Planning Commission - 03/26/2018 APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION
MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2018 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER
Council Chambers
8080 Mitchell Road
COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Travis Wuttke, Ann Higgins, Charles
Weber, Andrew Pieper, Ed Farr, Mark Freiberg,
Michael DeSanctis, Christopher Villarreal
CITY STAFF: Julie Klima, City Planner
Rod Rue, City Engineer
Matt Bourne, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources
Julie Krull, Recording Secretary
I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER
Chair Pieper called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL
IIII. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Weber moved, seconded by Higgins, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 9-
0.
IV. MINUTES
A. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2017
DeSanctis had a spelling correction on page 3,paragraph 7, the word "substrate".
Chair Pieper said it should have been Vice Chair Farr that closed the meeting.
MOTION: Villarreal moved, seconded by Farr, to approve the amended
minutes. Motion carried 9-0.
V. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS
VI. PUBLIC MEETINGS
VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
March 26, 2018
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A. BREWERIES/DISTILLERIES CODE AMENDMENT
Request to:
• Amend City Code to address Breweries/Distilleries/Taprooms/Cocktail Rooms
Klima said Staff is bringing forward a code amendment to define and address
Breweries/Distilleries/Taprooms/Cocktail Rooms within the City Ordinance. A few
years ago, Chapter 4 was amended and definitions for these uses were provided.
Staff is proposing to carry definitions from Chapter 4 to Chapter 11 and list them as
permitted uses in the industrial and commercial districts. Staff is also proposing
that parking regulations be applied to Breweries/Distilleries/Taprooms/Cocktail
Rooms as proposed in the staff report. Staff recommendation is for approval.
Wuttke asked if the taprooms, and cocktail rooms are 1 parking stall per 60 square
feet and the breweries and distilleries are 1 for 1,000 square feet in all the
subdistricts. Klima said that is correct. The parking standards have two separate
requirements for the two; one for the tasting room/taproom and one for the
manufacturing, which are the breweries and distilleries. The way the property is
being used will be broken down and parking will be calculated accordingly.
Wuttke commented he was not sure it was sub-set for the entirety including
manufacturing or delineating manufacturing. Klima said no, they would separate
the parking out for the tap room and brewery. Wuttke asked how it would work for
a restaurant that would brew their own. Klima said there is a separate definition
under state law for brew pubs and it would fall under restaurants and there are
provisions in code to support those. Klima stated there currently are not any
breweries in Eden Prairie, but there is a distillery and cocktail room.
Wuttke asked if there was a concern with the parking requirements with these
establishments. Klima said staff researched other cities with tap rooms and came
up with a compromise based on the research and current code parking requirements
for restaurants. Wuttke asked if there was any discussion on the TOD areas, as it
might be tight for parking. Klima said there was specific discussion on that issue
and there are many things to address in the retail spaces, as listed in the staff report,
such as peak times tenant mix and size of the parking field.
Kirk commented that he frequents a few restaurants in Eden Prairie that has tight
parking during times such as happy hours and pointed out that could affect
business. He asked if there could be a tighter gap with parking.
Farr commented he would like parking to be looked at more closely and thinks it is
a high ratio also. He suggested shared parking and transportation options be
addressed. Weber said the ordinance as purposed is at a minimum and if the
applicant wanted to have more parking they could apply for more parking.
Kirk said he remembers when Tavern 4&5 was in front of the Commission and they
said there was not going to be a problem with parking and pointed out it is a
problem now and commented we may have failed on that. He said if the ratio went
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
March 26, 2018
Page 3
to 1 to 40 square feet, or 1 to 50 square feet, more spaces could be added. Weber
stated he disagreed and feels there are other ways to compensate for the parking
issues like Kirk's example, because he feels cars can park on the streets if need be.
Villarreal wanted to know what the impact would be if food trucks would be in
these places. Klima said City Code was recently amended to address food trucks.
They are allowed in the industrial districts,but not in commercial districts.
Farr asked if the ordinance addressed distance requirements from schools, parks,
and religious institutions. Klima said the ordinance does not address distance from
these establishments.
Farr asked why we are not including wineries in the ordinance. Klima said staff
have not received any inquiries for wineries so staff is not proposing to include
them at this time.
DeSanctis asked what provisions are made for bike parking in front of these places.
Klima said bike parking is a requirement in the TOD zoning districts.
Wuttke asked at what levels these establishments would fall under to constitute
being a restaurant. Klima said breweries and distilleries are licensed separately
through the State of MN. Weber commented the brewery/taprooms get a separate
license than a restaurant license. Wuttke said he does not want to see parking
dwindled down because of the impact of outdoor patios.
Chair Pieper asked if anyone supports a no-parking ordinance. Farr stated he does
not support a no-parking ordinance but is questioning if the unit of parking stall per
square foot is the correct measure. Weber stated we are talking about minimum and
not maximum and it should be up to the restaurant and the City should not carry
that burden. He said people can find other places to park. Klima said staff did
discuss this issue and although there are seats in the tap room, some people are
standing and that is why staff is proposing square footage versus restaurants, which
are allocated by seats.
Kirk said he understands Weber's concern for more asphalt but does not agree it is
the business's problem and that the City should regulate a minimum of spaces.
Klima said two issues are being discussed. Code requirements and business need.
The Code requirement established the minimum number of parking stalls required.
If a business need exceeds the stalls provided on site, some businesses have opted to
lease additional off-site parking areas.
Chair Pieper asked Farr if he was comfortable with the percentage of parking. Farr
said he is comfortable with 1 car per 100 square feet and would also like to see the
applicant come up with a plan. He said he does not want to over regulate it.
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Kirk said he is a bit uncomfortable with that number and would rather go middle of
the road with guidelines and still have a plan from the applicant.
Wuttke said his concern was the unit of measurement applied to all districts. He
said we could apply a conversion factor for standing equivalent versus seating
equivalent and said measurements could be changed based on these equivalents.
Villarreal said the trend is usually to have these establishments in industrial districts
and not commercial districts and because of that; these parking issues may not need
to be addressed. He said he is not interested in over-regulating and concurs with
Farr.
Kirk said he likes the idea of the applicant coming up with a plan because it is
almost impossible to come up with just one number. Klima said Staff purposed a
middle ground number, 1 per 60 square feet,but will be looking at these case by
case and pointed out an applicant has the option of requesting a waiver.
MOTION: Weber moved, seconded by Farr, to close the public hearing.
Motion carried 9-0.
MOTION: Weber moved, seconded by Kirk, to recommend approval of the
Breweries/Distilleries Code Amendment based on staff recommendations and
information contained in the staff report, dated March 22, 2018.
Motion carried 9-0.
VIII. PLANNERS' REPORT
Klima said on May 1st, there will be a joint work session with the City Council regarding a
draft version of Aspire.
Klima said the Board Banquet is May 17th.
IX. MEMBERS' REPORT
Kirk said this is the last meeting for Wuttke and he wanted to thank him for his 9 years of
service.
Wuttke thanked all the members of the Commission and the City Council and also the
residents.
X. CONTINUING BUSINESS
XI. NEW BUSINESS
XII. ADJOURNMENT
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
March 26, 2018
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MOTION: Wuttke moved, seconded by Kirk, to adjourn the Planning Commission
meeting. Motion carried 7-0.
Chair Pieper adjourned the meeting at 7:54 p.m.