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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/12/09 Planning Commission Minutes Regular Meeting May 12, 2009 1. Call to Order Chair Rotty called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Vanderbeck, Bonar, Rotty Members Absent: Stokes Also Present: Tony Wippler - Assistant City Planner, Lee Smick - City Planner 2. Approval of Minutes a) April 14, 2009 Regular Meeting Minutes MOTION by Bonar, second by Stokes to approve the minutes. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. Public Hearings None 4. Discussion a) Discussion of Ordinance Amendment - Zoning Definitions The 2030 Comprehensive Plan was recently approved by the City Council. As part of the Comprehensive Plan process, the City must update the zoning subdivision ordinances and evaluate the codes and definitions. Several definitions were missing from the codes or were in need of updating. Staff has added or modified the appropriate verbiage to address the needed changes or additions. b) Discussion of Ordinance Amendments - Recreational Vehicle Parking and Parking in Residential Areas Staff has been looking at modifications to the recreational vehicle and parking in residential areas ordinances since 2007. During that process, other sections of the City Code have been updated that have a bearing on these items, such as drainage and utility easements. At this time, only turf and fences are allowed in drainage and utility easements. There is a conflict between the drainage and utility easement and the recreational vehicle ordinances. The recreational vehicle ordinance allows for parking of vehicles adjacent to the property line, which would be in the drainage and utility easement. The parking surface allowed for recreational vehicles is 4" decorative rock with edging. This will impact the drainage of water through the easement areas and can cause ponding. Staff is proposing that the vehicles be allowed to park in the side or rear yards, but not in the drainage and utility easements. Commissioner Bonar has submitted additional information regarding alternate parking surfaces for recreational vehicles that do not adversely affect drainage. Staff will be bringing this item back to the upcoming Planning Commission Workshop. Commissioner Vanderbeck asked if the utility areas are worked on, who is responsible for replacing the parking surface. Staff stated that the homeowner would be responsible for the replacement costs. Commissioner Bonar stated that he is concerned that as densities become higher, there will be conflicts between the ordinances that will make it difficult for homeowners who own these types of vehicles and store them on their property. Chair Rotty stated that Planning Commission Minutes May 12, 2009 Page 2 the drainage and utility easements are necessary and it is important to preserve those areas. c) Discussion of Ordinance Amendments - Detached Garages, Storage Sheds, and Accessory Structures Staff is proposing to increase the definition of the maximum size of a storage shed to 240 square feet from the current maximum of 120 square feet. Staff is also proposing a requirement that the storage shed be anchored to the ground. The definition of detached garages would include accessory structures over 240 square feet with a maximum that is dependent upon the lot size and size of the principal structure. A building permit would be required for any accessory structure over 120 square feet per the Building Code. Any accessory structure must be located at least 10 feet from any structure not including sidewalks, drives, fences and patios. A paved driveway is currently required for detached garages. Staff would like to further discuss the requirement for a paved driveway as many homeowners are not using these accessory structures to park vehicles. Chair Rotty stated that he would be in favor increasing the size of the storage sheds and of eliminating the paved driveway requirement from the ordinance. Commissioner Bonar stated that he would be in favor of eliminating the driveway requirement and increasing the size of storage sheds. Commissioner Vanderbeck stages that he would also be in favor of increasing the size of storage sheds, but is concerned that there may need to be some verbiage added to prevent driving vehicles on grass if the paved driveway requirement is removed. 5. Adjourn MOTION by Bonar, second by Vanderbeck to adjourn. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. R. es~,e."...c....~..t .. lY. su. b. mitted, ///~! ~...- ..<:::..:", y \ , ......._,,~~"_... . .,...' ....J ~-"\, Lisa Dargis ../ ' Administrativ~ Approved Planning Commission Minutes Workshop May 27, 2009 1. Call to Order Chair Rotty called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Vanderbeck, Bonar, Rotty, Stokes Members Absent: None Also Present: Tony Wippler - Assistant City Planner, Lee Smick - City Planner, Jeff Thelen, Doug Heikkila, Nick Schultz, Aaron Steele-Heartland Brick Council 2. Discussion a) Downtown Commercial District Design Standards Staff is looking for feedback regarding the development of design standards for the downtown area. They would like to determine if participants believe that standards are necessary and to what extent they feel they should be developed. They would like to determine if the standards would only apply to new construction or to existing structures as well. Several examples of downtown buildings were shown for discussion purposes. Mr. Doug Heikkila stated that when the City becomes involved and sets standards it generally costs the property owner more. Mr. Nick Shultz stated that he feels that there should be design standards for new construction to prevent buildings from being constructed that are not consistent with the existing structures. Doug Heikkila stated that buildings are usually constructed for functional purposes and it increases the cost to have to meet aesthetic standards. Chair Rotty stated that he is wondering how the building owners feel about standard for remodeling. Doug Heikkila stated that it would be nice to have consistency but it is the building owner's right to choose how they want their building to look as well. He stated that for new construction he would not have an issue with standards in place and a review of the plans for consistency. Mr. Aaron Steele from the Heartland Brick Council gave a presentation about the creation of design standards policies for communities. He showed examples of desirable and undesirable aesthetics from other communities and examples of other ordinances. Staff will send the participants a list of questions to solicit feedback and schedule another meeting for June to discuss the results. Mr. Jeff Thelen stated that he is more in favor of minimum standards than guidelines. He would prefer that whatever the outcome, there be consistency of how the standards are applied. Nick Schultz agreed that minimum standards would be beneficial to improve the look of the downtown. Chair Rotty stated that he would prefer standards over guidelines as well. He stated that the level of detail of the standards is what still needs to be determined. Commissioner Stokes stated that he prefers the standards approach too. He stated that standards can allow choices and flexibility as well. Commissioner Bonar stated that his goal is to create standards that encourage and investment but Planning Commission Minutes May 27, 2009 Page 2 also increase profitability. He does not want the standards to discourage businesses from investing in the downtown. He stated that absentee landlords need to make the necessary investments in their buildings as well. Nick Schultz asked if there were standards, would there be any way to use tax incentives to encourage improvements? Commissioner Vanderbeck stated that for building owners who have owned their properties for a long time, and may have their own plans for modifications in the future, the standards can conflict with their plans. He stated that it has to be affordable for the businesses to locate here. Aaron Steele stated that there can be different levels of compliance based upon incentives and the end user desired. Jeff Thelen stated that there has been use ofCDBG funding as business incentives recently that could perhaps be used for building improvements. Nick Schultz asked about the screening of mechanical equipment as it relates to the New City Hall building. Staff stated that the equipment was not intended to be screened due to the placement of the equipment on the roof. MR. Schultz also asked about the damage to the front of the Larson Building. Staff will look into the status of the repairs. b) Industrial Park Design Standards Staff primarily wanted to begin discussion regarding the development of design standards for the potential expansion of the industrial park. There was discussion regarding exterior building materials such as brick, block, and metal. Screening, outdoor storage, and curbing were also discussed. Chair Rotty stated that it is important to keep the standards "affordable" so that they do not discourage development. He stated that he would prefer not to see all metal buildings, but he would be alright with alternate materials on the back and sides of the buildings. He stated that there should be outdoor storage allowed but there will need to be discussion as to how that is laid out. Aaron Steele stated that some cities require a mix of materials to maintain some variety for large structures. Jeff Stokes stated that curbing is expensive and he would be a proponent of swales when appropriate. Jeff Thelen stated that the Lakeville Industrial park has very little or no curbing throughout their park. He also stated that there were very strict standards when the original industrial park was developed. When the second phase of the industrial park started, the design standards changed and some of the newer buildings in the park like R & L Trucking don't conform to those standards. He said that six years ago when the daycare center was built in the park the standards were not followed. The HRA, Planning Commission and City Council all approved an alternate material (hardy plank) and did not follow the requirements of the ordinance. He stated that the structure of the building as well as the outer materials should be discussed. c) Discussion of Ordinance Amendment - Zoning Definitions This item will be discussed on June 9th. d) Discussion of Ordinance Amendments - Recreational Vehicle Parking and Parking in Residential Areas Staff spoke with the City Engineer and he does not have an issue with recreational vehicle parking in the drainage and utility easements. Staff is discussing options Planning Commission Minutes May 27, 2009 Page 3 like requiring a permit for recreational vehicle parking so that staff can review plans prior to implementation. This item will be discussed further on June 9th. e) Discussion of Ordinance Amendments - Detached Garages, Storage Sheds, and Accessory Structures This item will be discussed on June 9th. t) Discussion of Wind Turbines in Residential Areas (verbal) Staff received a phone call from a resident who would like to install a wind turbine on a residential lot. The turbine would be approximately 80 feet high. The current City Code does not address wind turbines in residential areas so they are therefore prohibited. Staff would like the Planning Commissioners to review the materials and discuss this item further on June 9th. 5. Adjourn ReSB-eet~ submitted, f- ~E~C ~~<, Lisa Dargis \" Administrative Assistant Approved :'\. ,\ \\ J