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11-25-91 PC Minutes~fi MINUTES OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION November 25, 1991 A regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Chamber, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota. The meeting was called to order by Acting Chair McCracken-Hunt at 7:06p.m. Those present were: Groger, Johnson, Lewis, McCracken-Hunt (Acting Chair) and Prazak; absent were McAleese and Kapsner. Also present were Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development; Beth Knoblauch, City Pla nner and Mary Dold, Secretary. I. Approval of Minutes - October 28, 1991 MOVED by Prazak, seconded Groger and motion carried unanimously to approve the minutes for October 28, 1991 as submitted. II. Informal Public Hearing - Minor Subdivision Applicant: Phillip and Wanda Smith Address: 717 Westwood Dr. So. Golden Valley, Minnesota Request: Consider a minor subdivision to re-subdivide Lots 9 and 10 and the south 50 feet of Lot 11 into two single family lots where a new home will be constructed on Lot 9 Acting Chair McCracken-Hunt excused herself from hearing, commenting and voting on this request because she may want to subdivide her lot sometime in the future and sees this proposal as something that could exist for her in the future.. Her lot is five lots from the proposed minor subdivision. She turned the meeting over to be Chaired by Secretary Jean Lewis. Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development, reviewed with the Commission his staff report, what a minor subdivision is and the new minor subdivision code which was adopted on 6/15/90. Mr. Grimes also reviewed the requirements for which a minor subdivision should be approved or denied. Mr. Grimes summarized a letter received from Mr. Hershbell, 640 Westwood Drive, opposing the minor sub- division. Commissioner Groger asked what the drop in elevation is on Lot 9; Mr. Grimes said approximately 30 to 40 feet. Acting Chair Lewis asked if the City Engineer inspected the lot and found it to be buildable. Mr. Grimes commented that the City Engineer and Director of Zoning are familiar with the l of and have l ooked at the l of and feel a house can be placed on it. The applicants, Phillip and Wanda Smith, 717 Westwood Drive, concurred with Mr. Grimes comments and staff report. s- ~` Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission November 25, 1991 Page Two Mr. Smith introduced the architect, Mr. Bonner, and the potential buyers. Mr. Bonner reviewed the lot design by using an overhead and showed the arrangement of where the house and detached garage would be placed. He discussed his and the buyers concern for maintaining natural areas and mature trees on the lot. He does not plan to build the house on the steep part of the hill but more to the back and to the west. Commissioner Groger asked how extensively the use of retaining walls would be needed. Mr. Bonner commented that he did not think there would be many retaining walls because of the natural grade where the driveway would be placed. There may be one cut in the uphill side where a wall would be needed to hold the natural earth back. The house at its lower level will be pushed back into the hill and this would act as a retaining walla Acting Chair Lewis opened the informal public hearing. Richard Vasepha, 901 Westwood Drive (Lot 5), asked the architect what the closest point the projected house would be to his lot line; Mr. Bonner said approximately 25 feet and far exceeds the setback requirement. Mr. Vasepha is vehemently opposed to this lot division. He and his wife believe the lot is unbuildable, he is concerned about the nearness to his lot line and preserving greenery and trees and feels this would change the feeling of the neighborhood. He also feels that this subdivision would affect the surrounding property values significantly. He and hi s wife had contacted al l adjoining neighbors and they are al l opposed to this subdivision. Jack Molloy, prospective buyer, is excited about the possible move into Golden Valley and is concerned with maintaining the wooded area and having the least impact possible on surrounding neighbors with the building of his house. Cecilia Lynch, 824 Westwood Drive, had questions concerning the building code regarding the size and price of a home to be built. Mr. Grimes commented that there is nothing in the City Code; there could be something in the Deed of the land regarding private restrictions. She requested that more notice time be given before a public hearing. Richard Vasepha commented that his complaint is not with the size of the home but that this is a beautiful neighborhood and wants to maintain this look. Mr. Bonner, the architect commented that he will give credence to the natural topography and nature trees. Acting Chair Lewis closed the informal public hearing. Commssioner Prazak asked staff about the need for a subdivision. Mr. Grimes com- mented that Lot 10 is 3 in. short of conforming and the lot line would need to be moved in order for the subdivision to happen. If Lot 10 was conforming, there would be no need for a public hearing in order for a house to be placed on Lot 9. Acting Chair Lewis asked if there is anything in the code that would prevent the commission from approving this request. Mr. Grimes reiterated from earlier com- ments that the code has one issue that pertains to this request and,.. this is the steep slope. If the City Engineer feels this is unbuildable the Commission can recommend denial, but this is not the Engineers finding. f 1 1 c .~. s~ Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission November 25, 1991 Page Three Commissioner Groger asked if there has been any evidence of land slides or ero- sion. Mr. Vasepha commented that he has seen rocks rolling down the hill and Mr. Smith commented this is a heavy wooded area and has not seen any evidence of ero- sion. Commissioner Prazak stated his concern for the style of home on the lot but sup- ports the proposal because there is an assurance by the buyer to build an appropriate home for the area. Acting Chair Lewis supports the proposal based on the technical evaluations and conclusions stated by the City Engineer that this was a buildable site and has relied on the staff in the past for technical decisions. She is concerned about the topography of the land. Commissioner Johnson opposes the proposal based on the steep slope and a variance was needed in order to meet the setback. She feels the City Code provides these grounds for denial. Commissioner Groger commented that the neighbors have raised a number of con- cerns, i.e. property values, wild life, visual impact; however, these are not concerns that the Commission can base their decision on. The only potential fac- tor in denying the request is the steepness of the slope. Mr. Groger has looked at the property and feels other homes similar to having this topography have been built on. With the staff decision that the land is buildable, he supports approval of this request. MOVED by Groger, seconded by Prazak and motion carried 3 - 1 to recommend to the City Council approval of a minor subdivision to re-subdivide Lots 9 and 10 and the south 50 feet of Lot 11 into two single family lots where a new home will be constructed on Lot 9. III. Reports on meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council and Board of Zoning Appeals Gary Prazak attended the City Council meeting of November 19th and had no report to give. Mark Grimes gave a brief summary of the HRA meeting of November 12th regarding ASAP. Commissioner Groger attended this meeting. IV. Other Business No other business was presented. V. Adjournment Acting Chair Lewis adjourned the meeting at 8:55p.m. 1 Lewis, `Secretary