Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-19 Planning Commission Minutes Regular Meeting April 9,2019 1. Call to Order Chair Rotty called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Rotty,Franceschelli,Tesky,Windschitl Members Absent: Bjorge Also Present: Tony Wippler,Planning Manager 2. Approval of Minutes a. Approve Planning Commission Minutes MOTON by Franceschelli second by Tesky to approve the minutes of March 12,2019. Voting for: Rotty,Franceschelli,Tesky. Abstain: Windschitl. MOTION CARRIED. 3. Public Hearings—Chair Rotty opened the public hearings a. Review Preliminary Plat,Final PUD Plan Fairhill Estate at North Creek,Fairhill Outlots Final Plat The property consists of 91.01 acres located at the southwest intersection of 190th Street W and Highway 3. Residential development in Empire Township is to the south and the railroad and flooplain is to the west. The preliminary plat consists of 244 single family residential lots and 21 outlots containing public and private parks,open space,storm water facilities,wetlands and gas line easement.The development is broken down into six focus areas each with its unique lot configuration and size. The applicants are proposing deviations for minimum lot width and area requirements with certain focus areas. These deviations will be addressed with the Planned Unit Development Agreement with the Phase 1 final plat. The main access will come from 190th Street W and will extend to the south when property in Empire Township develops. Right-of-way has been provided for a future connection to 194th Street. This connection will be made when the city and Empire Township agree that the connection for general traffic is needed. For now, it will be an emergency access only. There will be four typical street sections throughout this development. The development contemplates a community park in the central portions of the plat which will be deeded to the city and will be owned by the city. Three private parks are planned on the west side of the development in later phases. Trails and sidewalks will be throughout the development. Water service exists near the northwest corner of the site,sanitary sewer is located on the west side of the railroad,south of 195th Street. The sanitary sewer will have to be extended under the railroad in order to service this development and the city and developer are in the process of obtaining the necessary permits. The landscape plan shows boulevard trees. The city code allows for boulevard trees on designated routes only and there are none in this area. Staff will allow the boulevard trees with the understanding the homeowners association deals with the maintenance of the trees. Planning Commission Minutes April 9,2019 Page 2 There will be five phases to this development,with the first phase in the northeast corner containing the main entry drive, extending west to the center of the property. The first phase should start within the next month. The Fairhill Outlots final plat consists of four outlots A-D. This is to accommodate land transactions between the two applicants. This plat will go away with the final plat. Staff is recommending approval with conditions: 1. The approval of a Planned Unit Development Agreement at time of Final Plat for Phase 1. 2. The submission of construction plans for grading and utilities that are acceptable to the city engineer. Mr.Ed Gerten,20755 Ahern Blvd,asked if MnDOT has commented on 194th Street. There is an upgrade planned on highway 3 for additional turn lanes and they are not sure how MnDOT will deal with 194th Street. Residents want access to highway 3. With the width of the road,to make it a permanent access from the development,will impact the residents as far as parking and road width. Chair Rotty felt if MnDOT makes it a right in, right out,the residents would want a connection. Right now, 194th Street will not be connected to Highway 3 and will be an emergency entrance only. Mr.Gerten asked if there are 48 foot wide lots elsewhere and what do they do with the snow? Chair Rotty • would also like to know what type of housing they put on 48 foot wide lots. Mr. Gerten asked about sight lines with some of the low setbacks. Ms.Lori Ouska,3575 194th Street,lives on the north side and asked how much of her front yard will be taken up by the emergency access. Chair Rotty did not see any change as there is emergency access now. She and the residents do not want access opened to that street because it will bring so much more traffic. Chair Rotty stated MnDOT will decide that; it will not be up to the city or the township. If it is right in,right out,every time you go out you will have to turn south. Future development to the south will have an access two to three blocks south. Ms.Brenda Hanks, 3598 194th Street W,has attended all the meetings about this area. One thing that bothers her is there is one way in and one way out and it seems dangerous. The last builder that looked at their street said it's not going to work;it's too narrow. A compromise was with the emergency access and they said it would take quite a lot to build that. Residents are against it ever being opened. If they make it a right in,right out,they are also talking about a roundabout at 197th Street. If they do a business area to the south,that is one thing Empire is saying would be necessary. If we have a right in, right out,we would hit the roundabout a couple blocks down,swing around and go north. The last builder made lots of promises about how they were going to connect to the northern edge of our street. They talked about burying electrical lines,how they were going to tier the area and she would be interested in knowing what the builder is doing so the people who face north,how that will look for them. They have signed a petition that they do not want to be connected. If it is a right in,right out,so be it. They are concerned because their street is very narrow. If it was a through street, it is so narrow you could not park on the street. She has sat at that intersection at all times of the day and it is non-stop traffic. Planning Commission Minutes April 9,2019 Page 3 Ms. Wanda Meyer,3656 194th Street W,reiterated that the street is very narrow so it would not be good to open it up. You would have to eliminate on street parking which can't be done,because some don't have garages and some have multiple people living in a home. Ms. Cheryl Schmitz, 3624 194t Street W, asked regarding the emergency entrance,how will that be controlled. Mr. Gerten noted there will be a locked gate. It will only be opened for emergency vehicles. Ms. Schmitz asked if MnDOT makes a right in,right out,that will force us through another subdivision. We live in an older subdivision and many have grandchildren. They will be riding bikes only in the driveway. If you force people through other subdivisions,not everyone will go slow. She lived in another area where a developer built lots of beautiful,grand homes. They thought about the ecologic impact,but they did not consider the effect that the construction had on the ecology and drainage. We ended up being taxed for storm sewer systems when there was no problem before the development. What will be done to make sure any water is going to flow and drain in the appropriate ways and not cause extra expense to Farmington,the county and Empire? Staff noted the developer has to submit a plan for storm water management to keep the runoff on sight. There will be a number of storm water ponds on the development to accommodate that. Chair Rotty noted the key is to keep water onsite and not make it someone else's problem. Mr.Jeff Meyer,3656 194th Street,asked how they came up with the lot sizes; it seems they are squeezing them in. The biggest lot size is 60 feet. All of our homes have 100 foot lots. He asked if there was any consideration to somewhat match what is there instead of jamming in as many houses as possible. Chair Rotty also asked the builder to explain the types and values of the homes. A resident asked if there will be a fence behind the homes that will be impacted the most along the north side of 194th Street. She wants something long term. Chair Rotty clarified for long term,what kind of buffering will be planted. Mr.Adam Seed,7588 Urbandale Lane,Maple Grove,he is a family member that has an interest in the land. Over the years,it has taken a lot of consideration to get to this planning stage which started in 2008. He had complete confidence in Mr.Rob Wacholz as the developer and the builders and engineers who really worked hard to come up with a good plan for the city. We wanted to get this right and that's why it went so slow. Chair Rotty noted the process is one of transparency. We invite the residents so they can comment and we listen. Part of the process is that we want to do it right the first time. We listen to the residents and the developer. Hopefully residents can understand better what neighbors they will have in the future. The road is a great connection to our two communities. We knew some day development would occur. Chair Rotty invited the developers to answer the residents' questions. Mr.Rob Wacholz, True Gravity Ventures,is the developer. Mil Homes of Minneapolis,LLC is the builder. The lot sizes go back to 2008 and minor revisions were made in 2017 and approved. As a developer you want to make adjoining connections to neighborhoods. The connection to 194th Street will be for emergency access. As far as paving it,that will be up to the city and Empire. Regarding the snow removal on smaller lots,they are all public streets and there is plenty of room in the boulevards to store the snow. Regarding electrical Planning Commission Minutes April 9,2019 Page 4 lines,the power company is out of easement so the developer is working with them to get them to come underground through the main drive with their main feed. There were questions about the tier between this project and the previous plan. There were a series of retaining walls along the property line and it was tiered so each wall would be four feet maximum. In the re-engineering of the plan, all the walls have been removed so there will be a slope between the homes. Regarding storm water,the control plan in 2008 was far denser at 380 lots and the only open space was three acres of public park and the gas line easement. The developer has loosened it up and reduced the number of units, providing more space for the water to traverse over ground. The lots east of the entry road are designated for the flex and grow home. They range from 2000 to 3000 sq.ft. as one levels,walkup splits,two story and one and a half story. Each home design is created where there is 500 to 700 sq.ft.of single family house that can be separated off for mother-in-law,older kids,rental,etc. The price is in the mid$300,000's to Iow $400,000's. The single family lots on the west side of the entry drive are where the models will be. Mr.John Rascome,M/I Homes,provided staff with a variety of floor plans. They don't allow the same house or color palettes next to each other and pay attention to street scape. He showed examples of single family homes. The average price is$425,000. The villa homes are maintained by an association so there is a vendor that clears the snow. The lot sizes mentioned are minimums. A master association will govern the entire neighborhood and sub-associations for the entrance,for single family,for the villa and for the carriage homes. On the villa and carriage homes where you are ten feet apart,we give reciprocal easements between properties, so one property can use another's property to get to the rear yard. They do not allow sheds,privacy fences,outside parking of vehicles over a certain number of days,boats,campers,or storing things outside. On the west side of the property,where the development backs up to current homes,the • development is 14 feet lower than the current homes and there will be one slope going up. Chair Rotty asked if the villa and carriage homes are both on 48 foot wide lots. The builder stated the carriage homes have 40 and 50 foot wide lots,so there will be a two or three car garage option. The villa homes are 50 and 60 foot wide lots with a two or three car garage. They mix them on the street scape so it's not garage dominated. Chair Rotty asked about management companies for the association. There will be one management company for the master and sub-associations. Chair Rotty heard price points of$325,000 - $600,000. Ms.Brenda Hanks,asked about the railroad tracks. You are putting$300,000 homes next to the railroad tracks. They live down the street and their house moves when the train comes through. How are you constructing homes so the vibration of the trains will be handled? You are spending$300,000 for a retirement house next to a railroad track. The builder stated they are constructing a large berm behind those homes. Ms.Hanks noted there are townhomes across the road and when they purchased the home,they did not realize the traffic noise from highway 3 and the roundabout. Chair Rotty stated when people go to buy the home,hopefully they notice the tracks and highway 3 and consider whether they are okay with that impact. Ms.Hanks asked if the homes are being built to spec or if people are designing their homes. The builder stated the majority will be custom. PIanning Commission Minutes April 9,2019 Page 5 Member Franceschelli thanked staff for their hard work and the residents for their questions. He liked the project and it will be a great asset to the community. Member Tesky thanked staff for their work. She asked about the HOA and if it will take care of all the maintenance and what about the public and private parks. The public park would be the city. Member Windschitl asked about the in and out off of 195th Street. Staff stated it is right and left onto 195th Street. Member Windschitl asked if the county has said that is the best spot for the road. Staff stated the county has reviewed it because it is next to a county roadway,it has to go through the county plat commission and it meets their spacing guidelines. Member Windschitl asked about having part of the house for a rental. He asked if that will be a problem if we have a rental license program. That will bring more cars to be parked,etc. Staff stated the city does not have a rental license program and do not foresee that program. It isn't a duplex. It is a single family home where they will have a separate door on the inside of the home. Mr.Wacholz stated your best landlord is an owner occupant landlord. Anyone can rent their entire single family home. With the flex and grow home you can only rent out that accessory space if you are an owner occupant. That is in the association documents. In their experience, it is usually a family member. Member Windschitl asked who will maintain the emergency gate when it gets damaged? Staff stated the city will. Chair Rotty explained this is the process. The residents were asked to come and the commission listened. He noted Mr.Ed Gerten is a voice for the township. We do not know what MnDOT will do in the future. Chair Rotty hoped the explanation of the grading of the emergency access and the gate is sufficient. Any future development of that will be decided between elected officials of the city and the township. It will not be done without residents knowing about it. One of the main reasons 190th and 1956 Streets are there is because this land was designated with MUSA,which is sanitary sewer,which has the ability to be developed many years ago. Development should not be a surprise. This is the right thing to start. What happens with 194th and Highway 3 is to be determined. Hopefully it will be done with everyone's best interests in mind. He felt all questions have been answered. There will be some nice homes and hopefully nice neighbors. He will recommend approval of the plat. Staff explained the plat will go to the city council April 15 for approval. The planning commission holds the public hearing and makes a recommendation to the city council. MOTION by Tesky,second by Windschitl to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Franceschelli,second by Tesky to recommend approval to the city council of the preliminary plat and final PUD plan for Fairhill Estate at North Creek and the final plat for Fairhill Outlots subject to the two conditions. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 4. Discussion a. Draft Ordinance Regarding Number of Allowed Dogs At the March 12,2019,meeting the commission discussed amending the city code regarding the maximum number of dogs allowed on a property. Three dogs seems to be Planning Commission Minutes April 9,2019 Page 6 the number allowed by other communities. The draft ordinance increases the number allowed from two to three. The kennel ordinance stated three or more dogs so that was increased to four or more. Member Tesky agreed with the changes. Member Windschitl asked if this was strictly for dogs,which it is. Member Franceschelli asked what is the fee for a dog license. Staff stated we have a permanent license and a two-year license and will check on the cost. Member Franceschelli asked about a regular dog license and a license for more than two dogs. If a license for dog one is$6,for dog two is$6,why not$8 for dog three. If I move into the community and I have six dogs,by attrition I should be able to get down to three. What is to prevent me from saying I had six and one passed away,so I'm going to buy another one. Staff stated it does not stop them from doing that. Member Franceschelli asked about the rabies vaccination and why do we say the vaccination has to be within the last 36 months instead of the last 6 to 12 months. Staff would have to check with the police department. He had no problem with increasing the number of dogs allowed to three and four for the kennel license. • Chair Rotty agreed with the increase. Staff will bring back the full ordinance at the next meeting and research the questions. 5. Adjourn MOTION by Franceschelli second by Windschitl to adjourn at 8:37 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Ctowthtu Muller Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant