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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 [09] Sep 08September 8, 2008 Page 1 of 6 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, September 8, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Chair Kathleen Kalinowski, Commissioners Ross Rieke, Mike McDonald, Mike Deutz, Mark Andersen, John Meyer and Dale Wick, City Administrator Judy Weyrens. City Representatives Present: City Engineer Randy Sabart & Mike Kotila, City Attorney Lori Athman Others Present: Michael Patnode, Pok Ye Hughes, William Capecchi, Sarah Pennings, Igor Lenznor, David Desmer, Sam DeLeo, Katherine Kraft, Margaret Hughes, Ellen Wahlstrom, Mariterese Woida, Thomasette Schuler, Sister Kara Hennes, Mimi Bitzen Agenda: Wick made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Andersen and passed unanimously. Minutes: Meyer made a motion to approve the minutes of August 4, 2008; seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. Public Hearing -Interim Use Permit. 117 4th Avenue SE: 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 in an R-1 Single-Family zoning district. The property is legally described as Lot 10 Block 4, Eastern Park Addition. 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 all owners must occupy the property as their principal residence. The owners may not exceed two in number. For purposes of determining ownership, the owner/owners must provide a copy of a recorded deed or recorded contract for deed. A purchase agreement will not be accepted as evidence of ownership. Michael Patnode, 117 4th Avenue SE, St. Joseph, MN 56374 has submitted the request for Interim Use. As there was no one present wishing to speak, the hearing was opened and closed at 7:05 PM. Patnode approached the Commissioners to speak on behalf of his request for Interim Use Permit. Patnode stated that he is requesting an Interim Use Permit to operate a rental unit to help offset the mortgage. Commissioners questioned whether or not he resides at the home, to which Patnode replied that he works in Princeton and has been staying at his parents' house during the summer, however, his primary residence is St. Joseph. McDonald questioned why, if he is living in St. Joseph, was his City mail returned to the City Offices marked "undeliverable, no forwarding address". Patnode responded that during the summer he spent a considerable amount of time at his parent's house and the mail was not picked up on a regular basis. Once the mailbox was full, the Postmaster stopped delivering the mail, Deutz questioned whether or not the City utility bills are paid to current or if they have been returned as well. Patnode stated that he has just brought his utility bills to current. Anderson questioned Patnode as to where he resides, to which he responded, St. Joseph. He further stated that he is looking for employment in the St. Cloud area and will reside at his home. Kalinowski questioned Patnode as to the number of people living in the home to which he stated that he lives there with two others. Rieke again questioned where Patnode lives to which he responded St. Joseph and after further questioning he responded that he does live at 117 - 4th Avenue SE. McDonald made a motion to recommend Council accept the findings of fact, issuing an Interim Use permit to Michael Patnode, allowing an owner occupied rental at 117 4th Avenue SE. The recommendation includes the following contingencies: September 8, 2008 Page 2 of 6 1. The rental license in non-transferable . 2. Approval of the Rental Housing Inspector 3. The Planning Commission will review the license annually and revoke the license if the property is in violation of the St. Joseph Code of Ordinances. 4. The City Office will place a notice in the St. Joseph Newsleader when the owner occupied rental licenses are reviewed and will accept public comments. The motion was seconded by Wick. Discussion: Anderson questioned how often the Interim Use permit is renewed. Weyrens advised him that they are reviewed annually. He then stated that he has been advised that there are more than three people living in the home. If there are indeed more than the allowed number of tenants, Andersen questioned the process. Weyrens stated that if it is determined that there are more than three living in the home, the Planning Commission would have the opportunity to revoke the Interim Use permit. Ayes: Kalinowski, McDonald, Deutz, Andersen, Wick, Meyer Nays: Rieke Motion Carried 6:1:0 Public Hearing -Interim Use Permit, 415 7`h Avenue SE: Kalinowski opened the public hearing 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 3 Block 2, Graceview Estates 3. 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 all owners must occupy the property as their principal residence. The owners may not exceed two in number. For purposes of determining ownership, the owner/owners must provide a copy of a recorded deed or recorded contract for deed. A purchase agreement will not be accepted as evidence of ownership. Crystal Hughes & Poke Ye Hughes, 415 7`h Avenue SE, St. Joseph, MN 56374 have submitted the request for Interim Use. As there was no one present wishing to speak, the hearing was opened and closed at 7:15 PM Mimi Bitzen approached the Commissioners with Pok Ye Hughes to address the request for Interim Use. She stated that Pok has been a resident of the Central Minnesota area for the past twenty years. Previously, she has owned a restaurant in the area. Bitzen added that Pok has been in contact with St. John's Prep School and has volunteered to be an Interim Host Mother to mentor international students. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. She advised the Commissioners that Pok will be living in the home full-time. Rieke stated that based on the information, he feels that the Interim Use Permit was not intended for this type of use. He questioned whether there will be more than two others in the home at one time. According to Weyrens, this type of use would meet the guidelines for an Interim Use Permit as there would always be two renters in the home. As there may be students staying there during vacations, Rieke questioned whether that would create a conflict. Weyrens stated it would be no different than other residents having visitors in their home. Deutz made a motion to recommend Council accept the findings of fact, issuing an Interim Use permit to Crystal and Pok Ye Hughs, allowing an owner occupied rental at 415 - 7th Avenue SE. The recommendation includes the following contingencies: 1. The rental license in non-transferable . September 8, 2008 Page 3 of 6 2. Approval of the Rental Housing Inspector 3. The Planning Commission will review the license annually and revoke the license if the property is in violation of the St. Joseph Code of Ordinances. 4. The City Office will place a notice in the St. Joseph Newsleader when the owner occupied rental licenses are reviewed and will accept public comments. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. College of St. Benedict -Zoning Amendment: Recently, the College of St. Benedict approached the City with a request to construct a bus stop- o~Avenue SW in the backyard of 222 West Minnesota Street. Currently the property is zoned R1 Single-Family and is owned by the College of St. Benedict. Weyrens stated that the Commissioners are being asked whether they would like to see this area rezoned to E & E or consider a special use permit to allow for a bus stop in a R1 zoning district. Deutz stated that he does not believe the area should be rezoned as there are enough E & E areas in town. Andersen agreed with Deutz. Meyer stated that it would be best to consider a Special Use Permit rather than the rezoning. Based on consensus of the Commissioners, the City will hold a public hearing on October 13, 2008 to consider a Special Use Permit to allow for the construction of a bus stop in a R1 zoning district. Interim Use Permit Renewal: Weyrens reported that previously, the Commissioners considered the renewal of all current Interim Use Permits. Annually the Planning Commission reviews the applications for renewal of Interim Use to verify the property is in conformance with the Ordinance. When the Planning Commission considered the renewal applications, three property owners did not submit the required information. Therefore, the Planning Commission agreed to afford the property owners an additional 30 days to submit the material for consideration at this meeting. Weyrens stated that all three have since met the application requirements and all said that they did not know they had to complete the application process. William Capecchi was present to answer any questions raised by the Commissioners. Wick clarified that there were no violations at any of the residences. Deutz made a motion to approve the application to extend the Interim Use Permit for William Capecchi, 209 Minnesota Street E. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Rieke made a motion to table the request to extend the Interim Use Permits for Ryan Lieser, 403 1St Avenue NE and Thomas Ortmann, 308 10th Avenue SE. The motion was seconded by Deutz. Discussion: Rieke suggested tabling those requests as the property owners were not present. Anderson questioned if the applicants were required to attend the meeting as a condition of renewal. Deutz stated that they were not required to be at the last meeting either; however, as they missed the deadline for submission of the application for renewal he would have expected them to be present. Ayes: None Motion Fails 0:7:0 Nays: Kalinowski, Deutz Rieke, McDonald, Andersen, Wick, Meyer, Wick McDonald made a motion to approve the application to extend the Interim Use Permits for Ryan Lieser, 403 1St Avenue NE and Thomas Ortmann, 308 10th Avenue SE. The motion was seconded by Meyer. Ayes: Kalinowski, McDonald, Wick, Meyer Nays: Rieke, Deutz, Andersen Motion Carried 4:3:0 McDonald questioned the status of the Interim Use Permit for Patrick Conway. Weyrens stated that the house is vacant and they are no longer renting at that residence. September 8, 2008 Page 4 of 6 Graceview Coalition: Sarah Pennings, 346 4th Avenue SE, approached the commissioners to speak on behalf of the Graceview Coalition which is made up of approximately 100 voting citizens who are opposed to the proposed multiple family dwelling in Graceview Estates. Pennings stated that one of their main concerns is that of traffic and public safety. Based on her understanding of the information at previous meetings, 4th Avenue SE is constructed for traffic volumes of 1,400 cars per day; however, in the '00 traffic study, the traffic count was 2,450 cars per day. This traffic volume does not take into consideration the proposed apartment building, vacant lots or future senior apartments. She questioned how the children in this area are supposed to walk safely to school as the bus will no longer pick up those students and the trails are not required to be maintained during the winter months. She also questioned where the construction traffic will park. Pennings stated that the only solutions for their traffic and public safety concerns would be to either not allow the construction of the apartment buildings or consider the widening of 4t" Avenue. Ordinances were another issue addressed by Pennings. She stated that based on the 2002 Ordinances and her interpretation, the maximum height is 2'/ stories; however, now they are proposing a 3 story building, The Ordinance also stated that the plan must be approved within 12 months of approval by the City Council. Pennings stated that the proposed apartment building will be in their backyards or visible from their front doors. They do not feel that this fits aesthetically with the neighborhood. Pennings stated that had many of these residents known about the proposed multi-family construction, they would not have bought their homes. Currently, there are several homes for sale in Graceview Estates and the rental vacancy rate in St. Joseph is one of the highest in the St. Cloud Area. She asked the commissioners to consider those factors as well as the fact that the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University will be implementing the requirement of living on campus. The residents would like to see the "PURD" document that is continuously referred to. She also argued that all plats for Graceview Estates show the proposed development area as R1 rather than R3. Pennings stated that the residents were told that, due to the gas line bisecting the development site, the area could not be developed. In conclusion, Pennings stated that if the plan is approved, the City would be setting precedence for future developments. They are asking for the City to deny the plan to develop Outlot A, Graceview Estates 2 as multi-family. S & H Partnership -Graceview Estates 2: Weyrens stated that since the last meeting, there have been some revisions to the site plan for S 7 H Partnership. The owner has added a berm 3' to the development site as well as increasing the number of trees from 7 to approximately 15. The developer has also agreed to construct a temporary paved access to 7"' Avenue. Sabart spoke to the residents with respect to their traffic concerns. He gave examples of the different street classifications and made references to local streets vs. collector streets. He stated that at previous meetings, the traffic information he provided was general information based on numbers from the APO with respect to traffic volumes. Those numbers are based on an average 10 trips per day. He explained three different traffic scenarios for the proposed development of Graceview Estates. (1) No additional development 800 vehicles (2) Existing development and proposed multi-family development 1,280 vehicles (3) Full build-out 1,920 vehicles Wick stated that based on scenarios 2 and 3' there should be no more than 1,000 vehicles/day. Sabart advised Wick that both 4th Avenue SE and 7ti, Avenue SE are collectors and can accommodate more than 1,000 vehicles. Wick questioned the parking along both sides of 4th Avenue SE as collectors prohibit that. According to Sabart, not all collector streets prohibit off street parking on both sides of the street. Sabart added that, at the time of the original plat, there was a connection to Field Street shown. The actual September 8, 2008 Page 5 of 6 number of vehicles per day is based on the planning number of 10 trips per day to allow for intermittent vehicles in the area. Kalinowski questioned whether there are traffic safety issues created by the development. According to Sabart, both 4'h Avenue SE and Elena are 36' wide. He also stated that due to the curvilinear streets, traffic will slow down. Currently, there is only a single access to Graceview. Sabart did say that it would be a good idea for the developer to provide a second access. Igor Lenznor approached the commissioners to speak on behalf of the original developers, Rick Heid and Bob Herges. He responded to comments made in the memo by the City Attorney. Based on that memo, he stated that it would be correct if this were a preliminary plat; however, this is a PUD not a preliminary plat. He then reviewed the timeline for the project: • Oct '01 Original Plan application received • Dec '01 Application for mixed residential uses Public Hearing held adopted resolution to the City Council Application for Preliminary Plat, Rezoning and Special Use Permit City Council tabled any action EAW was drafted -issues with the proposed multi-family development • Feb '02 Approval of the Preliminary Plat • Mar '02 Approval of the Special Use Permit to allow for mixed residential uses Lenznor then stated that because the Special Use Permit was approved, the City will need to amend the PURD because the developer is looking to reduce the density from what was originally approved. The City is following proper procedure for asking for site plan approval as that is needed. Lenznor advised the commissioners and the public that apartments would not be shown on a final plat as that is not legal. That type of housing style would only be shown on a concept plan. In conclusion, he stated that it is common sense when looking at the plat for this development that this is part of a larger plan. Kalinowski asked City Attorney Lori Athman for her legal opinion. Athman stated that it has recently been brought to her attention that the Special Use Permit was approved on March 7, 2002. At this time, she is unable to make a legal opinion as she would need more time to research this. She suggested that the commissioners table this until a later meeting. Meyer stated that the '02 Ordinance states that the maximum height can be either 2 Yz stories or 35'. The current plan shows the building being greater than 35' tall. Linda Brown addressed the commissioners on behalf of the developer and stated that in the '02 Ordinances, they meet the requirements of height based on the definition of "Building Height". St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.4 Subd 12: Building Height. The vertical distance measured from the average ground level adjoining the building to the highest point on the roof surface if a flat roof, to the deck line of mansard roofs, and to the mean height level between eaves and ridge of gable, hip and gambrel roofs. The Commissioner discussed the recent request of the property owners to re-open the public hearing for additional testimony. McDonald stated that while he is not opposed to hearing public testimony, he is uncertain that opening the floor for public input will result in new information that has not already been presented. Wick made a motion to open the floor for public comments as the developer has submitted revised plans. The motion was seconded by McDonald. Ayes: Kalinowski, McDonald, Wick Nays: Deutz, Andersen, Meyer, Rieke Based on the information presented by the Attorney representing the developer, the Commissioners agreed that a decision cannot be made without additional information. Weyrens recommended that the Commission list the items needing clarification and the matter can be placed on the next Planning Commission agenda. September 8, 2008 Page 6 of 6 The following information should be made available for the October 13, 2008 Planning Commission meeting. 1. Wick questioned the application process. He questioned the difference between the PURD application process and that of a Special Use. He also questioned how the Special Use Permit was approved without the approval of the Preliminary Plat. 2. Wick questioned the paragraph in the Attorney's memo relating to the timeframe for the approval. He questioned whether the Special Use Permit would have been void in 2004 due to no build-out. 3. Wick then questioned the clause in the developer agreement relating to the transfer of ownership if the property is sold. He stated that developer agreements do not transfer ownership. 4. Wick also raised some question as to the timeframe stated in the developer agreement. It was approved in 2003 with a completion date of September 15, 2005. What happened to the two year timeframe? 5. McDonald stated that the area is zoned R1 although it was planned to be developed as multi- family. He stated that it should be made clearer to the public so that they are aware of these types of issues. 6. McDonald questioned how the senior housing portion of the development can be labeled as this is an overlay. 7. Pennings stated earlier that the buses do not pick up students in the Graceview neighborhood. McDonald stated that he spoke with District 742 and they do pick up students in that neighborhood. The Lab school does not offer bus service to that neighborhood; however, after speaking with the principal, most of the students are dropped off by parents. 8. Wick questioned the portion of the EAW (page 4) which addresses what percentage of the 91 acres of the PURD can be considered multi-family. Deutz stated that there are no issues with density. 9. McDonald questioned who purchased the right-of-way for Field Street. Weyrens stated that it was purchased by the City. 10. Wick questioned how they can construct a 24' wide road when the City's standard is 36'. 11. Wick addressed the access issue. Deutz stated that if access is an issue, then the developer should be asked to show more access in and out of the development. 12. Meyer suggested that sidewalks be constructed due to the curvature of the roads. 13. Deutz questioned whether the City should set timelines for the development if it is to be done in phases. Rieke made a motion to table this discussion until September 17 at 7:00 PM or at a time when the requested information is available. The motion was seconded by McDonald and passed unanimously. Kalinowski thanked all of those in the public for their input and they will keep their concerns in mind when making their decision. Adjourn: The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM by consensus. J d Weyre~ d inistrator