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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 [05] May 02May 2, 2005 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, May 2, 2005 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Chair Gary Utsch. Commissioners: Sister Kathleen Kalinowski, Marge Lesnick, Jim Graeve, Bob Loso, Mike Deutz, AI Rassier. City Administrator Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Ken Heinen, Mary Heinen, Linda Hutchinson, Brad Cobb, Herman & Pat Gangl, Mike Phillipp, Maurice Palmersheim, Tom & Linda Gustafson, Rick Schultz, Darwin Erickson Approve Agenda: Kalinowski made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Lesnick. Add Minutes Add Set Special Meeting The motion passed unanimously. Minutes: Rassier made a motion to approve the minutes of April 4, 2005 with the following correction. Page 3 of 4 Change Environmentally Friendly Ordinance to Environmentally Sensitive. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously. Public Hearing -Interim Use Permit. Linda Hutchinson. 133 - 5`h Avenue SE: Chair Utsch opened the public hearing and stated the purpose of the hearing is to consider an Interim Use Permit to allow an owner occupied rental unit in an R-1, Single Family Zoning District. The property is legally described as Lot 005 Block 003 Eastern Park Addition. The property is located at 133 - 5`h Avenue SE. St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.27 subd 5 allows for an Interim Use permit as follows: Residential rental provided the unit is owner occupied and provided the room(s) rented does not contain separate kitchen facilities and is not intended for use an independent residence. For purposes of establishing if the property is owner occupied, the owner must be a natural person and the owner occupying the property has his or her principal residence and must own a fifty percent (50%) or greater interest in the property. Linda Hutchinson, 133 - 5`h Avenue SE, St. Joseph, MN 56374 has submitted the request for Interim Use. Linda Hutchinson spoke on her own behalf. Hutchinson stated that she is an oblate at the Monastery of St. Benedict and recently purchased a home in St. Joseph. She is requesting an Interim Use Permit to secure a rental license to rent to two tenants. Hutchinson stated that moved to St. Joseph to be part of a community and indicated that renting two rooms in her home would provide help provide that sense. At this time Chair Utsch opened the floor to the public. Ken Heinen., 416 Able Street E, approached the Commissioner speaking in opposition to the Interim Use Permit. Heinen stated that his property abuts that property requesting the Interim Use on the North side and he does not want rental property in the neighborhood. He stated that in the past there were rental units in the neighborhood and they disrupted the neighborhood. He that in his opinion if this Interim Use Permit is granted then more residents in the neighborhood might do the same and it will no longer be a residential neighborhood. The Public Hearing was closed at 7:05 PM. Loso made a motion to recommend the Council approve an Interim Use Permit at 133 - 5th Avenue SE allowing an owner occupied rental unit. The motion was seconded by Kalinowski. May 2, 2005 Page 2 of 4 DISCUSSION Utsch stated that issuance of an Interim Use Permit requires that the Permit be renewed annually and the Planning Commission has the ability to cease the rental license if Ordinance violations occur. Utsch stated that rental property in residential neighborhoods is only permitted if the home is owner occupied. This is a significant change from prior years. Heinen asked for clarification on the homeowner needing to own a fifty percent (50%) or greater interest in the property. Utsch stated that the person requesting the Interim Use Permit must be a fee owner of at least 50%. Heinen originally stated that there were some rentals in the neighborhood being discussed, however Deutz stated that he was unaware of any previous rentals in that area. The closest rental that Deutz can recall is on 6th Avenue SE. Heinen stated that previously there was a property in which there were two owners and they each had two unrelated persons living with them, which resulted in six people living in the home. He stated that he had a lot of problems with them. Weyrens advised Heinen that the Planning Commission reviews annually all Interim Use Permits and any Ordinance Violations are considered during this review. Heinen stated that in his opinion the property being discussed at this time does not have adequate parking if an Interim Use Permit is issued. Deutz stated that before the permit is issued, the property would be inspected by the Rental Inspector verifying adequate parking. Utsch stated that he has reviewed the property and parking is available. The motion passed unanimously. Public Hearing - PUD Amendment: Chair Utsch called the hearing to order and stated the purpose of the hearing is to consider an amendment to the Planned Unit Development entitled Graceview Estates. Bob Herges and Rick Heid, 25 - 11th Avenue North, St. Cloud, MN 56301 have submitted the request for PUD Amendment. Weyrens stated that currently the Ordinance does not include a provision or process for amending a PUD. Therefore the City Attorney has prepared the following guidelines for consideration of a PUD Amendment: 1. Does the amendment preserve or detract from the variety of housing types that were present in the original PUD; 2. Does the amendment provide for a more useful allotment of open space and recreational areas; 3. Does the amendment provide greater or lesser preservation/utilization of natural features than the original PUD; 4. Is the amendment preferable to the original plan in that it provides for shorter utilities and streets; 5. Does the amendment provide for the same in proportion of open space and overall dwelling unit density as in the original PUD. Weyrens clarified that the amendment is due in part to a request of adjacent property owners. During the construction design for the 7th Avenue Improvement, the abutting properties requested that the street alignment in Graceview Estates be changed to match Dale Street. The residents have stated that leaving the road in the current configuration will cause excessive light in the single family homes. Rick Heid approached the Commissioners on his own behalf. Heid stated that the PUD Amendment is two fold, one is the request of the City and the second is to change housing styles. The proposed amendment changes the internal street configuration creating a single intersection aligning with Dale Street. Heid stated that he was approached by the City during the planning for the 7th Avenue Improvement to consider amending the plat to assist the residents. The second reason for the amendment is to provide a different style of housing in St. Joseph. The original plan indicated that the area being discussed would be built with a combination of patio homes and attached four-plexes. Heid stated that he is proposing to construct asingle-family home referred to as May 2, 2005 Page 3 of 4 brownstone, which is a narrow two-story townhouse. He further clarified that while the amendment is denser than the original plan, the overall density for Graceview is within the guidelines of the St. Joseph Code of Ordinances. Chair Utsch opened the floor for comments and questions and requested that all comments be limited to three minutes. Rick Schultz, 326 7th Avenue SE, approached the Commissioners to request a map showing both the proposed PUD and the original PUD. Rassier questioned Heid on the different housing styles that they plan to use. Heid stated that the original plan included patio homes and 4-plexes. The revised PUD will include 2 story single-family units. Herman Gangl, 316 7th Avenue SE, approached the Commissioners with following concerns: ^ He was of the understanding that there would be single-family dwelling units along 7th Avenue SE and it appears as though that plan has changed. ^ He questioned how the revised PUD will change the assessments for the street improvement and if the resident's assessments will be reduced. Utsch stated that the assessments would not change as they are already finalized. Weyrens clarified that the developer was assessed at the same rate as the residents and the Council has already conducted the final assessment hearing. Michael Phillipp, 338 7th Avenue SE, addressed the Commissioners with the following concerns: ^ Phillipp stated he is intending to construct a fence and questioned whether or not he would need a permit and if fences are limited to a maximum height. Utsch stated that a Building Permit would be required and the maximum height in a residential area is seven feet. ^ Phillipp questioned if the revised PUD will include adequate storm water construction. Tom Gustafson, 306 7th Avenue SE, stated that he has some concerns with the new housing plan. In reviewing the proposed plan he noticed that the houses will only be separated by ten feet and it is his understanding the Ordinance requires ten feet on each side. Utsch stated that Graceview Estates is developed as a PUD and as such the area where setbacks have been reduced are controlled by an Association. The green area in the association is platted as one large lot and typical setbacks are not applied. Deutz further stated that utilization of a PUD requires a large tract of land and Gustafson is referring to one single family lot. Weyrens clarified that when calculating the maximum density of a PUD, the total square footage of the development is divided by the minim lot size. The end number is the maximum number of housing units that can be constructed on a particular parcel. The developer has the ability to reduce setback providing the maximum density is not exceeded. Linda Gustafson, 306 7th Avenue SE, approached the Commissioner and questioned what benefit the revised PUD has to the residents abutting 7th Avenue NE. She stated that when they purchased their current home on 7th Avenue NE they were told it would be a nice single-family housing development across the street. In her opinion the proposed PUD Amendment is not a residential development and she is concerned that adequate parking is not provided within the development. Pat Gangl, 316 7th Avenue SE, stated it is her opinion that the proposal before the Commission is not single family and the developer should be required to provide larger lots. Herman Gangl, 316 7th Avenue SE, questioned whether or not he could obtain copies of the City Council Meeting tapes when Graceview Estates was first approved. Weyrens stated that the tapes are only kept for 6 months and when the minutes are approved they become the final official document. Gangl stated it is his opinion that the proposed housing types will not be a good transition to the existing housing stock along 7th Avenue SE. Brad Cobb, 333 4th Avenue SE, stated that he is new to the area and that he likes the development. He urged the Commissioners to make sure that the developer keeps up with the trees, trails, and sidewalks as planned. May 2, 2005 Page 4 of 4 There being not further discussion the Public Hearing was closed Discussion: Utsch clarified that Dale Street is 32' wide and questioned if the road in the proposed plat should be the same. He also stated that he would like to get a picture of what the new housing style would look like with detailed setback information. Deutz concurred with Utsch but expressed concern with the density. Deutz stated that based on information presented to the Planning Commission the density of the development has increased by 3,000 square feet and questioned if the developer would consider reducing his density to get closer to the original density of the plat. He stated that perhaps the developer could eliminate one structure to help make the area less dense. Utsch also questioned whether or not there would be a walking path to each home as it appears on the drawing. Heid clarified that there is not a path to each home. After hearing the discussion amongst the Commissioners, Utsch urged the developer to look at the density and transportation network to determine if they could be modified as discussed. Graeve made a motion to table action on the PUD Amendment for Graceview Estates until the developer can provide the additional information requested at the public hearing. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. Special Meeting: Weyrens reported that Northland Heights is ready to begin the Preliminary Plat process. They are requesting a special meeting to get the process started sooner. Meeting Date: May 16, 2005 Time: TBD Adiourn: Deutz made a motion to adjourn at 7:45 PM; seconded by Kalinowski and passed unanimously. ~~ ~ ~ v~~ Jud We rens Ad inistrator