Loading...
09-22-08 PC Minutes Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 22, 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, September 22,2008. Chair Keysser called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Those present were Planning Commissioners Cera, Keysser, Kluchka, McCarty, and Schmidgall. Also present was Director of Planning and Development Mark Grimes, and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. Commissioners Eck and Waldhauser were absent. Mayor Loomis was in attendance to discuss the Lilac Planting project scheduled for October 4. She explained that the idea to plant lilacs and other shrubs and trees along Highway 55 came from Envision Golden Valley and Bridge Builders. She explained that the funds for the plant materials and landscape plans came from MnDOT. She referred to a map of the area and stated that they will be planting on both sides of Highway 55 from General Mills Blvd. to Winnetka Ave and invited the Planning Commissioners to participate in the volunteer efforts. 1. Approval of Minutes August 11, 2008 RegUlar Planning Commission Meeting McCarty referred to the third paragraph on page 15 and stated that he would like it clarified that his intention was that he would like to see the proposed building be set back further (not just taller) from the property line along Golden Valley Road. MOVED by Cera, seconded by McCarty and motion carried unanimously to approve the August 11, 2008 minutes with the above clarification. 2. Informal Public Hearing - Minor Subdivision - Quail Woods -1825 Quail Avenue - SU06-03 Applicant: Peter Knaeble (Golden Valley Land Co.) Address: 1825 Quail Avenue Purpose: The subdivision would create three separate lots and allow for the construction of two new homes. The existing home will remain. Grimes referred to a location map and noted that the location of his proposed subdivision is at the southwest corner of Golden Valley Road and Quail Avenue near Scheid Park. He explained that the applicant is proposing to subdivide the 38,714 square foot lot into three new lots. He added that the existing home will remain, but the existing garage will be relocated. He stated that all three lots exceed the minimum lot size requirements and noted that utilities are available to each lot. He explained that when building permits are applied for, a tree preservation plan and grading and erosion control plan will be required for each lot. He stated that staff is recommending approval of this proposed subdivision because it meets all of the requirements of the zoning code and subdivision code. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 22,2008 Page 2 Kluchka asked ifthere are any covenants on this property. Grimes said he is not aware of any covenants on this property. Kluchka asked about the owner of the property. Grimes stated that the applicant has purchased this property from a trust. Peter Knaeble, Applicant, stated that his intent is to remodel the existing house which has been vacant for about a year. He clarified that the sale of the property closes at the end of October at which time he will rearrange the location of the existing driveway and garage and start renovating the existing home. He reiterated that all three lots exceed the minimum standards and that all three homes will meet all of the setback requirements. He stated that the property is heavily wooded and that the vast majority of the trees will remain however one or two may be removed on each lot in order to construct the new homes. Keysser asked the applicant if he plans to sell the parcels after the property is subdivided or if he is planning on building the homes on the lots and then selling them. Knaeble stated that he is subdividing the property then selling the lots to builders or buyers who would then build custom homes. Keysser asked the applicant if he anticipates doing any grading of the property. Knaeble said no and explained that the grading on the individual lots will be done by the builders when the homes are built. McCarty referred to Lot 3, the northern most lot, and asked about the square footage of the proposed home. Knaeble said the footprint would be approximately 1,500 square feet and the home would be approximately 2,500 to 3,000 square feet in size. Grimes added that staff and the applicant have made sure that the existing home and both new homes will meet all of the new setback requirements without any variances being issued. Kluchka suggested adding a condition of approval that states no variances will be granted in the future for any of these homes. Schmidgall asked the applicant if he is planning on "rouging-in" the utilities to the proposed new lots. Knaeble said they will be "roughing-in" the utilities but not until the first house is ready to be built. Grimes asked the applicant to discuss the trees on the property. Knaeble said they did a complete tree survey. He explained that on Lot 1 there may be one tree removed depending on the placement of the house. On Lot 2 there may be a couple of trees removed behind the existing house and on Lot 3 one or two trees may be removed in order to build a new house. He stated that they will be doing individual tree preservation plans for each lot. Keysser asked if there will be a rain garden installed on Lot 2 where the existing house is located. Knaeble said he is not planning on installing a rain garden at this point but he is waiting to see what the Bassett Creek Management Commission will require. Grimes added that this development is small enough not to require any ponding but it will require that best management practices be followed. Keysser opened the public hearing. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 22, 2008 Page 3 Roma Witzig, 1840 Quail Avenue North, asked if the developer could give some background information on his company, projects they've done in the past and builders they have used. She asked what assurances the neighbors have as to the quality of these proposed new homes. She said she is very concerned about these homes becoming rental properties and she wants to be notified when the proposed new homes are to be built. Lynn Gitelis, 4945 Golden Valley Road, said she will end up living next to whatever is built on this property. She said that some of the existing trees may not be worth preserving because they are dying. She said she is concerned about having extra activity and a garage and cars right next door to her. She said she would prefer if two houses were built instead of three. She referred to the traffic in the area and stated that it is very difficult to turn left off of Quail Avenue onto Golden Valley Road throughout most of the day. She said it would be great to see someone living at this property again but reiterated that she would rather see two houses built, not three. She said she would like to see the property cleaned up and she is also concerned about the design of the new houses. Catherine Martignacco, 4846 Golden Valley Road, said she keeps her eye on Golden Valley. She said she is concerned, and knows there are others concerned, about these houses becoming rental properties and she would strongly object to any kind of twin home or rental property being built here. She said she agrees that two houses would be better than three and that traffic is a concern. Sam Madrid, 4900 Frontenac Avenue, said he is concerned about the impact to the side yard setback area next to his property. He said he realizes this project isn't going to be stopped by the neighborhood but he lives next to Lot 1 and even though the applicant is legally meeting the setback requirements he would like to see a larger setback area between his property and the proposed new Lot 1. He said he thinks the side and front yard setbacks should be consistent with the other side and front yard setbacks in the neighborhood. He added that he would also like windows along the south side of the proposed house on Lot 1 minimized for his privacy. Seeing and hearing no one else wishing to comment, Keysser closed the public hearing. Knaeble discussed some of the other projects he has done in Golden Valley and other cities and discussed his background. Kluchka referred to the other projects the applicant has done and asked if he just subdivided the properties to prepare them for sale or if he has built houses on the properties and then sold them. Knaeble said he mostly does infill developments where he subdivides properties and sells them to builders to build what they want. He explained that he doesn't know what type or style these proposed new homes will be, but the plans will be reviewed by the City and the City does not have any design standards so he doesn't know if the neighbors will be able to have input on the building design. He said he recognizes that this property has been abandoned and is run-down but it is his intent to clean it up. He referred to the concerns expressed regarding traffic and said he doesn't see two more lots having an impact to the existing streets. He referred to the concerns about rental properties and stated that the property is zoned R-1 so single-family homes Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 22, 2008 Page 4 will be built but if someone wants to rent out their home in the future he has no control over that and he is not sure if the City does either. Kluchka questioned the proposed location of the existing garage. Knaeble said he is not sure yet where on the lot the garage will be placed but it will probably be attached to home and it will meet all setback requirements. Grimes referred to the concern about the quality of the proposed new homes and stated that the City does not require single-family homes to be reviewed by neighboring property owners. McCarty said he would be in favor of this proposal with the condition added that there will be no variance requests made in the future. Keysser questioned if the City can legally not allow someone to ask for a variance. Grimes stated that a stipulation regarding not allowing future variances has been put in subdivision development agreements in the past. He stated that the City Council can always choose to override a subdivision development agreement. He added that he thinks there is plenty of room for good sized houses on these proposed lots without needing any variances. Knaeble said he thinks it would be unfair to the new homeowners to preclude variances because it is not required for any of the other homes in Golden Valley. He added that he would ask the City Council to strike language in the subdivision development agreement regarding not allowing future variances because no one can foresee what the future zoning code requirements will be. Keysser suggested getting the City Attorney's opinion regarding future variances. He noted that just because a homeowner asks for a variance doesn't mean they would get one and he would like to leave that condition out of the Planning Commission's approval and let the Board of Zoning Appeals do their job regarding variance requests. Cera said he agreed with McCarty and Kluchka that there should be a condition of approval that no variances will be allowed on these lots in the future. Grimes agreed and said there really is no reason or justification for variances on any of these proposed lots. He explained that there is a state statute that says subdivision agreements are subject to the zoning regulations currently in place for two years from the time of approval of the subdivision agreement. McCarty stated that putting language in the subdivision development agreement about not allowing future variances doesn't mean that a homeowner can't come before the Board of Zoning Appeals and ask for a variance especially if it is for a hardship created by the City if the zoning code requirements are amended. Keysser suggested the Commissioners take a separate vote on the issue of adding a condition regarding allowing future variances. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 22, 2008 Page 5 The following Commissioners voted yes to add a condition of approval stating that future variances would not be allowed: Cera, Kluchka and McCarty. Commissioners Keysser and Schmidgall voted no. Kluchka asked Grimes about the best way for the neighbors to mitigate the traffic issues. Grimes stated that there has been additional right-of-way given as a part of this proposal. He stated that this proposal would add approximately 20 trips per day to the existing traffic, not counting the 10 trips per day for the existing home. He noted that the City Engineer does not have concerns about the traffic being generated by this proposal, but he could ask him to address the issue before this proposal goes on to the City Council. Kluchka asked what the neighbors could do to be proactive about the traffic issues. Grimes suggested they talk to the Director of Public Works or the City Engineer about their traffic concerns. MOVED by McCarty, seconded by Kluchka and motion carried unanimously to recommend approval of the request to subdivide the property located at 1825 Quail Avenue into three lots with the following conditions: 1. The City Attorney will determine if a title review is necessary prior to approval of the final plat. 2. A park dedication fee in the amount of $1,100 shall be paid prior to final plat approval. 3. A Subdivision Agreement will be drafted for review and approval by the City Council that will include issues found in the City Engineer's memo dated September 12,2008. 4. No future variances will be allowed on any of these lots. Roma Witzig, 1840 Quail Avenue North, asked the applicant when the existing home would be renovated and if there is a prospective buyer for the house. She asked who would be responsible for the upkeep of the property until they sell the lots. She added that she never realized how few rights property owners have. Knaeble said he would be responsible for the properties when they close on the sale at the end of October. He said the renovations will begin right away and then the existing home and new lots will be sold. Grimes explained that there is a single-family housing maintenance code that these houses will be subject to follow. Knaeble stated that there will be a period of transition but that the existing house has been in transition for a year and a half already. He added that in 2006 when the streets were reconstructed in this area the City assessed the property owner for three lots, not two, so the owners expected there to be three lots in the future. ---Short Recess--- Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 22,2008 Page 6 3. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings McCarty reported on the September 16 City Council meeting. He stated that the Preliminary PUD plan for Applewood Pointe was approved and that most of the discussion was related to the appropriateness of the size of the project on the property. Kluchka added the City Council did not approve the rezoning of the property but rather sent it back to the Planning Commission to further discuss the language and requirements in the R-4 zoning district. McCarty stated that the Council also approved a variance request that was appealed to them regarding the height of a proposed new house to be located at 6925 Medicine Lake Road. 4. Other Business No other business was discussed. 5. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 pm. ~i~~ Lester Eck, Sec~tary