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04-24-17 PC Minutes Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 24, 2017 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 Wednesday, April 12, 2017. Chair Segelbaum called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Those present were Planning Commissioners Baker, Blenker, Blum, Kluchka, Segelbaum and Waldhauser. Also present were Planning Manager Jason Zimmerman, Associate Planner/Grant Writer Emily Goellner, and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. Commissioner Johnson was absent. 1. Approval of Minutes April 12, 2017, Special Planning Commission Meeting MOVED by Waldhauser, seconded by Kluchka and motion carried unanimously to approve the April 12, 2017, Special meeting minutes as submitted. April 12, 2017, Regular Planning Commission Meeting MOVED by Waldhauser, seconded by Kluchka and motion carried unanimously to approve the April 12, 2017, Regular meeting minutes as submitted. 2. Discussion — Outdoor Storage Zimmerman reminded the Commissioners that they've had several discussions about outdoor storage over the last several months. The discussions have focused on auto dealership inventory storage, front yard and side yard storage in the R-1 Single Family Zoning District, and the regulations in other zoning districts. He stated that staff discussed the Planning Commission's recommendations with the City Council in January and based on all of the feedback, staff will draft new zoning language to consider this summer. He added that he is bringing this item to the Commission in order to update them on where staff is in the process of amending the outdoor storage regulations. Zimmerman stated that the concerns regarding auto dealership inventory storage include: the storage of inventory in parking ramps, the storage of inventory on vacant and/or underutilized surface parking lots throughout the City, and the storage of inventory on dealer-owned properties that aren't a dealership lot. He showed the Commission some photos of inventory storage in various locations and stated that the City Council direction was to allow inventory storage in parking ramps if it does not impact parking needs for the office use. For other lots, the City Council's direction was to allow stand-alone inventory storage only in Light Industrial or Industrial zoning districts and to require screening if the lots abut Residential, Institutional, Commercial, or Office uses. He added that the City Council was also supportive of requiring a Conditional Use Permit to allow inventory storage. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 24, 2017 Page 2 Zimmerman stated that the concerns regarding outdoor storage in front yards in the R-1 Zoning District include: what to allow, and how to define the word "items." He stated that one-third of the code enforcement violations in 2016 were regarding storage in a front yard and another one-third of the violations were vehicles parking in.the front yard. He stated that concerns regarding storage in side yards include: screening from neighbors and the street, and if items stored in a side yard should be required to be on a paved surface. He stated there are erosion issues if items are stored on grass, but that there are also water quality and run-off issues with requiring additional paved areas. Segelbaum asked if pavers, or gravel would be allowed. Zimmerman stated pavers are allowed, but staff doesn't support gravel because the area tends to expand over time. Waldhauser added that gravel also ends up in the street and storm water system. Waldhauser said that she would like to limit outdoor storage to the bare minimum. She added that requiring a Conditional Use Permit for dealership inventory seems like a lot of work for applicants and staff. Zimmerman agreed, but added that requiring a Conditional Use Permit might discourage the storage of dealership inventory, and it would also be a way for the City to regulate it. Zimmerman stated that another concern that will be addressed is the storage of items in other zoning districts that are unrelated to the business occurring, and the screening of items that are related to a business. He added that staff is recommending that all of the outdoor storage and screening requirements be moved from the various zoning districts into one section in the Zoning Code. Segelbaum said he recalls there being some hesitation regarding security and screening. Zimmerman said there was conversation regarding the security of dealership inventory if it is screened. He stated that staff would work with the Police Department regarding security and screening. Blum stated that the themes that came out of the City survey were green, clean, safe, etc. and allowing dealership inventory storage doesn't seem like a high value use for Golden Valley. He said he is concerned about being permissive about this use and doesn't want the Conditional Use Permit process to just be a rubber stamp. He referred to the proposed language in the R-1 Zoning District and said he is happy to see the storage of construction materials limited to 30 days but he is concerned about allowing a hulking recreational vehicle to be stored 3 or 5 feet away from a neighbor's lot line. He added that they can also leak gas and oil which is bad for the environment and not very safe. He said he thinks it would be better to not allow storage along the side of a house or garage because it is not visually appealing to the neighbors who have to look at it. Kluchka said he is confused about the priorities between allowing additional impervious surface and requiring items to be stored within the building envelope. He said if the City doesn't want to encourage additional impervious surface, an RV or a boat will have the same amount of run-off as a paved area. Baker stated that there could be some pervious surFace under a boat or RV. Kluchka stated that the Planning Commission spent a lot of time establishing requirements for building envelopes so he is confused about the Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 24, 2017 Page 3 priorities. Blum stated that the City has been liberal on allowing people to expand their garages which doesn't jibe with letting people park giant vehicles in plain view. Waldhauser asked about other options for storing recreational vehicles. Kluchka said they can be stored at a storage unit. Segelbaum said he would guess that people would like to have their recreational vehicles at their homes during the season. He questioned if a car parked in a side yard could be considered storage if it is being used. Zimmerman stated that the next step in the process will be drafting ordinance language for the Planning Commission to review followed by a public hearing. 3. Comp Plan Discussion — Future Land Use Map Zimmerman noted that the Planning Commission has had two previous discussions about the Land Use section of the Comp Plan. He stated that in addition to the proposed planning districts and correcting the existing land use/zoning inconsistencies, there are two additional topics he would like to discuss which include senior density bonuses and mixed income housing. Zimmerman stated that the existing R-3 and R-4 Zoning Districts allow a bonus of two additional units per acre for senior housing and that it makes sense to continue using that language regarding density bonuses. Waldhauser stated that the City has heard from residents that they don't really care about the density for senior housing, but they do not want exceptions to the height limits. Zimmerman said it is difficult to get additional density without building up. Baker asked if the density bonus is supposed to be an incentive to get additional senior housing units. Zimmerman said yes. Baker asked if incentivizing has worked. Zimmerman stated that all of the senior housing projects have been done using the PUD process so there aren't any good examples of projects that have used the density bonus. Zimmerman referred to the issue of mixed income housing. He referred to the housing report recently done by a consultant and stated it suggests that if the City wants to get more affordable housing units a requirement could be added that requires projects of a certain size to have a certain number of the units be affordable. He said there are some challenges in putting that language in the Code for rental housing unless the project has to go through some sort of zoning approval. He showed the Commissioners a chart of all of the City's current R-3 and R-4 properties, along with their densities and current and proposed zoning. He discussed the densities and land use categories of the various zoning categories and stated that staff is working on proposed language for these categories to make sure the zoning and land use categories work together. Waldhauser asked that the addresses of the properties be included on the chart. Zimmerman showed the Commissioners a draft of the future Land Use Map and compared it to the existing Land Use Map and asked them for feedback. Waldhauser referred to the Flexible Use category and asked if there are any uses that will not be allowed in that district. Zimmerman said yes, the idea is that the Flexible Use district would focus on small scale, neighborhood commercial uses. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 24, 2017 Page 4 Zimmerman highlighted several areas of the City and noted that the southeast corner of Highway 55 and Winnetka is proposed to be Medium Intensity (up to 20 units per acre). He referred to the I-394 Corridor area and stated that currently the whole corridor is guided for Mixed Use. However, staff is proposing that the area along I-394 be designated Commercial Retail-Service and the areas along the edge of the district be designated Flexible Use. He referred to the Downtown area and stated that staff is also proposing to designate that area Flexible Use. Waldhauser asked if the properties along Boone Avenue would also be guided for Flexible Use. Zimmerman stated that the proposed designation for those properties is Light Industrial and Industrial but staff will consider what will be permitted or allowed with a Conditional Use Permit in the Zoning Code language in order to expand the types of uses that could occur in those districts. Blum asked if the Downtown area would have an overlay district to encourage walkability. Zimmerman said an overlay district can be used if needed, but if the current language in the Mixed Use Zoning District is used many of the design standards are already addressed. Segelbaum asked if different mixed use language is being contemplated for the proposed new Flexible Use category. Zimmerman said he envisions making the I-394 Mixed Use zoning language more general and not so specific to the I-394 area and maybe allowing multiple uses within a block instead of within one building. Segelbaum said the sense he got from the public comments is that people want more retail uses so he thinks it is going to be important for the Planning Commission to review the new Mixed Use and Flex Use language. Zimmerman explained that zoning follows land use. The language regarding land use is more broadly defined in the Comp Plan and is more specific in the Zoning Code. He added that the goals from the existing I-394 Mixed Use category will probably remain the same. Zimmerman referred to the Douglas Drive area and noted that staff is proposing that the north end be guided Moderate Intensity to allow for more density with more flexible nodes as it gets closer to Highway 55. Zimmerman stated that staff has not proposed any changes for the Light Rail area yet because of the uncertainty of funding at the state and federal level. He said the City should know more in regard to funding within a few months so rather that reguiding the properties in that area now staff is proposing to wait. Baker questioned if the City would be too far behind in the planning process to catch up if they wait for certainty regarding funding. Zimmerman said there is a huge amount of reluctance for change in this area. He stated that if the funding moves forward the City will have to plan for this area. If the funding doesn't materialize no changes will need to be made in order to meet the Met Council's minimum density requirements. He added that language could be put in the Comp Plan goals stating that a small area plan will need to be done in the future for this area. Blum referred to the northwest end of Winnetka Avenue and said that it seems appropriate to explore other uses in this area. Zimmerman stated that there are only two non-residential properties in that area. One is the cemetery and the other is the small office building south of the Cemetery. He reminded the Commission that there was a Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 24, 2017 Page 5 proposal in the past to rezone the office building but there wasn't consensus from the Planning Commission on what to allow there. Waldhauser asked if the City has places that would be suitable for a small coffee shop or breakfast place. She said she sees them everywhere except in Golden Valley. Baker stated that in other cities those types of uses may have already been in place before residential uses were built. He added that it would be hard to impose those types of uses on an existing neighborhood. Kluchka agreed that if there were an opportunity it probably would have presented itself already. He stated the Flex Use category could help jumpstart those types of uses, but it's difficult without higher density. He added that the area near the Hello apartments and the area along Plymouth Avenue with the bike trails might good for more flexible uses. Segelbaum stated that Douglas Drive would also be a good area for flexible uses. Zimmerman agreed and said the south end of Douglas Drive is proposed to be guided Flexible Use. Blum asked if the City could require an additional level of buffering or screening if these flexible uses are next to R-1 properties. Zimmerman said yes. Kluchka suggested adding flexible use designations near park adjacent amenities in order to find places where people already are. Zimmerman stated that the proposed land use map will be reviewed by the transportation and wastewater consultants and brought back to the Planning Commission for review. He added that the next Comp Plan Conversation will be on the Sustainability and Resilience Chapter of the Comp Plan and will be held on May 8. 4. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings Segelbaum stated that he will be presenting the Planning Commission Annual Report at the May Council/Manager meeting. Zimmerman stated that he has made some revisions to the Annual report and that he would email the updated report to the Commissioners. 5. Other Business • Council Liaison Report Council Member Schmidgall reported that Einstein Bagels is closing. He reported on the progress of the Brookview Community Center construction and stated that the Golden Valley Historical Society received a grant from the State and are about to embark on putting in a new exhibit. 6. Adjournment The meeting was djourned at 8:24 pm. ��... �...�- ` � �' ,,� � `� John Kluch , Secretary Lisa ittman, Administrative Assistant