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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 10-17 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 OCTOBER 17,2013 CALL TO ORDER The Planning Commission meeting was called to order by Chair Burfeind at 7:03p.m. ROLL CALL Chair Scott Burfeind, Commissioners Randall Christensen, Benjamin Freedman, Carlos Morgan, and Stephen Schonning were present. Also present were Councilmember Carol Kleven, Secretary to the Planning Commission Tim Benetti, Director of Business & Development Gary Eitel, and Planning Commission Recording Secretary Rebecca Crass. Michael Parks was absent and unexcused. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — SEPTEMBER 26, 2013 There was a motion by Commissioner Schonning, seconded by Commissioner Freedman to approve the minutes of the September 26, 2013 meeting. Motion passed unanimously. CHAIR'S EXPLANATION Chair Burfeind explained the Planning Commission's role as an advisory body. One of the Commission's functions is to hold public hearings. In the matters concerned in these hearings, the Commission makes recommendations to the City Council. The City Council makes all final decisions in these matters. APPLICATION NO. 2013-021 GATLIN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY Chair Burfeind introduced Application No. 2013-021, a request for Preliminary Plat of Shingle Creek Crossing 4th Addition, located at 1450 Shingle Creek Crossing. (Refer to Planning Report dated 10-17-13 on Application No. 2013-021). Mr. Benetti explained the history of the PUD approvals and stated with this 4th Addition the Applicant is requesting to replat two lots within the PUD identified as Lot 5 and 6, Block 1, Shingle Creek Crossing Addition. He added the two lots are being reconfigured to accommodate the proposed Discount Tire store development PUBLIC HEARING—APPLICATION NO. 2013-021 There was a motion by Commissioner Freedman, seconded by Commissioner Schonning, to open the public hearing on Application No. 2013-021, at 7:09 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Burfeind called for comments from the public. There were no comments from the public. CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING There was a motion by Commissioner Schonning, seconded by Commissioner Freedman, to close the public hearing on Application No. 2013-021. The motion passed unanimously. PC Minutes 10-17-13 Page 1 The Chair called for further discussion or questions from the Commissioners. The Commissioners interposed no objections to the approval of the Application. ACTION TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 2013-20 REGARDING RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION OF PLANNING COMMISSION APPLICATION NO. 2013-021 SUBMITTED BY GATLIN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY A REQUEST FOR PRELIMINARY PLAT OF SHINGLE CREEK CROSSING 4TH ADDITION There was a motion by Commissioner Morgan, seconded by Commissioner Schonning, to approve Planning Commission Resolution No. 2013-20. Voting in favor: Chair Burfeind, Commissioners Christensen, Freedman, Morgan, and Schonnin g And the following voted against the same: None The motion passed unanimously. The Council will consider the application at its October 28, 2013 meeting. The applicant must be present. Major changes to the application as reviewed by the Planning Commission will require that the application be returned to the Commission for reconsideration. APPLICATION NO. 2013-017—DISCOUNT TIRE (HALLE PROPERTIES LLQ Chair Burfeind introduced Application No. 2013-017, a request for Site and Building Plan approval of a new 7,322 s£ Discount Tire store for Building Pad A within the Shingle Creek Crossing Planned Unit Development Project. (Refer to Planning Report dated 10-17-13 on Application No. 2013-017). Mr. Benetti explained the site plan being considered is for the proposed Building A pad site previously approved under the Shingle Creek Crossing Master Plan. Mr. Benetti further stated auto repair shops do not meet the overall vision planned for this area and the applicant has indicated to staff there will be no type of auto repair or servicing at this facility, only the removal and installation of new tires purchased at the store. Mr. Benetti provided details on the layout and appearance of the proposed new building and parking layout. He pointed out the Shingle Creek Crossing PUD was approved with an overall "Architectural Design Guideline" plan to provide examples of approved architecture and building materials and the key element of this plan was that all new buildings would need to provide 4-sided architecture in their designs. He added the updated architectural plans submitted by Discount Tire include a nice design and mix of materials as called for by the SCC guidelines and meets all required setbacks for this PUD/C2 zoning. Mr. Benetti explained the access to the site and the parking layout while noting a larger driveway opening is shown to accommodate delivery trucks. He added the City Engineer provided input related to the sidewalks and approaches and feels they should be realigned to be more perpendicular to the curb lines. PC Minutes 10-17-13 Page 2 The Chair called for further discussion or questions from the Commissioners. Chair Burfeind asked about the retaining wall along Applebee's that was recently removed. Mr. Benetti replied the developer removed it at the request of the City and there is no requirement for screening in this location. He added the wall was there to discourage pedestrians from cutting through the property near the old transit center. He further pointed out it was recommended to the applicant to provide an additional pedestrian opening to provide a walkway and eliminate people cutting through and trampling landscaping. There was further discussion regarding the possible placement of a fence along Xerxes to discourage foot traffic cutting through the property and destroying existing landscaping. Commissioner Christensen stated he likes the idea of providing the pedestrian opening since this area was designed to encourage pedestrian traffic and safety. The Commissioners interposed no objections to approval of the Application. ACTION TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 2013-21 REGARDING RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION OF PLANNING COMMISSION APPLICTION NO. 2013-017 SUBMITTED BY HALLE PROPERTIES, LLC AND GATLIN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, REQUESTING THE APPROVAL OF SITE AND BUILDING PLAN FOR THE NEW DISCOUNT TIRE STORE, LOCATED ON BUILDING PAD SITE A OF THE SHINGLE CREK CROSSING PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (1450 SHINGLE CREEK CROSSING) There was a motion by Commissioner Christensen, seconded by Commissioner Schonning, to approve Planning Commission Resolution No. 2013-21. Voting in favor: Chair Burfeind, Commissioners Christensen, Freedman, Morgan, and Schonning And the following voted against the same: None The motion passed. The Council will consider the application at its October 28, 2013 meeting. The applicant must be present. Major changes to the application as reviewed by the Planning Commission will require that the application be returned to the Commission for reconsideration. APPLICATION NO. 2013-022—AVIS BUDGET GROUP Chair Burfeind introduced Application No. 2013-022, a request for a Special Use Permit to allow Budget Rental trucks to be stored and leased from the existing Avis Auto Rental facility, located in the Sears Automotive Center building and properties (Refer to Planning Report dated 10-17- 13 on Application No. 2013-022). Mr. Benetti explained the building is owned by Sears and consists of 15.3 acres in total land area, is zoned PUD/C-2 (Planned Unit Development/Commerce) and is located inside the Central Commerce Overlay (CCO) District. He added Avis-Budget currently leases a small office/service space at the north end of the auto center building. Mr. Benetti further explained the City granted Budget Rent-A-Car a special use permit on April 7, 1986 to conduct a car rental business at the Sears Automotive Center with the following three conditions: PC Minutes 10-17-13 Page 3 1) The special use permit is subject to all applicable codes, ordnances' and regulations and violation thereof shall be grounds for revocation; 2) Storage of inventory of cars for rent shall be confined primarily to the area under the canopy; and 3) Special use permit approval acknowledges rental and leasing only. No sales of automobile or other vehicles is acknowledged by this action Mr. Benetti continued by explaining that in 1992 and 1998 Budget Rent-A-Car was notified by city staff that trucks were being rented on the site and they were in violation of the original special use permit. The Planning Commission and City Council denied their request due to limited parking at the Brookdale Mall site and felt all rental vehicles should remain under the canopy as approved under the original Special Use Permit. Mr. Benetti stated the applicant indicated that no more than seven trucks would be stored and leased from this site, along with 2-3 car-dollies (used to tow vehicles behind the trucks or other personal vehicles) and parking will take place on the back side of the automotive center. He added staff does not believe allowing the additional trucks to lease and rent will be a detriment or danger to the community. Mr. Benetti explained the special use permit is only for up to seven additional trucks and only as long as Sears Auto Center is in operation. If the Sears Auto Center would close, the Special Use Permit would no longer be in effect. Commissioner Freedman stated he is hesitant about approving the application. He feels the building is already unattractive and is concerned about how the trucks will look on the site. Commissioner Schonning stated he does not see how the trucks can fit under the covered walkway since they appear to be too large. He feels the current Pep Boys site appears to be a mess and he doesn't want to move `a mess' from one location to another. He doesn't feel this will enhance the property and is too visible from Hwy 100. Commissioner Christensen stated he also has concerns and feels the area north of the canopy would be a better location for parking the trucks since he does not want them being viewed from Hwy 100. He added he doesn't want it to look like advertising with the trucks being too visible. He also wants to see the right businesses here to keep things moving forward and not backward. Commissioner Morgan stated the applicant's primary business is to rent vehicles and the trucks do provide advertising and is not uncommon. Commissioner Freedman asked if the history of non-compliance would be an issue in the future? Mr. Benetti stated if this process takes care of previous problems with the business, he would be in favor of approval since the City can enforce the Special Use Permit requirements and keep the business at one location which will be easier to manage and maintain. PC Minutes 10-17-13 Page 4 Commissioner Christensen stated perhaps the parking lot could be restriped to identify the exact parking spots for the rental trucks. Chair Burfeind stated he agrees with the restriping of the parking spots and would also suggest the spaces be numbered. He further stated he has concerns with one business leveraging another and asked what Sears' participation is. Mr. Benetti replied Sears agreed to allow the business through Avis and the Sears Auto Center and there has been a Special Use Permit in effect for a long time. Chair Burfeind further stated he is in favor of approval as long as the site is properly maintained. PUBLIC HEARING—APPLICATION NO. 2013-022 There was a motion by Commissioner Morgan, seconded by Commissioner Christensen, to open the public hearing on Application No. 2013-022, at 8:01 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Burfeind called for comments from the public. Jeff Wagner, Avis-Budget Group, stated he will address the Commission's concerns. • The maximum number of vehicles on site will be seven. • They prefer the vehicles to be used within the city and returned; however, when a vehicle is returned to a different site than where it was rented, they have vehicles drivers that move them to a different location. • The business formerly located at Pep Boys has closed. • The erratic parking seen at Pep Boys will not occur at this site since it will be managed by AVIS and not Pep Boys. • He suggested parking the vehicles where the cars are currently parked if that would allow them to be screened from the Hwy. • This operation is a benefit to Sears since they pay rent and it is revenue based. • Sears does the maintenance on their fleet. • Avis creates foot traffic for Sears which they need. Commissioner Freedman asked about the possibility of there being more than seven vehicles parked on the site. Mr. Wagner replied the rare occasion would be after a holiday when several trucks could be returned all at once and they would get their drivers to move the vehicles immediately. He added they have significantly reduced their truck fleet nation-wide and are in the business to rent trucks, not park them. Chair Burfeind asked about their willingness to restripe the parking area. Mr. Wagner responded they would be happy to undertake that and would get in touch with Sears to get their approval. Mr. Eitel asked the applicant if they could get Sears to turn on the parking lot lights to create a more secure environment for the vehicles. Mr. Wagner responded he can't even get Sears to turn on the electricity for their own Avis sign, and feels he may have little influence to persuade Sears to turn on these lights. CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING PC Minutes 10-17-13 Page 5 There was a motion by Commissioner Schonning, seconded by Commissioner Christensen, to close the public hearing on Application No. 2013-022. The motion passed unanimously. The Chair called for further discussion or questions from the Commissioners. The Commissioners interposed no objections to the approval of the Application. ACTION TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 2013-22 REGARDING RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION OF PLANNING COMMISSION APPLICATION NO. 2013-022 SUBMITTED BY AVIS BUDGET GROUP, INC. FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO PARK AND LEASE BUDGET RENTAL TRUCKS AT THE AVIS RENT-A CAR/SEARS AUTOMOTIVE CENTER, LOCATED AT 1299 SHINGLE CREEK CROSSING (FORMERLY 1299 BROOKDALE CENTER) There was a motion by Commissioner Christensen, seconded by Commissioner Freedman,to approve Planning Commission Resolution No. 2013-22. Voting in favor: Chair Burfeind, Commissioners Christensen, Freedman, Morgan, and Schonning And the following voted against the same: None The motion passed unanimously. The Council will consider the application at its October 28, 2013 meeting. The applicant must be present. Major changes to the application as reviewed by the Planning Commission will require that the application be returned to the Commission for reconsideration. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Freedman, seconded by Commissioner Schonning, to adjourn the Planning Commission meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meetin adjourned at 8:19 p.m. P Chair Recorded and transcribed by: Rebecca Crass PC Minutes 10-17-13 Page 6