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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986 05-08 PCM MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION MAY 8, 1986 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Planning Commission met in regular session and was called to order by Chairman George Lucht at 7:34 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairman George Lucht, Commissioners Carl Sandstrom, Lowell Ainas, Mike Nelson, and Wallace Bernards. Also present were Director of Planning and Inspection Ronald Warren, City Engineer Bo Spurrier, and Planner Gary Shallcross. Chairman Lucht noted that Commissioner Malecki had been excused and that Commissioner Wallerstedt had called to say that she would be late. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - APRIL 24, 1986 Motion by-Commissioner Ainas seconded by Commissioner Bernards to approve the minutes of the April 24, 1986 Planning Commission meeting as submitted. Voting in favor: Chairman Lucht, Commissioners Ainas and Bernards. Voting against: none. Not voting: Commissioners Sandstrom and Nelson. The motion passed. APPLICATION NO. 86018 (Richard Whitley) Following the Chairman's explanation, the Secretary introduced the first item of business, a request for preliminary plat approval to subdivide into two lots the parcel of land at 5327 Bryant Avenue North. The Secretary reviewed the contents of the staff report (see Planning Commission Information Sheet for Application No. 86018 attached) . Commissioner Ainas asked about the parcel labeled State Land Department shown on the preliminary plat drawing. The Secretary responded that he did not know how that parcel came to be, but suspected that it was created somehow by metes and bounds in the past and the taxes were not paid so that it wound up forfeited to the State. Chairman Lucht asked the applicant whether he had anything to add. Mr. Whitley responded in the negative. PUBLIC HEARING (Application No. 86018) Chairman Lucht then opened the meeting for a public hearing and asked whether anyone present wished to speak regarding the application. Hearing no one he called for a motion to close the public hearing. CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING Motion by Commissioner Sandstrom seconded by Commissioner Nelson to close the public hearing. The motion passed unanimously. ACTION RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF APPLICATION NO. 86018 (Richard Whitley) Motion by Commissioner Ainas seconded by Commissioner Sandstrom to recommend approval of Application No. 86018, subject to the following conditions: 1. The final plat is subject to review and approval by the City Engineer. 2. The final plat is subject to the provisions of Chapter 15 of the City Ordinances. 5-8-86 -1- 3. The applicant shall enter into a utility hookup agreement with the City prior to final plat approval. 4. The existing house shall be relocated and properly situated onto Lot 2, and the existing foundation removed prior to final plat approval. 5. No building permit shall be issued for Lot 1 until the plat receives final approval and is filed at the County. Voting in favor: Chairman Lucht, Commissioners Sandstrom, Ainas, Nelson and Bernards. Voting against: none. The motion passed. APPLICATION NOS. 86019 and 86020 (E and H Properties) The Secretary then introduced the next two items of business together, a request for site and building plan and special use permit approval to construct a three storey office building on the vacant land between the Brookdale Motel and the Atkins Mechanical office building on the east side of West River Road, south of 66th Avenue North. He also introduced an application for preliminary plat approval to subdivide into two lots the land in the above application and also the Atkins Mechanical site. The Secretary reviewed the contents of the staff reports (See Planning Commission Information Sheets for Application Nos. 86019 and 86020 attached) . The Secretary noted that the plans called for a 6' high fence around the parking lot area. He pointed out that the Zoning Ordinance limits fences adjacent to public right-of-way to 4' and stated that this would apply in the greenstrip along Willow Lane. Commissioner Wallerstedt arrived during the review of the staff report at approximately 7:55 P.M. The Secretary also noted that the development in question is not large enough to require review by the West Mississippi Watershed Management Commission. He then reviewed the conditions for both applications. The City Engineer pointed out that a triangle of land at the far northwest tip of the plat may need to be dedicated for right-of-way for West River Road. Commissioner Wallerstedt noted the statement in the report that traffic in this area was "not terribly high". She disagreed with this comment. The Secretary pointed out that it was referring to traffic on 66th Avenue North, east of West River Road, not to West River Road or to 66th Avenue North west of West River Road. Chairman Lucht then called on the applicant to speak. Mr. Howard Atkins, the owner of the property, stated that he had been a resident of Brooklyn Center for 20 years and has had an office in this particular neighborhood for seven years. He stated that he felt that he had been a good neighbor and that he has a good development plan. He then introduced Hal Pierce, the architect for the project. Mr. Pierce noted the deferral of improvements in the northeast portion of the property. He stated that the applicant does not wish to irrigate this area. The Secrtary stated that he had no problem with not irrigating this undeveloped area, but that it should not be used for storage of fill, etc. PUBLIC HEARING (Application Nos. (86019 and 86020) Chairman Lucht then opened the meeting for a public hearing on both the preliminary plat application (Application No. 86020) and the special use permit application 5-8-86 -2- (Application No. 86019) . He asked whether anyone present wished to speak regarding the application. Mr. Jim Neuberger of 6546 Willow Lane referred to the colored rendering of the building shown by the architect, Hal Pierce, and noted that the south and west sides were shown. He asked what the east and north sides would look like. The Secretary stated that there would be the same exterior treatment around the building. Mr. Pierce agreed. He noted that there would be a stairwell on the east side of the building as well, but that it would not protrude out from the building. Mr. Neuberger of 6546 Willow Lane asked who would own the 66th Avenue North right-of-way after the highway project was completed. The Secretary stated that this area might be considered surplus right-of-way by the Highway Department and that it might be vacated in the future. He stated that this decision would be made later. The City Engineer then explained the nature of the highway project improvements along 66th Avenue North including the installation of the median and moving the roadway north by approximately 25 feet. He pointed out that the City would have to hold a public hearing on the vacation of any surplus right-of-way. Mr. Richard Jewett of 6552 Willow Lane stated that he was concerned regarding the vacant land at the northeast corner of the plat. Chairman Lucht stated that the property was probably not big enough by itself for development, but would have to be combined with the existing Atkins Mechanical site for a larger development. Mr. Jewett asked whether the building could be five or six stories high. Chairman Lucht pointed out that the property was zoned the same and subject to the Critical Area limitations. Mr. Jewett went on to complain about the level of traffic in the area. He stated that people take a circuitous route down to 65th Avenue North and then over to Willow Lane and back up to 66th in order to get out. Chairman Lucht asked Mr. Jewett whether he would prefer to see an apartment development or a restaurant or some other kind of development. Mr. Jewett stated that he would prefer to see an office development that takes up the entire land area available. He stated that leaving the parcel vacant allows the possibility for another development that might not be compatible with the neighborhood. The Secretary pointed out that the City cannot force the owner to develop that portion of this property. He stated that it is likely to be office. Asked whether there would be another meeting to review this separate development, the Secretary responded that there would be a notice of any special use permit. There followed a brief discussion of traffic problems in the area. The City Engineer again reviewed the improvements proposed by the Highway Department for this area of West River Road, for Interstate 694, and for 66th Avenue North. He stated that if cars are using Willow Lane to turn around in because of backups on the Freeway, that this was an enforcement problem. Mr. Joe Schleppenbach of 6600 Willow Lane expressed concern about the traffic situation in the area. The Secretary responded that those traffic problems are unrelated to the development of this property and cannot be solved through this application. Mr. Pat Murphy of 6524 Willow Lane expressed concern that the parking lot adjacent to Willow Lane would cause problems with snow removal in the public street because of storing snow in the greenstrip area. The Secretary pointed out that the greenstrip is 15' wide and that, in addition to the greenstrip, there is approximately 15' of boulevard area. He stated that this is normally large enough for snow storage from parking lots and public streets without conflict. 5-8-86 -3- Mr. Murphy noted that the building in question is 35' high. He pointed out that if a 35' high building were built on the higher ground where the Atkins Mechanical building is presently located, it would be 10' higher. He asked whether that would be allowed. The Secretary responded that there would probably be some leveling out in the land before another building was built, but that the 35' height limit would also apply in that area, calculated from ground level. Mr. Murphy also asked about the possibility of access onto Willow Lane. The Secretary stated that he saw no need for access onto Willow Lane and that it should not be allowed. Mr. Schleppenbach asked when construction would begin. The Secretary stated that the conditions would have to be met and the plat filed before the permit could be issued. Mr. Atkins stated that his intention was to begin construction later this summer. CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING Chairman Lucht asked whether anyone else present wished to speak. Hearing no one, he called for a motion to close the public hearing. Motion by Commissioner Sandstrom seconded by Commissioner Nelson to close the public hearing. The motion passed unanimously. The Planner then explained to the residents the possibility that a rezoning application concerning this property would be initiated either by the owner or the City in the near future and that this would be apart from a development of the northern portion of the plat. He explained that the property presently has a split zoning of R5 and C2 which allows the office development by special use permit, but that a consolidated zoning would probably be pursued within the relatively near future. ACTION RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF APPLICATION NO. 86019 (E and H Properties) Motion by Commissioner Sandstrom seconded by Commissioner Ainas to recommend approval of Application No. 86019, subject to the following conditions: 1. Building plans are subject to review and approval by the Building Official with respect to applicable codes prior to the issuance of permits. 2. Grading, drainage, utility and berming plans are subject to review and approval by the City Engineer, prior to the issuance of permits. 3. A site performance agreement and supporting financial guarantee (in an amount to be determined by the City Manager) shall be submitted prior to the issuance of permits to assure completion of all approved site improvements. 4. Any outside trash disposal facilities and rooftop mechanical equipment shall be appropriately screened from view. 5. The building is to be equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system to meet NFPA standards and shall be connected to a central monitoring device in accordance with Chapter 5 of the City Ordinances. . 5-8-86 -4- 6. An underground irrigation system shall be installed in all landscaped areas to facilitate site maintenance. 7. Plan approval is exclusive of all signery which is subject to Chapter 34 of the City Ordinances. 8. B612 curb and gutter shall be provided around all parking and driving areas with the exception of the northeast corner of the lot and the access drive where permanent curb may be deferred for up to five years. The performance guarantee shall not be released until completion of all permanent improvements. 9. The applicant shall submit an as-built survey of the property prior to the release of the performance guarantee. 10. The applicant shall provide drainage calculations for the site to the City Engineer for evaluation of possible on-site storage of runoff, prior to issuance of permits. 11. The replat of this site combining the land into a single parcel shall receive final approval and be filed at the County prior to the issuance of permits. 12. Site lighting shall provide adequate illumination of the parking lot, but light intensity shall not exceed 3 foot candles along the south property line in accordance with Section 35-712 of the Zoning Ordinance. 13. The special use standards are deemed to be met in this case, in consideration of the following: a) the proposed office use is an appropriate buffer between Highway 252 and the single-family residences along the Mississippi River. b) the proposed office use is consistent and compatible with all adjacent land uses. c) traffic generated by the proposed office use can be accommodated by the abutting nonresidential streets and on the subject site and should not overburden public streets and signals in the area. 14. No access to the site shall be allowed from Willow Lane. Access onto 66th Avenue North shall line up with the median opening indicated on the MN/DOT plans for road construction of the Highway 252 project. 15. The special use permit is subject to all applicable codes, ordinances and regulations. 16. The plans shall be modified to indicate a 4' high fence along Willow Lane and a 6' high fence adjacent to the R5 development to the south to meet parking lot screening requirements of the Zoning Ordinance prior to the issuance of permits. 5-8-86 -5- Voting in favor: Chairman Lucht, Commissioners Sandstrom, Ainas, Nelson, Bernards and Wallerstedt. Voting against: none. The motion passed. ACTION RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF APPLICATION NO. 86020 (E and H Properties) o"I tion by Commissioner Ainas seconded by Commissioner Sandstrom to recommend approval of Application No. 86020, subject to the following conditions: 1 . The final plat is subject to review and approval by the City Engineer. 2. The final plat is subject to the provisions of Chapter 15 of the City Ordinances. 3. Setback lines indicated on the preliminary plat are non-binding and are subject to ordinance interpretation by the City Council. 4. The applicant shall enter into a subdivision agreement with the City relating to utility hookups and abandonments and other items deemed appropriate by the City Engineer prior to final plat approval. 5. The City Engineer shall report on the need, if any, of right-of- way dedication for 66th Avenue North prior to consideration of the preliminary plat by the City Council. Voting in favor: Chairman Lucht, Commissioners Sandstrom, Ainas, Nelson, Bernards and Wallerstedt. Voting against: none. The motion passed. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Nelson seconded by Commissioner Ainas to adjourn the meeting of the Planning Commission. The motion passed unanimously. The Planning Commission adjourned at 9:02 p.m. Chairman 5-8-86 -6-