Felkner asked Staff and the Cotmmission members if they had any changes or revisions to the proposed minutes submitted in the packet. There being none, ho called for their approval. MOTION: Member Nagler moved, seconded by Menl6er McNamara, to approve the irtinutes as submitted. The motion carried ~ - 0. 4. CONSENT ITEMS - None - 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS -None - 6. LAND USElACTION ITEMS - None - Planning Commission Minutes February 19, 1997 Page 2 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Sketch Plan Review for Planned Unit Development Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer briefly introduced the item by indicating the proposed site is located on the south side of County Road 42, west of Dodd Boulevard. Mike Faulk approached the podium. Mr. Faulk stated that he is one of the members of the CWB Group who will be developing the property. He introduced the other members of the group and consultants present this evening, including Homer Tompkins, Joan Faulk, Tim Whitten of Rottlund Homes, and Kathy Anderson of KKE Architects. Mr. Faulk stated that they have been working on this proposed development for approximately one yeai. He noted that the City's Coruprehensive Guide Plan currently indicates this property to be utilized for low density multiple family (LD) at a density of between three and six units per acre. He said that it is a very important piece of property, as it is at the entrance to the city on its east boundary. It is also somewhat challenging to develop iu that it is a somewhat unusual configiuation, beirg of a triangular shape. He said the property is surrounded by several existing residential neighborhoods, and the Fischer Sand and Gravel miniig operations are adjacent to the west bowrdary. They have indicated in the sketch plan a neighborhood center commercial use on the very eastern most portion of the property in the tip of the triangle at Dodd Road and County Road 42, and he understands that a Coiirprehensive Plan amendment would be necessary if this element of the project were to proceed as proposed. He stated that they will be approaclnug the City for an overall Planned Unit Development for the entire parcel. Mr. Faullc then reviewed what he be]ieved was the City's objectives in providing for the development of the property, as well as the developer's objectives. Mr. Faullc then turned the presentation over to Tim Whitten, of Rottlund Development Company. Mr. Whitten approached the podium and stated he is one of the Vice Presidents at Rottlund. He stated they are proposing the construction of a mixture of several different housing types, and that in the recent past their company has also begun incorporating some e]ement of neighborhood commercial within their development in order to meet the demands of the marketplace. What they are proposing here is something that is often referred to "lifestyle housing units." He stated that the attached townhomes adjacent to the proposed retail area is targeted toward the yomtg professionals market, the detached one level townhomes are targeted toward the empty nester market, the two level detached townhomes as well as the more traditional single family homes are targeted toward young families and move up young families. Mr. Whitten went on to state that much of what has appeared in the local press lately concerning new developments has to do with the trend toward "new urbanism" design. That type of development typically includes not only some component of neighborhood commercial, but also narrower lots on narrower streets, as well as alley ways with garages placed on the rear of the stmcture. He stated that they are not proposing that type of development here, but rather one that takes some components of the new urbanism style and incorporates it into the overall neighborhood. Planning Commission Minutes February 19,1997 Page 3 One of the most significant design elements here is the "town square" green space proposed on the very edge of the commercial area which then provides both a buffer axed a gathering area, linking this commercial area into the rest of the residential neighborhoods. He stated that their building design is intended to downplay the garages, even though the homes are placed on narrow lots. He stated that the method of accomplishing this is not to place the garage in front of the dwelling unit, but rather keep it flush with the primary structure. In addition, whenever two story homes are utilized, there would be dwelling space directly above the garage. This is in contrast to some of the other small lot single family developments, where the garage is essentially, though attached to the dwelling, placed in front of the dwelling structure, leaving agarage-dominated streetscape to the passerby. Kathy Anderson of KKE Architects then approached the podium. She stated that they have worked on a number of neighborhood commercial projects designed to mimic some of the new urbanism style in Plymouth, Maple Grove, and some of the other high growth suburban areas. She stated that several of the design elements hicorporated into this type of neighborhood coxrunercial is a number of small buildings or builduigs in broken "L" configurations, rather than a traditional strip center. The use of this type of design breaks up the mass o£ the building, and makes it appear more residential. In additio», by using srnaller massed buildings, they are mare easily able to iucorliorate a steeply pitched roof which once again lends a residential flavor to the building. Finally, some type of common green space or plaza area is often incorporated hito the complex buildings so that it tics a civic component as well as a conmiercial component. She also noted that in the sketch site plan this evening, they have attempted to break up the parking areas into several small parking lots, rathei than one massive parking lot, and place green spaces between those lots. Ms. Anderson then distributed copies of some recently designed neighborhood commercial centers indicating the appearance of the buildings. Commissioner Bhmdetto asked what the residential density of each type of proposed dwelling unit would be. Mr. Whitten stated that the townhome villas are approximately 10 units per acre. The detached townhomes are approximately four to five units per acre, and the mare traditional single family homes known as the "forty series traditions design" is between 2-1/2 and 3 uxuts per acre. Commissioner Edgeton asked why a 55 foot wide lot is proposed for the forty series tradition units, and how this compared to other small lot or Vaditional lot single family dwellings in the city. Community Development Director Rick Kelley noted that the CaroHtou Estates area provided for lots of between » and 65 feet iu width, but did not have a requirement to keep the garages flush with the rest of the dwellings. Mr. Whitten stated that one of the primary reasons they would like to have the lots reduced to 55 feet in width is to reduce the front footage costs of the street and utilities which helps keep the price of these units h~ a more affordable range. Commissioner Nagler asked if any park property was being proposed to be dedicated in this development. Mr. Whitten stated that at this early stage, they have not deternrined with the City whether or not park dedication would be necessary: But he did indicate that the area of the walking trails, as well Planning Commission Minutes February 19, 1997 Page 4 as some of the open spaces near the ponding area, would be available for park purposes if the City determiied it had to be dedicated in that fashion. Commissioner Edgeton conunented that the proposed 1~ foot separation from dwelling unit to dwelling unit in the single family area seemed somewhat dense. Commissioner Blundetto asked Mr. Whitten about the similar project he referenced in West Des Moines. Mr. Whitten stated that the project is only in plazuung stages at this time and there is nothing under construction. Mr. Blundetto noted that in most new urbanism design projects, sidewalks play a very important role, and he asked if sidewalks along the public streets would be included here. Mr. Whitten stated that this was something they could certainly work into their project. Commissioner Edgeton stated that she also thought that sidewalks on all streets would be necessary to achieve the new urbanism feel, especially when narrower streets and reduced setbacks were going to be utilized. She asked whether or not the front porches being illustrated on the single family homes and detached townhomes would be required. Mr. Whitten stated that he agreed thaf it was very important for many design elements to be incorporated into the public space iv order to have a proper relationship of the homes being proposed here and the street. He stated that while the dwellings arc all designed to have the porch included without violating any of the setback standards, and in fact would look best with the porch attached, they do wish to have the porch optional on the part of the home purchaser. Coxcunissioner Edgeton stated that the City has always placed an emphasis on directing all commercial uses to its downtown area at County Road 42 and Cedar Avenue. She stated that while she understands the concept of providing some neighborhood commercial shopping opportunities, she has a concern that the types of permitted conunercial uses here might not necessarily be those strictly oriented toward the neighborhood. Kathy Anderson of KKE stated that they are only interested in providing the convenience retail and service uses that have a Innited market draw. Commssioner Edgeton stated that she simply wants to be sure that those uses do draw primarily from the neighborhood market rather than from the pass- through traffic along County Road 42. Commissioner McNamara stated that there have been several good questions raised this evening. He asked if the overall density included the ponding area. Mr. Faulk stated that it did. Commissioner McNamara then asked what the size of the pond was. Planning Commission Minutes February 19, 1997 Page 5 It is between five and six acres in size. The density calculations, however, do not include the area proposed for conunercial uses. Commissioner McNamara then asked abort the proposed narrower roads and how wide they would be. Mr. Faulk stated that they would be 28 feet in width. Dennis Miranowski, the City's Public Works Director, stated that a 28 foot wide driving surface is acceptable. The driving surface is exclusive of the concrete curb line on either side of The driving surface. Mr. McNamara asked for some clarification on the "village green" area. Ms. Anderson stated that this green space adjacent to the connnercial uses would act as a transition to the residential uses, and in addition would provide a public gathering space that would provide for seating and outdoor dining or picnicking opportunities. Dennis Miranowski noted that access to Comity Road 42 would have to meet Dakota County standards. That would indicate that the accesses located at the quarter mile spachig would have to be what is referred to as "three quarter access" that allows left honing movements off of the County Road into the site, but would not allow left turning movements from the site back onto County Road 42, but rather only right turn out. Commissioner Nagler asked if a 28 foot wide road would have sufficient carrying capacity for the traffic expected to be generated from this neighborhood, and asked where the accesses to Dodd Road would occur. Demos Mirarrowski stated that a 28 foot driving surface exclusive of curbing would be sufficieut to accommodate the traffic that would be generated from the project. It was noted that the access points onto Dodd Road would lisle up with the existing intersections to the Apple Valley East neighborhood on the south side of Dodd Road. Commissioner Nagler stated that she would like to see a comparison of the density of this project to the density of the adjacent residential neighborhoods. Mr. Whitten said he wished to respond to the questions over the density and asked if there was some number of dwellazg units that the Commission feh needed to be eliminated, and if so, was the general layout acceptable. Commissioner Blundetto stated that in his opinion, the issue of density was interrelated with the issue of the design of the units, and that he would not be nervous about that density if the design was appropriate. Commissioner Edgeton asked if there would be uiy special street lighting plan. Mr. Faulk stated that while they didiit have a specific design for the street lighting at this point, it is their intent to come up with a uniform design theme that would affect all elements within the development. Planning Commission Minutes February 19, 1997 Page 6 Commissioner Edgeton asked if they had any samples at this point. Mr. Whitten stated that they did not have them at this time, but they would be presented once they were incorporated into the next level of design if the project moves forward. Mike Faulk stated that in order to try to address the questions raised on the amount and type of commercial here, they had done retail market reseazch prior to coming to the city. He stated that it was their determination that the service area for this site would reach no farther than two miles from the intersection of Dodd and County Road 42. He stated that with an existing traffic count of about 17,000 trips per day along County Road 42, there would obviously be some percentage of those who would utilize the retail complex. He noted that their mazket analysis indicated that the proposed 314 dwelling mots in this neighborhood would represent the prunary trade area. Comrissioner Nagler asked a question over the County Road 42 access. [n particular, she wondered whether or not the commercial driveway proposed at the east end of the site would in fact. be permitted to County Road 42 by the County Highway Department. She also asked if the three-quarter access at the quarter mile spacing (Dmidee Avenue) would be workable. Chair Felkner left the meeting at this time. Commissioner Blundetto stated. that while he certainly felt that more detailed design work was necessary before the project went forward, he was comfortable with the overall development concept and believes that it is very workable. Commissioner Edgeton stated that additional detailed information should be presented on the proposed retail uses as it relates to the amount of traffic to be generated and the access points. Commissioner Nagler stated that she felt that the proposed convenience grocery and fuel at this location was likely to be more of a design and trade area as we have at the Andy's market complex at 140th Street and Galaxie Avenue. Conunissioner Edgeton stated that as a Planned Unit Development the City would have the ability to exert more control in limiting the types of retail and commercial uses that could be located here. Commissioner McNamara stated that the combination of the density and a narrower road width might represent a public safety concern, and asked what police and fire felt about this. Bodmer stated that this sketch plan was reviewed by the Police and Fire Departments, and they have not raised any concerns at this pohrt. Ms. Bodmer did note that a similar Planned Unit Development that was originally intended to house more affordable smaller units adjacent to Lac Lavon ended up becoming greatly desired because of its lakeshore orientation, and consequently the homes ended up being constructed much larger than expected. She stated that with smaller lots and smaller streets, this could become an issue here as well. Mr. Whitten stated that they would be able to exercise a high level of control with the covenants that would be placed on the property, and would be willing to commit to the specific types of Planning Commission Minutes February 19, 1997 Page 7 dwellings being proposed here. He said that given current market conditions with 314 dwelling anits divided up among four different product types, they would expect buildup to occur within 18 months. 8. OTHER BUSINESS A. Zoning Ordinance Amendment Community Development Director Rick Kelley briefly reviewed his memo to the Commission concerning a proposed amendment to the teat of the commercial zoning districts. While the City Council had originally directed the Planning Commission to review the language ni the preamble section of all commercial zoning districts, as well as the list of pemitted acid conditional uses, the Commission has been unable to come to a consensus on whether certain language should be either liberalized or become very specific. Mr. Kelley noted that at the last work session he had commented that the City is required to review and update its Comprehensive Plan no later than January 1st of 1999. The standard procedure for proceeding with reviews such as this is to exaniine the City's land use map, as well as its overall development policies, to determine if chaziges need to be done to make the plazi more current. Once that is done the next step is typically to review all of its official controls (zoning and subdivision regulations), and then make modifications as appropriate ill order to insure that the goals and policies ofthe Comprehensive Plan will be met by those tools. Since the zoning ordinance will therefore be reviewed in its entirety at some future ponrt, perhaps by engaging a consultant for comparative purposes with other communities' regulations, Mr. Kelley has suggested that very minor modification be made at this time to restore some of the discretion that the City believed it always had ui making a determination of similar permitted uses. This change in the preamble to the Limited Busniess zoning district would strike the term "non-retail" as well as add the term "primarily." The consensus of the Corrunission members present was that this minor change would achieve the City's objectives at this time, and that a complete revaluation of the zoning ordinance could occur iu the future once the Comprehensive Plan review process was complete. MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Nagler, to recommend approval of the minor teart chazige to the Linuted Business zoning district. The motion carried 4 - 0. Vice Chair Edgeton asked if there was any other business necessary to be discussed. Kelley noted that uifonnation on an upcoming land use planning seminar had been distributed with the previous packets. He stated that if any of the Commissioners desired to attend that seminar, the City would pick up the cost for it. He asked that any interested Commissioners fill out the registration slips and return them to him. 9. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member McNamara, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 4 - 0. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.