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Planning Commission - 10/26/2009 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2009 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Katie Lechelt, Jacob Lee, Alexander Martin, Jerry Pitzrick, Peter Rocheford, Kevin Schultz, Jon Stoltz, Travis Wuttke STAFF MEMBERS: Stu Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources Michael Franzen, City Planner Rod Rue, City Engineer Julie Krull, Recording Secretary I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL Vice Chair Kirk called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Absent: Lechelt, Pitzrick, Rocheford and Stoltz. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Kirk stated there will be an amendment to the agenda and they will not be approving the minutes from the October 12, 2009 meeting as they were not included in the packet. MOTION by Schultz, seconded by Wuttke, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. III. MINUTES A. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON OCTOBER 12, 2009 Not available for approval. IV. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS V. PUBLIC MEETINGS VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Variance 2009-12 by KC Properties LLC and City of Eden Prairie Location: 8098 Glen Lane (a continued public hearing) EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 26, 2009 Page 2 Request to: • Permit a front yard building setback from 30 feet to 14.5 feet • Permit parking setback from 17.5 feet to 3 feet • Permit abase ratio from .20 to .24 • Permit a floor ratio from .40 to .47 • Permit a freestanding sign setback from 20 feet to 5 feet Franzen stated the reason for the continuance was to give the Commission Members an opportunity to review the Facts and Findings. Staff recommends approval. Franzen also stated there is a letter from LeVander, Gillen & Miller, P.A. They would like the letter officially entered as public record. The letter is dated 10/26/09. MOTION by Lee, seconded by Schultz, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. Kirk opened the meeting up for public input. There was no public input. Schultz thanked City Staff and KinderCare for the additional time to review the variance request. He pointed out he is in agreement of the variance request. Lee asked, in regards to the letter, can they strike the last paragraph of the letter from their findings. Ric Rosow, Eden Prairie City Attorney, said they should follow the staff findings and not strike it from the findings and should not concern themselves with the condemnation of property. Wuttke asked Russo about detriments to KinderCare with the decreased lot sized. Russo said they continue to investigate this,but it should not be the subject of the variance request. MOTION by Martin, seconded by Wuttke, to recommend approval of the Final Order#209-12. Motion carried 5-0. B. Variance 2009-11 by Daniel Grote for property located directly north of 7220 Willow Creek Road Request to permit: • A non-commercial dock to extend into Bryant Lake a length of 120 feet. City Code permits 72 feet. • A dock setback from a side lot line, as extended into Bryant Lake, 0 feet from the north line. City Code requires 15 feet. • One or more boat slips which would open towards the south side lot line less than 20 feet. City Code requires 20 feet. • A residential dock of 592 square feet. City Code maximum is 450 square feet. • A mooring of boats on the north side of the proposed dock, therefore, moored boats crossing over the north lot line extended into Bryant Lake. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 26, 2009 Page 3 Franzen started out by summarizing the variance request. He stated in the staff report there are exhibits A through G relating to this variance request. In order to meet the undue hardship there is a three factor test that must be met. The first factor is reasonable use of the property. Franzen pointed out it is reasonable to have a dock on the lake. The second factor is unique circumstances. The lot width could be a unique circumstance because it is smaller than the current requirement for lot width and because the water depth at this end of the lake is shallower. The third factor test is neighborhood character. Under this factor consider whether the resulting structure will be out of scale, out of place, or otherwise inconsistent with the surrounding area and referred to the graphic show other docks on the lake. Franzen said there are two alternatives listed on page 3 of the staff report. The first alternative would be to build a conforming dock. The second alternative would be to grant variances for existing dock. Daniel Grote, of 7061 Willow Creek Road, presented the variance request. He pointed out this part of the lake is the shallower part; which enables Lilly pads to grow in this environment. They need to have the dock extend out to eliminate problems with the shallow water. Mr. Grote stated they would be happy staying at 96 feet but would like to add a 30 foot section. Kirk opened the meeting up for public input. Brian Duoos, of 7160 Willow Creek Road, owns the property to the north of this dock. He said part of this request would be to put the dock 10 feet from the property line, instead of the 0 feet that they initially had. He said he is fine with that. He also said this dock would be 12 sections long and pointed out the water is very low in this area and understands extending the dock for that reason. He said he is fine with 12 sections but would want it to be looked at every year for extension of the dock. Dick Seidenstricker, owner of 7221 Willow Creek Road, which is across the street from the dock and 7220 Willow Creek Road, which is south of the access to the dock. He said he had concern over potential impact to the property at 7220 Willow Creek Road,but in looking more into the request found there would be no impact. He stated from the property at 7221 Willow Creek Road, they can visually see the dock. They were informed there would be nothing stored on the dock. Because of this, they are in support of the variance request. Martin asked what the significance of the length of the dock is. Mr. Grote said they need the length because of the level of the water in the area. Mr. Seidenstricker stated the length of the deck relates to the water level because the further south the property is, the shallower it gets. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 26, 2009 Page 4 Wuttke said it would be appropriate to have a depth finder to see how deep the water really is. Mr. Seidenstricker said he was out today in water waders, and went out to the end of the 96 foot dock and the water only came up to his chest. Martin asked how many boats Mr. Grote sees putting in the water. Mr. Grote said it would probably be five. MOTION by Schultz, seconded by Wuttke, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. Kirk asked Franzen to address the issue of storage on the dock. Franzen the owner of the lot can store the dock. No recreational vehicles can be stored on the lot. Lee asked Franzen if notice went out beyond the residents in the association. Franzen said notice went out to all residents within 500 ft. of the dock. MOTION by Schultz, seconded by Wuttke, to recommend approval of Final Order#2009-11. Motion carried 5-0. C. Wal-Mart by Benham Corporation, LLC. Location: 12195 Singletree Lane. Request for: • Zoning District Amendment in the Commercial Regional Service zoning district on 16.86 acres. • Site Plan Review on 16.86 acres. Erik Miller, civil engineer for the project, presented the proposal. He stated the Wal-Mart store has been in Eden Prairie for 15 years and is in need of repair. They would like to update the store and make it a new store shopping experience. In the southeast corner they would also like to add a truck dock and a screened recyclable area. With the site improvements there would be improvements to the parking lot and landscaping. The access points to the building would remain the same. They would be placing a new logo on the building and using neutral colors. The sidewalks would be textured concrete. They would also have pedestrian lighting. Mr. Miller stressed that right now they are challenged by the existing store. Wal-Mart has also agreed to provide the City with a 10 foot wide easement along Singletree Lane and a 15 foot wide easement along Regional Center Drive. Mr. Miller stated the City has requested conditions to this request; which are listed on page 5 of the staff report. They are willing to work with the City on these but would like further dialog on items 5 and 6; which would be to provide an easement along the east property line to allow Eden Road to connect to Regional Center Road and to agree to become part of the future Special Service District. EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 26, 2009 Page 5 Kirk asked Franzen to review the staff report. Franzen said Staff recommendation is for approval. He stated a Special Service District is a commercial version of a homeowners association. There is a board and the board decides on a budget, contractors, and level of maintenance for sidewalks, landscaping and other amenities. In regards to Eden Road, there are many vertical challenges associated with this road. The primary focus would be designing it because there are some grade differentials. Kirk opened the meeting up for public input. There was no input. Schultz asked Mr. Miller if there are any 2 level stores anywhere. Mr. Miller stated there are some 2 level stores,but they acquired them through acquisitions. Wuttke asked if the pond on the southwest corner of the property was a nurp pond. Rue said he suspects it is a nurp pond. Wuttke asked if the nurp pond would be up to standards. The project proponent confirmed it would be up to standards. Kirk indicated that Wal-Mart wanted more dialog on items 5-6 and could he comment on this. Franzen stated they would give Wal-Mart clarification on the language and conditions about the special service district,but being in the district is not negotiable since there are other property owners in the area that have agreed to be part of one. In regards to the easement, the staff will know more detailed information about the easement shortly since they are meeting with a consultant to go over plans for Windsor Phase 2, and that should help define the easement better. Mr. Miller confirmed they will be working with the City on items 5 and 6. Franzen added that the commission should consider all of the conditions on page 5 of the staff report as part of the discussion for approval. MOTION by Wuttke, seconded by Schultz, to close the public hearing. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION by Wuttke, seconded by Schultz, to recommend approval of the Zoning District Amendment within the Commercial Regional Service Zoning District on 16.86 acres, and Site Plan Review on 16.86 acres, based on plans stamped dated October 23, 2009, and the staff report dated October 23, 2009. Motion carried 5-0. VII. PLANNERS' REPORT VIII. MEMBERS' REPORT IX. CONTINUING BUSINESS X. NEW BUSINESS EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 26, 2009 Page 6 XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Schultz seconded by Lee, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:23 p.m.