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04-28-08 PC Minutes Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 2008 A regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Chambers, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota, on Monday, April 28, 2008. Chair Keysser called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Those present were Planning Commissioners Cera, Eck, Keysser, McCarty, Schmidgall and Waldhauser. Also present was City Planner Joe Hogeboom and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. Commissioner Kluchka was absent. 1. Approval of Minutes April 14, 2008 Regular Planning Commission Meeting Waldhauser referred to the eighth paragraph on page four and recommended that the word "upwards" be added to McCarty's question as follows: McCarty asked if this project has room for growth or expansion "upwards". McCarty agreed. Waldhauser referred to the second paragraph on page six regarding pedestrian trips and asked if that included bus riders. Hogeboom said he believes pedestrian trips means all non-car related trips. He said he would clarify that with the Director of Planning and amend the minutes accordingly. MOVED by Eck, seconded by McCarty and motion carried unanimously to approve the April 14, 2008 minutes with the above noted corrections. 2. Informal Public Hearing - General Land Use Plan Map Amendment - 228 and 308 Meander Road - CPAM-44 Applicant: City of Golden Valley Address: 228 and 308 Meander Road Purpo~e: To change the designation on the General Land Use Plan Map from Schools and Religious Facilities to Low Density Residential to allow for the construction of a single family home Hogeboom stated that the State of Minnesota has identified several properties including 228 and 308 Meander Road that they have decided to sell. These properties are currently a part of the Perpich School PUD and are guided for Schools and Religious Facilities on the General Land Use Plan Map. He explained that the proposal is to re- guide both properties to Low Density Residential and then rezone them both to R-1 Single Family Residential to eventually build one single family home on the 308 Meander Road property. He added that the City Council will also be considering the removal of both parcels from the PUD in the future. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 2008 Page 2 Hogeboom referred to an area map showing wetlands and stated that there are portions of Herbaceous and Woodland area on these lots, but there is no standing water. He stated that the City will work with the homeowner to make sure all the wetland requirements are met. Cera asked about the size of the parcels. Hogeboom stated that 228 Meander is approximately 1.3 acres in size and 308 Meander is approximately 1 acre in size. He explained that, as of now, the purchase order with the State is only for the 308 Meander property. Keysser asked if homes could be built on both lots. Hogeboom said homes could be built on both lots, but that is not the intent at this time. Eck asked if the wetland issues would require the homeowner to petition for a variance. Hogeboom said that the City's Engineering Department hasn't yet determined the wetland boundaries but he doesn't think it will affect the setback requirements. Keysser asked if a condition of approval could be placed on this proposal that would not allow for the subdivision of these properties in the future. McCarty asked why there would be concern about future subdivisions if the lots were to meet all of the subdivision requirements. Hogeboom stated that the City Attorney has said that the issue of subdividing the properties would be more appropriately handled during the PUD amendment process. Eck added that he thinks it hard to stop a subdivision if the lots legally meet all of the subdivision requirements. Cera questioned if a condition of the sale of the properties could include something about future subdivisions. Keysser asked if there are any other environmental issues. Hogeboom stated yard clippings and yard waste have been dumped on the properties but that the City will not be responsible for cleaning them up. Bobbie Bardeaux, potential owner of the properties, introduced her builder, John Son neck and Susan Maki, Planning Director, State of Minnesota. She stated that it is her intent to build one single family home on the 308 Meander Road property. Eck asked Bardeaux if she has any commitment to buy the 228 Meander Road property. Bardeaux said she does not have a purchase agreement to buy 228 Meander Road. Cera referred to Ms. Bardeaux's letter submitted with her application and noted that in it she states that she wants to respect the wetland. He asked what that means. Sonneck clarified that the area is considered a non-wet, wetland and therefore has smaller setback buffer requirements so they should have no wetland issues and plenty of room to build a house on the 308 Meander property. Keysser asked if there was a sketch of the proposed new home. Son neck said they are waiting on the survey of the property and the tree inventory. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 2008 Page 3 Keysser asked if the lot is flat. Hogeboom said there is not a large elevation change on the lot but they will be required to submit a drainage and erosion control plan. Keysser opened the public hearing. Drew Smith, 316 Meander Road, said he appreciates the Planning Commission's discussion regarding future subdivisions of the properties because there have been issues with other subdivisions in the neighborhood. He stated that there is a considerable elevation change from the proposed building area down into the wetland area. He said he is concerned about the adverse effects of drainage onto his lot. He noted that these lots are wet quite a lot of the time and that these lots are an important wildlife area in the neighborhood. He said he is not opposed to development he just wants to see the wetland preserved. Paul Tolzmann, 220 Cutacross Road, said he agrees with the previous speaker's comments and he feels the extent of the wetlands needs to be fully understood before decisions are made. He said he is discouraged that the State is not selling the more challenging lot (228 Meander) and he would encourage the State to sell both lots to one person. He reiterated that the area is full of wildlife that the neighborhood enjoys. Keysser said he thinks it is the State's intent to sell both lots because they are trying to raise some revenue. He reiterated that the applicant is going to have to go through all the environmental review processes and the grading, drainage and erosion control process in order to build a house. Schmidgall said he wish he had a better understanding of how it is decided whether a lot should be built on or not. He said the intent has always been to build a house on this lot however he is concerned about the wetlands. Eck said he doesn't think it is in the Planning Commissions purview to determine if a lot is buildable. If the State and the City determine that a lot is buildable then it is and there really isn't a basis for standing in the way. Cera agreed with Eck and stated that he knows the wetland issues will be addressed through the various permit processes. MOVED by Cera, seconded by Eck and motion carried unanimously to recommend approval to change the designation on the General Land Use Plan Map from Schools and Religious Facilities to Low Density Residential to allow for the construction of a single family home for the properties located at 228 and 308 Meander Road. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 2008 Page 4 3. Informal Public Hearing - Property Rezoning - 228 and 308 Meander Road - Z012-15 Applicant: Bobbi Bardeaux (for the State of Minnesota) Address: 228 and 308 Meander Road Purpose: To rezone the properties from Institutional (1-1) to Single Family Residential (R-1) to allow for the construction of a single family home. Hogeboom explained that in order to build the proposed single family home the properties at 228 and 308 Meander Road now need to be rezoned from Institutional (1-1) to Single Family Residential (R-1). Keysser asked if the City's Engineering Department is concerned about the wetland issues on this property. Hogeboom explained that is a newly delineated wetland so several maps don't even show that it is a wetland area. He stated that the Engineering Department will work with the new homeowner on any wetland issues. Keysser asked if there are any Department of Natural Resources (DNR) restrictions on these properties. Hogeboom said he doesn't believe there are any DNR restrictions. Cera questioned if the State of Minnesota should be the applicant for this rezoning request. In particular the 228 Meander Road property because Ms. Bardeaux isn't planning on purchasing that lot. Hogeboom explained that Ms. Bardeaux was originally going to purchase both lots but there were administrative delays in the appraisal process. He stated that staff suggested Ms. Bardeaux go forward with the rezoning request on both properties so she wouldn't have to go through the rezoning process twice. Keysser asked Susan Maki, Planning Director for the State of Minnesota to clarify if she has purchase agreements for both lots or just for 308 Meander lot. Maki said they have a purchase agreement just for 308 Meander and they are in the process of re- appraising the 228 Meander lot. Keysser asked if the State wants the property rezoned to Single Family Residential regardless of who purchases it. Maki said yes. Cera asked if the State has considered looking at the dumping issue on the properties. Maki said she just became aware of the issue recently and that typically the State sells their property "as is". Keysser opened the public hearing. Seeing and hearing no one wishing to comment, Keysser closed the public hearing. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 2008 Page 5 Keysser asked the Commissioners if they would like to recommend that the City Council explore a way to make sure these two lots don't become three or four lots in the future. Eck said he thinks that is up to the City Attorney. The Commissioners agreed. MOVED by McCarty, seconded by Eck and motion carried unanimously to recommend approval to rezone the properties located at 228 and 308 Meander Road from Institutional (1-1) to Single Family Residential (R-1). 4. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings Hogeboom reminded the Commissioners that the open house for the updated comprehensive plan is going to be held on Thursday, May 1. 5. Other Business Presentation - Mary Vogel, Center for Changing Landscapes, U of M - MNPASS 1-394 Phase II Planning Study Hogeboom introduced Mary Vogel from the University of Minnesota Center for Changing Landscape. He stated that she gave this presentation to the City Council a few weeks ago and the Council asked her to present it to the Planning Commission for their feedback and about possibly adding this study to the City's updated comprehensive plan. Waldhauser asked if the City was aware of this study when they did their own 1-394 Corridor study. Vogel stated that the City was aware of the University's study but the two studies have a slightly different focus. She stated that they have been working on their study for approximately one year which was funded by the Federal Highway Administration. She explained that there were three components of the study: identifying ways to improve traffic flow in the corridor, identifying transit configurations that would work in the corridor and studying the land use implications of the selected transit configuration. Her group specifically looked at land uses along the corridor that would support a transit spine along the south frontage road. Vogel referred to maps from her study and discussed hydrological features and local pedestrian and vehicular circulation. She also discussed the plans to include higher density residential and office/commercial uses close to the highway and a series of linear drainage ponds that would be used to buffer the residential areas. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 2008 Page 6 Keysser asked which current land uses would remain in her plan. Vogel stated that her study is compatible with Golden Valley's study but they went further and took out more businesses and put in more housing than the City did. Eck stated that the Planning Commission has spent a lot of time on the Golden Valley 1-394 Corridor Study and he is astounded that the City and the University didn't work together. Vogel reiterated that the two studies are compatible in terms of land use, but their study is more conceptual. Schmidgall agreed that the University's study is quite a bit more expansive then Golden Valley's. McCarty noted that the University's study didn't show any mixed use developments and he questioned why light rail transit was not shown. Vogel stated that she did a light rail study approximately 10 years ago. She explained that she has been told light rail will not be a part of the 1-394 Corridor. Waldhauser asked Vogel how far west her study went. Vogel said their study went from Minneapolis to Wayzata. Hogeboom asked the Commissioners how they felt about including this study or referencing this study in some way in the updated comprehensive plan. Keysser questioned how their study would fit in with the City's comprehensive plan when the two studies contradict each other. Waldhauser suggested that the differences in the two plans be highlighted. Schmidgall agreed and said he would like to have a discussion on how to integrate the two plans. The Commissioners decided that before they make the University's study part of Golden Valley's updated comprehensive plan in any way they would like to study the differences between the two plans at their May 28 regular meeting. 6. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm. ~J6.c4- ~- ster Eck, Secretary