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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-03-23 PACKET 07.City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission February 24, 2020 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Park- way South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, February 24, 2020, 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. Members Present: Sarah Bigham, Evan Frazier, Tony Khambata, Eric Knable, Derek Rasmussen, Jerritt Wright, Roger Zopfi Members Absent: None Staff Present: Ben Boike, Community Development Director John M. Burbank, Senior Planner Emily Schmitz, Senior Planner Christine Costello, Economic Development Director Amanda Meyer, Assistant City Engineer Steve Dennis, Council Member Approval of Agenda Wright made a motion to approve the agenda. Bigham seconded. The motion was approved unanimously (7 -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 Aggregate Industries — Case MP2020-006 Planning Commission Minutes February 24, 2020 Page 2 of 7 Aggregate Industries — North Central Region, Inc. has applied for their 2020 mining permit to continue their mining operations at 11250 Grey Cloud Trail South on Lower Grey Cloud Island. (Not a Public Hearing.) Burbank summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Patty Bestler, Regional Land and Environmental Manager for Aggregate Industries, introduced Mike Murphy, the Plant Manager at Nelson Mines. She stated that operations have remained the same as they have been the past several years and are moving towards the west to the processing plant, reclaiming as they go along. The waste sand is being put northeast of the lake they have been dredging in. They will maintain the oak savanna and adding some larger trees as they may have to remove some of the smaller trees and getting the grades up to where the landowners want for their future development. She reported that they have all their envi- ronmental permits in place. Rasmussen asked if there have been any concerns last year with operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Bestler responded there have been none. Khambata asked if there were any comments from the public. No one spoke. Frazier made a motion to approve Aggregate Industries' 2020 mining permit subject to the conditions in the staff report. Wright seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7 -to -0 vote). 6.2 Mixed Use Zoning District — Cases TA2020-012 & ZA2020-013 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a text amendment to the City's Zoning Ordinance to create an M -U, Mixed Use Zoning District, and a zoning amendment to rezone certain properties to M -U, Mixed Use. Properties impacted by the proposed zoning amendment in- clude: certain properties north and east of 80th Street and Highway 61; certain properties adjacent to Jamaica Avenue and Highway 61; certain properties at the northwest corner of County Road 19 (Keats Avenue) and Highway 61; certain properties north and east of 70th Street and County Road 19 (Keats Avenue); and property at the southwest corner of 65th Street and Hinton Avenue. Boike summarized the staff report. He stated that based on concerns from property owners in some of the areas proposed for rezoning, the City is only recommending rezoning the areas north and east of 80th Street and Highway 61 and north and east of Jamaica Avenue and Highway 61. The areas that are no longer being considered for rezoning are unlikely to see any development in the near future whereas the City sees the initial push for development in the two areas still be recommended for approval. In the future, if development is proposed in those other areas, rezoning will be done at that time. Boike reported that staff received an email today regarding concerns with rezoning the Cedarhurst Mansion property, and a copy of that email has been distributed to the Commission; he noted that property has been removed from the proposed rezoning areas. He recommended approval of the zoning text amendment creat- ing the M -U, Mixed Use Development zoning district, and the rezoning amendment which would rezone certain properties north and east of 80th Street and Highway 61 and certain properties north and east of Jamaica Avenue and Highway 61. Planning Commission Minutes February 24, 2020 Page 3 of 7 Frazier asked about the development standards for the M -U district, noting that the proposed ordinance states, "whenever a B-3 district abuts a residential district," and if that should read M -U rather than B-3. Boike stated that it should read that way, and staff will make that change. Khambata opened the public hearing. Jerry Herringer, 1731 Innsbruck Parkway, Columbia Heights, stated that he owns the land where the proposed Shoppes at Cottage View will be developed and asked why that was ex- cluded from the rezoning. No one else spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Boike responded that with any undeveloped land, the City wants to hold off on the rezoning until there is a development proposed, and the property would be rezoned at that time. Khambata stated that this provides the City an opportunity to boil down our specific zoning that is going to work as a buffer between commercial areas and lower density residential, so he thinks this zoning amendment is good for helping identify some of those key areas where that special land use is going to be important. Zopfi made a motion to approve the zoning text amendment creating a mixed-use zoning district and the rezoning amendment to rezone certain properties north and east of 80th Street and Highway 61 and properties north and east of Jamaica Avenue and Highway 61. Bigham seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7 -to -0 vote). 6.3 80th & Hemingway Apartments — Cases ZA2020-009 & SP2020-010 80th & Hemingway LLC has applied for a zoning amendment to rezone the property located at 7516 80th Street South from B-1, Limited Business, to M -U, Mixed Use, with a Planned Unit Development (PUD); and a site plan review of a proposed four-story market rate apart- ment building. Costello summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stip- ulated in the staff report. Katelyn Murray, North Shore Development Partners, 641 East Lake Street, Wayzata, stated that they are excited to be part of the development team on this project. She provided infor- mation on other multi -family projects they have developed. Della Kolpin, 2880 Jewel Lane North, Plymouth, described the project and the amenities that will be provided for the residents. She stated that there were a few key factors that drove the design of the site, including its contours, how the project would fit into the look of 80th Street, the direction and location of the main entry, and the landscape design. She explained that their overall concept was to create a contemporary feel to the site at the same time complementing what is around it. She stated that the materials used for the building include brick, glass, bur- nished rockface block, and Hardy Board. Planning Commission Minutes February 24, 2020 Page 4 of 7 Costello reported that the developer held a neighborhood meeting at Central Fire Station in November with two residents and a firefighter in attendance; they mostly had questions about what the building would look like but did not express any concerns. Zopfi asked how many parking spaces are underground and based on the mix of the sizes of the units, do they believe that is a sufficient number of spaces. Kolpin responded that there are 116 surface parking spaces and 94 underground spaces, for a total of 210. They did a parking analysis because parking is very important for market rate apartments. They looked at the overall ratio and broke it down by apartment types: one stall per unit for studios; 1.76 stalls per unit for the one -bedrooms, noting that the standard is 1.5; and two stalls per unit for the two and three -bedrooms; plus they have provided one stall for every ten units for visitor parking. Knable asked about lighting on the west side of the building facing the businesses. Kolpin responded that they have done a site photometric for their parking lot but haven't extensively looked at what they are going to do along the walking path and the west side of the building. Frazier asked if the garage door for the underground parking would be below the grade of 80th Street so it is hidden or will it be at grade. Kolpin responded that it goes down about six inches to a foot; there isn't much of a difference in grade between 80th Street and the garage. She stated that they will be planting trees along the street. Frazier stated his concern is visibility of the garage door to the street, but it sounds like there will be some screening in front of it. Khambata asked if vehicles exiting the garage would have an opportunity to go either left or right onto 80th Street. Kolpin responded yes, noting that it is the same access point as the former city hall. Khambata asked if during peak hours there is concern about additional con- gestion. Costello stated that the location of the garage door allows for stacking and vehicles can go either east or west out of the entrance onto 80th Street. In the past police and fire vehicles used that same access for emergencies. Wright asked if the parking lot for the library and this building would be connected, which could possibly be used for overflow parking. Costello responded that there would no longer be a connection to the library from the shared driveway; people will have to access the library from 79th Street. If there are parking issues at the library, the City would work to designate some parking spots on Hemingway Avenue in front of the library. Bigham noted that there is a dedicated right turn lane into the site from 80th Street and noted that other businesses on 80th Street don't have their own dedicated right turn lane. Costello stated that the design of 80th Street is not changing, so the existing turn lane into the develop- ment will be the same as it was for the city hall facility. Rasmussen asked where the trash and recycling area is located and where is it being picked up from. Kolpin pointed out the location of the trash room on the main level, which is where the dumpsters will be held. She explained when the trash hauler comes, they will roll the dumpsters out into a dedicated stall and the garbage company will pick it up. There are trash chutes from the second and third floors that flow into the dumpsters. Khambata opened the public hearing. Planning Commission Minutes February 24, 2020 Page 5 of 7 Carol Eberhardt, 8118 Hemingway Avenue South, expressed concern about turning west onto 80th Street from Hemingway south of the site. She asked if any thought has been given to the traffic coming in and out across from the proposed building. No one else spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Costello stated that staff looked at all access points for traffic along 80th Street and at this time, do not see any issues with the additional traffic. If there are issues, it will be looked at. Khambata asked if the City is comfortable with that the capacity for 80th Street would not be exceeded. Costello responded yes. Bigham asked if the library was offered the opportunity to attend this meeting and if they have seen the current plan. Costello responded that the library has seen the plan. She explained that the City with the County worked over the past couple years in an attempt to redevelop both sites together, but they had specific needs for the library and due to the parcel sizes, it just couldn't all fit. Frazier made a motion to approve the zoning amendment and site plan review subject to the conditions in the staff report. Wright seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7 - to -0 vote). Commissioner Frazier left the meeting. 6.4 Sullivan Pines — Cases ZA2020-007 & PP2020-008 TEG Land Holdings, LLC has applied for a zoning amendment to rezone approximately 119 acres of land generally located on the northeast corner of 65th Street and Geneva Avenue from AG -2, Agricultural, and R-2.5, Residential, to R-3, Single Family Residential, with a PUD, Planned Unit Development. TEG Land Holdings also applied for a preliminary plat to be called Sullivan Pines that would create 235 lots for detached single-family homes and 12 outlots. Schmitz summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stip- ulated in the staff report. Ben Schmidt, The Excelsior Group, stated that they are the developer but not a home builder so they do not have specific elevations at this point, but they anticipate having a national builder and several local builders, which will provide varied architecture in the neighborhood. Khambata opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Khambata stated that he likes the greenspace and how the infrastructure lays out. He asked if there will be a parking lot for the park. Schmitz responded that at the City Council workshop and the Parks Commission meeting, the biggest comment made was wanting to see some bump -out parking on the street as opposed to a parking lot, which could potentially obstruct more of the park area, so the City is requiring on -street bump -out parking for the park as part of this development. Planning Commission Minutes February 24, 2020 Page 6 of 7 Khambata made a motion to approve the zoning amendment and preliminary plat for Sullivan Pines, subject to the conditions in the staff report. Bigham seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). 6.5 East Ravine AUAR Update — Case M2020-011 The City of Cottage Grove has updated our 2015 East Ravine Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR), which was created to address planned growth within the East Ravine Plan- ning District. The planning area includes roughly 4,000 acres and is generally bounded by Highway 61 on the south, Keats Avenue on the west, the municipal boundary on the north, and Kimbro Avenue on the east. This update is related to Section 4410.361 Subpart 7A of the Minnesota State Rules, which require that AUAR plans be amended every five years. Burbank summarized the staff report and recommended that the Planning Commission send a favorable recommendation to the City Council on the completeness and accuracy of the update and authorize the publication of the 2020 East Ravine AUAR Update with the Environmental Quality Board on March 30, 2020, for commencement of the initial 30 -day comment period. Khambata opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Wright made a motion to find that the update is complete and accurate and that it be published with the EQB on March 30, 2020, for the initial 30 -day comment period. Zopfi seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7 -to -0 vote). Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of January 27, 2020 Bigham made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 27, 2020, Planning Com- mission meeting. Knable seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6 -to -0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of February 2020 City Council Meetings Boike provided a summary of actions taken at the City Council meetings on February 5 and 19, 2020. Dennis shared with the Commission that on planning applications, the City has a Technical Review Committee, which consists of experts from staff of all departments, that reviews the proposals prior to the Planning Commission meeting. Dennis presented a plaque to Zopfi showing the City's appreciation for his service on the Plan- ning Commission since March 2015. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None Planning Commission Minutes February 24, 2020 Page 7 of 7 8.3 Planning Commission Requests None Adjournment Wright made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Zopfi seconded. Motion passed unani- mously (6 -to -0 vote). The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 p.m.