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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-04-22 PACKET 08.City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission March 25, 2013 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 7516 — 80th Street South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, March 25, 2013, in the Council Chambers and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Chair Rostad called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Ken Brittain, Elijah Harter, Wayne Johnson, Brian Pearson, Lise' Rediske, Chris Reese, Jim Rostad, Randall Wehrle Members Absent: Maureen Ventura Staff Present: Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director /City Engineer John McCool, Senior Planner John M. Burbank, Senior Planner Dave Thiede, City Councilmember Approval of Agenda Brittain made a motion to approve the agenda. Rediske seconded. The motion was ap- proved unanimously (7 -to -0 vote). Open Forum Rostad 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 Rostad explained the purpose of the Planning Commission, which serves in an advisory capacity 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 go to the microphone and state their full name and address for the public record. Public Hearings and Applications 6.1 3M Building 143 Exterior Materials —Case V13 -010 3M, 10746 Innovation Road South, has applied for a variance to City Code Title 11 -6 -13, Architecture Requirements, to allow metal wall panels on the exterior of the new Fall Protection Building to match the colors and style of existing buildings on the site. Planning Commission Minutes March 25, 2013 Page 2 of 7 McCool summarized the staff report and recommended approval based on the findings of fact and subject to the conditions listed in the staff report. Rostad opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Rostad closed the public hearing. Harter made a motion to approve the variance. Rediske seconded. Brittain offered a friendly amendment to add that approval is based on the findings of fact and subject to the conditions in the staff report. Harter amended his motion to add Brittain's friendly amendment. Rediske seconded. Findings of Fact: A. The proposed 1,500 square foot building addition is internal to the 3M Cottage Grove site. The closest public road from the proposed building addition is approximately 2,860 feet. B. The building addition cannot be seen from the north shore of the Mississippi River because of the bluff along the south side of the Mississippi River. C. All the minimum building setback requirements of the I -3 District are complied with. D. The proposed exterior materials and colors are similar and consistent with other buildings on the 3M Cottage Grove site. E. Other existing structures on the 3M site are taller than the proposed addition. F. The variance is in harmony with the purposes and intent of the Zoning Ordinance. The property is zoned Heavy Industry and the proposed building addition is con- sistent with other manufacturing buildings on the 3M site. The requested variances will not adversely impact the adjoining properties or views from the Mississippi River. G. The variance request is not specifically addressed in the City's Future Vision 2030 Comprehensive Plan, but its industrial characteristics are consistent with the industrial land use designation for this property. H. The proposal continues a reasonable use on the property. I. The purpose of the variance is not based exclusively upon a financial hardship. J. The granting of the variance should not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other land in the neighborhood. The proposed building addition will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property. It will not create congestion in the public streets, become a fire danger, or endanger the public's safety. K. The current use of the existing building is a permitted use within the Heavy Indus- trial, I -3 District. The proposed building expansion will allow the permitted manu- Planning Commission Minutes March 25, 2013 Page 3 of 7 facturing use to also expand. City ordinances do not require city approval of the manufacturing facility. Conditions of Approval. 1. All applicable permits (i.e.; building, electrical, grading, mechanical) and a commercial plan review packet must be completed, submitted, and approved by the City prior to the commencement of any construction activities. Detailed construction plans must be reviewed and approved by the Building Official and Fire Marshal. 2. The applicant receives building permits from the City of Cottage Grove prior to construction. 3. 3M must obtain all required State permits before manufacturing operations begin in the new addition. 4. 3M must provide a copy of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general storm water permit to the City Engineer. 5. 3M must provide a copy of the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and a copy of all the erosion control inspections to the City Engineer. Motion passed unanimously (7 -to -0 vote.) 6.2 Wozniak Property /DR Horton Development — Cases PP13 -008 and ZA13 -009 DR Horton has applied for a zoning amendment to change the zoning from AG -1, Agri- cultural Preservation, to R -3, Single Family Residential, with a Planned Development Overlay; and a preliminary plat for a residential subdivision to be located north of 70th Street, approximately a third mile west of Keats Avenue, that will consist of 134 single family lots and 13 outlots. McCool summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Brittain asked about the viewing triangle associated with the trail along 70th Street and if a condition needs to be added to address visibility from the trail. McCool stated that the City has talked with Washington County about this issue and it is being considered. Reese asked about maintenance if the homeowners association defaults. McCool re- sponded that the homeowners association is required to own and maintain certain areas. If those properties go tax forfeit and the City picks up those parcels, all 134 lots within the subdivision will be billed for their portion of any maintenance costs. Reese asked who would maintain the buffer strip along 70th Street if the homeowners association ceases to exist. McCool responded that the 13 homeowners would maintain their respective part of the buffer strip. Rostad asked if accountability for snow and ice removal, mowing, etc. is the homeowners association or the property owner. McCool responded that the responsibility for mainten- Planning Commission Minutes March 25, 2013 Page 4 of 7 ance and snow removal ultimately belongs to the property owner. The homeowners asso- ciation, which is comprised of all the property owners in the development, could decide that they do not want to take care of certain things and the responsibility falls back onto the property owner. Brittain had concerns about some of the street names in the development. McCool pro- vided the street names in the area. Brittain expressed concern about Jewel Lane and 68th Street and asked about the precedence of a street changing its name mid -block and not at an intersection. McCool responded that staff considers this to be a one - street alignment connecting to the same street, Jensen Avenue. As part of the City's street naming system, a looped road that connects back to the same road is a lane. Brittain noted that a temporary turnaround is not required for the future northerly extension of Joliet. McCool responded that DR Horton is proposing development in four phases. Brittain then asked where the 12 parking spaces on the west side of Joliet Avenue would be located. McCool pointed out the location of the on- street parking area, which is near the park. Mike Suel, DR Horton, 20860 Kenbridge Court, Lakeville, introduced Fran Hagen, Westwood Professional Services, who is the engineer for the project. Suel stated that re- garding the 70th Street buffer they met with staff last week and are now leaning toward having that area be an outlot. They understand the Commission's concerns regarding HOAs, stating that DR Horton writes the HOA documents to stand up over time. Suel then described the homes that they will be building in the development. There will be seven basic home plans with three to four front elevations to choose from. They will also provide flexibility in the designs based on homeowner requests. They only have two -story homes planned for this development. The homes range from 2,300 to 3,400 square feet. He pro- vided pictures of the proposed homes. There are several details, such as wrapping brick around the sides of homes, to work out with the City. Reese asked about if fencing along 70th Street has to match the East Ravine Design Stan- dards of black chain link. McCool responded that if there was to be fencing, all the proper- ties would have to use the same materials and color and would be required to be on the house side of the berm area. The design standards do not reference a specific type of fence, only that it has to be the same materials and colors. Reese asked if the berm would be consistent with the berm in the Newland development. McCool responded that the DR Horton development is lower in elevation than the Newland development, which does have some parts of the berm at six feet in height, and there are grading and drainage issues on the DR Horton property. Fran Hagen, Westwood Profes- sional Services, responded that berm size is based on the elevation of the road in relation to the backyards and the existing grades. He explained that from the back of the houses to the berm it is about six to eight feet but from the roadside it is zero to four feet. Rostad asked about the conservation easement regarding tree removal in the northeast corner. McCool responded that there will be documentation as part of the plat review that those trees are to be preserved. In addition, the homeowners association restrictive cove- nants will list what homeowners can and can't do in that conservation easement. Rostad asked about enforcement. McCool responded that enforcement would be up to the home- Planning Commission Minutes March 25, 2013 Page 5 of 7 owners association. McCool stated that the City is requiring a connection of the public utili- ties to the three -acre parcel located to the west. In order to install those utilities, there will be some tree removal in that wooded area. There may also be a public street extended to that parcel. If that is the case, tree mitigation would be re- evaluated. Rostad opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Rostad closed the public hearing. Brittain asked for feedback from the Commission on the street name Jewel Lane versus 68th Street. The Commission discussed the street names for the development. Brittain rec- ommended having more continuous use of street names. Reese asked if the developer is planning to put in a monument sign. Suel pointed out the location for their monument sign by the entry from 70th Street noting that there will be landscaping around it. Thiede asked if the homeowners associations for the two developments would be con- nected as was discussed during the concept plan approvals, particularly the neighborhood that includes homes from both developers. Suel stated that they have had conversations with Newland about combining the associations on the west side. They both agree that it would make sense to join the west lots with the Newland lots. Brittain asked if they don't come to an agreement with Newland, will DR Horton have one or two associations. Suel responded one, but the documents have not been drafted yet and he needs to discuss the documents with their association attorney and managers. Suel stated that their preference would be for Newland and DR Horton to have their own HOAs and include the westerly DR Horton properties in the Newland HOA. Rostad suggested that all properties to the east of the watershed should be in one homeowners association and everything to the west in another. Wehrle asked if Public Works was okay with the landscape islands. McCool responded that they have accepted the islands but they don't want the responsibility for maintaining the islands. Brittain made a motion to approve the zoning amendment from AG -1 to R -3, the Planned Development Overlay (PDO), and the preliminary plat, subject to the 89 con- ditions stipulated in the staff report with the addition of a recommendation to change the names of Jewel Lane to 68th Street and 69th Street with a caveat to evaluate if it is possible to also rename Jewel Lane in the Newland development as well. Reese seconded. Motion passed unanimously (8 -to -0 vote). Project Update Burbank provided a presentation updating the Planning Commission on current projects in the City. Rediske asked if the Highway 61 /Keats Avenue interchange project for which the City is re- questing grant funding is part of the Walmart construction. Burbank responded that the interchange area is a separate project; Walmart is part of Phase I of the East Point Douglas Road project, which includes the addition of a turn lane and roadway and trail improve- ments. Phase 11 would be triggered by additional commercial development. Planning Commission Minutes March 25, 2013 Page 6 of 7 Rediske asked for an update on the reconstruction of 70th Street from Highway 61 to Hinton Avenue. Burbank responded that the County has approved plans for that project and staff could provide a copy of those plans. Reese asked if East Point Douglas Road would be temporarily closed during the construc- tion. Levitt responded that when utilities are being installed, there will be a detour in place for about six to eight weeks. Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of February 25, 2013 Reese made a motion to approve the minutes from the February 25, 2013, Planning Commission meeting. Pearson seconded. Motion passed unanimously on a 7 -to -0 vote (Johnson did not vote). Reports 9.1 Recap of March City Council Meetings Thiede reported the City Council approved final plat for Mississippi Dunes Estates 4th Addition, resolved the issues regarding the Pinecliff homeowners association, approved a permit for underground utilities through the center of Sunny Hill Park, approved The Alley Church's expansion, and appointed Wayne Johnson to the Planning Commission. 9.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None 9.3 Planning Commission Requests Reese asked if the strip mall with Caribou is completely leased and if so, should the "for lease" signs be removed. McCool responded that there may be one vacant tenant bay. Rostad asked about the Rush building. Burbank explained that Northern Tier refinery in St. Paul Park is using the parking lot for temporary parking of contract workers. 9.4 Annual Meeting and Election of Officers Rostad stated that the Commission should review the Planning Commission Rules. If there are any changes, they will be addressed and voted on at the next meeting. Thiede explained that Councilmember Olsen, Planning Commission Liaison, asked that the Planning Commission nominate a Chair for approval by the City Council. Reese nominated Brittain for Chair. Brittain nominated Rostad for Chair. There were no other nominations. These nominations will be sent to Olsen for appointment. It was the consensus of the Planning Commission to defer the appointment of the Vice Chair and Secretary to the next meeting after the Chair has been approved by the Council. Planning Commission Minutes March 25, 2013 Page 7 of 7 Adjournment Brittain made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Reese seconded. The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m.