Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006 [06] Jun 05June 5, 2006 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, June 5, 2006 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Chair Gary Utsch. Commissioners: S. Kathleen Kalinowski, Marge Lesnick, Bob Loso, Jim Graeve, AI Rassier, Mike Deutz. City Administrator Judy Weyrens. Citv Representatives Present: City Engineer Tracy Ekola Others Present: Bob Herpes, Jim Fredricks, Richard Hennings Minutes: Deutz made a motion to approve the minutes of May 1, 2006; seconded by Lesnick and passed unanimously. Agenda: Kalinowski made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Graeve and passed unanimously. Chair Utsch stepped down from his chair and turned the meeting over to acting chair Kathleen Kalinowski. Public Hearing, Interim Use Permit - 308 10th Avenue SE: Acting Chair Kalinowski called the hearing to order and stated that 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 1 Block 3, Cloverdale Estates 4th Addition. The property is located at 308 -10th 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 as 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 as his or her principal residence and must own a fifty percent (50%) or greater interest in the property. The request for Interim Use was submitted by Thomas and Ellen Ortmann and Timothy Ortmann. The hearing was opened at 7:05 and closed, as there was no one present wishing to speak. Lesnick questioned Weyrens as to how many other tenants are currently living in the house with Mr. Ortmann. Weyrens replied that he has two tenants. Utsch, being the City's Rental Inspector, approached the commissioners to answer a few questions relating to the rental inspection that was completed prior to the hearing and whether or not those issues had been corrected. Utsch stated that the inspection report is not given to the owner until the permit has been approved. Loso made a motion to adopt the findings of fact recommending the Council issue Interim Use Permit allowing an owner occupied rental unit at 308 -10th Avenue SE. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously. Utsch resumed his chair at 7:10. Public Hearing, Graceview Estates - PUD Amendment: Utsch stated that the purpose of the hearing was to consider an amendment to the PUD entitled Graceview Estates. The PUD Amendment reduces the number of buildable lots in Graceview Estates 4 from 34 to 31. The request for the PUD Amendment was submitted by Pond View Ridge LLP. Bob Herges approached the Commission on behalf of Pond View Ridge LLP. Herges stated that when Graceview was originally platted, consumers where looking for smaller lots. Now, he is seeing a trend June 5, 2006 Page 2 of 4 were consumer's area requesting larger lots. Therefore, he is requesting authorization to reconfigure the portion of Gracview that will be entitled Graceview Estates 4 by removing four lots. The public hearing was opened at 7:10 and closed, as there was no one present wishing to speak. Rassier made a motion to accept the findings of fact and recommend the City Council approve the Amendment to the Plat entitled Graceview Estates. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously. Herges asked for clarification of the zoning in Graceview Estates. A portion of the plat was to be developed as R3, Multiple Family. That portion of the plat included the following: 1 - 60 unit retirement center; 2 - 40 unit apartment buildings; and 8 - ten unit townhomes. The portion of the plat that contains the townhomes and apartment complex are not part of the homeowners association but are intended to be rental units. Herges questioned whether or not his understanding is correct and the townhomes would be rental units. Loso made a motion to clarify that Outlot A and Outlot B where zoned R3, Multiple Family and as such rental licenses would be available upon meeting the license criteria. The motion was seconded by Rassier and passed unanimously. Public Hearing College of St. Benedict -Height Variance: Utsch called the hearing to order and stated that the purpose of the hearing is to consider a sixteen and one-half foot variance on the maximum height of a structure. The Variance is being is being requested to construct a food service facility for the College of St. Benedict. The tower of the facility measures 56.5 feet. The proposed facility will be located on the College of St. Benedict Campus, adjacent to the Clemens Library. St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.35 Subd 6 states: Height Requirements. No building constructed in the Educational Ecclesiastical District shall be more than 3 stories or 40 feet in height. Berming the building does not allow a building to be constructed higher than 40 feet. Elevation for the building shall be determined by the average grade of the land. Steeples and similar unoccupied design features shall conform to the standards set forth in Section 52.12 5(a). The request has been submitted by the College of St. Benedict. Jim Fredricks, Chief Physical Plant/Facilities Management Officer for the College of St. Benedict approached the Commissioners. He stated that currently the College Food Service facility is located in the lower level of the main building, which is owned by the Monastery of St. Benedict. The Monastery has indicated the desire to reclaim the lower level facility. Fredricks stated that in planning the new dining facility, four needs were identified: 1. The current cafeteria is not meeting the needs of the current and future students. 2. The College needs to generate revenue to support their academic enterprise. 3. The College needs additional space for student and College functions. 4. The dietary needs for the monastery are becoming more specialized, requiring a larger facility. Fredricks stated the College is requesting to construct a 2-story dining facility with approximately 50,000 square feet. Currently, the dining facility has a seating capacity of 300; whereas, the new facility will have a seating capacity of 450. The south end of the 2"d floor will be set up for college functions as well as banquets and other events. The facility will be located adjacent to the Clemens Library, replacing the bus stop. The Bus stop will then become part of the new facility. The new facility will be at the heart of campus for convenient access to its primary customers. It will be located near other larger buildings such as the residence halls and the Benedicta Arts Center (BAC). Parking will be more convenient at the new facility, within a five minute walk. June 5, 2006 Page 3 of 4 The public hearing was opened and closed at 7:25, as there was no one present wishing to speak. Loso made a motion to accept the findings of fact and recommend the City Council approve a sixteen and one half foot height variance to allow the construction of a dining facility for the College of St. Benedict. The motion was seconded by Lesnick. Kalinowski questioned the height of the existing tower on the library in relation to the proposed tower for the dining facility. Fredricks stated that he is unsure; however it is higher than that of the dining facility. The variance is being requested to allow for the tower on top of the building. Deutz questioned whether or not all of the outstanding findings have been completed. Fredricks stated that they would be shown on the final plans. Deutz also questioned whether or not they are charged for Storm Sewer. According to Ekola, the College has underground storage of Storm Water and it is discharged at a rate equal to predevelopment rates to a storm water pond on site. Weyrens assured Deutz that the College is billed the same way that other businesses and residents are billed in the City. Ekola added that they may apply for a credit on their storm water fees because they use BMPs. Rassier stated that they need approval of the variance to move to the next stage. Weyrens advised the Commissioners that prior to 2003, there were no height requirements. The motion passed unanimously. Public Hearing, Sand Companies -Variance Request Rear Yard Setback: Chair Utsch opened the hearing and stated that the purpose of the hearing is to consider a variance on the rear yard setback. The variance is needed to correct a building irregularity for the Morningside Town home Development. The variance will correct the setback for one corner of the facility. The property is legally described as Lot 1 Block 3, Morningside Acres 2"d Addition. The request has been submitted by Sand Companies. Richard Hennings, architect with Sand Companies, approached the Council to state that the variance is needed as a result of Otto & Associates submitting the wrong survey. He stated that the town homes were built with financing from MN Housing and when the project was complete, they were required to submit an asbuilt. The error was noticed when the asbuilts were completed. The public hearing was opened and closed at 7:40, as there was no one present wishing to speak. Graeve made a motion to accept the findings of fact and recommend the City Council approve a 6- inch variance on the rear yard setback for the corner of the facility that is encroaching the setback. The motion was seconded by Lesnick. Deutz added that the finding should be changed to delete the portion stating that it is "cost prohibitive to correct the error" as that cannot be used as a reason to approve or deny a request. The motion passed unanimously. Crescent Hills Update: Rassier presented the Planning Commission with an update on the preliminary plat for Crescent Hills. The developer presented the preliminary plat to the Council and requested approval with the removal of only two lots, not the five lots the Planning Commission requested. The motion passed by the City Council 3:2 (Nayes: Rassier, Rieke) Utsch questioned which two lots were removed, as he would rather have them removed from the center than from the outer blocks. Weyrens clarified that the developer removed lots from the side abutting Northland Heights. Utsch stated that it was his opinion that the density be reduced in the center section of the plat as all the lots have drainage easements and it may be difficult to construct and met setback on some of the smaller lots. June 5, 2006 Page 4 of 4 Rassier stated that he explained the Planning Commission discussion to the Council and that 99% of the time the Council accepts the recommendation of the Planning Commission. Graeve added that the developer informed the Planning Commission that the development did not financially work if five lots were removed. Deutz stated it is his opinion that the City will be setting precedence for smaller lots and all developers will be requesting the same. Weyrens disagreed and stated that the developer has meet the density requirements for a PUD and the criteria for utilizing a PUD. The developer of Northland Heights did not meet either requirement, density or utilization criteria. In fact, based on information provided by Lumber One, the average lot size in Northland Heights was only 8,000. In contract the Crescent Hills development is over 11,000 square feet and they are utilizing the PUD process to save some of the existing trees and keep the existing topography. The developer has illustrated that they could develop a standard R1 development; however, that would require mass grading and removal of all the trees. Graeve commented that the City finally has a developer that is willing to consider the environment in the Planning process. Ad~iourn: Loso made a motion to adjourn at 7:55; seconded by Lesnick and passed unanimously. Judy e rens Ad ~ istrator