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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-08-25 MINUTESCity of Cottage Grove Planning Commission August 25, 2008 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 7516 – 80th Street South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota on August 25, 2008, in the Council Chambers and telecast on local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Vice Chair Messick called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Obid Hofland, Steve Messick, Tracy Poncin, Jim Rostad, Eddie Tharbes, David Thiede, Chris Willhite Members Absent: Tina Folch-Freiermuth, Chris Reese Staff Present: Howard Blin, Community Development Director John McCool, Senior Planner Approval of Agenda Messick asked if there are any changes to the agenda. Being no changes were made, the agenda was approved as submitted. Open Forum Messick asked if anyone wished to address the Planning Commission on any non-agenda item. No one addressed the Commission. Chair’s Explanation of the Public Hearing Process Messick explained the purpose of the Planning Commission, which serves in an advisory ca- pacity to the City Council, and that the City Council makes all final decisions. In addition, he explained the process of conducting a public hearing and requested that any person wishing to speak should come to the microphone and state their full name and address for the public record. Public Hearings and Application Reviews 6.1 Grey Cloud Elementary Addition – Case No. CUP08-021 Architects Rego + Youngquist, Inc., on behalf of Independent School District #833, applied for an amendment to the conditional use permit and site plan for Grey Cloud Elementary School, 9525 Indian Boulevard South, to allow an addition for a new kinder- Planning Commission Minutes August 25, 2008 Page 2 of 4 garten wing, an addition for a new fifth grade wing, and a small vestibule to be added to the existing cafeteria. McCool summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Paul Youngquist, architect for the School District emphasized that the project is being de- signed to fit in with the existing building. The materials and colors will be the same, the inte- rior of the fifth grade wing will have a much larger group space, and there will be minimal changes to the playground. Thiede noted that in the next year there will be a reduction in the number of students as the sixth graders will move to middle schools. He asked why the school district is adding on to the school. Youngquist responded that the student population in every grade level is growing and special education programs are expanding, so rather than build a new elementary school, the School District decided to add onto Grey Cloud Elementary. Messick opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Messick closed the public hearing. Thiede made a motion to approve the amendment to Grey Cloud Elementary School’s conditional use permit to allow additions to the building, subject to the conditions listed below. Rostad seconded. 1. The additional parking spaces are not required to be constructed at this time. The City will determine if additional on-site parking is needed in the future based on unauthorized parking occurring on neighboring properties or complaints received by the City about on-street parking in adjacent residential areas. The City will monitor parking on the property and notify the property owner of potential parking problems that must be resolved. If additional parking is required, the property owner must apply for a building permit to construct the additional parking spaces and provide the City with a construction schedule to complete this work. 2. A building permit must be issued by the City. 3. The exterior materials for the proposed addition must be similar in design and color to the existing school building. 4. Any landscaping materials that are removed or damaged during construction must be replaced somewhere else on the site. 5. Rooftop mechanical equipment must be screened from public view in a manner ap- proved by the Cottage Grove Building Official. 6. Construction equipment, construction trailer, trailers, or construction materials are prohibited from parking or being stored on Indian Boulevard. 7. All outdoor lighting must be directed downward and away from abutting property owners. Reflected glare of spill light must not exceed five-tenths (0.5) foot-candle as measured on the property line. Planning Commission Minutes August 25, 2008 Page 3 of 4 Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). Discussion Items 7.1 Continued Discussion on Fence Standards McCool summarized the memo and the results of a survey of other local cities regarding fence standards. He asked for direction from the Planning Commission for the ordinance amendment. There was discussion on fencing for estate lots, fence heights, finished side, and fence materials including if stone walls would be allowed in front yards. It was the con- sensus of the Commission that the finished side of the fence should face out and the maxi- mum fence height in front yards would be 48 inches for chain link and 36 inches for privacy fences. Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of July 28, 2008 Willhite asked if the Planning Commission has finished discussions on real estate signs. Blin responded that more information will be presented at the next Commission meeting. Being that there were no corrections to the July 28, 2008 minutes, they were accepted as distributed. Reports 9.1 Recap of August City Council Meeting Blin reviewed the items discussed by the City Council at their meeting on August 13, 2008. 9.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries Blin stated that at last month’s meeting, there was a comment about the lack of landscaping along Highway 61 side of Park Grove Bowl. He noted that while the City of Cottage Grove has no jurisdiction on this property, we are trying to get discussions going with both St. Paul Park and the property owner. 9.3 Planning Commission Requests Thiede asked about the newspaper vending boxes, noting that there are no permits are cur- rently required for these boxes and would like to discuss possible guidelines. Blin stated that staff did a quick review of what other cities may be doing and none of the Twin Cities subur- ban communities have any restrictions on the boxes. It was the consensus of the Commis- sion to discuss this issue and look at possibly charging permit fees or licenses for newspaper boxes. Thiede asked about the vacancy rate for retail space in Cottage Grove. Blin responded that the retail vacancy rate is 16 percent and half of that is in one building, Home Depot. If that space were filled, the vacancy rate would drop a little bit below the regional average of about 8 percent. He stated that the office vacancy rate is similar in that half of it is in one building, Planning Commission Minutes August 25, 2008 Page 4 of 4 the Summerhill Professional Building on 70th and Hinton. Otherwise our office vacancy rate is lower than the regional average. Willhite commented on new businesses coming or not coming into the city, noting that she had heard that an A&W located in Inver Grove Heights because Cottage Grove did not want them. In discussions with staff and Council, she learned that there was a lease issue be- tween the owners of the A&W and the property owner where they wanted to locate. She asked if the Commission could be updated on the reasons businesses have not located here to help stop some of the rumors. Rostad asked about the City’s “Green Team” that was written about in the Bulletin and if there would be an open forum on this topic. Blin responded that this is a staff driven effort, but he can’t see a reason why the topic could not be opened up for more ideas. Right now the committee is looking at various operations, specifically fuel consumption and municipal building efficiencies. Adjournment Thiede made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Willhite seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). The meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m.