Planning Commission

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Sq Dr NE Blaine MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes Planning Commission The Planning Commission is an advisory body to the City Council. One of the Commission’s functions is to hold public hearings and make recommendations to the City Council. The City Council makes all final decisions on these matters. Blaine City Ordinances require that certain documents and information be included in applications. The Planning Commission may postpone consideration of an application that is incomplete and may, for other reasons, postpone final action on an application. For each item the Commission will receive reports prepared by the City staff, open the hearing to the public, and discuss and act on the application. Tuesday, December 10, 2019 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Roll Call Staff Present: Shawn Kaye, Associate Planner Tom Scott, Project Coordinator Present: 5 - Chair Ouellette, Commissioner Homan, Commissioner Goracke, Commissioner Ponds, and Commissioner Halpern Absent: 1 - Commissioner Olson 2. Approval of Minutes 2.-1 Approval of September 10, 2019 Planning Commission Minutes Attachments: 091019 Unapproved Motion by Commissioner Homan to approve the minutes of September 10, 2019, as presented. Motion seconded by Commissioner Ponds. The motion passed 5-0. Aye: 5 - Chair Ouellette, Commissioner Homan, Commissioner Goracke, Commissioner Ponds, and Commissioner Halpern 3. Old Business 4. New Business 4.-1 Public Hearing Case File No. 19-0040 // Lexington Cove (Lennar Corporation) // 12801 and 12847 Lexington Avenue NE The applicant is requesting the following: a) Rezoning from FR (Farm Residential) to DF (Development City of Blaine Page 1 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 Flex) to allow for the construction of single family homes on 42 acres. b) Preliminary plat to subdivide 42 acres into 97 single family lots and 2 outlots to be known as Lexington Cove. c) Conditional use permit to allow for the construction of 97 single family lots in a DF (Development Flex) zoning district. Attachments: Attachments The report to the Planning Commission was presented by Shawn Kaye, Associate Planner. The public hearing for Case File 19-0040 was opened at 7:09PM. Roger Meyer, 12311 Ghia Street, reported he lived near the proposed development. He questioned if the streets being installed would be public or private city streets. Project Coordinator, Tom Scott reported the streets being installed would be standard city public streets. The public hearing was closed at 7:11PM. Commissioner Halpern commented there has been a lot of new development in this portion of the city. He questioned if locations for city parks had been identified. Associate Planner, Shawn Kaye reported a possible park location had been identified just north of this development and noted the city also contributed to the playground facilities at the nearby school. Motion by Commissioner Ponds to recommend approval of Planning Case 19-0040A a rezoning from FR (Farm Residential) to DF (Development Flex) to allow for the construction of single-family homes on 42 acres: Case 19-0040A: 1. The DF zoning standards to be incorporated are consistent with and will complement homes and housing options that have been constructed within recent master planned developments. The standards will create an attractive benchmark of quality multi-family homes with desired range in appearance, style, density, and construction value and market appeal. 2. The DF zoning district allows the city the opportunity to have some flexibility when approving developments that warrant higher standards than what is allowed with the traditional zoning districts. It affords the city the opportunity to provide input on items that would benefit the surrounding neighborhoods and the city as a whole. Motion by Commissioner Ponds to recommend approval of Planning Case 19-0040B a preliminary plat to subdivide 42 acres into 97 single family lots and 2 outlots to be known as Lexington Cove based on the following conditions: City of Blaine Page 2 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 Case 19-0040B: 1. All local public streets require dedication of 60 feet of right-of-way and shall be constructed to 29 feet back to back of width. 2. All streets will follow the Anoka County street name grid system. 3. Plans and specifications must be approved by the city prior to start of construction. 4. Standard utility and drainage easements must be dedicated along all lot lines and over areas of delineated wetlands, wetland mitigation, infiltration trenches, drainage swales and storm water management ponds. 5. The Developer is to provide access for inspection and maintenance of storm water management infrastructure. Restrictions will be placed on lot lines as needed to limit fences and landscaping to insure access. 6. Development requires a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II General Storm Water Permit for Construction Activity from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). A prerequisite to the MPCA permit application includes preparation of a site Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) for the development site. 7. Construction contract documents shall include a mass (rough) grading, erosion protection, sediment control, development, utilities, roadway and storm drainage plan sheets. Supporting wetland delineation report, geotechnical investigation report, soil boring logs, and hydrology report shall be included in the submittal for city review and approval. 8. Trunk Sanitary Sewer area charges become due with platting for upland acreage. The 2019 rate of $6,621/acre for Sanitary Sewer District 7 will apply to all upland acreage if platted in 2019. The 2019 rate will be indexed in January 2020 to determine the new rate for 2020 and will apply to any portion of the development that is platted in 2020. 9. The development plan shall indicate all structures will be protected from flooding. 10. A twenty-foot buffer strip shall be considered adjacent to wetland edges and shall be placed in an easement. 11. RCWD permit is required prior to city approval of construction plans and specifications. 12. The Developer shall process a Letter of Map Change with FEMA prior to issuance of building permits for any portion of the development that is within the unnumbered A-Zone on the FEMA flood map. Developer shall provide all FEMA paperwork and structure as-built surveys to homeowners at time of lot closing. Developer is responsible for following through with FEMA as necessary to receive final FEMA documents and to provide those documents to the homeowners, and to record the final documents on the certificate of title for each parcel in the development. City of Blaine Page 3 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 13. As-built surveys shall be required to verify structure elevations, custom grading requirements, and final lot grading elevations. 14. Park dedication will be required for the 97 new lots being constructed at the rate of $4,449 per unit, for a total park dedication fee of $$431,553 if paid in This amount must be paid prior to releasing the plat mylars for recording at Anoka County. 15. Developer to install grouped mailboxes with design and locations approved by city and US Postal Service. 16. Developer shall explore water source for landscape irrigation systems installed throughout the development including the possible use of created ponds or storm water reuse. 17. Water and sanitary sewer availability charges (WAC & SAC) become due with each building permit at the rate established at the time the building permit is issued. 18. All development signage by separate review. 19. Each lot in the development will be required to have the standard two trees per lot with extra plantings on corner lots. The landscape plan also includes an extensive screening effort along Lexington Avenue, which will present a very nice border to the development and provide screening for the new homes along this roadway. This landscaping will also help to meet tree preservation requirements. Approximately 23.7 acres will be disturbed during construction and the city’s tree preservation requirement includes replacing 8 trees per acre for all disturbed portions of the development. This would mean that 218 trees would be required for tree replacement purposes. The developer has proposed, and will be required to install, a total of 232 trees within this development, including individual lot landscaping and screening along Lexington Avenue. 20. A 6-foot maintenance free fence must be provided along the west side of the lots on Lexington Avenue to enhance the landscape screening along this roadway. 21. The Developer to require the Homeowners Association to maintain the six-foot fence along the west side of the lots along Lexington Avenue. If/when the fence needs replacement; the entire fence must be consistent in style. 22. Execution and recording of a Development Agreement, which sets forth in greater detail the plat conditions as well as other responsibilities for the development of this plat. Motion by Commissioner Ponds to recommend approval of Planning Case 19-0040C a conditional use permit to allow for the construction of 97 single family lots in a DF (Development Flex) zoning district based on the following conditions: Case 19-0040C: City of Blaine Page 4 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 Single Family - DF Development Standards Permitted Uses 1. Single-family detached dwellings. 2. Group family daycare. Accessory Uses 1. Private garages - one detached accessory structure, with area less than 120 square feet, will be permitted. 2. Private swimming pools/meeting the requirements of Blaine Municipal Code Section 6-121. 3. Keeping of not more than two (2) boarders and/or roomers per dwelling unit. Conditional Uses 1. Home occupations listed as Conditional Uses fewer than 33.11. Standards 1. Front yard setback - 25 feet 2. Side yard setback - 7.5 feet for house and 7.5 feet for garage. 3. Corner side yard setback - 20 feet. 4. Rear yard setback - 30 feet 5. Maximum building height - 2 1/2 stories or 35 feet. 6. It shall be required for all single-family dwellings that there be an attached garage constructed of a minimum of four hundred (400) square feet, with no dimension less than 20 feet. Total garage space shall not exceed one thousand (1,000) square feet. Detached garages or accessory storage buildings above 120 square feet are not permitted. One detached accessory storage building below 120 square feet is permitted provided it meets 5-foot side and rear yard setbacks and be located within the rear yard. 7. The minimum finished floor area above grade for all homes shall be 1,325 square feet. 8. All homes shall have a minimum depth and width of 24 feet. 9. All homes to be constructed are to be consistent in architecture, materials and style with the drawings/elevations submitted for conditional use permit approval. Use of premium materials such as brick, natural stone, stucco, cementious or engineered wood siding or shake shingle siding are to be used on all front elevations. Vinyl/metal siding can be utilized on the side and rear elevations. Care to be taken to utilize a variety of home styles, front elevations and colors to provide maximum housing variety within each neighborhood. City of Blaine Page 5 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 Developer to establish criteria to ensure that adjacent single-family homes built within the development do not have the same exterior color or architectural elevations. 10. All residential dwellings must be built in conformance with the current edition of the Minnesota State Building Code. 11. Driveways shall not be constructed closer than 3 feet to the property line. All driveways and approaches shall be hard surfaced using concrete, bituminous asphalt or other city approved material that is consistent in durability and quality. 12. It shall be required that all yards of a new single-family dwelling be sodded over a minimum of 4 inches of topsoil (black dirt containing not more than 35 percent sand). Yards may be seeded over 4 inches of black dirt if underground irrigation is installed with the home. 13. Each lot shall contain two front yard trees with a minimum of 2½-inch caliper. Corner lots shall contain an additional yard tree. 14. Developer to execute and record, where deemed appropriate by the city Engineer, with the sale of single family lots, an affidavit indicating to homebuyers that the soils located in the rear and side yards of the single family lots have not been corrected to accommodate general building construction or pools and that additional effort may be required, by the homeowner, to stabilize those soils before additional construction could occur. 15. All development entrance signage by separate permit. Motion seconded by Commissioner Goracke. The motion passed 5-0. Aye: 5 - Chair Ouellette, Commissioner Homan, Commissioner Goracke, Commissioner Ponds, and Commissioner Halpern Chair Ouellette noted this would be on the agenda of the January 6, 2020 City Council meeting. 4.-2 Public Hearing Case File No. 19-0044 // Public Storage (PS Mid-West One, LLC) // 11421 Ulysses Ave NE / 11452 Central Ave NE / Outlot C, Meadow Place The applicant is requesting the following: a) Preliminary plat approval to re-plat two existing parcels into one parcel. b) Conditional use permit for two proposed Public Storage buildings on one lot and shared access. Building One is 44,302 sf and Building Two is 31,464 sf; both buildings include indoor storage opportunities only. These buildings will be adjacent to the existing Public Storage facility. City of Blaine Page 6 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 Attachments: Attachments The report to the Planning Commission was presented by Shawn Kaye, Associate Planner. The public hearing for Case File 19-0044 was opened at 7:16PM. As no one wished to appear, the public hearing was closed at 7:16PM. Motion by Commissioner Goracke to recommend approval of Planning Case 19-0044A the preliminary plat to re-plat two existing parcels into one parcel based on the following conditions: Case 19-0044A: 1. Park dedication will be required for the two lots that are being combined. Commercial park dedication is based on acreage and the rate for this commercial use is $8,704 per acre. The new site is 7.41 acres so a total park dedication payment of $64,497 is due prior to the release of the final plat mylars for recording purposes at Anoka County. Motion by Commissioner Goracke to recommend approval of Planning Case 19-0044B the conditional use permit for the mini-storage use, two proposed Public Storage buildings on one lot and shared access based on the following conditions: Case 19-0044B: 1. The buildings, landscaping and fencing must be constructed and landscaped as shown on the submittal for this conditional use permit and they must meet the requirements of the Highway 65 Overlay District. 2. Underground irrigation will be required for all landscaping on site. 3. No outside storage of any materials or vehicles is allowed on site at any time. 4. All signage is issued under a separate permit process. This includes temporary signage. 5. All lighting on site must be downlit and shielded to prevent glare or spill. Pole mounted lighting is limited to 20-feet in height. A lighting plan must be submitted that meets the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. 6. Any major changes or additions to the site plan, landscape plan or building will require a conditional use permit amendment. 7. Site plan approval is required prior to any work onsite or issuance of a building permit. 8. Trash disposal and dumpster enclosure details will need to be provided. 9. A Coon Creek Watershed permit is required prior to any site work or issuance of a building permit. 10. The property must be final platted before a building permit can be issued for the buildings. City of Blaine Page 7 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 11. A shared access agreement must be submitted prior to issuance of site plan approval. Motion seconded by Commissioner Halpern. The motion passed 5-0. Aye: 5 - Chair Ouellette, Commissioner Homan, Commissioner Goracke, Commissioner Ponds, and Commissioner Halpern Chair Ouellette noted this would be on the agenda of the January 6, 2020 City Council meeting. 4.-3 Public Hearing Case File No. 19-0047 // William Storbeck Jr. // 799 101st Avenue NE The applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to allow for a small gunsmithing business to be operated out of a garage in an R-1 (Single Family) zoning district. Attachments: Attachments The report to the Planning Commission was presented by Shawn Kaye, Associate Planner. The public hearing for Case File 19-0047 was opened at 7:20PM. Chair Ouellette stated for the record the Planning Commission had received a letter from Grant and Jackie Johnson noting they supported the proposed home business. He reported a letter was also received from Robert and Kristin Zemlin stating they supported the proposed request. Bill Storbeck, 799 101st Avenue NE, thanked the Commission for their consideration. He reported his business was very inconspicuous and was extremely secure. The public hearing was closed at 7:22PM. Commissioner Halpern asked what type of customers Mr. Storbeck worked with. Mr. Storbeck explained he typically worked with competitive target shooters. Motion by Commissioner Homan to recommend approval of Planning Case 19-0047 based on the following conditions: Case 19-0047: 1. Use of the garage for the business is limited to the space shown in the floor plan attached to the staff report. 2. No exterior storage is permitted. 3. No employees, other than the applicant, are allowed with this home occupation. City of Blaine Page 8 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 4. No more than four customers may enter the site daily. 5. Business limited to activities described in the narrative submitted to the Planning Department and may not involve fully functional firearms. 6. Applicant to secure any fire arms permits that may be required for this use. Motion seconded by Commissioner Halpern. The motion passed 5-0. Aye: 5 - Chair Ouellette, Commissioner Homan, Commissioner Goracke, Commissioner Ponds, and Commissioner Halpern Chair Ouellette noted this would be on the agenda of the January 6, 2020 City Council meeting. 4.-4 Public Hearing Case File No. 19-0048 // Renovation Church // 12390 Fraizer St NE The applicant is requesting a conditional use permit to construct a new church building in a PBD (Planned Business District) zoning district. Attachments: Attachments The report to the Planning Commission was presented by Shawn Kaye, Associate Planner. The public hearing for Case File 19-0048 was opened at 7:30PM. Chair Ouellette noted for the record the Planning Commission had received a letter from Margaret Smith supporting the proposed project. Rachelle Springer, 4257 124th Avenue NE, commented she was not against a church locating on this property, but stated she was concerned with the high levels of traffic on Fraizer Street. She asked how the city would address this concern and questioned how the city would keep church parking off of the adjacent private streets. Project Coordinator, Tom Scott reported the city could not control what occurred on private streets and noted the neighbors could sign the streets “No Parking”. Chair Ouellette recommended the homeowners association have a meeting with the Blaine Police Department to address the traffic concerns in the area. Project Coordinator, Tom Scott explained the Anoka County Highway Department planned to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 122nd in 2022 and a third lane would be added to Lexington Avenue in 2024. City of Blaine Page 9 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 Roger Meyer, 12311 Ghia Street, stated he did not oppose the church. He commented he was responsible for his private street and explained he did not want church traffic to impact his private street, water or sewer lines. He suggested the proposed church access not be lined up with Ghia Street. Project Coordinator, Tom Scott reported the church will not impact the water or sewer lines in the area noting the church would flow to the south. He explained it was safer for vehicular traffic to align intersections than to have them staggered because this created more turning conflicts. He indicated he would talk to the church regarding these issues, but noted from an engineering traffic safety standpoint, roads were typically lined up. Chair Ouellette commented he did not believe traffic from the church would flow onto Ghia Street. Mr. Meyer recommended the city take ownership of his private roadway given the high level of traffic that would be flowing down Ghia Street given the high level of development that was occurring around his home. Associate Planner, Shawn Kaye reminded the public that the traffic that would occur at the church would be on two Sunday morning services at 9AM to 11PM. She did not anticipate any of the church traffic would be heading into the private neighborhood. Mr. Meyer requested the city be required to install “Private Drive” signs on Ghia Street. He expressed further frustration with the city given the fact he was fully taxed by the city even though the street he lived on was private. The public hearing was closed at 7:46PM. David Sorn, Lead Pastor of Renovation Church, introduced himself and thanked the Commission for their consideration. He reported his church already had 550 parishioners split between two services and he had a volunteer parking team of five or six people directing traffic. He explained this team would continue to serve the church at the new location. He stated the church wanted to be a good neighbor and noted the high levels of traffic would only occur twice on Sunday mornings. He indicated traffic would be directed onto Frazier Street. Motion by Commissioner Goracke to recommend approval of Planning Case 19-0048 based on the following conditions: Case 19-0048: 1. The city reserves the right to require the church to provide on-site traffic management should the need arise at some point in the future. City of Blaine Page 10 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 2. A building permit will not be issued for the site until the parcel is platted into a lot and block. 3. The applicant is to submit detailed site, grading, landscape, and building plans meeting the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. Building and site plans to meet all building and fire code requirements with site plan approval are required prior to any site work. 4. Park dedication is required for 6.53 acres, at the commercial rate in effect at the time of final plat approval. Payment would be required prior to release of final plat mylars for recording. The 2020 commercial rate for park dedication is $8,704 per acre for a total amount due of $56,837 in 2020. Payment is required prior to release of final plat mylars for recording. 5. A Site Improvement Performance Agreement and financial guarantee to be submitted to ensure completion of site improvements. 6. The sanctuary is limited to seating for up 479 people with a typical full-service schedule for Sunday only. This would allow for religious holidays, weddings or funeral services to occur outside of the normal weekend schedule as well as lesser attended functions that might occur during the normal work week. 7. The building is limited to the proposed use as a church as shown in the attached site plan. Other uses such as child care, pre-school or school, exclusive of religious education classes, are not permitted by the CUP and would require subsequent CUP review and approval. 8. Temporary uses such as outdoor events, are not permitted without a specific CUP amendment or Special Events License issued by the city. 9. All landscape areas will need to be provided with underground irrigation and sod. The future/expansion areas will be seeded, however, all other yards and boulevards, including Lexington Avenue and Fraizer Street, will be required to be sodded and irrigated. 10. The 13 juniper plantings on the landscape plan will need to be replaced with a variety of two different spruce/evergreen trees. 11. All site lighting shall be down lit and shielded. Pole-mounted lights are limited to 20 feet in height. 12. Permanent signage requires a separate permit approval process. 13. The future building and parking areas identified on the site plan will require a conditional use permit amendment if they are proposed in the future. 14. The access drive located on the northwest corner of the site will need to be removed prior to the required financial guarantee being released for the site. 15. Developer shall explore the use of created ponds, existing wells, or new wells as a water source supply for landscaping systems with a moisture sensor. The developer must obtain city concurrence before connecting to the public water system. City of Blaine Page 11 Planning Commission Minutes December 10, 2019 16. RCWD permit is required prior to city approval of construction plans and specifications. 17. All internal utilities shall be maintained privately by the development association, including storm sewer piping, infiltration basins and storm water sediment ponds. 18. Separate fire lines and domestic water services are required for each structure from the water lateral lines. 19. Water Availability Charges (WAC) and Sewer Availability Charges (SAC) are due with each building permit. Motion seconded by Commissioner Ponds. The motion passed 5-0. Aye: 5 - Chair Ouellette, Commissioner Homan, Commissioner Goracke, Commissioner Ponds, and Commissioner Halpern Chair Ouellette noted this would be on the agenda of the January 6, 2020 City Council meeting. Adjournment Adjournment time was 7:50PM. Motion by Commissioner Homan to adjourn the Regular Planning Commission meeting. Motion seconded by Commissioner Halpern. The motion passed 5-0. Aye: 5 - Chair Ouellette, Commissioner Homan, Commissioner Goracke, Commissioner Ponds, and Commissioner Halpern City of Blaine Page 12