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Home My WebLink About02.12.24CITY OF ST. JOSEPH www.cityofstjoseph.com 75 Callaway Street East | Saint Joseph, Minnesota 56374 Email: cityoffices@cityofstjoseph.com | Phone: 320.363.7201 | Fax 320.363-0342 St. Joseph Planning Commission Monday, February 12th, 2024 6:00 PM St. Joseph Council Chambers 75 Callaway St E **The meeting will also be available through Zoom** 1.Call to Order 2.Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment 4. Agenda Review and Adoption 5. Approval of January 8th, 2024 minutes 6.New Business a.Short-term rentals in B-1 Zoning district 7. Old Business a. General updates 8.Other Business a. General updates b.Joint Board meeting – March 26th 9. Adjourn ZOOM INFORMATION Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87642407431?pwd=bXlkL3NlM2VKNXVMdmk2MC91blYxUT09 Meeting ID: 876 4240 7431 Passcode: 797162 One tap mobile +19292056099,,87642407431#,,,,*797162# US (New York) Dial by your location Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kblhxKat7W 1 January 8th, 2024 Page 1 of 2 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met on Monday, January 8th, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall opening with the Pledge of Allegiance. Planning Commission Members Present: Commissioners Gina Dullinger, Keith Louwagie, Mark Thompson, Carmie Mick, Jon Hazen, Adam Scepaniak, Isabella Margl Staff Present: Nate Keller, Community Development Director via phone Public Comments: None. Election of Chair and Vice Chair for 2024: Scepaniak made a motion to appoint Louwagie for Chair in 2024.The motion was seconded by Dullinger and passed unanimously. Dullinger made a motion to appoint herself as Vice Chair for 2024. The motion was seconded by Scepaniak and passed unanimously. Agenda Review & Adoption: Dullinger made a motion to approve Agenda Review & Adoption. The motion was seconded by Scepaniak and passed unanimously. Approval of November 13th, 2023, minutes: Thompson made a motion to approve the November 13th minutes. The motion was seconded by Louwagie and passed unanimously by those present. New Business: a.Public Hearing – Vacation of Rear Easement Lot 15, Block 1 Northland Business Center Dullinger shared the applicant is proposing to expand their current building at 702 19th Ave NE, combine two lots owned by the applicant and vacate the rear easement area that runs between the lots. The rear easement is the standard 12’ easement and does not contain any public or private utilities. The remaining easements along the perimeter of the lots will remain. Great River Energy (GRE) has a 50’ easement and existing power line running through the rear of the lots. The power line is scheduled to be removed late this winter or early spring. Great River Energy will vacate their private easement. Dullinger opened the Public Hearing at 6:06PM. As no one wished to speak, Dullinger closed the Public Hearing at 6:07PM. Dullinger made a motion to approve Resolution 2024-XXXX Vacating Easement as Legally Described for Lot 015, Block 001 of Northland Business Center. The motion was seconded by Louwagie and passed unanimously. b.Public Hearing – Vacation of Interior Easements Lots 12, 13, 14 of Northland Business Center Dullinger gave an overview of the vacation application. The owner is proposing to vacate the interior easements that run between lots 12, 13, and 14 of the Northland Business Center plat. The lots are off 21st Ave NE, directly west of Goodin Company. The applicant’s intent is to vacate the easements and build a building over the vacated easements. The applicant is required to vacate the easements because structures are not allowed over easements. The easements are standard 6’ side easements and do not contain any private or public utilities. The request will only impact the easements between the three lots, the remaining easements will not be affected. The City Engineer has reviewed the request and does not have any concerns. Dullinger opened the Public Hearing at 6:09PM. As no one wished to speak, Dullinger closed the Public Hearing at 6:10PM. Dullinger made a motion to approve Resolution 2024-DEF Vacating Interior Easements as Legally Described for Lots 012, 013, 014 Block 001 of Northland Business Center. The motion was seconded by Scepaniak and passed unanimously. 2 January 8th, 2024 Page 2 of 2 c.Public Hearing – Rezone of 454 1st Ave NE Dullinger shared a rezone application has been submitted for the property located at 454 1st Ave NE. The applicant is proposing to rezone the property from R-3 Multi-Family to B-2 Highway Commercial. The applicant intends to remodel the existing building in phases with the first phase resulting in a commercial kitchen space. The commission is asked to determine if the rezone is in alignment with future land use and if the rezone is compatible with surrounding land uses. Details of surrounding properties were available in the packet. Dullinger opened the Public Hearing at 6:12PM Greg Kacures – 307 1st Ave NE: Mr. Kacures asked if parking will be an issue. Keller shared the applicant will have sufficient parking for phase I of the project. Phase II and Phase III will require the applicant to add additional parking. Currently the timeline of Phase II and Phase III of the project is unknown. Dullinger closed the Public Hearing at 6:15PM. Dullinger made a motion to approve Resolution 2024-123 Adopting Findings of Fact Related to a Rezone Request from R3 Multi-Family to B-2 Highway Business District. The motion was seconded by Scepaniak and passed unanimously. Scepaniak made a motion to approve Ordinance 2024-ABC, an Ordinance Establishing the Zoning on Certain Property from R3 Multi-Family to B-2 Highway Business District. The motion was seconded by Margl and passed unanimously. Dullinger made a motion to approve Resolution 2024-XYZZ Summary Publication of Ordinance 2024-ABC an Ordinance Establishing the Zoning on Certain Property from R3 Multi-Family to B-2 Highway Business District. The motion was seconded by Scepaniak and passed unanimously. d.Short-term rentals in B-1 Zoning District Thompson made a motion to table discussion on Short-term rentals in B-1 Zoning District until the February 12th, 2024 Planning Commission Meeting. The motion was seconded by Dullinger and passed unanimously. Old Business: a.None. Other Business: a.None. Adjourn: Dullinger moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:19PM. The motion was seconded by Scepaniak and the motion carried. Minutes approved by: Nate Keller Community Development Director 3 Planning Commission Agenda Item 6a MEETING DATE: February 12th, 2024 AGENDA ITEM: 6a ACTION REQUESTED: Discussion only at this time PREVIOUS PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Staff received an inquiry regarding short-term rental use in the B-1 Commercial (downtown) zoning district. At present the code is silent on short-term rentals which means the use is prohibited. Short- term rental is where a unit could be rented out on a nightly basis. Currently the city only allows the following forms of lodging in the downtown Commercial district via a Conditional Use permit: hotels, motels, Bed and Breakfast. Standard rental licenses are required for long-term rentals which are defined as rentals where lease arrangements occur and are at least on month-to-month arrangement. Examples of usage where rental licenses occur in the downtown are: 24 North lofts (above the Krewe building), the lofts at Millstream (above Bella Cucina), and rental units above other commercial buildings like Hudson and Company. If short-term rental were allowed some of these long-term rentals could be converted to short-term. Cities regulate short-term rentals in a variety of different ways. The main way cities tend to regulate depends on the Zoning district short-term rental is permitted in. A short-term rental in a residential district often creates more concerns then within a commercial mixed used district. The focus for this agenda item is only in regards to the Downtown Commercial district. Some approaches cities take when permitting the use include: •Allow short-term rental as a Conditional Use •Allow the use outright •Requiring lodging license and dept. of health licenses through the State •requiring rental license or other form of special license •requiring a license and Conditional Use permit •putting caps on the number of allowed short-term rentals within a zoning district or block How a city handles the use depends on a variety of factors and what zoning district the use is being permitted or prohibited in. Some benefits in allowing short-term rentals can include: •Offers another form of lodging in the community •Potential to collect additional lodging tax (the Convention and Visitor Bureau gets their funds from the lodging tax) •Increased tourism and encourages longer duration visits 4 Some criticisms of short-term rental are: •Can impact the local housing supply. A conversion from permanent apartment unit to temporary day to day rental removes the housing unit from the housing supply. This in turn lessens the total housing supply/stock in a community. This seems to be a bigger issue in larger metro areas and tourist communities however depending on the quantity of short-term rental can impact any sized city •neighbor-neighbor conflicts (e.g. parties and noise) . This can be a much bigger concern within a residential area At this time staff is just informing the Commission of the inquiry with goal of having surface level conversation on the topic. ATTACHMENTS AND RESOURCES: Guide to Short-term rental from the National League of Cities •Short-Term Rental Regulations: A Guide for Local Governments - National League of Cities (nlc.org) •Short Term Rental Zoning Advice for Community Leaders (useful-community- development.org) •League of MN Cities article: https://www.lmc.org/news-publications/magazine/july-aug- 2023/tws-july-2023/ •MPLS Ordinance on STR - https://www2.minneapolismn.gov/business-services/licenses-permits- inspections/rental-licenses/short-term-rentals/ Has limits on Multi-family and percentages of units that can be short-term rentals •La Crescent - https://www.cityoflacrescent-mn.gov/wp-content/uploads/Short-Term-Rental- Ordinance.pdf •Chanhassen - https://www.chanhassenmn.gov/departments/community- development/planning/development-application-zoning-permits/zoning-permits/short-term- rentals •Hopkins - https://www.hopkinsmn.com/985/Short-Term-Rentals •Lake City - https://www.ci.lake-city.mn.us/index.asp?SEC=C6D0F52A-312D-4AD6-8C6D- 22FD60883DD8&DE=101AB139-B539-4AF1-B91F-D3A723F5C348 •Brainerd - https://www.ci.brainerd.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/4244/Short-Term-Rental- Procedure-PDF •Stearns County - https://www.stearnscountymn.gov/1667/Short-Term-Rental-Information •Crow Wing County - https://www.crowwing.gov/1621/Short-Term-Rental REQUESTED PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: None just discussion. 5