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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-01-26 MINUTESCity of Cottage Grove Planning Commission January 26, 2009 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 7516 – 80th Street South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on January 26, 2009, in the Council Chambers and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Chair Reese called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Obid Hofland, Michael Linse Steve Messick, Tracy Poncin, Chris Reese, Jim Rostad, David Thiede, Chris Willhite (arrived at 7:42 p.m.) Members Absent: Ryan Rambacher Staff Present: Howard Blin, Community Development Director John McCool, Senior Planner Approval of Agenda Reese asked if there are any changes to the agenda. Being no changes, the agenda was approved as submitted. Open Forum Reese 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 Reese 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 Lot Split/Lot Size Variance at 6350 and 6425 Preserve Pass – Case MS09-005 Genstar Land Company Midwest has applied for a minor subdivision to split approxi- mately .5 acre from 6425 Preserve Pass and add it to 6350 Preserve Pass; a variance to the Planning Commission Minutes January 26, 2009 Page 2 of 5 1.5-acre minimum lot area requirement to allow the lot area at 6425 Preserve Pass to de- crease from 1.7 acres to 1.2 acres; and to vacate a portion of a drainage and utility ease- ment in the northwest corner of 6425 Preserve Pass. The public hearing on this application will be held by the City Council on February 18, 2009. McCool summarized the staff report and recommended approval of the applications based on the findings of fact and subject to the conditions of approval listed in the staff report. There were no questions or discussion from the public on this application. The public hearing will be conducted by the City Council on February 18, 2009. Poncin made a motion to recommend approval of all three applications based on the findings of fact and subject to the conditions of approval listed in the planning staff re- port. Hofland seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). 6.2 Aggregate Industries Mining Permit – Case MP09-001 Aggregate Industries has applied for their 2009 mining permit to continue their mining op- erations on Lower Grey Cloud Island. McCool summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions listed in the staff report. Thiede asked about the timing for the oak savanna plan. McCool responded that the plan would be completed this year and will be submitted with next year’s mining permit application. He stated that the plan would come before the Planning Commission for review. Thiede asked if the plan would take into account future development on the Island so that the oak savannah would not have to disturbed. McCool responded yes. Messick asked how the amount of $100,000 for the bond was determined and has it increased over time to reflect inflation. McCool responded it was developed by the city ordinances and he does not believe it has changed over the years. Reese asked if there were any comments or concerns about the application from the public. There were none. Messick concurs with the staff’s recommendation to not require tree planting for this year until there is a plan in place. Hofland asked if archaeological work would need to be done before mining commences to the west beyond the fence. McCool responded that there would be in future mining operations, but that area is not included in their 2009 mining permit application. Reese suggested that the mining permit application process be a two-year permit instead of every year. Thiede made a motion to recommend approval of the application subject to the con- ditions listed in the staff report. Hofland seconded. Planning Commission Minutes January 26, 2009 Page 3 of 5 Messick noted that the insurance and bond expire after a year and if it becomes a two-year permit would they just have to submit those and not a full application packet. McCool re- sponded that staff would look at having the bond requirements cover a two-year period if the ordinance was amended. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). 6.3 Newspaper Boxes – Case TA09-003 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a zoning text amendment to add regulations for newspaper boxes within city rights-of way. Blin summarized the staff report and recommend approval. Poncin asked if the language in the proposed ordinance to not allow boxes to be chained, bolted, or affixed to a fixture would prohibit padlocking the box to street signs. Blin responded that it would, because sometimes Public Works has to cut chains to remove/replace the signs. Thiede asked how the boxes would be fastened down and suggested requiring a concrete pad. Blin responded that could be required. Thiede then noted that the ordinance referenced “news” and not items that are not considered news. Blin stated that the definition could be broadened to include periodicals, printed material for distribution, and the like. He will work with the attorney on language. Linse asked if the language in Section 11 regarding display of certain matter prohibited could be refined as it only applies to the sale of newspapers and does not include material that is otherwise distributed and an opaque piece of glass could cover the contents of the box. He questioned the time period for correcting offending conditions and the appeal period in Section 12 and suggested that the two time periods should be the same. He then asked if the appeal period in Section 13 was realistic due to council scheduling and notification requirements. Blin responded that typically appeals are heard in during business hours at an administrative hearing before a group that the City Clerk convenes. Often times the 10-day appeal period is waived to allow schedules to be coordinated. Rostad asked how many existing newspaper boxes would be affected by the proposed ordi- nance. Blin responded that staff has not done a complete survey but he has noticed that there are at least a dozen that would be affected. Hofland stated that he would favor some sort of solid pad underneath newspaper boxes rather than having them placed on the ground. Poncin agreed but asked if there was a threshold where these boxes would not be profitable anymore. Blin stated that there have been a lot of suggestions for revisions and asked if the Planning Commission wanted to continue the public hearing on this application at the next meeting. The draft ordinance would reflect the proposed changes. The Commission concurred. Planning Commission Minutes January 26, 2009 Page 4 of 5 Thiede stated that the boxes should be located by a parking lot or someplace where drivers would not be stopped on a main road to get a newspaper. Hofland stated that if permits are going to be required, there should be a fee to recover any costs to the city. Reese opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Reese closed the public hearing. Reese stated that he tends to agree with Poncin. He also is not sure that those installing newspaper boxes should be putting in concrete pads in the city. Blin responded that he would discuss options with Public Works staff on maintenance and installation of these boxes. Messick made a motion to continue the public hearing on this proposed ordinance amendment to the February 23, 2009, Planning Commission meeting. Thiede seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). 6.4 Capital Improvement Plan 2009-2013 – Case CP09-002 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a comprehensive plan amendment to amend the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for 2009-2013. Blin summarized the staff report, explained the capital improvement program, and recom- mended approval of the amendment. Poncin asked if the projects that have been put on hold for this year would be looked at first for next year’s CIP. Blin responded that they would probably be the first looked at in the next round of capital planning. Reese opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Reese closed the public hearing. Thiede made a motion to recommend approval of the comprehensive plan amendment for the 2009-2013 CIP. Hofland seconded. Motion passed unanimously (8-to-0 vote). Discussion Items 7.1 Electronic Signs Blin summarized the memo sent to the Planning Commission regarding electronic signs. Thiede asked at what point a monument sign becomes a pylon sign. McCool responded that the base has to be 25 percent of the sign cabinet and the height is limited to 25 feet. Blin stated that staff has proposed allowing a maximum size for electronic reader board signs of four feet by eight feet. There would also be a maximum on the lumens level, flashing or scrolling would be prohibited, and they would be restricted to monument signs only. Electronic billboards would still not be allowed under this proposed ordinance. Blin asked for direction from the Commission. Willhite noted that the billboards that were installed on Highway 61 do not look like the plans that were submitted to the Planning Commission. Blin stated that he would look into the ap- proval process for those signs. Willhite stated that when the Planning Commission initially ad- Planning Commission Minutes January 26, 2009 Page 5 of 5 dressed dynamic signs, staff provided studies that showed those types of signs caused distractions to drivers, but she found other studies that did not show that. Messick stated that the legal basis for the city to limit electronic signs should be based on safety. There was discussion on locating electronic reader board signs to areas with lower speed limits, only allowing them on monuments, height restrictions, not allowing flashing or scrolling messages, whether images would be allowed or it the content should be restricted to only text, requiring that only one color can be used for the lights, how often the message could be changed, and maintenance requirements. It was the consensus of the Commission that luminosity, brightness, flashing, size, height, and number of colors should be limited. Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of November 24, 2008 Being that there were no corrections to the November 24, 2008 minutes, they were accepted as presented. Reports 9.1 Recap of December and January City Council Meetings Blin reviewed the items discussed by the City Council at their meetings on December 3 and 17, 2008, and January 7 and 21, 2009. 9.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries No inquiries were made at the November Planning Commission meeting that required response by staff. 9.3 Planning Commission Requests None. Adjournment Thiede made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Hofland seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m.