Planning Commission Meeting

Meeting Minutes New Prague Planning Commission Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 1. Call Meeting to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chair Dan Meyer with the following members present: Brandon Pike, and Jason Bentson. Absent were Shawn Ryan, and Ann Gengel. City Staff Present: Ken Ondich – Planning / Community Development Director and Kyra Chapman – Planner 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes A. March 26th, 2025 Regular Meeting A motion was made by Pike, seconded by Bentson, to approve the March 26th, 2025 regular meeting minutes. Motion carried (3-0). 3. Public Invited to Be Heard on Matters Not on the Agenda No public comments were given. 4. OLD BUSINESS A. None 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Request for Conditional Use Permit #C1-2025 – CUP to Allow Exterior Storage at 605 6th St NW Planner Chapman explained that Bevcomm applied for a conditional use permit to allow exterior storage for spools of underground ducting and conduit. Bevcomm purchased 605 6th St NW, a vacant shovel ready site in the industrial district in December 2024. Bevcomm intends to build an 8,000 sq ft office/shop/warehouse building with an 80’ x 120’ fence that would store spools of underground ducting and conduit. The property is zoned I1-Light Industrial District and within that district exterior storage is listed as a conditional use. Planner Chapman mentioned that as part of the permit review, all screening requirements must be met. According to Zoning Ordinance 707, all industrial uses abutting commercial or industrial districts must have a single row of deciduous trees or evergreen trees with a diameter of 2.5” and spaced a minimum of 40’ around the perimeter of the abutting commercial or industrial districts. Trees must be planted around the entire perimeter of the property. Additional trees do not need to be planted on the west side of the property because the applicant’s landscaping plan shows eight trees planted on the west side of the driveway. Section 707 of the Zoning Ordinance also requires that the fence be visually appealing and Page 1 of 4 April 23, 2025 New Prague Planning Commission Minutes  cohesive with the structure. As such, staff recommend that the fence be a chain-link fence that’s 6’ tall with vinyl slats with a minimum 75% opacity. These screening conditions are similar to what was required at Brick’s Boatworks, which is also found in the industrial district. A motion was made by Pike, seconded by Meyer to open the public hearing (3-0). The public hearing opened at 6:42pm. John Sonnek, applicant representative from 123 W 7th St, Blue Earth stated that the three trees that are required on the far east side of the building would be scraping the building. It would make more sense to move the trees to the west side of the property instead. Pike mentioned that the screening requirements are not specific to conditional use permits. The landscaping requirements are required per the recent Zoning Ordinance amendment. Planning/Community Development Director stated that he would not be comfortable doing a variance without a variance application. A separate variance application for either increasing the spacing or the removal of the trees would be needed. A motion was made by Pike, seconded by Bentson to close the public hearing (3-0). The public hearing closed at 6:50pm. A motion was made by Bentson, seconded by Pike to recommend approval of V3-2025 with the following findings: A. The proposed use of a exterior storage for the new office/shop/warehouse building will not create an excessive burden on existing parks, schools, streets and other public facilities which serve the area because a previous traffic study indicated buildout of the existing industrial park land will not create a need for transportation improvements and because the new building will be accessed via 6th Street NW which is a collector road. B. The proposed exterior storage area will be sufficiently screened with fencing and vegetation and is not located near any residentially zoned or used land so that it will not depreciate existing home values or be a deterrence to development of vacant land. C. The proposed exterior storage area is reasonably related to the overall needs of the City and to existing land use, as it is listed as a conditional use. D. The proposed exterior storage for the office/shop/warehouse is consistent with the purposes of the Zoning Ordinance and the purposes of the I-1 Light Industrial Zoning District as the proposed use is specifically listed as a conditional use. E. The proposed exterior area is not in conflict with the Comprehensive Plan of the City because the Comprehensive Plan designates this property as being located within the I-1 Light Industrial Zoning District. F. The proposed exterior storage will not generate any significant additional traffic and the previously completed traffic impact study noted additional traffic control measures are not required until further development of the industrial park occurs to the north. G. The exterior storage area behind the new office/shop/warehousing building will have adequate utilities, drainage and access roads. Page 2 of 4 April 23, 2025 New Prague Planning Commission Minutes  And with the following conditions: 1. The fence should be a 6’ tall chain-link type with vinyl slats for a minimum 75% opacity. The color of the slats should be similar to the siding of the proposed warehouse. The vinyl slats must be maintained in good order at all times. 2. Dust control measures must be used on the exterior storage area to ensure adjacent properties are protected from dust during susceptible conditions. 3. The exterior storage area must be kept free of weeds and trash. 4. The applicant must provide a knox box to hold a key for access by the Police/Fire Department to the exterior storage area and also the main building if it is sprinklered or alarmed. 5. A single row of deciduous or evergreen trees that are 8’ tall with a diameter of 2.5” must be planted every 40’ around the perimeter of the property lines (except where parking lot landscaping is provided adjacent to the parking lot areas as shown on the site plan at 30’ spacing along the west side and 40’ near the front). 6. All lighting must conform to Section 704 of the Zoning Ordinance for Glare and be approved by the City prior to installation by submitting a lighting plan for final approval. 7. All recommendations of the City Engineer, New Prague Public Works Department, Utilities Department, Building Official and Fire Department must be complied with prior to final occupancy of the site. 8. The applicant shall reimburse the city for all fees and costs it incurs for processing, reviewing, and acting on the application approved herein, including but not necessarily limited to any fees charged by the city’s professional consultants in accordance with established rates. 9. The property shall be subject to all requirements of the New Prague City Code and shall otherwise comply with all other applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules and regulations. Motion carried (3-0). 6. Miscellaneous A. Unified Development Code Discussion – Bolton & Menk Jeff Matzke from Bolton & Menk discussed the progress on the Unified Development Code (UDC). He stated that the last time the UDC was discussed with the Planning Commission was in January. The UDC will include information on the new zoning districts, building and architectural design features, charts/graphics, and administrative processes and the subdivision ordinance as well. The building/architectural design portion of the UDC could include a list of design requirements such as roof heights, wall dimensions, contrasting colors, window coverage, etc. Owners would have an opportunity to choose a number of the requirements. This would allow business owners more flexibility while also meeting the ordinance requirements. Matzke also mentioned that certain things could be done administratively (permitted uses versus conditional) to speed up the process, especially if it's a reoccurring issue. Page 3 of 4 April 23, 2025 New Prague Planning Commission Minutes  B. Monthly Business Update Planning/Community Development Director Ondich introduced the monthly business update. He mentioned that only one new home permit was issued in March. Building permits for commercial alterations were issued for the former Corner Bar (100 Main St W) and Brickside 19 (825 1st St SE). 4U Massage closed on 3/10/2025 related to alleged criminal activity. Bring the Light Electric applied for a building permit to move into 104 Columbus Ave S. Bevcomm applied for a building permit to construct a new building at 605 6th St NW. Kubes Funriture and Flooring applied for a building permit to complete exterior alterations at 133 Main St W. 7. Adjournment A motion was made by Pike, seconded by Bentson, to adjourn the meeting at 7:29 pm. Motion carried (3-0). Respectfully submitted, Kyra J. Chapman Planner Page 4 of 4 April 23, 2025 New Prague Planning Commission Minutes