Planning Commission - 10/27/2003 APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE COMMUNITY PLANNING BOARD
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2003 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER
Council Chambers
8080 Mitchell Road
BOARD MEMBERS: Ken Brooks, Randy Foote,
Vicki Koenig, Fred Seymour, Kathy Nelson,
Dave Steppat, Ray Stoelting, Bill Sutherland
STAFF MEMBERS: Stu Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources
Mike Franzen, City Planner
Al Gray, City Engineer
Jane Hovind, Recording Secretary
I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL
Chair Stoelting called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Chair Stoelting,
Commissioners Brooks, Foote, Steppat and Sutherland. Absent: Koenig, Nelson,
Seymour
Franzen informed the Board members of the resignation of Paul Sodt.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION by Steppat, second by Foote, to approve the minutes. Motion carried, 5-0
III. MINUTES
A. Minutes of the September 22, 2003 Community Planning Board Meeting
Foote stated on page 7,paragraph 4, second sentence, should read " He didn't
believe there would be any excess traffic with this small development."
Steppat stated on page 6, paragraph 2, beginning of the 2nd line, to add the words
"the adjacent".
Sutherland indicated the date in the heading on the first page should be September
22, not September 8.
MOTION by Steppat, second by Foote, to approve the minutes of the September
22, 2003 Community Planning Board Meeting. Motion carried, 4-0, Sutherland
abstained.
Planning Board Minutes
October 27, 2003
Page 2
IV. PUBLIC MEETINGS
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. BROOKVIEW RIDGE by David and Patricia Smith. Request for Planned Unit
Development Concept Review on 4.56 acres, Planned Unit Development District
Review with waivers on 4.56 acres, Zoning District Change From Rural to R1-22 on
4.56 acres, and Preliminary Plat of 4.56 acres into 5 lots. Location: 9780 Brookview
Circle.
Franzen stated the proponent is asking for additional time to prepare revised plans in
accordance with the Board's direction from the previous meeting. The developer is
asking for a continuance to the December 8 meeting.
MOTION by Foote, second by Brooks, to recommend a continuance to the
December 8, 2003, meeting. Motion carried, 5-0
B. VARIANCE#2003-10 for Anthony Lissick, for property located at 17159 Trenton
Lane, Eden Prairie, MN.
To permit approval for construction of a 12'x 25' third stall garage addition
having a side yard setback of 8.85'. City Code requires a side yard setback of
10' on each side with a total side yard setback of 25'.
Mr. Lissick stated he would like to add a third stall to his garage in order to store his
boat in the summer and his snow mobile trailer in the winter. He displayed drawings
of the additional stall. He said he considered several options, including putting in a
narrower garage with an 8 foot door but this wasn't feasible because the garage stall
needs to be wide enough accommodate his boat which is over 7 feet wide. He said he
doesn't want to leave his boat or trailer in the driveway. He stated the variance is for
an additional 1.5 feet to make the depth of the garage 12 feet which would be
necessary to accommodate a 9 foot garage door.
Franzen stated there are 34 single family homes on Trenton Drive and 24 of he
houses have three stall garages. If the variance was allowed there would still be the
minimum setback of 20 feet between buildings for the R1-13.5 district.
Steppat asked whether neighbors had any objections to the addition. Mr. Lissick
responded there was not.
MOTION by Brooks, second by Foote to close public hearing. Motion carried, 5-0.
Planning Board Minutes
October 27, 2003
Page 3
MOTION by Brooks, second by Foote, to recommend approval of a side yard
setback variance from 10' to 8.85' in the R1-13.5 Zoning District to permit the
construction of a 12' x 25' third stall garage addition based on the following findings.
• The variance will not change the 20 foot minimum distance required
between buildings.
• The variance request will be in keeping with the character of the
neighborhood.
Motion carried, 5-0.
C. VARIANCE#2003-11 for James & Raynelle Perkins, Stephen Longman Builders,
Inc. for property located at 7010 and 7014 Willow Creek Road
7010 Willow Creek Road (Lot 1, Block 1, Bryant Lake Heights)
• Abutting Lot Minimum Lot Size on a Recreational Development Water without
public sewer from 5 acres to 1.2 acres.
• Abutting Lot Minimum Lot Width at the Building Line on a Recreational
Development Water without public sewer from 300 feet to 220 feet.
• Street frontage in the R1-22 Zoning District from 90 feet street frontage and 55
feet street frontage on a cul de sac to 25 feet.
7014 Willow Creek Road (Lot 3, Block 1, Bryant Lake Heights)
• Abutting Lot Minimum Lot Size on a Recreational Development Water without
public sewer from 5 acres to .62 acres.
• Abutting Lot Minimum Lot Width at the Building Line on a Recreational
Development Water without public sewer from 300 feet to 120 feet.
• Abutting Lot Width at the Ordinary High Water Mark on a Recreational
Development Water without public sewer from 150 feet to 145 feet.
• Street frontage in the R1-22 Zoning District from 90 feet street frontage and 55
feet street frontage on a cul de sac to 45 feet.
Franzen stated there are two property owners, James and Raynell Perkins own Lot
1, and Stephen Longman owns Lot 3. The zoning ordinance states that variances
must be used within a year after approval. James Perkins'plat was approved within
45 days of the variance approval and his plat was filed in 30 days later. This had
been challenged by an abutting property owner who asserts that the variances have
expired since the homes have not been built. The City could go to court with this
but this would save time and money by taking action to approve the variances. The
staff recommendation is to approve the variances. They are the same variances
approved in 1999, and identified in the Developer Agreement for Bryant Lake
Heights.
Foote asked for a clarification regarding the ordinance language indicating a
variance must be used within one year. Franzen responded that the code states:
Planning Board Minutes
October 27, 2003
Page 4
"Variances granted ..... shall be used within one year and if not, the variance will be
of no further force and effect."
MOTION by Steppat, second by Foote, to close the public hearing. Motion
carried, 5-0
MOTION by Steppat, second by Foote, to recommend approval of the following
variances.
7010 Willow Creek Road (Lot 1, Block 1, Bryant Lake Heights)
• Abutting Lot Minimum Lot Size on a Recreational Development Water
without public sewer from 5 acres to 1.2 acres.
• Abutting Lot Minimum Lot Width at the Building Line on a Recreational
Development Water without public sewer from 300 feet to 220 feet.
• Street frontage in the R1-22 Zoning District from 90 feet street frontage
and 55 feet street frontage on a cul de sac to 25 feet.
7014 Willow Creek Road (Lot 3, Block 1, Bryant Lake Heights)
• Abutting Lot Minimum Lot Size on a Recreational Development Water
without public sewer from 5 acres to .62 acres.
• Abutting Lot Minimum Lot Width at the Building Line on a Recreational
Development Water without public sewer from 300 feet to 120 feet.
• Abutting Lot Width at the Ordinary High Water Mark on a Recreational
Development Water without public sewer from 150 feet to 145 feet.
Street frontage in the R1-22 Zoning District from 90 feet street frontage
and 55 feet street frontage on a cul de sac to 45 feet.
Motion carried, 4-0, Brooks abstained
D. MEADOWCROFT by Nickel Land Company for Planned Unit Development
Concept Review on 14.6 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with
waivers on 7.08 acres, Zoning District Change from Rural to R1-22 on 7.08 acres,
and Preliminary Plat of 14.6 acres into 4 lots and 2 outlots. Location: 9950 Dell
Road.
Daren Laberee of Westwood Professional Services, Inc. presented the project. He
said the project had been in front of board before and they were asked to reduce
density and tree loss and stay within the MUSA line. He stated the current plan is
less dense and consists of 14 1/2 acres of which 7 1/2 acres are to be given to the City
for parkland. He said they intend to impact the site as little as possible. He stated
the topography of the site includes a creek, woods and a ravine. He said there is no
public road because of the existing topography but there is an easement in place for
access to the site. The tree loss on the site will be approximately 9%.
Planning Board Minutes
October 27, 2003
Page 5
He continued the landscape plan buffers the development from neighbors. The
building pads are within the MUSA line although some of the grading will be
outside the MUSA. They had tried keeping all of the grading within the MUSA but
it would result in having to build 17 foot high retaining walls which are a safety
issue.
Franzen stated the developer was previously directed to develop the most
environmentally sensitive plan they could. The exhibits indicate that the land will
be given to the City and the proposed plan impacts the site in a minimal way.
Steppat stated he noticed there is a billboard on the property and asked if it was
going to be removed. Laberee responded it would.
Stoelting asked staff about the tree loss and positioning of the house pads. Fox
responded they are doing well regarding tree loss. It's consistent with other
developments with similar topography. When there are steep slopes, heavier
development is at the top of the slopes and trees are maintained on the lower parts.
Brooks asked about price point of homes. Laberee responded they were priced
between $400,000 and 575,000.
Stoelting stated they had them readdress the location of the road because of the
impact to the MUSA line. The alternative results in steep retaining walls. He asked
if Board members were comfortable with the proposed plan. Brooks stated he
believed they want to do the plan with grading outside the MUSA line. He asked
why it would be important to grade within the MUSA.
Franzen responded the Met Council developed the MUSA line to control the rate of
growth of utilities and to protect the Minnesota River Bluff. According to code its
not a bluff since it is not in a shoreland area and subject to bluff regulations but is
referred to locally as the Minnesota River Bluff. The MUSA line is not a straight
line, it meanders so all existing houses stay within in the MUSA line. If there had
been no houses, the line would have been drawn straighter, running parallel with
Highway 212 and there may not have been a MUSA line grading issue with this
project. The Met Council was telling us this was the best part of the bluff but after
reviewing the plans some minor grading outside the MUSA line saves more tree
mass and overall grading is less.
Steppat stated the plan seems to be the best possible use of a very difficult property.
Sutherland agreed with Steppat. Foote stated he also agreed. Grading within the
MUSA line with a 17 foot retaining wall is not a good alternative.
MOTION by Brooks, second by Foote to close the public hearing. Motion carried,
5-0
Planning Board Minutes
October 27, 2003
Page 6
MOTION by Brooks, second by Steppat, to recommend approval of a Planned Unit
Development Concept Review on 14.6 acres, Planned Unit Development District
Review with waivers on 7.08 acres, Zoning District Change From Rural to R1-22
on 7.08 acres, and Preliminary Plat of 14.6 acres into 4 lots and 2 outlots,based on
plans dated October 17, 2003, subject to the recommendations of the staff report
dated October 24, 2003, to the City Council. Motion carried, 5-0
VI. MEMBERS REPORTS
Stoelting stated that the Board will miss former Board member Sodt's experience and
input and he wished him luck. Board members unanimously agreed.
VII. CONTINUING BUSINESS
VIII. NEW BUSINESS
IX. PLANNERS' REPORTS
A. STEPHEN LONGMAN BUILDERS INC., LAND ALTERATION PERMIT IN
A SHORELAND AREA AT 7014 WILLOW CREEK ROAD
Gray stated the Board is being asked to review and approve a permit request from
Stephen Longman Builders to alter land in a shoreland area to place fill in an area
previously occupied by a tennis court.
The Board,by code, is asked to review the environmental impacts of the land
alteration permit which includes erosion and trees. He said there is an erosion control
plan and no trees will be lost in the fill area.
MOTION by Brooks, second by Foote, to recommend approval of the request by
Stephen Longman Builders Inc., for a land alteration permit in a shoreland area, based
on plans dated October 12, 2003, and subject to the staff report dated October 23,
2003, to the City Council. Motion carried, 5-0
X. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Steppat, second by Sutherland, to adjourn. Motion carried, 5-0
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.