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Home My WebLink About02/28/05Hastings Planning Commission February 28, 2005 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Chairman Greil called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. 1.Roll Call Commissioners Present: Greil, McInnis, Schmitt, Truax, Twedt, Zeyen. Commissioners Absent: Hollenbeck Staff Present: Planning Director John Hinzman, Associate Planner Kris Jenson 2.Approve February 14, 2005 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Motion by Commissioner Truax, seconded by Twedt to approve the minutes of the February 14, 2005 Planning Commission as presented by Staff. Motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING 3.David Warg – Shoreland variance #2005-08 – Shoreland Minimum Lot Size – SW corner of 2 St E and Barker Street. nd Planner Jenson presented background information on the item. Chairman Greil opened the public hearing at 7:05 pm. Hearing no comment, the hear was closed at 7:06 pm. Commissioner Schmitt stated that while he supports the variance, he did note that the DNR, in their letter, stated that the lots should be combined and sold as a conforming lot per the Hastings Shoreland Ordinance. Commissioner Twedt asked if the new Shoreland Ordinance will address these issues. Director Hinzman stated that he has been working with the DNR, but he is unsure whether they will be in favor of smaller lot sizes. Planning Commission Action: Commissioner Truax moved and Commissioner Zeyen seconded the motion to recommend approval of the Shoreland Lot Size variance to the City Council. 2 Upon vote taken: Ayes: 6, Nays: 0. Motion passed. 4.City of Hastings - Rezoning #2005-15 – R-2 Medium Density Residence to RMU Residential Mixed Use – 401 Ramsey St. Planner Jenson presented background on this item. Chairman Greil opened the public hearing at 7:15 pm. Marjorie Beissel, owner of 401 Ramsey St, stated that the home has had apartments ever since she bought the property 20 years ago, and that the previous property owner had the apartments for a number of years as well. Ms. Beissel stated that she was not aware that the property was only zoned for a single family use. Chairman Greil closed the public hearing at 7:17 pm. Commissioner Twedt asked Staff if there had been any response from the neighbors. Director Hinzman stated that he had had one phone call from a neighbor who seemed to be looking for information. Planner Jenson stated that she had no contact regarding the rezoning. Commissioner Schmitt inquired as to additional uses allowed in the RMU district. Director Hinzman stated that there were some commercial uses, but that the site would have to meet parking requirements, which would be very difficult on such a small site as this. Commissioner Truax stated that he spoke with some of the neighbors and they expressed concern that the property was for sale. The property has been a good part of the neighborhood for many years. He added that it is in the heart of the R-2 District. Director Hinzman reviewed the Downtown Master Plan which saw this area as a transitional zone, between 3 and 5 Streets, from the downtown core to the rdth residential areas. Commissioner Truax felt that the new owners should be required to meet the parking code for the number of units in the building. Use of the Municipal Lot is per City Council approval and not a given. Commissioner Schmitt asked if the rezoning would open the door to redevelopment and possible razing of the building. Director Hinzman reiterated that the site is fairly small – the lot is only 9200 square feet, which would leave very little room for a building and parking. Commissioner Schmitt questioned why the property was then being rezoned. 3 Commissioner Truax indicated his preference that the new owner request the rezoning. Commissioner Schmitt added that while he doesn’t want to infringe on a property owner’s rights by denying the request, he also doesn’t want to infringe on the rights of other property owners in the area. Chairman Greil stated that he agreed the area was transitional in nature and the use appropriate for the site and it’s location. Planning Commission Action: Commissioner McInnis moved and Commissioner Zeyen seconded the motion to recommend approval of the rezoning of 401 Ramsey St from R-2 Medium Density Residential to RMU Residential Mixed Use to the City Council. Upon vote taken: Ayes: 4, Nays: 1, Truax dissenting, Twedt abstained. Motion passed. 5.City of Hastings – Shoreland Ordinance Amendment #2005-17 – Downtown Hastings. Director Hinzman presented background on the project. Chairman Greil opened the public hearing at 7:40 pm. Hearing no comments, the hearing was closed at 7:41 pm. Commissioner Twedt questioned why the 47’ height limit wasn’t just removed from the ordinance. Director Hinzman stated that it was in place for those properties above 2 Street nd – that have a higher ground elevation to begin with. Commissioner Schmitt asked if the four story limit was at the front or the rear of the property. Commissioner Zeyen questioned if the four story provision was going to be a problem for the Block 2 project. Commissioner Schmitt stated that it was important for this question to be settled at this time. Director Hinzman stated that it appears that the Block 2 proposal would have five stories. Nat Shea, Tanek Architects and representative of the Three Rivers Place project (aka Block 2) commented that the view will vary depending upon the Esplanade and it’s final design. He added that gardens were added along the river side, so that the lower level parking structure would not be visible at all from the Esplanade. Commissioner Twedt asked if these standards would be applicable to everyone. 4 Director Hinzman stated that the 47’ limit would be for the areas zoned Downtown Core (DC). Chairman Greil added that the new language made sense and allowed for more cohesive development. He asked about impervious surface issues, noting that Stillwater has used a brick with holes in it for hard surface areas to allow for more permeation of water. Mr. Shea stated that this project would be incorporating such bricks, as well as grit chambers and as much green space north of the building as possible. Commissioner Zeyen raised the issue regarding the four story height limit. Director Hinzman stated that in many of the public meetings, the public felt that no building should be taller than four stories. Commissioner Schmitt agreed with this assessment, but wondered how to best address this issue. Commissioner Twedt suggested that it was up to the developer to not have more than ½ of the lowest story exposed so as to not count as a story. Director Hinzman stated that one possibility would be to add the definition of a story from the Building Code to the Shoreland Ordinance to further clarify the issue. Planning Commission Action: Commissioner Twedt moved and Commissioner McInnis seconded the motion to recommend approval of the Shoreland Ordinance amendments to the City Council as presented. Upon vote taken: Ayes: 6, Nays: 0. Motion passed. 6.Tanek Architects, Cont. – Development Plan Review #2005-04 – Two mixed use residential/commercial buildings – Block 2 Downtown. Director Hinzman presented background information on the request, including information regarding different street uses as a defining guide for uses within the DC District. Commissioner Twedt asked when these guidelines were approved. Director Hinzman stated that they were adopted as a part of the Heart of Hastings Plan in 2003. Commissioner Truax commented that with the Red Rock Corridor receiving funding for the next step, Block 16 would be intended for Light Rail parking, so how many times do we share a parking lot? Director Hinzman responded that if light rail goes thru, a surface lot will not suffice and a parking structure will be required. 5 Commissioner Truax noted that the original purpose of Block 16 is for light rail parking and that the City seems to be losing that focus. He did commend Director Hinzman on the parking analysis and information provided. Chairman Greil asked for direction from Staff as to what actions are needed. Director Hinzman stated that approval of the Chart on Page 1 of the Staff report and the shared parking anylysis. Chairman Greil inquired as to why on-street parking was not counted. Director Hinzman stated that while we all know on-street parking is used, it just isn’t counted. Commissioner Zeyen noted that in relation to #4 – Commercial uses on the 1 st floor – that he would like the possibility of some commercial uses along the 1 st floor on Ramsey and Tyler Streets. Planning Commission Action: Commissioner Twedt moved and Commissioner Zeyen seconded the motion to recommend approval of Development Plan for Three Rivers Place as presented in the 02/28/05 Staff Report to the City Council. Upon vote taken: Ayes: 6, Nays: 0. Motion passed. 7.Other Business Director Hinzman updated the Commission on recent Council actions and upcoming Commission items. 8.Adjourn Meeting adjourned at 8:43 pm Respectfully submitted, _________________________________ Kristine Jenson Recording Secretary