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Planning Commission - 07/23/2007 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY,JULY 23, 2007 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Vicki Koenig, Jerry Pitzrick, Frank Powell, Peter Rocheford, Fred Seymour, Ray Stoelting, Jon Stoltz, Kevin Schultz STAFF MEMBERS: Stu Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources Al Gray, City Engineer Michael Franzen, City Planner Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL Chair Stoelting called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Absent: Kirk. Rocheford arrived at 7:15 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Seymour, seconded by Stoltz, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. III. MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON JUNE 25, 2007 Koenig had a few revisions. On page 4, last paragraph, second sentence, she would like to add "for maintenance" at the end of the sentence. She would also like the third sentence on the same page and paragraph to read, "She pointed out cash park fees are a finite resource and different types of funding should be addressed in the future". On page 5, and the only commentary on the page, she would like to change the word "address" in the last sentence to "educate". Pitzrick wanted to add the following commentary to the Planner's Report under Chapter 7 Utilities of the Guide Plan Update. "The economic impact of the power line needs to be studied. Including how much additional property could be developed if the power line is relocated, and what would be the cost to relocate the power line either above ground or below ground. I would suggest getting input from a consultant that has significant EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 23, 2007 Page 2 current experience in the design and construction of underground high voltage transmission lines." Pitzrick would also like to add commentary to the Chapter 5 Transportation section of the Guide Plan that the information on airport data does not appear to be completely accurate and the Commission would suggest a thorough review to be done to make sure it is consistent with current policy of the City. MOTION by Kirk, seconded by Schultz, to approve the minutes as amended. Motion carried 5-0. Stoltz and Powell abstained. (Rocheford arrived after the approval of the minutes) IV. PUBLIC MEETINGS V. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. FLYING CLOUD CORPORATE CAMPUS Request for: Comprehensive Guide Plan Change from Industrial to Office/Community Commercial/High Density Residential on 47.65 acres; Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 47.65 acres; Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 47.65 acres; Zoning district Change from Rural and I-2 to Office on 47.65 acres; Site Plan Review on 47.65 acres; Preliminary Plat of 47.65 acres into two lots, one outlot, and road right-of-way. Franzen stated the applicant is withdrawing the project. A new application will be filed for an office building on the north half of the property only leaving development of the south half(currently leased by SuperValu) to the future. Stoelting asked Franzen if the public notices were sent out. Franzen confirmed the public notices were sent out. Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input. There was no input. MOTION by Stoltz, seconded by Koenig, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 7-0. MOTION by Stoltz, seconded by Schultz, to move to accept the letter of withdrawal of the project and return the development plans to the applicant without prejudice. Motion carried 7-0. B. VARIANCE#2007-14 Request to: EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 23, 2007 Page 3 Permit a garage addition 10 feet from a side lot line. Location: 7253 Gordon Drive. Jack Mallow presented the proposal. He stated the reason they are asking for this request is because they are trying to maintain their property, and in so doing purchased a John Deere tractor. They need a facility to store the tractor which is the reason for the variance request. Mr. Mallow pointed out because of the slope of the house on the Gerard Drive side, it would not be feasible to place the addition there. He stated the best location would be to add the addition onto the garage. Stoelting asked the project proponent if he was going to add onto the driveway. Mr. Mallow stated he was going to fan it out to make sure there would be enough room for the tractor to come out but not large enough for a car to drive on it. Stoelting asked if the large tree in front of the proposed addition would stay on the property. Mr. Mallow said they will not be taking down any trees. Stoelting asked if the neighbor to the south was comfortable with the project. Mr. Mallow stated he did talk with his neighbor and he was comfortable with the project. Pitzrick stated it shows siding on the drawing of the garage and he asked the project proponent to verify if the material would be brick. Mr. Mallow confirmed the material would be brick. Stoelting asked Franzen to review the staff report. Franzen stated on page 2 of the staff report there are four actions the Commission should consider. Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input. There was no input. MOTION by Stoltz, seconded by Koenig, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 8-0. MOTION by Stoltz, seconded by Powell, to recommend approval of the Variance to permit a garage addition 10 feet from a side lot lined based on plans stamped dated May 22, 2007, and the following findings: the distance between the homes at 7253 Gordon Drive and 7262 Gordon Drive is 40 feet, which is greater than the 30 foot code minimum distance between homes; the variance does not alter the character of the neighborhood; the garage addition does not encroach into drainage and utility easements; the proposed location of the garage is the most practical part of the property to build. Motion carried 8-0. C. VARIANCE#2007-16 Request to: Permit an accessory car wash building 0 feet from a rear lot line. Location: 7675 Mitchell Road. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 23, 2007 Page 4 Mark Namtvedt, Dealer/Franchisee of BP Amoco, presented the proposal. He stated they would like to redo the car wash to include a 10 foot storage addition which would improve the car wash to a full facility car wash. Mr. Namtvedt pointed out the owner behind the facility has some concerns with the existing line of the car wash being so close to the roadway and it could possibly affect the traffic flow on the roadway. Mr. Namtvedt said they both discussed the issue and came to the conclusion neither of them wanted to hinder the other's business and both agreed to be good neighbors. Stoelting asked where the stacking of cars would be. Mr. Namtvedt stated it would remain the same and pointed out the location on the overhead projector. Stoelting asked Mr. Namtvedt to explain how the new conveyor car wash would work. Mr. Namtvedt explained the person would stay in the car and it would be pulled through the car wash on a conveyor. Koenig asked if it was a touch-free car wash. Mr. Namtvedt said it was not and there would be some friction involved. Stoelting asked Franzen to review the staff report. Franzen stated on page 2 of the staff report there are four actions the Commission should consider. Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input. There was no input. Schultz asked Mr. Namtvedt how much additional revenue would be expected with the new car wash. Mr. Namtvedt said he expects the revenue to double. Schultz asked if the car wash would be closed in the winter. Mr. Namtvedt said it would have to be very cold to close the car wash. He pointed out there are pad heaters and this car wash could run in up to 10 below weather. Pitzrick asked Franzen if the drainage utility easement would be removed. Franzen said currently the drainage utility easement is five feet running along the entire south side of the property line. There are no public utilities in there,but some old private utilities are there, which would have to be vacated if a zero lot line were to be approved. Pitzrick asked what variances we gave to Mitchell Crossing. Franzen stated the City approved setback, height and density waivers. Pitzrick said he would like this project to be more consistent with Mitchell Crossing. Powell concurred with Pitzrick. Stoelting asked Mr. Namtvedt to address this issue. Mr. Namtvedt said they will be replacing the curbing with stainless steel. He pointed out relocating the car wash is not an option and he feels its location is best suited during business times. Mr. Namtvedt said they can make the one side of the building match Mitchell Crossing,but he feels it would be odd to have three sides of the building one color and the fourth a different shade of brick. Powell said since this building is so EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 23, 2007 Page 5 close to Mitchell Crossing it should have the same brick to be consistent. Stoelting concurred with Powell. Stoelting asked Franzen to address the brick issue. Franzen said currently there is a brick/stucco finish on Mitchell Crossing. One option is to have the same brick color on the car wash side and then add different materials, colors and details which match Mitchell Crossing. Koenig asked the project proponent if he was comfortable with this request. Mr. Namtvedt said he was confident this request could happen. Stoelting asked the Commission if they were comfortable moving on with this request or if they prefer a continuance. Pitzrick and Powell stated they would like this project continued; Stoltz stated he would want Staff to have a final sign off on the architectural aspect of the project; all of the other members were comfortable with moving on with the project. Mr. Namtvedt said a project of this size could take 90-100 days to complete and realistically it should be completed by October, before it gets very cold. He said he would prefer not to postpone this project for 30 days due to this reasoning. In regards to architectural issues,he would have no problem bringing his architect in to work out the details with Staff. Stoelting asked Franzen if the project would be delayed 30 days if it was continued. Franzen concurred it would be delayed 30 days or longer. He pointed out on page 2, option 2, of the staff report the variance request could be approved with modifications and it could be stated the project would architecturally conform to Mitchell Crossing. Stoelting asked Pitzrick and Powell if they would be comfortable with the variance request with modifications. Pitzrick asked if the owner of Mitchell Crossing could object to this. Franzen stated he could object and would have to file an appeal with the City within 15 days of approval. MOTION by Koenig, seconded by Rocheford, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 8-0. MOTION by Koenig, seconded by Powell, to recommend approval of the variance to permit an accessory car wash building 0 feet from a rear lot line based on plans stamped dated June 15, 2007, and the following findings: the south side of the car wash is adjacent to a driveway; the distance between the proposed car wash and the proposed building on the lot to the south is 35 feet as compared to the code requirement for 20 feet; the doors are on the east and west elevations; there are no windows on the south elevation. And to include the modification the Planning Commission requires the project proponent to modify architectural plans to the car wash building for an appropriate transition to Mitchell Crossing. Motion carried 8-0. D. VARIANCE#2007-17 Request for: A one year extension of Variance#2006-11, which permitted a front yard setback of 40 feet. Location: 18170 Bearpath Trail. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 23, 2007 Page 6 Mark Lecy, of Lecy Brothers Homes, presented the proposal. Mr. Lecy pointed out they had a variance request approved approximately one year ago. During that time, they had lost their customer,hence the reason for the variance request today. Stoelting asked Franzen to review the staff report. Franzen stated if they were able to move the house back 8 feet they would not need a variance request. Since they have no customer at this time, it is unknown if they would agree to this specific request. There are three Commission actions on page 2 of the staff report. Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input. There was no input. MOTION by Schultz, seconded by Koenig, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 8-0. MOTION by Schultz, seconded by Koenig, to recommend approval of the Variance to request a one year extension of Variance#2006-11, which permitted a front yard setback of 40 feet based on plans stamped dated June 28, 2007, with the following findings: the variance will not significantly alter the character of the neighborhood. The house to the west is setback at 40.5 feet. The proposed 40 foot setback is for the garage only. The house meets the average setback of 47.23 feet. The garage is the only part of the structure that encroaches into the setback and it is 5 percent of the total building area. Motion carried 8-0. E. CODE AMENDMENT REGARDING RESTAURANT & RETAIL PARKING REQUIREMENTS Franzen pointed out there was a presentation made to the Commission Members in October regarding this issue of reducing parking requirements for retail and restaurant areas. Staff suggested to the Commission that a peak holiday parking study was needed. A study was done from October 29, 2006 to December 29, 2006. Based on this study Staff recommendations and benefits are listed on page 2 of the staff report. The parking recommendations for restaurants are as follows: "Restaurant Type 1" — 1 /2.5 seats based on capacity (Bakers Square) "Restaurant Type 2" — 1 /3 seats based on capacity (McDonalds) "Restaurant Type 3" — 1 /2 seats based on capacity (Redstone) The parking recommendation for retail stores and shops is: "Retail stores and shops"— 511000 sq. ft. G.F.A. Potential benefits of reduced parking are as follows: Provides and area for rainwater gardens; provides an area for trails or sidewalks; provides an area for public art; create an economic benefit by allowing more building. Pitzrick asked Franzen how we deal with shared parking spaces. This is accomplished by a cross parking agreement with Canyon Grille. The issue was EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 23, 2007 Page 7 initially having more seats in the restaurant than parking spaces they had access to during lunch. As a result the seating was reduced to 255 since only 85 spaces were available during lunch. In the evening, parking is not as issue since Canyon Grille can use the deck. Koenig asked Franzen if the parking issues with Champps and Red Stone have been resolved. Franzen said initially it was an issue but stores next to Champps have private security monitoring the parking, which has alleviated the situation. Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input. There was no input. Powell stated he would like more businesses to start with porous pavement. He would like the City Council to require businesses to have porous pavement in the development of their properties. Franzen stated this is something that certainly could be addressed when the Commission and City Council have their joint meetings. Pitzrick said, in regards to this issue, we should go beyond restaurant and retail areas. MOTION by Powell, seconded by Rocheford, to close the pubic hearing. Motion carried 8-0. MOTION by Powell, seconded by Koenig, to recommend approval of the code change to restaurant and retail parking requirements based on the staff report dated July 20, 2006 and the draft ordinance. Motion carried 8-0. VII. PLANNERS' REPORT A. GUIDE PLAN UPDATE—CHAPTER 9 IMPLEMENTATION Monique MacKenzie, of SRF Consulting Group, Inc., presented the Guide Plan Update. Chapter 9 Implementation 1. Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances 2. Other Implementation Tools 3. Fiscal Tools a. General Fund b. Special Revenue Funds c. Capital Project Funds d. Enterprise Funds e. Debt Service Funds 4. Tax Increment Financing 5. Capital Improvement Financing EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 23, 2007 Page 8 Changes to Chapter 9 1. References to Council— approved plan documents (2004 Local Water Management Plan, 2006 Major Center Area Plan) 2. Design Guidelines (affecting site development, density ranges and building material palettes) 3. Town Center Ordinance (uses, performance standards) Pitzrick had a question about the NSP settlement agreement. Franzen stated the City received approximately 2 million dollars, however, could not recall why the City received it. He will ask Al Gray to provide some information on the topic for the next meeting. Franzen also stated the Met Council is looking for us to supply tools for the guidelines, which is what is currently taking place. Stoelting asked Franzen in regards to the changes that were proposed in Chapter 9, design guide lines, we have already developed that for the Town Center Area, however, we have not developed Town Center ordinance. Franzen concurred that was correct and the next step would have the City Attorney put it into ordinance form. Changes to Other Chapters Chapter 5 - Transportation 1. Clarify source data (from MAC) for Flying Cloud Airport Operation 2. Define transportation utility and city support for concept. Chapter 4—Housing /Chapter 11 —Redevelopment 1. Housing mix in Town Center and Golden Triangle Area (type, affordability) 2. Chapter 11 —City support/incentives for pilot projects that achieve environmentally beneficial end results. 3. Chapter 4—Incorporate housing goals Chapter 8 —Community Facilities 1. Build and maintain quality parks and infrastructure city wide. 2. Balance investment in City infrastructure by appropriate reliance on property tax revenues. 3. Capture resources from all size and scale developments to dedicate to parks and road infrastructure improvements. Franzen stated at the August 13 Planning Commission Meeting there will be three items on the agenda; the Oak Creek at Hennepin Village, William Small Property, and a variance request. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES July 23, 2007 Page 9 VIII. MEMBERS' REPORT IX. CONTINUING BUSINESS Pitzrick talked about the power lines and referenced in the City Council Meeting Minutes of June 19 it states we are approving a consulting agreement with SRF Consulting Group for master plan work in the Town Center Area. Pitzrick stated he did not feel this included the study of power lines. In the Council Minutes, Mayor Young asked if this would be the only time the City would hire a consulting group for study in this area and Janet Jeremiah's response was it would be the only time a consulting group would be hired because it is such an expense. Pitzrick asked where this would leave the evaluation for the power lines. Franzen stated the study if for materials, sidewalks, lighting and landscaping. He added that the power line easement is 15 acres and that could be 240,000 square feet of commercial or 750 housing units for both. He cautioned the density of the land use and traffic assumptions of the MCA will have to be re-examined, because currently the study has road and parking in the easement. Franzen added Excel has buried 115 KV lines but not the 345 KV lines. The larger lines nave been buried in Boston at a cost of 12 million per mile. In Eden Prairie, the cost would be 9 million per mile if buried in place, more if they are relocated. Pitzrick said he would like to know if the corridor for power lines was subtracted from the square footage of land use in the area. Pitzrick also said it is important to get local cost estimates for a project like this. Pitzrick also referenced the Gateway Monument which was referenced on page 11 of the June 19 City Council Minutes, and said he appreciated the comment. Pitzrick said he would like landscaping under power lines looked at. X. NEW BUSINESS XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Koenig, seconded by Stoltz to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 8-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m.