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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-27 PACKET 07. (PC MINUTES FROM 1-23-23)City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission January 23, 2023 The Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, January 23, 2023, in the Council Chamber and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Chair Frazier called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7.00 p.m. Members Present: Ken Brittain, Jessica Fisher, Evan Frazier, Eric Knable, Derek Rasmussen, Jerret Wright Members Absent: Emily Stephens Staff Present: Emily Schmitz, Senior Planner; Mike Mrosla, Senior Planner; Conner Jakes, Associate Planner; Amanda Meyer, Assistant City Engineer; Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator; Tony Khambata, City Council Liaison; Myron Bailey, Mayor Approval of Agenda Wright made a motion to approve the agenda. Fisher seconded. The motion was approved unanimously (6-to-0 vote). Open Forum Frazier opened the open forum and asked if anyone wished to address the Planning Commission on any non -agenda item. No one spoke. Frazier closed the open forum. Chair's Explanation of the Public Hearing Process Frazier 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 Holcim Mining Permit — Case MP2023-001 Holcim — MWR, Inc. has applied for their 2023 mining permit to continue mining operations at the Nelson Sand & Gravel Facility at 11250 Grey Cloud Trail South on Lower Grey Cloud Island. Not a public hearing. Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting January 23, 2023 Page 2 of 5 Mrosla summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stip- ulated in the staff report. Brittain stated that there was a significant increase in truck traffic this year, versus the last two years and asked if there were any negative impacts on the roads. Mrosla replied that the city has not heard about any negative impacts or received negative comments. They use our recommended route out of the facility, which is 103rd to Hadley to 100th to Highway 61. Patty Bestler, Regional Environmental and Land Manager, Holcim — MWR, 2815 Dodd Road, Eagan, MN, stated that they were formerly Aggregate Industries. Operations are status quo; the biggest change this year will be the addition of a suction dredge that will take overburden and slurry from an area previously mined in the 1970s and 1980s. That material, designated as waste sand, will be placed in an area just southeast of this year's proposed mining. The other waste sand area that has been there for years is where they are doing sloping; that waste sand comes from the actual wash plant processing plant. She noted the increased truck traffic is due to more local projects in Cottage Grove and some surrounding communities. Bestler stated she and Mike Murphy, Plant Manager, would be happy to answer any questions. Brittain asked if the suction dredge will create any out of the ordinary noise. Bestler replied to her knowledge, there should not be any additional noise over the existing dredge for which they have received no complaints. Frazier stated this is not a public hearing item, and asked if there were any additional comments or discussion from the Commission. There were none. Brittain made a motion to approve the 2023 Mining Permit subject to the conditions stip- ulated in the staff report. Knable seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). 6.2 Day Care at 7781 Hardwood — Cases SP2023-002, PUD2023-003, CUP2023-004 814 Services, LLC on behalf of Crown Estates Holdings LLC/Joan Eva Stoltz Revocable Living Trust, has applied for a Site Plan review, Planned Unit Development, and Conditional Use Permit for an 11,464 square foot proposed daycare facility to be located at 7781 Hardwood Avenue South. Jakes summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipu- lated in the staff report. Rasmussen stated he agreed with moving the access point away from East Point Douglas Road. He asked if there will be a right -turn lane on the northbound side into the parking lot. Meyer explained that roads for Harkness Avenue and up Hardwood Avenue are quite wide, which allows the furthest outside lane to be transitioned into a designated right -turn lane for that access. Like we did with the apartment building just north of there, the Applicant will be putting in a left -turn lane for the southbound traffic, so there will be designated turn lanes specifically accessing this property. Dan Harris, 814 CRE, 1695 Twelve Mile Road, Berkley, MI, stated this site looked like a perfect spot for a childcare facility as there is a lot of development the area. He explained that the proposed childcare facility specializes in early education, preschool, and after school activities Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting January 23, 2023 Page 3 of 5 for elementary -age students. They cover a wide gamut of children from infants to elementary school ages. He stated he would answer any questions from the Commission. Brittain noted that the staff report had the maximum age of four years old. Harris responded that is the maximum age for the preschool; they will also offer elementary care, before or after school, and summer camp care. Rasmussen asked what the maximum number of children in this facility. Harris replied they can have a total of 222 people in this building at one time, 27 staff and 195 children. The age range will depend on the demand. Frazier opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Frazier closed the public hearing. Knable asked if the retaining wall will match the wall that is currently there. Jakes replied that it will match on the east property line and will be the same color. Fisher stated there is already a retaining wall there, and asked what the purpose is to put two retaining walls right next to each other. Meyer responded that there is quite a bit of grade change on the eastern side of this parcel, so excavating some of that material to allow more of the parking area makes another retaining wall necessary. The proposed retaining walls will be stepped. She noted that the existing retaining wall is on the other property, and the property line is between the two of them. Fisher asked if the existing retaining wall will end up being a higher elevation than the one proposed, or if they will end up being the same height; she is just trying to picture what it will look like with two retaining walls there. Meyer responded that there would be two tiers of retaining wall; they would not necessarily be the same height, one would be a little bit shorter with some plantings behind it, and then you'd see the next retaining wall that might be a little bit higher. It is more of a tiered wall system. Knable asked if the play area is on the east side, facing the two retaining walls with the shrub- bery in the middle. Jakes stated the play area will be west of that new retaining wall, and will also be enclosed with fencing. Frazier noted there is a Planned Unit Development (PUD) application based partially on the parking setback from the roadway, and asked why there is a request for a PUD and not a vari- ance. Jakes responded the original proposal came in when we were working with the old Zoning Code. When the new Code was approved within that time period, staff was working through various items, like the parking lot flexibility, tree count, and other things that were eventually tightened up. Just in working through that, staff felt that a PUD fit better for those types of con- straints instead of working through variances in this case. Brittain asked if this is a PUD or a Planned Development Overlay (PDO) now; he thought we changed the name of it, so asked if this is the new name. Jakes replied this would be a PUD under the new Code, also. Schmitz clarified that a PDO was used in the past as more of a Zoning District. The PUD is more of an overlay, so the underlying zoning remains, but we use the PUD in cases where potential flexibility is needed. Brittain made a motion to approve the site plan review, Planned Unit Development, and conditional use permit for the proposed daycare at 7781 Hardwood Avenue South, sub- Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting January 23, 2023 Page 4 of 5 ject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Fisher seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of December 19, 2022 Wright made a motion to approve the minutes of the December 19, 2022, Planning Com- mission meeting. Rasmussen seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of January City Council Meetings Schmitz provided a summary of actions taken at the January 4 and January 18, 2023, City Council meetings. Schmitz welcomed Council Member Khambata as the Planning Commission liaison. Council Member Khambata stated it was nice to be back and looks forward to being able to assist them in any way he can. Brittain asked what happened with the recommendation that we had to approve the zoning changes. Schmitz stated on December 21, 2022, the entire rewrite of the Zoning Code was approved. Brittain asked if that was passed based on the recommendation from the Commis- sion. Schmitz replied it was different than what was recommended by the Planning Commission. Brittain asked if there was any new knowledge that was presented that could have been more useful to the Commission to help make a different decision and asked why our recommendation was not followed. Khambata replied as we went through the Code, there were a few nuances that were tweaked by the City Council. He does not believe anything significant was changed. Levitt stated she thought Brittain's question was related to a setback in one of the Zoning Dis- tricts. The Commission's recommendation was a 7.5-foot side yard setback, and the Code amendment presented to the City Council was 5 feet. There was very extensive dialogue regarding that. She stated this decision was really difficult because the trend in the market today in the residential industry is a setback of 5 feet. Khambata provided information about the Council's discussion on the setback recommendation and their vote to approve the Zoning Code with the five-foot side yard setback, which was 4-to-1. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None. 8.3 Planning Commission Requests There were no requests from the Planning Commission. Frazier turned the meeting over to Administrator Levitt, Mayor Bailey, and Councilmember Khambata. Following a presentation thanking them for the service, they awarded each of the Planning Commission members with a commemorative City Coin, which is given to those who provide exceptional service to the Cottage Grove community. Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting January 23, 2023 Page 5 of 5 Adjournment Wright made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Rasmussen seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). The meeting was adjourned at 7: p.m.