Loading...
07-24-06 PC Minutes . . . Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission July 24, 2006 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 24, 2006. Chair Keysser called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Those present were Planning Commissioners Cera, Eck, Keysser, Kluchka, McCarty, Schmidgall and Waldhauser. Also present was Planning Intern Aaron Hanauer and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. Director of Planning and Development Mark Grimes was absent 1. Approval of Minutes July 10, 2006 Planning Commission Meeting MOVED by Schmidgall, seconded by McCarty and motion carried unanimously to approve the July 10, 2006 minutes as submitted. July 17, 2006 Joint City Council/Planning Commission Meeting MOVED by Schmidgall, seconded by McCarty and motion carried unanimously to approve the July 17, 2006 minutes as submitted. 2. Discussion on July 17, 2006 Joint City Council/Planning Commission Meeting Regarding Subdivision Ordinance and Infill Housing Subdivision Ordinance - Lot Splits Keysser explained that at the July 17 Joint Council/Planning Commission meeting the Council directed the Planning Commission to start looking at the Subdivision Ordinance and infill housing issues. Schmidgall stated the Edina's zoning ordinance appealed to him at first but then he realized if Golden Valley adopted this approach, there could be an issue of fairness. If this approach was used a person with a 20,000 square foot lot (currently permissible to subdivide) couldn't subdivide their lot if the median lot size in the neighborhood was 13,000 square feet, but a person with a 26,000 square foot lot in this same neighborhood could. Keysser agreed and stated that Golden Valley doesn't have clearly defined neighborhoods and that it would be very difficult to figure the median lot size. McCarty asked if the Planning Commission has seen a lot of subdivision requests and if they have been for existing double lots or for single lots. Keysser stated that the Commission has seen several. He stated that he would like to receive a map from staff that shows how many lots in the City could be candidates for a subdivision. . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission July 24, 2006 Page 2 Keysser referred to an outline he drafted after the joint City Council/Planning Commission meeting and stated that he thinks the two biggest issues they hear from residents about is the change of character in their neighborhood and drainage issues. Schmidgall stated that he thinks that the "change in the character of the neighborhood" is really just a smokescreen people use when they don't want change in their neighborhood. Cera stated that big houses also concern residents and changes the character of neighborhoods. He added that the size of homes is one issue the Planning Commission could look at. Schmidgall said that since a lot of the home additions are in compliance with the Zoning Code, it leads him to believe that most of the houses are a lot smaller than they could be. Waldhauser said that is why it is good to be looking at these issues now. Cera stated that St. Louis Park used to have a finished square foot ratio that they used and asked staff to look in to their ordinances. Keysser said he first wants to get the facts about how many lots in the City are susceptible to subdivision. Waldhauser said she thinks they should look at the Subdivision Ordinance, but the issues right now are dealing with the Zoning Code, not the Subdivision Ordinance. Eck referred to the study that Keysser suggested regarding which lots in the City could be susceptible to subdivision and stated that there may be lots that are 20,000 square feet in area, but could not be subdivided because of the way the house is positioned on the lot. Kluchka added that it would be helpful to have a map of which lots could be subdivided as-is and which lots could be subdivided if the house were to be torn down. Hanauer stated it is likely staff could create this. McCarty said he agreed with Waldhauser that it makes sense to look at the Zoning Ordinance if it is the house attributes they are considering changing. Hanauer said he could also look at massing attributes and what could be done under the current Zoning Ordinance. Keysser said that information from other first ring suburbs would also help. Schmidgall referred to the City of Bloomington and stated they have neighborhoods that have a large lot reserve. He suggested staff look at their ordinances. Keysser said he would like to look at things that are more objective such as storm water management and what methods the City has to enforce agreements and get compliance. Schmidgall stated that he doesn't think it is fair that a new house should have to solve the whole neighborhood's drainage problem. Keysser agreed but added that a new house could adversely affect the neighborhood. Cera suggested they look at permeable versus impermeable surfaces as well. Keysser suggested that the City Engineer come to a Planning Commission meeting to help educate them about storm water management because he would like to understand it better. Waldhauser stated that they have to separate the storm water issue from the subdivision issue because the storm water issue is city-wide. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission July 24, 2006 Page 3 . She said she doesn't think subdivisions are the cause of drainage problems or a solution to them. Eck added that sometimes new buildings can help other property's drainage problems. Keysser suggested that staff look at other cities, Maplewood in particular, to get more information about rain gardens. Hanauer said he would. Waldhauser said to make sure he knows what types of soils these other cities have. Cera suggested that they make a list of all of the various tools they've discussed and list the pros and cons of each. Hanauer mentioned that APA has a report on infill guidelines and stated that he would get a copy of it to the Planning Commissioners. He explained some of the tools in the APA report to address infill development are: setbacks, height, floor ratio, and building volume ratio. He stressed that if a City tries to change the rules midstream it could lead to problems. He suggested they really look at the height issue. Keysser agreed that height is one of the biggest issues. Cera added that where the ground is measured from is also an issue. Waldhauser said she thinks that before they send staff out to do all sorts of research they should establish some goals or parameters to help figure out what things they are trying to accomplish. . Kluchka referred to his list of notes from the previous joint meeting with the Council and suggested the Planning Commission look for common elements and see how they relate to the ucharacter of the neighborhood" issue and the drainage issues. Keysser suggested that the Commissioners look at the notes he prepared and the notes Kluchka prepared and email him with any comments and he will combine the two documents together into one list. Keysser asked the audience members if they would like to add anything to this discussion. . Marcia Fluer, 225 Janalyn Circle, stated that she appreciates the work the Planning Commission is doing. She referred to the comment said about uMcMansions" being a smoke screen for people who don't like change and said she hopes the Planning Commission doesn't believe that. She said she added a second story on her house but people wouldn't know it because it was done respectfully to the neighborhood. She said Utear downs" are the issue and that there are six just in her neighborhood. She said they are not worried about people making their houses bigger or more modern, they are worried about the sun being taken away because it is height that adds weight to a neighborhood and some of these new homes are just big and vulgar. She stated that Golden Valley is a city of defined neighborhoods and that she doesn't know of any area in Golden Valley that can't be defined. Keysser clarified that he didn't mean that neighborhoods aren't defined geographically, he meant that neighborhoods aren't defined by a single house style or specific lot size. . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission July 24, 2006 Page 4 Kluchka referred to the issue of height and stated that they need to look at the "tricks" with the grading of lots. Waldhauser stated that the City could require steeper setbacks for higher homes. Hanauer said that he would look into the issues that have been discussed and get some information to the Planning Commission in the future. 3. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings No reports were given. 4. Other Business No other business was discussed. 5. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 pm.