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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/14/09 Planning Commission Minutes Regular Meeting July 14,2009 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 2. Approval of Minutes a) May 12,2009 Regular Meeting Minutes MOTION by Vanderbeck, second by Bonar to approve the minutes. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) May 27, 2009 Work Session MOTION by Stokes, second by Vanderbeck to approve the minutes. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) June 9, 2009 Work Session MOTION by Bonar, second by Stokes to approve the minutes. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. Public Hearings a) Variance)s) request to exceed the height limitation in the 1-1 Industrial Zoning District. Applicant: Kemps, LLC 15 Fourth Street Farmington, MN 55024 Kemps, LLC has requested eleven variances to the height limitation in the I-I Zoning District. Ten of the variances are for eighteen feet and one variance is for one foot, two inches. The maximum height requirement in the I-I district is forty-five feet. They would like to install storage silos on the roof of their building. The diameter of the silos is approximately nine feet. There are several ground silos already located on the Kemps site. The most recent addition was in 2005 and that silo also required a variance that was granted in 2004, because it is roughly eighty feet high. The one foot two inch variance is related to the construction of an alleyway and stairwell the roof of the building to allow access to the storage tanks. From the north, the existing ground silos will block some of the view of the proposed silos. From the west the new silos would be more visible. Historically there have been numerous variances granted for this property. Staff believes that there is substantial hardship for this company to continue to grow on this site. The approval of the variance would be contingent upon the following: 1. The applicant obtaining all necessary building permit approvals prior to installation of the silos, and construction of the alleyway and stairwell additions. There were no residents in the audience for comment on this item. Commissioner Bonar asked if the Operations Manager felt that this addition to the site would bring the site to its full capacity. Mr. Seefeldt, Kemps, LLC Operations Manager stated that the addition of these tanks is to allow for expansion of their processing capacity. The existing tanks on the interior of the building are starting to fail. Once the new tanks are in place, the interior tanks can be removed and that space used for further expansion in the future. Commissioner Bonar also asked if the Fire Chief had Planning Commission Minutes July 14,2009 Page 2 seen the plans yet. Staff stated that they did not believe that he had seen the plans. He would become involved if the variance is approved and building plans were submitted. The Building Official has reviewed the plans and met with the architect. Commissioner Stokes asked what the height of the existing smoke stack on the site is. Staff stated that the stack was part of the original building and it is taller than anything else on the site. MOTION by Vanderbeck, second by Stokes to close the public hearing. APIF. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Bonar, second by Vanderbeck to approve the eleven height variances with the stated contingency. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Ordinance Amendment to Title 10, Chapter 6, Section 27 of the City Code regarding Erosion Control. Applicant: City of Farmington 430 Third Street Farmington, MN 55024 This item is largely a housekeeping change due to the fact that the City no longer has a staff person titled "Director of Public Works". The portions of the ordinance referring to that position will need to be changed to reflect "City Engineer". Additionally there are some smaller changes that are being made. MOTION by Bonar, second by Stokes to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Stokes, second by Vanderbeck to approve the proposed ordinance amendment. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) Ordinance Amendment to Title 10, Chapter 2, Section 1 of the City Code as it relates to Definitions. Applicant: City of Farmington 430 Third Street Farmington, MN 55024 This item was discussed previously in May of 2009 in draft form. It is a list of definitions that are used throughout the zoning code that were previously undefined. These changes will make the code more consistent throughout. MOTION by Stokes, second by Vanderbeck to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Vanderbeck, second by Bonar to approve the proposed ordinance amendment. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. d) Ordinance Amendment to Sections 10-2-1 concerning Definitions, 10-5-6(B)2, 10-5- 7(B)2, 10-5-9(B)2, 10-5-10(B)2, 10-5-11(B)2, 10-5-12(B)2 concerning Detached Garages and Storage Sheds and 10-6-6(A) and 10-6-6(B) of the Farmington City Code concerning Accessory Structures. Applicant: City of Farmington 430 Third Street Farmington, MN 55024 The proposed changes will separate detached garages from their current placement in the code and put them into a separate section of the code. Detached garages will not require a paved driveway. Accessory structures would be increased from a 120 foot square foot maximum to a 240 square foot maximum. Accessory structures over 120 square feet will continue to require a building permit. Commissioner Bonar asked if staff anticipates any issues with lot density. Staff stated that there is a maximum percentage of lot coverage for each district that will be considered in each case. MOTION by Vanderbeck, second by Bonar to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Bonar, second by Vanderbeck to approve the proposed amendment. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Planning Commission Minutes July 14,2009 Page 3 4. Discussion a) Design Standards - drafts Downtown Commercial District Staff is proposing design standards for the Downtown Commercial District. The standards would be administered through the site plan process and would require Historic Preservation Commission approval if applicable. The standards would apply to all new construction and renovations or additions of existing commercial structures within the district. Projects exempt would be interior remodels, residential structures, normal or routing maintenance and repair, or construction that does not require a building permit. Staff would like discussion regarding the proposed exterior finish requirements and changes that have been made to that section. Staff will be bringing this item to the Economic Growth Committee for their feedback. Chair Rotty asked if the proposed requirements would prohibit a structure similar to the existing Kwik Trip to be constructed in the district. Staff stated that there would be requirements for certain materials but it would still be possible to locate a franchise type of business in the district. Commissioner Vanderbeck asked if walls adjacent to other buildings could be finished with other materials. Staff stated that that is correct. Commissioner Bonar stated that he would not be in favor of prohibiting buildings that imitate existing historic properties. Staff stated that they will follow up with the HPC consultant regarding that wording. Commissioner Bonar asked if an item could be added under the maintenance section that exterior of the building must be free of any public hazards. Staff will look into adding that item. Chair Rotty stated that these standards have been created with input from many different entities and from business owners. This item will be brought back in August. Industrial Park Expansion Area The existing Industrial Park already has design standards. New standards are being proposed for the proposed industrial park expansion area. Much of the new standard information was taken from the existing standards. The primary change is the allowance of a greater percentage of metal on the exterior of buildings. The curbing requirements are still being discussed because staff is looking into options for surmountable curbing or LID requirements. Commissioner Stokes asked if we have landscaping requirements. Staff stated that a landscaping plan must be submitted and reviewed prior to approval. b) Wind Turbines in Residential Areas Staff has provided the Commission with background information regarding wind turbines. Staff has received one request for a residential turbine in the past. Staff spoke with other communities to determine what their requirements are. There are a limited number of lots in the City that would be appropriate for this type of structure. There is currently no ordinance in place to regulate wind turbines in Farmington. Commissioner Stokes stated that he would want to consider what size of turbine is reasonable for a residential use. Commissioner Bonar stated that he is encouraged by what he has seen in other communities with regard to alternative energy. He would like to at some point in time begin addressing this type of energy in the City Code. Commissioner Vanderbeck stated that he feels the 80 foot turbine is far too large for Planning Commission Minutes July 14, 2009 Page 4 the area requested. He would be in favor of looking at ordinances with regard to alternative energy sources as well. Staff stated that this may a good workshop topic. Chair Rotty stated that the Commission will need to try to educate themselves a much as possible for future requests. c) Churches in the B-1 (Highway Business District) Zone Staff has received an inquiry regarding potential placement of a church in the Farmington Mall at 923 Eighth Street (zoned B-1). Churches are not currently allowed in the B-1 Zone. The owner of the property has requested that churches be allowed in the B-1 Zone as a conditional use. The City Attorney has stated that the purpose statement of the district would make this a potential conditional use, but this would have the consequence of allowing non-taxable use in commercial areas. Commissioner Stokes stated that in this case it is a rental situation, but it would set a precedent none the less. Commissioner Bonar asked if churches are allowed in all other commercial districts, staff stated that they are not allowed in the B-1, B-3 or SSC commercial districts. Commissioner Stokes stated that initially he is in favor of keeping the zoning as is because there are many other areas of the community where churched are allowed. Chair Rotty stated that it would be a conditional use. He is concerned that the purpose statement of the zone is interpreted by the City Attorney as consistent with this use. Staff will tell the property owner that they are still researching this issue. The Planning Commission will look at the verbiage of the purpose statement at the next meeting once staff has done additional research. Right now the Commission looks split on this item. d) Weeds in Development Subdivisions An issue has arisen regarding the height of weeds in development with undeveloped lots. The code requires that weeds be cut once they are one foot tall. There are now many lots which are owned by banks that are not local and they do not maintain the lots. One possibility would be to set a stipulation regarding the status of the development as to percentage of developed lots. There was also discussion regarding commercial areas versus residential. Chair Rotty asked why we would not require the weeds to be cut adjacent to developed lots. He stated that even though it may be more difficult it is still important to try to enforce the current requirement. The other Commissioners stated that they would like to see lots adjacent to developed lots mowed as well. 5. Adjourn MOTION by Vanderbeck, second by Stokes to adjourn. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. "'. __~.7 -" .." ~l/ Approved Lisa Dargis Administrative Assistant