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PL 07/21/2010 - 29956PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING July 21, 2010 Chairperson Kondrick called the Planning Commission Meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Leroy Oquist, David Kondrick, Brad Sielaff, and Dean Saba MEMBERS ABSENT: Jack Velin, Brad Dunham, and Marcy Sibel OTHERS PRESENT: Stacy Stromberg, City Planner Butch Voigt, Voigt Bus Service Approval of Minutes: June 16, 2010 MOTION by Commissioner Oquist to approve the minutes as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Sielaff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1. PUBLIC HEARING Consideration of a Text Amendment, TA #10-01, by Voigt's School Bus Services Inc., to allow parking of fleet vehicles in the M-1, Light Industrial and M-2, Heavy Industrial zoning districts, provided speci�c code requirements can be met, generally located at 7600 Central Avenue NE. MOTION by Commissioner Sielaff to open the public hearing. Seconded by Commissioner Saba. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED AT 7:05 P.M. Stacy Stromberg, City Planner, stated the petitioner, Mr. Voigt, of Voigt's School Bus Service, Inc., is seeking a text amendment to add language to the M-1, Light Industrial zoning district and the M-2, Heavy Industrial zoning district that would allow parking of fleet vehicles as an accessory to the principal use on a lot, provided specific code requirements can be met. Ms. Stromberg stated Voigt Bus Service, which is currently located at 1240 Osborne Road, is currently in the process of purchasing the subject property at 7600 Central Avenue from Anderson Trucking. It is the petitioner's desire to expand their business onto the subject property. The petitioner plans to store small buses of approximately 12,000 pounds on the subject property. The storage of the vehicles will be in the side and rear yard of the lot, alongside or behind the existing building. The property will be updated by hard surfacing the area in which the vehicles are parked or driven. The petitioner plans to control the water run-off by complying with any requirements set forth by either the City or the Rice Creek Watershed District. They also plan to add green space to the west side of the lot, which is currently gravel. At some time in the future, the petitioner would like to construct a building in this location for the storage of their buses. Ms. Stromberg stated the subject property is located on Central Avenue, south of Osborne Road. The property is zoned M-1, Light Industrial. The property to the north is also zoned M-1 Light Industrial, the property to the south is zoned M-4 Manufacturing Only, the property to the west is zoned G3, General Shopping; and the properties across Central Avenue are zoned, R-1 Single Family. The subject property is 4.1 acres is size and was developed in 1970, with the construction of the existing building. In 1993, the subject property was replatted along with the properties at 1240 and 1290 Osborne Road. Ms. Stromberg stated the subject property was developed in 1970, with the construction of the existing building and, based on the records in the City Council meeting, 10 trucks were allowed to be stored on the site that would be used daily for business operations. At the time, Code required that the lot be paved to allow for parking of the trucks. While doing industrial and commercial code enforcement inspections last summer, the City's Community Development intern discovered that not only was this property unpaved, there was storage of over three times the amount of trucks and trailers that were approved for this site in 1970. The property owners were notified by the City and as a result, they vacated the site. The site has been vacant for approximately a year. Ms. Stromberg stated the petitioner has initiated a text amendment to add language to the M-1, Light Industrial zoning district and the M-2, Heavy Industrial, which would allow the parking of fleet vehicles that are used for the principal business operation as an accessory use, provided specific code requirements can be met. Ms. Stromberg stated the City currently does not allow parking of fleet vehicles by right and in most instances we would currently consider the parking of these vehicles "outdoor storage" and would require a business to get a special use permit. Ms. Stromberg stated over the last several years, staff has been approached by businesses looking to move into Fridley that have the need to park their fleet vehicles overnight or staff has come across businesses that are already in operation in Fridley that have some type of parking of fleet vehicles that are used during the day and parked on site at night. Many of the industrial spaces that exist within the City may attract tenants that have the need to park fleet vehicles overnight and as long as certain conditions can be met, which are listed below, staff has determined that these types of uses should not be discouraged. Ms. Stromberg stated when Voigt Bus Service approached the City about purchasing the Anderson Trucking site to expand their operation, staff started evaluating how reasonable this type of accessory use would be for all of our industrial properties that are located in the M-1, Light Industrial and the M-2, Heavy Industrial zoning district. We determined that as long as specific code requirements can be met, parking of fleet vehicles overnight would be an acceptable accessory use in our M-1 and M-2 zoning districts. Staff has drafted an ordinance that would allow the parking of fleet vehicles that are related to the principal use (or business) on site as an accessory use, provided the following conditions can be met. Those conditions are listed below with the reasons why staff determined the condition was necessary below in bold: ((1)) Vehicles shall be licensed and street operable. Ensuring that vehicles are currently licensed and operable eliminates the opportunity for junk vehicles to be stored on site. This in turn, will also prevent fleet vehicles from becoming an outdoor storage issue. ((2)) Vehicles shall be parked on an approved hard surface. City Code requires vehicles to be parked on an approved hard surface, such as concrete or asphalt, so this condition is just restating the requirement. ((3)) Vehicles shall be parked in the side or rear yard only. 2 Requiring the vehicles to be parked in the side or rear yard only will prevent the vehicles from being parked in the front parking lot which is more visible from the public right-of-way. City Code requires that all storage be limited to the side or rear yard, so this requirement is expanding off that. ((4)) Vehicles shall be under a gross vehicle weight of 26, 000 pounds. The petitioner provided staff with weighs of typical buses used for their business. Based on information provided, a typical school bus weights 26,000 pounds. Though the petitioner plans to store small buses on the subject property which weigh approximately 12,000 pounds, staff determined that the maximum size vehicle we would think is reasonable to be included in the "fleet vehicle" category should weigh 26,000 pounds or less. Any vehicle larger would be more appropriately parked or stored in an M-3, Outdoor Intensive Heavy Industrial zoning district. ((5)) The parking stalls dedicated for the parking of fleet vehicles shall be in addition to what code would require for parking stalls on the site. City staff wants to ensure that parking demands for the existing uses within the building are met before additional stalls are dedicated for parking of fleet vehicles. So, if a particular business is required to have 20 parking stalls based on the of�ce, manufacturing and storage space within the building, and the business needs to have 5 stalls for fleet vehicles, they would be required to have 25 parking stalls on- site. ((6)) The parking area shall be properly lit, with shielded and downcast lighting and properly secured. For security reasons it's important to have the area where fleet vehicles are parked lit and secured. Securing the area could be through the use of fencing, cameras, alarm system, etc. Ms. Stromberg stated staff has determined that the above-mentioned conditions are necessary for the proposed accessory use to meet the purpose and intent of the zoning ordinance. Ms. Stromberg stated of particular importance when considering a text amendment is determining if the proposed use would be consistent with the purpose and intent of the zoning district in which it would become allowable, and whether or not the proposed use would be compatible with other accessory uses within the district. Accessory uses, are just that, accessory to the principal use of the property. Off-street parking is considered an accessory use, as are off-street loading facilities and business signs for uses permitted. Staff would consider the parking of fleet vehicles an extension of the off-street parking accessory use as long as the conditions we have laid out can be met. This type of accessory use; would be considered reasonable to be allowed in the M-1 and M-2 zoning districts, without causing disruption to the neighboring properties and uses. Ms. Stromberg stated staff finds that the extension of the Voigt Bus Service business onto the subject property with the parking of fleet vehicles as an accessory use would comply with the conditions set forth in the proposed text amendment. This re-utilization of the subject property will improve the overall condition of the property, and by approving this text amendment, the City will bring into compliance several other businesses within the City. Ms. Stromberg stated staff also reviewed the site to ensure that parking demands will be met. The total square footage of the building is 5,768 square feet. Office space within the building will be 1,600 square feet; and the remaining area will be used for storage of buses. Therefore, code would require 8 parking stalls for the building. The petitioner is providing 30 parking stalls in front of the building, which is well over what Code would allow. Ms. Stromberg stated as a result of this request, the petitioner will be required to comply with landscaping requirements for the subject property. The site will require the installation of a total of 37 trees. Staff has agreed to allow the petitioner to install 15 trees now with the proposed improvements to the east side of the site and at which time the proposed grassy area to the west develops; the additiona122 trees will need to be planted. Ms. Stromberg stated she did receive one call from a neighboring property owner who wanted to know how many buses were going to be stored at the Central Avenue site, and he wanted to know if all the buses would be running for long periods of time, i.e., in the morning. Also, if the buses would be leaving the site at once. Ms. Stromberg was able to tell the neighboring property owner the petitioner is proposing to have about 20 buses stored outside at this site but she deferred to the petitioner to answer the other questions. Ms. Stromberg stated City Staff recommends approval of the text amendment as the proposed accessory use is consistent with the purpose and intent of the M-land M-2 zoning code. Commissioner Oquist asked about Condition No. 4, vehicles shall be under the gross weight of 26,000 pounds. Ms. Stromberg indicated that is for the buses, but this is a text amendment for the City. What if someone wanted to store a large moving van, is that 26,000 pounds? If they limit that to that amount, someone could come back later and ask them to change that? They might want to look at that 26,000 and see if that adequate. Ms. Stromberg replied the petitioner did tell staff that a large school bus generally weighs 26,000 pounds. The petitioner is not asking to store large school buses here, he is asking to store smaller school buses at this location. Therefore, staff thought that anything smaller than a regular sized large school bus would be adequate to be stored in an M-1, M-2 zoning district. Chairperson Kondrick stated what about a big moving van or McGarvey van? Ms. Stromberg stated she thinks that a 26,000 lb. limit is rather large already, and she did not think the City would want to go over more than that. Any vehicle larger would be more suited for an M-3, Outdoor Intensive use. Commissioner Sielaff asked whether someone could apply for a special use permit? Ms. Stromberg replied, no, this would be the requirement. If they cannot go under 26,000 lbs., that would not be the right location for them. Commissioner Saba stated it would be for service vehicles and buses, etc. Chairperson Kondrick asked, how is it lit there now? Ms. Stromberg replied, that is a good question and deferred it to the petitioner. Chairperson Kondrick stated the petitioner will need to know what he needs to do in the future. He wants to make sure it is properly lit. Chairperson Kondrick stated he was also wondering in the morning how many buses are idling for an hour? � Commissioner Sielaff stated he had some concern about that, too. This is a text amendment. The question he had was regarding the operation of the buses, is there a way for regulating them so it is not a nuisance to the surrounding property owners? Ms. Stromberg replied, the City does have a noise and odor ordinance that could possibly address those issues. She did not think it was necessary to add another condition? Commissioner Sielaff stated this has come up with others. Ms. Stromberg replied, yes, we've had to enforce the noise and odor ordinance on other properties. Chairperson Kondrick stated but it is in an M-1, M-2 area. Ms. Stromberg stated Staff can certainly take complaints and then try to address them. Butch Voigt, Petitioner, stated as far as the lighting, right now they have wallpacks on the building, one on the north and one on the south and midway through the lot there is a pole-mounted light. Chairperson Kondrick asked whether there is enough lighting for the buses, for the police, so they can see what is going on and help protect the property, etc.? Mr. Voigt replied, he thinks it is marginal. His intent is to add two more lights. Chairperson Kondrick asked the petitioner whether they have a video camera? Mr. Voigt replied, not at the present time. They have discussed putting them in. They were also concerned that they did not shine the lights the wrong way and have them shine on the neighbors. Commissioner Sielaff asked don't we have a certain ordinance to address the lighting? Ms. Stromberg replied, yes, we do. Commissioner Sielaff stated so they would have to comply with the ordinance. Ms. Stromberg replied, yes. Chairperson Kondrick asked how long do the buses run in the morning? Mr. Voigt replied, maybe five minutes. They are plugged in or have heaters on. They are ready to go. They are very conscious of that. Some vehicles have only five minutes of idling time and then they automatically shut of£ Also, they do not plan on doing a lot of entering and exiting on Osborne. Chairperson Kondrick asked the petitioner about planting the trees. What is his timetable? Mr. Voigt replied, if they look at their other facility, they take great pride in their facility. They have no problem with 15 trees in the front. Hopefully they can do that this fall. Chairperson Kondrick asked whether they would be planting the additiona122 trees in the spring? Mr. Voigt replied, if you look at at the green area in the back of the building, there are two commercial buildings that will see this area. He is asking why are they are being penalized with putting up trees? There is no real value of shading or screening. After they get done with the Rice Creek review and construct the pond, etc. then they are going to put top soil and some type of trees. Eventually they want to put the buses inside a building they will build in this area. Chairperson Kondrick asked what did staff discuss in terms of time? Ms. Stromberg replied, they discussed that the trees would need to be installed at which time they do a building on that side of the lot. That could be next year or in five years from now. That would be the time that those trees would need to be installed. Commissioner Sielaff stated is there a storm water runoff plan required of the Rice Creek Watershed? Ms. Stromberg replied, yes. Commissioner Sielaff asked whether there is an existing one now? Ms. Stromberg replied they have or they will be submitting plans to Rice Creek and to the City for runoff. Mr. Voigt replied they do have an application into the Rice Creek Watershed District right now. Chairperson Kondrick asked the petitioner whether he felt the conditions are reasonable? Mr. Voigt replied, he has and they are good. He thinks the 26,000 pounds might be a little light, but overall the conditions are good and the 26,000 pounds will work and keep the really big vehicles off the property. MOTION by Commissioner Saba to close the public hearing. Seconded by Commissioner Oquist. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED AT 7:34 P.M. Chairperson Kondrick stated he thinks the staff did a great job making sure both the customer, the City, and the neighbors are protected. Commissioner Saba stated he is fine with it. Commissioner Sielaff stated he is fine with it. Commissioner Oquist stated the 26,000 pounds might be a little light, but we will see. MOTION by Commissioner Oquist approving Text Amendment, TA #10-01, by Voigt's School Bus Services Inc., to allow parking of fleet vehicles in the M-1, Light Industrial and M-2, Heavy Industrial zoning districts, provided specific code requirements can be met, generally located at 7600 Central Avenue NE. Seconded by Commissioner Sielaff. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. � 2. Consideration of a Vacation, SAV #10-02, by Faulkner Construction, to allow the vacation of utility easements for the purpose of relocation of said easements over parcels, generally located at 6352 Central Avenue and 1271 East Moore Lake Drive. Ms. Stromberg stated as the Planning Commission will recall, Faulkner Construction Inc., was recently granted a Master Plan Amendment for the properties located at 6352 Central Avenue and 1271 East Moore Lake Drive, to allow the construction of an assisted living and memory care facility. The property is proposed to be done in two phases, with the building on Central Avenue to be constructed first and the building on East Moore Lake Drive to be constructed second. Ms. Stromberg stated while preparing civil engineering plans for the subject properties, it was determined that there are utilities that will need to be moved on site and associated portions of easements that will need to be vacated to make way for the new buildings to be constructed. New descriptions of easements will then define exactly what remains on the site for the drainage and utility easements. This discovery led to discussion and collaboration between the petitioner's Civil Engineer and the City Engineer to assure that the buildings could still be built, while allowing enough easement area to remain to serve both the private property and City interests. Attached you will find an easement exhibit that shows which portions of the existing easement need to be vacated. Also attached are the legal descriptions of the portions of the easements to be vacated and the descriptions of the proposed drainage and utility easement. Ms. Stromberg stated the HRA closed on the sale of its property to Faulkner Development on Tuesday July 6, 2010. On Monday, July 19, 2010, Faulkner closed on the bank financing for the entire project. It is that tree removal and soil corrections will commence very soon. Ms. Stromberg stated City Staff recommends approval of SAV # 10-02 as proposed in the easement exhibit prepared by Jason F. Rud, E.G. Rud & Sons, Inc., approved by our engineering staff, and dated 7/6/2010. Chairperson Kondrick asked what are the easements for? Ms. Stromberg replied, mainly they are related to water and sewer connections and drainage easements for the water. Chairperson Kondrick stated so staff has thought about that and decided they can change things and keep the residents around there happy and keep the petitioner happy? Ms. Stromberg replied, exactly. Yes. Chairperson Kondrick asked who is going to pay for this? Ms. Stromberg replied, for creating the documents to move the easements, the petitioner will. Commissioner Oquist stated these are for strictly water utility easements, not power line easements? Ms. Stromberg replied, well, they could be. The City Engineer is not here tonight so she is not exactly sure what utilities are in the easements, but she does know there is a water line that goes through and obviously the City Engineer would not allow these areas to be vacated if we needed them. There are still several easements on the property that the Commission is not seeing on the map. These utilities also furnish the surrounding businesses. 7 Commissioner Saba stated he has no problem with this. MOTION by Commissioner Saba recommending the Consideration of a Vacation, SAV # 10-02, by Faulkner Construction, to allow the vacation of utility easements for the purpose of relocation of said easements over parcels, generally located at 6352 Central Avenue and 1271 East Moore Lake Drive. Seconded by Councilmember Oquist. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. Receive the Minutes of the May 11, 2010, Environmental Quality and Energy Commission Meeting. MOTION by Commissioner Sielaff to receive the Minutes. Seconded by Commissioner Oquist. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4. Receive the Minutes of the June 2, 2010, Appeals Commission Meeting. MOTION by Commissioner Sielaff to receive the Minutes. Seconded by Commissioner Saba. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OTHER BUSINESS: ADJOURN MOTION by Commissioner Saba adjourning the meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Oquist. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:45 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Denise M. Johnson Recording Secretary