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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/12/08 . . . Planning Commission Minutes Regular Meeting February 12, 2008 1. Call to Order Chair Rotty called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Stokes, Rotty, Barker, Bonar, Larson Members Absent: None Also Present: Tony Wippler - Assistant City Planner, Lee Smick - City Planner, Mark Snider, Gale Sprute, Jim Manthey, Ann Manthey, Fred Schmidt, Shelly White-Newland Communities, Brian Johnson- Westwood, Wade Wiebold, Tim Wiebold 2. Election of Officers and Appointments to Committees The two newly appointed Planning Commissioners were introduced; Mr. Douglas Bonar and Geoffery Stokes. Chair Rotty informed the audience that there were six public hearings rescheduled to February 26th due to lack of required notice in the newspaper. Dirk Rotty was nominated for Chair and Todd Larson was nominated for Vice Chair. MOTION by Larson second by Stokes to nominate Rotty for Chair. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Barker, second by Stokes to nominate Larson for Vice Chair. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. At their January 22,2008 meeting, the City Council approved Todd Larson to be on the Farmington Empire Planning Advisory Committee (EFPAC) and the Castle Rock Discussion Group. Chair Rotty and Commissioner Larson will also continue to be on the MUSA Review Committee. 3. Approval of Minutes a) January 8, 2008 MOTION by Larson, second by Barker to approve the January 8, 2008 Minutes. ABSTAINED: Rotty and Bonar, VOTED FOR: Larson, Stokes, Barker. MOTION CARRIED. b) January 15,2008 MOTION by Barker, second by Stokes to approve the January 15,2008 Minutes. ABSTAINED: Bonar and Larson, VOTED FOR: Barker, Stokes, Rotty. MOTION CARRIED. 4. Public Hearings a) Fairhill Comprehensive Plan Amendment, PUD, and Preliminary Plat - Cont. Applicant: Newland Communities This item has been before the commission for a number of reviews over the past few years. The project is before the Commission tonight to review the Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Schematic PUD, and First Phase Preliminary Plat. The Fairhill Development is 965 acres, there will be between 2,201 and 3,896 total housing units at built out. In 2006, the Planning Commission and City Council approved a Comprehensive Plan Amendment for this property. At that time, that layout for the Planning Commission Minutes February 12, 2008 Page 2 property was different that what is being proposed tonight. The revised plan has 29 acres of mixed use residential, 513 acres of low density residential, 45 acres of low/medium density residential, 120 acres of medium density, 42.3 acres of park and open space (in the first phase), 5 acres of public/semi-public and 210 acres of open space, right of way and floodplain. The major difference from the original submittal is a decrease in the amount of acres being designated low/medium density and an increase in the low density residential. The low/medium density lots would be 45 feet wide. The overall concept plan includes a large mixture of styles and sizes of lots. There would be a large community park in the southwest corner of the development. The P ARAC is satisfied with the number of park acres and the location of trails. The front yard setback proposed would be 12 feet with a side yard setback of6 feet for interior lots and 12 feet for corner lots and a rear yard setback of 10 feet. Due to the fact that this is a PUD they are asking for a variance to the City's standard setback requirements. The lots widths proposed are 45,55,65 and 75 feet wide. The applicant is asking for 50% lot coverage for the 45 foot wide lots, 45% for the 55 foot, 40% for the 65 foot, and 35% for the 76 foot wide lots. The maximum building height limit would be 45 feet. On the initial plat, the extension of 195th Street would be the primary access to the development. The layout differs from the previous version in that it is a much more standard subdivision type application. Phase 1 would be 241 residential lots. The breakdown by lots widths would be 16 - 75 foot wide lots, 49 - 65 foot wide lots, 93 - 55 foot wide lots and 83 - 45 foot wide lots. The gross density is 2.44 dwelling units per acres and the net density is 2.64. The extension of 195th Street would be included in the first phase of the development. The remaining phases of the development would be platted as outlots. The applicant is proposing boulevard trees throughout the development. The homeowner's association will be responsible for the maintenance of the trees. There will be an informational center and homeowner's association facility with this first phase. The conditions to approval of the preliminary plat would center on three outlot requirements. One outlot would be for the 42 acre community park; one for a portion of the future Diamond Path Road; and an outlot of approximately 1 acre for the water tower site. Therefore staff is recommending the following contingencies: 1. Provide an outlot for the community park in the southwest corner of the F airhill development. 2. Provide an outlot for that portion of Diamond Path Road that extends north from 195th street thrOUgh the community park to the point of intersection with the southerly extension of 189 Street. 3. Provide an outlot approximately 1 acre in size for the City's water tower to be built with this development. . . Peter Coyle from Newland Communities stated that the housing market has caused them to have to reexamine the development and look at how the market will be in the years to come. He stated that the changes that they have made are to provide more flexibility for future platting. He identified one of the major changes in the plan as the removal of the ring road concept. This change reduces the amount of grading and site work that will need to be done. They are still showing a substantial park area in . the plan and the large central park. The first phase shows the type of product that will be most likely saleable in the near future. With regard to the density on the west side of the plan, which is the 45 foot lots, this is conceptual in nature. Newland still . Planning Commission Minutes February 12,2008 Page 3 continues to show large open space areas in this property with roughly six miles of trails throughout the development. Mr. Coyle stated that they are still committed to the construction of 195th Street and they intend to begin construction in 2008. He stated that the construction of the road is actually a city project; Newland would not actually be building the road. The development will be phased but there is no exact number of phases set. The increase of the low density acreage results in deeper lots (110-120 feet in depth). There are still 45 foot lots but there are no longer alley loaded lots. The applicant stated that the smaller lots are becoming more prominent throughout the country. The plan emphasizes smaller private lots and larger open spaces. There has been no determination of if the lots would have a homeowners association to provide the upkeep to the lots or if that would be up to the individual homeowner. Commissioner Larson asked what the plans are for 194th Street. On the new plan the road configuration has changed. There is still a connection shown on the plan but there will be a future discussion during the public hearing process regarding this street connection. . Commissioner Barker stated that he is concerned about the 45 foot lots on the west side of the development. He feels that there should be more transition from the adjacent R-llots. He feels that there are too many small lots. Commissioner Larson stated that he feels that the balance of smaller and larger lots needs to be evened out more. He is also concerned about the six foot side yard setback. He stated that there has been discussion regarding increasing the six foot side yard setback requirement that currently exists in the city. For the 45 foot lots the largest opportunity for a building pad size would be 33 feet wide by 75 feet deep. City staff stated that the 45 foot lots could potentially be an opportunity for more affordable housing as well. Mr. Coyle reiterated that this is a concept plan for the future phases. They have no way to know what the market will be like when those areas actually get built out. Commissioner Barker stated that agreeing to this type of layout in the PUD allows for this many small lots to be built if it is desired by the applicant. The net densities were figured according to the information provided on page 12 of the PUD handout. Commissioner Larson stated that there are 22 cul-de-sacs in the plan and the school busses have difficulty getting down them at the current width. The cu-de-sacs need to be 120 feet wide with no landscape island. The longest cul-de-sac on the concept plan may potentially need a variance because it is over 600 feet long. The applicant stated that the additional cul-de-sacs are due to the topography. They stated that changing the width of the paved surfaces of the cul-de-sacs will significantly change the plan. Commissioner Bonar stated that perhaps the requirement for a variance for a cul-de-sac could be contingent on the line of sight being maintained. Commissioner Bonar stated that he also has concerns about the number of 45 and 55 foot wide lots and this is a ten fold increase to the number f lots of this type in the City of Farmington. He also asked if there would be issues for parking of multiple vehicles on the smaller lots. Mr. Coyle stated that the 50 foot right of way was found to be acceptable to the city engineering department. There will only be parking allowed on one side. Commissioner Stokes stated that he likes the idea of having a variety of sizes of lots. He also asked if the placement of the water tower creates any kind of issue. Mr. Coyle stated that they took the placement of the water tower into consideration in the design of the plan. Chair Rotty stated that he is impressed that the developer is still bringing the development forward given the state of the . Planning Commission Minutes February 12, 2008 Page 4 economy. He stated that he is alright with the connection of 194th. He stated that the lot widths will be determined by the market at the time of build out. Staff stated that everything that needs to be submitted has been submitted. The final PUD will come at a later date. The preliminary plat is for Phase 1 only. Commissioner Barker stated that he is alright with the number of 45 foot lots for the first phase even though he thinks it is a very large percentage, but he may not be for future preliminary plats. Commissioner Barker asked staff if approving the PUD as it is, will lock the city into the number of 45 foot wide lots shown. Mr. Coyle stated that the preliminary plat is only for Phase 1 and the number of lots and sizes for the rest of the development is conceptual and approving the Comprehensive Plan Amendment only identifies the types of uses not the exact mix of lots. Staff stated that the PUD is a template but it does not identify the exact layout of lots. Chair Rotty stated that the Planning Commission will still need to approve each plat. Staff stated that they could get a written response from the City Attorney defining what the agreement locks the city into. Staff will also give a description of what each of these agreements defines. Newland Communities will bring an example of a home on a 45 foot lot for the commissioners to see. The Commissioners agreed that they would be able to approve the first phase and would like to get the questions answered by City Staff and the City Attorney to move forward on all three issues at the February 26th special meeting. MOTION by Larson, second by Stokes to extend the public hearing until February 22nd. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. Discussion a) Allina Medical Clinic Site Plan Allina Medical Clinic brought the sketch plan for their project to the Planning Commission in December of2007. They are proposing a 13,468 square foot building and are looking at beginning construction this spring. The lot is located on Highway 3 just north of their existing facility. The overall plan is to split the northern portion ofthe lot for future development. There will need to be a waiver of plat prior to the development of the second half of the lot. They are showing two phases to their construction and showing a 5,000 square foot expansion area. They are meeting all 0 the setbacks and lot coverages for the B-1 zone with this plan. With the first phase they would be at 13.73% lot coverage and with the expansion space they would b at 18.83% and this is after the lot split. There will be one access to this site off of 9th Street. The parking wraps around the western side of the building. There will be 85 parking stalls which also meets the requirement. There will be a 5 foot bituminous trail along 9th Street and an 8 foot bituminous trail along the south side. Randy Distad would like to see the 5 foot trail expanded to 8 feet. This could potentially cause the trail to be located in the easement. If they would like to leave the trail at 5 feet they could make it a concrete sidewalk instead. The dumpster location is in the southeast corner of the parking lot and this allows for easy pick up of solid waste. There will be screening of the dumpster as well. The building will be brick and stucco. The rooftop equipment will be screened with a parapet. As for the utilities, they will be looping the water line as required by the engineering department. Engineering has expressed some concerns regarding a portion of the water line. There are also some concerns regarding landscaping over the water line. One possible . . . . Planning Commission Minutes February 12,2008 Page 5 solution would be to move the water line as far west as possible, but this would move the pipe into the easement area and would reduce the right of way. Permission would most likely needed from MnDOT in the form of a permit. The stormwater is accommodated by the pond that was constructed for Glenview Townhomes. There is an overhead power line that will need to be moved and put underground. Allina is proposing two monument signs; one at the intersection ofTH3 and 213th Street. The second sign is proposed at eight feet in height but would need to be reduced to six feet in height per city code. They are meeting their landscaping requirements. The landscaping is also over the sanitary sewer and staff will work with the applicants engineer to work out the landscaping issues. Staff would recommend approval of the site plan with the contingency that the applicant meets all Planning and Engineering comments. Patrick Giordanna, architect for the applicant, stated that the issues that were raised at the sketch plan stage have been addressed and they have reviewed that staff report and feels that there will be no difficulty addressing the staff comments. The applicant is hoping to be open by November I st. MOTION by Barker, second by Bonar to approve the site plan contingent upon the Planning and Engineering comments. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. . b) Anna's Bananas Daycare Sketch Plan Anna's Banana's Daycare is looking to build a new facility on the northern portion of the lot being built on by Allina Medical Clinic. There could potentially be development to the lot to the north of this parcel which could facilitate connection of 9th Street to 210th Street. The proposed development would be a 13,646 square foot building with a 10,175 square foot play area. There is one access to the site on the north side of the site. The trash enclosure location will not work at its current location. Staff has met with the applicant and there was discussion regarding adding a second access to the site. Commissioner Barker asked ifthe changes to the parking would benefit the site from an accessibility and safety perspective. Staff is looking at other communities to determine what the parking requirement should be. There is currently no minimum requirement in place for daycare parking. Commissioner Larson stated that he would like to see the two accesses to the site. The applicant stated that the fencing for the play yard area would most likely be a PVC type privacy fencing. Commissioner Bonar stated that he would also prefer to see the entrance and exit type access as well. Commissioner Stokes agreed that the entrance/exit circular pattern would be better. He also stated that he would like to verify that the parking is adequate for staff. Chair Rotty stated that staff can work with the developer to determine the best access to the site that would be best. The signs for the facility would be along TH3 and 9th Street. . c) Discuss 2030 Comprehensive Thoroughfare Plan Mr. Wade Wiebold would like to address the Planning Commission regarding the thoroughfare plan as it relates to his property. Mr. Wiebold lives on Akin Road and would like to either sell or split his property. There is a right-of- way for the extension of 203rd Street that is on a portion of his property. This Planning Commission Minutes February 12, 2008 Page 6 would provide an east/west corridor through the City, but there are some engineering challenges to putting the road in due to the grade of the site and the wetlands. The proposed right of way could be 70 feet wide or more. The City Development Committee did not feel that they would like to lose the opportunity to extend 203rd Street. Mr. Wiebold stated that he owns a tree sales and moving service. His current location is not large enough so he decided to put his property on the market and divide it into to parcels to maximize the value. He obtained the waiver of plat guidelines and discussed the options with City staff and was informed about the potential future roadway. He has had the property on the market for about a year and no one has wanted to buy the parcel due to the future roadway. He has a potential purchaser for the property but the right of way is an issue that must be resolved before he can move forward with a sale. Chair Rotty stated that with the Comprehensive Plan Update the thoroughfare plan is being looked at. Staff stated that 203rd is the only location for a local east/west corridor that provides an opportunity that they can identify. The extension of the road was discussed at length when the Mystic Meadows development went in. Staff stated that bringing this item to the City Council to discuss the possible purchase ofthe property might be an option. Commissioner Larson stated that he would not be willing to give up the option of 203rd Street unless there was another viable option. Councilmember Dave Pritzlaff asked if there was a potential to do a feasibility study for 203rd Street or potentially put the roadway more north. Staff stated that there are more wetland issues further north on the property. Chair Rotty stated that ordering a feasibility study would be a topic that staff and the City Council would have to discuss. Mr. Wiebld stated that he would just like a definite answer on exactly where the road is going to go. . . 6. Adjourn MOTION by Barker, second by Larson to adjourn. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Approved Lisa Dargis Administrative Assistant . - <" ~ . f>.o ~ ~ ~ ~ . . == 1--4 = bJ) .- eI) ~ 00 = ~ ...... ~ ~ ~ ~ <i ~ - o ~.- o ~ -:J'. "" D -- J ~ ,~ ~ "--... ~.~ ~ ~ ~ ~ \:.)