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PL 07/16/1997 - 30844� � � CITY OF FRIDLEY PLANNING CONIlKISSION MEETING, JZTLY 16, 1997 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Savage called the �uly 16, 1997 Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Members Absent: Diane Savage, Dave Kondrick, Dean Saba, Connie Modig LeRoy Oquist, Brad Sielaff, Larry Kuechle Others Present: Barb Dacy, Community Development Director Scott Hickok, Planning Coordinator Michele McPherson, Planning Assistant Roy & Barb McCue, 6631 McKinley Street N.E. Thea Langseth, 1096 Hackmann Circle N.E. George & Candy Bacon, 1336 Hillcrest Dr. N.E. R. F. Sopcinski, 5808 Tennison Drive N.E. Judy Jones, 6735 Channel Road N.E. Sue Jackson, 6616 Arthur Street N.E. Karl Foster & Teris Dupris, 6654 E. River Rd. Dave Ryan, 951 Hillwind Road N.E. ° Mayor Nancy Jorgenson Councilmember Steve Billings Councilmember Ann Bolkcom Carol Westover, 6274 Ben More Drive N.E. Duane & Arlene Retzer, 6431 Squire Drive N.E. Monte Maher, 7965 Riverview Terrace N.E. Darlene Simarko, address unknown APPROVAL OF JUNE 18, 1997 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES: Ms. Savage stated, on page 9, paragraph 4, the first sentence should read, "Ms. Savage stated that.there has been an effort to improve Fridley's image, and that outdoor parking lot sales are not the direction the city wants to go. ..." MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Saba, to approve the June 18, 1997, Planning Commission minutes as amended. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CAAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED i71Jp�1�TIMOUSLY . APPROVE AMENDMENT TO JUNE 4, 1997, PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES: MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Modig, to approve the amendment to the June 4, 1997, Planning Commission minutes. � PLANNING CONIl�IISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 2 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MEETING FOR AREA #1: Ms. Dacy stated this meeting is the inauguration of the first planning area meeting in the City's process to develop and produce the City's Comprehensive Plan. The question you may have is what is a planning area. A planning area map is displayed in the lobby. A planning area is a geographical part of the City. It was decided to divide the City into seven areas so that we could have an easy tool to survey the community. The City Council asked staff to involve the community as much as possible, home owners as well as the businesses in the City. In order to involve people, staff will send out a survey to every household and business in the City over the next six months. This is the first of several meetings. It is staff's goal to hold potentially two planning area meetings for each of the seven areas within the City. Ms. Dacy stated another question that may arise is what is the n Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is a written document which identifies the City's goals for the future. The current plan was adopted 15 years ago and contains the goals, policies and recommendations for a variety of issues, i.e. land uses, housing, transportation, environment, parks and open spaces, and utilities. Just as the plan in 1982 tried to set the course for the City into the 1990's, we are now at the point to set the course for the City into the next century. The City is required to update the Comprehensive Plan by law. The State of Minnesota states that all cities within the metropolitan area have to adopt a Comprehensive Plan. The law says that we have to update this plan by the end of next year. Ms. Dacy stated Fridley is a fully developed community. Most of the development occurred after World War II in the 1950's and 60's. The Metropolitan Council tried to address the region's growth and how that growth affects all of the different communities within the region. When doing this process, it is important for the City to take a look at where we are in the metro area. We are influenced by other communities. The City is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary at the end of this decade. Before the City embarks on the next 50 years of its history, it is appropriate and imperative to spend some time thinking about who we are as a community and what we want to be. Is the community happy with the way we are now? Does the community want to see some change? If so, how fast should that change occur? She i"'1 introduced Ms. McPherson who will review the results of the survey. � PLANNING COI�lISSION I�ETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 3 Ms. McPherson stated this is the first of what we hope will be seven planning area discussions with residents to set the Comprehensive Plan for Fridley's future. This meeting is for Planning Area #1 which is south of Rice Creek, west of Highway 65 to the east and south borders. On June 27, the City mailed 2,792 surveys and invitations to residents living within Planning Area #1. Ms. McPherson attempted to visit all the businesses in that area to also invite them to participate in this process. To date, staff has received 140 completed surveys. The results provided are based on 128 surveys which were received up until July 11. Ms. McPherson reviewed the information as outlined in the July 11, 1997, memo to the Planning Commission regarding the survey results from Planning Area #1. She reviewed the demographics including the age of respondents and length of residency. The following issue areas were identified: parks, city services, property upkeep, amenities, city government, taxes, people, access/ location, traffic/speed, safety, land uses, image, and schools. She reviewed the comments in those areas as well as other comments noted. � Ms. McPherson stated for tonight's meeting staff would like to know what residents would like Fridley to be in the year 2010. Staff handed out two forms, each with one question: - If Fridley were to be the ideal community in the year 2010, what characteristics or experiences would you expect it to offer? - What role or roles does Fridley play in the larger metropolitan region? Ms. McPherson stated, if residents have specific concerns not related these questions, staff would like the residents to offer some possible solutions that could be reviewed and discussed by the Planning Commission and the City Council as they develop the long term plan for the year 2010. For anyone uncomfortable speaking at the podium, those persons were encouraged to write down their comments on the forms provided and return them to staff. Those comments will be incorporated into �he plan. Mr. Foster stat�d his 18 year old son has been living with him for six months. His main concern is that for kids his age there is no organized place for them to gather where they can meet on weekends or just "hang out". They go to the Mall of America but th.ings are getting pretty rough down there as well. His comment is that � there is no place for them here such as a community center where there are activities that are supervised by adults where they can � PI�ANNING COl�lISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 4 have a good time, enjoy themselves, and hang out. His son will be a senior in high school next year. Ms. Savage asked if the schools provide anything like that for the kids. Mr. Foster stated they do but not during the summer. Summer is boring. Ms. Jackson stated, regarding the previous comment, it seems she is driving her 14-year-old son out of Fridley every other day mainly to a driving range or a golf course. It is true that it is not easy to know where to go with a teenager. Ms. Jackson stated she loves living in Fridley and has been here since she got out of college. She has gone through all the stages starting in an apartment, then to a townhome, and now a single family home. As she looked for property, she would tell realtors that she wanted to stay in Fridley. When her son leaves, she wants to move to another place as an empty nester also in Fridley. n Ms. Jackson stated what she thought is important in the city is partly, besides the people, is the way it looks physically especially when you are driving through a city. She and her husband try to do some type of improvement in their home each year. Sometimes it is a small project, and sometimes it is a bigger project. She thought that was important. As you go through the City if you live on a very busy street, it is not the most desirable location. A busier street does not have the most expensive housing or perhaps people don't have the means to keep it up. She thinks of streets such as University and Old Central. As you drive through the City or into a neighborhood, it does not always have the best appearance. In one of the neighborhoods she saw a house totally remodeled. A house on Mississippi Street was resided. Another person put in a concrete driveway. Every time one of those improvements is made, it is beautiful. The City has been promoting home improvement and she thought the City should continue to do that. She had two suggestions for doing this. First, in the newsletter she thought about how you could motivate people to make improvements. There might be a weekly page encouraging people to plan an improvement each year. If it were a major improvement, what it would take to make a major improvement such as a new driveway, garage, etc. What does that cost or involve? What is a medium improvement? What is involved in putting in, for example, new shrubs? What would be a minor improvement? Perhaps this would be a new front door, a new mailbox, flower boxes, etc. Give people some ideas of what they � could do in any level of categories, what they might expect to pay if they did it themselves, or what would be reasonable to have � PI�ANNING CON�IISSION MEETING, JIJLY 16, 1997 PAGE 5 someone else do it. Provide before and after pictures. Highl.ight someone who has done something. She thought before and after pictures would be encouraging to other people. If there is anything we can do to help those on the busiest streets to make improvements, she thought that was good because that is your message. Your main streets say a lot. The more we can help them stay attractive and be well maintained, that would be great. Ms. Savage asked if there was anyone on staff in particular residents could contact concerning home improvements. Ms. McPherson stated the City has a home remodeling advisor, Margaret Metzdorff. Her services are free of charge. She can be reached at 572-3515. Mr. McCue stated the speed limit on city streets is 30 miles per hour. It is a little fast to go down one of the residential streets. Cars come from New Brighton on 66 1/2 going quite fast. He timed a four year old child running out of his yard to the middle of the street which took 4 seconds. A car came down 66 1/2 and missed the child by about 4 feet. They have a lot of young n ch�ldren in that area, and he thought 30 miles per hour is too fast. Those little kids can move fast. A car doing 30 miles per hour could hit them. He drives 15 miles per hour which is fast on McKinley Street. • Mr. Sopcinski stated the comments made tonight are worth looking at, but you need to remember our streets are in. The City has been platted already. Many of the new communities to get rid of some of these things such as high speed traffic will build cul-de- sacs, private areas, etc. in order to keep traffic from flowing from one district to another. It has its major roadways which invariably become clogged with traffic so it isn't a true answer. Since Fridley was developed from the years from the 1950's to the 1970's, most of the people who came here were immigrants from northeast Minneapolis. They came out here to get a little more elbow room - bigger property sizes, larger homes, things that were an improvement from northeast Minneapolis. One of the things we need to concentrate on is to keep it a clean, healthy community. A clean community means there are enough ordinances on the books to keep all people working toward keeping that environment. If you have ever gone to Salt Lake City as he did, his first impression was how clean that city is. Anything that looks clean and manicured takes work. A healthy community is one that the people themselves take pride in. They try to keep the environment as clean as possible. They mow their lawn and don't put their lawn clippings in the street. They keep their driveways clean and � houses clean. It is healthy to the mind. As an example, if you get into a dirty car and get behind the wheel, you have a ^ PLANNING CONIl�lISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 6 different attitude. When you clean the car, you drive it differently. That is human nature. That is what you talk about in a healthy community. Mr. Sopcinski stated another thing we have that we do not have control over is the population density. Minneapolis, the housing authorities, etc. have directed the first, second, third ring suburbs to take various people in. If you have land available, try to keep the density of population. In Fridley, we have half the density we could have. Once you increase that density, you quadruple your filth. People just don't live very nicely shoulder to shoulder. You see apartment buildings, etc., where owners are not living in them. Keeping our R-1 districts in tact and keeping the current laws and current density per se would help the City of Fridley. Mr. Sopcinski stated, regarding city administration, there isn't a community around that someone is not going to raise heck with city administration and the lack of doing things, the lack of knowledge. It is a rough situation. You are working today not with what is right and what is wrong. You are working against the � legal system. You cannot make a move today without having 25 lawyers on your neck. That makes it difficult. That is where you have to have knowledgeable staff. Columbia Heights is going through that now with their property behind K-Mart. Yet we think things are complex today, wait until the year 2010 comes along when the complexity will be even greater. Look at what has happened over the last 20 years on what you can do and cannot do and what the City can do and cannot do. Mr. Sopcinski stated one of the biggest things we have as you can see on the map is that we are a second ring suburb of Minneapolis. There are third, fourth, fifth tiers. It goes all the way to Cambridge or better. One of the things that happens in the second ring suburb is that all those people have to transverse back and forth to the core which is Minneapolis. If we could put a fence around Fridley, the traffic problems we have would not be there. We cannot of course do that. What we have to work on is a better public transportation system. Of course we have been working on this for 20 years but nothing has come of it. For some reason in this area, we cannot get anything rolling because the density does not warrant a return on the investment. What we have to have, for example, are good roadways to get people through our community. As far as surface transportation, he did not believe that the average human being today has enough common sense to know what public transportation is. They are married to the automobile and the surface transportation in the core cities such as Chicago, Los r"'� Angeles, New York, etc., would disappear if they could find some parking spaces open at their destination. ^ PLANNING CO1�lISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 7 Mr. Sopcinski stated overall the City is trying. He has heard the negative comments. He did not know whether or not they are true. He realizes it is difficult to know everything about one's job but, if one does not know, they should be willing to investigate and say they don't know and will find out. What the City does is determined by not only the City but also by County involvement, the City of Minneapolis, the City of St. Paul, the metropolitan area, etc. It is not a simple solution. Fridley basically started out as a bedroom community. We have more industry now than we ever had. The whole of the thing is to try to keep it with a clean, not high density population. He was sure there would be more tax money but the City would also spend more than the dividend to the community. As far as what other suburbs are doing, it will affect us greatly. People want to get to places. The traffic will transverse our area. That does not mean they are going to stop and visit us here. Look at other communities and what they are doing. We have to have open minds because by 2010 the whole world could change over. There will be new rules whether you like it or not. I think the overall thing to do would be to watch the people living here and making a reasonable place n to live. You can't get all the amenities in the world. He had a person in Montana tell him how beautiful it was there and taxes were cheap. He went there and there was nothing out there. There were no curbs, not a good library, etc. They did not spend money on any of that. The more that people want - you can't satisfy everyone - you have to have a good valuable thing for the entire community. To the people on the Planning Commission, he wished good luck. This is a difficult job. Ms. Westover stated she has been a resident of Fridley for 18 years. She enjoys living here. She has some things that she has concerns about. One was last year for the first time, we had an organized City clean-up. Based upon the response, she thought the City could see that this was a need that had gone unmet. She thought it should be planned to be a yearly or every other year event. It could be financed by taxes or by donations. She thought it was worth it to the community. Ms. Westover stated her second concern is the parks, Innsbruck in particular. She would like to see that remain as an open space. It is a very unique property. She is a master gardener with Anoka County. She did not know that they need developed programs there. We do have Springbrook. She would like to see Innsbruck open and undeveloped but the trail maintenance and clean-up done periodically. In regards to Briardale Park, she made a direct contact with the City this year because there has been no � maintenance done on the trees and shrubs in that park. When it was planted, it was beautiful. It is now overgrown. She talked ^ PLANNING_CONIlKISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 8 to someone in the City in charge of the area who said that basically they had no one qualified to do the work. She took her pruning tools to the park and cleaned up the park. They don't know. They could have come in and cut everything down and not known the difference. She did not think we should have to leave it to people in the City itself. That is part of the City's responsibility to maintain the parks, the equipment and plantings. Ms. Westover stated, also in terms of the maintenance of the plantings, when the East Moore Lake shopping area developed, they put in all that lighting, paving and nice landscaping. It looked great the first year. She would like to know who is responsible for the maintenance of that property. It is now an eyesore. She did not care how much money you throw at a property, if they are not going to maintain it, it is not going to look nice. Ms. Westover stated her third concern is for crossing Highway 65. She realizes it is a county road. There have been concerns about the speed which the County has said they will not drop. She would like to see a protected crossing there so that the traffic will stop in all four directions when bicyclists and/or pedestrians are crossing. The City should lobby for that. She is hearing more � and more people in her area concerned when their children are trying to cross the road to go the library, to go to the middle school, to go to the high school for activities, little league fields, etc. There is getting to be some sentiment for an overpass, which she personally does not favor. She would like to see this at all the major intersections along Highway 65. This is also for people who get off the bus. If you follow the walk sign, you cannot cross in one change of light. You can only get to the middle. No one in their right mind wants to stand in the middle of the highway with traffic going by them in both directions at 50 miles per hour. Ms. Westover stated she agreed with the comment that their is no place for teenagers, especially in summer. Fridley schools in District #14 do not have a summer school program, and they do not have any enrichment programs for children. During summer, there are many kids with nothing to do. Many kids are unsupervised because their parents work. She thought the City should look at providing a place where kids can get together, have fun and be safe and out of trouble. Ms. Westover stated one thing that she has noticed in the past two years is that they used to have regular police patrols through the streets. It is a quiet area with little crime and perhaps that is why they are not seeing them any more. When her children grew up, � there was always a police officer driving around. They got to know the fellows on patrol. It was a presence that was comforting � PLANNING CO1��IISSION MEETING� JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 9 to them and familiar to them. Now they do not see a police officer in their neighborhood unless there has been a problem. She would like to see the neighborhood patrols increased or re- instated if they have been taken out. Ms. Westover stated her last concern for a City that is over 50 years old is that, in the next 20 years, she thought they should have a forester to identify those things in our neighborhoods that have become a hazard to public safety. Falling within that venue of the City forester should be a program where people can recycle leaves, tree clippings, brush, etc. We need a method to recycle. Mr. Saba asked Ms. Westover why she did not favor an overpass for pedestrians. Ms. Westover stated she has never lived any place where the people have actually used them. It is easier to just go across. They are also not handicap accessible. Mr. Saba stated he has seen people using overpasses in Columbia Heights and Edina. It may be a matter of getting to get n accustomed to it. Ms. Westover stated the only ones she has seen used regularly are the overpasses on Highway 169 or other ones that are actually bike lanes rather than a set of stairs that you have to go up. Bikes are more likely to use an overpass if there is a ramp such as those that are part of a recreational trail. She has seen very few people cross at Columbia Heights or Spring Lake Park on the overpass. Where she comes from where they are a little more common, you also can see clearly they are little used especially for the expense. She would rather go under the road herself because it is quicker. Ms. Savage stated, regarding park maintenance, some of the parks are maintained by the County. Ms. McPherson stated there are County and City parks where the County would have responsibility for certain activities such as Locke Park or the Mississippi River Regional Park. Parks such as Briardale and Innsbruck would be the responsibility of the City. Ms. Simarko stated she knew Ms. Dacy from when they had worked on the senior high rise. She asked what was going on at the site of the former drive-in. Ms. Dacy stated the HRA has a contract of exclusive negotiations ^ with a local developer, MEPC-American Properties. They are responsible to market that site for corporate office development. ^ PLANNING CONa2ISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 10 They have had the ability to do that for the last 12 to 18 months. That contract will expire at the beginning of next month. The City Council and the HRA will be evaluating if they are to keep the corporate office vision for that property or if they will evaluate a different approach for that property. At this point, there has been no decision made as to the next steps on the site. MEPC does have a lot of proposals out in the development community. We have generated a lot of interest from people who would like to build office buildings, but unfortunately there has not been any deals made at this point. The City Council and HRA will be evaluating this by the end of this month. Ms. Simarko stated her next issue would be the police department. She did not know if they were understaffed. She has been in this area since 1959. It used to be a beautiful place. She was wondering why this gentlemen from East River Road can pitch a high crime area and nothing has been done over there. If you read the Fridley Focus, it is the same area all the time. There is crime around 40th in Columbia Heights and along East River Road. Something should be done about that. She did not know if it is a higher presence of police or what. There is obviously a problem there. The other thing is that they don't do any investigations �� that she is aware of. It's like, if there is any hassle, we are not going to deal with it. She has a dead grandson because they did not listen to her and a disabled daughter because they did not listen to her. If you are guessing, she is the one who asked to have them fire Lenzmeier. Recently, her granddaughter had a car stolen. It was found at Moore Lake Beach, it had been rolled there because there was no battery, the rims were taken off, 40 to 50 CD's were missing, and to add to that the Fridley police found the car, and they immediately called for towing. You can imagine what happened to the underside of that car. She cannot drive it now. The entire exhaust system is wiped out so it sits in the driveway. The police force has damaged the car at least half as much as the damage that was done in the theft. The police officer was just finishing a 10-hour shift. She was given a call and 7 minutes later the tow truck was already picking the car up. She had told them she wanted it left there and she wanted to see it. No one investigated. Whatever happened to dusting for fingerprints. Why are these crimes being committed? It is because they don't find out who is doing it. If they could clean out that part of it and get people out of here, there wouldn't be that stuff - if they ever tried to catch them. Then there is another problem. You bring this stuff up to Anoka court and they throw the cases out unless they are cash cows. By that she means if you bring a speeding ticket in, they like that and will get them big. If you get an attempted murder in, they will throw it � out. A couple detectives live here in Fridley. We have a bad County. It isn't the number of police officers. Obviously, the n PLANNING CONasISSION N�ETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 11 more they have makes no difference. You see the officers parked side by side talking or having coffee. For the most part, they are pretty good. She thought that Lenzmeier should be replaced. Her grandson woul•d probably be alive. His murderer is her ex-son- in-law. Her daughter reported to Lenzmeier that she had been raped and abused by her husband. She has her grandson on tape before he died saying he had witnessed his father drag her daughter down the stairs by her ankles and push her down the stairs. Lenzmeier heard that tape and said people would have to come in and state this personally. He would not listen to a tape. Now her grandson is dead, her daughter is permanently disabled. The court insisted on putting her away based on false testimony of her ex-husband. The taxpayers are paying for this. Through the years she has seen the place decay in the area of the police department. They could use more volunteers on the police department. She would not mind riding along and seeing how they spend their time. Ms. Simarko stated she has heard others saying the same thing as well about the County and the Fridley police. On the other hand, there are some wonderful policemen. � Mr. Foster stated he apologized for living in a high crime part of Fridley. He did not see high crime up until two years ago. He did not lock his house or garage. He felt very safe and secure. When he lived alone, he starting using the locks and never had a problem other than a stolen bicycle show up in his yard one night. If he stands out in the driveway, he would say that at least every 5 minutes he sees one squad car. During the summer he will see officers on bicycles. They will stop and talk. They let it be known that they are there. He bumped into some plain clothes officers at a gas station. They were very friendly and very aware of what is going on. Anytime you have apartment complexes like they do on East River Road, there is a different problem than what you would have over in areas where it is all private homes. In his area, he thought the police were doing a tremendous job. He likes it here and plans to stay. Mr. Maher stated he has lived here for 10 years. He has found everything he wanted in this community. He wanted to say that the plowing guys have been great. If you want to talk about the best plowed town, it is Fridley. He works in construction and thinks the plowing here is qreat. If you wait long enough, the mowing gets dorie. As far as the bushes growing along the river, he would rather take care of it because it is his bush and his view. The taxes are also better here. He has relatives in other communities and the taxes are better here. The City spends responsibly. � Mr. Maher stated this is a suburb. If you want to make the road � PLANNING COI�Il�IISSION I�ETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 12 bigger, make a beltway. It isn't going to be any different. You will have the same roads, just clean them up, make them a little nicer, and that will be part of the maintenance. The City will not get much fuller. That has been planned for. He did not think they needed any public transportation or any more apartments. Mr. Maher stated, regarding the Fridley Executive Center site and tall buildings, if you want to make this look like Bloomington, all you have to is have tip ups because they are ugly. If you get some texture in them they can look all right. He thought brick was important. If this is going to be attractive to the community, the building should have brick. Brick is 70 of the cost and can last forever. The former owner of the 100 Twin was a good owner and did good for the City when he gave that property. The least we can do is wait out time to let the right project fall in that place, and make sure that property gets the right project cosmetically and efficiently. It is an image. Mr. Maher stated, as far as the police officers, he has never seen a better group of officers. One of the things people do not realize that it isn't finances that makes it, it is bad decisions. Good choices or bad decisions. That is what makes a good person �� or a good community. It isn't the money, it is the people who makes the choices. He is happy to be here and plans to be here for a long time. Ms. Simarko stated she lives on the dividing point of Fridley and Columbia Heights. They pay the highest taxes for real estate in Fridley, and she was wondering why she cannot have Fridley since her home is located here. Can something be done about that? Ms. Savage suggested Ms. Simarko take that question with the staff. Ms. Dacy asked those visiting to pass in the questions that were distributed at the start of the meeting. Ms. Dacy was asked to read the comments. Ms. Dacy stated, in answer to the question about what role or roles does Fridley play in the larger metropolitan area, a respondent wrote that not much is said about Fridley's advances on news programs. We only hear about the bad things on the news. Ms. Dacy stated, in answer to the question about the ideal community in 2010, the respondent wrote municipal indoor and outdoor pools including a special section for those needing water- � heated therapy for those with health problems. Inner city busing for all to possible spots like Northtown, Wal-Mart, Cub Foods, � � � PLANNING CONN�IISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 13 etc. and connecting with the MTC lines. As an example, 81st Street and Mississippi Street. Mr. Sopcinski stated, regarding the police department, they have their problems but it is not always stemming from within themselves. Ms. Savage stated, at this point, she would like to focus on positive suggestions. Mr. Sopcinski stated he has acquired a lot of police reports. There could be a marked improvement on the reporting on what they saw or did. Ms. Savage suggested that be brought with the police department. Mr. Sopcinski stated this involves the community. Most of the people who come before you come only because of their back pocket. Otherwise, you don't see them. Ms. Savage stated she thought the community center suggestion is an excellent one. There is a need for that. Ms. McPherson read the responses to the question, "If Fridley were to be the ideal community in the year 2010„ what characteristics or experiences would you expect it to offer?" - Continue input from people who live in the community and a community with resources available for everyone. - Get rid of Fantasy House and the pawn shops, etc. - We need a bagel and coffee shop. - A place for everyone to feel comfortable from toddler to octogenarian. - A variety of home styles. Well kept homes and yards. Activities and resources for all. - Not any more residential traffic and slower traffic. Less multiple housing. - More of a customer service attitude for City employees. The customer needs to be respected. - Work more on rewarding residents to improve their property. - Don't let absentee landlords run down properties like Columbia Heights. Don't build more multiple dwellings. - Encourage residents to pick up after others to keep our City clean. - Good schools; low crime; well maintained neighborhoods; clean, well cared for, well used parks; a mix of different aged families; friendly progressive government, possible mass transit access; clean manicured common areas or roadways; public fences and center medians, eliminate weeds and junk. � PLANNING CONIl�SISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 14 � - - What is a Star City and why is Fridley not designated as one and surrounding communities are. Ms. Savage read responses to the question, "What role or roles does Fridley play in the larger Minneapolis/St. Paul region?" - Small, safe, convenient home town; should be considered increasingly attractive place to live. - Second ring suburb, convenient location. - Good residential housing for entry level home owners. - A second ring suburb with a history of various, diverse housing, mostly known as a blue-collar suburb. - Keep the level of living high, not go down hill as the area moves out. Multiple dwellings are not the answer. - Make it a safe place to live, more patrols by police. - A mini-city, support to the large metro area. Continue supporting the Wolves! - The emphasis on news programs seems like you only hear bad things. an metro about Ms. McPherson stated the information the surveys and the comments ^ will be passed on to the advisory commissions, the City Council and the HRA. The commissions will be working on individual chapters of the Comprehensive Plan and making recommendations for new goals and objectives and policies for the next plan. Once a draft document is prepared and some ideas to share, residents will be invited to a second meeting which will be held some time next year. Ms. McCue asked if, on the sign in the lobby, that is how staff going to go about checking. She also expressed concern about persons speeding on McKinley and felt that speeds are often 40 45 miles per hour. Ms. McPherson stated yes. Staff will be passing the specific locational concerns on to the appropriate departments and staff persons. The meeting for area 2 is set for August 20. is to 2. PUBLIC HEARING: CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUEST, SP #97-05, BY KARL FOSTER: Per Section 205.07.O1.C.(1) of the Fridley City Code, to allow construction of a second accessory structure over 240 square feet (23.25 feet x 23.75 feet), on that part of Lots 7 and 9, Revised Auditor's Subdivision No. 23, generally located at 6654 East River Road N.E. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Saba, to waive the reading � of the public hearing notice and to open the public hearing. r.—� PLANNING COD�lISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 15 UPON A VOICE VOTE, AIeL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE PUBLIC HEARING OPEN AT 8:50 P.M. Ms. McPherson stated the petitioner is requesting a special use permit to allow a second accessory structure over 240 square feet. The petitioner is proposing a second garage measuring 23.25 feet x 23.75 feet which is proposed to be attached to the dwelling and is part of an addition to the dwelling. The property is located on East River Road. It is north of the East River Road apartments and near the Mississippi River. The property is zoned R-1, Single Family, as are the surrounding properties. The apartment property is zoned R-3, General Multiple Family Dwelling. Currently located on the property is a single family dwelling with a detached garage. The existing dwelling measures 24 feet x 30 feet. The existing garage measures 26 feet x 30 feet. The petitioner is proposing a 14 foot x 30 foot addition to the dwelling and is proposing the 23 foot x 23 foot garage. Ms. McPherson stated the proposed garage is in conjunction with the addition to the dwelling. The proposed garage will be located in front of the detached garage. The petitioner is proposing an � overhead door.in the rear of the attached garage in order to allow access to the detached garage. Ms. McPherson stated typical stipulations on requests such as this one include no home occupations in the accessory structure(s), architectural compatibility between structure(s), and provision for hardsurface driveway(s).. In this request we would require a hard surface driveway between the two garages in addition to the proposed garage. The total combined garage square footage is less than the maximum permitted by code of 1400 square feet. The total proposed by the petitioner between the existing and proposed garages will be 1332.19 square feet. The request does not increase the permitted lot coverage over the maximum 25% allowed. Ms. McPherson stated staff recommends approval of the request for a special use permit with the following stipulations: l. The existing and proposed garages and dwelling shall be architecturally compatible. 2. The accessory structures shall not be used for a home occupation. 3. The petitioner shall provide a hardsurface driveways to the proposed and existing garages by June 31, 1993. � Ms. McPherson stated staff did not receive any calls or comments regarding this request. � PLANNING CONIl�lISSION N�ETING JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 16 Ms. Savage asked if a variance was also needed. Ms. McPherson stated yes. The addition to the dwelling in order to use the existing foundation does require a variance. The north wall is currently at 6 feet from the lot line as opposed to the 10 feet required by code. The petitioner is proposing to extend the line of nonconformity. The Appeals Commission did recommend approval of the variance request. They voted 2-1 to recommend approval to the City Council. The dissenting vote was not due to the requested variance, but rather to the stipulation. The special use permit request and variance request will go before the City Council on July 28. Mr. Foster asked where staff got the measurements for the garage. He thought the plans were for a 24 foot x 24 foot garage. That is more standard. Other than that he had no questions. Ms. McPherson stated she got those measurements from the drawings that were submitted. The measurements can be adjusted prior to the City Council meeting. ^ Mr. Kondrick asked the petitioner if he understood the stipulations and if he had any problems with those stipulations. Mr. Foster stated the addition to the house as well as the existing house will all be done in the same style. The cement work will be done at the time they put in the foundation and slab for the garage. It will all be done at the same time. Ms. Savage asked if the petitioner understood that the garage shall not be used for a home occupation. Mr. Foster stated he would like more information regarding this. Over the top of the attached garage will be a room for a hobby room. His fiance does upholstery work. He asked if that would be considered as a home occupation. Ms. McPherson stated the definition defines permitted home occupations as any occupation or profession engaged in by the occupant of the dwelling unit and carried out in the unit and not within an accessory structure. Permitted home occupations would be professional offices, minor repair services, photo or art studios, dressmaking, teaching or similar uses. Mr. Foster stated the upholstery work will be done as part of his hobby of renovating and restoring classic cars and building street ^ rods. ^ PLANNING CO1�Il�lISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 17 Ms. McPherson stated, in that case, that is within the code requirements. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Modig, to close the public hearing. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND TSE PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 9:00 P.M. MOTION by Ms. Modig, seconded by Mr. Saba, to recommend approval of Sp�cial Use Permit, SP #97-05, by Karl Foster, to allow construction of a second accessory structure over 240 square feet (23.25 feet x 23.75 feet), on that part of Lots 7 and 9, Revised Auditor's Subdivision No. 23, generally located at 6654 East River Road N.E., with the following stipulations: 1. The existing and proposed garages and dwelling shall be architecturally compatible. 2. The accessory structures shall not be used for a home occupation. ^ 3. The petitioner shall provide a hardsurface driveways to the proposed and existing garages by June 31, 1993. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Ms. McPherson stated the City Council will consider this request on July 28. 3. PUBLIC HEARING: CONSIDERATION OF A LOT SPLIT REQUEST, L.S. #97-01, BY MONTE AND MICHELLE MAHER: To split 20 feet from the adjacent property at 670 Dover Street N.E. and add it to the Maher's property to make a larger rear yard, on Lots 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, except that portion of Lots 20 and 21 described as follows: Commencing at the northeast corner of Lot 21, thence southwesterly on the north line of said Lot 21 a distance of 40 feet; thence southeasterly and parallel with the easterly line of Lots 20 and 21 to the south line of Lot 20; thence easterly on the south line of said Lot 20 a distance of 40 feet to the southeasterly corner of said Lot 20; thence northwesterly on the easterly line of said Lots 20 and 21 to the point of commencement, all in Block W, Riverview Heights, generally located at 7965 Riverview Terrace N.E. �� MOTION by Mr. Saba, seconded by Mr. Kondrick, to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and to open the public hearing. �...� P7�ANNING CO1�Il�lISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 18 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED TSE MOTION CARRIED AND THE PUBLIC HEARING OPEN AT 9:02 P.M. Ms. McPherson stated the request is for a lot split between 7965 Riverview Terrace and 670 Dover Street. The petitioner is requesting a lot split to divide a 40 foot x 50 foot parcel in half creating two 20 foot x 50 foot parcels. If approved, one small parcel would be added to the petitioner's property at 7965 Riverview Terrace and would increase the side yard from 11 feet to 31 feet. Ms. McPherson stated the petitioner's property is located at the intersection of Cheryl Street and Riverview Terrace. The adjacent property at 670 Dover Street is located slightly northeast of the subject property. The property and all the surrounding properties are zoned R-1, Single Family. Ms. McPherson stated the request is atypical in that it does not create a buildable lot. The portion that is being considered for a split will need to be combined with the property at 7965 ^ Riverview Terrace in order to have a single tax parcel and that it does not stand alone. The property at 670 Dover, with the entirely of the 40 foot x 50 foot parcel, does not currently meet the 9,000 square foot minimum lot area requirement. It totals 8,600 square feet. The Dover Street parcel does meet the minimum 7,500 square foot lot area requirement for lots platted prior to 1955. If approved, the Planning Commission will need to acknowledge this deficiency in their motion. The lot split does create a more logical lot division between the two parcels and does not adversely impact the useable area of 670 Dover. Ms. McPherson stated staff recommends approval of this request. The motion should acknowledge the lot area deficiency of 670 Dover Street. Staff recommends the following stipulation: 1. The area split shall be combined for tax purposes with the petitioner's property. Ms. Savage asked if there were any calls or comments opposing the request. Ms. McPherson stated no that staff did not receive any calls regarding this request. Mr. Maher stated the lot is awkward in its positioning. He has done an addition of 1300 square feet and the lot split would give ^ them more room off of the kids back bedroom and more backyard. This lot was originally with the property. n PLANNING CO1��IISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 19 Mr. Maher stated the owners of that property want him to buy that house from them. He would suggest that the City do something with lots like that. He would have liked to take the property down, take the whole 40 feet, and combine that with his lot. Then purchase the lot to the south, which is empty, and combine the lots. That would make the area a better place. Bigger lots make for better houses. Ms. Savage asked if the petitioner had any problem with the stipulations. Mr. Maher stated he had no problem with paying taxes. Mr. Kondrick stated he understands that the other half of the parcel needs to be recorded. How do we make certain that this is recorded with the County? Ms. McPherson stated staff would have to verify if it has its own property identification number. Staff would ask that both parcels be combined with the proper adjacent properties so either the ^ petitioner and/or the owner make sure that their half is combined with their proper parcel. Mr. Hickok stated this is not as much about taxes. The stipulation pertains to combining the parcels for tax purposes so that we do not at some time in the future end up with a small parcel that exists up on its own. By combining, it will be recognized as one tax parcel not only to the petitioner but also in the tax records. Ms. Modig stated the legal description will change so that it has only one PIN or identification number. Mr. Hickok stated yes. Staff will also notify the 670 Dover owner that they will also have to make that change in the records. Ms. McPherson stated staff provides assistance is doing this. The Assessing Depaxtment helps with the paperwork that must be prepared for the County property records department. MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Saba, to close the public hearing. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND TgE pUgLIC �'nR'�G CLOSED AT 9•13 P.M. ,� Mr. Kondrick stated he had no problems with the request. He thought it would benefit both parties. �� � PLANNING COr�IISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 20 MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Saba, to recommend approval of Lot Split, L.S. #97-01, by Monte and Michelle Maher, and acknowledging the deficiency in the lot area of 670 Dover Street, to split 20 feet from the adjacent property at 670 Dover Street N.E. and add it to the Maher's property to make a larger rear yard, on Lots 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21, except that portion of Lots 20 and 21 described as follows: Commencing at the northeast corner of Lot 21, thence southwesterly on the north line of said Lot 21 a distance of 40 feet; thence southeasterly and parallel with the easterly line of Lots 20 and 21 to the south line of Lot 20; thence easterly on the south line of said Lot 20 a distance of 40 feet to the southeasterly corner of said Lot 20; thence northwesterly on the easterly line of said Lots 20 and 21 to the point of commencement, all in Block W, Riverview Heights, generally located at 7965 Riverview Terrace N.E., with the following stipulation: 1. The area split shall be combined for tax purposes with the petitioner's property, and UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIID UNANIMOUSLY. Ms. McPherson stated the City Council would consider this request on July 28. Mr. Maher stated he would purchase the property next door if he knew he could purchase the empty lot adjacent to that property. 4. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE APPEALS CODM�lISSION MEETING OF JUNE 11, 1997 MOTION by Mr. Saba, seconded by Mr. Kondrick, to receive the minutes of the Appeals Commission meeting of June 11, 1997. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING OF JUNE 12, 1997 MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Modig, to receive the minutes of the Housing & Redevelopment Authority meeting.of June 12, 1997. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE � MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. � PLANNING CONIl�lISSION MEETING JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 21 6. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE APPEALS CONIMISSION MEETING OF JUNE 25, 1997 MOTION by Ms. Modig, seconded by Mr. Saba, to receive the minutes of the Appeals Commission meeting of June 25, 1997. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED TSE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OTHER BUSINESS: Mr. Hickok stated he would like to thank the participants in the discussion this evening. He would like to remind viewers and citizens in the community that are interested, even if they were in this planning district and missed the meeting tonight, that the City will have six other meetings for.them to come forward and to speak. Even if the meeting is not for their planning district, residents are welcome to attend. Staff will work with the cable staff to make sure we get dates out to people so they know when the meeting will be held. � Ms. Modig stated there were some specific things that came up about a forester, etc. Is there a wa� that we can address those things eithe.r by the community bulletin board, on television, or in the newspaper, that would give residents an avenue to call such as, if a person wants to contact the City about a unkempt property, they can call a certain person or a certain number. In that way there is feedback from the City in a short period of time which may encourage others to come forward. Ms. McPherson stated she believed that they can utilize the Channel 33 or 35 cable scrolling items. Staff will work with Mr. Brian Strand, the City's Video Specialist, to get information on such as the remodeling advisor, code enforcement, etc. Ms. Savage asked if there would be an article in the Focus about tonight's meeting. Ms. McPherson stated she believed they would do additional publicity. They did an ad for this particular planning area meeting. The mayor wrote a letter to the editor; however, that letter was not published. Staff will try to work more closely with the Focus to advertise and encourage participation. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Saba, to adjourn the ^ meeting. ^ PLANNING CO1�Il�lISSION MEETING, JULY 16, 1997 PAGE 22 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON SAVAGE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND T8E JULY 16, 1997, PLANNING CONIl�IISSION MEETING ADJOURNED AT 9:20 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Lavonn Cooper Recording Secretary � i� �� � � S I G N— IN S H E E T PLANNING COMMISSION.MEETING, 'Wednesday,_ July 1.6, 1997 ,