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09-11-17 PC Minutes Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 11, 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 Monday, September 11, 2017. Chair Baker called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Those present were Planning Commissioners Baker, Black, Blenker, Blum, Johnson, and Waldhauser. Also present were Planning Manager Jason Zimmerman, Associate Planner/Grant Writer Emily Goellner, and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. Commissioner Segelbaum was absent. 1. Approval of Minutes August 28, 2017, Regular Planning Commission Meeting Johnson referred to the third paragraph on page three and asked that it be clarified to state that it would be his preference to have applicants work with staff regarding the hours of operation so that what the applicant is requesting and what is in the Conditional Use Permit match each other. MOVED by Johnson, seconded by Waldhauser and motion carried 4 to 1 to approve the August 28, 2017, minutes with the above noted clarification. Blenker abstained. 2. Informal Public Hearing — Minor Subdivision — 7200 Harold — SU17-14 Applicant: Tollberg Homes Address: 7200 Harold Avenue Purpose: To reconfigure the existing single family residential lot into two new single family residential lots. Zimmerman referred to a survey of the property and explained the applicant's proposal to subdivide the property at 7200 Harold Avenue into two new lots. The existing single family home would be demolished and two new single family homes would be built. He noted that the existing lot is 39,640 square feet in size, there is a wetland in the northeast corner of the property, and there is a drainage and utility easement along the east property line. He explained that the neighborhood notification process in this case was a mailing rather than a meeting and that the applicant mailed notices to the neighborhood, but they arrived later than required by City policy. Zimmerman explained that each lot will be larger than the required 6,000 square feet in size and wider than the required 50 feet of width. He stated that the property is zoned Moderate Density (R-2) Residential and guided for Low Density Residential (up to 5 units/acre). The proposed development will be approximately 2.2 units per acre. Baker asked if the building envelope on the proposed new eastern lot would be smaller because of the wetland to the north. Zimmerman said yes, the buildable area will be smaller Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 11, 2017 Page 2 because of the wetland and the drainage and utility easement. He added that the applicant's survey and preliminary plat will need to be modified before final plat approval because of a planned MnDOT trail along Highway 55 and the Engineering Department is requesting that the existing drainage and utility easement be expanded from 15 feet in width to 25 feet in width to ensure clearance from the new home for maintenance. Zimmerman stated that staff is recommending approval of the proposed subdivision as it meets all of the requirements listed in the Zoning Code. Blum asked Zimmerman about the history of this property. Zimmerman stated that the property was rezoned from R-1 to R-2 in 2011 and that there were a couple of different proposals. One was a PUD proposal to build houses on flag lots on this property and the property to the west which was ultimately denied. Baker asked if increasing the number of curb cuts is a concern. Zimmerman said they are allowed to have one curb cut per lot. Blum referred to the easement that MnDOT is requesting along the north end of this property and asked if the City has an interest in having an easement in place that could be useful decades down the road for a light rail extension or other public amenity. Zimmerman said there is nothing in the City's plans in this area that would require an easement along the north side of this property and that any use would be able to be done within the existing right-of-way. Johnson noted that on the survey of the property it is clear that the building envelope didn't include the wetland area, but in the PowerPoint presentation it did include part of the wetland. Zimmerman said there will be a buffer around the wetland and that the materials in the agenda packet showed the required drainage and utility easements, not the setbacks. Johnson referred to the Engineering staff report where it states that no pavement cuts are allowed between November 1 and the date that spring load restrictions are lifted by MnDOT and questioned if the applicant will be able to do curb cuts before November 1. Waldhauser asked if the applicant would be able to build a twin home on this property. Zimmerman said yes, the applicant could do a zero lot line twin home on the property, but it would be a different proposal than what is being proposed currently. Blenker asked about the neighborhood notification rules. Zimmerman stated that for many years the only neighborhood notice was the City's notice of the public hearings. A few years ago the City changed the policy to require that a neighborhood meeting be held, and more recently the policy was changed to require just a neighborhood mailing. Baker asked how far in advance the mailings were received. Zimmerman said he thinks the neighbors received the applicant's notice about 6 or 7 days in advance of this meeting. Blenker asked who receives the notice. Zimmerman stated that state statute requires public hearing notices to be mailed to properties within 350 feet, however, the City mails notices to properties within 500 feet. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 11, 2017 Page 3 Nathan Jones, Chief Operating Officer for Tollberg Homes, Applicant, stated that enlarging the existing drainage and utility easement is a bit of a problem. He said they bought the property with the assumption that the easement would be 15 feet wide which seems reasonable. He said they want to work with the City on other solutions. One solution would be to reduce the easement size to 20 feet in width and another solution would be to have a 6 foot setback on the west side of the property which might require a variance. Blum asked Jones if he is suggesting a variance as part of this proposal. Jones said no it is just discussion at this point. Baker opened the public hearing. Mark Sejvar, 7327 Ridgeway Road, asked if this is the continuation of a trend to subdivide properties in this area. He said he likes the lots as they are. Jenikka Soyring, 7182 Harold Avenue, said she is excited for some new development but her concern is the wetlands in the back and how far back on the lot the homes would be placed. Seeing and hearing no one else wishing to comment, Baker closed the public hearing. Waldhauser said she is sympathetic to the applicant's dilemma and she doesn't know what other options there are for maintaining the pipe in the easement area. She said it seems like an awfully large easement to handle an overflow pipe from a very small wetland. Baker agreed and said it might be worth asking the Engineering Department if that easement can be narrower than 25 feet. Zimmerman noted that suggesting a smaller easement wouldn't preclude the applicant asking for a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals. Blenker asked if the dimensions of the lot could change if the easement area is 25 feet wide. Jones stated that the plans submitted for this proposal assume a 15 foot wide easement. Zimmerman stated that the Planning Commission could vote on this proposal and that the City Council could send it back to the Planning Commission with revisions if necessary. Black questioned if there would be enough room to build a house if the easement area is 25 feet wide. Zimmerman said yes there would be 24.5 feet of buildable width. Blum asked if this would be a situation of a property owner creating their own problem. Zimmerman stated that it might not be the fault of the property owner if the City is increasing the size of the existing easement and that the Board of Zoning Appeals would need to make that determination. Baker referred to Mr. Sejvar's question about this being the continuation of a trend to subdivide properties. Zimmerman said he doesn't know of any other properties in the area that could be split other than the other properties zoned R-2 on the north side of Harold Ave. Blum stated that at one point there was the possibility of building duplexes in this R-2 area but members of the public didn't want to see that type of development in this area which is Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 11, 2017 Page 4 not the case with this proposal because it is for single family homes. Baker stated that this Commission has been sensitive to overcrowding in this area. He added that there are also many rules and laws about building near wetlands. Waldhauser noted that in the past proposal it wasn't the neighbors who didn't want twin homes it was the developer who didn't want to pursue them. Johnson asked if there is anything the City can do to prevent problems witli flooding and grade changes that cause water problems. Baker said he doesn't know if there is that risk with this proposal because of the existing pipe draining the wetland. Waldhauser added that adding a home and driveway will increase the amount of water going to the wetland. Baker asked if there has been monitoring of the pipe to see if water is flowing out of the wetland. Zimmerman said he didn't know, but the Engineering staff does analyze the capacity of the wetland. Waldhauser asked if there is something gained by approving this proposal now if changes will have to be made to the width of the existing easement. Baker stated that waiting is an option, but the applicant wants to go ahead with this proposal. He asked the Commissioners if they want to add a recommendation about the width of the easement. Johnson suggested the recommendation state that the easement will be modified to less than 25 feet in width or the applicant will need to return to the Planning Commission. Blenker questioned if they would be requiring the applicant to come back if it can't be modified. Baker said if the easement isn't modified the Planning Commission is recommending approval of the subdivision as submitted. If the easement is modified the applicant would have to come back. Blenker said she thinks the Planning Commission could just recommend approval and if the applicant doesn't like what happens they can ask for the proposal to be revised. Zimmerman agreed that the Council could send it back to the Planning Commission for an adjustment to the lot widths. Baker said the condition they should consider is whether or not to support the idea of modifying the easement to allow the City Engineer to reconsider the width of the easement. MOVED by Johnson, seconded by Waldhauser and motion carried unanimously to recommend approval of the proposed minor subdivision of 7200 Harold Avenue subject to 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 of$2,790 shall be paid before release of the Final Plat. 3. The City Engineer's memorandum, dated September 6, 2017, shall become part of this approval. The City Engineer shall have further discussion with the applicant regarding the width of the existing easement. 4. Modifications to the Preliminary Plat, as outlined by the Engineering Division in the memo dated September 6, 2017, shall be made and resubmitted to the City before approval of the Final Plat. --Short Recess-- Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission September 11, 2017 Page 5 3. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings Zimmerman stated that the Arts and Music Festival will be held on Saturday, September 16. 4. Other Business • Council Liaison Report No report was given. 5. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 pm. �'�� ��� �. � �a f� VV on Blum, Secretary Lisa Wittman, Administrative Assistant