Planning Commission Minutes 03-02-1999
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MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING-MONTICELLO PLANNING COMMISSION
Tuesday, March 2, 1999
Members:
Richard Carlson, Rod Dragsten, Dick Frie, Roy Popilek and Robbie Smith.
Council Liaison: Clint Herbst
Staff: Steve Grittman, Jeff O'Neill and Fred Patch.
1. Chair Frie called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and declared a quorum present.
2. Consideration of approval of minutes of the regular meeting held on February 2, 1999,
and special meeting held on Februarv 8,1999.
ROY POPILEK MOVED AND ROD DRAGSTEN SECONDED THE MOTION TO
APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 2, 1999 REGULAR MEETING.
Motion carried with Dick Fric abstaining.
Chair Frie asked for clarification on the minutes for the special meeting of February 8,
1999 as it pertained to thc Chadwick/Bohanon property. It was the position of the
MOAA Board that this property should be residential while the Planning Commission felt
it was better suited for light industrial.
ROBBIE SMITH MOVED AND RICHARD CARLSON SECONDED THE MOTION
TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 8, 1999 SPECIAL MEETING.
Motion carried with Dick Frie abstaining.
3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda.
Chair Frie asked that Council Liaison Clint Herbst update the Planning Commission on
the MOAA Board action on the following: 1) Gravel pit; 2) Designation of residential
-YS- industrial and 3) Where the MOAA Board is on the land use plan.
Clint Herbst responded that the yote was 4-1 to allow the gravel pit operation on the
Chadwick property to go in at such time as Chelsea Road is in. With no gravel hauling
allowed on County Road 39 or on the township road it is necessary to wait until Chelsea
Road is in. He noted that MOAA Board was unanimous in their designation of the gravel
pit site as residential with the side close to the freeway being light industrial. The Gold
Nugget property was determined to be designated industrial and the Bohanon property
was designated as residential. At the present time there is no consensus of the City
Council on the land use plan proposed by the MOAA Board.
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Fred Patch asked that the simple subdivision for Greg Ebert/Russ Martie be added to the
agenda. This was added to the agenda as item # 11.
4. Citizen Comments.
There was no citizen comment.
5.
Continued Public Hearing - Consideration of a request for a Zoning District amendment
from A-O to R-4 to allow the expansion ofKiellbenz's West Mobile Home Park.
Steve Grittman gave the staff report reviewing with the Planning Commission the site
plan for the expansion of the park that was submitted by the applicant in response to
comments made at the February Planning Commission meeting. Steye Grittman noted
that an R-4 designation does not require a preliminary plat but does require a site review.
The Planning Commission needs to review the site plan so that it can be passed on to the
MOAA Board for their review prior to annexation. Steve Grittman listed a number of
items that Planning Commission should be aware of. The primary one being a land use
issue. The Comprehensive Plan calls for this area to be medium to high density housing
(4-8 units per acre). The plan submitted by the applicant for the mobile home park is
more typieal of a single family development (3 units per acre) and therefore would be
considered low density.
If the Planning Commission felt that the lot density was acceptable the following design
issues should be reviewed.
1. Access: The staff wanted two additional access points one ofwhich would connect to School
Boulevard. The applicant is asking that only one access point be constructed.
2. Park Dedication: The R-4 district requires a 10% park dedication and does not allow for
cash in lieu of land. The original site plan did not meet this requirement but the applicant
indicated his willingness to work with the City on this point.
3. Pathway Connection: There is a pathway connection from the residential area to the south
into the mobile home park. The stafffclt that additional pedestrian access would be
beneficial.
4. Location of School Boulevard: School Bouleyard is proposed to extend to T.H. #25 and the
proposed alignment would loop through the corner of the plat. There has also been discussion
of aligning School Boulevard to run north of the plat. Chair Frie asked if the City Engineer
had soil and topography information on the two alignment options.
5. Public Safety Comments: The applicant submitted a summary of police calls that were made
to the mobile home park and how they compared to thc number of calls in the City overall.
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Chair Frie opened the public hearing on thc zoning amcndment. Kirk Kjellberg spoke
briefly regarding thcir request and submitted picturcs of the types of housing in the
mobile home park. Jeff O'Ncill asked what the typical density is for a mobile home park.
Normally the density would be 5-6 units per acre but in the proposed expansion the
dcnsity would be 3 units per acre. Bill I Iolland 3407 88th Strect NE statcd that the
pathway referred to by the Planning Commission was not a public pathway but was
located on private property. Mike Quinn, 3485 88th Street NE noted that there are 200+
homes in thc west park, 100+ homes in thc east park and a proposal to add approximately
134 additional homcs. He was concerncd about thc traffic gencrated by this
development. "rom Wolfgrmn, 3424 88th Street raised a question about the proposed
access to the south.
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Chair Fric then closed the public hearing. Robbie Smith questioned what part of the park
currently is in the City. He was informed that Kjellberg's West has been annexed but the
expansion area has not becn annexed. Robbie Smith also asked the amount of the park
land on the south portion of the parccl. Steve Grittman indicated that thcre was about one
acre of land but the applicant had indicated that he was willing to acquire additional park
land. Robbic Smith asked about the price of the homes in the existing park. Kirk
Kjcllberg responded that they ranged in price from $9,000-$45,000. With the lower
density in the cxpansion area they would expect to see homcs with a price range of
$50,000-$75,000. Rod Dragstcn asked if the developcr would bc picking up the cost for
improvements. Steve Grittman indicated that would be the case and pointed out that the
mobile homc park had their own internal collcction system for the sewer. Roy Popilek
stated that thc City's Comprehensive Plan call cd for mid-density housing and he did not
feci comfortable with this proposal because it did not comply with the Comprchensive
Plan. Richard Carlson asked how the existing strects in the west park would tie in with
the streets proposcd in the expansion arca. Kirk Kjellberg indicated that there were no
plans to improve the existing strects as they wcre designcd to handle the flow from the
expansion area. Chair Frie asked if the Park Commission has had a chance to review the
proposed park land area. Jeff O'Neill indicated the Park Commission has not reviewed
the site plan.
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Chair Frie stated that the Comprehensive Plan gives the Planning Commission direction
and provides a guideline. He firmly believes in the purpose of the Comprehensive Plan
and concurrcd with Roy Popilek that this proposal does not complement the
Comprehensive Plan. Chair Frie felt that an R-2 land use was more appropriatc for this
area. Chair Frie also commentcd on the condition and design of the streets in the existing
park which he felt were inadequate. Chair Frie expressed his concern about thc impact
the park would have on the value of the adjacent single fmnily homes and what amount of
tax dollars the park generated. Kent Kjellberg responded that they had designed the
expansion with the bel ief that less homes and Icss people would make it more desirable.
He noted that they met with the highway dcpartment rcgarding the access and the
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highway department did not express concerns about the access. There was gcneral
discussion on the street design and traffic issues. Kent Kjellberg pointed out that the
streets in the park were 40 feet wide when the ordinance only required a width of24 feet.
In response to the comment about tax revenue generatcd by the park, Mr. Kjellberg noted
that the park maintained all their own streets including the snow removal, and took care
of the costs for garbage pickup and street lighting as well. In addition $400,000 has been
committed towards the cost of the sewer.
Chris Scribner, 3456 88th Street NE stated his belief that the buffer did not provide
adequate screening for the adjacent residential areas. There were additional resident
comments about the traffic generated by the proposed expansion and whether any
expansion should be allowed prior to School Boulevard access being constructed.
CHAIR FRIE MOVED TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE REZONING REQUEST
FOR KJELLBERG'S MOBILE HOME PARK BASED ON THE FINDING THAT
OTHER LAND USES WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE FOR THE AREA AND
WOULD MORE CLOSELY CONFORM WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. ROY
POPILEK SECONDED THE MOTION. Motion carried unanimously.
6.
Continued Public Hearing - Consideration of a request for Conditional Use Permit PUD
and Preliminary Plat - Gold Nugget Development. Inc.
Steve Grittman gave the staff report summarizing the issues that had been discussed in
previous Planning Commission meetings on this item. The Planning Commission had
tabled this item pending resolution of whether the property should be designated as
residential or industrial. A joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission is
scheduled for March 8, 1999 to further discuss the question. The Planning Commission
discussed the position the IDC took that part of the Gold Nugget land should be
designated as commerciallindustrial and whether the Mayor took a position on this at the
IDC meeting. The IDC felt that land south of Chelsea Road should be residential and
north of Chelsea Road should be for light industrial.
Chair Frie opened the public hearing. Mike Quinn felt it was ridiculous to put industrial
land that far off the freeway and felt the area should be residential. Horst Graser spoke
to the Planning Commission about some of the issues that were raised at the last meeting
and were addressed in his memo of February 17, 1999. One of the items that was
discllssed was the storm water management ponds. Mr. Graser stated that he envisioned
the wetland area as something that would be ml amenity to the development. He noted
that the elevation of the pond had been changed and it was proposed to include plantings
of native grasses in the area. Jeff O'Neill questioned what assurances the developer could
give to make sure the storm water ponding improvements were implemented. Mr. Graser
indicated they would have a landscape firm do the plantings and maintain them for at
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least three years. A more detailed landscape plan will be submitted at a later date. Horst
Graser noted that there will be entry features that will include plantings as well as signage
identifying the development. Maintenance of the entry monuments was diseussed. It is
the intent of Gold Nugget to maintain the plantings for at least 10 years but after that it
was not ccrtain who would be rcsponsible for the entry monuments. Chair Frie closed the
public hearing.
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Rod Dragsten stated that in Horst Graser's memo on development controls they proposc a
range of house values. He indicated that he would prefer to see a square footage
minimum used rather than just a value. Horst Graser said his firm stayed away from
square footage minimums but stated that the homes would exceed the minimum
requirements set forth in the City's ordinance. Roy Popilek asked about the Architectural
Control Committee and how it would work. Mr. Graser rcsponded that the Committee
would be made up of representatives from the firm who would review the applicant's
information and determine whether it met the guidelines. There was some discussion on
outside storage and Mr. Graser stated the restrictive covenants did not address the issue of
recreational vehicles. Chair Frie asked the staff if the design standards set forth in the
February 17th memo complied with city ordinances. It was noted that the Architectural
Control Committee would provide thc private effort for enforcement of the restrictive
covcnants. Thc was some additional discussion on when the land use issues with the
MOAA would be resolved and whether the Planning Commission would make a
recommendation at some point in the interim or wait until the land use plan was adopted.
ROD DRAGSTEN MOVED AND ROY POPILEK SECONDED THE MOTION TO
RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE PRELIMINARY PLAT AND PUD SUBJECT
TO THE CONDITIONS IN THE STAFF REPORT OF JANUARY 5,1999 AS
FOLLOWS AND THE DEVELOPMENT CONTROLS AS OUTLINED IN THE
FEBRUARY 7, 1999 MEMO WITH SQUARE FOOTAGE MINIMUMS TO BE USED
IN LIEU OF HOME VALUES:
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I. Rezoning of Phase I to R-l, Single Family Residential upon approval of annexation and submission of
final plat.
2. Division of blocks within the Preliminary Plat to meet the maximum 1,320 block length and required
pedestrian access through blocks of more than 800 feet.
3. Verification that all lots meet or exceed the minimum standards of 12,000 square feet in area and 80 feet
in width.
4. Street connections are added to the northwest and southwest portions of the plat to provide greater
traffic dispersal.
5. Submission ofa revised plat showing a change to the long parallel street pattern in the southwest portion
of the plat.
6. Additional access is provided to Trunk Highway 25 if approved by MnDot.
7. Consideration is given to the provision of a frontage road connection to the north from the northwest
corner of the plat.
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8. The street pattern is altered to comply with the standards for street width construction as mentioned in
this report
9. Access is provided to Outlot C.
10. Approval of the landscaped island in Red Pine Way by staff.
11. Park areas are graded and seeded as shown in the Grading Plan.
] 2. Sidewalks and pathways arc constructed in coordination with the development of the plat.
13. Pathway is added to the Preliminary Plat along County Road 117 between Red Pine Way and the
northeast corner of the plat.
14. Pathway is added to the Prcliminary Plat along 85th Street NE between Red Pine way and the southwcst
corner of the plat.
15. Pathway is added to create a parallel pathway connection along Trunk Highway 25, either in the TH 25
right-of-way or within the plat close to TH 25.
16. Submission of a preliminary phasing plan.
17. Additional landscaping is provided along the northern boundary to strengthen and diversify the buffer.
18. A landscape plan is provided for Outlots A and C to provide a low maintenance natural wetland
environment.
19. City Enginecr approval of grading and utility plans.
20. Consideration or architectural control measures with the objective of limiting monotony in the building
layout.
21. Submission of additional details for the townhouse portions of the project including building plans and,
whcre appropriate, intensified landscaping.
There was some additional discussion on the merits of using square footage minimums or
home value range. Horst Graser stated that the developer was not in agreement with
items #14 and #15 as they did not fecI they could be responsible for development of
pathways outside their property. Steve Grittman addressed this stating that the least the
City could look at was having the pathways extended to the end of the property. There
was discussion on future connections to the trails.
ROD DRAGSTEN AMENDED HIS MOTION TO STATE THE ISSUE OF 1-l0ME
VALUE RANGE/SQUARE FOOTAGE MINIMUM WOULD BE ADDRESSED BY
THE STAFF AND GOLD NUGGET; THAT ITEMS #14 AND #15 WOULD BE
WORKED OUT BETWEEN 'rHE STAFF AND THE DEVELOPER AND THAT A
DETAILED LANDSCAPE PLAN WILL BE SUBMITTED BY THE DEVELOPER.
ROY POPILEK SECONDED THE AMENDED MO'rION. Motion carried
unanimously.
7. Public Hearing - Consideration of a request for a Conditional Use Permit PUD and
variance from the lot area per unit standards within the R-3 Zoning District to allow a
subdivision and development of a two family dwelling.
The applicant had requested that this matter be considered at the April meeting.
ROBBIE SMITH MOVED AND ROD DRAGSTEN SECONDED THE MOTION TO
CONTINUE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON A REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE
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PERMIT PUD AND VARIANCE FROM THE LOT AREA PER UNIT STANDARDS
WITHIN THE R-3 ZONING DISTRICT UNTIL THE APRIL 6, 1999 PLANNING
COMMISSION MEETING. Motion carried unanimously.
Consideration of a request for a Simple Subdivision within the 1-2 Zoning District to
allow the subdivision of an industrial parcel into two lots.
Fred Patch gave the staff report on this item which was considered at the last meeting and
added as agenda item #11. The Planning Commission denied the simple subdivision
request based on finding that it did not meet the setback requirements of the 1-2 district.
Rich Rothstein from Morton Buildings has submitted a revised drawing that would not
require variance in order to develop the parcel. It is proposed that well drilling equipment
would be moved onto the south half of the parcel. The southerly portion of the parcel
would have a gravel surface and the northerly portion would be paved. Since the
Planning Commission had requested that any simple subdivision mect setback
requirements, the applicant was now requesting consideration of request for a simple
subdivision as the redrawn plan met setback requirements. It was the staff s
recommendation that the north/south lot line be kept as straight as possible. The
applicant's drawing showed the lot line jogging out in the area of the auger equipment
and then jogging back in. The staff felt that the fewer the jogs in thc lot line the less
chance there would be of future problems. It was noted that when the current building is
gone the lot line configuration would remain. Chair Frie noted that the Planning
Commission did not have an opportunity to revicw the revised plan prior to the meeting.
There was lengthy discussion on alternative lot line configurations. The feeling of the
Planning Commission was that the Planning Commission was being asked to bend the
rules to accommodate the fact that the building was placed incorrectly to begin with. The
problem with the development of the property was duc to the property owner's error
because hc treated the property as a single parcel when placing the structure on it. Greg
Hayes statcd that the property owner did not own both parcels at thc time the building
was constructed.
ROD DRAGSTEN MOVED AND RICHARD CARLSON SECONDED THE MOTION
TO RECOMMEND ACCEPTANCE OF THE LOT LINE CONFIGURATION
RECOMMENDED BY CITY STAFF WHICH WOULD ALLOW ONE LINE JOG
APPROXIMA TEL Y 378 FEET FROM THE NORTH LOT LINE. Motion carried with
Robbie Smith voting in opposition.
8.
Public Hearing - Consideration of a requcst for an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to
establish zero lot line subdivision for twin home development.
Steve Grittman presented the staff report. The current zoning ordinance does not provide
for a convenient way to build twin homes on a lot that allows for individual ownership of
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the units. The staff was requesting a provision for a zero lot line subdivision where the
twin units and the lots they are situated on could be individually owned. Chair Frie
opened the public hearing. No one was present to speak on the proposed amendment.
Chair Frie then closed the public hearing.
ROBBIE SMITH MOVED AND RICHARD CARLSON SECONDED THE MOTION
TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING
ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH ZERO LOT LINE SUBDIVISION FOR TWIN HOME
DEVELOPMENT. Motion carried unanimously.
9. Discussion on five of the most important items to be considered for the North
AnchorBrid e
Jeff O'Neill submitted a list of the items that were previously discussed by the Planning
Commission. Chair Frie noted that he had been absent when the Planning Commission
set forth their items and that he had prepared a list of items that he felt were priorities. He
will submit these to Jeff O'Neill who will incorporate them in with the list. There was
some discussion on restraining the impulse to do something immediately in the North
Anchor /Bridge Park area just because that is what has been discussed. Good planning
takes time and the City needs to plan this area realizing that the City could change
drastically over the next few years.
10. Continued discussion on length of terms for Planning Commission Members.
This had been discussed previously by the Planning Commission. Chair Frie asked
Council Liaison, Clint Herbst, if it was the Council's intent to evaluate all Planning
Commission members each year or only those whose terms were up. Clint Herbst
responded that the Council would be evaluating only those whose terms were up.
CHAIR FRIE MOVED TO HAVE STAGGERED TERMS FOR THE PLANNING
COMMISSION MEMBERS AS FOLLOWS: TWO MEMBERS FOR THREE YEARS,
TWO MEMBERS FOR TWO YEARS AND ONE MEMBER FOR ONE YEAR
EFFECTIVE FOR 1999 WITH DICK FRIE AND ROD DRAGSTEN SERVING
THREE YEAR TERMS; ROY POPILEK AND RICHARD CARLSON SERVING TWO
YEAR TERMS AND ROBBIE SMITH SERVING A ONE YEAR TERM. ROY
POPILEK SECONDED THE MOTION. Motion carried unanimously.
Fred Patch indicated that there are two pieces of property that are moving toward
development and the staff was requesting setting a public hearing to consider the
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rezoning of these two areas. One property is located on the north side of 1-94 just to the
east of Fufillment Systems, Inc. and it was suggested that this be rezoned to 11 A. The
other parcel is located just to the south of Ruff s Auto and is the north half of the Brennan
property. It is currently in a PZM zone and it is proposed to rezone it to IlA.
ROBBIE SMITH MOVED AND ROD DRAGSTEN SECONDED THE MOTION TO
CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AT THE APRIL 6, 1999 PLANNING
COMMISSION MEETING FOR REZONING OF THE PROPERTIES IDENTIFIED
AS LOTS 9-13, BLOCK 2, LAURING HILLSIDE TERRACE AND UNPLATTED
PROPERTY 155-500-104101 AND 155-500-104103.
ROBBIE SMITH MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 10:30 P.M. AND ROY POPILEK
SECONDED THE MOTION. Motion carried unanimously.
(J c1.J..-0'r-' ~~J..J=> ~) ~ ,?--
Recording Secretary ~
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