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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.11.94 Planning Packet ",. .... . 1. 2. 3. a. b. c. d. e. f. 4. . a. . AGENDA PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR OCTOBER 11, 1994 CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. APPROVE MINUTES - September 13, 1994 PUBLIC HEARINGS 7:00 P.M. - Variance Request from Performance Industrial Coatings 7:10 P.M. - Variance Request from Erickson Diversified Corporation 7:20 P.M. - Variance Request from Independent School District 192 7:30 P.M. - Approval of Revised PUD for East Farmington 7:30 P.M. - Approval of the Preliminary Plat of Phase I for East Farmington PUD 8:00 P.M. - Variance Request by Scott and Sandra Quill - Extend Deck DISCUSSION Second Meeting in October on the 25th 1. Thompson Conditional Use Request 2. Informal Review of Rosebrier Apartments b. Proposed Ordinance for On Site Individual Sewage Treatment Systems c. Proposed Ordinance Amendments 5. ADJOURN ... . . . I: AGENDA REPORT PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR OCTOBER 11, 1994 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVE MINUTES - SEPTEMBER 13, 1994 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS a. 7:00 P.M. - Variance Request from Performance Industrial Coatings to Create a 40 Foot Wide Curb Cut on the West Side of Edmonton Avenue At an informal discussion of this request during the regular meeting on September, it was determined that because of the type of industry and its service to the manufacturer of light standards, together with its location in the Industrial Park, Performance Industrial Coatings would be allowed to create a 40 foot wide curb cut on Edmonton Avenue. The applicant has submitted a landscape plan which is in substantial compliance with recommendations made by the City staff during the September meeting. Recommendation Approve the requested variance for a driveway opening of 40 feet rather than the maximum of 32 feet listed in the City Code subject to the implementation of the submitted landscape plan to facilitate combined pole access with truck parking in the loading area. In addition, two separate access drives on Edmonton would likely create more traffic confusion than one wide driveway. b. 7:10 P.M. - Variance Request from Erickson's Diversified Corporation to Place Wall and Pylon Signs at Farmington City Center Larger than Permitted in the City Code The City sign ordinance was developed at a time in Farmington history when business uses were built on a considerably smaller scale. Currently the total sign area of 75 square feet. The Erickson More 4 Store will have 374 square feet of sign on the east and south face plus 28 square feet for the Mr. Movies portion of the building. As suggested in the discussion of signs at Benedict Plaza, that shopping center was developed without sign permit approval. While signs there are considerably larger than permitted, they are in scale with the building and have not created a visual disturbance within the City. The proposed signs for the Erickson building are also appropriate to the scale of the building at 4.6% of the building surface on the east side and 2.7% on the south side. Recommendation Because the variance request likely would not be necessary if the sign ordinance were to be updated, and the ordinance needs to be revised, it is recommended that the requested variance should be granted. Strict enforcement of the ordinance would result in signs that are too small and, therefore, not appropriate for contemporary shopping centers. ~ I Planning Report - 10/11/94 - Page 2 . . . c. 7:20 P.M. - Variance Request from Independent School District 192 to Build a 65 Foot Loft Area in the Proposed High School Addition. o~ May 11, 1994, during a special meeting of the City Council with members of the School Board and the School Administration, the City Administrator called attention to the need for a variance to build any structure above 45 feet. The major problem with structures that exceed this limit is the current lack of appropriate fire fighting equipment. The Fire Department has 35 foot ladders which can be leaned against the surface of any building or structure but this will be insignificant for use on a structure that is 30 feet higher. The only real defense the City has for tall structure fires is the mutual aid agreement with the cities of Lakeville and Northfield. It is difficult for the staff to find any justification that will allow a variance based upon wording in Section 10-8-6 and any variance will establish a precedent that will be available throughout the City. It would be possible to develop an amendment to the ordinance which will allow structures not designated for human habitation to be taller than 45 feet, but this appears to ask for more trouble since the City has no equipment to fight fire at high elevations. The design process may or may not have explored other options for the loft which could comply with the height limits. This information was not made available and time ran out. If the Commission believes that a variance is in the community's best interest, the City Fire Marshal has listed three conditions which should be attached to the variance as follows: a. All props and storage in the attic or loft space of the auditorium shall be flame retardant treated. b. Permanent ladders shall be installed from lower roof levels to higher roof levels to provide access to the highest roof of the building. c. Two and one half inch (2~") stand pipes shall be installed to all levels of the roof above 45 feet which will be available for fire department pumper connections. Recommendation Approve the variance subject to the conditions outlined above indicating that the best fire protection will depend upon City mutual aid agree- ments and requesting better communication between the School architect and the City staff in future building projects. d. 7:30 P.M. - Approval of Revised POD for East Farmington Including 426 Single Family Units, 132 Multiple Units, plus Expansion Space for the Hospital. The PUD is comprised of 426 single family lots, 132 multiple family units in either townhomes or garden apartments, plus expansion space for the hospital. South Suburban has plans which include 140 senior housing units, 48 units for Alzheimer Care, a 50 bed nursing home expansion and a 10,000 square foot medical office. In addition, the '" . . . ! Planning Report - 10/11/94 - Page 3 PUD plan shows a 5 acre park adjoining Trunk Highway 50 plus an area for a ballfield within the waterway right of way. The Park Board has previously recommended a 3 acre site in this area. Major changes in the PUD plan result both from public agency formal review which required the avoidance of certain wetland areas and from an increase in the land area needs of the waterway which has expanded from 11 to 20 acres. Another change in the PUD was required by the Highway Department which plans to maintain existing frontage roads and has provided a plan for automobile stacking areas at Spruce Street. In addition, the access to Larch Street will eliminate all direct access to Highway 3 that is now available to the Budget Mart. This access will be required to be moved to Larch Street (2 access drives) and the frontage road in front of Budget Mart will be converted to service station parking and/or driving lanes. Similarly, there will be no direct access to Spruce from the west side frontage road. One minor issue to be discussed by the Planning Commission is the arrangement of the 44 townhouse units which adjoin Trunk Highway 50. While a density calculation shows only one more unit than the com- parable development adjoining Larch Street, the site appears to be crowded without much useable open space. The Developer is encouraged to rework the plan to more efficiently use the available space. Phasing of the PUD starts with the Spruce Street and Larch Street access points together with eight full blocks of single family dwellings and twenty townhouses at Larch Street. Phase 2 involves the hospital expansion area and eight more blocks clustered around the Spruce Street/Twelfth Street rotary, plus the garden apartments on County Road 72. The final phase includes 10 blocks of single family dwellings and 44 townhouse units adjoining the park and Trunk Highway 50. All permits are either in place or will be by the end of October. The last question on permits was answered in favor of the project on October 5th by the PCA. Follow up action will be taken by the Corps of Engineers on the 31st of October. Recommendation Approve the revisions to the PUD and forward to the City Council with the recommendation that it shall be approved. e. 7:30 P.M. - Approval of the Preliminary Plat of Phase I of the East Farmington PUD The proposed plat includes 165 single family dwellings, 20 townhouse units plus 8 outlots which will become private parks and one outlot at Spruce Street which will become two outlots on either side of Spruce Street as it intersects with Trunk Highway 3. The plan will need to be modified to show the easements which will provide access to the park outlots. While the PUD states that building setback lines for the narrow side of lots will be 10 feet, Farmington City Code requires 20 feet of setback from all streets. The disadvantage of 10 foot setbacks on corner lots will be noticed most by the immediately adjoining lot ^ . . . } Planning Report - 10/11/94 - Page 4 inasmuch as these housing units will be required to be 10 feet further back. The developer needs to supply a plan which shows the building setback lines within the plat since there are only eight 60 foot corner lots. The developer is encouraged to make the minimum 15 feet on these eight lots to alleviate the visibility problems for adjoining lots but to maintain a 20 foot setback when the minimum width is 75 feet. The outlot indicated at the west end of Spruce Street has been designed to accommodate the stacking of automobiles requested by MnDOT. The space allocation will need to be reviewed by the City Engineer before the plat is forwarded to the City Council. One change in the plat recently suggested by the Developer has been the addition of 20 lots which face the east side of Eleventh Street. The reasoning for this is that utilities are already in the street and it makes sense to use them. The corner lots are not included since they will get service from the east/west streets. Recommendation Forward a recommendation to the City Council for approval of the preliminary plat subject to the completion of a revised building setback plan and confirmation from the City Engineer that the frontage road alignment will work and required engineering detail has been supplied. f. 8:00 P.M. - Variance Requested by Scott and Sandra Quill, 18254 Emerald Trail to Extend a Deck 6 Feet into a Front Yard. This request is the second in this subdivision which has been caused by a sales person who placed a patio door adjoining a front yard 20 feet behind the street right of way line. It is clearly a situation where the landowner has no knowledge of setback requirements when the house is built, but that the builder/developer should. The request is to construct a raised walk between the patio door and a raised deck in the rear yard. With proper landscaping, the walk should not create a problem for adjoining property owners. However, it may be advisable to make implementation of a landscape plan one condition for granting the requested variance. Recommendation Approve the variance as requested subject to the implementation of a planting plan approved by the City Planner. 4. DISCUSSION a. Second Meeting in October - October 25th Harris Thompson has asked for the meeting to facilitate construction of a building to store milk trucks before winter and the Rosebrier Apartment Complex is being proposed in a different form. Preliminary ,.it', ~ Planning Report - 10/11/94 - Page 5 . discussion prior to a November hearing would be beneficial. b. Proposed Ordinance for On Site Individual Sewage Treatment Systems Material sent previously. c. Proposed Ordinance Amendments Concerning surety for conditional use requests, landscaping and off street parking. t1~ 1! 1J,f&- Charles Tooker City Planner . .