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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/13/16 Planning Commission Minutes Regular Meeting December 13,2016 1. Call to Order Chair Rotty called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present:Rotty,Bjorge,Franceschelli,Kuyper,Rich Members Absent: None Also Present: Tony Wippler,Planning Manager 2. Approval of Minutes a. MOTON by Kuyper,second by Franceschelli to approve the minutes of November 9, 2016. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 3. Public Hearings--Chair Rotty opened the public hearings a. Consider Ordinance Amendments to the B-3 and B-4 Zoning Districts Chair Rotty explained the discussion with the B-3 district will be to add recreational vehicle storage as a conditional use. The B-4 district discussion will be to add recreational vehicle storage,mini-storage and data centers as a conditional use. The B-3 district is heavy business zoning and B-4 is neighborhood business zoning. A discussion on these changes was held at the November 2016 meeting. This was brought forward due to direction from the City Council based on a comprehensive plan amendment application and rezone application for a property on Akin Road which could potentially be zoned B-4. Property owners adjacent to B-4 zones were notified. There are four properties along Third Street zoned B-4. Staff is recommending approval of these ordinances. Chair Rotty stated there are no applications for the area along Third Street. Mr.Jim Deegan, 816 Third Street,asked what the B-4 properties are along Third Street. Staff stated it is Block's Automotive on the corner of Third and Maple Streets,old Dakota Electric building,White Funeral Home and the orthodontic office towards Spruce Street. Mr.Deegan stated if this ordinance were to pass,is it that they are part of the group or you can be part of this group and you have to get a conditional use permit. Staff stated a property owner who owns one of those four properties could apply for a conditional use permit. These specific uses likely wouldn't be apropriate on those properties,but it doesn't mean they can't apply. Mr.Deegan asked about the storage part of the ordinances and is there something regarding the front of the properties. Such as if someone wanted to fence off the front of their property and have storage behind the fence. Staff stated they would have to go through the conditional use process which allows the commission to place reasonable conditions on that use. That could be things such as screening,landscaping,lighting,hours of operations,how it transitions into the neighborhood,etc. Chair Rotty stated both of these ordinance amendments are Planning Commission Minutes December 13,2016 Page 2 conditional uses so they would have to go through a public hearing and conditions could be set. Fencing off the property in question would not fit with the residences next to it. Mr.Deegan asked about the data center and off-street parking. Member Franceschelli stated data centers fall under state statutes as to how they can be constructed and situated into a property. By their nature,everything is contained inside a fence line so there wouldn't be any off-street parking. They are very low key and want to stay as anonymous as possible. Staff stated data centers usually house servers for large companies and have very few employees other than security. Mr.Deegan asked if a property can have more than one conditional use. Staff stated there can be,such as if an automotive business were to move out,if a new owner wants to have another type of conditional use,they would have to apply for that use. A conditional use runs with the land. Mr.Paul Auge,908 Fourth Street,was opposed to rezoning the district on Third Street. The city has made attempts to improve downtown and the homes and the homeowners are investing a lot of money into their properties to make a family friendly environment. He is against bringing in any business that would expand their hours and bring in more traffic into the neighborhood. He has children and lives behind this area. If you allow storage,someone could buy that building and put in lockers,rent them out,and increase the number of people in and out of the building. It is not just a small storage facility, which would not be small if you allow recreational vehicles and boats on the outside which would affect the aesthetics of the neighborhood. Then you have fencing,lighting and signage which take away from the property values. Ms.Kelly Deegan,816 Third Street,asked if you have to lump the areas together or can you take the one property on Akin Road and give that the permit and leave Third Street alone. Staff stated no,unless a special zoning district is created just for that parcel,which staff is not in favor of doing. A use goes with the entire zoning district. Chair Rotty stated that would be considered spot zoning for the benefit of one particular property which is not good to do. Ms.Deegan stated she does not want people coming in and out of the neighborhood she doesn't know,and once you open it up to storage,that will happen. As Mr.Auge said,there is a lot of traffic on Third Street;we don't need anymore. Member Franceschelli liked the draft ordinances. Member Kuyper stated no one is looking at doing mini-storage on the Third Street lots; they are staying the way they are. Looking at the lots,they are not large enough to hold mini-storage. We can set hours,lighting,screening,etc.because we do not want to intrude on the neighborhood. They have to meet certain criteria to be approved by the commission. We would take input then,just like we are now. He feels these businesses are a good fit for the B-4 because they are very low traffic. The city has grown and changed in 20 years. Streets are extended into new developments and there is more traffic. Businesses come and go. Planning Commission Minutes December 13,2016 Page 3 Member Bjorge stated as the commission discussed,we knew whatever we did had to be a conditional use and be sensitive to screening and the surrounding residents. Adding these businesses as a conditional use is a responsible thing to do. It aligns in terms of potential hours,traffic,other people coming in and out,signage,lighting,fencing all align with the other B-4 conditional businesses. Member Rich stated B-3 is not an issue,so our focus is on B-4. Looking at the list of other conditional uses,it is hard to say the ones we are adding don't fit with those. All of the businesses on the list bring in other people to the neighborhood and may serve the neighborhood. It has the attribute of consistency. All businesses in the B-4 are conditional uses and require review and operate in harmony with the neighborhood. He does not see that they would not be a fit. Chair Rotty stated if we receive a conditional use application for the area along Third Street,due to the location,lot size,how close it is in relation to neighboring houses,it would be difficult to support much change in any of the lots. You can't do spot zoning. If applications do come,we deal with that at the time. These types of businesses we are adding would not fit along Third Street. You could not create the harmony with the neighborhood,the transition,screening,there would be lighting that would bother the neighbors. There are potentially other B-4 districts in this community where these businesses would fit. Therefore,it is reasonable to add it as a conditional use. He would not support it for this area of the community. MOTION by Franceschelli, second by Rich to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Franceschelli,second by Bjorge to forward the ordinances to City Council for approval amending the B-3 and B-4 zoning districts to add vehicle storage to the B-3 and vehicle storage,mini-storage and data centers to•the B-4 as conditional uses. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 4. Discussion 5. Adjourn MOTION by Kuyper second by Bjorge to adjourn at 7:26 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant