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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20101228 PCP WKS Minutes PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION MINUTES DECEMBER 28, 2010 PAGE 1 Call to Order: Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a Work Session of the Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, December 28, 2010. The meeting was called to order at 6:31p.m. with Commissioners Ege, Irving, Demuth, Kolodziejski and Powell attending. Also in attendance were Senior Planner Zweber, Planner Lindahl and Recording Secretary Hanson. Discussion: a. Public and Institutional Zoning District (10- 13 -TA). Planner Lindahl reviewed the staff report and stated the proposed changes would necessitate additional revisions to the conditional use standards in R -1 through R -4 residential districts. Mr. Lindahl provided background information on the issue, described the proposed zoning revisions, and recommended a strategy and timeline to implement the amendments. Commissioner Irving asked if the maximum building height of 35 feet was typical for new high schools. Mr. Lindahl stated that staff will research newer building standards in more detail before finalizing the ordinance. At the minimum, higher structures such as light fixtures on ball fields will need to be allowed. Chairperson Ege asked if it would be allowed for a church with a secondary school to increase enrollment to include the lower grades. Mr. Lindahl stated that high schools are being placed in the PI district because of the high level of activities and additional accessory structures a high school has. He stated that it wouldn't matter if a secondary school would expand to include the lower grades because they would already be in the PI district. Commissioner Powell asked why churches with primary schools would not be allowed in the PI district. Senior Planner Zweber stated that if a church would happen to relocate, there could be an issue with the underlying use that someone could reuse the building for. He further stated that with high schools, it is assume that the structures would be bigger, requiring more setbacks and less detailing in the architecture than an elementary would. Mr. Lindahl explained the following timeline to the Commissioners. Public and Institutional Ordinance Amendment Timeline Date Action Involved Parties January Meet with Effected Property Owners Churches, Schools, Library February Present Draft Ordinance at City Council Work Session City Council Staff March Review Ordinance During a Public Hearing at the Planning Commission, Staff 8 Planning Commission the Public April- May Present Final Ordinance Amendment to the City City Council, Staff, the Council for Action Public *This timeline is subject to change. Library would be a conditional use in a residential district. Civic uses are allowed in the DT zoning district. Library could either be rezoned in the DT district or the residential district, but it will mostly be the DT district. PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION MINUTES DECEMBER 28, 2010 PAGE 2 Commissioner Irving expressed concern that the Planning Commission would not see the ordinance again until March. Mr. Lindahl stated that if any issues were raised at the meeting with the property owners, staff would let the Commissioners know to get their input and the schedule would be adjusted. Commissioner Powell asked if rain gardens are included in the definition of landscaping and Mr. Lindahl replied that they are. Commissioner Powell pointed out that on Page 5, Item 4.c. should read "barrier type curb Thirdly, Commissioner Powell asked if on Page 6, Item 7, regarding landscaping irrigation included rain gardens or if rain gardens were an exception to that requirement. Mr. Lindahl stated that the intent of the provision was to insure proper irrigation maintenance and although rain gardens do not require irrigating, the rain gardens should include proper infrastructure. b. A Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment to Revise the Sign Ordinance (10- 32 -TA). Planner Lindahl stated that after administering the current sign ordinance for the last eighteen months, staff has identified seven minor changes that would improve the overall performance of these regulations. Mr. Lindahl reviewed the seven minor changes and requested comment from the Commission. 1. P/I District Standards creating distinct sign standards for this district. 2. Sign Letter Depth Standard establish a minimum channel letter depth. 3. Projecting Signs in Downtown allow projecting signs to have a minimum of seven and one half (7.5) feet of clearance between the sidewalk elevation and the lowest point of the projecting sign. 4. Temporary Signs Height Standard allow taller (i.e. flag or vertical) temporary signs. 5. Minimum Display Times for Dynamic Signs considering a reduction to something less than the current five (5) minute minimum display time. A short discussion took place among the Commissioners regarding the minimum display times for dynamic signs. It was agreed overall that since there is no new study supporting a shorter display time, it was decided to leave the current display time of 5 minutes. 6. Add Static Electronic Gas Price Signs to C-1 reestablishing static gas price signs in the C1 district. The Commission was fine with this addition. 7. Directional Signs in Commercial Districts additional internal direction signage (to drive thrus and the like) may be warranted. c. UMore Update Mineral Extraction (Gravel Mining) and Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) (10- 01 -ME). Senior Planner Zweber stated that the University of Minnesota has two projects occurring at the University of Minnesota Outreach, Research, and Education (UMore) Park that the Planning Commission will be intimately involved with in 2011 and beyond. The two projects are the gravel mining (Mineral Extraction) proposal and the environmental and concept plan for the eventual development of UMore Park (Alternative Urban Areawide Review or AUAR). Mr. Zweber provided some background information on the projects and an estimated timeline of when the projects will be reviewed and processed by the Planning Commission. PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION MINUTES DECEMBER 28, 2010 PAGE 3 Larry Laukka was present at the meeting but did not provide any additional comment. The estimated timeline Mr. Zweber explained to the Commissioners is as follows: Submittal of a draft Gravel Mining Plan by Dakota Aggregates January 2011 Creation of a Large Scale Mineral Extraction Ordinance First Nine Months of 2011 Issuance of a Mineral Extraction Permit Last Three Months of 2011 Review and Renewal of the Mineral Extraction Permit Annually Updates: None. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before this Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Kathie Hanson, Recording Secretary 411