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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPCMinutes-20081027City of Hastings Planning Commission Minutes – October 27, 2008 Page 1 of 6 Hastings Planning Commission October 27, 2008 Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m. Chair Schmitt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call 1. Commissioners Present: McInnis, Schmitt, Stevens, Zeyen Commission Absent: Peine, Vaughan Staff Present: Planning Director John Hinzman, Associate Planner Barker, Public Works Director Tom Montgomery, Comprehensive Plan Consultant Bill Weber Approval of Minutes 2. –October 13, 2008 Motion by Commissioner Stevens to approve the October 13, 2008, meeting minutes. Seconded by Commissioner McInnis. Upon vote taken, Ayes 4, Nays 0. Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS None OTHER ACTIONS Ordinance Interpretation #2008-28 – Demolition of Homes in the OHDS. 3. Staff report presented by Associate Planner Kari Barker. Commissioner Zeyen stated that he felt the ordinance reflected a substantial improvement of 5% of the existing structure. Further, he stated that any home rebuilt on the site of the demolished home would be over 5% of the building value, which triggers review by the Planning Commission. Planning Director Hinzman stated that the request before staff was not for construction of a new home, but rather to demolish the home and use the property as yard space for the neighboring lot. Chair Schmitt stated that the purpose of the ordinance was to maintain the integrity of the district. Further, in his opinion, the demolition of a substandard home would enhance the district. He also stated that if a home can be purchased for the purpose of a expanding a lot, City of Hastings Planning Commission Minutes – October 27, 2008 Page 2 of 6 the home probably is not one of the jewels of the district. Chair Schmitt stated his opinion would be not to have OHDS review before the Planning Commission for the demolition of a home. However, the rebuilding of a home would require Planning Commission review due to the 5% building value criteria being met or exceeded. Chair Schmitt stated that he did not want any more restrictions placed on homeowners. Commissioner Zeyen stated that staff could possibly look at moving the homes to be demolished, similar to the home near the former Jiffy site. th Commissioner Stevens stated that a home on 7 Street was recently demolished due to fire. He stated that the demolition was naturally caused and did not need review. Planning Director Hinzman summarized the recommendation from the Planning Commission as follows: -Demolition of homes in the OHDS does not deter from the character of the neighborhood -Homes should try to be moved if possible Planning Director Hinzman also added that the Heritage Preservation District works toward preserving historic homes that meet the necessary criteria. Comprehensive Plan Presentation 4. Comprehensive Plan Consultant Bill Weber gave an overview of the Comprehensive Plan. He explained that projected growth numbers were estimated by Metropolitan Council and used to develop the Plan. Weber explained the Land Use Plan map, including low, medium, and high density areas. He explained that the Highway 55 corridor was designed for mixed use, which is both retail and high density uses. Weber stated that the map includes extra land to allow for market choice. He further explained that there are not any expectations for the land pattern to be exact- rather, there is a preference for a tighter mixture. Weber stated that the desire is to have a mixture of low, medium, and high density throughout the City. Weber described the green circles stood for parks. He also stated that there is a new business park planned in the southwest corner of the City. Weber explained that the Vermillion Street corridor follows the guidelines for the previous plan developed for the corridor. Weber also explained that the Eastern Valley was shown in the plan as large lot, semi-rural. He stated this was due to the access being difficult and sewer extension potentially being expensive. City of Hastings Planning Commission Minutes – October 27, 2008 Page 3 of 6 Chair Stevens inquired if the projections by the Metropolitan Council are changed based on the economy. Weber stated that the projections are not change based on economy. Rather, they are changed every 10 years. Therefore, in 2014 or 2015, new projections will come out from the Metropolitan Council. Planning Director Hinzman explained that the projected 220 units per year is roughly the average number built over the last ten years; this factors in both the peak years and the current slow down. Chair Schmitt asked if there were any ramifications if the numbers were not met. Planning Director Hinzman stated that housing projections are estimates and that construction numbers are based on the market. Weber explained that the Comprehensive Plan states that sidewalks should be on one side of local streets and two sides of collector streets. He also explained that the street width is set at 32 feet. Chair Schmitt inquired if the Metropolitan Council was discussing narrower streets. Planning Director Hinzman stated there was some discussion regarding narrower street widths. However, the Hastings Fire Department desired streets with a 32 foot width. Weber explained the Street Functional Classification Plan. He explained that the area of Jacob from Highway 55 to 46 as a long term improvement. Chair Schmitt inquired about the right- of-way for the Jacob expansion. Planning Director Hinzman stated that the type of road has not been determined. Commissioner Stevens inquired about the street design. He stated that the streets in the downtown area are straight while the newer streets are curvy. Public Works Director Tom Montgomery stated that the purpose is to try and align or reuse roads. He stated that the roads probably will probably not be straight shots due to speed control. The curves will be used for aesthetics and traffic calming. However, there will probably not be any sharp curves. Planning Director Hinzman stated that the intent of the future roads is to build them when subdivisions come forward. Commissioner Stevens asked if a portion of the road will be built if the parcel is in the middle of a planned roadway. Planning Director Hinzman stated that it would vary by project. Public Works Director Montgomery stated that roads will be built as the subdivision is built. Further, if the current roadway can handle the increased traffic, the road may not need to be built at that time. City of Hastings Planning Commission Minutes – October 27, 2008 Page 4 of 6 Weber explained the Park Plan, showing that the intent is to have a trail that loops around the City along with a linear park along the Vermillion. Chair Schmitt stated that there was a little confusion regarding the intent of the Riverfront. He stated that in one area, it sounded like the intent was for a linear park while in another section the focus appeared to be on commercial. Planning Director Hinzman stated that he agreed that the wording was too strong on the acquisition of land. Weber stated that the Site Design chapter will help guide developers with both words and photos, particularly emphasizing the design of multi-family units. He added that public lighting and attractive landscaping is part of Site Design Chair Schmitt asked if the 2020 Parks Plan was followed. He said he doesn’t remember adding but one park. Planning Director Hinzman stated that since the last Comprehensive Plan, Greten Park, South Pines Area Park, and the Wallin Addition Park were added. Chair Schmitt asked if having the new Parks Plan would create a stronger point to require land in lieu of money. Planning Director Hinzman explained that parks are generally added with larger subdivisions. He stated that though he cannot definitively answer Chair Schmitt’s question, he hopes the plan does strengthen this position. Chair Schmitt stated that developers need to be aware of these plans as it may change their acquisition plans. Weber stated that the Parks Plan does put developers on notice. Commissioner Zeyen asked if the cash option would go toward the trail system connections. Planning Director Hinzman stated that the cash earned is generally spent in the same ward it was garnered from. Commissioner Stevens inquired into how the type of park needed was determined. Planning Director Hinzman stated that there are standards for certain acreage requirements along with the service area. Commissioner Stevens asked if this information was in the plan. Weber confirmed it was in the plan. Weber explained the Implementation Chapter, stating that it proposes staff to write a yearly report explaining how the plan was used in the previous year. The plan can be tweaked yearly with major changes made every five years and a new comprehensive plan developed every ten years. City of Hastings Planning Commission Minutes – October 27, 2008 Page 5 of 6 Chair Schmitt agreed with this, stating that the review is necessary to be consistent. Chair Schmitt inquired into the proposed Highway 55 area regarding the recent Adult Use Ordinance changes. Planning Director Hinzman stated that as this area is not proposed to be zoned C-4, the City will have to monitor any land additions. Public Works Director Tom Montgomery provided an overview of the Wastewater, Water Supply, and Surface Water Management Plans. He stated that stronger conservation measures would be a major focus moving forward. Montgomery explained that the DNR requirement is 75 gallons per capita per day. He further explained that lawn sprinkling kicks the City out of this range. Montgomery explained that one well ran only twelve days out the year. He stated that essentially $850,000 was spent to meet the demands of water sprinkling. Montgomery explained that the demands of water usage, without water sprinkling, can be met with two wells along with one well in reserve. Chair Schmitt inquired into the issue with contaminates that the City had until the standards were raised. He also asked if one well went down, if the city could meet demands. Montgomery explained that the City could meet demands short term, possibly by banning water sprinkling. He also stated that the City was nowhere near the standards for the contaminants with the requirement change. Commissioner Stevens asked if there was a certain way the water flows to the wells. Montgomery explained that the water pulls from the southwest. He also explained the DWSMA- the Drinking Water Surface Management Area. Chair Schmitt inquired if the water retention areas would be addressed in new developments. Planning Director Hinzman stated that the storm water ordinance changes would probably be the first to be made. Chair Schmitt inquired if the 75% lawn surface requirement would also be changed. Planning Director Hinzman stated possibly. Montgomery explained the eight lift stations along with the sensitivity of the Sand Coulee area. He also explained that it is much cheaper to oversize pipes rather than come back and redo them. Chair Schmitt asked if the trunk lines were looked at for the densities proposed. Planning Director Hinzman confirmed they had. Montgomery described the storm sewer ponding basins. Chair Schmitt asked if there were any concerns with kids playing by them. Montgomery stated there were none. City of Hastings Planning Commission Minutes – October 27, 2008 Page 6 of 6 Commissioner Zeyen inquired into whose responsibility it is to dredge the ponds. Montgomery stated that if the City owns the pond, the City is responsible for dredging them. However, if they are privately owned, which is normally townhome associations, then the associations are responsible for the dredging. Chair Schmitt thanked Bill Weber and Tom Montgomery for coming to the meeting. Planning Director Hinzman stated that the Comprehensive Plan would be coming forward at thth either the November 10 or November 24 meeting. The most likely meeting would be the thth 24 as making the deadlines for the 10 may be difficult. Chair Schmitt inquired as to the form the meeting would take. Planning Director Hinzman stated that there would be an abbreviated presentation followed by a question and answer session. Chair Schmitt asked if the Comprehensive Plan was available digitally. Planning Director Hinzman stated it was available on the website. Other Business 5. Planning Director Hinzman updated the Commission past Council actions and on upcoming items. Adjournment 6. Motion by Zeyento adjourn the October 27, 2008, Planning Commission meeting. Seconded by McInnis. Upon vote taken, Ayes 4, Nays 0. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________ Kari Barker Associate Planner