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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-25 PACKET 07.City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission October 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, October 28, 2019, in the Council Chamber and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Chair Khambata called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Evan Frazier, Tony Khambata, Eric Knable, Derek Rasmussen, Jerritt Wright, Roger Zopfi Members Absent: Sarah Bigham Staff Present: Christine Costello, Acting Community & Economic Development Director John M. Burbank, Senior Planner Robin Roland, Finance Director Ryan Burfeind, City Engineer Steve Dennis, Council Member Approval of Agenda Frazier made a motion to approve the agenda. Wright seconded. The motion was approved unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). Open Forum Khambata opened the open forum. Khambata asked if anyone wished to address the Planning Commission on any non -agenda item. No one addressed the Commission. Khambata closed the open forum. Chair's Explanation of the Public Hearing Process Khambata 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 Peterson Front Porch — Case V2019-055 Gary and Shareen Peterson have applied for a variance to front yard setback requirements to allow a 9.6 -foot deep landing to be located 17.6 feet from the front property line on a new house to be constructed at 8724 95th Street South. Planning Commission Minutes October 28, 2019 Page 2 of 6 Burbank summarized the staff report and recommended approval based on the findings of fact and subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Rasmussen asked if there are any public utilities on 95th Street. Burbank responded no. Khambata opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Khambata stated that this will be a nice addition to the neighborhood rather than an eyesore. Frazier made a motion to approve the front yard setback variance, based on the findings of fact and subject to the conditions in the staff report. Knable seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). 6.2 Calarosa East — Cases ZA2019-056 & PP2019-057 U.S. Home Corporation, dba Lennar, has applied for a zoning amendment to change the zoning of 58.56 acres of land generally located north of 65th Street, west of Inwood Avenue, South of the Woodbury border, and east of the Calarosa subdivision, from AG -1, Agricul- tural Preservation, to R-3 Single Family Residential, with a PUD, Planned Unit Development; and a preliminary plat to be called Calarosa East, which would create a residential subdivi- sion consisting of 121 detached single-family homes, 54 townhome units, and 13 outlots. Burbank summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Zopfi asked why the Planning Commission is only reviewing the preliminary plat at this time and not the final plat. Burbank responded that it takes time to complete the final construction drawings and prepare the development agreement, which is standard process. Paul Tabone, Lennar, 16305 36th Avenue North, Plymouth, MN, stated that they are planning an additional 175 home sites that would begin construction in spring 2020. They are looking to develop the eastern half of the community in two to three phases, depending on market condi- tions. They are working on preliminary comments and plans with staff. Khambata opened the public hearing. Bonnie Matter, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, stated that she attended the neighborhood open house to understand how the infrastructure was going to be handled, such as where the watermains were coming from, water pressure impact, where the sewer was going to be piped out, how the stormwater runoff would be handled, locations of the gas lines, and if the devel- opment would affect her home and neighborhood. She noted her main concern with this proposed subdivision is the density of the townhome area on the southeast corner of Inwood Avenue and 65th Street. She believes that an environmental impact study should be done for this area based on all the changes, noting that the last one was done in 2005. She is not comfortable with what is going on. Matter then asked about the plans for Inwood Avenue as she understood that road was going to be shut off at the 65th and Inwood intersection, but because there are more than 30 units in the townhome development, Inwood Avenue would Planning Commission Minutes October 28, 2019 Page 3 of 6 need to remain to allow fire department access to the townhouses. She also stated that the 500 -foot notification area for the public hearing was not sufficient. Matter asked if the town - homes would be two-story buildings, how many bedrooms they would have, will there be base- ments, and how many square feet. She expressed concern about stormwater runoff in that compact area. She believes that the water and sewer map should be looked at from an envi- ronmental impact standpoint. She questioned if there is adequate infrastructure to handle all these additional units. Khambata stated that staff would address her questions. He noted that engineering questions would be addressed with the final plat application. He stated that as any application is going through the process, the applicant is working closely with the City on those issues. Matter noted that the approval meeting is set for November. Khambata replied that is when the City Council will vote on the preliminary plat but that doesn't mean if they vote to approve this application, that development will start. Matter stated that she has many concerns about this project, par- ticularly density and infrastructure. Khambata noted that the total density is 3.16 lots per acre and explained that even if the housing was spread more evenly throughout the development, there would be the same traffic volume and infrastructure requirements. He stated that the applicant is meeting the current ordinance criteria. Tabone stated that the density is being calculated on an overall site basis, which is how they did it when they developed the western half. He stated that conventional planning practice is to locate denser uses on the corners of a development near intersections because there is more traffic coming out of it. They implemented the same thing on the west side. They had looked at doing some single family in that area but based on the alignment of Ravine Parkway, it would not work well. He believes the AUAR covers the proposed environmental impacts into the future. Sewer flows, traffic rates, average daily traffic, and trip generation have all been accounted for in the master plan, which he believes was approved ten years ago. Tabone explained regarding Inwood Avenue that the fire department voiced concern to them recently about an emergency access, so they are working with staff on where it makes sense to put one. He then stated that the single-family homes being introduced in this development range from 1,300 to 1,700 square feet, which does not account for finished basements. He noted that they are a modified split level with a finished lower portion of the home. Khambata asked if that square footage is specific to the single-family or only specific to the townhomes. He also asked if the townhomes would be slab on grade. Tabone responded that these would be different than the ones being built on the west side as they have a basement and the units are a little bit deeper. Burfeind stated that the City has an Alternative Urban Area Review (AUAR) for the East Ravine that covers in the place of an environmental impact statement. The AUAR was updated in 2015 and is looked at every 10 years. When the City looks at how to handle infrastructure — water, sewer, and traffic — we look at an area as a whole. He explained that there are about 60 acres and the comprehensive planning process looks at the maximum number of homes that could be developed based on density, which for this area would be about 240 units. The developers are proposing 174 units. Burfeind then explained that water come into the subdivision from all the various streets, including the existing Calarosa development and from the south. Water pressure existing homes will not be impacted. The sewer system flows out through the High- lands neighborhood to the south. He stated that with all proposed developments, the city reviews our sanitary sewer model to verify capacity. He provided information on stormwater management for the development, which includes a multitude of ponds. Burfeind explained that Planning Commission Minutes October 28, 2019 Page 4 of 6 for the multi -family area, the only access is onto Ravine Parkway, which helps avoid traffic cutting through neighborhoods. For the fire access, the City has proposed a trail, which would prevent residents from driving out onto Inwood Avenue but provides a secondary access point for the fire department. He noted that the density of the 2.61 acres of multi -family lot area only includes just the lots; the actual multi -family area is that entire southeast corner, which is quite a bit more than 2.61 acres. He would provide the actual number of acres and density to the Commission and Council in a follow up. Rasmussen asked if the stormwater for the multi -family area flows under the new Ravine Park- way and towards the detention pond on this property. Burfeind explained that 65th Street sits about 10 feet higher than the multi -family area, and stormwater would be collected into pipes, and then into the stormwater ponds, so there is no risk to the surrounding areas. Sheryll Clark, 5999 Sunnyhill Drive, Woodbury, asked about the phases of development and the phases for traffic and infrastructure improvements. She stated that Inwood is a poor road and Sunnyhill Drive is a gravel road and neither are well maintained. She asked how traffic would be accommodated and if Inwood would be closed as originally proposed, although it sounds like with the concerns of the fire department that has been changed. Burfeind stated that the first phase would be in the southern part of the development and would work its way north. Staff is still recommending vacation of Inwood north of Ravine Parkway up to the Woodbury border, which is consistent with the 2014 concept plan staff report. The report also indicated Inwood Avenue south of Ravine Parkway would be maintained. Cottage Grove staff will meet with Woodbury staff prior to the City Council meeting to look at Sunnyhill Drive because they voiced similar concerns about traffic going onto Sunnyhill Drive. The vacation of Inwood Avenue should address that and help prevent people driving straight north and into Woodbury. Wright asked if there are plans to accommodate heavier traffic on Military Road. Burfeind stated that will be answered after meeting with the City of Woodbury because if the road is vacated, there would be no direct connection to Military. Everyone in this neighborhood would need to use Ravine Parkway, as planned for in the Ravine Parkway Master Plan. Clark asked about the plan to connect Ravine Parkway to Jamaica Avenue. Burfeind explained that construction of Ravine Parkway is development driven, so when the Kemp property and Wolterstorff property are ever developed, those sections of Ravine Parkway would be con- structed, which is the final piece to connect to Jamaica Avenue. No one else spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Zopfi made a motion to approve the zoning amendment and preliminary plat for Calarosa East, subject to the conditions in the staff report. Wright seconded. Frazier asked that the specific density for the just townhome area with outlots included be provided as the process continues. He knows that the development as a whole meets the cri- teria for low density development, but townhomes are more medium density. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). Planning Commission Minutes October 28, 2019 Page 5 of 6 6.3 CIP 2020-2024 — Case CIP2019-058 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a comprehensive plan amendment to amend the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for 2020-2024. Roland summarized the staff report and recommended approval. Rasmussen asked regarding the compost site land acquisition if the City planning would run the compost site or shut it down. Roland explained that the current compost site is located on a very valuable piece commercial/industrial land, so the City is considering is purchasing land in another area and moving the compost site there. Khambata opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Rasmussen made a motion to approve the comprehensive plan amendment to amend the Capital Improvement Program for 2020-2024. Frazier seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of September 23, 2019 Frazier made a motion to approve the minutes of the September 23, 2019, Planning Com- mission meeting. Wright seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of October 2019 City Council Meetings Costello provided a summary of actions taken at the City Council meetings on October 2 and October 16, 2019. Dennis stated that Costello will be sending out dates to schedule mandatory training for the Planning Commission. He explained that the City Attorney will provide information on planning commissioner duties and responsibilities. He noted that on October 30 he and Economic De- velopment staff will be attending the Minnesota Commercial Association of Real Estate event to promote the City of Cottage Grove to real estate brokers. Dennis asked for volunteers to help with the grocery bagging event on November 24 at Cub Foods to raise money for the Holiday Train. He then reported that on October 30 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. staff will hold a public open house to answer questions regarding water bill issues. Zopfi asked for a report on the ICSC convention. Dennis responded that the City will attend next year's event in May and will start planning for it soon. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None Planning Commission Minutes October 28, 2019 Page 6 of 6 8.3 Planning Commission Requests Khambata asked if staff could explain why housing density is based on the total acreage versus smaller pieces of a plat. Costello stated that a response would be in next month's Planning Commission packet. Adjournment Zopfi made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Wright seconded. Motion passed unani- mously (6 -to -0 vote). The meeting was adjourned at 8:29 p.m.