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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-04-24 PACKET 07. (PC MINUTES APPROVAL)City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission February 27, 2023 The Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, February 27, 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. Roll Call Members Present: Ken Brittain, Jessica Fisher, Evan Frazier, Derek Rasmussen, Emily Stephens, Jerret Wright Members Absent: Eric Knable Staff Present: Emily Schmitz, Acting Community Development Director; Mike Mrosla, Senior Planner; Conner Jakes, Associate Planner; Amanda Meyer, City Engineer; Tony Khambata, City Council Liaison Approval of Agenda Fisher made a motion to approve the agenda. Wright 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 Rocket Car Wash — SP2023-004, CUP2023-004, PUD2023-004 Rocket Carwash, LLC has applied for a site plan review of a proposed car wash to be located at 8647 and 8649 East Point Douglas Road South (former Big O Tires); a conditional use permit for the drive -through car wash; and a Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow for parking lot setback and deciduous tree flexibility. Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting February 27, 2023 Page 2 of 6 Jakes summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stipu- lated in the staff report. Brittain asked if there was enough room in the trash enclosure area for a garbage truck to ac- cess it and back out. Jakes replied yes, it meets all of the setbacks. The Applicant is proposing the onsite employees would pull out the trash bins, the garbage truck would pull straight in and dump the garbage, and the employees would then roll the bin back into the enclosure. A condi- tion of approval is also to require those bins to be stored within the enclosure. Rasmussen noted there is a large 30-foot utility easement on two sides of the property and asked if the reason they are not able to plant overstory trees in that area is because of the utilities. Jakes stated that's correct. He explained that generally all landscaping is kept out of easements, although sometimes smaller shrubs are allowed. Overstory trees are usually not planted in easement to keep the root systems away from the infrastructure. Jeremiah Harder, Director of Project Management for City Ventures, the parent company of Rocket Carwash, 222 South 14th Street, Suite 1404, Omaha, Nebraska, provided background on their company and operations. Fisher asked how long it typically takes for a car to go through their wash process from start to finish. Harder replied on average about 2.5 minutes. They don't want customers to have to wait too long to get their car washed, as they might go elsewhere. Wright asked if this was a seasonal operation or if they operated all year. Harder replied it is all year, as they operate in several cold states, including Iowa and Nebraska. Their systems were designed and engineered so that they could operate year round. Rasmussen asked about the overall parking plan as it seems they have about 20 parking stalls, but they all have vacuum stalls. He also asked about employee parking and if there would be a shared parking agreement with the other businesses on site. Harder responded that there would probably be four -to -five employees on site at one time. There will be two employees at the pay stations, one person at the entrance of the tunnel to guide cars in, one at the control station, and one is usually rounding and doing various duties across the site. They also have an ECR Agreement with the Target parking lot. If necessary, they would allow employees to park in a vacuum stall, but they are planning on using that ECR Agreement for joint parking. Frazier confirmed with Harder that this is the standard layout and setup for all of their holdings. He asked if the number of vacuum slots was based on their business plan and if that number will be sufficient to meet the demand. Harder responded yes. Frazier asked if the reason they are requesting flexibility about tree planting and parking stalls is because this is an odd lot with some outlots. Harder replied the easement is another restriction, but noted with the landscaping, they are also providing more than the required number of shrubs. Frazier clarified that based on the size of this facility, they believe that the 20 vacuum stalls are going to be necessary in order to meet the need. Harder replied yes. Frazier opened the public hearing. Lisa Hartfiel, 8068 Hornell Avenue South, stated she's not for or against this application. She asked if thought has been given to the number of cars accessing the parking lot. She read that Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting February 27, 2023 Page 3 of 6 they were hoping for 600 to 800 cars a day. She expressed concern about all the potholes in that parking lot. No one else spoke. Frazier closed the public hearing. Frazier asked the City Engineer to address Hartfiel's concern. Meyer stated in this area there are a variety of tenants, including Target, Cottage Grove Plaza, Top Ten Liquors, Orange Theory, Taco Bell, and Wendy's. They all have an OEA (Operation Easement Agreement) that allows shared access. There is an access between Top Ten and Orange Theory, where there's an existing light, and there is an access by the Cub Foods entrance area. As far as the concern about potholes, this is a private property, and she believes that parking lot and access mainte- nance is covered within the agreement between all those businesses. Traffic studies have been done, and currently, those interchanges are operating at an acceptable level of service. She noted that the Jamaica and East Point Douglas Road reconstruction project will start this year. The goal is to mitigate some of those traffic congestion issues along East Point Douglas Road at the Jamaica Avenue intersection, as well as east of there. Brittain stated he understands that any additional traffic and wear and tear on the road is not the City's responsibility, but asked if the City is concerned about that parking area and its current state of repair. He also asked if the City monitors and enforces parking lot maintenance. Meyer responded she does not know what the City's process is for that. She will speak with our City staff to find out if there is a process. Frazier asked if Code Enforcement would be able to inspect this property and require mainte- nance. Jakes stated that Code Enforcement inspects parking lots every spring, throughout the summer, and into fall. Harder stated that road issues could have a negative effect on their customers. Those are things that their staff will be monitoring to make sure that it adds to that customer experience. Fisher asked Harder if they are going to be a part of that maintenance agreement with all of the other businesses. Harder replied yes, they are responsible for whatever repairs are needed for the property that they take over. Stephens asked if there were a certain volume of traffic that would require another traffic study and when one was done. Meyer replied traffic studies were done as part of the East Point Douglas & Jamaica project and the NorthPoint project. There is data for existing conditions, full buildout of NorthPoint, and projecting out to 2040 based on growth and general trip generation. She noted that the City may look into another traffic study if there were to be another major business park addition, etc. Brittain asked about the reconstruction project. Meyer explained that a roundabout will be added, the signal that is in close proximity to the East Point Douglas and Jamaica intersection will be removed, and adding dual left -turn lanes for southbound, northbound, and westbound. These improvements should mitigate the traffic congestion we see there today. Stephens stated this site has historically been automotive repair and asked if soil contamination will be looked since they are completely redeveloping the site. Harder stated that they did a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment on the site to see if there were any existing known envi- Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting February 27, 2023 Page 4 of 6 ronmental issues there, as well as soil borings on the site. Typically, if there is any leaching into the soil there, it would show in the borings. It is a known potential risk when demolishing any existing building, and they are willing to accept that risk. They have funds set aside in case something would come up to remediate the site and take care of the issue. Brittain made a motion to approve the site plan review, conditional use permit, and planned unit development for the proposed Rocket Carwash, subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Stephens seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). 6.2 Lake Flora 2nd Addition — PP2023-005 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a preliminary plat for Lake Flora 2nd Addition, which will create 2 industrial lots and 8 outlots on property located east of Jamaica Avenue, north of 100th Street, and south of the Soo Line Railroad tracks. Schmitz summarized the staff report and recommended approval subject to the conditions stip- ulated in the staff report. Rasmussen asked if the addition of this pond is essentially to take the runoff water for the de- velopment of these 65 acres. Schmitz replied that this pond is actually a regional pond, so it would collect a large portion of runoff, so it is not just specifically these particular parcels. When these parcels develop, they will actually have to support their own stormwater on site. Stephens asked if the Watershed District was going to help fund this project and if the City thought about going after grants or other funding. Meyer replied each year the City goes through the CCIP Grant application process with the Watershed District, and those are for projects where the developer or the City goes above and beyond some treatment needs for a specific property. At that point, we can ask for up to 50 percent of the project cost to be reimbursed to the City through the Watershed District. In this case (Pone L-P3), she did not think we are doing anything above and beyond what is already needed for this area, so unfortunately, it would probably not qualify for a CCIP Grant through the Watershed District. Fisher asked if we're approving the subdivision tonight. Schmitz replied it's just for the prelimi- nary plat. Fisher asked if we're approving the land purchase, too, she is confused at what we are agreeing to. Schmitz clarified that it is a preliminary plat, and with those, we are typically talking about a development. In this case, it is an "if you build it, they will come," so we are creating parcels that are ready for when developers knock on the door. There's not much detail at this point, but if any of these parcels develop, then those specific projects will be back before the Commission. Fisher asked if the WAG Farm people own this land now. Schmitz confirmed that. Fisher was confused as to why the City was applying for all of these changes. Schmitz explained the City's Economic Development Authority (EDA) works with WAG Farms in our entire Business Park and has worked with them to those areas ready for development; in turn, our EDA makes some money in that process. Fisher asked if we know how much the land purchase will cost the City. Schmitz replied she didn't know that off the top of her head, but on the February 15 City Council Agenda there was the approval of that land purchase. Schmitz stated she can certainly look back and follow up on that. Frazier suggested checking the Feb- ruary 15 City Council Meeting minutes for that information; Fisher stated she would do that. Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting February 27, 2023 Page 5 of 6 Rasmussen asked if anything was planned at the moment with the existing fire hall or is this just to replat the area and it would to stay as is until development comes. Schmitz replied there are no plans at this time for the existing fire station; however, the City will continue to own it. Frazier opened the public hearing. No one spoke. Frazier closed the public hearing. Rasmussen made a motion to approve the preliminary plat for Lake Flora 2nd Addition, subject to the conditions stipulated in the staff report. Wright seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of January 23, 2023 Wright made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 23, 2023, Planning Com- mission meeting. Fisher seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of February City Council Meetings Schmitz provided a summary of actions taken at the February 1 and February 15, 2023, City Council meetings. Brittain asked if the land that was purchased on the Mississippi Dunes was not the entire amount of land that the City eventually wants to have as park, that would be dedicated when develop- ment occurs. This is just the extra land we were going to buy with that development that was going to go in there and when development does happen, the land the developer dedicates would be combined into one big park at a future point in time. Schmitz replied that is exactly the case; the City will purchase the 19+ acres outright, and then the additional will come as part of park dedication with development. Council Member Khambata noted we have now had the fourth snowiest season on record, at just over 70 inches of snow. Our City staff has been working hard this winter, and he com- mended them for keeping a positive attitude and keeping the City going. Khambata stated Council also appreciates the hard work of the Planning Commission, as without them the City would not have all our great opportunities come to fruition. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None. 8.3 Planning Commission Requests Frazier stated he read an article that streetlights around the metro area were turning blue, due to a mechanical or manufacturing issue. St. Paul was asking residents to start reporting where those are, so they could be replaced. He asked if Cottage Grove was also having an issue with some of those streetlights. He noted on the Hinton and 70th Street roundabout, there are some lights that are turning blue. He asked if that was part of the same issue or if that is how those lights are supposed to be. Meyer replied that she is not sure, but will check with the Public Planning Commission Minutes — Regular Meeting February 27, 2023 Page 6 of 6 Works Department and will report back. The Commission had further discussion about the lights. Khambata stated he would raise that question with Public Works, as they are gearing up for replacement. Adjournment Fisher made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Wright seconded. Motion passed unani- mously (6-to-0 vote). The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.