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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-25 PACKET 07.City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission January 28, 2019 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Park- way South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, January 28, 2019, in the Council Chamber 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. Roll Call Members Present: Ken Brittain, Evan Frazier, Tony Khambata, Taylor Mills, Derek Rasmussen, Jennifer Raymer, Sheree Schuler, Jerret Wright, Roger Zopfi Members Absent: None Staff Present: Christine Costello, Community/Economic Development Director John M. Burbank, Senior Planner John McCool, Senior Planner Ryan Burfeind, Acting City Engineer Steve Dennis, City Councilmember Approval of Agenda Frazier made a motion to approve the agenda. Khambata seconded. The motion was approved unanimously (9 -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 Capp Industries Concept Plan — Case CPR2019-001 Capp Industries, Incorporated has applied for concept plan review for a mixed-use development on 25.3 acres of vacant land located between 7858 and 8585 West Point Planning Commission Minutes January 28, 2019 Page 2 of 5 Douglas Road South. This proposed development would consist of three office/warehouse buildings that would be approximately 120,000 square feet each. Burbank summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Rasmussen asked if there would be adequate parking, knowing that this is only in the concept stage. Burbank responded that parking has not been addressed yet. Wright asked if there has been any feedback from surrounding property owners regarding this proposal. Burbank stated that he has not received any phone calls or written correspondence regarding the application. Brittain asked if other businesses along West Point Douglas Road have turn lanes. Burfeind responded that he would have to review the road layout, but he does not recall any turn lanes being added with recent developments. Khambata noted that the storage developments were required to have staging areas off the main roadway for truck stacking and asked if that would be required for this development. Burfeind responded that would be reviewed during the site plan application process. Tim Knutson, BDH & Young, 7001 France Avenue South, Edina, stated that he appreciates the concept plan review process as it will provide them with a clear direction. They believe the proposed project will be a good use for that area. He then explained that they are proposing locating the stormwater management ponds in front of buildings because Capp Industries prefers a softer presence instead of hard parking and a building along the road. Stormwater ponds can work in the back, but they would like to keep them in front of the building and asked that the pond locations be discussed further. Brittain stated that this is just a concept plan so more work would need to be done prior to the development coming back before the Commission. He believes this project would be a good fit for this area. A lot of synergy could be developed between this development and current and future developments. He asked that staff work on refining the details, including turn lanes. Rasmussen stated that overall he agrees with the use and the concept plan. He also agrees with Brittain about looking at traffic patterns in the area. He does not see the benefit to locating the stormwater management ponds in the back; he likes having that buffer. Schuler agreed with the previous comments. She is also not particular about the stormwater basin being pushed to the back. She thinks it could provide a nice look and feel and set them apart from the other buildings along the road. She noted that one of the conditions in the staff report addresses the ponds and asked that an amendment be considered with the motion. Khambata asked if there is an ecological or environmental reason behind requesting that the basin be moved to the back or was it strictly from an aesthetic standpoint. Burbank responded that it came up at the Technical Review Committee meeting. Brittain stated that he does not have a strong opinion on the pond locations, but if staff, through the more detailed process, should consider that. Planning Commission Minutes January 28, 2019 Page 3 of 5 Brittain opened the public hearing. Forest Bailey, 7858 West Point Douglas Road, stated that land was part of a 255 -acre farm. He noted that there is a drainage problem on the property. He pointed out that the area where Building C is proposed, by the school bus garage, doesn't drain well. All water that comes off the asphalt parking area goes onto that property, so it is going to need to be re -graded. No one else spoke. Brittain closed the public hearing. Khambata made a motion to approve the concept plan review subject to the conditions in the staff report. Raymer seconded. Zopfi stated that he would like to amend the motion to change condition #3 in the staff recommendations that the location of the stormwater management ponds be determined in the future. Khambata and Raymer agreed to the modification of the motion. Motion passed unanimously (9 -to -0 vote). 6.2 Aggregate Industries — Case MP2019-002 Aggregate Industries — North Central Region, Inc. has applied for their 2019 mining permit to continue their mining operations at 11250 Grey Cloud Trail South on Lower Grey Cloud Island. (Not a public hearing.) McCool summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Mills asked why Aggregate Industries does not need an Environmental Impact Statement for the area that they are currently mining. McCool responded that one had been done many years ago for the extraction of mining materials on the Island. Patty Bestler, Aggregate Industries, 2815 Dodd Road, Eagan, stated that their operations do not change much from year to year. They are progressing westward on the property towards their processing plant. They will strip nine acres this year with no tree clearing needed. She pointed out the area where they will do reclamation. She stated that they are continuing to work with Great River Greening to restore the oak savannah areas. She then explained in response to the EIS question, that they put the study on hold several years, but may revisit dredging in the backwaters in the future. Brittain asked about the facilities that were constructed for the bridge construction project. Bestler responded that they have all been removed from the Island. Frazier made a motion to approve the mining permit application subject to the conditions in the staff report. Wright seconded. Zopfi asked to add to the motion approval of the variance related to hours of operation. Frazier agreed to amend the motion, noting that the condition #6 also addresses the hours of operation. Wright agreed with the amendment to the motion. Planning Commission Minutes January 28, 2019 Page 4 of 5 Motion passed unanimously (9 -to -0 vote). 6.3 Young Addition — Cases PP2019-003 & ZA2019-004 US Home Corporation, dba Lennar, has applied for a zoning amendment to change the zoning of property located at 7930 65th Street South from R-2.5, Residential, to R-3, Single Family Residential with a Planned Development Overlay (PDO), and a preliminary plat for a residential subdivision to be called Young Addition, which will consist of 10 residential lots for single-family homes. Burbank summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Paul Tabone, Lennar, 16305 36th Avenue North, Suite 600, Plymouth, explained that the development would consist of single-family detached homes like the ones under construction in Calarosa. They are anticipating starting construction in spring 2019. He stated that he would answer any questions from the Commission. Brittain opened the public hearing. Randall Schwartz, 7963 63rd Street South, asked what the plan is for the pine trees along the property line. He also asked about drainage, noting the properties along the north side are lower. Burfeind responded that if the trees are outside the grading limits, the applicant's intent is to try to save the trees along the property line. He explained that with the previous development stormwater pipes were stubbed to those property. One of the conditions is that all drainage is retained on site and then would go into the storm sewer system, so the applicant will be installing several rear yard catch basins to capture water before it runs onto any of the neighboring properties. Charlie Carter, 7999 63rd Street South, had questions based on issues from recent construction in the area, including construction trash blowing around from the Calarosa development, and numerous instances of property impingement where he has had to contact Lennar, such as fixing his irrigation system that was damaged during street construction for Calarosa and replacing the sod around the fire hydrant. He asked if there was a point of contact for these issues. He requested that the trees be preserved. Burbank responded that his contact information is on the public hearing notice, and he can make connections between residents and the developer on any issues during construction. Burfeind stated that staff can provide contact information and will work with the contractors to ensure they stay on the development site. He explained that with Calarosa, there was specific utility work adjacent to the nearest property, but the City does not anticipate something similar with this project. Carter asked about the hours of work, noting that on the quad homes they have worked quite a bit later than that on occasion. He wants the City to ensure that they adhere to the required hours of construction. Brittain encouraged residents to let the City know about any issues. No one else spoke. Brittain closed the public hearing. Khambata stated that regarding working hours, the City needs to know about any issues in order to enforce them. Burfeind explained that the City Code requirements for exterior use of power equipment are 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Planning Commission Minutes January 28, 2019 Page 5 of 5 on Saturdays, and no work on Sundays and holidays. Exempted from those requirements are fueling and unloading of equipment because those are overnight activities in the construction industry. He will clarify with the Building Official about work in the interior of homes. Schuler noted that condition #43 in the staff report states that the hours of operation on Saturdays are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Burfeind stated that the requirements for developments can be stricter than the City Code. Khambata made a motion to approve the zoning amendment and preliminary plat for the Young Addition, subject to the conditions in the staff report. Raymer seconded. Motion passed unanimously (9 -to -0 vote). Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of December 17, 2018 Frazier made a motion to approve the minutes of the December 17, 2018, Planning Com- mission meeting. Mills seconded. Motion passed unanimously (9 -to -0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of January 2019 City Council Meetings Costello provided a summary of actions taken at the City Council meetings on January 2 and January 16, 2019. Dennis stated that on February 6 at 6:30 p.m. the Mayor will give his State of the City Address. He thanked McCool for his 31 years of service to the City of Cottage Grove and wished him well on his retirement. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None 8.3 Planning Commission Requests Khambata noted that in the Young Addition report, there was a minimum square footage of 2,000 square feet for single-family homes and asked if that was a City requirement. Burbank responded that those were the square footages that were negotiated for the recent approved Planned Development Overlays, and we are just carrying those forward so the homes will be consistent with other developments in the community. Brittain expressed his appreciation to McCool for all his work with the Planning Commission. Adjournment Khambata made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Frazier seconded. Motion passed unanimously (9 -to -0 vote). The meeting was adjourned at 8:04 p.m.