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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 [09] Sep 10September 10, 2007 Page 1 of 5 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the Cit of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, September 10, 2007 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Chair Bob Loso, Ross Rieke, Sr. Kathleen Kalinowski, Mike Deutz, Mark Andersen, Dale Wick, Jim Graeve, City Administrator Judy Weyrens Others Present: Bryce Deter Approve Agenda: Deutz made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Andersen. Additions Graeve asked to add a public service announcement after the discussion on Interim Use Permits. The motion passed unanimously. Minutes: Deutz made a motion to approve the minutes of July 2 adding Rieke to the members present. The motion was seconded by Kalinowski. Ayes: Loso, Deutz, Kalinowski, Rieke, Andersen, Graeve Nays: None Abstain: Wick Motion Carried 6:0:1 Deutz made a motion to approve the minutes of August 6 with minor changes per Kalinowski. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. Public Hearing, Interim Use Permit: Chair Loso 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 in an R-1 Single- Family zoning district. The property is legally described as Lot 1, Block 3, Northland Plat 7. The request was submitted by Bryce Deter, 106 Jasmine Lane. Weyrens stated that the City Offices received a complaint about the number of vehicles parked on the property and a compliance order was sent to the property owner. Mr. Deter responded to the compliance order stating that he was renting and unaware of the Ordinance requirements. Loso opened the hearing to the public and with no one wishing to speak the hearing was closed. Bryce Deter spoke on his own behalf. He stated that was aware of the complaints from the neighbors regarding the parking on the lawn. In addition he confirmed that he contacted the City after receiving the compliance order. Deutz made a motion to recommend the City Council accept the findings of the Planning Commission and issue an Interim Use Permit for an owner occupied rental at 106 Jasmine Lane. The motion was seconded by Kalinowski. Discussion: Andersen stated that he spoke to the neighbors and they have no complaints and they seem to be good neighbors. Wick questioned the number of tenants that will be living in the home. Deter stated that there will be 4 including himself, a friend and his two sisters. Graeve then questioned if a rental inspection was done to which Deter stated the inspector had already been there. The motion passed unanimously. Public Hearing, Interim Use Permit: Chair Loso 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 in an R-1 Single- Family zoning district. The property is legally described as Lot 12, Block 1, Loso's 4th Addition. The request was submitted by William Capecchi, 209 E Minnesota Street. Loso opened the hearing to the public. September 10, 2007 Page 2 of 5 Capecchi approached the Commissioners on his own behalf. He stated that he recently returned from serving in Iraq and purchased the home at 209 E Minnesota Street to live in while he completes his studies at St. John's University. To help offset some costs; Capecchi stated he would like to secure a rental license to lease to two other persons. Weyrens stated that Capecchi has completed the process required to secure an interim use permit, including the required rental inspection. Roger Buening, Minnesota Street E, stepped up and introduced himself to Mr. Capecchi and welcomed him to the neighborhood. He stated that he is asking Mr. Capecchi for respect. He then spoke to the commissioners about recent problems that have occurred with other student renters in their neighborhood. In his opinion, the Interim Use Permits are being misused within the City as they are being used as a Business in a R1 neighborhood. He recommended that a moratorium be placed on Interim Use Permits within the R1 zoning district. Nettie Pfannenstein, 208 E Ash Street, also approached the Commissioners to state her concerns as well as welcome Mr. Capecchi to the neighborhood. She stated that she and her husband live across the alley from this property and there were compliance issues with the previous homeowner. In her opinion, there are some issues with the enforcement of the Interim Use Permits and the requirement of those properties being owner occupied. The public hearing was closed. Andersen questioned Weyrens as to how many Interim Use Permits have been issued in the neighborhood being discussed. Weyrens stated that within the entire City there are only seven Interim Use Permits and none are located along Ash Street East. Deutz made a motion to recommend the City Council accept the findings of the Planning Commission and issue an Interim Use Permit for an owner occupied rental at 209 East Minnesota Street. The motion was seconded by Kalinowski Due to a conflict of interest, Sr. Kalinowski stepped down. St. Benedict's Monastery - Marmion Building: Weyrens advised the Commissioners that the Sisters of St. Benedict are planning to construct a new three story residential structure adjacent to the St. Joseph Catholic Church. Earlier this year a structure was demolished to accommodate a new residential facility . There are a few items of concern regarding the new facility: ^ Parking: Currently, their plans do not show adequate parking spaces as they must comply with the parking requirements as outlined in the Ordinance. She stated that the only way to approve the plan with less parking would be to consider a variance. Loso argued that the residents who will be occupying the new facility do not drive or own vehicles. Graeve stated that in his opinion the Monastery of St. Benedict have enough common space which can be used as parking. Further as stated by Loso, the Sisters of St. Benedict do not have single ownership of a vehicles. Weyrens stated that, although they have enough space, they must still meet the parking standards as set by the Ordinance. ^ Lof Coverage: The plans that have been submitted show lot coverage being greater than 50%. Dan Tietman, GLT Architects, approached the Commissioners on behalf of the Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph. He stated that he understands the issues addressed by the City; however, the new building will house equal to or fewer residents than the previous residential facility. There will not be additional sisters moving to the monastery. He stated that the Sisters of St. Benedict owner a large tract of land which includes several buildings. They will not exceed 50% of the total tract of land. Sr. Kara Hennes spoke to the Commissioners on behalf of the Monastery. She stated that based on the current Ordinances, they would be required to provide 4 spaces for each 3BR dwelling and 1.25/additional BR which would equal 48 spots required. Hennes then stated that the Sisters do not own September 10, 2007 Page 3 of 5 their own vehicles and many of them do not drive. The Monastery has 38 fleet parking spaces, 32 guest parking spaces as well as a garage. Weyrens advised Hennes that they would need to apply for a variance which could be discussed by the Planning Commission on Oct 1 and the City Council on Oct 4. She added that the new rules would apply to this development as it is new construction. Wick made a motion to table the Development Plan for the St. Benedict Monastery until October 1, 2007. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously. Kalinowski returned to join the commissioners and Deutz stepped down due to a conflict of interest. Public Hearing -Preliminary Plat. Northland Hills: Chair Loso called the hearing to order and stated that the purpose of the hearing is to consider a Preliminary Plat entitled Northland Hills. The proposed plat was submitted by MG Development. Weyrens stated that the proposed plan is located adjacent to the Norhtland Plan developed by Lumber One. In fact, when Northland was presented to the Planning Commission as a preliminary plan, the property being platted at this time was illustrated as a ghost plat. The plat being presented is consistent with previous plans for this area. Weyrens advised the Commissioners that the developer has satisfied the issues as identified by the City Engineer. Linda Brown of Boonestroo, spoke to the commissioners on behalf of the developer. She stated that the plat contains 10 lots on 5.1 acres. The average lot size is 19,750 sq. ft. which is larger that what is required by Ordinance. Weyrens stated that all plats are required to connect to the City Trail system. Other than using the street, the developer could be required to construct a sidewalk on one side of the street. Brown questioned why they need to provide sidewalks as there are no trails there to connect to and stated that adding sidewalk would be detrimental to the plat. Loso advised the developer that there are no sidewalks as this was not a requirement when the first few Northland Plats were constructed. There was a lot of discussion over different possibilities for connecting to the trail system. The hearing was open to the public. Roger Klein, 600 4tn Avenue NE, approached the commissioners to question whether or not this whole area will be clear cut. Deutz advised Klein that they do not plan to remove any trees that do not need to be removed due to right-of-way and easements. The public hearing was closed. Graeve questioned whether all issues addressed by the Engineer have been met to which Weyrens stated they have been. Kalinowski then questioned Weyrens as to whether or not there are any contingencies relating to approval of the plat. Weyrens stated that the plat entitled Northland Hills is a relatively small plan that is an island that will not have future impacts. Therefore the only contingencies are the execution of the Development Agreement and payment of the platting fees. With reference to the park dedication fees, Rieke questioned whether or not they could pay additional park dedication fees in lieu of a trail in the development. Weyrens stated that that would not be an option. She then advised the commissioners that the developer is seeking approval of the plat without the trail due to the impact it would have on the development. She also added that they can approve it without the trail as the right-of- way can serve as the access to the trail system. Graeve suggested that the developer stripe the road to include bike lanes; however Weyrens stated that if that is done, then parking would not be allowed on the street. Wick made a motion to recommend the Council approve the preliminary plat for Northland Hills as presented contingent upon execution of a Development Agreement. The Agreement should include satisfaction of all engineering items and the ability to use the public right-of-way for the connection to the trail system. The motion was seconded by Andersen and passed unanimously. September 10, 2007 Page 4 of 5 Public Hearing -Downtown Design Standards: Weyrens advised the Commissioners that the Downtown Committee has been working on some design standards for the Downtown area. They are not looking to incorporate these as Ordinances, rather use them as a planning tool when meeting with new developers. Wick stated that the goal of the Downtown Committee is to preserve the current buildings and add new ones to the downtown as well. Kalinowski confirmed that these are not mandatory. Rieke added that there are funds set aside which are available to businesses to use when implementing these standards into their business. Weyrens stated that the proposed standards were sent to all of the downtown businesses for review and any comments have been given to the Downtown Committee. The Public Hearing was opened and closed as there was no one there wishing to speak. Deutz stated that the document refers to two areas: 1. Core Downtown 2. Greater Downtown He questioned in which area they are looking to implement the proposed design standards. Wick replied that they are looking to implement these standards in the Core Downtown area which includes the following: Both sides of Minnesota Street between College Avenue and First Avenue and bounded by Ash Street with extensions on College Avenue to Ash Street and to just a little beyond Kennedy School. He added that the Greater Downtown expands to Birch Street on the north and to Kennedy School on the South. The document also made mention of review by an Architectural Review Board, which the City currently does not have. Graeve suggested that the City possibly apply for a grant from the Initiative Foundation to create such a board. He also added that the terms mentioned in the document were vague and there should be some definitions added. In response to Deutz's question as to how they came up with these design standards, Wick stated that a few members of the group traveled to different cities such as Naperville, IL and Mankato, MN to look at their downtown areas. With respect to the following item related to parking: 4c. The City will assure that ample on-street and off-street parking is available throughout the downtown area. Loso stated that the word assure is too strong of a word as the City currently is unable to assure ample parking. Rieke made a motion to recommend the Council accept the Design Standards as presented as a working document which can be evolved and expanded as needed. Further the document should be expanded at this time to include a section on definitions. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously. Interim Use Permits -Discussion of effectiveness: Weyrens stated that the City has recently received several requests for Interim Use Permits in the R1 Zoning District. Staff is suggesting that the Commission review the rental provisions in the R1 Zoning District and determine if they are affective or need to be modified. Rieke stated that there are several properties in the City that are operating with an Interim Use Permit with one being across the street from him. He added that they have been great neighbors. Loso suggested that the City place a moratorium on issuing new rental licenses and create a group to discuss the issue of future rentals within the City. According to Rieke, it seems as if the properties with Interim Use permits seem to be under scrutiny due to problems with other rentals within the City. September 10, 2007 Page 5 of 5 Wick stated that the current Ordinance is 5 years old and now would be a good time to review the Ordinance as more and more homes are being purchased and used as a business rather than a residence. The purpose of the Ordinance was to allow rentals in a R1 Zoning District and preserve those neighborhoods. He added that rentals seem to infect certain neighborhoods within the City. Graeve agreed that this Ordinance should be reviewed; however, he would like to have the process be publicized so residents have the opportunity to participate. He added that enforcement seems to be the biggest problem with rental concerns. Deutz agreed with Graeve and stated that less than 1 % of the homes in St. Joseph are operating under an Interim Use Permit and he also believes that enforcement is the issue. Nettie Pfannenstein approached the commissioners and stated that she would like the City to keep the Interim Use Permits from saturating certain neighborhoods. She also added that enforcement of the rules and regulations is the biggest issue. Wick made a motion requesting the City place a 90 day moratorium on rental licenses in the R1 Zoning District to allow the Planning Commission an opportunity to review the rental license provisions and Ordinance as it relates to R1 Zoning Districts. The motion was seconded by Loso. Discussion: Kalinowski questioned the two requests that are currently at the City for consideration. Weyrens stated that those requests would be considered as they were received before the moratorium. Rieke stated that he objects to the moratorium as he feels this is a good Ordinance and enforcement is the issue. According to Wick, a moratorium is needed to prevent future problems that are starting to arise. Deutz also stated that there is no need for a moratorium as there have only been a small number of problems. According to Graeve, a 3-month moratorium is livable as it is not indefinite. Councilor Frank approached the commissioners and stated that this is an enforcement Issue and that there maybe some alternate ways to deal with the problems. He stated that he would like for the City to look into how other Cities handle these types of issues. Ayes: Wick, Loso, Kalinowski, Andersen, Graeve Nays: Rieke, Deutz Motion Carried 5:2:0 Adjourn: Graeve made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. ~c~~a4 Ju y eyre s A mi istrator