HomeMy WebLinkAbout[02] December 14 Minutes December 14, 2015
Page 1 of 3
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof the Joint Planning Board for the Township and City of St. Joseph
met in special session on Monday, December 14, 2015 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall.
Members Present: Chair Rick Schultz. Members Jeff Janssen, Jerome Salzer, Steve Olson, Bob Loso,
Chad Hausmann, Brenda Stanger, Mark Thompson. Secretary of the Board Judy Weyrens.
Others Present: Ralph Eiynck, Mark Bromenschenkel, Cory Ehlert, Ann Reischl, Will Houston, City
Engineer Randy Sabart.
Approve Minutes: Janssen made a motion to approve the minutes of September 16, 2015;
seconded by Loso and passed unanimously by those present.
River Ridge Estates—Cory Ehlert: Weyrens stated that staff has been working with the developer to
provide the Board with a complete set of plans; however, the documents presented at this time are not
complete.
Will Huston, Westwood Processional Services, approached the Council regarding the submittal of
finalized paperwork. Weyrens stated the City has yet to receive finalized easement plans. The ones
submitted were sketches. Huston stated the changes needed were included in the plat. Huston stated
there were additional items submitted on December 2nd. Huston admitted there were outstanding items at
the time of their submittal. Huston stated Township Engineer comments were received on December 3rd
however City Engineer comments were not received until December 10tH
Schultz questioned the intent of the meeting being not all final documents have been submitted. Huston
anticipated he would have more time to review the City Engineer's comments prior to the meeting.
Sabart stated the easement issue was one of the first concerns raised. The first 66 feet will be dedicated
to easement similar to that of the Sunset Ridge Development. The wider easement would allow the
necessary sewer and water utilities to reside in the ditch rather than in the middle of the road. The
easement on the north side only shows a dedication of 33 feet for the easement and that is the issue in
front of the board.
Hausmann questioned if there are any scenarios that would not include adding utilities to the north of
290th Street. Hausmann stated he does not see the need for wider easement if the property to the north
has not been developed yet.
Sabart stated that if the sewer and water main are on the same side of the road, there needs to be space
to address health and safety regulations. Sabart added that the joint trench could create problems when
the installation of the small utilities takes place. Those issues will be at the City's expense to fix if the
utilities would need to be relocated. Ideally, the City would like to have the additional 25 foot easement on
the North side in order to have sewer and water on either side of 290th street.
Hausmann stated the easement on the South side of 290th should be sufficient to install the sanitary
sewer and water mains. Janssen agreed with Hausmann. Ehlert stated the additional 25 foot easement
on the South side is not an issue. Sabart stated the Township will need to manage the installations of the
utility easement, trying to keep them on the back side of the easement. Ehlert stated he would be willing
to manage that piece as they will be the ones developing the area.
Sabart stated regulations can be included in the developer's agreement; however it is to be enforced by
the townships excavation permitting process. Salzer stated the Township's policy is to restore the area
the way they found it. Janssen stated it would be advantageous for the Township to have regulations on
right of way and public easements going forward.
Regarding Cayley Court, Sabart stated the developer meets the regulations for road widths. An
outstanding matter is whether the developer should be responsible for providing pedestrian access to and
from the development to connect with the trail.
December 14, 2015
Page 2 of 3
Schultz suggested tabling the discussion in order to get all the answers and final documents for a period
of 30 days. Loso stated he would like some type of documents from the Township regulating the
enforcement of utility locations in easements.
Hausmann questioned the process of subdivision review approval. Sabart stated that for final plat
approval, all areas of concern are to be resolved.
Ehlert stated that the subdivision is subject to both Township and City standards and it is hard to meet all
the needs of both. Schultz stated that the regulations and speculations coincide with the Annexation
agreement that both the Township and City agreed to and there is a process that every developer needs
to go through.
Weyrens stated Stearns County had asked the City to take the lead on areas regarding Stormwater that
the County would normally review. They became frustrated with the incomplete submittals and did not
have the staff to review the project given the materials they were provided.
Ehlert stated he is fine with final plat approval based on certain conditions being met.
Sabart stated the third concern is the stormwater. The collection of stormwater will take place in the
ditches of the property. As the culverts between the driveways are built, the inverts will be slanted slightly
to allow for storage and drainage. Sabart stated he agrees with this type of drainage system. The
question is whether the streets will become urban sections once annexed into the City. Sabart stated he
requested a hydrocad model showing where the drainage of stormwater would be if the ditches were not
there.
Janssen agreed that more time is needed to work out the details and outstanding issues. Janssen stated
Ehlert should be not held to two standards, but there are legitimate concerns raised from the City's
perspective that need to be met.
Janssen made a motion to table the approval of the final plat of River Ridge Estates for a period of
30 days. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously.
Enforcement Issues
Huls Property (former Kings Express: Weyrens stated the City and Township have received
correspondence from Stearns County regarding the former Kings Express building. The property is
currently zoned agriculture and a commercial use is not permitted. Previously the property was used
commercially that was grandfathered and the property has been vacant for over one year, therefore, the
property is regulated by the permitted uses. Staff at Stearns County has made numerous attempts to
contact the property owner without success. Therefore, based on the MOU between the City, Township,
and County, Stearns County is requested the Joint Planning Board to take action to enforce the
regulations.
Weyrens stated that Stearns County provided the enforcement format they would use and she forwarded
that to the City Attorney who in turn prepared an abatement order for the property owner. Since
enforcement is the responsibility of the Joint Planning Board Weyrens is requesting authorization to serve
the property owner with an abatement order. The abatement order requires the property owner to contact
the City within a period of days and if they don't, the legal process would start to have the business shut
down. Weyrens stated typically when an abatement order is received the matter is resolved, but the
Board needs to approve the action as it could be costly with legal expenditures.
Janssen made a motion to move forward with serving the abatement order to the former Kings
Express location. The motion was seconded by Stanger and passed unanimously by those
present.
December 14, 2015
Page 3 of 3
Sunset Ridge: Weyrens updated the Board that the property owner who was allowed access to 320th Street
in Sunset Ridge was sent a letter notifying them of the need to relocate the driveway. The driveway is
currently located in the easement for the future corridor and should not have been allowed. Weyrens stated
that she has talked to the property owner to discuss options.
Adjourn: Schultz made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was seconded by Janssen and
passed unanimously.
Rick Schultz Judy Weyrens
Joint Board Chair Joint Board Secretary
This page intentionally left blank