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Planning Commission - 02/09/2015 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Jon Stoltz, Travis Wuttke, Steven Frank, Ann Higgins, Mary Egan, Charles Weber, Andrew Pieper STAFF MEMBERS: Julie Klima, City Planner Stu Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources Randy Newton, Assistant 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. Egan, Frank and Stoltz were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Weber, seconded by Pieper, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0. III. MINUTES A. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON JANUARY 26, 2015 MOTION by Higgins, seconded by Pieper, to approve the minutes. Motion carried 3-0; Kirk and Weber abstained. IV. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS V. PUBLIC MEETINGS VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS VII. PLANNERS' REPORT A. TOD ORDINANCE Regina Rojas, Senior Planner, presented the proposal. She stated the final working draft is in front of the Commission this evening. As Staff came to a conclusion with the grant, they can see additional changes can be made. Tonight City Staff is looking for feedback. The next steps are the Stakeholder Meeting on Wednesday, February 11 from 4 to 5:30 pm at the City Center in which they will Planning Commission Minutes February 9, 2015 Page 2 be discussing the ordinance and getting additional feedback. The next step after that is to reach out to Urban Land Institute for their input. The comprehensive guide plan needs to be put in place to adopt language. The process will be to get it approved by the Planning Commission then to the City Council and then on to the Metropolitan Council for review and commentary. At that time, adjacent communities can make comments; this process can take up to six months. The final step then is the formal adoption of the TOD language. The questions for tonight are as follows: 1. Should the TOD Ordinance limit height requirements. Currently there are no height limits. The concern could be that sewer and water cannot support this and there also may be an issue with traffic. Rojas asked the Commission if there should be a limit on height or is the Commission comfortable with not having a limit on height. Pieper asked what the process would be for approving a ten story building. Rojas said they would want the developer to supply reasons for this and also have plans for sewer and water. It would be a process to submit an application,have Staff review it and see if it would meet the rules and policies and then it would get forwarded on to the Planning Commission. Klima said it would be the same process as a PUD, where it gets approval here and then moves on to the City Council for approval. Wuttke commented it would be a good idea to see similarities on a national level. Higgins said on page 2 of the staff report there is a section where it talks about sustainability and said the ordinance should be both economically and environmentally sustainable. Klima said when this was presented initially, it was suggested as a no height limit. At the staff level they are identifying challenges with this this and are working on it as they modify the ordinance. Wuttke asked what the current infrastructure allows. Newton said the City will always be looking at how much density can be allowed; there are limits to adhere to. Vice Chair Kirk said in the past height has been a sensitive issue with residents but he would like to see if there was some way the Commission could look at the height guidelines but would be open to higher height along with review. He also stated we could consider development ideas from builders. Weber asked what height limit are we talking about and how does it relate to density. Klima said the TOD Ordinance is to serve areas in need by transit areas. This will be a very small and compact area so that is why there is a discussion on higher densities. Vice Chair Kirk said he can relate to what Weber is stating and asked City Staff how we can put something in there to balance height and density. Rojas said one Planning Commission Minutes February 9, 2015 Page 3 suggestion from a previous Planning Commission would be to go out and see what other cities are doing to get a feel for what things may look like. Rojas suggested looking at stations on the blue and green lines. 2. Rojas said the next question is should the TOD Ordinance support higher design standards. In the TOD Ordinance there is a section discussing building setbacks, adding windows or breaks. She stated this is where a special place would be created. Wuttke said a few years back, the Commission talked about code changes to the exterior design of the Golden Triangle Area and the Town Center Area. He asked the Commission if they want to do this again. Klima said the City Staff, Planning Commission and the City Council have talked about design features for the past few months and stated they are all asking if the standards should be improved or stay the same. Staff is looking at all of the issues and would welcome feedback. Weber said he would like to see higher architectural and landscaping standards. Vice Chair Kirk said he would like the highest standards possible to be a consistent look with the Eden Prairie look and would like people to know they are coming into Eden Prairie, especially since most of this would take place in a pedestrian area. Pieper said he agrees with applying higher standards, but to break them up within the districts. Klima said there are three sub districts in the TOD. They are mixed use, residential and employment. They will look at the intent of the sub district and determine standards within. Rojas showed a map of where the 5 stations would be located. She pointed out the areas around each station are quite different. The stations are the Southwest Station, City West, Mitchell, Golden Triangle and the Town Center Station. There is a 10 minute walk shed outlined in these maps that shows in any given 10 minutes where you could walk. This area can always be stretched to include additional properties. 3. Rojas asked if the TOD Ordinance should apply to the general areas described in the draft ordinance. Wuttke asked, when we stretch and contract these areas, do we look at streets or other indicators for boundaries and barriers. Rojas stated they have taken that into account. Vice Chair Kirk said we should use the 10 minute walk as a guideline and be flexible as to what is around these stations. He would encourage staff to look at this and make recommendations. Wuttke said it would be beneficial to get the input from the business community. Klima stated these are just ideas we are getting tonight and not deciding on anything specific. Planning Commission Minutes February 9, 2015 Page 4 4. Rojas asked if the TOD Ordinance is needed in the Town Center area. Klima said there is a discussion at an internal level if we should have one or both in this area. Pieper said he would just like to see one ordinance in the area. Vice Chair Kirk said the Town Center Area is the dominant area and would be open to expanding that area. He said it would be nice to make the TOD and Town Center area more compatible to each other. Wuttke said this concept goes back to the second question about incorporating higher standards. If we want to do this in the TOD area, we would need to look at what we did in the Town Center area. Wuttke said he is in favor to make all 5 stations consistent rather than have them all different. Wuttke asked if there was a height maximum in the Town Center area. Klima said she was not aware of a height maximum. Vice Chair Kirk said previously when the Commission was discussing the Town Center area, there was sensitivity by the public on the issue of height. Janet Jeremiah, Community Development Director, wanted to point out in regards to height and density, the City Staff came up with base requirements for the Town Center areas. She said the height in the Town Center area is limited to 8 stories. She did point out they had developers come in for variances on this issue, so the City needed to be flexible but have a base. 5. Rojas said the final question would be what the impact would be for existing property owners and businesses. She stated the City Staff has talked about this but wanted the Commissioners feedback. Staff has always been able to work with businesses and property owners and does not see this changing. Vice Chair Kirk said he feels we should have a reasonable amount of flexibility. Wuttke asked when the Commission would see this again. Rojas said she would be able to get feedback from residents and developers and bring it back to the Commission by the end of March or April. VI11. MEMBERS' REPORT No Members' report. IX. CONTINUING BUSINESS No continuing business. X. NEW BUSINESS Planning Commission Minutes February 9, 2015 Page 5 No new business. XI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Pieper, seconded by Higgins, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.