Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976 10-28 PCP t PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA Study Meeting October 28, 1976 1 . Call to Order: 8:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call : 3. Approval of Minutes: October 14, 1976 4. Chairman's Explanation: The Planning Commission is an advisory body. One of the Commission 's functions is to hold public hearings. In the matters concerned in these hearings, the Commission makes recom- mendations to the City Council . The City Council makes all final decisions on these matters. •5. T. L. Willard 76056 Special Use Permit for special home occupation at 6825 Drew Avenue North. 6. Coachman Diversified 74012 Amend building plans and review proposed use at Industrial Speculative Building, 6660 i Shingle Creek Parkway.. 7. Discussion Items: a. Ordinance Standards Relative to Single Family Attached Dwellings b. Review Zoning 'Matters Referred by City Council c. Pending Items 8. Joint Meeting with City Council and Tour of City 9. Other Business: 10. Adjournment: Planning Commission Information Sheet Application No. 76056 Applicant: T. L. Willard Location: 6825 Drew AVenue North Request: Special Use Permit The applicant requests a special use permit to conduct a "semi-commercial hobby" in a greenhouse on his premises. A letter of explanation and a product brochure are attached. Attached also is the part of Section 35-900 relative to Special Home Occupations. The basic issue is the nature of the proposed activity: is it clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use of the property; and is it compatible with the residential uses in the neighborhood -- with regard to noise, glare, odor, etc. The size of the proposed greenhouse is within the permitted accessory structure area requirements for this premises. Greenhouses for individual hobby purposes (including, presumably, family truck gardening) are present throughout the City. A public hearing has been scheduled. Primary concerns include: control of noise from fans and other equipment; limitation of sales activity so not to develop an intense retail produce business; and maintenance of the structure and site -- assuring the physical integrity of the greenhouse and keeping the yard free from debris and materials storage. 75' rr`�iCrt 7ic,v �vol "7 CC cc; S70P.45C - PROPOS4D - /HoU,s E 32• ca O 1 r . .r : � M i v�'',Z�spy . ♦ � -�- _ . . . . . . 29'3" . ..-i . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._ . . . . . . �. . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . i n • . . : : 4 . . . . . . . . . . . t ir tiLL c> C- lLl - 74-- Mr. Blair Tremere, Planning Director City of Brooklyn Center 6305 Shingle Creek Parkway Brooklyn Center, MN 55430 Dear Mr. Tremere, Enclosed herewith is my application for a Special Home Occupation Permit for the operation of a greenhouse on my property for both hobby and limited commercial purposes. The members of my family have long been interested in home gardening, and in particular in raising vegetables. Ede currently have a vegetable garden in our yard and share another one at Frontenac, Minnesota. One member of our family is studying gardening at Hennepin Vocatiional Technical Institute. To assist in furthering her education and to provide part-time employment for some of our children, it is our intent to erect a demountable, plastic-covered greenhouse in our yard, and to utilize this special and unusual piece of equipment for a single purpose - hydroponic Qardenin1z Hydroponic garaenin'-, ;= a relatively new technique of soil-loss gardening utilizing liquid nutrients as a growing medium. It is my understanding from our discussions that the erection of this equipment and its operation for hobby purposes would not be prohibited under any city ordinances. However, if the combination of process and greenhouse is as productive as suggested by literature on the subject, the production of fruits and vegetables, which occurs on a year-around basis, will substantially exceed the amounts required by my own family. Thus, it would be our intent to sell the excess produce to a commercial wholesaler to defray the operating cost of the greenhouse and provide part-time employment for some of our children. It is only this commercial sale activity which I understand requires a Special Home Occupation Permit since it is for gain and involves the use of unusual equipment (a greenhouse). The scale of activities involved with commercial operation will be small. _ Harvests would be once or twice a month with all excess produce being transported by delivery truck to the wholesaler. There would be no signs on the property, no displays or outside lights, and no retail sales at our residence. There would be no employees other than family members. If the operation does provide any income after expenses, it would be incidental only and not a substantive portion of family income. E � page 2 The greenhouse has exterior dimensions 16 feet by 32 feet and at the maximum would be approximately 8 1/2 feet in height. A two-layer covering of plastic fill►: provides protection from the elements and insulation. Inside temperature is controlled by a combination of electric space heater in cold weather and exhaust fans in warm weather. The heater is small and virtually noiseless. The two exhaust fans are 1811 diameter window fans which make no more noise than regular residential window fans or home air- conditioning fans. The only other mechanical eouipment involved is a cooling water pump and a nutrient circulation pump. These are both located within the greenhouse and cannot be heard outside the unit. The greenhouse is supplied by its manufacturer in a kit form and requires little or no on-site fabrication. It is not a permanent structure and has no foundation or concrete floor. The floor is fill dirt covered with plastic. Assembly takes only a few days. If for any reason we should either sell our home or decide to discontinue the operation of the greenhouse it would be demounted and either sold or moved elsewhere. The only anchorage of the greenhouse is by means of removable clamps attaching the curved roof-support pipes to pipe sockets in 4-inch diameter post holes filled with concrete. I hope that this letter of explanation, the application, and the supplemental information filed with the application is adequate for your purpose. If not I will be pleased to provide additional information to the extent that it is available. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly ours, T eo ore L. Willard 6825 Drew Av. No. Brooklyn Center, ITN 5542° it • Section 35-900 (continued) Floor/area ratio - The numerical value obtained through dividing the gross floor area of a building or buildings by the total area of the lot or parcel of land on which such building is located. Garage, private - An accessory building or an accessory portion of the dwelling building intended for or used to store private passenger vehicles of the families resident upon the premises and in which no business , service or industry connected directly or indirectly with automotive vehicles may be carried on. Green Strip - An area containing only vegetation such as grass , trees , flowers, hedges, and other related landscaping :materials , and maintained expressly for such .purpose. Home Occupation - Any gainful occupation or profession, engaged in by the occupant of a dwelling unit within said dwelling, which is clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use of the premises , provided, such activity does not pro- duce light glare, noise, odor or vibration perceptible beyond the boundaries of the premises; does not involve the use of accessory structures; and , further provided that said activity does not involve any of the following: repair, service or manufacturing which requires equipment other than that customarily found in a home; over-the-counter sale of merchandise produced off the premises; or the employment of persons on the premises, other than those customarily residing on the premises. Examples include: dressmaking; secretarial services; professional. offices; answering service; individual music or art instruction; individual hobby craft; child day care (defined as the care of not more than five (S) nonresident children and provided the facility and operation are properly licensed by the County, and provided a record of said license is on file with the City); and the like. Home Occupations Special - Any gainful occupation or profession, approved by special use permission, engaged in by the occupant of a dwelling unit within said dwelling or involving not more than one accessory use permitted by Section 35-310 or Section 35-311, and which involves any of the following: stock-in-trade incidental to the performance of the service; repair, service, or manufacturing which requires equipment other than that customarily found in a home; the employment on the premises, at any one time, of not more than one person who is a nonresident of the premises; the teaching of more than one (1) but not more than four (4) nonresident students any given time; or the need_for not more tha.z two (2) parking spaces in addition to spaces required `or the persons residing on the premises; and provided the activity: is clearly incidental and secondary to the residental use of the premises, including the dwelling , and permitted accessory buildings or installatio-is thereon; does not produce light glare, noise, odor or vibration perceptible beyond the bound- aries of the premises; does not consist of over-the-counter sales of merchandise pro- duced off the premises . Examples include: barber and beauty services, shoe repair, photography studio, group lessons, saw sharpening, motor-driven appliance and small engine repair, and the like. • Hotel - A building which provides a common entrance, lobby, and stairways, and in which lodging is commonly offered with or without meals for periods of less than a week Planning Commission Information Sheet Application yo. 74012 Applicant: Coachman Diversified Location: 6660 Shingle Creek Parkway Request: Building Plan Amendment The applicant has proposed certain alterations to the easterly exterior wall of the structure which was built in 1974. The alteration would involve installation of large overhead doors, to accommodate a new tenant. The prospective tenant-use should also be evaluated as to whether it "is similar in nature to other I-1 uses," since it is not clearly comprehended by the ordinance. Letters are attached describing the proposed use. Coldwell Banker CWMIRCIAL BROKERAGE CU 4PANY October 15, 1976 Mr. Blair Tremere Director City Planning 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway Brooklyn Center, Minnesota 55430 Dear.Mr. Tremere: This letter is written in hopes of clarifying and amplifying certain points in H. J. Lisheid's letter of September, 1976 - "Chem-Lawn Corporation - Operations and Procedures". The information in this letter is my understanding based on communications with Mr. Lisheid, who represents Chem-Lawn and their manager for the new operation, Tim Mahan, The first three paragraphs on page two refer to their filling operation and use of a waste water recycling system. This system (a major expense) will be constructed by removing the existing floor and pouring a new one with a slope. Waste water will be directed to a sump, where a pump will move the water to a tank (filtering it in the process) . The waste water will then be used to fill the tank truck along with additional fresh water. There will be no floor drains leading to the sewer system. All waste water used in the operation will be recycled with the exception of that resulting from normal use of the two washrooms. The last paragraph on page 2 refers to the installation of storage tanks. Chem-Lawn is aware that outside storage is not encouraged at this location. Their plans therefore, call for these tanks to be located Inside the building. As was pointed out in the original letter, the chemicals used in this operation are of a non-toxic, non-flammable nature While not mentioned in the original letter, it is important to note that only Chem-Lawn vehicles will be involved in this operation. There will be no filling or storage of vehicles belonging to the general public or any other firms. Neither will there by any refueling or mechanical servicing of the vehicles at this location. Service work is normally handled at the truck dealership. 6600 FRANCE AVENUE SOUTH•EDINA,MINNESOTA 55435•(612)920-8611-A COIDWELL BANKER COMPANY Mr. Blair Tremere October 15, 1976 Page 2 There will be little operation of the vehicles inside the building. In the morning they will be started and pulled out immediately. In the evening they will be pulled in, washed and refilled. Then they will be restarted and pulled ahead to their parking space. Normally there would be no operation of vehicles inside during the day. A ventilation system, to meet or exceed applicable regulations, will, of course, be installed. During the winter months, vehicles will remain in the building and activity will consist of training, planning and overhauling the pumps, hoses, etc. I hope that this information will help in enabling you and others involved to make the decisions necessary regarding this fine operation. Sincerely, _..Tay JW/jk cc: H. J. Lisheid Tim Mahan