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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/16/2009CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES DECEMBER 16, 2009 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order by Chair Churchill at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Jeannine Churchill, Tom Melander, Keith Diekmann, Ken Alwin, Tim Burke and Paul Scanlan Members Absent: Dave Schindler Staff Present: Community Development Director Bruce Nordquist (arrived at 7:07 p.m.), City Planner Tom Lovelace, Associate City Planner Kathy Bodmer, Associate City Planner Margaret Dykes, City Attorney Sharon Hills, Assistant City Engineer David Bennett and Department Assistant Barbara Wolff 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Churchill asked if there were any changes to the agenda. Hearing none from staff or the Planning Commission members, she announced that there would be a social gathering at Rascal's immediately following the meeting. Business will not be conducted and the public is welcome. Chair Churchill called for a motion. MOTION Commissioner Burke moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion carried 6 -0. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF DECEMBER 2, 2009 Chair Churchill asked if there were any changes to the minutes. There being none, she called for approval of the minutes. MOTION Commissioner Alwin moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann, to recommend approval of the minutes of the December 2, 2009, meeting. The motion carried 5 -0. Commissioner Burke abstained. 4. CONSENT ITEM -- NONE -- 5. PUBLIC HEARING A. Zoning Amendments — Consider amendments to Chapter 155 of the City Code of Ordinances related to building coverage, public right -of -way, setback definitions, and landscape yard requirements. SAp1wming\PLANC0MM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609mdm Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 2 of 14 Associate City Planner Kathy Bodmer said this is a public hearing for consideration of amendments to the zoning code to address some issues resulting from the upcoming Cedar Avenue reconstruction project. The City of Apple Valley is the petitioner. Dakota County will begin a major reconstruction of Cedar Avenue from 138th Street south into Lakeville in the fall of 2010. The construction project is intended to improve traffic flow through the corridor and allow for shoulder - running bus rapid transit (BRT). Some of the modifications include: • Widening and enhancing the shoulders to create a dedicated bus lane. • Adding a third lane each direction from 153rd Street south to 162nd Street in Lakeville. • Adding turn lanes at some of the intersections. • Modifying intersections by closing access, removing signals or constructing medians to restrict traffic to three quarter or right -in right -out movements. In order to accommodate the proposed changes to Cedar Avenue, Dakota County will be acquiring temporary construction easements; trail, drainage, utility and wall easements; and right -of -way (roadway) easements. Property owners have raised concerns that the new easements will mean their properties will not comply with setback and building coverage zoning requirements. This may impact property value, insurance coverage, financing, and other property transactions. The City Attorney said the affected properties along Cedar Avenue will not become "non- conforming uses" as the term is used in zoning, because the non - compliance is a result of the County and the Metropolitan Council obtaining additional right -of -way, not as a result of changes to the City's zoning ordinance. A property becomes a non - conforming use only when the City changes a setback requirement or other performance standard. For the properties along Cedar Avenue, right -of -way is being acquired by the County and that acquisition may reduce the setback and lot area of the properties to less than that required by the zoning regulations. Irrespective of the legal technicalities, property owners are concerned whether their properties will be negatively impacted by the new easements. Temporary construction easements, and trail, drainage, utility and wall easements would have no impact on the properties' conformance to the City ordinances. However, when the County obtains easements for additional right -of -way, the change in the ROW line may affect zoning performance standards like lot area, building coverage, building setbacks, parking setbacks, sign setbacks and landscape yard width. Staff reviewed the construction plans from the County and identified several impacts resulting from the construction project. The County identified 115 properties in Apple Valley that abut or are in proximity to Cedar Avenue. Dakota County or the Metropolitan Council will obtain additional highway easements from 24 of the properties. Of the 24 properties, 17 will have zoning deficiencies resulting from the new right -of -way line. The zoning deficiencies that have been identified include the following: A change in the ROW line that reduces the setbacks for buildings, parking lots and signs (17 parcels). SAp1auning\PLANC0MM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m.doc Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 3 of 14 • A change in the ROW line that reduces the lot area which could impact building coverage requirements (2 parcels). • A change in the ROW line that reduces the depth of the required 15' landscape yard adjacent to the street rights -of -way (13 parcels). Bodmer stated a detailed chart providing a summary of the zoning deficiencies and sign impacts was included in the Planning Commission packet under separate cover. The City Attorney prepared draft ordinance amendments that ensure that properties constructed in compliance with the zoning code, which later have additional right -of -way taken, will continue to exist in compliance with the requirements of the zoning code. The following is an overview of the proposed ordinance amendments: 1. Zoning Definitions: a. Building Coverage: Amends the definition to state that the building coverage requirement is determined at of the time the building permit is issued. The definition also clarifies that easement areas except public right -of -way (roadway) are included in the calculation of the total lot area on which the building coverage is determined. b. Parking Area or Parking Lot: Provides a definition that currently doesn't exist in the code for an area of land used for the temporary storage of vehicles. c. Public Right -of -Way: Provides a definition that currently doesn't exist in the code for the strip of land which is used for public streets. The definition is added to clarify what is right -of -way as opposed to other public easements generally located adjacent to right -of -ways in order to calculate setback and building coverage. d. Public Transportation Facility: Creates a new definition for buildings and structures associated with public transit in order to address the issue of landscape yards along the rights -of -way that are adversely affected by transit facilities. e. Setback: Establishes a new definition for the distance from a measuring line to the foundation of a building, structure or improvement. The setback is based upon the distance from the measuring line when the building, structure or improvement was constructed in connection with a required permit. The measuring line is the property line or the right -of -way line if it is closer than the property line. 2. Required Yards and Open Space: A provision is added that allows a property owner to replace an existing building with a new building at the same setback line that was in place at the time the building permit was issued for the existing building provided that it is no larger than the existing building's foundation, and provided that the setback distance for the lot has not been amended since the time the building permit was issued. (Note: The property owner will still need to obtain a variance in order to replace an existing building with a larger S; \pI=ung\PLANC0MM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m.doc Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 4 of 14 building or to construct an addition on the building at the setback distance in effect when the building permit was originally approved.) Landscaping: The code currently requires a property owner to maintain a minimum 15' landscaped yard along all public rights -of -way. The amendment states that the measurement is determined at the time the permit is issued. The landscape yard may be reduced to five feet for properties abutting Cedar Avenue between 140th Street and 160th Street (Co Rd 46) and for properties abutting 150th Street (Co Rd 42) between Pilot Knob Road and 147th Street (west of Bachman's). The provision recognizes that the width of the landscape yard is likely to be reduced as parcels are redeveloped to a more dense and intense urban configuration. The landscape yard provisions are not required on properties zoned "A" (Agriculture), through lots (lots abutting ROW on the front and back) in "R -1" (Single family, 40,000 min. lot) districts, or on lots abutting a public transportation facility. 4. Sign Setback: The definition for the sign setback is amended to point the reader to the definition used in the zoning code. By doing so, sign setbacks will be determined based upon the distance required at the time the sign is installed, in accordance with the approved permit. An upcoming matter that may require Planning Commission and City Council review will be the installation of commercial signs that must be removed for construction. The plans indicate that 11 to 12 signs need to be relocated. Signs that remain in their current location will continue to comply with the requirements of the sign code as a result of the new setback definition. However, when the property owners consider where the signs are to be reinstalled, it will be necessary to determine whether they can be installed without the need for a variance. Several parcels may request variances to avoid removing additional parking spaces. This issue will be discussed in the future as more specific information becomes available. Bodmer presented a visual overview of the Cedar Avenue Reconstruction Project to the Planning Commission. Chair Churchill asked Bodmer to comment on whom is driving the changes on Cedar Avenue. Bodmer replied that Dakota County is the project manager of the project because Cedar Avenue is a county road. In order to accomplish this project, Dakota County needed to obtain funding from multiple sources including the federal government, the State of Minnesota, the Metropolitan Council, and the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA). Also the Federal Transit Authority has been involved. Chair Churchill reiterated that the City is not the only participant in this project. During the planning stages of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, the Planning Commission learned that approximately 80% of residents than leave Apple Valley to work elsewhere use Cedar Avenue to go north. The need for improvements to mass transit is needed. The underlying purpose of the City Ordinance changes is to S: \planning\PLANC0MM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m.doe 4 Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 5 of 14 assist the current property owners in maintaining the usefulness and the value of their property. Without this, essentially Dakota County would be taking value away from the property owners. Bodmer stated that she is less informed of the appraisal side of the situation, although it is the City's goal to assist property owners along the corridor so that they are in compliance with the zoning. The acquisition of additional right -of -way was not initiated by the property owners. It is being brought upon them. Commissioner Melander stated that during the presentation it looked as if the new right -of -way would graze one of the townhome buildings in Greenleaf Townhomes 2 nd Addition. Bodmer replied that that is a temporary construction easement. When the project is finished, the right -of -way line will be right behind the curb line of the private driveway. The temporary construction easement is only to make modifications to the private drive. Bodmer stated that although it is not the policy of the Planning Commission, staff is asking for the Commission to take action this evening. The expedited timeline is requested in order for the construction project to move forward in a timely manner. Agreements need to be finalized between the City and County by the end of the year. The proposed ordinance amendments are an important element of those agreements. Chair Churchill asked if there were any comments from the public. Hearing none, she closed the public hearing and called for a motion. MOTION Commissioner Burke moved, seconded by Commissioner Melander, to recommend approval of the draft ordinance amending Chapter 155 entitled "Zoning" regarding Definitions and Building Setback Requirement. The motion carried 6 -0. MOTION Commissioner Burke moved, seconded by Commissioner Melander, to recommend approval of the draft ordinance amending Chapter 155 entitled "Zoning" regarding Landscaping. The motion carried 6 -0. MOTION Commissioner Burke moved, seconded by Commissioner Melander, to recommend approval of the draft ordinance amending Chapter 154 entitled "Sign Regulations" regarding Definitions. The motion carried 6 -0. Chair Churchill took a moment to introduce and welcome new Commissioner Paul Scanlan. Chair Churchill asked Commissioner Scanlan to give a brief background of himself. Commissioner Scanlan stated that he grew up on the east side of St. Paul and lived there until relocating with his wife to Wichita, KS, where he worked in the aviation industry for nine years. They moved back to Minnesota three years ago. Chair Churchill welcomed Commissioner Scanlan to the City of Apple Valley and thanked him for his interest in the Planning Commission. S:Aplanning\PLANC0MM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m.dw Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 6 of 14 6. LAND USE /ACTION ITEMS -- NONE -- 7. OTHER BUSINESS A. Cobblestone Lake South Shore 5 th Addition Sketch Plan — Review of a proposed rezoning and subdivision of 2.09 acres for a 10 -unit detached housing development. City Planner Tom Lovelace stated this is a review of a sketch plan for a potential rezoning and development of 9.14 acres of property, generally located in the south and west side of the Cobblestone Lake development. The applicant is seeking input from the Commission regarding a potential proposal that would rezone and subdivide 9.14 acres. The proposal calls for the rezoning of 2.04 acres of property from "Planned Development- 703 /zone 8 ", which allows for sand and gravel mining to "Planned Development - 703 /zone 2 ", which allows for single family dwellings; and amendments to area requirements and performance standards that would be applicable to a detached single family " townhome" development. The 2.04 acres would be subsequently subdivided into 10 residential lots for the purpose of constructing the detached townhomes, with the remaining lot to be used for common open area and the location of a private street and driveways. The 7.1 -acre Outlot A would be rezoned from "Planned Development- 703 /zone 8 ", to "Planned Development- 703 /zone 7 ", which allows for parks, playgrounds, recreational and community buildings, and public utility buildings and structures. This proposed single family townhome development layout is new to the City. Typically, the City would require that all single family lots front a public street. The purpose of this type of layout versus a standard single family layout is that it allows the applicant to maximize the vacant parcel of land, providing them with what they believe is the highest and best use of the property. Lovelace stated this may be an effective way to go with this development because of the developer's experience with setting up individual, as well as master homeowners' associations in the Cobblestone development as it is likely an association would have responsibility for Lot 11. Outlot A is currently part of a park, sidewalk, trail, and drainage and utility easement that runs in favor of the City of Apple Valley. The applicant has requested a vacation of a portion of that easement, identified as all of Areas D and L in the easement, so that it may incorporate approximately .18 acres of those areas into the proposed 10 lot subdivision. As part of this vacation and proposed platting, it is expected that the applicant would dedicate the remaining land in Areas D and L, and approximately .16 acres of a land located between the existing easement and the proposed subdivision, for park purposes as part of the final plat. The preliminary plat sketch indicates that a westerly portion of Area D is not proposed to be platted in Outlet A. All the property remaining in Areas D and L after removal of the .18 acres for the residential portion of the plat should be incorporated into Outlot A. All lots except of Lots 1 and 8 will share a driveway with the lot next to it. Lots 1 -5 will have public street access via a private drive connection to Eastbend Way, and Lots 6 -8 will have direct access to Eastbend Way. Lots 9 and 10 will have direct access from Cobblestone Lake Parkway South, a two- SAplanningTLANCOMM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609mdoc Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 7 of 14 lane divided street. This will restrict vehicular access to those lots to only the west bound lane. Also, this shared driveway will be approximately 50 feet from the entrance of a roundabout at the intersection of Cobblestone Lake Parkway South and Elm Creek Lane. The two units will generate approximately 20 vehicle trips per day. The City's Traffic Engineer reviewed the proposed development and the potential adverse impacts that the driveway may have on traffic flow on the parkway and concluded the following: "From the traffic volume projections out of the Cobblestone AUAR, we analyzed the back up which would occur on the westbound approach to this roundabout and found the backup to be minimal and therefore not a concern. It appears from the design that vehicles entering the roadway will be able to do so by driving onto the roadway and not backing onto the roadway. This is obviously good. It appears that with vehicles present in the recessed parking area to the east of the driveway, the vehicles exiting the driveway may have sight distance limited to about 90 feet. If the westerly parking space were eliminated, the sight distance would increase back to Eastbend Way." The sketch plan does indicate the removal of the most westerly parking space along the north side of Cobblestone Lake Parkway as requested by the City. The proposed plat indicates drainage and utility easements along the perimeter of Lot 1 with varying widths from 4 to 44 feet. The subdivision code requires that drainage and utility easements abutting public street rights -of -way and centered on rear or side lot lines shall have a minimum width of ten feet. The four -foot wide easement along the most westerly property of Lot 11 (next to Lot 10) would be in violation of City Code. Lovelace stated there is a concern about Outlot L and a portion of that not being included in the final plat. City staff would like to see all of that area platted. Tradition Development is platting all of Area D. Staff would like to see Area J as part of the overall plat since this is dedicated as park land. Lovelace asked for questions or comments from the Planning Commission. Commissioner Scanlan asked if emergency vehicles would be able to gain access to Lots 1, 2 and 3. Lovelace said emergency vehicles would have access similar to other townhome developments that have private drives within the City. The Fire Department has reviewed the plan and determined it meets the guidelines for the length of the drive being less than 150'. If it was more than 150', the developer would need to provide a turn- around. Commissioner Scanlan asked about emergency vehicle access from the west for Lots 9 and 10. Lovelace stated there would be no access from the west. It would all be from the east. The Fire Department has indicated it would be able to meet response times. S9plamingTLANCOMM\2009 agenda & minute \121609m.doc Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 8 of 14 Commissioner Alwin asked if there were any concerns about a 10 unit development being large enough to support the maintenance and other obligations that the association would have. Lovelace stated that Tradition Development has developed a number of townhome associations within the Cobblestone Lake development. They also have a master association over most of the development. As an example, Egret Lodge on the north side of the development is approximately 20 units and they are their own association within that development. Commissioner Scanlan stated that the overall concept of the Cobblestone Lake development is to act as a community. He asked if Lots 9 and 10 would get isolated from the other units. Lovelace said that looking at the development as a whole and at what is referred to as Cobblestone Lake South Shore 3rd Addition, there are single - family homes that have direct frontage to Cobblestone Lake Parkway South. Those homes will face Cobblestone Lake Parkway South, also on the north side. Looking at the proposed area within the whole development, it would fit in.. Chair Churchill asked for any further questions or issues from the Planning Commission Lovelace then stated that the biggest issue is whether the Planning Commission is comfortable with a single - family, detached - townhome concept as presented. Also, if the Commissioners are comfortable with the amount of park land shown on the preliminary plat or does the Commission think the developer should dedicate all of Area B. The developer is not proposing this as part of the preliminary plan, although it coincides with the overall master plan. Staff thinks it would be appropriate at this time to attach all of that area, at a minimum, as part of this proposal. Commissioner Melander stated that having been on the Planning Commission through the inception of the Cobblestone Lake development, and knowing that the original blob plans were guidelines, he has no problem with the lines as they exist on the proposal. It looks like the land area is about even with what is being taken out and what is being given back. Lovelace stated that the developer does not know what the product will be to the west and this will provide some flexibility for the development on that piece. The City does have a signed park development agreement that states the developer has to provide the City with "x" amount of acres of property by the time that Cobblestone Lake is fully developed. City Attorney Sharon Hills stated for clarification that the lighter green area is existing park easement in favor of the City. It mirrors both sides of the roundabout. The proposal would vacate that entire area, but the developer is willing to only dedicate back essentially half of the roundabout area. The City would actually be losing park land that they currently have today if it is not mirrored on both sides of the roundabout. Lovelace corrected that it wouldn't be a total of half of the area, although staff would like to see the easement that the City already has be dedicated as public park land as part of this vacation and subdivision of this property. Chair Churchill asked for comment from the petitioner S: \p1mning\PLANCOMM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609mdoc Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 9 of 14 Jacob Fick, with Tradition Development and representing South Shore Development, stepped forward to address the Planning Commission. He stated this is a unique plat to Apple Valley based on a couple of different items. The main driving force behind the detached single - family townhome project is economics. This product is meant to hit the same market as the twinhomes within the Cobblestone Lake development. There will be association - maintained grounds, property and exteriors, but there is not a common wall between the units. South Shore Development has built a similar product in Lakeville and Prior Lake. It is a very common and desired product type, although new to Apple Valley. Mr. Fick addressed Commissioner Alwin's concern about maintaining an association. He stated Southshore Development may combine this association with the Harbors Association in the South Shore. It will be a CIC plat where homeowners will have their own sub - association or be part of a separate sub - association to cover the maintenance costs, insurance, etc. He said there is a sub - association of 14 units on the north side of the community with a viable set -up. Mr. Fick said in regards to the park land issue, the proposal is platted for flexibility. The developer does not know what will go in that pod. He said he doesn't foresee the boundaries changing. Mr. Fick also stated that the staff report brought up an issue with a four foot side yard easement. This can be rectified to meet the five foot side yard easement requested by the City. Commissioner Melander asked if the townhomes were essentially stand -alone townhomes. Mr. Fick replied that is correct. They are association- maintained single- family, detached townhomes. The association maintains the exterior, landscaping, mowing and plowing. Commissioner Melander said that he likes the product. Chair Churchill said she likes the idea of the City getting detached townhomes. She said that she has seen a similar product in St. Cloud and it is very popular and the properties sell quickly when they come up for sale. Mr. Fick stated that they believe they will have great success with this product. Commissioner Diekmann asked for further explanation of the vacation of the park easement. Lovelace said that the City will be vacating all of the portions of Areas L and D. Then, as part of the platting, the developer will dedicate back all of Area D and almost all of Area L except a small portion on the west. The remainder of the park easements will remain as they are now. Mr. Fick stated that the developer has a master park agreement with the City of Apple Valley. The developer is required to dedicate "x" amount of acres of park land within the loop road of Cobblestone Lake Parkway and "x" amount of acres as a total. The developer has a plan in mind that will actually end up with more property dedicated than shown. SAplanning\PLANCOMM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m.doc Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 10 of 14 Chair Churchill said she likes the product, although she wants to make sure the City does not lose park land dedication. Commissioner Burke said that he supports the proposal given that the City has a master plan. He is comfortable with leaving the fudge area for the moment. Chair Churchill thanked the petitioner. Mr. Fick thanked the Planning Commission for their time and consideration. B. Planned Development No. 409 Amendments — Review of a request for proposed amendments to allow for medical offices as a permitted use. Lovelace stated that Towle Properties, Inc., owners of property located at 14690 Galaxie Avenue, are requesting consideration of amendments to Planned Development Ordinance No. 409 to allow for medical office uses as a permitted use. The zone, which encompasses approximately 7.2 acres, is generally located at the southeast corner of 146 Street West and Galaxie Avenue; and the southeast corner of 145 Street West and Galaxie Avenue. Located within the zone are two multi -tenant buildings totaling 59,189 sq. ft., a 9,676 sq. ft. self - service car wash and auto repair facility, and a 14,198 sq. ft. auto body shop and storage yard. The planned development district allows several types of uses, including limited industrial, general business, retail business and limited business uses. While some retail business and limited business uses are permitted in the development, the planned development district is primarily intended to provide for light industrial and general business uses, which are described as uses that tend to serve other business and industry. The planned development district does not allow certain high traffic or high volume retail uses, and the amount of limited business and professional uses are also restricted. The ordinance goes further to limit the amount of retail uses or limited business uses to 35% of the building floor area and when combined cannot exceed 50% of the floor area of a building. Finally, the planned development ordinance specifically states that "medical or dental office uses are specifically prohibited ". The reason for these restrictions is that the development was designed for land uses which generate low customer volumes; thus, parking is limited on the site. The applicant has indicated that the purpose of their request is due to the current economic conditions that have impacted the commercial real estate market and have left their property at 14690 Galaxie Avenue at 74% occupied. They also indicated that their building has historically seen average occupancies between 95 -100 %. Lovelace said that it does not appear the applicant has provided any compelling reasons other than current economic conditions that would warrant an amendment. Generally speaking, the same conditions and concerns about parking and a shift of retail and office uses from other areas of the community to the development property exist currently that existed at the time of the initial planned development ordinance approval in 1987. Therefore, staff is reluctant to recommend that the Planned Development Ordinance No. 409 be amended to allow for medical offices as a permitted or conditional use. SAplanning\PLANC0MM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m.doc 10 Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 11 of 14 Lovelace asked for comments or questions from the Commission. Commissioner Melander stated that he was associated with the developer that put up this project in the late 1980's and his recollection is that there was also a concern about being in conflict with the medical center across the street. He thinks the way the prohibition found its way into the zoning is so that there would not be competition with the medical center. Lovelace stated that the buildings are designed more for general business. They do have large overhead doors in the back with the expectation that a small, light manufacturing, contractor's office or some type of office /warehouse operation would be in those spaces. Lovelace also stated that the area east of the light industrial area was expected to be industrial development, but now is Midtown Village with townhomes and condominiums. There is still a vacant outlot of Fischer Market Place and the intent of that piece is for a general business type use. Lovelace commented that an industrial analysis was conducted in 2005 and staff had concerns about the loss of industrial property. The area being discussed, Planned Development No. 409, was not specifically addressed, but the area in between was included, which is general industrial and limited industrial. Staff wanted to ensure that it remained an industrial classification and didn't want to lose land to zoning for retail or limited business. Chair Churchill asked to hear from the petitioner. Dawn Grant, of Towle Properties and Colliers Real Estate, stepped forward to address the Planning Commission. She stated that she is the asset manager for this property and the owner has had this property since the early 1990's. Colliers is the management and leasing company for this property. This property has a history of being 95 -100% occupied, mostly by office service tenants. They haven't had limited business /warehouse tenants. In the past, they've had to turn away medical type tenants, although the nature of the property complements the medical center. They have a mix of established and start-up businesses. With the types of tenants that are allowed and what they've had, they're not seeing growth. Ms. Grant stated that two tenants have failed and one downsized in the past year. That has led them to look at how they can get the building leased and what their opportunities are. Ms. Grant commented that Colliers Real Estate has done market research reports since the 1980's, specifically for Dakota County. The industrial segment has had no positive absorption, meaning there has been no additional square footage being leased in the market since the 2 quarter of 2008. It is the worst negative absorption since 2004 and the vacancy rates continue to rise in the 3rd quarter of 2009. The service center industrial part of commercial real estate was 15.8% with inventory of about 3.2 million square feet in Dakota County. The office space of Dakota County has had no positive absorption since the 2nd quarter of 2008 and is at a vacancy rate of 23% on about 1.8 million square feet. This property is competing against those vacancies. The medical office properties that her company can track in Apple Valley that are in the allowed zoning for medical are all at 100% occupancy. Ms. Grant stated that they recognize that this would potentially be an amendment to the zoning of Planned Development No. 409, and understand that the City has a defined plan for medical uses. SAplanningTLANCOMM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m doc 11 Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 12 of 14 They've researched the current employment statistics from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, and the health care related industry is one of, if not the only, industry currently seeing employment increases. Their commercial real estate expertise tells them that there is an expansion in this and again are looking at complementing the Apple Valley Medical Center across the street. Ms. Grant continued to say that this is not just a current economic condition for their property. They've always seen medical requests for this property and now that the medical segment of the industry is expanding, they would like to have the opportunity to explore segments of that industry. Commissioner Melander stated that he is aware of the company that Ms. Grant works for and it is a well respected, large, professional company. He complimented them on the way they run their business. His real estate hat says if he's out there trying to find tenants he would love the flexibility to put in medical services. On the other hand, since he's been on the Commission, he has tried to be a voice for the preservation of industrial jobs and all the small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy which has suffered greatly under this economic crisis. He explained to Ms. Grant that anything that the Planning Commission does affects the long -term and it could have a negative impact later. He stated that he would want to think about this more carefully before voting. He can see where there might be a need for it, although Apple Valley has such precious little industrial and manufacturing land and space available right now that he hates to see it diluted. Commissioner Alwin stated that Ms. Grant's research indicated the current available medical market is right around 100% right now. Ms. Grant agreed it is 100% for what they can track, although it is not all available for their research. Commissioner Alwin asked that if they were able to attract a medical client to this facility, does Ms. Grant envision they would be net new to this area or poach on an existing facility that has the correct parking and the other amenities that the City expects for a medical facility. Ms. Grant replied that she thinks some of it would be net new. Tenants have come to them in the past looking for space including a chiropractor recently that would have been a start-up. They're looking to have the opportunity to support medical so that when people are looking to start these types of business, they can accommodate them. Commissioner Alwin stated that he has concerns that this would either poach from existing buildings or that the City would be expanding to a use, in this particular area, that is not consistent with all the transit oriented development that the City is trying to encourage in other corridors of the City that do have the right density and right amenities for those types of facilities. The City could possibly be retrofitting a use that might not be amenable to the other infrastructure that the City is trying to establish specific to those services. Ms. Grant replied that she sees it as being more ancillary than that. She thinks those are defined specialty uses and what they're looking for is less than that. It's not what a person is going to find SAplanni &LANCOMM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m.dm 12 Planning Commission Minutes December 16, 2009 Page 13 of 14 in the typical medical office; it's going to be more of a complement to it. For example, a medical devices company that is more ancillary, and is not the typical physician's clinic. Community Development Director Bruce Nordquist stated that he recently had a conversation with a property owner of an adjacent commercial property just to the south of this location. They have been working with a chiropractor office and are interested in the outcome of this discussion for the same reason as being presented. This is a chiropractic office that is in Eagan right now and they wish to relocate to the Apple Valley area. Chair Churchill stated her biggest concern is parking and the traffic flow in and out of the site. It was designed and constructed specifically for the uses in the ordinance. A dental office may not have a high amount of traffic, but there may be other medical uses that may be along a retail line that could have much more traffic. She stated that part of Galaxie Avenue gets pretty busy, especially with the turn-in and turn-out from the clinic across the street. There can be quite a bit of congestion, particularly at the rush hour periods. She would be concerned that the City could craft an amendment to allow control over what type of medical use might be permitted. Ms. Hills said that it can be defined by the City specifically and define those uses, including space area. But she thinks the parking issue will be the biggest issue since uses go with parking. Chair Churchill said that a clinic has a pretty high ratio of staff to patients to meet state health codes. So it's not just the parking for the clients, but the parking requirements of the staff as well. Ms. Grant asked if they were allowed to do a parking study to take a look at that issue. Chair Churchill said that they certainly can do a parking study. Her concern is not opening the door to create congestion on Galaxie Avenue. Chair Churchill, hearing no further comments from the Commission, said that the Commission is not entirely opposed, although they do have some concerns. Ms. Grant thanked the Commission for their rime. C. Review of the Upcoming Schedule and other Updates Community Development Director Bruce Nordquist stated that on December 9, 2009, the Metropolitan Council officially accepted Apple Valley's 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Therefore it can come back to the City for final adopting actions. That will occur in January starting with the Planning Commission's recommendation to the City Council. Also, Nordquist commented that there is only one meeting of the Planning Commission in January which is Wednesday, January 13, 2010. 8. ADJOURNMENT S: \p1anning\PLANC0MM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609m.doc 13 Planning Commission Minutes December 16,2009 Page 14 of 14 Hearing no further comments from the Planning Staff or Planning Commission, Chair Churchill asked for a motion to adjourn. MOTION Commissioner Melander moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann, to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m. The motion carried 6 -0. SAplanning\PLANC0MM\2009 agenda & minutes \121609mdoc 14