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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-22 PACKET 07.City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission February 22, 2021 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held virtually at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, February 22, 2021, 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 Boike called the roll: Bigham — Present; Brittain — Present; Fisher — Present; Frazier — Present; Khambata — Present; Knable — Absent; Rasmussen — Present Also present were: Ben Boike, Community Development Director; Emily Schmitz, Senior Planner; Amanda Meyer, Assistant City Engineer; Steve Dennis, Council Member Approval of Agenda Frazier made a motion to approve the agenda. Fisher seconded. Boike called the roll: Bigham — Aye; Brittain — Aye; Fisher — Aye; Frazier — Aye; Khambata — Aye; Rasmussen — Aye. Motion carried: 6-to-O. 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 ca- pacity 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 provided information on how any person wishing to speak could participate in the virtual meeting. Public Hearings and Applications 6.1 Caribou Cabin — Cases PP2021-011, CUP2021-012, SP2021-013 Java Companies has applied for a preliminary plat to be called Cottage Grove Coffee, which will create on commercial lot at 7702 80th Street South (northwest corner of 80th Street and Hinton Avenue), a site plan review for a Caribou Cabin building, and a conditional use permit to allow a drive -through. Planning Commission Minutes February 22, 2021 Page 2 of 6 Schmitz summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Mark Krogh, Java Companies, St. Paul, stated that he is the developer and that he would answer any questions. Frazier asked for more information about the proposed landscaping on the south side of the site, along 80th Street. Krogh stated that their landscape design company will ensure their landscaping conforms to city guidelines and are open to working with the City if any changes need to be made. They do want to make there are site lines to the building. Frazier then asked if there would be noise and glare impacts to the residential properties across 80th Street and for more information on the speaker system. Krogh responded that they believe there is more noise generated from traffic on 80th Street, which will more than outweigh noise issues from the speaker system. He noted that evenings are not a huge coffee consumption time, so he does not believe there will be a lot of traffic during that time. Rasmussen asked if the mechanical equipment will be screened. Krogh responded that the mechanical equipment will be screened, whether by landscaping or fencing. Khambata asked where the speaker and the order prompt system would be located. Krogh indicated the location on the site plan. Khambata asked how many parking spaces the previ- ous use had on that parcel. Schmitz responded that she does not know the exact number but believes that there were more parking spaces with the previous use. She stated that the num- ber of proposed parking spaces does align with the minimum required by the zoning code. Khambata noted the asphalt on the property is being reduced, and there will be better land- scaping and site layout with this proposal. Khambata opened the public hearing. A citizen asked if Kok Funeral Home will be able to use the parking lot for overflow parking. Krogh responded that overflow parking for the funeral home will be allowed with a maximum of eight parking spaces. Khambata reported that a comment was received noting that there are currently 31 parking spaces on the property. No one else spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Rasmussen noted that the Planning Commission received an email from a citizen earlier in the day with a few safety concerns as there is a school across Hinton Avenue and the inter- section. He knows that staff shared this plan with the School District and asked if the City's safety review committee looked at the proposal. Schmitz responded that this proposed project has gone through the City's Technical Review Committee, which includes representatives from each City Department including Public Safety. Public Safety staff did an extensive review of the proposal and did not provide any comment as it relates to the potential for health, safety, and welfare impacts with the proposed redevelopment of the site. Rasmussen made a motion to approve the preliminary plat, site plan review, and con- ditional use permit for the proposed Caribou Cabin, subject to the coditions in the staff Planning Commission Minutes February 22, 2021 Page 3 of 6 report along with an added condition to screen all mechanical equipment outside the building. Khambata asked staff if that is already a condition of approval. Schmitz responded that condi- tion #13 calls for screening of any mechanical equipment. Frazier seconded. Boike called the roll: Bigham — Aye; Brittain — Aye; Fisher — Aye; Frazier — Aye; Khambata — Aye; Rasmussen — Aye. Motion carried: 6-to-O. 6.2 Cardinal Reserve — Cases ZA2021-015 & PP2021-016 Cardinal Crossings Development LLC applied for a zoning amendment to rezone property located at 9054 and 9176 Military Road (north of Military Road, east of Jamaica Avenue, and west of Northwick Park) from AG-1, Agricultural Preservation, to R-3, Single Family Residential, with a PUD, Planned Unit Development, and a preliminary plat for a residential subdivision to be called Cardinal Reserve, which will consist of 55 single-family lots and 4 outlots that will be developed on 22.16 acres of land. Boike summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stip- ulated in the staff report. Tom Wiener, Cardinal Crossings Development LLC, 904 Inwood Avenue North, Oakdale, pro- vided a history of his company, which is a family -owned business since the 1950s. He stated that he would answer any questions from the Commission. Khambata opened the public hearing. A resident asked if there will be efforts to preserve as many trees as possible, what the plan is for Outlot A on the proposed development map, and if there will be privacy between North - wick Park and the new Cardinal Reserve development. Wiener responded that they will pre- serve as many trees as possible on the heavily wooded site. He stated that there is a pond on Outlot A that they will use to control the water on site. He explained that the ponding area is between this development and Northwick Park, and there are only two lots that back up to Northwick Park; the other lots going to the north are deep lots, which will allow for privacy. There was a question asking about access for the current driveway on the Woodbury side of the property when the roundabout is put in. Meyer replied that that the roundabout is a little far away from the existing driveway. The driveway access issue would be looked at by Cottage Grove, Washington County, and Woodbury at the time the roundabout is constructed to see based on the conditions of the surrounding properties at that time. Khambata asked if the driveway would have access to the collector road but not into the roundabout. Meyer responded that the driveway would not have a direct leg into the roundabout; it would be north of it onto Pioneer Road. A question was asked if the white line in plans that crosses the ponds in the northeast corner on Outlot A, is a sidewalk or part of the stormwater design. Meyer stated that the white area between the two blue highlighted areas is a bench between an infiltration area and the ponding Planning Commission Minutes February 22, 2021 Page 4 of 6 area, and it also acts as a maintenance route for Public Works. Additionally, the water main runs below that bench that connects into Northwick Park. Khambata summarized that it is part of the stormwater retention system. Meyer explained that it is more of a divider between the two basins of the system. There was a question asking about the estimated timing for the roundabout. Meyer responded that she does not know the exact timing of that roundabout. The schedule partly depends on development in the area as additional right-of-way is needed from other adjacent properties. If the attendee would like to provide their contact information, she could follow up directly after reaching out thE! County. No one else spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Rasmussen stated that they did a nice job with their site layout, especially the tree preservation and working with Military Road. He supports the applications. Khambata commented that with his real estate background he knows that this housing product is in high demand, and it is nice to see a diversity of housing being brought to Cottage Grove that fits various life cycle stages. Bigham made a motion to approve the zoning amendment and preliminary plat for Cardinal Reserve, subject to the conditions in the staff report. Fisher seconded. Boike called the roll: Bigham — Aye; Brittain — Aye; Fisher — Aye; Frazier — Aye; Khambata — Aye; Rasmussen - Aye. Motion carried: 6-to-O. 6.3 Culver's — Case CUP2021-017 Cottage Grove Culver's has applied for an amendment to their conditional use permit to allow construction of a second drive -through order position at their existing restaurant located at 7998 Hardwood Avenue South. Schmitz summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Khambata opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Bigham asked if this proposal is to eliminate the long line during high traffic times. She noted that the traffic flow would be going from single lane to double lane and then back into a single lane and as it flows it looks like it goes through that portion of the parking lot where they have people lined up and asked if that is for Culver's to manage the flow as it goes around their building to pay and receive food at the window. She also asked if the temporary structure that they have been using the last couple months will be removed. Schmitz responded that is their intent with the design due to the limited area within the parking lot. They are also going to remove the temporary structure. Khambata noted in the existing configuration the area adjacent to the ordering speaker is a bypass lane for parking on the other side of the building and asked if this new configuration Planning Commission Minutes February 22, 2021 Page 5 of 6 would still allow for those parking spaces. Schmitz responded that there is a 15-foot drive lane that will remain between the edge of the property line and the second drive -through lane that will allow traffic to continue to flow around. Specifically, removing those four parking stalls and a small portion of the landscape island will open up that area to allow for a free flow of traffic to that parking area. Ben Gathje, Culver's, stated that they have been planning this change for two years, but Covid moved up those plans. The proposal is geared towards the evolution of more people doing takeout and drive -through. This will also help them cut down on wait times. Khambata stated that he believes this addition is long overdue as some of their competitors have already utilized this type of configuration, and it seems to benefit everyone by speeding up the process. Rasmussen made a motion to rescind the original Resolution 2007-188 and approve the conditional use permit subject to the conditions in the staff report. Khambata seconded. Boike called the roll: Bigham — Aye; Brittain — Aye; Fisher — Aye; Frazier — Aye; Khambata — Aye; Rasmussen - Aye. Motion carried: 6-to-O. Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of January 25, 2021 Frazier made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 25, 2021, Planning Com- mission meeting. Bigham seconded. Boike called the roll: Bigham — Aye; Brittain — Aye; Fisher — Aye; Frazier — Aye; Khambata — Aye; Rasmussen — Aye. Motion carried: 6-to-O. Reports 8.1 Recap of February 2021 City Council Meetings Boike provided a summary of actions taken at the City Council meetings on February 3 and February 17, 2021. Dennis stated that the River Oaks Eagles Bar & Grill is holding their fish fries on Friday and Saturday nights with reserved dine in and pick-up service. He reported that as of last Friday, 34 new home permits were issued during the month of February. He commended the Planning Commission for the flexibility they used on the planning case for the additional drive -through lane at Culver's. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None 8.3 Planning Commission Requests None Planning Commission Minutes February 22, 2021 Page 6 of 6 Adjournment Rasmussen made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Frazier seconded. Boike called the roll: Bigham - Aye; Brittain - Aye; Fisher - Aye; Frazier - Aye; Khambata - Aye; Rasmussen - Aye. Motion carried: 6-to-O. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.