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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 [02] Feb 07February 7, 2011 Page 1 of 3 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, February 7, 2011 at TOOPM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present Chair Sr. Kathleen Kalinowski, Commissioners Ross Rieke, Gina Dullinger, Mike Deutz, Rick Schultz, Joe Dubel and City Administrator Judy Weyrens Others Present Tom Klein Oath of Office Weyrens administered the Oath of Office to Joseph Dubel and Gina Dullinger. A_ pproval of the Agenda Kalinowski suggested the following addition. Add Mayor's position on the Planning Commission Deutz made a motion to approve the agenda with the addition; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. Mavor's Position Schultz spoke to the Commissioners and stated that he will be replacing Dale Wick as the Council Liaison. Although he is the Mayor, he advised them that he is only the voting liaison for the Council and only counts for one vote. Deutz clarified that he will not be appointing another member from the Council to which Schultz stated he appointed himself. Approval of the Minutes Deutz made a motion to approve the minutes of December 6, 2010. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. Election of Officers Weyrens stated that, in January of each year, the Board shall elect its officers. She questioned whether or not they would like to elect officers at this meeting with one member being absent. Deutz made a motion to table election of officers until the full Board is present. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously. Corridor Overlay Ordinance Amendment Previously, the Planning Commission has been working on an amendment to the Corridor Overlay District and has been looking at different mapping alternatives for properties that are severed with the district boundary. She stated that one of the biggest issues is those properties that are bisected. Weyrens stated that the Commissioners were presented with two different maps showing the district. One other option is to include language stating that, if a property is bisected by the corridor, the requirements would only apply if less than a certain percentage is within the boundary limits. According to Weyrens, that percentage would need to be determined. She stated that the original intent was to leave the boundary at 300 feet; which would bisect some properties. According to Weyrens, the properties between 2 nd Avenue SW and 3' Avenue SE, along CR75, are exempt from meeting the stringent requirements. It was stated that the Hwy 75 Overlay District is a high visibility corridor and thus, there needs to be some restrictions imposed on the properties. Based on the proposed Ordinance Amendments, Weyrens stated that the Setback [Subd 5] has been reduced from 100' to 40' from the right of way. She added that there were some changes made to the Ordinance relating to Sign Standards [Subd 7] and defining the corridor as well. Kalinowski clarified that Subd. 2(a)(3)(A) should read "South" of the Wobegon Trail rather than North. Weyrens agreed. Rieke spoke and stated that he appreciates having the maps available as he felt like the numbers were too large and the maps help illustrate those numbers. He added that he feels like the 300' is too big. Weyrens advised the Commissioners that the 100' setback was reduced to 40'. Deutz stated that he agreed with Rieke, that this is too big of an area. He stated that he is not sure whether a Corridor Overlay District is needed. He believes that it is too restrictive. Kalinowski questioned whether Deutz was proposing to do away with the Overlay. Deutz responded that he would like to find a way to develop this February 7, 2011 Page 2 of 3 area in a way that is more development friendly and do away with the ordinance. He added that this area has not seen too much development over the past few years, other than the Bank, Credit Union and Coborns. With all of the restrictions, development is being pushed outside of the area. Deutz stated that the City needs to find a way to promote development in this area and feels that more ordinances and guidelines will not help. Rieke stated that, previously, the EDA has set some priority areas. In a perfect scenario, he stated that the EDA would be able to do some property acquisition or find ways to build larger sets of property. He questioned how far the City is willing to go. He added that Commercial Development is a viable need of a City. From a development standpoint, looking at CR75 alone, he questioned whether the City needs to be more aggressive. Rieke then questioned the role of the Planning Commission in this as well as its Partnership with the EDA. Schultz agreed with Deutz and stated that he doesn't want to impose any more restrictions than we already have. He also agrees that the Planning Commission, EDA and City Council need to meet to discuss some long range planning. He feels that this discussion is long overdue. According to Schultz, these types of restrictions may work in an area where there is a lot of open space; however, it does not work for properties as they exist today. Kalinowski questioned where this Ordinance came from. Did it come from the EDA when doing the Comprehensive Plan? Weyrens replied yes. She added that this Ordinance has been in effect for a number of years and at this time the discussion is an amendment to the Ordinance. Weyrens stated that the intent of the Ordinance is to provide for additional aesthetics and maintain safe transportation corridors. She added that the Planning Commission previously considered adding the provisions to the B2 Highway Business Ordinance but it became too cumbersome. According to Deutz, there are some properties that are open for development. He stated that he would like to see a map showing those properties. Dubel suggested looking at those properties that are ready for development to see what is our there prior to terrorizing the existing properties. Weyrens stated that if the Commissioners are not in favor of the Ordinance, they should repeal the Ordinance. Deutz added that there are some properties that are already developed and will not be re- developed. It was suggested that the EDA look at what properties they would like to see developed. Rieke agreed and stated that all of the City's board /committee members are one, managed by a different board and he agrees that there needs to be a collaborative discussion amongst the various boards. According to Weyrens, the EDA has some project funds available, but she is unsure what they have been identified for. Deutz questioned the realignment of CSAH2 and whether or not that area would be included in the overlay district or require a different type of zoning. Weyrens stated that the realignment will apply to this and that will be included in Subd. 2(a)(3). The future land uses for this area consist of B2 and Industrial. Kalinowski questioned the Commissioners where they would like to go with this. Rieke replied that he is in favor of moving ahead with conversation and reviewing this document again after a collaborative discussion between the various boards. Deutz agreed. He added that he would like to see a list of those properties that are ready for development. He also stated that the area is too big and feels that some of the properties will not be developed or redeveloped. Schultz questioned whether or not the EDA has such a document. Weyrens stated she would look into that. Rieke stated that there should be a map available showing the "Hot Spots" such as the area SE of the intersection of CR2 and CR75. Schultz stated that the most recent map he has seen has been of the rental property transition. Weyrens advised the Commissioners that they had three options: 1. Repeal the Ordinance in its entirety. 2. Accept the changes as presented. 3. Keep the Ordinance in its current form. Schultz made a motion to table action on the Corridor Overlay Ordinance Amendment until further discussion. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously. February 7, 2011 Page 3 of 3 Sustainability Schultz stated that he suggested that the Planning Commission discuss sustainability and how that can tie into planning. Weyrens advised the Commissioners that the City is part of a sustainability initiative with the area cities. She provided them with information relating to the Area Cities Sustainability Plan and the Minnesota Greenstep Cities. Schultz added that, at the Intergovernmental Meeting held last year, Matt Glaesmann and George Hontos presented some information relating to sustainability and actions that have been taking place. He stated that it is encouraging how these things may be applied to our own planning and Ordinances. He questioned which steps the commissioners would like to take and stated that he would like to be proactive. Kalinowski stated that she read through the information and liked that there were ideas on ways to make our Ordinances stronger. She suggested contacting both the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University to see what they have done as far as sustainability and find ways to cooperate with them. Schultz questioned Weyrens as to whether or not Glaesmann could come out and discuss the issue with them. Weyrens stated that she will contact St. Cloud for a presentation at a future meeting. Weyrens advised the commissioners that she has a developer who is looking to build in the City, but due to some sustainability efforts, they are having issues with the height requirements. According to Weyrens, both the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University are part of the area sustainability initiative and stated it may be possible for them to attend the next meeting as well. Dubel questioned the possibility of offering credits for sustainability efforts to which Deutz stated that he has seen that being done throughout Stearns County. Ad'ourn: The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 7:45. udy We inistrator