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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-02-27 PACKET 07.City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission January 23, 2017 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Park- way South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, January 23, 2017, in the Council Chambers and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Chair Brittain called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Sam Awad, Ken Brittain, Justin Fox, Derek Rasmussen, Jim Rostad, Roger Zopfi Members Absent: Adam Graf, Kimberly Graff Staff Present: Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer John McCool, Senior Planner John M. Burbank Senior Planner Steve Dennis, City Councilmember Approval of Agenda Rostad made a motion to approve the agenda. Zopfi seconded. The motion was approved unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). Open Forum Brittain 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 Brittain 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 Brown Farm Division — Case PP2017-001 Janet Bremer has applied for a preliminary plat to be called Brown Farm Division, which will create two lots at 9670 Kimbro Avenue South. Planning Commission Minutes January 23, 2017 Page 2 of 5 McCool summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Rasmussen asked if there are other subdivisions in this general area on Kimbro Avenue. McCool responded that the Stewart Addition is south of this property, which had an existing home and was divided into four lots. Further to the north is Pleasant View Addition but he does not know if at the time it was platted there were any existing houses on those lots. The other farmstead properties further to the north are exemption properties, which are legally described by metes and bounds descriptions and are not part of a subdivision plat. Zopfi asked if each house has direct access onto Kimbro Avenue. McCool responded yes and no changes are proposed. Zopfi noted that the property to the north of Lot 1 looks like it is sharing a driveway access with that neighbor. McCool noted that those are agricultural buildings that were part of this property until it was divided; there is no home on that parcel. Brittain opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Brittain closed the public hearing. Rostad asked if the Commission needs to address in the recommendations that one lot is at least five acres because this is a preliminary plat. McCool responded that it would be up to the property owners if that was critical for them; the City is merely bringing it to their attention that a five -acre parcel would allow for farm animals; without five acres it would not. Rostad made a motion to approve the preliminary plat subject to the conditions stipu- lated in the staff report. Awad seconded. Fox asked if a stipulation could be added about that if they want to move the property line a few inches to accommodate the five acres that they can with this approval. McCool respond- ed that could be added. Rostad asked if that is something he needs to amend. McCool stated that the City is not requiring it, unless the Commission wants to require it by making it a con- dition, or it could be included as a suggestion. Fox wanted to ensure that if the Commission approves it as is, they could still make it into a five -acre parcel. McCool stated that if at the time of the final plat submittal it showed five acres, staff would accept it because they are still only creating two lots. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). 6.2 Aggregate Industries 2017 Mining Permit — Case MP2017-006 Aggregate Industries — North Central Region, Inc. has applied for their 2017 mining permit to continue their mining operations at 11250 Grey Cloud Trail South on Lower Grey Cloud Island. McCool summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Patty Bestler, Aggregate Industries, stated that this application is very similar to their past operations. Planning Commission Minutes January 23, 2017 Page 3 of 5 Brittain asked if they are still building sections for the St. Croix Bridge. Bestler responded that project has been completed and Lunda Ames has removed everything from the property. Aggregate Industries is in the process of taking down the ready mix plant, which should be completed within the month. Rasmussen asked if the ready mix plant was only for the bridge project. Bestler responded that was correct, noting that they will be moving the plant to Empire Township. Brittain asked if anyone wants to speak on this application. No one spoke. Rasmussen made a motion to approve Aggregate Industries' 2017 mining permit sub- ject to the conditions listed in the staff report. Zopfi seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). 6.3 CIP 2017-2021 — Case CP2017-005 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a comprehensive plan amendment to amend the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) 2017-2021. Roland summarized the staff report and recommended approval. Rostad asked about the City's estimated financial participation of $4 million for the HERO Center. Roland explained that does not take into consideration the land that the City would contribute; the value of the land being contributed should reduce the actual cash amount needed. Rostad stated that when this was first brought up, there was talk that a lot of different agencies wanted to be involved in it, but now it appears only the City of Woodbury and the State of Minnesota are involved. He had also heard that this would be a revenue source but he has not seen anything detailing the revenue plans. Roland stated that staff from Woodbury and Cottage Grove are evaluating issues including if it is a revenue generator, what the an- nual expenses would be, and who is responsible for those expenses. The City received $1.46 million from the State in planning money to look at what it would take to build the building and what it would take to run the building. This will be part of the discussion at the joint Woodbury and Cottage Grove City Council workshop on February 9. She noted that the City Council would have to get satisfactory answers to those questions before this project would go for- ward. She explained that this project would be a training facility and a potential gun range for our police department as well as for other departments. Rostad then asked about the proposed improvements for Hamlet Park, including new ball fields, noting that those improvements seem similar to the items that were voted down in a referendum a few years ago. Roland stated that after the referendum failed, the City Council gave staff the direction to figure out how to get those amenities built over a period of time without needing a referendum, such as using park improvement funds and existing revenue sources. She noted that would be part of the prioritization discussions the Council will be hav- ing with the Parks Commission. Rostad expressed concern that a portion of the funding will be coming from the fees collected from the water towers, which could cause increases in water bills. He also is concerned about funding for future water towers. He stated that this feels like an end run around the referendum. He has a tough time supporting projects that were voted down. Planning Commission Minutes January 23, 2017 Page 4 of 5 Brittain asked about the East Point Douglas roundabout. Roland explained that the round- about would connect the on and off ramps to Highway 61, the frontage roads, and County Road 19. Levitt stated that Washington County is bidding the park entrance reconstruction with the six -legged roundabout project, for construction in 2017. Brittain asked if that would be a signalized intersection at the park entrance in the future. Levitt responded that is correct. Brittain asked if there is any concern with how close it is to the roundabout. Levitt responded that when the project was developed, an analysis was run of the six -legged roundabout with a roundabout at the intersection to the north, with a traffic signal, and with a two-way stop condition, and the roundabout performed in all three situations. Fox asked if the improvements to 80th Street from Ideal to Highway 61 will be assessed against the businesses. Roland responded yes. Fox asked if during construction in 2017 both 70th Street and 65th Street will be closed at the same time. Roland responded that the closures will be synchronized and the roads would not be closed at the same time. Awad asked for more information on the plan to purchase land for a new public works facility in 2021. Roland responded that is at the end of the five-year plan and, at best, is a place - holder. She explained that this is a planning document for the City to be able to look forward five to ten years to project what the community may look like. The current facility houses for both Public Works and Parks Departments, including all their equipment. If development starts on the west side of Highway 61, the City doesn't want this valuable land to be a public works facility. Last year when the City Council held their strategic planning meeting, it was agreed that future planning would need to take place and this is the first placeholder. She would be surprised if this happens in 2021; at this point it is just to show that the City is think- ing about it and trying to make a place for it in the future. Brittain opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Brittain closed the public hearing. Fox made a motion to recommended approval of the comprehensive plan amendment to amend the CIP for 2017-2021. Awad seconded. Rostad stated from a vote standpoint the recommendation is if the proposed CIP is consistent with the comprehensive plan, and he has challenges with some of the line items but con- sistency with the comprehensive plan seems to be there. Levitt provided clarification on the utility component regarding future water towers noting that a water tower would be construct- ed out of the City's water area fund, which is developer funded, and would not come out of the utility fund. She stated that there are two funds that support growth and expansion of our water system, which are is borne by the developing community and not by the rate payers in the City. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of November 28, 2016 Planning Commission Minutes January 23, 2017 Page 5 of 5 Awad made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 28, 2016, Planning Commission meeting. Zopfi seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of December 2016 and January 2017 City Council Meetings Levitt summarized the actions taken by the City Council at their meetings in December 2016 and January 2017. Dennis reported that 98 new homes were constructed in 2016, which is a 53 percent increase over 2015. He stated that the permit valuation for residential, commercial, and industrial con- struction projects was over $98 million. He then noted that for 2015-16, the total permit valua- tion was $160 million. He stated that this is the most significant two-year period of economic development in the history of Cottage Grove. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None 8.3 Planning Commission Requests None Adjournment Fox made a motion to adjourn. Rostad seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m. (6 -to -0 vote).