Planning Commission

Maple Grove Planning Commission meeting April 25, 2022 CALL TO ORDER A meeting of the Maple Grove Planning Commission was held at 7:00 p.m. on April 25, 2022 at the Maple Grove City Hall, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Chair Lamothe called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL Planning Commission members present were Chair Craig Lamothe, Chris Ayika, Lorie Klein, Susan Lindeman, Chuck Lenthe, Michael Ostaffe, and Joe Piket. Present also were Karen Jaeger, City Council Liaison; Peter Vickerman, Planning Manager; Brett Angell, Economic Development Manager; and Scott Landsman, City Attorney. ITEMS TO BE None. REMOVED FROM THE AGENDA CONSENT ITEMS The following Consent Items were presented for the Commission’s approval: A. Regular Meeting – March 28, 2022 B. Edison Apartments TABLED to Monday, May 9, 2022, Planning Commission meeting. JPL Development LLC Garland Lane North and County Road 30 Comprehensive Plan Amendment, PUD Development Stage Plan and Final Plat for the purpose to construct an apartment building to include 248 residential units. Motion by Commissioner Lenthe, seconded by Commissioner Ayika, to approve the Consent Items as presented. Upon call of the motion by Chair Lamothe, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. CONSIDERATION OF None. ITEMS PULLED FROM  Maple Grove Planning Commission April 25, 2022 Page 2 CONSENT AGENDA REVIEW OF THE CITY Mr. Vickerman reported there were no items from Community COUNCIL MINUTES Development at the April 18 City Council meeting. FROM THEIR REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 18, 2022 OLD BUSINESS No items to present. NEW BUSINESS Mr. Angell stated Cloutier Properties is seeking PUD development HOMESTEAD stage plan approval for exterior changes and alterations to the CORNERS building and parking areas to accommodate a drive-thru for the Homestead Corners multi-tenant commercial building. The 2.48- CLOUTIER acre parcel is located at the southwestern corner of the PROPERTIES intersection of Weaver Lake Road and Elm Creek Blvd. The building was constructed in 1988 and was acquired by the 13600 GROVE DRIVE applicant in mid-2021. Staff discussed the plans in further detail and made the following recommendation. PUD DEVELOPMENT STAGE PLAN FOR STAFF RECOMMENDATION: EXTERIOR CHANGES Motion to recommend that the City Council direct the City AND ALTERATIONS Attorney to draft a resolution and a planned unit development TO THE BUILDING agreement approving the Homestead Corners PUD development AND PARKING AREAS stage plan subject to: TO ACCOMMODATE A DRIVE-THRU 1. The applicant addressing to the satisfaction of the city any remaining applicable comments contained in the memorandums from: a. The Community & Economic Development Department dated April 12, 2022 b. The Fire Department dated April 14, 2022 c. The Engineering Department dated April 18, 2022 Discussion Commissioner Piket requested further information regarding the drive-thru and the type of tenant that would be using it. He stated Maple Grove Planning Commission April 25, 2022 Page 3 the back of the building would now have traffic, where this hasn’t been the case before. Mr. Angell reported the tenant requiring the drive-thru would be a coffee use. He explained the majority of the space within the building would go to a lower traffic user. He stated the developer has been speaking with the tenants about deliveries and anything else to the rear of the building. He indicated the rear of the building was already posted “No Parking”. Commissioner Ostaffe asked how wide the drive aisle would be to the rear of the building. Mr. Angell stated most of the area was 20 feet or more. He indicated there was one pinch point at the corner of the building that got down to 16 feet. Chair Lamothe inquired if applicant was aware of the delivery schedules for the different tenants in this building. Mr. Angell explained staff does not have code requirements for delivery times. He stated staff was comfortable with the fact the tenants could work this out. He commented there was adequate room at the front of the building to make deliveries as well. However, he anticipated the majority of deliveries would be made overnight. Councilmember Klein questioned where the headstone was located within this development. Mr. Angell reviewed the location of the headstone with the Commission noting it was placed there as a memento to the founder of the restaurant and previous property owner. He reported staff has requested a third party report stating there was nothing buried below the headstone. The applicant was at the meeting to answer questions. Chris Thielen, Thielen & Green, thanked staff and the Commission for reviewing his project. He stated he was looking forward to updating this building as well as adding a drive-thru for a new tenant. He explained he could not reveal the name the national coffee shop chain as this was contingent upon the drive-thru being approved. He commented on the delivery situation and noted some go to the back drive, but the majority are made to the front of the building in short box trucks. He indicated deliveries that do occur in the rear of the building were being done prior to 5:00 a.m. which would avoid peak traffic times for the drive-thru. Maple Grove Planning Commission April 25, 2022 Page 4 Commissioner Lenthe understood if the drive-thru was not approved, another user would take up the entire space. Mr. Theilen stated this was a potential. He commented if drive-thru were not approved another user would have to be found for the endcap. Commissioner Lindeman asked if the garbage was picked up in the rear of the building. Mr. Thielen reported this was the case. He reviewed the location of the two trash enclosures. Commissioner Lindeman questioned if the trash was picked up prior to 5:00 a.m. Mr. Theilen indicated the landlord was working on rerouting the time of trash pickup to ensure this occurred prior to 5:00 a.m. Commissioner Ostaffe requested further information regarding the exterior building materials. Mr. Thielen stated the exterior would be a board and batten material in a deep blue color. He noted the existing brick would remain in place. He commented further on how the integrity of the building would remain in place, repairs would be made and a new look would be provided to the structure. Motion by Commissioner Piket, seconded by Commissioner Ayika, to recommend that the City Council direct the City Attorney to draft a resolution and a Planned Unit Development agreement approving the Homestead Corners PUD development stage plan subject to: 1. The applicant addressing to the satisfaction of the city any remaining applicable comments contained in the memorandums from: a. The Community & Economic Development Department dated April 12, 2022 b. The Fire Department dated April 14, 2022 c The Engineering Department dated April 18, 2022 Commissioner Lindeman stated she was concerned about this project because of the drive-thru. She feared that with deliveries being made to the rear of the building, this will negatively impact the proposed drive-thru.  Maple Grove Planning Commission April 25, 2022 Page 5 Commissioner Lenthe agreed stating this was not a good location for a drive-thru. Commissioner Piket respectfully disagreed. He understood this may not be the perfect drive-thru situation, but he noted there were other drive-thru locations in the city that had a similar setup. He did not believe it was fair to deny this request, when other drive-thrus had been approved with a similar setup. Commissioner Ostaffe stated he originally was concerned about the drive-thru but now believed it would be useful and would be properly managed by the new ownership. Commissioner Ayika indicated he would be supporting the proposed request. He noted the drive-thru might help in stabilizing the crisscross traffic that was occurring on this property. Commissioner Klein stated she had some concerns initially, but appreciated the amount of space that would be provided to queue cars for the drive-thru. Chair Lamothe explained he supported the request and he appreciated the fact that a 30 year old building was being updated and improved. While he was concerned with the delivery schedule for this property, he anticipated the landlord would work this out with the tenants. Upon call of the motion by Chair Lamothe, there were five ayes and two nays (Commissioners Lenthe and Lindeman opposed). Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARING Mr. Vickerman stated city staff have been working with the property owner at 6930 Trenton Lane in an effort to shorten FIDELDY ADDITION Trenton Lane and reconfigure the surrounding properties. Trenton Lane previously continued and connected with 69th 6930 TRENTON LANE Avenue to the west. sometime between 1989 and 2000, this road NORTH was disconnected and two cul-de-sacs with a park trail between them were constructed. The Trenton Lane portion was a gravel road and cul-de-sac and continued well past 6930 Trenton Lane, PRELIMINARY AND the last house on the road. The owner of 6930 Trenton Lane also FINAL PLAT TO  Maple Grove Planning Commission April 25, 2022 Page 6 RECONFIGURE owns property on the west side of Trenton Lane that is primarily EXISTING LOTS AND wetland. This plat will reconfigure Trenton Lane by adding a cul- de-sac closer to the existing house at 6930 Trenton Lane, RIGHT-OF-WAY INTO vacating the portion of Trenton Lane south and west of this new ONE LOT AND ONE cul-de-sac, and create one new larger lot and one outlot. An OUTLOT easement for a sanitary sewer line that is generally in the old Trenton Lane right-of-way will be retained. The outlot, primarily wetland, will be retained by the city and provide for a new park trail to connect with this existing trail to 69th Avenue. The new larger lot will be retained by the current owner of 6930 Trenton Lane and has the potential to be subdivided into two lakeshore properties. The existing home on the lot is a legal non-conformity as it does not meet the 75-foot lakeshore setback. Any new lots created and/or homes built would need to meet all the shoreland district requirements including lot size and setbacks. Preliminary analysis shows that this will be possible. staff discussed the plans in further detail and made the following recommendation. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Motion to recommend that the City Council direct the City Attorney to draft a resolution approving the Fideldy Addition preliminary and final plat subject to: 1 Park dedication for the creation of Lot 1 will be deferred until Lot 1 is further subdivided. At the time of subdivision, park dedication, at the then current rate, shall be due on all lots created. 2If a new home is constructed on Lot 1, Block Fideldy Addition or if the lot is further subdivided, a drainage and utility easement over Eagle Lake up to the Ordinary High-Water Level of 874.2 ft will be required. The applicant shall acknowledge that Park Dedication requirements are based on staff review and recommendation to the Park and Recreation Board and their subsequent board action. Board meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month. Discussion Maple Grove Planning Commission April 25, 2022 Page 7 Commissioner Lindeman asked what initiated this change. Mr. Vickerman reported this request was initiated by Public Works staff after looking at redoing Trenton Lane. Commissioner Lindeman questioned if the property owners were onboard with the proposed change. Mr. Vickerman stated this change could not go forward without their full consent. Commissioner Ayika requested further information regarding the property to the south. Mr. Vickerman stated this property was a strip of land that was right-of-way that was a remnant of the old road. He indicated this land was too small for any development, due to wetland and lakeshore rules. Commissioner Ayika indicated the only land that could be developed was the existing home lot. Mr. Vickerman commented Lot 1, Block 1 could be further subdivided. He noted the existing home would have to be taken down in order to make room for two new homes. He stated a sewer and water stub would be installed for the new lot. Commissioner Klein questioned if two new homes on this lot would meet the city’s setback requirements. Mr. Vickerman explained staff anticipated this would be the case, but would have to be verified with field surveys. Commissioner Ostaffe commented on how a future home would be accessed by a driveway and not another cul-de-sac. Mr. Vickerman reported this was the case. The applicant was at the meeting to answer questions. Ron Fideldy explained he and his sisters own the property at 6930 Trenton Lane North. He discussed his family’s history with this property and commented on how he had worked with city staff to vacate the road in order to give him a little more buildable property. He expressed concern with the fact the city would not be picking up the park dedication fee, but rather this would be passed along to a future property owner if they chose to subdivide the property. He did not believe this was what had been agreed upon originally. He stated he was also concerned with the fact the document he received from the city was riddled with grammatical errors that he has had to fix with the help of his Maple Grove Planning Commission April 25, 2022 Page 8 attorney, at a fee of $300 per hour. He indicated he would have rather received a document that was in its final form from the city. Commissioner Ayika stated park dedication fees cannot be waived. He indicated the applicant could make this request from the city Council, but noted all developers have to pay park dedication fees. Chair Lamothe opened the public hearing at 7:43 p.m. The public was asked by Chair Lamothe if they had any comments to make regarding this application. Gerald Kvarnlov, 7070 Wellington Lane, noted he owned the 12 acres to the west of this property. He questioned if the present cul-de-sac would revert to his property. Mr. Vickerman stated if that portion of the cul-de-sac was vacated, it would revert back to the adjoining property owner. Motion by Commissioner Lindeman, seconded by Commissioner Lenthe, to close the public hearing at 7:45 p.m. Upon call of the motion by Chair Lamothe, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. Motion by Commissioner Ostaffe, seconded by Commissioner Ayika, to recommend that the City Council direct the City Attorney to draft a resolution approving the Fideldy Addition preliminary and final plat subject to: 1. Park dedication for the creation of Lot 1 will be deferred until Lot 1 is further subdivided. At the time of subdivision, park dedication, at the then current rate, shall be due on all lots created. 2. If a new home is constructed on Lot 1, Block Fideldy Addition or if the lot is further subdivided, a drainage and utility easement over Eagle Lake up to the Ordinary High-Water Level of 874.2 ft will be required. The applicant shall acknowledge that Park Dedication requirements are based on staff review and recommendation to the Park and Recreation Board and their subsequent board Maple Grove Planning Commission April 25, 2022 Page 9 action. Board meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month. Upon call of the motion by Chair Lamothe, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. DISCUSSION ITEMS There were no discussion items. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Chair Lamothe, seconded by Commissioner Piket, to adjourn the Planning Commission meeting. Upon call of the motion by Chair Lamothe, there were seven ayes and no nays. Motion carried. Chair Lamothe adjourned the meeting at 7:46 p.m. to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission scheduled for May 9, 2022.