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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.14.23 Planning MinutesCITY OF FARMINGTON PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING February 14,2023 kNEEMENTAWIYONOW, The meeting was called to order by Chair Rotty at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Rotty, Lehto, McAbee, Windschit], Tesky Members Absent: None Staff Present: Tony Wippler, Planning Manager a) Election of Officers Planning Manager Wippler asked for nominations from the Planning Commission for the election of Chair and Vice Chair for 2023. MOTION by Lehto, second by Windschitl to nominate Dirk Rotty as Chair. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Rotty, second by Lehtoto nominate Krista Tesky as Vice Chair. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Appointments to Committees Commissioner Wichchitl will serve on the Empire / Farmington Planning Advisory Committee. Commissioner Lehto will serve on the Castle Rock Discussion Group. Commissioner Tesky will servie on the Eureka / Farmington Planning Group. Commissioner Rotty and McAbee will serve on the MUSA Review Committee. MOTION by Windschid, second by McAbee to approve the appointment of Commissioners to committees. 2r APPROVAL OF MINUTES S a) Approve Planning Commission Minutes MOTION by Windschill, second by McAbee to approve the Regular Meeting minutes of the Planning Commission from January 10, 2023. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chair Rotty opened all public hearings. a) Request for a Conditional Use Permit to Allow the Construction of a Market Rate Apartment Building within the B-2 (Downtown Business) Zoning District -- Continued - Chair Rotty opened the public hearing. Planning Manager Wippler shared a Power Point presentation outlining the redevelopment of the property at 310 Third Street into a new 4-story market rate apartment building. There will be 74 units consisting of 1-bedroom, 1-bedroom and den and 2-bedroom units. The common area amenities include, Sky lounge on level 4, outdoor rooftop terrace on level 4, grill stations, bike storage, storage rooms, main lobby lounge, community room, fitness center, pet wash and mailroom. The main entrance will be located off of Third Street. Parking will consist of 105 off street parking stalls.: • 1st level parking within building: 63 stalls • Exterior parking (portion of property to be purchased by developer from the City - highlighted in orange on the attached Certificate of Description): 17 stalls • Exterior parking (portion of Second Street parking lot be used for private parking - highlighted in green on the attached Certificate of Description): 25 stalls Planning Commission Minutes February 14, 2023 Page 2 Our City Attorney has advised that the roadway for Second Street from Elm Street to the pedestrian walkway located to the south of the redevelopment site be vacated in accordance with State Statute. The vacation will require a public hearing at the City Council and this has been scheduled for the March 6, 2023 City Council meeting. Additionally, the applicant wishes to enter into a use agreement with the city to exclusively utilize the northern most 25 stalls of the existing Second Street parking lot. The applicant is proposing to keep a connection to Elm Street, however, they propose to modify it from its current three-quarter design to just a right out. The applicant will have to obtain County approvals and permits for this modification. The applicant must keep the access to Elm Street open for fire lane purposes. Pam Heikkila, owner of 345 31d Street, expressed concerns over the proposed redevelopment and the strain the use may have on an already existing parking problem in the downtown. Steve Hobbs, owner of 212 Oak Street, was curious how traffic would be funneled through downtown if Second Street were to be closed. He also expressed concern on the overall height of the building and how it could potentially cast a shadow on the sidewalk in front of his business. Chair Rotty mention this would be a change for the community and people would have to adapt. Second Street will not be entirely closed with this project. Commissioner Tesky stated that this property is a gateway into the downtown business district and that having a retail component at the street level would be nice however that will not be happening with this project. Commissioner Tesky believes this is a good project with life being brought in to the downtown. Commissioner Tesky does believe parking could be an issue and is wondering if there is a way we could look at parking as a whole in the community and if there is a better way to sign it. Commissioner Windschitl inquired about the northern 25 parking stalls of the Second Street parking lot and wanted verification that these are the stalls that would require a maintenance agreement and would be reserved for the tenants of the apartment building. Staff stated that the maintenance of that area would fall to the owner of the apartment building as those spaces would be reserved for the tenants. Commissioner Windschitl also believes parking is an issue but that more open communication on where open parking spaces/lots are located would be beneficial. Commissioner Windschitl likes the fact that this development is coming to our community and feels it will attract a lot of people to downtown. Pam Heikkila wanted the Planning Commission to pause this project and wait for commercial or retail to fill this site and ask the business owners face to face if this is what they want. She feels the downtown community does not want this project. Planning Commission Minutes Februaty 14, 2023 Page 3 Commissioner Windschitl feels this will be great for businesses downtown and this is the opportunity to bring people to live and shop downtown. Commissioner Lehto thinks this is a good project but shares the same concerns as the other Commission members regarding parking and traffic flow. She likes the idea of trying to address that through signage to show people where they can park. Commissioner Lehto inquired as to how many of the 74 units would be ADA accessible and what the price range and square footage is for the market rate apartments. Greg Hayes, Ebert Construction, stated that they are required by building code to provide a certain amount of ADA compliant units and that they will comply with those requirements. Those units will be identified in the permit plans. A typical 1-bedroom apartment will be between $1,500 - $1,800 a month. Commissioner McAbee thanked the business owners who came to the public hearing this evening. She agreed with the other commission members that this is a good project and it will bring additional people to the downtown. She agrees there are parking concerns in the downtown but feels there are areas available for parking that may be underutilized and that additional signage could help with that. Commissioner McAbee feels the benefits of this project outweigh the parking challenge. Planning Manager Wippler showed a map that shows the available public parking within the downtown. There are 300 public parking spaces between city owned parking lots and on street parking. Chair Rotty inquired about the breakdown of types of units proposed within the building, specifically 2-bedroom units. Greg Hayes, Ebert Construction, stated there would be 7 2-bedroom units and then a combination of I-bedrrom and 1-bedroom plus den. Chair Rotty mentioned typically with 2-bedroom apartments you would anticipate there would be more vehicles thereby needing more parking. This project is minimizing the number of 2-bedroom apartments. Chair Rotty inquired if there is a need for an emergency exit for the underground parking. Mr. Hayes stated that no there isn't for vehicles, There will be three separate ways for people to exit the parking area. Chair Rotty inquired about snow removal on this site. Mr. Hayes stated this is a common issue with most apartment complexes and involves loading and hauling the snow off site, A management company has not yet been identified for this apartment. Mr. Hayes did mentioned it will likely be one of a few they have utilized in the past. There will always be a manager on site to deal with the day-to-day operations of the building. The design model of Ebert Construction is to retain ownership of the building. Chair Rotty inquired about the construction timeframe for this project. Mr. Hayes indicated that it will be approximately 14-month construction process from start to end. They would like to start construction late this summer early fall ideally. Chair Rotty inquired about construction stagging and whether or not the developer has thought about that. Mr. Hayes mentioned that stagging is usually staged off the backside of the building. Generally once the materials are brought to site they are immediately brought to the Planning Commission Minutes Febwaty 14,2023 Page 4 building for installation and that materials are stacked generally for long periods of time. Dumpsters would be on the backside as well. Chair Rotty asked if there is a plan if they find they need additional parking in the future. Mr. Hayes stated that if that were to happen, they would have to work with city staff to see if there are other options that could be available for additional parking stalls. Linden Dungy, owner Immanuel Dental, inquired about the designated parking stalls that are proposed for the development and if these account for visitors. These spaces do account for visitors. Steve Hobbs asked if the city has looked at adding a parking garage as part of this development. Karen Wisdorf, 341 Third Street, mentioned that parking is a concern for the downtown and wonder about the status of the plaza that was proposed at the Rambling River Center as that could impact the amount of parking stalls available. Staff indicated that the currently is not funding for that plaza. Chair Rotty stated this is an opportunity for the businesses in the downtown and will support it. MOTION by Tesky, second by Windschitl, to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED, MOTION by Windschid, second by Lehto to approve the Conditional Use Permit subject to the following conditions: 1. Satisfaction of all Engineering comments. 2. The submission and approval of all building and fire permits as deemed necessary to establish the use. 3. Vacating the portion of Second Street to be conveyed to the applicant. 4. Approval of a waiver of plat to split the portion of City owned property off in order for it to be conveyed to the applicant. S. A lot combination must occur with the portion of city owned property to be split and conveyed with the 310 Third Street parcel. 6. An access easement and maintenance agreement shall be entered into allowing public access through the property to be conveyed to the applicant for both public parking in the southern portion of the Second Street parking lot along with providing access to Elm Street and outlining the maintenance responsibilities for the exclusively used area of the Second Street parking lot, respectively 7. The connection to Elm Street (CSAH 50) and all improvements in County right-of-way will require County approval. Planning Commission Minutes February 14,2023 Page 5 4. DISCUSSION a) Determination if Sale of Real Property is Consistent with the Comprehensive Plan - As the Commission is aware, Ten Nineteen Development, LLC is working towards the redevelopment of 3 10 Third Street as a 74-unit market rate apartment building. As part of this redevelopment, the city is working with Ten Nineteen Development, LLC on the possible lot split (waiver of plat) and conveyance of a portion of city owned property known as the Second Street parking lot for utilization of private parking for the proposed apartment building. As part of that conveyance the Planning Commission must make a determination that the sale of the property is consistent with the city's comprehensive plan. MOTION by Windschitl second by Tesky to adopt the Resolution Approving the Sale of Real Property Consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan, APIF, MOTION CARRIED, h) Resolution Finding Redevelopment Plan and TIE Plan Consistent with General Plans for the Development and Redevelopment of the City as a Whole -- Planning Manager Wippler introduced the resolution to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission must make a determination that the proposed redevelopment plan and TIF plan is consistent with the general plans for the development and redevelopment as a whole. MOTION by Lehto second by McAbee to adopt the Resolution indicating that the plans conform to the general plans for development and redevelopment of the City as a whole. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) Hanifl Subdivision Sketch Plan - 19927 Akin Road - Jacob Steen (applicant), on behalf of Kerry Hanifl (property owner), has requested a sketch plan review for a proposed subdivision of the property located at 19927 Akin Road. The property contains two parcels in which the applicant is proposing to subdivide into three separate buildable lots. Staff has concerns about adding additional driveways onto Akin Road, Staff would prefer a shared access and branching off to access easements. Commission members agreed with the driveway issues and asked staff to work with Plamiing Manager Wippler. If this plan proceeds further a utility plan will have to be submitted that shows how sanitary sewer and water will be provided to the lots. S. ADJOURN MOTION by Tesky, second by Windschitl to adjourn at 8:2 6 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Tony Wippler Planning Manager