07-13-98 PC Minutes
Regular Meeting of the
Golden Valley Planning Commission
July 13, 1998
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,
July 13, 1998. The meeting was called to order by Chair Pentel at 7pm.
Those present were Chair Pentel and Commissioners Kapsner, Martens, McAleese and
Shaffer; absent were Groger and Johnson. Also present were Mark Grimes, Director of
Planning and Development; Beth Knoblauch, City Planner; and Mary Dold,
Administrative Secretary.
I. Approval of Minutes -June 8. 1998
MOVED by Kapsner, seconded by McAleese and motion carried unanimously to
approve the June 8, 1998 minutes as submitted with the correction that Kapsner was
not present for the June 8, 1998 meeting; change wording on page 4, paragraph 4, first
sentence from "visual wetness" to "drainage issues"; and correct a typographical error
on page 7, paragraph 5 from "Direct" to "Director".
II. Informal Public Hearing -Amendment to the Preliminary Design Plan -Medley
Hills P.U.D. No. 76
Applicant: GV Development, LLC
Address: 9100-9165 Medley Road and 9101-9157 Medley Circle
Golden Valley, Minnesota
Request: To allow each of the 33 townhome units to have up to 240
sq.ft. of both a deck and porch or a 10' x 12' deck or 10' x
12' porch.
Director of Planning and Development Mark Grimes briefly reminded the commission
that they and the Council recently approved a development project for 33 townhomes at
the corner of Medicine Lake Road and Ensign Avenue. Grimes explained that the
developer, Arne Zachman, approached staff requesting more flexibility for placement of
porches and decks onto each of the units. He said at this time there was just a small
space at the back of each unit for either a deck or porch and for a patio area to the front
of the townhome. Zachman told Grimes that a couple of people have wanted to have
greater square footage for decks and/or porches; however in no case could a
porch/deck combination be greater than 240 sq.ft. in total.
Grimes said that he had discussed this issue with Gary Johnson, Acting Chief Building
Official who commented that in his opinion 240 sq.ft. would not be overwhelming and
could be architecturally integrated into the development. Grimes said in order to
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Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission
July 13, 1998
Page 2
achieve this, the PUD Permit would need to be amended to allow for the additional
square footage.
Arne Zachman, GV Development, LLC, commented that he was looking for more
flexibility for placement of porches/decks onto the townhomes. He noted originally, 4-
season porches were planned on the corner of each unit, but that he has now had
several requests from prospective owners to have more flexibility•in the location of the
porches and decks. He added that potential homeowners and the association would
have to approve all requests and the same materials would be used, as found in the
townhomes, and approved by the association before the plans would be reviewed by the
Inspections Department.
Chair Pentel asked if one company would handle the landscaping and lawn care;
Zachman said yes.
Grimes asked Zachman if the patios to the front of the units were at grade level;
Zachman said yes and added that this was a suggestion by one of the council members
at a council meeting.
Pentel opened the informal public hearing; seeing and hearing no one; Pentel closed the
informal public hearing.
Commissioner Kapsner commented that if an owner wanted to add on an addition
sometime down the road that the building permit would then alert the Inspections
Department that this proposed addition does not fit. Grimes said that if it would be
outside the plans attached to the permit, the PUD would then need to be amended.
Commissioner Shaffer asked if the proposed porch could be 4-season. Grimes said the
Inspections Department has determined that a 4-season porch would be outside what is
permitted, that only a 3-season porch could be constructed.
The commission discussed the difference between a 3-season and 4-season porch.
Some were concerned an owner could expand this use by adding a bathroom, then
making it an addition instead of a porch.
Commissioner Martens suggested defining the porch for 4-season use. Grimes noted
that this was not a large space. Pentel commented that she was not concerned about
how the 240 sq.ft. of space was used, as either a 3-season or 4-season porch.
Commissioner McAleese commented that there is a substantial difference between a
deck and 3-season porch and a room addition. He suggested that the porch be limited
to 3-season and if an owner wanted something more the permit would then need to be
amended.
Zachman said that he has legal language drafted stating the size of a porch or deck
could go up to 10 feet x 12 feet.
Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission
July 13, 1998
Page 3
Pentel asked if a second story addition could be done. Grimes said that this could be
limited through the PUD permit. Knoblauch added that there would be no worry if the
amendment was limited to a deck or porch.
Zachman said the legal language says that owners would have an option for either a 10
foot x 12 foot porch or a 10 foot x 12 foot deck, which cannot be any larger, or a
combination of both.
McAleese noted that this specific language is not present at the commission meeting but
believes it should be available for review at the council level. McAleese said that
theoretically the commission is approving a 240 sq.ft. footprint, but is willing to live with
the developer's legal language if it can be incorporated into the permit.
Pentel commented that she does not have a problem with the requested 240 sq.ft. and
the incorporation of the developer's language. She said she likes the flexibility that
owners will be given.
MOVED by McAleese, seconded by Martens and motion carried unanimously to
recommend approval of the amendment to Medley Hills P.U.D. No. 76 with the addition
of the developer's legal language concerning the size of the porch or deck (10 feet x 12
feet) or a combination of both (10 feet x 24 feet).
III. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority,
City Council and Board of Zoning Appeals
Martens reported on the July 7 City Council meeting. Shaffer commented on the BZA
meeting of June 23.
Knoblauch commented that the council approved, at its July 7 meeting, the Housing
Element of the Comp plan with no changes to the plan itself. She said that there were
minor updates to the technical background and that an appendix was added.
IV. Other Business
The commission briefly discussed the issue of housing maintenance in the city.
V. Adiournment
Pentel adjourned the meeting at 7:55pm.
Emilie Johnson, Secretary
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