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Planning Commission - 02/25/2008 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2008 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Vicki Koenig, Jerry Pitzrick, Frank Powell, Peter Rocheford, Kevin Schultz, Fred Seymour, Ray Stoelting, Jon Stoltz, STAFF MEMBERS: Stu Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources Al Gray, City Engineer Michael Franzen, City Planner Scott Kipp, Senior Planner Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL Chair Stoelting called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Absent: Koenig, Rocheford, Schultz, and Stoltz. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Seymour, seconded by Kirk, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0. III. MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON FEBRUARY 11, 2008 MOTION by Seymour, seconded by Kirk, to approve the minutes. Motion carried 3-0. Pitzrick and Stoelting abstained. IV. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS V. PUBLIC MEETINGS VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. UNITEDHEALTH GROUP PUD CONCEPT AMENDMENT EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 2008 Page 2 John Dietrich, of RLK, Inc., principle landscape architect for UnitedHealth Group, presented the proposal. He said they are here tonight to request approval of the PUD for the 71 acre site with a slight difference of approximately 15,000 sq. ft. from 2002 to 2008. He utilized the overhead project to illustrate the boundary changes. He said there will be a mixed use campus of office, commercial,residential and retail units on this site. This project is located on the southeast corner of Hwy 62 and Shady Oak Road. He pointed out the benefits to the City would be the preservation of 12.2 acres of wetland, significant tree loss at only 32%, a mixed use campus area,preservation of the 10 acre wooded knoll and accommodation of the future LRT station and Park-and Ride within the site. Dennis Spalla, representing UnitedHealth Group, indicated he wanted to address a few items that were in Attachment A of the staff report. First of all,he said they want to ensure the Commission and City they are going to accommodate the LRT because it will be an important development on their site. He said for UnitedHealth, they expect to be reimbursed for any taking of land in the LRT line. In regards to the requirement to participate in a special service district they are comfortable participating in transportation improvements based on an assumption that the district area will be between 1200 to 1500 acres and cost of improvement will be born by the members of the district . I Stoelting asked Kipp to review the staff report. Kipp said this was an original PUD that was approved in 2002. The developer did update some items and these changes are in the staff report. Staff recommends approval based on page 4 of the staff report. He added that the original PUD Concept Plan approved by the City Council in 2002 was to establish the framework for land use and site planning for future development of the UnitedHealth Group's 71 acre site. The Development Agreement for the Concept Plan will expire on March 20, 2008. UnitedHealth Group desires to reestablish its PUD Concept Plan by updating the plans to be consistent with current codes, and new traffic and wetland analysis. The plans are overall consistent with the original PUD. Stoelting asked why there were no architectural designs included in the packet. Kipp said this was only a concept review and presentation on those documents would be part of zoning and site plan review at another time in the future. Kirk asked how much flexibility the project proponent would have in regards to the heights of the buildings in the plan. Kipp indicated that flexibility in height would be a story or less,but the actual height approved is based on construction drawings to be reviewed as part of a rezoning and site plan application. Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 2008 Page 3 Tim Johnson, of LLS Systems, asked the question if there was a time table of when this development would begin. Mr. Spalla said they do not know precisely when they will start this project. He pointed out that an amendment to the development agreement will have a 5 year window. They would like to start in the next couple of years,but before they begin they would like to have more information on the LRT. He said it is a complicated project;hence the planning of the infrastructure and control of the wetlands and development of the roadways is what is very time consuming. Stoelting asked why there was a delay in the 2002 project and also asked the project proponent how he would go about starting such a big project. Mr. Spalla said it was not developed because they are not really a developer, they develop health plans. In working with real estate development, they hire people like Opus to develop the project. He pointed out they do not own their property, but rather lease it. They put their profits into operations and development of people. They have not developed the land because they are busy with their company growth. He pointed out they are building an expansion to their campus in Minnetonka; they have approval to build an additional 300,000 sq. ft. He stated because they have to plan for the LRT, it could cause a delay in the project. In regards to starting the project, Mr. Spalla said they would probably develop two buildings at a time. They would also put up retail as soon as the office buildings go up. Pitzrick asked about the LRT station location and how this would affect development. He also asked why they would decrease retail space from 50,000 to 25,000 sq. ft. if the LRT would be coming to the area. Pitzrick said he was also concerned with the multi-family housing and asked if the Commission can be assured the project proponent will maintain it as such, given the current housing market. Mr. Spalla said the LRT coming into the area would be dependant on county discussions. He pointed out there are three potential locations for the LRT station and pointed those out, utilizing the overhead projector. He also said if the LRT does not make it into the area, the extra land could then be developed. John Dietrick said because of the impact of buffers and wetlands, they had to reduce the amount of retail space in order to accommodate parking requirements. He said in regards to the residential component, it is a benefit to the site to have this in the area for additional parking needs and car flow. Pitzrick asked the project proponent if they would come back and ask for more office space. Mr. Spalla said they will work with the City on this issue,but it would be dependant on market issues at the time. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 2008 Page 4 Stoelting asked Kipp, in regards to the 2008 PUD waivers, how they compared to the 2002 PUD waivers. Kipp said they are the same. MOTION by Pitzrick, seconded by Kirk to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION by Pitzrick, seconded by Kirk, to recommend approval of the Planned Unit Development Concept Amendment on 71 acres based on plans stamped dated February 14, 2008, and the staff report dated February 22, 2008. Motion carried 5-0. B. UNITEDHEALTH ALTERNATIVE URBAN AREAWIDE REVIEW (AUAR) UPDATE The original AUAR approved by the City Council in 2002 was to establish the potential impacts and mitigation plan for those potential impacts associated with the future development of UnitedHealth Group's 71 acre site. The original 2002 AUAR expired in April 2007. UnitedHealth Group desires to reestablish the AUAR by updating the document to be consistent with current codes, and new traffic and wetland analysis. The AUAR update is overall consistent with the original AUAR. John Dietrich presented the second part of this proposal. He said this part of the proposal is driven by the Environmental Quality Board Regulations. He stated they looked at potential impacts at what this site plan would generate, such as traffic, storm water, and infrastructure. Mr. Dietrick stated they are requesting Commission support of the draft AUAR document. Stoelting asked Kipp to review the staff report. Kipp said the City is the regulatory unit that would oversee the preparation of the document. He pointed out the public comment period starts today, February 25, 2008, and will end March 26, 2008. The City will take the comments and put them into a final AUAR document to be presented to the City Council for approval. The role of the Planning Commission is to conduct a public meeting and accept written and oral comments to be entered into record, review the draft AUAR and determine if it is complete and accurate, identify potential impacts, identify mitigation plans, and identify potential impacts that warrant further investigation before the project is commenced. Kipp said Staff has determined that the AUAR is accurate and complete with regards to answering the questions. The staff report identifies potential impacts, which are: fish, wildlife and ecologically sensitive resources, physical impacts on water resources, erosion and sedimentation control, water quality, and traffic. Kipp said he believes the document identifies the impacts and would not warrant further investigation. Staff recommendation is to accept the AUAR document and draft mitigation plan as accurate and complete to the City Council. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 2008 Page 5 Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input. There was no input. MOTION by Kirk, seconded by Seymour, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION by Kirk, seconded by Seymour, to accept the draft AUAR document and draft mitigation plan as accurate and complete knowing the comment period will remain open until March 26, 2008. Motion carried 5-0. Stoelting stated before moving on in the meeting,he would like each student to come up and introduce themselves, state what class they are attending and what they have learned this evening. Adam Fletcher, a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in housing studies, said he came to the meeting tonight to see the relationship of PUD and housing issues and what would be going into the development of this project. He also wanted to see what the Commission's perspective was on this proposal. Loreen Ferrara, attending a senior seminar class at Eden Prairie High School, said her class is doing a political portfolio project and they were asked to come to a meeting to observe the Planning Commission. Alysa Newton, who is also in the same class as Loreen, stated she was not aware of how formal the meeting was and asked if they used scripts. Stoelting reaffirmed it was a formal meeting and said they do use a script, called a letter of transmittal. Ben Johnson, was also in the same class as the other two students, said what he learned tonight was the structure of this system. Ali Fischer, who also attends Eden Prairie High School, said she is also observing how the meeting was run and thought it was pretty cool and formal. Kathy Ferrara, mother of Loreen, said she is a long time resident of Eden Prairie and liked what the Commission had said to the project proponents tonight. She also asked what a PUD is. Franzen said it is just the initials for Planned Unit Development; which typically means it is a vision for the future. VII. PLANNERS' REPORT Franzen said on March 10"'meeting there will be no public hearing. There will be a staff and consultant presentation of a master plan for Camp Edenwood. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES February 25, 2008 Page 6 Franzen also pointed out the April 28"'meeting will have to be moved to another date because this is the night chosen for the Boards and Commission banquet. VIII. MEMBERS' REPORT Powell said 6 months to a year ago, impermeable surfaces were discussed. He would like this concept to come back before the Commission. He would like to see a policy developed for percentage of front yard surface that can be paved. Commission Members felt this was a good issue to bring back before the Commission. IX. CONTINUING BUSINESS X. NEW BUSINESS XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by, seconded by, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.