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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/01/2018 Minutes CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 1, 2018 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order by Chair Melander at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Tom Melander, Ken Alwin, Tim Burke, Keith Diekmann, Jodi Kurtz, Paul Scanlan and David Schindler. Members Absent: Staff Present: City Attorney Sharon Hills, Civil Engineer Ahmed Omar, Community Development Director Bruce Nordquist, Planner Kathy Bodmer and Department Assistant Joan Murphy. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Melander asked if there were any changes to the agenda. MOTION: Commissioner Scanlan moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann, approving the agenda. Ayes - 7 - Nays - 0. 3. CONSENT ITEMS MOTION: Commissioner Burke moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann, approving the minutes of the meeting of July 18, 2018. Ayes - 6 - Nays - 0. Abstained 1 (Alwin) 4. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Splinter Addition PC18-20-SVGF Chair Melander opened the public hearing at 7:01 p.m. Planner Kathy Bodmer stated Gene and Shelby Splinter 129 Surrey Trail South and Dan Moulin, 135 Surrey Trail South, wish to subdivide their properties by preliminary plat to adjust a shared property line so that the Splinters may acquire a 2,927 sq. ft. triangle of property behind their property from Dan Moulin. Gene Splinter requests two variances that would allow him to construct a 744 sq. ft. detached garage 9' from the north property line and 5' from the south property line (a 1.0' and 5.0' variance respectively). The shared property line is extended so that the Splinters are able to acquire a 2,927 sq. ft. triangle from Dan Moulin. The elevation of the site drops off dramatically from the main yard area of the lot to the rear lot line. The Splinters wish to take advantage of the 8' change in elevation to construct the garage behind the hill. Placing the detached garage below the hill will help to make it less visible from the street. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes August 1, 2018 Page 2 of 10 Two variances are requested. 1. A variance to reduce the north side yard setback from 10' to 9' (1.0' variance). 2. A variance to reduce the south side yard setback from 10' to 5' (5.0' variance). She added the petitioner states he selected the site to minimize tree loss on the site. The petitioner is also striving to reduce the amount of grading required, in view of the fact that disturbing existing grades will impact adjacent mature trees. When the City reviews requests for variances, it must determine whether there are practical difficulties present that prevent the applicant from complying with the requirements of the zoning code. The petitioner has a couple of alternatives to avoid the need for the variance. The petitioner could reduce the depth of the garage from 26' to 20' or reconfigure the floor plan. A second alterative would be to locate the garage in a different spot on the property. The petitioner is concerned that a different location would require substantially more grading and tree removal and would be more visible from the street. The petitioner likes the site selected because he can "tuck" the garage behind the hill. One last alternative to consider would be to revise the location of the newly created lot line to accommodate the size of the new garage. Commissioner Diekmann commented that with the slope and the finished floor elevation that there would probably need to be about 9 feet of fill on the backside if it is sloping away. Ms. Bodmer said not sloping away but cutting in. Chair Melander asked if both properties owners, Splinter and Moulin, are in agreement on this. Ms. Bodmer answered yes. Commissioner Burke asked if there was any comment from the property owner to the south. Ms. Bodmer answered no. They were notified of the public hearing but staff has not heard from them. Gene Splinter, 129 Surrey Trail South, said he had a signed approval letter for the variance from the owner to the south. Commissioner Scanlan asked about looking at the hardship side of it, if the change to the property line was to accompany the building to be built on the property without variances. Mr. Splinter replied that the other property owner, Mr. Moulin, would like the extra property for his side for the driveway to go to his garage he just built there. It is really a swap of the land. He said the garage would barely be seen down the hill because of the fall in the land. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes August 1, 2018 Page 3 of 10 Commissioner Alwin asked for clarification that there are two requests one for rezoning and one for a variance. Mr. Splinter answered yes and that Mr. Moulin wants the land and they are happy to swap. Commissioner Alwin said that when it comes back to us we need to look that the conditions are met for the variance and the size. Mr. Splinter said he wants to store a boat in there. Chair Melander closed the public hearing at 7:17 p.m. 5. LAND USE/ACTION ITEMS A. Dakota County Residential Organics Drop Off IUP PC18-18-IUP Planner Kathy Bodmer stated Dakota County requests consideration of an interim use permit (IUP) to operate a residential organics drop-off facility at its Western Services Center (WSC) at 14955 Galaxie Ave for a period not to exceed six years. Dakota County would like to expand its dumpster enclosure area on the north side of the building to create a secured enclosure area for residents to drop off bagged organics waste. Residents who sign up for the program would be given a code to access the secured organics dumpster. Access to the site would be available from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. The dumpster would be a 6-yard dumpster and the County estimates it would be collected a minimum of two times per week. Approximately 1,400 residents are expected to participate and dispose an average of 10 yards of organics per week. The WSC is located in the "P" (Institutional) zoning district. The "P" district does not have a provision to allow operation of a waste collection or waste transfer facility. It is not listed as a permitted, conditional or accessory use. A compost collection area for the building would be permitted in the zone to service that facility. The site will be available for the public to use which changes the use to a waste collection/waste transfer facility. An interim use permit is a permit that allows a temporary use of the property until a particular date, until the occurrence of a particular event, or until zoning regulations no longer permit it. Dakota County requests the IUP for a period of six years or until curbside collection of organics is widely available to County residents. Organics includes food waste, non-recyclable paper and certified compostable products. The County estimates that more than one-third of what is thrown away as trash could be composted. Waste collected at the organics drop-off site would be hauled to a commercial composting facility outside of Rosemount. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes August 1, 2018 Page 4 of 10 The WSC building is a government services building with a connected library. It provides general offices for County staff and court facilities. Dakota County wishes to locate the drop off facility at the WSC building because it is conveniently located in the City's Downtown and centrally located for many residents. An analysis of potential locations found that this location had the highest number of households within a two-mile radius. The City will need to determine whether the proposed drop off facility is compatible with the use of the building as a service center building and its location in the Downtown area of Apple Valley. The Apple Valley Downtown is the commercial center of the City and contains a mix of office, retail, service, restaurant and grocery businesses. A less-than-well-maintained drop-off facility could attract rodents, rats, create odors and negatively impact the Downtown. The two existing Dakota County Organics Drop-Off Facilities are located on park property which provides a buffer between the drop-off area and abutting properties. The City of Apple Valley supports opportunities for residential organics recycling and believes residents benefit from conveniently placed residential organics drop off sites. Staff believes that the Dakota County Western Service Center site is not a suitable location and would be happy to work with County staff to identify suitable locations in the City. An ordinance amendment or IUP would likely be needed wherever the site is located in the City. Ms. Bodmer reviewed the public hearing comments. She said staff does not recommend approval of this item this evening. Commissioner Alwin asked if the City has come across similar facilities or similar uses in other office complexes in the City. Ms. Bodmer answered that to her knowledge no, not where they invite the public in to drop-off organics. Commissioner Alwin commented that he understands this is a service offered to residents but not like the other services the County offers to the residents. Commissioner Diekmann asked for clarification that no other location in the City would allow an organic drop-off site based on the zoning. Ms. Bodmer answered that is correct. Commissioner Diekmann asked what the main reason was that it is not considered suitable at this service center. Ms. Bodmer replied that the biggest concern is that it is in the heart of the Downtown of Apple Valley and if there should be a lapse of maintaining it that it could become a nuisance and a problem. Commissioner Diekmann asked if the City Hall recycles organics. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes August 1, 2018 Page 5 of 10 Ms. Bodmer answered yes. Commissioner Diekmann asked where are the organics collected. Ms. Bodmer replied that the waste containers are kept inside the building so there is an indoor enclosure rather than an outdoor enclosure. Commissioner Alwin asked the City Attorney Sharon Hills if there is a cap on the IUP. Attorney Sharon Hills said interim is temporary and the Planning Commission can determine the length of time. Commissioner Scanlan asked if the City was part of the discussion for this location. Ms. Bodmer answered no. The City did meet with the County before application and the City asked the County to explore other locations in the City. The County felt that WSC was the location they wanted to move forward with. Commissioner Scanlan asked if the City has possible alternative locations identified for this type of service. Ms. Bodmer replied the Central Maintenance Facility (CMF) and Lebanon Hills campground. Commissioner Schindler said he struggled at the public hearing. He said if you pick a spot this would be a really good spot. You would have the City and the County sharing a property that their main goal is to make sure Apple Valley looks good and Dakota County looks good. He finds it hard to believe that both Dakota County and the City would lapse on having this kept up. He cannot think of any location that the tenants would take more initiative to make sure things look nice. He commented that the only people that can get into the locked area are the people who want to recycle and sign up for the program. He thinks this is a good location and thinks it will be a well- maintained dumpster site. It is a central location. People are doing their errands. He said people will shop when they are making this trip. It is convenient for them because it is where they do all their shopping. He added that he thinks the CMF would work fine too. He would be totally in favor of that as well. Related to recycling and sustainability, he was surprised that the City does not want to get this done. It accomplishes all the things we are trying to do as a society right now. He feels nobody can see it and he is perplexed. He feels it is a legal thing that the business community has put the pressure on. Commissioner Scanlan commented that the City Hall has organic recycling indoors and asked if this could become an indo with the business community by looking at ways to come up with a solution if the County feels so strongly on this location. He believes there are other locations within the City that could provide the same level of service. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes August 1, 2018 Page 6 of 10 Commissioner Burke asked what is done in regards to Bogarts, for example, and what kind of rules they have to follow regarding organic recycling. He understands there are other businesses in the City that have organic recycling and what type of enclosure are they using. Ms. Bodmer answered that the County would know more but it could be working out an arrangement with their waste hauler and it would be the same kind of enclosure as for their waste dumpster. Commissioner Schindler inquired what would people be told if they were taking organics to the mulch store and were told it was full and cannot leave it there. He said he would have a concern if there was not a backup arrangement. Chair Melander said this is about a ton a week and this could just be the initial estimate with the 1,400 households. If it takes off as recycling took off, it could easily need to be expanded and quickly. It could be over capacity in a short time because people want to be environmentally responsible. Commissioner Schindler does not think this site has a lot of room for expansion and had not thought about that earlier but at CMF there is opportunity for the expansion. This needs to be planned to be successful. He is in favor of organic recycling but does not think it has to happen at WSC. Chair Melander said he regularly runs over to the Eagan site with electronic and paint recycling and that facility is tucked away and not by Eagan City Hall. It is a well-run facility but not up front of everybody. He believes 6 years is an awfully long time and if the City agrees to 6 years it is for 6 years. Attorney Hills commented yes. It would be for 6 years. Commissioner Diekmann inquired if it was a conflict that zoning district and approve it later in a Attorney Hills answered no. Ms. Bodmer added the functioning of the two sites is a little bit different with office building versus maintenance activities. The ordinance could be tailored to address something like that. Community Development Director Bruce Nordquist said he appreciates the County providing the background material on environmental permitting as to what is required and not required. He said there is an active application on the table and Dakota County is asking for this site. He explained the significance of the Ring Route and the future of the commercial center of Apple Valley in the years to come. He said we do need to be looking at an organics drop location but said there are other locations to serve the public that are reasonably placed. Commissioner Diekmann said he understands why Mr. Nordquist is making the comments. Thinks the City is talking out of both sides of their mouths. The City talks sustainability and environmental CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes August 1, 2018 Page 7 of 10 stewardship and there is no site now in Apple Valley and he feels we need a site. He said it should be explored and we must provide a site for the residents. He feels it is the business community that . He does not like the expense to the taxpayers for the County to put the site there for that price they are proposing when two drop-off locations could be put in for the same price and make it more convenient for the residents. Mr. Nordquist said this is not having it both ways. The uses we have within the Ring Route are offices, retail and job center types of opportunities. He added there are other sites that are capable of managing waste because of their use not their zoning. He explained there is a use and there is a correct place for that use. He said that a use in a would allow or could be supported or recommended in one location over another. (Institutional) zoning but inside the Ring Route, that is critical to the success of the business community, we have businesses that have just as much of an impact as this organic waste recycling center. It is more of a picking and choosing what we want to highlight as the reason why and he was finding that a little offensive and that is why he feels we are talking out of both sides of our mouths. Chair Melander commented that he had seen businesses come before to the City. Applicants have a right to say where they want to be but this application is for this site. He added the Planning Commission only recommends to the City Council and Dakota County asked for this site only. He said he would have been more comfortable had Dakota County come to the City to ask where to put this but they did not. They had asked for this one site. He said it could affect the City and we may never know it and he does not think it is worth the risk. We have worked very hard on the Downtown area. Georg Fischer, Dakota County Resources Director, said they are asking for a size that is only 10 feet longer than what they plan to build for the upgraded solid waste enclosure they already have a building permit for. He said money is not in the budget to buy a site and at CMF there would not be County staff to monitor it. If the sites are spread out in location they cannot be maintained in two hours per week. If the amount of organics dropped off would increase in volume, they would have the organics picked up more than twice a week. Commissioner Diekmann asked why there was such a lack of communication with City staff. Mr. Fischer answered that until the time of the public hearing he was not aware that that was a lack of communication but City staff made it look as there was. County staff went to the County Board and were told to make it happen. The CMF site was not brought up. They made application to the City for a specific site. They did not want to pick a site that would cost the County money. They are looking at a site that is cost effective and has the opportunity for the most participation. Their long-term goal is to have organics curbside pickup and that is why they are asking for a 6-year IUP. Chair Melander suggested that this be delayed to the next meeting. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes August 1, 2018 Page 8 of 10 Mr. Fischer said they already have a project on the books to do that expansion project and they already delayed that project for this process. If they delay past September, they will be charged by their contractor. He was hoping for a vote tonight. The clock is ticking before this becomes no longer economically viable for them to do this particular site. MOTION: Commissioner Alwin moved, seconded by Commissioner Schindler recommending approval of the interim use permit (IUP) with the following conditions: 1. The interim use permit shall be valid for a period of one (1) year from the date of approval. Thereafter, the use shall be evaluated to determine whether to extend the IUP, amend the ordinance, or terminate the IUP. 2. The organics deposited at the site must be collected a minimum of twice weekly. 3. A maximum of 12 yards of residential organic material shall be transferred through this site. 4. The dumpster enclosure shall be constructed of in accordance with the site plan, A4 dated September 26, 2017, and revised April 12, 2018, and the elevation plan, A5 dated September 26, 2017, and revised April 12, 2018, with the condition that a landscape island shall not be removed, but may be reconfigured, on the east end of the dedicated parking spaces. 5. The exterior of the dumpster enclosure shall be maintained in good condition and the dumpster lids shall remain closed except when in use. 6. Any unwanted waste material left outside the enclosure shall be removed within 24 hours. 7. A routine cleaning and sanitizing strategy shall be submitted at the time of application of the building permit that provides for weekly sanitation of the facility. The site shall be sanitized weekly. 8. Access for residents shall be limited to the hours of 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 9. Access to the organics dumpster shall be by means of a secure access. 10. The organics dumpster site shall be inspected daily to ensure proper maintenance. 11. Only self-hauled residential organic waste and organic waste generated at the WSC and Apple Valley Library may be accepted at this location. Ayes - 2 - Nays 5 (Alwin, Diekmann, Kurtz, Melander, Scanlan). MOTION: Commissioner Diekmann moved, seconded by Commissioner Kurtz recommending denial of the interim use permit (IUP). Ayes - 5 - Nays 2 (Burke, Schindler). MOTION: Commissioner Diekmann moved, seconded by Commissioner Alwin recommending approving the Findings of Facts for denial as listed in the following: 1. The City of Apple Valley supports opportunities for residential organics recycling and believes residents benefit from conveniently placed residential organics drop off sites. However, the Dakota County Western Service Center site is not a suitable location in the City of Apple Valley. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes August 1, 2018 Page 9 of 10 2. A trash enclosure is required at WSC and is proposed to be expanded to accept residential organic waste for recycling in the same location. A 163,000 sq. ft. office building is required to manage only its building waste. 3. Working collaboratively with the City, alternative locations could be identified in support of residential organic recycling for and within Apple Valley. 4. Issuing an IUP for a 6-year period is not a temporary use of the property. 5. Conducting a residential organics drop-off facility at the Western Service Center is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan designation for one of the primary institutional uses in the center of the City's Downtown. 6. Conducting a residential organics drop-off facility at the Western Service Center does not meet the standards set forth in the zoning regulations governing conditional use permits. 7. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) defines a "Source Separated Organic Material Drop-Off Site" as a waste "Transfer Station." The site is further defined as a limited solid waste collection services transfer facility. A waste transfer station is not listed as a permitted, conditional or accessory use in the P zoning district or any other zoning district in the City. 8. Potential nuisance impacts from a poorly managed waste disposal facility include insect, bird, rodent and rat issues; odors; unsightliness; abandoned hazardous and difficult-to-dispose waste. Any lapses or carelessness in the management of the facility could result in the creation of nuisances that could impact the entire Downtown and commercial center of the City. 9. The proposed residential organics container/drop-off area will be approximately 490' from the weekly farmer's market, 460' from the nearest restaurant, Bogarts, and approximately 780' from IHOP, Noodles and Jimmy Johns. The site will be approximately 1,000' from the nearest grocery store, Fresh Thyme. 10. There are other possible sites controlled by the County and City that could be explored, offering sought after organic recycling to Apple Valley residents. 11. Central maintenance and park maintenance locations can be explored that have an industrial character more consistent with a proposed waste collection and transfer use. Ayes - 2 - Nays 5 (Alwin, Diekmann, Kurtz, Melander, Scanlan). 6. OTHER BUSINESS A. Review of upcoming schedule and other updates. Community Development Director Bruce Nordquist stated that the next regular Planning Commission meeting would take place Wednesday, August 15, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. 7. ADJOURNMENT Hearing no further comments from the Planning Staff or Planning Commission, Chair Melander asked for a motion to adjourn. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes &uato/l,20l8 Page lUof|0 MOTION: Commissioner Schindler moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann to adjourn the meeting at 9:04 p.m. Ayes - 7 - Nays - 0. Respect lly Submitted, Joa urphy, Planning De a n ssistant ��^— Chair_---__--_,