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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/29/10 Planning Commission Minutes Special Meeting June 29,2010 1. Call to Order Chair Rotty called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Rotty, Bonar, Vanderbeck, Kuyper Members Absent: Franceschelli Also Present: Lee Smick, City Planner 2. Approval of Minutes a) May 11, 2010 Regular Meeting Minutes MOTION by Vanderbeck, second by Bonar to approve the minutes. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. Public Hearings a) Variance to encroach into front and side yard setback - 916 8th Street Applicant: RCP Enterprises (River Valley Home Care) 916 8th street Farmington, MN 55024 The applicant is requesting a variance to encroach 4 feet into the front yard setback for their property located on the west side ofTH 3 at 916 8th street. The property is zoned B-1, and is approximately 9,150 square feet in size. Along both 8th and Hickory Streets, there is a 30 foot front yard setback requirement. The setback requirements for the rear and remaining sides of the property are required to be ten feet. This property was originally zoned R-2 and was a single family residence, and then a dentist's office. In 2000 the property was rezoned to B-1. The applicant is proposing to add a 128 square foot covered entry way on the southeastern portion of the building. In April of201O a variance was approved to allow the addition of a second story onto the structure. Lot coverage with the proposed porch addition would be 20.02% which is well below the 25% maximum. Staffis recommending approval of the variance and feels that the criteria for a hardship have been met. There were no residents present to provide comments on the variance. The Commissioners were in favor of the variance and did not have any further questions. MOTION by Vanderbeck, second by Kuyper to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Bonar, second by Kuyper to approve the variance. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 4. Discussion a) Tree Board The City Council has expressed interest in re-establishing a tree board for the City of Farmington. Roughly two years ago the tree board was disbanded because the committee had never been populated and had never met. Staff would like to propose that the Planning Commissioners act as the tree board for the City. Staff would provide all of the necessary information to the commission to enable them to perform this role. The tree board would determine if there was a need to preserve trees, plant trees in certain areas, etc. The exact details of the tree board's role will be determined. The group would meet on 2-6 month intervals or as needed. Chair Rotty asked if this would be a separate board from the Planning Commission and if it would be appointed by the City Council. Staff replied that to their knowledge it Planning Commission Minutes June 29,2010 Page 2 would be a separate board and would be Council appointed. Chair Rotty also asked if there has been discussion regarding an appeals process or if the decisions rest solely on the Planning Commission. Staff stated that there would most likely be an appeals process. City Planner Smick stated that exactly who would have the final say in tree board matters has not yet been determined. Chair Rotty expressed his concern that the commission has traditionally dealt with items that are related to code requirements and the tree board items may be more arbitrary in nature. He stated that he is not against it conceptually, but he would need more information. Commissioner Bonar stated that he is curious because the former tree board did not take any action over at least a 13 year time frame and he would want to be sure that the newly formed board would have a mission and purpose. Commissioner Vanderbeck asked if the Engineering department is currently taking on this role right now and he is wondering why there needs to be a different approach now. Staff stated that the City Council has heard from the community that they are interested in seeing protection of trees, particularly after the negative response to tree removal for a recent roadway project. Commissioner Vanderbeck stated that he doesn't have a problem with performing the role, but he feels that it is adding additional steps to a process that is already taking place. Commissioner Kuyper stated that he is curious about the exact role of the board. Staff stated that the group would not be looking at individual tree issues, but at developments as a whole. There would still be information and recommendations provided by the appropriate staffmembers. Chair Rotty stated that it appears that the Planning Commissioner have some reservations so they will need some further information to determine if they would choose to take on this role or not. Staff would like to propose a workshop for July to discuss this item further, and some other items. 5. Adjourn MOTION by Vanderbeck, second by Kuyper to adjourn. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. RespeA~tted' . \ y'/:f- . t~ Lisa Dargis Administrative Assistant Approved