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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/05/1994CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 5, 1994 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. by Chairman Alan Felkner. Members Present: Members Absent: Staff Present: Others Present: 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Alan Felkner, James Cady, Frank Bhundetto, Len Miller, Marcia Gowling and Karen Edgeton. None Plamung Consultant Alan Kretman, Kathy Bodmer, Tom Lovelace, Keith Gordon and Annette Marguerite. See the sign-in sheet. Chair Felkner asked Staff and the Commissioners if they had any changes to the proposed agenda. There being none, he called for its adoption. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion carried 6 - 0. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 7 AND SEPTEMBER 21, 1994 Chair Felkner asked the Staff and Commission members if there were any proposed changes to the draft minutes submitted in the packet. There being none, be called for action. MOTION: Member Edgeton moved, seconded by Member Gowling, to approve the minutes of September 7, 1994. The motion carried 6 - 0. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by member Blundetto, to approve the minutes of September 21, 1994. The motion carried 4 - 0, with two abstentions (Felkner, Cady). 4. CONSENT ITEMS - None - Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 2 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Rezoning and Preliminary Plat for Williamsburg Townhomes Chair Felkner noted that this public heazing is tabled this evening to appear at a subsequent meeting at the request of the petitioner. B. Site Plan Review and Preliminary Plat for Nordic Woods 17th Chair Felkner reopened this public hearing which has. been continued from the September 21st, 1994 meeting.. Planning Consultant Alan I{retman presented the issue which is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Galaxie Avenue and County Road #38. The property is currently zoned for multifamily uses, and the proposal this evening entails a preliminary plat and building permit authorization for 28 multiple residential dwelling units in a combination of townhome/condominium units. The petitioner has revised the plan from the subsequent meetings to deal with the issues regarding the revised right-of-way, the location and size of the buildings, and more detailed azchitectural renderings. Variances aze also being considered on the east end of the project, located to the existing small lot single family homes, and for the corner of one building adjacent to the public cul-de-sac. Mr. Kretman explained the mitigating factors that appear to justify this request for setback vaziances. Kretman also noted that a pathway connection is being proposed. from the northeast corner of the development project to the pathway along County Road #38. Mr. Kretman also noted that in the southwest corner of the property a small sliver of right-of-way needed to be dedicated for Galaxie Avenue. Member Blundetto asked for a clazification between the separation of the east side of the project and the existing small lot single family dwellings. He also asked for clazification regazding the size of the additional right-of--way to be dedicated for Galaxie Avenue. Chair Felkner noted that the current planned development zoning allows for density of between 6 and 15 units per acre, and the current proposal is at 8 units per acre. Member Gowling asked Staff to explain in more detail the rationale for the approval of the setback variances. Mr. I{retman stated that during the negotiations with the developer to reduce the size of the central building, it became necessary to disperse the units around the perimeter to a greater extent. This is the primary reason for the buildings Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 3 getting closer to the east end. In addition, the placing of extra landscape materials and berming along this side will help to provide buffering between the multifamily units and the small lot single family units. Member Gowling asked exactly what the landscape materials were. Mr. Kretman stated that Black Hills Spruce had been selected at this location due to the density of the vegetation and the hardiness of the plant. Member Edgeton asked about the pathway connection along the east side of the property and what its purpose was. Mr. Kretman stated that the purpose of the trailway connection is to allow the residents of this townhome development to have access to the community trail along County Road #38, which then allows them access to other public parks. Member Edgeton stated that she felt that the location of the trail places it in the rear yards of some of the existing small lot single family homes, and that this was not an appropriate spot for it. Mr. I{retman stated that there had been some discussions regarding this, and that an alternate location would be to bring. the trail off the end of the public eul- de-sac, with. a short length over to the trail along Galaxie Avenue. This would still provide for a link to the community trail system. Member Cady asked if there had been any plan submitted that showed a SQ foot setback to the east lot line adjacent to the small lot single family homes. Mr. Kretman stated that such a plan had never been submitted. Member Edgeton asked what the difference was between the initial plan submitted and the plan that. they were doing this evening. Mr. Kretman noted that the initial plan showed a larger structure in the center of the project containing a total of 14 dwelling units in a series of two unit buildings around the perimeter. This revised plan has shrunk the center building to 12 units. and. dispersed the remaining two units around the townhomes at the perimeter. In order to accomplish this, the private roadway has been shifted and lengthened somewhat. In addition, one of the two unit buildings became a three unit building, and two of the two unit buildings were combined for a total of five units. Member Edgeton asked about the number of overflow parking stalls. She only sees four stalls on the north side of the project. Mr. I{retman noted that there were another two stalls in the southeast corner of the project for a total of six. The balance of the overflow guest parking would be accommodated within the cul-de-sac area, which is a public street. For purposes of the meeting the code requirement of one-half guest parking for every dwelling unit, a total of 14 stalls would be necessary. Six stalls on the private drive system in the parking bays, and eight stalls as calculated as existing in the public cul-de-sac area. Chair Felkner asked the developer if he had any comments regarding the proposal. Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 4 Paul Harstad, the developer, approached the Commission and gave a brief history of the project's design. He noted that the revised plans had taken longer to be prepared than originally expected, hence the delay in coming back to the Commission with a full presentation. He said that they had met numerous times with Staff to work out the issues that had been identified both by Staff and by the Commission at the initial hearing. He said that in his opinion, these revised plans will provide a much superior neighborhood for the future residents. Mr. Harstad also wished to address the issue of the setback vaziances on the east side. He said that it is important to keep in mind that the buildings being proposed are of a relatively low density and low profile design, which makes them much more compatible with the existing small lot single family homes. The lazger setback would be more appropriate for a larger multifamily building, as opposed to the two unit. buildings that he is showing. Mr. Harstad said that regarding the trail, they would put the link wherever the City felt it was most appropriate. However, it was his opinion that due to the proxinuty of Nordic Park, if the trail is not constructed in the northeast corner, there would probably still be some people who would cut across that area to access the trail along County Road #38. Member Blundetto commended the developer on his revised plans and the professionalism he has displayed. He said that it was an admirable recovery from the initial public hearing and that he would do well to share these comments with his associates. Chair Felkner then opened the public. hearing to the general audience. There being no comments from the audience, Chair Felkner closed the hearing with the standard remazks. He noted that while it is the policy to refrain from acting on an item the same night as its hearing, it has been before the Commission for quite some time and that if the Commissioners were comfortable with it, an action to move the project forward would be entertained. Member Edgeton asked if the developer had considered consolidating more of the two unit buildings so that a variance along the east property line would not be necessary. Mr. Kretman and the developer said that it had been briefly touched upon during the negotiations and discussions; however, none of the abutting property owners felt that the reduced setback was a problem, given the landscaping and the low profile of the buildings. MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Miller, to recommend approval of the setback variances from the east side of the property in accordance with Staff recommendation. The motion carried 5 - 1 (Cady). MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Miller, to recommend approval of the setback variance to the public street right-of-way. The motion carried 6-0. Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 5 MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Miller, to recommend approval of the site plan and building permit authorization. Member Edgeton said that she would like to see the pathway location moved from the northeast corner to the Galaxie Avenue side. Member Blundetto said that he would be amenable to changing his motion to include that. The motion carried 6 - 0. MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Miller, to recommend approval of the preliminary plat in accordance with the Staff recommendations. The motion carried 5 - 1 (Cady). 6. LAND USE/ACTION ITEMS A. Site Plan, Building Permit and Preliminary Plat for Hunters Wood Townhomes Planning Consultant Alan Kretman presented the proposed development, located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Palomino Drive and County Road #11. The development proposal. consists of a total of 61 townhome dwelling units and a preliminary plat. to subdivide the property for the units themselves. The property is currently zoned under a planned unit development for multifamily uses, and the proposed development is consistent with the allowable uses. Mr. Kretman also noted the proposed. realignment of Palomino Drive adjacent to the proposed townhome project. While the proposed alignment does not require the shift of any of the proposed townhome locations, the proposed realignment will further enable the use of the intersection of Palomino Drive and County Road #11 for a variety of commercial uses which should be taken into account. Mr. Kretman then reviewed the location of the proposed townhomes and pointed out the units where several residents had expressed some concern over their proximity to the existing single family homes. These locations have since been adjusted so that the minimum setbacks are met in all cases. Mr. Kretman also noted that the density of the proposed townhome units, at slightly over two units per acre, is at the very bottom end of the density provided for in the planned unit development. Mr. Kretman then distributed a letter from the developer indicating. the revisions that had been made to the plan based on their on site meeting with the residents following the last public hearing. These included the movement of the buildings to eliminate all setback variances, additional landscaping, and changes in some of the building designs so that only one-story townhome units would be behind the existing single family homes to improve the views of the single family homes over the tops of the townhomes. Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 6 Chair Fellmer noted that the existing zoning allows from 4 to 12 units per acre, with additional units per acre allowed for a variety of density bonuses. In this case, the proposed development of townhomes at two units per acre is much less. than the developer would otherwise be entitled to. He asked Mr. Kretman what the single family homes are typically built at, in terms of a density range. Mr. Kretman responded that the adjacent neighborhood is also just slightly over two units per acre in density. Chair Felkner then opened the public hearing for any comments from the audience. There being no comments from the audience, Chair Felkner closed the public hearing. MOTIONS Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to approve the preliminary plat subject to the Staff report. The motion carried 6 - 0. MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the site plan and building permit authorization. The motion carried 6 - 0. At this time, Member Gowling thanked the developer and his representatives for working so closely with the neighborhood and the Staff on this development. She said that she wished all developers were this responsible in working closely with the City. 6B. Briar Knoll Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Rezoning & Preliminary Plat Planning Consultant Alan Kretman presented the item, which is for property located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Pilot Knob Road and County Road #38. The property is currently guided on the Comprehensive Plan for low density, and would need to be changed to a single family designation. The proposal provides for a preliminary plat with 22 lots for detached single family homes. The plat would need to be rezoned to an R-3 zoning category. Mr. Kretman then pointed out a number of small revisions to the plat which essentially related to tweeking some of the lot lines and road alignment center lines, to provide more buildable lots than the initial layout. Member Gowling asked if input had been received from the Police and Fire Departments relative to the need to make a through street connection of 127th Street, rather than having a cul-de-sac arrangement. Mr. Kretman responded that he did not know the answer to that, but that Planning Duector Kelley was in contact with the Police and Fire Departments. Mr. Kretman noted that before the formal rezoning action could take place, the Metropolitan Council would have to review and approve the amendment to the City's Comprehensive Plan which redesignates this area for single family use. Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 7 Member Cady asked what type of disruption to the traffic on Pilot Knob Road would occur to provide for the sanitary sewer connection under the road. City Engineer Keith Gordon noted that this line would be installed by auguring under the road so that the road would not have to be closed to traffic at any time. There was a general discussion concerning the wetland and storm water ponding area on the north portion of the plat. City Engineer Keith Gordon noted that a storm water ponding easement is being placed on the plat at the high water mark. Chair Edgeton said that she hoped the developer made the purchasers of these lots aware of the fact that at times, there would be water in their back yard up the edge of this easement line. The developer Larry Vossen also noted that regarding storm drainage, a catch basin would be installed in the southwesterly portion of the property to drain a small low area where water currently stands. Mr. Vossen also attempted to explain the procedure by which a comprehensive plan amendment had to be approved by the Metropolitan Council prior to a zoning action. Chair Felkner noted that while the public hearing on this item had been closed some time ago, he would be willing to entertain one or two comments from the audience if there were any issues remaining unresolved. There being no comments from. the audience, he called for a motion from the Commission. MOTION: Member Miller moved, seconded by Member Gowling, to recommend approval of the amendment to the City's Comprehensive Plan to a single family designation for this area. The motion tamed 6 - 0. MOTION: Member Miller moved, seconded by Member Gowling, to recommend approval of the rezoning to R-3, subject to Metropolitan Council approval of the comprehensive plan amendment. The motion carried 6 - 0. MOTION: Member Miller moved, seconded by Member Gowling, to recommend approval of the preliminary plat, subject to the conditions listed in the Staff report. Member Gowling also stated. that she felt the Council should be made aware of the ultimate Police and Fire Department recommendations relative to the connection of 127th Street. The motion carried 6 - 0. 6C. Setback Variance for McDonald's Parking Lot Expansion Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer presented the item. The variance request is to reduce the street parking lot setback along the west boundary adjacent to Granada Avenue from 15 feet to 10 feet. This would allow the construction of nine additional parking stalls. A reduction in the parking setback from 15 to 10 feet, also represents a defacto variance from the minimum 15 foot wide landscaped yard requirements. Assistant Planner Bodmer then gave a brief history of development on this site, noting that when the building was first Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 8 approved for construction, only a 10 foot setback was required along this west boundary. However, only two pazking stalls were constructed at that 10 foot setback, the rest being left as a green strip. She noted that the balance of the site has been fully developed and that this is the only remaining area left that could conceivably contain additional pazking stalls. She also noted that some dimensional changes would need to occur within this area to accommodate proper vehicular movement. This would entail changing the angled parking from the 60 degrees illustrated to a 45 degree angle and that the driving isle must be a minimum of 15 feet in width. This would allow fora 10 foot drive-thru lane area for the drive-thru window traffic. As part of the reconstruction, the existing concrete isle and canopy for the drive-thru service lane would also be removed. Member Miller asked if removing the canopy and concrete island would create a potential for cars backing out of the newly created parking stalls, hitting a car waiting in the drive-thru lane. Jerry Roper of McDonald's Corporation, located at 1650 West 82nd Street, approached the Commission in an attempt to answer this question. He said that placement of angled parking stalls opposite the drive-thrn lane is a common occurrence at other McDonald's restaurants, with a slightly smaller width than is being proposed at this location. He does not believe that it will create a problem. Member Blundetto stated that he had a safety concern regarding pedestrian traffic leaving the store and attempting to walk to the proposed new pazking row being run over by one of the cars using the drive-thru isle. Mr. Roper said he felt that part of the problem was the site obstruction created by the existing oversized canopy and columns. Mr. Blundetto stated that he still felt it was dangerous to have pedestrians to have to cross in front of the drive-thru isle to reach. a parked car. Member Gowling stated that while it is a somewhat dangerous situation, it is typical of just about every drive-thru restaurant arrangement she's ever seen. Member Miller stated. that he agreed that there was a concern over safety for pedestrians in this area. Planning Consultant Alan Kretman stated that he felt a potential solution would be to widen the sidewalk area adjacent to the building so that the pedestrian area became more visible to cars in the drive-thru. This would, however, probably require an even greater variance to the pazking lot setback along the west boundary, which would then impact the amount of space available for landscaping. Member Blundetto stated that he felt that the safety issues were more important than the landscape issues, since the landscaping is simply providing a buffer from commercial building to commercial building. It was noted that one of the reasons for having landscaping adjacent to a parking lot area is to provide some screening of the cars, but also to create an improved micro climate Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 9 by controlling the level of heat reflected or absorbed from the black pazking lot through the use of shading from the trees. Mr. Kretman noted that perhaps if the specific location of the trees were identified, it might become possible to Illustrate where the curb could be bumped out a little bit further to the west, and thereby increase the amount of land available for a pedestrian sidewalk adjacent to the building. There was some discussion about tabling the item until the next meeting so that this additional information could be generated. Mr. Roper stated that while he would like to move the project along as quickly as possible, he would rather take the time to generate all the information necessary, rather than have it denied. Member Cowling asked Mr. Roper if they have considered some changes to the stacking lane to improve the conditions. He said that they have had some discussion on it but have not arrived at any potential solution. There was some general discussion concerning the use of a handrail along the west door sidewalk to restrict the ability of pedestrians to leave the building and walk directly out into- the lane of drive-thru traffic. 6D. Setback Variance for Parking Lot Expansion -Apple Valley License Bureau This item was presented by Assistant Planner Tom Lovelace. The proposal entails a front yard setback to the street to reduce the setback from 20 feet to 15 feet and a side yard setback. along the side property lines from 5 feet on each side to 3-1/2 feet. These setback variances would allow the parking lot to be reconfigured from its current design of a single double loaded two way isle, to a one way isle having a total of three tiers of angled parking stalls. This would increase the number of parking stalls from 18 as existing now, to 25 parking stalls. Mr. Lovelace noted that when this building. was constructed the City zoning code did not require as many parking stalls for this size facility as currently. Consequently, by today's applicable zoning regulations the number of pazking stalls being provided on this site is substandazd. Approval of the variance would then bring the site into conformance with the current minimum pazking stall requirements. Chair Felkner asked the petitioner if he had anything to add. Paul Heil, representing the Apple Valley License Bureau, stated that he had discussed this issue with Planning Director Kelley, and that this appeared to be the only possible solution to add parking on the site. Chair Felkner asked if he had approached either the restaurant or the chiropractic clinic on either side of him to see if some type of shared parking azrangement could be Planning Commission Minutes October 5, 1994 Page 10 worked out. Mr. Heil stated that he had approached the chiropractic clinic, but that the owner had no interest in providing any type of joint parking arrangement. He said that the restaurant located to the west has a parking lot which is located several feet lower than his, and it would not be possible to make any kind of connection. MOTION: Member Edgeton moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to recommend approval of the parking setback variances as requested. The motion carried 6 - 0. 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS - None - 8. OTHER BUSINESS - None - 9. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to adjourn.