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Home My WebLink About2.e. Discussion of Public Notification for Planning Applications EXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Work Session: September 12, 2016 AGENDA ITEM: Discussion of Public Notification for Planning Applications AGENDA SECTION: Discussion PREPARED BY: Kim Lindquist, Community Development Director AGENDA NO. 2.e. ATTACHMENTS: City Attorney Comments, Community Survey, Maps, Sign Design APPROVED BY: ddj RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion Item, Staff will Initiate Ordinance Amendments if Necessary SUMMARY During the public hearing for the Harmony apartments, the greater Harmony neighborhood expressed concern about the notification standards used by the City for the apartment project. Many residents noted that they did not receive a notice and that they would have liked more time before the public hearing to prepare for the Planning Commission meeting. Currently the ordinance states that for a public hearing: Notices shall be mailed to each property owner within three hundred fifty fee (350’) of the affected property, except when located in agriculture, agriculture preserve and rural residential districts in which case notice shall be mailed to each property owner within one-fourth (1/4) mile of the affect property. Along with sending notices per the above regulations, the City also publishes the public hearing notice and also posts signs at the site, stating that there is a planning application filed and giving a phone number to call with questions. DISCUSSION Often questions about the city’s development notification process come up when projects are particularly controversial. Residents are interested in finding out about projects in their community and wonder why some people are notified and others not; especially if they feel their neighborhood expands beyond the 350’ borders prescribed by the ordinance. Staff is hesitant to vary from the ordinance standards because it is difficult to guess whether a neighborhood will, or won’t be interested in a project in their area. For example, residents beyond the notification area for the Wilde Estate subdivision project or the Carbury Townhomes weighed in on the application. It is difficult to determine at the time of the public hearing notice going out, what the level of public interest will be on a project. From a timing standpoint the Public Hearing notice in the paper must be published 10 days before the hearing, which means submission three weeks before the meeting. Similarly, staff mails the notice so it will give at least 10 days notice to the residents. Staff has asked various communities in the Metro area about their notification standards for public hearings. In many cases, the city requirements are consistent with Rosemount’s. In a few cases, cities have raised the standard to a 500’ mailing distance. In a few, the distance is further, and may vary by application. While 2 varying the standard may have some appeal, staff is hesitant to recommend varying notification. First, as mentioned previously, it is difficult to anticipate what application will have the largest public interest. It might be tempting to assume a rezoning or land use change could be the most controversial; sometimes a subdivision or variance may have a lot of neighborhood interest. Second, staff believes consistency between applications so there is no questions about the notification requirements. And often projects require more than one approval which could mean varying mailer standards, although staff would choose the most generous. In other words a project approval often requires multiple approvals, like the First State Bank of Rosemount required both a site plan and conditional use permit approval or a subdivision which requires preliminary plat approval and approval of a master development plan. Additionally, the City Attorney has responded to a request from staff to weigh in on this subject. She is not recommending a specific standard but strongly suggests using objective criteria to determine the mailing requirement. The more subjective a standard, and therefore more discretion, may raise questions of fairness and uniform treatment. Planning Staff also supports objective standards and does not want to be placed in the position of determining “what is the neighborhood” or “who will be impacted by the project”. Staff has mapped out the Harmony neighborhood and determined that in order to notice all property owners within the development, notices would have needed to be sent to all properties within 1500’ of the subject property. The green ring is the 1500’ mark, whereas the blue ring is the current standard, 350’ notification with the green ring a 500’ ring. If the distance mark touches any part of a property, staff notifies that property owner. Also the distance is measured from the perimeter of the subject property. Staff provided three other maps of received applications to also illustrate the 350’, 500’ and 1500’ notification marks. With Warren’s apartment project, much of the Downtown and some of the neighborhood to the west of Downtown would be notified as well as portions of the Enclave and the entire Rosewood single family neighborhood under the 1500’ notification. With a 500’ or 350’ notification requirement the more eastern portion of the Downtown would be notified, and the residential properties more adjacent to the project. For the Dunmore project, a majority of the Harmony project would have been notified using the 1500’ mark. With the 350’ or 500’ mark, properties within one or two blocks would have been notified. Finally, the new Greystone subdivision map shows the differing notice list for the three different distances. CONCUSION & RECOMMENDATION Staff believes a 1500’ notification requirement is extensive. While it could certainly capture people who could perceive to be affected by a project, it would also seem that residents would receive more notifications which may dilute their efficacy. Staff feels the sign placement at the site aids in attracting attention and notifies residents outside of the notification area but who still drive or walk by the property regularly. At times, during a public hearing residents indicate that they did not receive notice. However, their attendance at the meeting means that the heard about the meeting. The question may be how to make it as easy as possible for people to find out about development approvals. It was suggested that all public hearing notices be posted to the City’s Facebook page and sent out on twitter. Staff recently set up a website page for notices and the planning signs list the website. We can also have residents sign up for notification when there are changes to the page, similar to other public information items currently posted. From: Tietjen, Mary D. [mailto:mtietjen@Kennedy-Graven.com] Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2016 9:37 AM To: Lindquist, Kim Subject: zoning notice area Kim, Here are my thoughts relating to the zoning notification issue: Rosemount city code requires that in certain zoning-related actions, the city must provide mailed notice to property owners within 350’ of the affected property. This requirement is consistent with state law. The city council may expand, but not decrease, the notification area. If the Council decides to expand the notification area, I would recommend establishing some objective criteria for applying the new rule – i.e., requiring mailed notice to all owners within 500’ of the affected property, or setting other objective criteria based on the type of application or development at issue. The risk with allowing for too much discretion on the part of the Council (or staff) – for example, providing notice to an area that “appears” to be part of the neighborhood or potentially impacted by the zoning action – is that property owners could then argue that the City is not applying the rule consistently and it may open the door to legal claims. In my opinion, setting objective standards and applying them uniformly reduces the risk of legal challenges. Let me know if this works. Mary Mary D. Tietjen ǀ Kennedy & Graven, Chartered ǀ 200 South 6th Street ǀ Suite 470 ǀ Minneapolis, MN 55402 Direct: 612.337.9277 ǀ Fax: 612.337.9310 ǀ Email: mtietjen@kennedy-graven.com THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MESSAGE IS CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY ALSO BE ATTORNEY- CLIENT PRIVILEGED. THE INFORMATION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY TO WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED. IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT ANY USE, DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION OR COPYING OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE IN ERROR, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY US BY REPLY EMAIL, AND DELETE THE ORIGINAL. City Name Is your notice area 350' for public notices? If No, explain what your city has adopted for public notices. Do you have different guidelines for different zoning districts? If yes, please explain what your city has adopted for public notices. Do you post notices signs on the site(s) for Planning applicaions to give residents an opportunity to call or go to a website for more information? Do you post your Planning public notices on your website? Is there anything else that your city does to let residents know about planning applications? Please explain what additional things your city does to notify residents about planning applications Woodbury Mike Mrosla No within 500 feet of the subject property Yes Applicants for development proposals which are located adjacent to or within a residential zoning district shall hold a neighborhood meeting for the following applications: preliminary plat, special use permit, planned unit development, rezoning or multiple applications.n/a n/a n/a Prior Lake Casey McCabe Yes No No No Yes The actual meeting notice is not posted on the city website but the agenda, meeting calendar and agenda packet materials are available on the city website. The public hearing notice is posted at City Hall. Neighborhood meetings are recommended but not required. Developers are encouraged to schedule neighborhood meetings to explain their project to surrounding residents when staff feels the request may be somewhat controversial. Richfield Melissa Poehlman Yes No No No Yes Notices are published in the newspaper. Apple Valley Kathy Bodmer Yes Yes Most zoning actions require only 350' notification. Sand & gravel requires notification to all City property owners within 3,600 feet of the proposed central plant or 350' from the property lines from the proposed district and sand & gravel conditional use permit; whichever is greater.Yes No Yes Our public hearing signs have a QR code. Instead of going to the actual public hearing notices, residents are directed to a hearing summary page. New Brighton JANICE GUNDLACH Yes No No No No Roseville Thomas Paschke No Roseville adopted a 500 foot notification for its planning/zoning public hearings a number of years age. Recently the City Council approved a pilot for expanded notification> this expanded notification is mailed to property owners, renters of multi-family units, and renters of business properties (tenants) within 500 feet of a subject request property on land use actions seeking an interim use, rezoning, comp plan amendment, subdivision of 4 or more lots and planned unit development.No No Yes Yes Roseville has a type of opt-in list for individuals to receive all notice items to be considered by the planning commission. The City also has an open house process for the same expanded notification noted question 2, that must begin prior to acceptance of an application. The City will soon be implementing a large proposed development sing process. Chanhassen MacKenzie Walters No Our code mandates 500' rather than 350'.Yes Areas on lakeshore may have expanded mailings, if the development would be visible over an area beyond the 500' threshold (Community Development Director's discretion on the expanded mailing).Yes No Yes The City keeps an updated list of proposed and processed developments on our website. Residents can sign up to be notified of any action taken on projects that interest them. Brooklyn Park Kathy No notifications are to properties within 500 ft. of the site up for discussion except for Variances, which are only 100 feet No n/a n/a n/a Andover Brenda Yes Yes Outside MUSA 700' of subject property n/a n/a n/a Public Notice Survey of Metro Cities City Name Is your notice area 350' for public notices? If No, explain what your city has adopted for public notices. Do you have different guidelines for different zoning districts? If yes, please explain what your city has adopted for public notices. Do you post notices signs on the site(s) for Planning applicaions to give residents an opportunity to call or go to a website for more information? Do you post your Planning public notices on your website? Is there anything else that your city does to let residents know about planning applications? Please explain what additional things your city does to notify residents about planning applications Maplewood Michael Martin Yes No Yes No Yes Maplewood publishes notices in the new newspaper. City of Blaine Lisa Derr Yes No Yes Yes No Forest Lake Donovan Hart Yes No No No Yes the City Administrator lists them in weekly reports and the applications are in the Planning Commission and City Council packets online. There is a weekly notice of public meetings that lists the applications. There is the published notice in the newspaper as well that runs for two (weekly) issues. City of Edina Jackie Hoogenakker Yes Yes For notices required by State Statute Edina's public hearing notice radius is as follows: Conditional Use Permit 1000-Feet Rezoning 1000-Feet Subdivision 500-Feet Final Development Plan, Preliminary Development Plan and Site Plan 1000- Feet Variance 200-Feet except for variances and preliminary and final plat all other required notification is 1000-Feet. The City of Edina requires notification of a tear down/rebuild of 300-Feet With regard to question 3 the City requires the applicant to post a sign 10-days prior to the meeting of the Planning Commission.Yes Yes Yes With regard to question 4 all public hearing notices are also published in the Edina Sun Current newspaper. There is also a press release option on the website residents can look at. The City also notifies the president of an "identified neighborhood" giving that neighborhood a "heads up" above and beyond the public hearing notices, publications, sign posting etc. Eagan Michael Ridley Yes No Yes No Yes For Rezoning requests, we will physically post a sign on the subject parcel that announces "Development Pending" and includes the general Planning phone number for info. New Hope Jeff Alger No The New Hope City Code states the following: Notice of hearing. For applications involving zoning amendments, conditional use permits, and variances, the city manager shall set a date for a public hearing. Notice of such hearing shall be published in conformance with chapter 1 of this Code and individual notices shall be mailed not less than ten days nor more than 30 days prior to the hearing to all owners of property, according to the records available to the city within 350 feet of each parcel included in the request, as provided in chapter 1. Note that we recently moved to a 500-foot radius, but the City Code has not yet been updated.No Yes No No City Name Is your notice area 350' for public notices? If No, explain what your city has adopted for public notices. Do you have different guidelines for different zoning districts? If yes, please explain what your city has adopted for public notices. Do you post notices signs on the site(s) for Planning applicaions to give residents an opportunity to call or go to a website for more information? Do you post your Planning public notices on your website? Is there anything else that your city does to let residents know about planning applications? Please explain what additional things your city does to notify residents about planning applications South St. Paul Peter Hellegers Yes No No Yes Yes Depending on the issue we might put something on the Facebook page (or if we knew of it far enough in advance it might go in the newsletter) On residential cases I've been using 400 feet instead of 350 just to make sure we're not missing anyone who's just beyond the typical notice area. Ramsey Chris Anderson No Any change in district boundaries on an area 20 acres or less in size triggers a mailing to property owners within 350 feet of the affected property.No Yes No Yes We try and keep a Development Updates page current with approved projects, projects under review, and concept plans under review. It gets outdated sometimes, but it seems to be helpful. http://www.ci.ramsey.mn.us/developmentupd ate Fridley Stacy Stromberg Yes No No Yes No City of St. Louis Park Nancy Sells Yes No Yes Yes Yes We publish and mail public hearing notices for Planning Commission consideration. We also mail a notice when the item comes before City Council for approval. Staff reports are available online as part of agenda packets for Planning Commission and City Council. Neighborhood meetings are frequently held for development proposals. Maple Grove Dick Edwards Yes No No Yes Yes Public notices are placed in the local newspaper Golden Valley Lisa Wittman Yes No Yes Yes Yes Golden Valley notifies all property owners within 500 feet of the subject property. We also publish a legal notice in the local newspaper at least 10 days prior to the public hearing before City Council. White Bear Lake Samantha Crosby Yes No Yes No Yes We post in the classifieds section of the local newspaper in addition to the mail notices and the signs. Burnsville Jane Hovind Yes No Yes No No West St. Paul Ben Boike Yes No No No No Savage Bryan Tucker Yes No No No No Cottage Grove Kathy Dennis No property owners within 500 feet of the subject property No no no Yes Public hearing notices are posted on the public bulletin board at City Hall ROBERT TRL SCONNEMARA TRL BONAIRE PATH W DODD BLVDBRASS PKWYBRONZE PKWYBRAZIL AVEBISCAYNE AVEBROCKWAY AVE138TH ST W BRI CK PATHBUNRATTY AVE1 3 3 R D S T W 139TH ST W UPPER 1 38 TH S T WCARLINGFORD LNBRIANBORU AVE140TH CIR 140TH ST WCARBURY AVE132 N D ST W LOWER 1 38 TH ST W 135TH ST W BELMONT CT 1 3 6 T H S T W BLANCA CT134TH ST W BLANCA AVE132ND CT WBURGUNDY AVEBUMLEY WAY BRI L L I ANT GE M AV E CARBURY WAY135TH CT WBRONZE CT1 3 5 T H S T WBROCKWAY AVEDODD BLVDDocument Path: K:\02235-040\GIS\Maps\ApartmentSiteBuffer.mxdÜ 0 250Feet Apartment Sit e 350ft Buffer 500ftBuffer 1500ft Buffer Parcel Boundary Apartment Complex SiteRosemount, MN 150TH ST W 145TH ST W BISCAYNE AVEROBERT TRL SBRAZIL AVECAMEO AVEBLANCA AVE148TH ST W BUSINESS PKWYLOWER 147TH ST W BISCAYNE WAYBURMA AVEBEECH ST W 142ND ST W CAMBRIAN AVEBLOOMFIELD RDBOXWOOD PATHB E L F A S T S T W CAMERO LNBIRCH ST W 143RD ST W 144TH ST W 146TH ST W B E L F A S T C T PRIVATE RDBURNLEY AVE151ST CT WCAMFIELD CIRB L U E B E R R Y C T BITTERSWEET CTBRENNER CT BLACKBERRY WAY BOSTON CIRDocument Path: K:\02235-040\GIS\Maps\145thStLocation.mxdÜ 0 600Feet Site Location 350ft Buffer 500ft Buffer 1500ft Buffer Parcel Boundary Site LocationRosemount, MN ROBERT TRL SCONNEMARA TRLDODD BLVD131ST ST W 130 T H S T WCHARLSTON WAY BRASS PKWYBRONZE PKWYBONAI RE PAT H W C A R R A C H A V E BROCKWAY AVE138TH ST W BRI CK PATHCARLINGFORD LN1 3 3 R D S T W 139TH ST W UPPER 1 38 TH S T W BUNRATTY AVECOUCHTOWN AVEBRAZIL AVE134TH S T W CARBURY AVE132 N D ST W 137TH ST W 136TH ST W 1 3 5 T H S T WCOACHFORD AVECOUCHTOWN CTBOLIVIA AVEBLANCA CTC O L E S H I R E PA T H 132 ND CT W BURGUNDY AVEBRI L L I ANT GE M AV E CARBURY WAYC O A C H F O R D W A Y CARLINGFORD WAYCORLISS TRL BLARNEY CTBRONZE CTDODD BLVD1 3 5 T H S T WBROCKWAY AVEDocument Path: K:\02235-040\GIS\Maps\132ndStLocation.mxdÜ 0 600Feet Site Location 350ft Buffer 500ft Buffer 1500ft Buffer Parcel Boundary Site LocationRosemount, MN AKRON AVEBONAIRE PATH E ABBEYFIELD AVECONNEMARA TRL BONAIRE PATH W A D A I R A V E ADDISON AVE141ST ST E AIL E S B U R Y A V E Document Path: K:\02235-040\GIS\Maps\138thStLocation.mxdÜ 0 750Feet Site Location 350ft Buffer 500ft Buffer 1500ft Buffer Parcel Boundary Site LocationRosemount, MN