Planning Commission

REGULAR MEETING OAKDALE PLANNING COMMISSION November 2, 2023 The Oakdale Planning Commission held a meeting on Thursday, November 2, 2023 at Oakdale City Hall, 1584 Hadley Avenue North, Oakdale, Minnesota. The meeting began at 7:00 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. CALL OF ROLL On a call of roll, the following were present: Chairperson: Dallas Pierson Commissioners: Tom Willenbring Lee Stolarski Michael McCauley Also Present: Luke McClanahan, City Planner Jake Ingebrigtson, City Council Liaison Kristen Denzer, Tierra Encantada Daniel Sheehy, Tierra Encantada Not Present: Christopher Campbell, Commissioner Yaya Diatta, Commissioner Janet Hagen, Commissioner APPROVAL OF MINUTES A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER WILLENBRING, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER STOLARSKI, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 5, 2023 AS PRESENTED. VOTED IN FAVOR: Chair Pierson AYE Commissioner Willenbring AYE Commissioner Stolarski AYE Commissioner McCauley ABSTAIN 3 Ayes. Motion approved. PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW a. NEW BUSINESS Planning Commission Minutes November 2, 2023 Page 2 i. PUBLIC HEARING – MARLYS CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION, 1470 HELMO AVE N – SITE PLAN AND PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT Luke McClanahan, City Planner, said the location of the site is 1470 Helmo Ave N and it will have a new access off the west side of Helmo Avenue. The purpose of the request is to establish an early education center, serving children in the day care and pre-school age range. The zoning of the property is North Star Mini-Storage Planned Unit Development (PUD), which allows the proposed use. The education center would serve approximately 162 children and would employ 23 full time workers. The developer describes the center as being focused on character education, service projects, and entrepreneurship. The property is a 1.2-acre vacant site. It is surrounded by commercial uses and a vacant parcel to the north. Mr. McClanahan described details of the Site Plan design. A new access will be shared with the vacant parcel to the North. The developer will need to create an easement for the shared access. The developer is requesting a Planned Unit Development amendment to reduce the required number of parking spaces from 60 to 37. The original concept prepared by the developer proposed only 25 spaces, and City staff worked with the developer to increase the number of parking spaces. The developer provided a parking study and justification for the request. Staff is amenable to the deviation, given that child drop-offs and pick-ups tend to be only a few minutes and staff parking will be somewhat staggered. In response to Chair Pierson’s question about fire truck and garbage truck access to the property, Mr. McClanahan said that the vehicles will utilize the new access off Helmo Avenue to serve the site. The developer provided a turning radius analysis that shows sufficient ingress and egress of large vehicles serving the property. The proposed landscaping plan meets the City’s zoning requirements. The developer will need to provide additional details showing screening of exterior utilities and equipment. The developer’s photometric plan must also be updated to ensure compliance with the City’s Ordinance. Stormwater management will be handled via underground infiltration system. The developer will need to work with the Watershed District to ensure compliance with stormwater provisions. The developer will also need to obtain approval from the Fire Department for the location of hydrants and fire department connections. Mr. McClanahan displayed the developer’s exterior renderings of the proposed education center. The Zoning Ordinance contains exterior design standards for commercial buildings, which must be comprised of at least 70% Class I materials such as brick, stone, or glass. The proposed design does not meet this requirement. The developer is requesting a deviation from the standards. While the design does not meet the exterior material and design standards, the developer has updated the Site Plan to show that the east elevation of the building will consist of 72% Class I materials including brick, glass, and aluminum accents. The north, south, and west facades will not meet the Class I materials requirement, as the majority of the materials will be Class II, mainly fiber cement and Exterior Insulation Finishing Systems (EIFS). However, the north and south elevations will have limited visibility from the public right-of-way, and the west elevation faces a ministorage facility. Given that Helmo Avenue runs north-south, drivers Planning Commission Minutes November 2, 2023 Page 3 and pedestrians will primarily see the east elevation. In the developer’s narrative, it is noted that the use of fiber cement panels will emulate cut stone and that this material and EIFS have lower environmental impacts than the manufacturing of brick. Staff finds that the requested deviation to the exterior design standards is appropriate. Mr. McClanahan said the developer is also requesting a deviation from the original PUD agreement to allow alternative fencing materials. The original PUD requires all fencing to be wrought iron with the exception of internal and the right-of-way fence along Interstate 694. Staff is supportive of the deviation request. Staff recommends approval of both the PUD amendment and Site Plan request, subject to the following conditions. 1. Approval of an amendment to the North Star Mini-Storage Planned Unit Development to allow deviations for exterior building materials and fence materials, and reduced parking spaces. 2. Execution of a Development Agreement between the Developer and the City. 3. Permits and approvals must be obtained from the Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District. 4. Approval of the site civil construction plans for the water, sewer, and storm sewer system by the City Engineer. 5. Approval must be obtained from the Fire Department for the proposed hydrant locations and fire department connections. 6. The photometric plan must be revised to comply with the City’s site lighting requirements. 7. Execution of an easement for the shared access serving 1470 and 1480 Helmo Avenue North. 8. The developer must provide an updated Site Plan that shows all proposed rooftop and ground mechanical equipment and methods of screening in compliance with City Code. Chair Pierson invited the developer to speak at the podium. Kristen Denzer, Tierra Encantada, said that for child drop offs they require parents to walk their children into the building for safety reasons. Additionally, Denzer added that the parking study showed that drop-off and pick-up times are relatively short. Commissioner Willenbring asked how many vehicles will be waiting in line for drop offs and pick-ups. He noted that at another school in the city, traffic can get congested during drop-off and pick-up times. Ms. Denzer said the parking study provides the best information about circulation. At their other schools, which tend to have fewer parking spaces than what is proposed, traffic back- ups have not been problematic. Commissioner McCauley asked how tall the fencing will be, to which the developer said it will be four feet. Planning Commission Minutes November 2, 2023 Page 4 Chair Pierson stated that he would have been concerned if they had not requested a change to allow other fencing materials instead of wrought iron fencing, which could be dangerous for young children. Chair Pierson opened the public hearing (there were no public comments). Chair Pierson closed the public hearing. COMMISSIONER WILLENBRING MADE A MOTION, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER STOLARSKI, RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF THE PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT AND SITE PLAN FOR MARLYS CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION. VOTED IN FAVOR: Chair Pierson AYE Commissioner Willenbring AYE Commissioner Stolarski AYE Commissioner McCauley AYE 4 Ayes. Motion approved. ii. PUBLIC HEARING – PROPOSED SHORELAND OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICT ORDINANCE Mr. McClanahan said that state law requires cities with shoreland property to adopt regulations to protect those areas. Shoreland is defined as property located within 1,000 feet of the Ordinary High Water Level (OHWL) of public water bodies. The high water level is where habitat changes from mainly aquatic to land based. There are three public water bodies, as defined by the DNR, in Oakdale. These lakes include Tanners, Armstrong-South Portion, and Mud. If a City has not adopted shoreland regulations, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) maintains control of these areas through their Model Ordinance. The Model Ordinance contains very strict regulations that make development difficult. To accommodate development, specifically at the City owned Tanners Lake property, located on the west side of Tanners Lake, City staff has worked closely with the DNR since late 2022 to develop a shoreland ordinance. This process has taken a while because there has been ongoing negotiating with the DNR to allow flexibility to the proposed shoreland regulations. By working with the DNR, the City was able to negotiate reduced setback standards from the OHWL, which is critical for development at the City owned Tanners Lake site, while still protecting the water feature. Setbacks are less problematic for other shoreland properties because the areas around the three lakes are nearly fully built-out. Adopting shoreland regulations would create only a few legal non-conforming properties. The main focus of the new regulations would affect lots that abut the three lakes. Under the proposed shoreland ordinance, the setbacks from the three lakes are as follows; Tanners: 50-foot setback which is consistent with the Model Ordinance, Armstrong-South Planning Commission Minutes November 2, 2023 Page 5 Portion: 50-foot instead of the Model Ordinance’s 150-foot setback, and Mud: 50-foot instead of the Model Ordinance’s 75-foot. The one exception to these setbacks is the City owned Tanners Lake property and a couple adjacent parcels. For these parcels, the proposed ordinance will create the Tanners Lake Redevelopment District, which will contain 30-foot setbacks from the OHWL and an option to be 25-foot through setback averaging – based on existing adjacent structures. This flexibility for setbacks is necessary to facilitate development at the property given its narrow width and the presence of power lines on west side of site. In exchange for allowing the reduced setbacks, the DNR is requiring vegetative restoration and impervious surface limits for the Tanners Lake Redevelopment District. Beaches and private boat parking spaces would also be prohibited there. The City would obtain local control over its shoreland areas by adopting an ordinance and would comply with State requirements. The DNR issued conditional approval of the draft shoreland ordinance on October 23. In addition to holding the required public hearing for this request, staff is seeking support from the Commission for the draft ordinance. For next steps, the City Council will review the ordinance on November 28. Assuming the Council approves the ordinance, it must then be resubmitted to the DNR for final approval. Commissioner Stolarski asked for clarity about the Tanners Lake Redevelopment District. Mr. McClanahan said the special district, with the 30-foot setback requirement, would apply to the City owned parcels on the west side of Tanners Lake and a couple other privately owned parcels. Without the reduced setbacks, development would not be feasible there. The other properties along Tanners Lake would be subject to the 50-foot setback requirement. Commissioner Stolarski asked about the City’s plans for developing the west side of Tanners Lake. Mr. McClanahan said the City is working with a prospective developer through an exclusive rights agreement to build a mixture of housing options there. City Council Liaison Ingebrigtson said the latest concept for development of the property showed townhomes and apartments. Commissioner Willenbring asked if the proposed setbacks are acceptable to the DNR. Mr. McClanahan said that the DNR is amenable to the setbacks. Chair Pierson noted that the previous commercial tenants of the City owned property on the west side of Tanners Lake once had a zero-foot setback and there was a balcony that extended over the water. Mr. McClanahan said that the City had mentioned the previous encroachments to the DNR. Commissioner Willenbring asked if the regulations would affect Hudson Boulevard, which abuts Tanners Lake. Chair Pierson said that the road would be grandfathered in due to its existence. Commissioner Stolarski asked for clarification about sewage systems, which is mentioned in the draft ordinance. There are runoff ponds around the area that empty into Tanners Lake causing algae growth. Mr. McClanahan said that the shoreland ordinance would probably not Planning Commission Minutes November 2, 2023 Page 6 be the best tool to address that concern as it focuses primarily on new housing and redevelopment opportunities. The provisions in the ordinance about sanitary sewer systems is specifically about having development connected to city sewer lines, as opposed to septic systems. Commissioner McCauley said the DNR is the major approval authority, and the City to a lesser extent. As a result of the negotiation process, both the DNR and the City benefit from the new regulations. Commissioner Stolarski asked for clarification about the term “Commissioner” mentioned throughout the ordinance document. Mr. McClanahan said if there are any future amendments to the shoreland ordinance, the City would submit proposed changes to the Commissioner of the DNR. Chair Pierson opened the public hearing (there were no comments). Chair Pierson closed the public hearing. COMMISSIONER WILLENBRING MADE A MOTION, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER STOLARSKI, RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF THE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 25 – ZONING, ADDING ARTICLE 26 – SHORELAND OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICT. VOTED IN FAVOR: Chair Pierson AYE Commissioner Willenbring AYE Commissioner Stolarski AYE Commissioner McCauley AYE 4 Ayes. Motion approved. OTHER BUSINESS a. Planning and Development Update Mr. McClanahan said it is to be determined whether or not there will be a Planning Commission meeting in December. At this time there are no new land use applications on file. b. City Council Update Council Member Ingebrigtson did not have any updates for the Commission. ADJOURNMENT Planning Commission Minutes November 2, 2023 Page 7 A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER WILLENBRING, SECONDED BY MCCAULEY, TO ADJOURN THE NOVEMBER 2, 2023 MEETING OF THE OAKDALE PLANNING COMMISSION AT 7:34 PM. VOTED IN FAVOR: Chair Pierson AYE Commissioner Willenbring AYE Commissioner Stolarski AYE Commissioner McCauley AYE 4 Ayes. Motion approved. Respectfully submitted, Luke McClanahan City Planner