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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/11/16 Planning Commission Minutes Regular Meeting October 11,2016 1. Call to Order Chair Rotty called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Rich,Bjorge,Franceschelli,Kuyper Members Absent: Rotty Also Present: Tony Wippler,Planning Manager 2. Approval of Minutes a. MOTON by Rich second by Kuyper to approve the minutes of September 13,2016. 3. Public Hearings—Member Franceschelli opened the public hearings a. Application to Amend Comprehensive Plan from Low Desnity Residential to Commercial and Rezone Property from R-1 (Low Density Residential)to B-3 (Heavy Business)—Craig Bongard The address of this property is 20522 Akin Road. The lot size is 4.79 acres. Surrounding land uses are single family residential to the north and west of the property,Farmington Lutheran Church is located to the south and farmland is to the east. In 1976 a special exception permit was granted for this property to allow equipment maintenance and storage non-commercial. Any maintenance or storage is allowed for the owner's use only. Today,this would be considered a conditional use permit. Mr. Bongard has been using this property for a trucking operation. He is trying to sell the property so is requesting a comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning. He would like to amend the comprehensive plan from low density to commercial and rezone it from R-1 (low density residential)to B-3 (heavy business). Staff's opinion is the uses allowed in the B-3 zone are not compatible with the surrounding uses. Therefore,staff recommended denial of the comp plan amendment and rezoning. Mr. Craig Bonard stated all he wants to do is sell the property. He had a buyer,another trucking company, and the city denied it. The property has been for sale for 13 years and he cannot sell it. Planning staff recommends residential uses. Mr. Bonard stated the city sewer pipe is too high on Akin Road. You cannot have homes in that area. The best thing to do is to allow storage in that area. Commissioner Rich asked about the use of the property prior to 1976. Mr.Bongard stated the back was farmland and the front part was a big hole which was filled. He purchased the property in 1989. There was a fire in 1992 and he had to get a permit to rebuild and he continued to operate the business. He would like to retire from the business now. , Mr. Mike Haley,20521 Akin Road,lives directly across the street. He spoke to the reasons why this should remain R-1. There are relatively new homes in the area. All would have the property value impacted with a rezoning. Farmington Lutheran Church is next door, and there are schools in the area. The rezoning would only benefit the seller who will no longer live here after the property is sold. Mr. Matt Socheck, 20497 Akin Circle,sees the property outside his window. Whoever buys the property can do whatever they want. He just built a new home and the last thing he wants is to look at semi's,RV's and boats. Ms. Dawn Baldwin,20449 Akin Circle,wants to keep the property as R-l. The traffic on Akin Road is already very heavy. The trucks are very loud going by and they want to prevent further traffic with large vehicles. When traveling south from the roundabout at Akin Road and 195th Street and she turns into her circle,there is already a lot of traffic coming up behind her. Ms.Angie Pockel,realtor for Mr.Bongard, understood the neighbor's concerns. If it stays R-1 the special use permit would stay in effect. So if they find a buyer with their own trucking company,there is still that possibility that there would be traffic. The problem is the buyer has to own their own equipment. So should a trucking company come in,they would still have use of that special use permit and there could still be a trucking company. They have had an offer from a mini-storage company to store their own personal items inside the building,then build smaller units along the tree line. The other buyer had wrapping for boats and RV's. They want to clean up the property. In the current zoning,this is not allowed. There is no city water or sewer to the property so it is very difficult to build homes. Mr. Leon Orr, 19161 Echo Lane,member of Farmington Lutheran Church,feels it would not be proper to have the property rezoned. The owner could put anything in there that fits in the B-3 zoning. It would not fit the area. In 1976 there were very few houses in the area. Now the area is totally different. MOTION by Bjorge,second by Kuyper to close the public hearing. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Commissioner Kuyper stated this area is not a B-3 area and the city has changed dramatically since 1976. He realized there are entities that want to purchase the property, but some of the allowed businesses in a B-3 area would not be compatible with the area. Commissioner Rich stated the presumption that a property's use should be able to continue is important as far as property rights. We have changed zoning on something that was at one time permitted. The use of this property existed before the houses in the area. When you move into an area you are subject to the conditions of the area. He had some difficulty now saying we are not fond of this because we built homes and a church around it. It seems we have not tried hard enough to make suitable accommodations here. We should give some respect to the property owner and look at a creative way to assist in the process. He asked if all options have been exhausted. Staff has been in discussions with this for over ten years and have not come up with a solution. Commissioner Rich found it hard to say there cannot be any accommodation. Mr.Brian Baldwin,20449 Akin Circle, stated two years ago his parents sold their home and they had to meet certain new codes to sell their home. He doesn't hear that coming from the property owner who wants to sell as is. Doesn't he have to make any kind of an effort to make it sellable to the market? We have been building new homes and meeting codes and he does not hear that coming from the owner. How about investing in that property,bringing it up in value and standard like we are subject to and then sell it. Staff stated selling a home follows the building code. This is a rezoning and he does not have to do anything to sell the property. It is a grandfathered use from 1976. Mr. Craig Bongard,stated there are two permits in the city;he has one and Marty Halstead has one. Mr.Halstead can do anything he wants on his property and Mr. Bongard can't. Why? He's not building a big fence and putting posters on it. Mr. Bongard keeps his property neat and clean. Why isn't there equal justice? Commissioner Bjorge asked why B-3? Staff stated that is what was petitioned for. Commissioner Bjorge was uncomfortable with B-3's permitted uses. The realtor was uncomfortable with B-3 as well,but it is the only one that includes the mini-storage. The recreational boat is only in the agricultural district. It would improve the neighborhood more to have boats lined up neatly and cleanup the property. Other interested parties were a driveway resurfacing company and a lawn service company. Commissioner Bjorge asked if the comp plan has to be changed to change the zoning. Staff stated both have to be done to make them in conformance with each other. She asked if this property would be reviewed as part of the comp plan update. Staff stated it could be,but the time frame is much longer. Commissioner Bjorge stated because of the comp plan update coming she was uncomfortable making this zoning change. She would support creative solutions. The commission also discussed B-3 versus B-4 allowable uses. MOTION by Bjorge,second by Kuyper to recommend denial of the comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning and forward the recommendation to the city council. Voting for: Bjorge,Franceschelli,Kuyper. Voting against: Rich. MOTION CARRIED. The commission asked staff to explore further options with Mr. Bongard such as a rezoning to B-4. 4. Discussion 5. Adjourn MOTION by Bjorge second by Kuyper to adjourn at 7:50p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ynthia Muller Administrative Assistant