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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-28 PACKET 07.City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission May 24, 2021 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Park- way South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, May 24, 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 Members Present: Sarah Bigham, Jessica Fisher, Evan Frazier, Tony Khambata, Eric Knable, Derek Rasmussen, Jerrett Wright Members Absent: None Staff Present: Ben Boike, Community Development Director Mike Mrosla, Senior Planner Emily Schmitz, Senior Planner Sam Burns, Planning Intern Steve Dennis, Council Member Approval of Agenda Frazier made a motion to approve the agenda. Fisher 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 North Star Sheets Expansion — Cases SP2021-034 & PP2021-035 Opus Development Company LLC has applied for a preliminary plat to create one industrial lot and one outlot to be called Southeast Industrial Park 2nd Addition, and a site plan review Planning Commission Minutes May 24, 2021 Page 2 of 5 of a proposed building addition and parking lot expansion at North Star Sheets, 7550 91st Street South. Mrosla summarized the staff report. He stated that based on a request by the City Attorney, staff would like condition #2 to be amended to read as follows: "The lot must remain in common ownership and the parking lot of Lot 1, Block 1, Southeast Industrial Park Second Addition shall only be used as an accessory use to improve Lot 1, Block, Southeast Industrial Park Addition." He recommended approval subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report with the pro- posed amendment. Phil Cattanach, Opus Development Company, 10350 Bren Road West, Minnetonka, stated that he would answer any questions from the Commission. Bigham asked where the walking path around the Hamlet Park ballfields is located. Mrosla indicated on the map the location of the park boundary and the trail. He also noted that the proposed access for the future ballfields will be from 91 st Street and showed the locations of the parking lots. Frazier asked if the second rail spur will be done in the future. Mrosla responded that is correct. Frazier then asked if the second rail spur would be reviewed by the Planning Commission. Mrosla stated that the second railroad spur access is part of this application, so when it is installed in the future, it would not need to come back through the process. Cattanach explained the reason for delaying the second spur is a function of North Star Sheets looking at their operational commitment and the second spur could be added shortly. He noted that the second spur would only be able to be seen from the North Star Sheets property. Rasmussen noted that there are quite a few trees and natural screening around the trailer parking area abutting Hamlet Park with more landscaping being added and asked if there is a need for a fence to surround the property. Mrosla responded that there have been discussions about putting in a fence and other screening from the parking lot and it was decided that land- scaped screening would be the best; however, per the conditions of approval, if the applicant does wish to put a fence in, it has to be decorative in nature and match the surrounding area. Cattanach responded that their primary strategy was not only enhancing that setback but trying to maintain as many of the mature trees as they can while also operationally providing for rolling stock capacity for off-street parking. Khambata asked if the elevation of the existing vegetation and the proposed trees and shrubs is equal to or above the elevation for the finished parking lot. Cattanach stated that there was a cut section in their application that shows some of the site lines, and the idea was to utilize the topography of Hamlet Park as part of the screening. They are also putting in evergreens to provide year-round screening. Wright asked about their truck parking plans, such as if they plan to keep 86 trucks on site all the time. Cattanach responded that it will depend on when orders come in, but he doesn't think there will constantly be 86 trucks on site on a daily basis. Khambata opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Planning Commission Minutes May 24, 2021 Page 3 of 5 Khambata stated that he is excited about the rapid growth of North Star Sheets. He likes to see that they are maximizing the space in the parking lot and that there was foresight built into this application. Frazier made a motion to approve the preliminary plat and site plan review subject to the conditions in the staff report with the amendment to condition #2 proposed by staff. Rasmussen seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). 6.2 Xcel Regulator at Youth Service Bureau Property — Case CUP2021-036 Northern States Power Company, d/b/a Xcel Energy, has applied for a conditional use per- mit to construct a new aboveground natural gas regulator station on the Youth Service Bureau property at 7064 West Point Douglas Road within an existing easement, as part of their Southeast Metro Natural Gas Project, which consists of replacing an existing natural gas pipeline. Burns summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipu- lated in the staff report. Rasmussen asked if the fence and screening would be consistent with the other regulators in the City. Brian Sullivan, Xcel Energy, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, responded that they will use the same materials for the fencing and screening so it will be consistent. The fence at the other parcel wraps around the individual components instead of being a continuous fence; the fence for this site will have a solid fence all around the regulator station because of the site lines. Both fences will have the same material. Fisher asked with the proximity to the highway if the fencing provides of protection if a vehicle goes off the road and into the station. Sullivan responded that on the interior of the fence there will be bollards with steel piping between them that is constructed to help protect the above ground piping. Wright asked about the timeline for construction. Sullivan stated the pipeline project has started by Jamaica Avenue and West Point Douglas Road, and they plan to build the regulator station in August or September with a deadline for finishing by October 15. Wright asked if that would interfere with the operations of the Youth Service Bureau. Sullivan responded that the project they are building is a big pipe and explained that the regulator station reduces the volume in the larger pipe down to a pressure that can used by homes and businesses in the area. Khambata opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Rasmussen made a motion to approve the conditional use permit subject to the condi- tions in the staff report. Wright seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). 6.3 Pine Harbor Church — Case SP2021-038 The Harbor Church has applied for a site plan review of a proposed modular building to be moved to the Pine Harbor Church parcel located at 11125 West Point Douglas Road South. Planning Commission Minutes May 24, 2021 Page 4 of 5 Schmitz summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stip- ulated in the staff report. Bigham noted that this was essentially a temporary structure and asked the long-term effects regarding septic and grading and would they be building a permanent structure in the future. Schmitz responded that this will be a permanent structure with a foundation and would meet building codes. Rasmussen asked about plans for protecting children in this structure during severe weather. Scott Urban, Harbor Church and Pine Harbor Christian Academy, 11125 West Point Douglas Road South, responded that this is a permanent structure, and they would not need to move kids out of the building during weather alarms. He then explained that the building will have high efficiency rooftop heating and air and will ensure that the septic system and drainage field will function correctly. He stated that the school attendance has increased so they needed to expand their buildings. Knable asked if there are any tree mitigation costs or will they be required to replace a certain number of trees. Schmitz stated that they are proposing to replace around 130 inches on the site along Highway 61 and the south property line. Khambata opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Khambata closed the public hearing. Rasmussen made a motion to approve the site plan review subject to the conditions in the staff report. Bigham seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). 6.4 TNT Fireworks Tent at Walmart — Case ICUP2021-041 This application was withdrawn. Khambata reported that this application was withdrawn as there is a current interim conditional use permit for this use on the Walmart property. Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of April 26, 2021 Frazier made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 26, 2021, Planning Commis- sion meeting. Bigham seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of May 2021 City Council Meetings Boike provided a summary of actions taken at the City Council meetings on May 5 and May 19, 2021. Dennis announced that the City's Memorial Day Ceremony will be held on May 31 starting at 1.00 p.m. He then stated that he would like to make himself more available to the Commission- ers if they have questions regarding processes and procedures or need more information regarding issues. Frazier stated that Commissioners sometimes hear that Council has held Planning Commission Minutes May 24, 2021 Page 5 of 5 workshops on some applications before they get to the Planning Commission, so it would be interesting to hear what happens at those workshops, what the general sense was of the pro- posal, and any changes that took place based on comments from the Council. Dennis welcomed Wright back to the Planning Commission after returning from his deployment and thanked him for his service. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None 8.3 Planning Commission Requests Rasmussen asked if TNT Fireworks are going to continue to operate at their other locations or are they leaving the community. Boike responded that there is an ICUP approval for Walmart through 2022 but it was missed as they did not operate there last year. Adjournment Wright made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Knable seconded. Motion passed unani- mously (7-to-0 vote). The meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m.