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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.11.89 Planning PacketAGENDA PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR JULY 11, 1989 1. CALL TO ORDER 7:00 P.M. 2. APPROVE MINUTES JUNE 13, 1989 3. DISCUSSION Petition on Location of Senior Housing 4. PUBLIC HEARING 7:15 P.M. Conditional Use Request from Eagle Trucking to Extend Existing Conditional Use Granted to Elliot Halstead 18061 Pilot Knob Road 5. DISCUSSION Sign Ordinance Amendment 6. NOTICE Special Meeting July 25, 1989 AGENDA REPORT PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR JULY 11, 1989 1. CALL TO ORDER 7:00 P.M. 2. APPROVE MINUTES JUNE 13, 1989 3. DISCUSSION Petition on Location of Senior Housing The City Council accepted and referred to both the Planning Commission and HRA the enclosed petition requesting that the Senior Housing proposed =or' Oak Street be relocated at the corner of Third and Spruce Streets. The reasoning appears to be that unless senior housing is located adjoining or across the street from the Senior Center, that the Senior Center will suffer due to lack of use by residents of the new building. While such a location would have advantages, it would also have disadvantages that could be damaging to successful redevelopment of the downtown. The most serious disadvantage is that downtown Farmington is a small geographic area. Conversion of this half block from commercial to residential use would remove valuable business space only 1/2 block from the main business intersection and it would permanently isolate Erickson's grocery, drug and variety store from other downtown business uses. This will damage downtown Farmington as a shopping center by encouraging people to move about the area by automobile rather than on foot. The success of contemporary shopping centers is based on the concept of clustering business uses which are then surrounded by convenient parking space. The HRA has a developer who is interested in providing space for a mixture of business and service uses at the downtown location. Housing at the edge of the business district will support the activity taking place there, whereas housing in the center will displace it and likely remove any opportunity for the business district to be re- established in this four block area. Recommendation Forward a recommendation to the City Council which encourages the continued use of the block now known as Farmington Green for business and service activity. 4. PUBLIC HEARING 7:15 P.M. Conditional Use Request from Eagle Trucking This request is in response to a complaint from a neighbor that several old truck trailers were being stored outside of the building at 18061 Pilot Knob Road. The original conditional use was granted by the Planning Commission allowing Eliot Halstead the right to build a pole type building to store paving equipment. Following the death of Mr. Halstead, Mrs. Halstead rented the space to Eagle Trucking for the storage of their equipment. The building burned to the ground during the winter and was replaced. On the basis of the telephoned complaint, staff discovered more use of the property than was indicated in the original conditional use request. The added portion s involves an office that has been pulled to the site and remains on wheels. While it is a use that is not visible from the road, the structure is not addressed in the City code. It was built as a small manufactured home or construction office, measuring 12 feet by 30 feet. It was purchased by Eagle Trucking and converted to an office since other suitable space was not available on site. The problem is that the added building is not part of the original conditional use and the type of construction is not listed anywhere in the ordinance. The ordinance is written in a way that suggests that anything not listed is not allowed. As indicated earlier, the original complaint focused upon stored truck trailers on the assumption that they constitute an expansion of the use. The job of the Commission is to determine if such a use should be accepted in Farmington and if so, under what conditions. 5. DISCUSSION Sign Ordinance Amendment Staff reservations about the revised draft of the sign ordinance involve the size of signs which will be substantially larger than in the existing ordinance. On the other hand, the reason for the draft was that the existing ordinance is too restrictive. During early discussions, it came to the attention of staff that some other communities base the size of freestanding signs on the authorized speed of traffic. Burnsville has adopted such an ordinance which served as the basis for the proposed draft but with substantially smaller maximum sizes. In reviewing the draft, the only change that came to mind was to further restrict the size of wall signs when pylon signs are involved. This reduction would mean that wall signs will be 50 square feet smaller when pylons are also used. Recommendation If there are additional comments please bring along for discussion. When a consensus has been reached, the proposed amendment will be forwarded to the City Council for their review. Charles Tooker Planner