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PL 04/17/1974 - 31170�,� �� � CITY OF FRID.LEY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING - APRIL 17, 1974 CALL TO ORDER: PAGE 1 Chairman Fitzpatrick called the meeting to order at 8:00 P.M. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Members Absent: Others Present: Fitzpatrick, None Darrel Clark, Drigans, Blair, Lindblad, Harris Community Development Administrator APPROVE PLANNING COMMTSSION MINUTES: APRTL 3, 197a MOTION T�y Harris, seconded by Lindblad, to approve the minutes of the Apri1 3, 1974 Planning Commission rneeting as wri'tten. Upon a voice vote, a11 voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. RECEIVE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES: MARCH 25, 1974 MOTION by BZair; seconded by Drigans, that the Planning Commission receive�the minutes of the Parks & Recreation Commission of March 25, 1974. Upon a voice vote, a11 voting aye, the zaotion carried unanimously. RECEIVE BUILDING STANDARDS-DESIGN CONTROL SUBCOMMITTEE MINUTESr APRIL �4, 1974 MOTION by Lindblad, seconded by B1air, that the P.Zanning Commission receive the minutes of the Building Standards-Design Control Subcommittee rr�eetinq of Apri1 4, Z974e Upon a voice vote, a11 voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. RECEIVE BOARD OF APPEALS SUBCOMMITTEE 1�INUTES: APRIL 9, 1974 MOTTON by Drigans, seconded by Lindblad, that the Planning Commis- sion receive the minutes of the Board of Appeals Subcommittee meeting of Apri1 9, 1974e Upon a voice vote, a11 voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. � Mr. CTark said that the petitioner for the fourth item on the agend.a would like to be last. _ MOTION by Blair, seconded b� Lindblad that the order of the items on the.agenda be changed to 1, 2, 3, 5 and 4, Upon a voice vote, a1,1 voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. 1. CONTTNUED: PUBLIC HEARING: REZONING REQUEST, ZOA #74-02, BERKELCX PUMP COMPANY: To rezone lots 1 and.2, Block 13, Spring Brook Park . Addition, from R-1 (single family dwelling areas) to M-1 (light industrial areas) to make zoning consistant with property lines a� '�'� ' 181 Ely Street N.E. � � Public Hearing open. Mr. Clark said this it�m will have to be.delayed again because . Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 2 � :the petitioner has not brought in his plans for Building Standards- ?'� Design Control Subcommittee review. This was one of the stipulations you made at the time of the first presentativn. This will be on the April 25th meeting of that subcommittee. MOTION by Lindblad, seconded by Harris, that the Planning Commis- sion continue the Public Hearing on the rezoning request, ZOA #74-02, by Berkeley Pump, to rezone from R-1 (single famil� dwelling areas) to M-1 (light industrial areas) Lots Z and Z, Spring Brook Park Addition, to make zoning consist'ent with property lines at 181 Ely Street N.E.. until the petitioner has presented his plans to the Building Standards- Design Control Subcommittee. Upon a voice vote, aZ1 voting aye, the motaon carried unanimously. 2. GONTINUED: PUBLIC HEARING: REZONING REQUEST, ZOA #Z4-�.1, HENNING NELSON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY: To rezone Lo�s 13, 1; , 15, and 16, Block 2, Riverwood Manor, from R-1 (single family dwelling areas} to R-3 (general multiple family dwelling areas) to allow construc- tian of a 24 unit apaitment complex, to be located 5outh of 71st Way and Wes� of East River Road. Public Hearing closed. Mr. Mark Reinertson was present to represent the petitioner. Mr. Reinertson said �he Public Hearing notice said this was a �� request £or a 24 unit apartment complex and the request was for a townhouse type of development, so I think �his is an error. Mr, Harris asked Mr. Clark if. there wasn't a special section in our code on �ownhouses? Mre Clark said he was going to correct the statement made by Mr. Reinertson, because we do have a town�ouse section in our code which states �hat you have to have a minimum of 5 acres for a townhouse complex. This may be a townhouse type of development, but it will still have to be described as an apar-�ment complex, so the hearing notice is correct. . Mr. Clark asked Mr. Reinertson if he still intended.to have .this complex as rental units or if they would be owner occupied. Mr. Reinertson said they could go either way. He said he was in the situation where he had a problem with this property and what to do with it. He was here to negotiate for what would be best for the neighborhood and for the community. Ther:e has been some indication from different people in the neighborhood that they would not be opposed to townhouses, at this time. Chairman Fitzpatrick said the Planning Commission received a letter � from Independent School District 14 after the Public Hearing on this request. He said the Planning Commission.had already received the r'�i � letter at another me�ting but he would read it to the petitioner and to the members of the audience who were here on this petition. Mr. Reinertson said he was not at the meeting mentioned in the Planning Commissio� Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 3 letter, and he didn't know where they got their information but he ��� thought there was a lot of prejudice involved and the request was not given a fair evaluation. Mr. Fitzpatrick said that Mr. Gordon Sangster was at the Public Hearing and we would assume that he gave the School District the information he had gotten at this hearing. Nlr. Harris said that the zoning ordinance calls for 5 acres for a townhouse development, but.they can be built in R-1 zoning. Mr. Clark said this was allowed at the r.ate of 9,000 square feet per unit, the same as the single family home requirement and it mus�' �e owner occupied. If a townhouse development is built in R-2 or R-3, which allows a denser classification, then it does not have to be owner occupied. R-2 requires 5,000 square feet per unit and R-3 requires 3,000 square feet per uni�o • � p Mr. Harris asked Mr. Reiner'cson how large a parcel of land he had. Mr. Clark said the petition states its 1.4 acres. Mr. Fitzpatrick asked Mr. Reinertson how many units he was looking for. Mr. Reinertson.said that the maximum number of units he could have on�this property would be 24, but he was willing to compromise as long as the number of units were economically feasible. Mr. Fitzpatrick asked Mro � could be built on this parcel. ^ if the zoning remained R-l. If 12 unitse � Clark how many tow�xhouse type units Mr. Clark said there could be 7 units it was rezoned to R-2, there could be Mr. Reinertson said he would like to get �the units dense enough so it would be feasible to do something good for the area. He would like to put zn a swimming pool that could be used by the complex and the neighborhood.. He said we want to do something more than the minimum so it would enhance the n�ighborhood and even help improve the valuation of �the existing hames in this area. � Mr. Drigans asked how the Planning Commission could base their decision on econamics when we don't have any information �to base this decision upon? Mr. Reinertson said a complex of 12 to 16 units would be econom�- ically �'easible to build. Below this numb�er of units it would have to be double bungalows and this would not enhance the neighborhood. Mr. Drigans asked Mr. Reinertson if he had met with the neighbors since the Public Hearing. Mr. Reinertson said he had met with them right after the last meeting. iie said one of the �.eighbors:( and he didn't want �to mention his name) had said that he would be interested in buying about 4 of these townhouse units. � . Mr. Drigans asked when�this property was last offered for sale. n , Mr. Reinertson said it is for s.ale all of.the time. Mr. Drigans asked if it was posted or listed as property for sale.. Mr. Reinertson said it has been advertised in the paper, but he believed the sign'on the propert� has recently been demolished. �..`� Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 4 Mr. Harris said'there were some people in the audience on this request, so he thought the Public Hearing should bE: reopened-. ., MOTION by Harris, seconded by B.Iair, that the PZanning Commission reopen the Public Hearing for the request for re�oning, ZOA #74-01, by Henning Nelson Construction Company. Upon a voice vote, a11 voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Harris asked Mr. Clark if he had lieard from the County on «ny additional right of way for East River Road because of �he jog. Mre Clark said a letter had been written to the County, but as�far as he knewo they hadnot received an answer'as yet. . Mrse Lois 0'Neill, 158 7lst Way N.E., said she wanted to bring it to the attention of the Planning Commission that the neighbors who signed the petition aqainst any rezoning of this property were still not in favor o� the zoning being changed from�R-l. Mra David Adas, 168 71st Way N.E. said there were several questions raised at the Public Hearing and he thought there should be some spec- ific facts given as to why the petitioner cannot sell these lots for single family homes. Mr. Reinertson said he was here to compromise for something other than the 24 unit plan he had presented. He was open to suggestions �••� on how this property could best be developed that would be economically ^, feasible. He said there could be a committee formed by any people who have an in�erest in how �this property should be developed. � � .. Chairman Fitzpatrick said that Mrs. O'Neill has stated that �he neighbors were still against any proposal that would involve rezoning. Mr. Adas said that Mr. Reinertson_has stated that it was not economically feasible to build a single family dwelling on the corner of East River Road, but they are building other homes just as close to East River Road and these houses are selling, so this disproves that theory. Mr. Reinertson said that the people who were interested in purchas- in-g this proper-ty had no interest in single family housing. He said he has had two or three people interested if there could be townhouses in this area. ' ' Chairm�.n Fitzpatrick said if this property was not rezoned, there would be four single family homesites. Mr. Reinertson said the lots had 80 foot front footage and were 175 feet deep. They are huge lots and could stand the extra.density. ' Mr. Harris said he went by this property recently, and it seemed like there was a soil problem on part of the property. Tie said he noticed a clump of po�ple arid these generally don't grow in sand. Mr. Reinertson said somebody had dumped some black dirt in this area a long time ago; � Mr. Adas said he has only lived in this area a year, but during 1'�� �"� � Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 5 that time he hadn't seen any attempt to sell this property. He said with lots of this calibre he thought they could be sold, but he couldn't cite any specific offers for this property. Mr. Reinertson said it was true that sometimes they wanted to sell the property and other times they did not want to sell. He said he didn't want to get into these discussions on whether the property could be sold or not. He said that what they want to do is come up with a plan that will enhance the neighborhood. He said they would like to work with the neighbors and the Commission. He is open to any suggestions and would like advice on how t4 develop this site in an economically feasible way. Chairman Fitzpatrick said on.e of the reasons given for rezoning requests is because the petitioner feels that it is not economically feasible to develop the property under its present zoning. Mr. Drigans said he wasn°t r�ady to recominend rezoning on. hearsay evidence, on just the statement that its not economically feasible to develop this as sing�le family home sites, without any burden of proof or any figures. There is enough opposition from the School Board and the surrounding�property owners, so its up to Mr. Reinertson to f orm a committee of the neighbors and work with �he school board for a proposal for this property. The City Council or the Planning Commis- sion is not going to do thiso Its up to the petitioner. Chailcman Fitzpa�rick said the Planning Commission is faced with a request for 24 units. We are faced with a pe�tztion from the neighbors opposed to any rezoning in this area. We are faced with a resolution by the School Board in opposition to this request. Mr. Reinertson said he would like to meet with the School Board and the homeowners to see what alicernative could be offered, and bring this proposal back to the next meeting. Mr. Clark said that action should have been taken on this request within 60 days of the Public Hearing, and we are going beyond that ti.me�, but this could perhaps be extended. Mr. Fitzpatrick said that if this request was denied, it'would be a year before Mr. Reinertson could make another request for rezoning of this property. He said that if . Mr. Reinertson thought he could come back'with a modified request, they cauld continue this Public Hearing to a later date. Mr. Steven Paaverud, 7045 East River, said he would be willing to work with Mr. Reinertson in forming a neighborhood committee. He said he would like Mr. Reinertson to give some substance to his state- ment that it would be economically unfeasible to develop this property as single family homesites. � • Mr. Fitzpatrick said Mr. Reinertson hasn't stated this exactly, � but if he is basing his request for rezoning for this reason, then some figures would have to be given as Mr. Drigans mentioned before. �l�n�ing Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 6 r.`,,�• MQTION by Harris, seconded by Drigans, that the PZanning Commission continue un.til May 22, 1974, the rezoning request, ZOA #74-01, by Hennzng NeZson Construction Company, to rezone Lots 13, 14, ZS and 16, BZock 2, Riverwood Manor, from R-1 (single family dwelling areas) to R-3 (general multiple famil� dwelling areas) to a11ow construction of a 24 unit apartment complex to be located South of 71st Wa� and West of East River Road. Upon a voice vote, aZ1 voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. � Mr. Harris asked Mr. Clark to check with the County to see if they were going to need any right of way from this propertye Mr. Lindblad asked Mr. Clark to compil� a list of the new homes built.on East River Road during the past year. • Mr. Clark said he would have this information on May 22nd. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGa REQUEST FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT, SP #74-04, BY CHARLES �r7, �N1iRA: Per Fridley City Code, Section 205 0 051, 2, A, to allow construction of a second accessory building, on Outlot B, � Part of Lo�t 29 and all o� Lot 30, Block l, Marion Hills Addition, the same being 5180 Buchanan Street N.E. Mr. Charles Nara was present. � � MOTION by B.Iair, seconded by Harris, that ihe Planning Commission waive the reading of the PubZic Hearing notice for the request for a Special Use Permit, SP #74-04, by Charles M. Nara. UpQn a voice vote, a.Z1 voting aye, the motion carried unanimous.Z�. Mr. Nara said he had presen�ted some simple renderings of his property so the Planning Commission could see how this garage and addition would look on his'propErty. He said he didn't know why this was called a second accessory building when it was attached to his housee Mr> Fitzpatrick asked him if he had another garage. Mr. Nara said he did but this was attached to his house, also. Mr. Nara said the neighbors thought he was going to build a detached garage when they got the Public Hearing notice. Mr. Clark said this is a second garage whether its at�ached or not, and our code says this requires a special use permit. Mr. Nara said his present garage has a driveway out to Buchanan ' Street and the dri.veway for this garage would face 52nd Avenue. He said about 600 of this garage would be below grade, with a dining room, kitchen and den built over it. r1r. Nara presented colored pictures of his home and said the garage and additibn would have the same�siding and roof lines and after it was built, it would like it had always been there. � �i • . ,..1; Mr. Drigans asked Mr. Clark if Mr. Nara didn't have any garage at _'�,�� present time, could he build a four car garage? Mr. Clark ara�- �:ed that he could build any size garage he wanted, but our code da�.; say �hat a second accessory building requires a Special Use Permit. Planning Commission Meetin - April 17, 1974 Page 7 �� �' Iuir. Drigans asked Mr. Nara if he was going to use these garages for anything other than the storage of vehicles. Mr. Nara said he has two cars and a third vehicle stored 200 miles away and a boa� which he would like to have at his home. He said his present tuck-under garage used about 600 of his basement so he has very limited storage space. He does need more storage space. Mr. R. D. Christensen, 5191 Buchanan Street N.E., said he came to the meeting to see what was being proposed, but he has seen Mr. . Nara's plan� at this mee�ing and he had no objection to this request. Mro Nara said he had talked �o a couple o� neighbors about this request and they had na objectiony in fact, it was one of his neighbors who suggeste3„this addition when he was considering selling his home a y�ar ar so ago. ' Mr. Drigans asked ig the driveway would be blacktb.p or concrete? Mr. Nara said it would be concxetee MOTION by Harris, seconded by Blair, that the Planning Commission close the Public Hearing on the request for a Special Use Permit, SP #74 04, by Charles M. Nara. Upon a voice vote, a11 voting aye, the motion carried unanimously, ,�"'� MOTTON by Drigans, seconded by Harris, that the Planning Commission n � recommend to Counci3 approval of the request for a Special Use Permit�. SP #74-0�, by Charles M. Nara, per Fridley City Code, Section 205.051, 2 A, to a11ow construction of a second accessory building on Outlot B, part of Lot 29 and a11 of Lot 30, B1ock 1, Marion Hi11s Addition, the same being 5180 Buchanan Street N.E. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. 4e PRESENTATION OF PRELIMI�ARY PLANS FOR THE FRIDLEY BRANCH LIBRARY: To be located at �he corner of 5th Street and Mississippi Stree� N.E., the same being 410 Mississippi 5treet N.E. Jerry Young and Joyce McCarron representing the Library Board and Mr. Eugene G. Flynn, representing the architectural firm,;:were present. � Mr. Young presented a working model of the proposed library and �xplained how it would be located on the site. He said one of the significant features of this plan was that they would be able to sav.e many of the trees. They might only have to take out about 8 trees. They were saving two Oak trees that were 36" and 48" in .diameter, and other major trees. He said that basically from 5th Street, the major parking area is South of the building and to.the rear of the building. One of the � 'things we discussed with the Planning Commission when we were here n on the original concept was whether or not it would be possible to get a curb cut on Mississippi for either an exit orily, or use it for an entrance and exit until such time as problems were created. The concept being presented shows this as a right turn exit only. He said e �� � � Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Pa e S this would require some action by the City. Mr. Fitzpatrick said they could have the left turn on 5th Street. � Mr. Drigans asked the distance from 5th Street to the Mississippi Street exit? Mr. Young said it was about 130 feet. Mr. Harris asked how wide the access road would be to Mississippi. Mr. Flynn said i�t would be 21 feet. Mr. Harris said this was a lit�le narrow. I� should be 25 £eet. Mr. Harris asked the status of the Wall Corporation. Mr. Clark said they got approval of their plans last February and we have written several le�ters,.but at this �ime we don't know when this project will beqine Mr. Harris said that because of the difference in grade between the library site and the Wall Corporation project, th�re will have to be a retaining wall and probably a fence. He asked who would be responsible for this? Mr. Clark said it would�be �he Wall Corporation's responsibility. Mr..Harris said the driveway for the�library and �he Wal1 Corpor- ation will only be 50 �eet apart: Mr. Clark said the peak traffic hours for the ��o proposals will be at di�feren� times, so this might help this sitation. We did talk at one time of having a common drive- way, but because of the loc��ion of the trees, this might not be possi- ble. .Mr. Fi�zpatrick said the library site has lost some parking in trying ta save trees�and we will have to find someway so the roots aren't destroyed when the Wall Corporation puts in a retaining wall, if this is necessary. Mr. Young said �he way �he parking lot is set up, it will hold about 51 cars with special spaces laid out for the handicapped as required. Mr. Lindblad said they should allow 10 �eet by 20 feet per parking space to meet our code. Mr. F1ynn said that studies they have made.have shown that ��is is adequate parking for t�is size Iibrary. The meeting room will hold 100 people. Mr. Clark said that when Court is in session, we sometimes have parking problems at City Hall. There could possib�y be some agreement on using each others parking for overflow as long as they are both public buildings. Mr. Flynn said as to the mechanicals of the building, the boiler would be in the building, but the air handling machinery will be on the roof, which is behind a stucco wall. He said we have tried to keep all the space in the interior of the building as f lexible as possible. We find that in working with these libraries, that they want to change everything around every five years or so. Mr. DY•igans asked what was behind the thinking of having no � windows on the ground floor? Mr, Flynn said it was thought that ^ this was a very busy corner and due to the amount of traffic, it � was thought it was better to turn this into itself somewhat. Mrs. McCarron said they do have vandalism problems also. Mr. Flynn said it gives us a lot of potential wall space also. Mr. Young said one - of the feelings of the Library Board and the staff, was that we were • Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Pa e 9 �� dealing with a closed structure, and it would be difficult to add on to this buil�ing. Consequently, we need to keep this building flexible and we are partially responsible for this building not having any windows on the lower level.. Mr. Flynn said in a library the action is inside, not outside. He said the way the windows are placed would be very pretty at night when the library is lit up. We hope that the amenity af having trees on the site will make this very attractive. Mr. Young said that the main entrance was from the parking lot. You will enter into a display area in the foyer. From here you will be able to go into the meeting room or the library. Mr. Young said he�had talked previ.ously about the services that would be provided by this branch librarye It will be a full service library and will offer the same services as �he main library. The work room is small in contrast with the size of th� librar.y because most of the technical back-up service will be provided by the main library. Nlr. Lindblad asked when they thought they would start constructiono Mr. Young thought it would be late summer, and they would have it closed in by winter and would hope to occupy it in the summer of 1975e Mr. Drigans asked if this building would require any variances. ^� Mro Young said he didn't believe so. _ � �Mr. Clark said he was concerned about the two driveways on 5th Street but he didn°t see how this problem could be solved. Mr. Harris said there will have to be traffic control for the right hand turn onto Mississippi and there should be a stop sign on 5th Street. Mr. Drigans said we shouldn't forget that we are going to Yiave five single family residences on Mississippi Street also.. Mr. Young asked if there was going to be a mechanical signal at 5th Street and Mississippi. Mr. Drigans said the Wall Carporation had asked for a m�chanical signal also.� Mr. Fitzpatrick said we have known from the beginning of these proposals that the �raffic on 5th Street was going to be a probl�m. Every effort should be made to minimize the problem. .Mr. Young said they were aware that this proposal might aggravate an already existing situation. Mr. Young said the Library Board was pleased with this concept, and they have accepted these preliminary plans as presented. We are � moving to the working drawing stage. The exterior will be white stucco �� �vith dark trim and the windows will be solar type glass. n � Mr. Clark asked how large the sign would be. Mre Flynn said the sign had not been designed yet. Mr. Young said he thought it would be a 4' x 6' lighted sign. He said an unlighted sign wouldn't be efi'ective �� �� �� Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 10 during the peak hours which are at night. Mr. Young said he could assure the Planning Commission that this would be an at�ractive sign because they have no intention of ruining a good looking building with an unattractive sign. Mr. Young said he wasn't sure what the next step was. Mr. Clark said they were to present this plan to Building Standards on April 25th. Mr. Lindblad said.they should have a landscaping plan. Mr. Young� said they wouldn't have that at the present time. They would have to wait and see how many trees they have lef t. They would b� putting in some plantings, bu� this•couldn't be determined at this time. Mr. Lindblad said they would have to come back to Building Standards wi�h a landscape p�an when this could be prepared. MOTION by Blair, seconded by Lindblad, that the Planning Commission recommend to Council approval of the site plan and preliminery plans foz the exterior architectural design for a branch Iibrary to be Iocated at 410 Mississippi Street with the following stipulations: 1. The egress for Mississippi Street be for right turn on1y, with a stop sign and the egress for 5th Street have a stop sign also. 2. The Library Board and the City of Fridley endeavor to work out a reciprocal agreement for overfZow parking. UPON a voice vote, a11 voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. 5. PUBLIC HEARING: REQUEST FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT, SP #74-05, S�EWART-C: WRIGHT, JR.: To allow a gas pump for high performance engines, per Fridley City Code, Sec�ion 205.131, 3, A, on Lots 3, 4 and 5, Block 3, Ree's Addition, and to allow a garage for the storage, repairs and servicing of motor vehicles not over two-ton capacity, per Fridley City Code, Section 205:101, 3, D, on Lots 22, 23 and 24, Block 3, Ree's Addition, the same being 6475 University Avenue N.E. Mr. Stewar� C. Wright, Jr. was present. MOTION by Lindblad, seconded by Harris, that the Planning Commissio. waive the readin.g of the PubZic Hearing notice on the request for a Special Use Permit, SP #74-05, by Stewart C. Wz-�:rht, Jr. Upon a voice vote, aI1 voting aye, the motion carried unanin,:; s1y, Mr. Clark said this garage we are talking .:t�out is the oId bus garage under the shopping center just North of City Hall. The gas pump is the one that was used by the buses. The petitioner wants to � use this for high performance gasoline for high performance cars. �,�- This will change a private garage and a private gas pump into a commer� cial garag� and a commercial gas pump. There is no new construction involved. Mr. Fitzpatrick asked what w�re the high performance cars that �... r`i`1 Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 11 needed high performance gasoline? Mr. Wright said the quality of gasoline, as far as octane readings are concerned, are dropping constantly. Federal"standards have been set as to the amount of tetraethyl lead you can put in gasoline. Two years ago you could have bought very adequate gasoline for the purpose of racing, which is the purpose he was basically concerned with in his operation. The kind of premium fuel you can buy today is much, much poorer quality as far as the octane rating and the usage for high performance engines. Many racing organizations have set up standards for the gasoline that is used, and -those�standards meet what you used to be able to buy at a gas pump which is no longer available. In order to have a competative racing engine, the compression� has to be set qui�te high and using the current gasoline that is avail�able, you can destroy an engine. He said there was an organization headed by a doctor of chemisiry in Terre Haute, Indiana, who has come up with a dis�ributorship set-up, where you buy your gas locally, get an additive from him to bring the gas you have up 'co the standard necessary for high performance engines. He planned ta have such a distributorship. You can.t burn aviation gas because �he racing organizations won't allow it, and it°s almost impossible to find high octane gasoline from other sources. Mr. Fitzpatrick asked how Mr. Wright would know rahat kind of ^/� gasoline he was buying before he put �hh,e additive :in. Mr. Wright said you send a.sample of the gasoline you have purchased locally, they send you �the additive, and another sample is sent after the additive is mixed with the gas. Every time you get a mixture, it is given a batch number. The person who buys.th.is gasoline for racing will have to give the batch number before he can race. Mr. Wright said this fuel will be used strictly for racing and will sell �or around $1.50 a gallon, or more. He said this gasoline will go right into a racing car or into 5 gallon cans, and he would be selling this gas almost on an appointment basis. He said there are two �.umps at this location, but they have been inspected by Bob Aldrich, the Fire Prevention Chief, and only one pump was in good enough condition to. be used for this purpose. � Mr. Fitzpatri�k asked if the garage would be used for racing cars also. Mr. Wright said the garage would be•for more of the average ' automobile. He said he wants to tie this in with his businesso Champion Auto, and he wasn't sure he was going to run this garage. He has a friend who is interested in taking over the garage portion of the business. The portion 'that is directly under his store, the Southern most part of the building, does not meet the fire specif•ications for auto repair. This portion will be used strictly for storage of snow- mobiles, boats, etc. The other side of•the basement is quite large. This is under the Karati portion of the building. This is where the r,.� auto repair work will be done. ^,. Mr. Drigans asked i�' the additive that would be put in the gasoline will make it more volatile. Mr. Wright said a high octane gasoline burns slower than regular gasoline. Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 12 Mr. Drigans said that if the owners to make use of the garage facilities that ��� noise than regular cars. Mr. Wright said a lot of noise all by itself, but he was of the racing cars wanted they would make a lot more that the Karati school makes aware of a noise problem. � Mr. Drigans said he has seen this type of operation and most of the repair work is done at night on racing cars, because these people have other jobs during the day. He said he didn't know how many single family homes would be affected by this noise, but he would hate to be sitting on the Planning Commission trying to hear over the noise of a high performance engineo This is also going to be close to the library, He said this was the only reserva-tion he would have in granting this special use permit, and he thought there should be a time pe�iod put on this permit to see how it goes. Mr. Lin3blad asked if when Mr. Wright ran out of gas or the tank got�low, would he have to stop selling gas until he got a new batch, or could he mix batches. Mr. Wright said he didn't know how this was going to be handled so he couldn't answer that question at this time. Mr. Wright said there was a very definite need �or �his gasoline � and he has had a number of people asking him to make �his gasoline availabl.e. Mr. Fitzpatrick asked where these people were getting their gas now? Mr. Wright said he had talked �.o one man who said he was mixing � half premium gas and half aviation gas, but he didn't know how long he n � would get away with�this mixture. Aviation gas is hard to get too. Mr. Blair asked if the Fire Departmenf. requested any changes before this was used as a garageo Mr. Wright said he had asked Bob Aldrich to go over the proposed garage and he said�a 100 gallon water heater that sits on the fl000r will have to be moved to the other side of the wall. Mr. Fitzpatrick said this use is very similar to what this building was used for before, because they did repair buses there. P�r. Harris asked Mr. Wright if he was going to do any body work or painting in this garage. Mr. Wright said they would be doing tune-up work, brakes, nothing very heavy. There would be no hoists and they wouldn t be doing any body work or painting. Mr. Drigans asked how much storage would be available. Mr. Wright said the�e was a total of 9,000 square feet.. Mr. Drigans said then therE shouldn't be any outside storage of cars. Mr. Wright said they were worried about vandalism so they didn't intend to have an.y outside storagE There is room inside for at least 30 cars. Mr. Harris said if the Planning Commission was going to approve thi: r,,, request he thought they sho�,ld ask for security fencing around the gas pump. Mr. Wright said he thought of putting posts into concrete around ,� the pump so no vehicle could drive into the pump. Mr. Harris said he could ask N.S.P. to put a night light on the power pole and light up the whole area in the back of tY:.e building. He said this is close to City Hall, if the police did hear something going on back there, they �� �� Planning Commission Meeting - April .17, 1974 Pa e 13 wouldn't be checking on this area in the dark. Mr. Harris asked Mr. Clark if the lower level had all the bathroom facilities. Mr. Clark s.aid it did. Mr. Drigans said that in reading a copy of the lease for this property, it runs until September of 1975 and he thought the Planning Commission should set this as the �ime limit for review of this business MOTION by brigans, seconded by Blair, that the Planning Commission close the Public Hearing on the request for a 5pecial Use Permit, SP #74-05, by 5tewart C. GTright, Jr. Upon a voice vote, a11 voiing aye, the motion carried unanimously. MOTION by Lindblad, seconded by Harris, that the Flanning Commissio recommend to Council approval of the request for a 5pecial Use Permit, SP #74-05, by Stewart C. Wright, Jr., to aZ1ow a gas pump for high�: performance engines, per Fridley City Code, Sec�ion 205.I31, 3, A, on Lots 3, 4, and 5, BZock 3, Ree's Addition, and to a11ow a garage for the storage, repairs and•servicing of motor vehicles not over two.-ton �- ca�pacity, per Fridley City Code, Section 205.101, 3, D, on Lots 22, 23 and 24, B2ock 3, Ree's Addi�ion, the same being 6475 University Avenue N.E., with the following stipulations: 1. This SpeciaZ vse Permit, SP #74-05, to run concurrently with the presen.t lease dated to expire September 30, 1975, and be review�d at that time. 2. Provide a nzgh.tlight system for the gas pump. UPON a voice vote, a1Z voting aye, the motion carried unanimously. 6. DISCUSSION WITH CHAIRMAN O� ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMISSION Mr. Langenfeld had b�en present during the entire meeting. Mr. Fitzpatrick asked Mr. Langenf�ld if he had read the comments � made by the Planning Commission on their request that a member of the Environmental Quality eommission become a germanent member of the Planning Commissiono He said as you know from the minutes, we didn't make any recommendation but we were favorable to this request, especiall� because of the growing importance of the concern of environmen�al impact Mr. Clark said the Chairman of the Environmental Quality Commission could be an ex-officio member of the Planning Commission. He said that Mr. Langenfld at�ends almost all of the Planning Commission meet- ings and instead of sitting in the audience, he could sit with the other members and contribute to the discussion even if he couldn't vote. � • Mr. Langenfeld said he�wasn`t too concerned about voting, but there � were comments he would like to make on some proposals. He said he told the other members of his Commission, that while he was neither the smartest man, or a dummy, he wouldn't be Chairman ind�tinitely, and whoever succeeds him, would have to know something besides trees, to be a member of the Planning Commission. �� - Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 14 Mr. Fitzpatrick said that in our discussion there weren't any comments that were unfavorable to this suggestion. It was mostly questions on details and procedures, appointment schedules and things like that. - Mr. Harris asked Mr. Clark what the City Attorney had said about having six members on the Planning Commission. Mr. Clark answered that he didn't make any firm decision, but he said perhaps the Chairman of the Planning Commission not vote unless there was a tie vote, or else the Chairman of the Environmental Quality Commission could be an ex-ofricio member and not vote. There was some discussion at a staff ineeting that it was rather hard to judge the importance of a11 the subcommit�ees that the Council has appointed, and how many of them should, have representation on the Planning Commission and how many of them should note � Mr. Clark said the Environmental Quality Commission has been in existance for about two or three years and grew out of a task force to study Moore Lalce. Mr. Fitzpatrick said there was also comment made that perhaps the Chairman or another member of this Commission should be part of the Parks & Recreation Commission. n^ Mr. Langenfeld said he didn`t mean to imply that there was any problem with get.ting alongo but he thought the Environmental Quality Commission and the Planning Commission could wo�k together better than they have because so many 'chings are inter-related. �. n Mr. Langenfeld said at their last meeting, the suggestion was made that the Chairman of the Human Relations Committee be the tie breaker. Mre Fitzpatrick said this was another problem in that the Planning Commission daesn°t ordinarily get the minutes of the Environmental Quality Commission. It only rec��ves the minutes from the subcommittees of the Planning Commission. Mr. Drigans said if these committees follow parAi.amentary procedure the Chairman of any Board or Commission does no�t have to vote if he so chooses. Mr. Fitzpatrick said the Chairman of the Planning Commissio� has always voted. Mr. Drigans said he was not at the last.meeting when this was discussed. He asked Mr. Clark•if there were any ordinances or policies that state that before a citizen came in to make a request that some type of referral is made to the �nvironmental Quality Commission? Mr. Clark said not at the present time. Mr. Drigans asked if the Council referred anybody to the Environmental Quality Commission. He said he felt this was mainly as issue type thing. Mr. Langenfeld said we advise the Council on certain things. Some of the things are Moore Lake, North Park and nowr the tree ordinance. Planning Commission Meeting - April.l7, 1974 Page 15 ��' Mr. Drigans said the Subcommittees and the Planning� Commission _ were set up by Council to obtain background from petitioners so the minutes of our meetings could be studied by the Council before their action. There has been no ordinances or codes modified to direct petitioners to the Environmental Quality Commission. He said he had no objection to another member of the Planning Commission if . that member has some jurisdiction for citizen input. Mr. Fitzpa-trick asked Mr. Langenfeld when his Commission was set up, what were they charged with? Mro I�angen�eld sa.id things are referred to them directly from the Council. Mr. �'itzpa�trick said that what Mr. Drigans w�s pointing out was that the other Subcommittees of the Planning Commission have things referred to them by definition which come to them rout�nely. Mr. Fitzpatrick said this is why your Commission has been by-passed by the Planning Commission and why we do na�t receive your minutes. Things are referred to your Commission by the Council and you make your recommendations directly back to the Council. � Mr�. Fitzpatrick said he thought we were very close to the time when there are going to have to be environmental statements made and environmental regulations complied with, which is going to make a Commission such as Mr. Langenfeld is on, have regular referrals. I � see no reason the City of Fridley can'� be t.i.rst'.on .this and h.e couldn't n see any objection to having the Chairman of the Environmental Quality Commission a member of the Planning Commission under these circumstances 7. TREE ORDINANCE Mr. Langenfeld asked if 5ection 5 of the ordinance draf ted by the Planning Commission was mean�t to be an advisory referendum. Mr. Fitzpatrick said this was not the intent of Section 5. Our intent was that this be a binding referendum. He said �he proposed tree ordinance that we recommended was a serious proposal. MOTION by Harris, seconded by Lindblad, that the Council be advised that the referendum in Section 5 of the proposed ordinance was meant to be a binding referendum and not an advisory referendum. Upon a voice vote, Narris, LindbZad, Fitzpatrick voting aye, Blair, nay, Drigans abstaining, the motion carried. ' � Mr..Driqans said he was personally against government by referendum He believed we elect our public officials to govern and they speak for all the members of the comanunity. The small number of people who vote in a special election should not determine the policy of the City. Mr. B1air said he wasn't in favor of making this a�inding n referendum. ^ Mr. Langenfeld asked if both these ar-dinances could be put to a referendum vote. Mr. Fi�tzpatrick said he didn'� know how this would be handled. Mr. Liangenfeld asked if an ordinance passed by referendum .vote could be amended. Mr. Clark said he didn't know �he policy on this. He said both these questions taould have to be answered at the �� Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 16 City Council meeting when the City Attorney was present. 8. SECOND ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF INNOVATIONS IN GOVERNMENT Mr. Clark said he had made reservations for two members of the Planning Commission to this seminar and he wondered who would be going. Mr. Harris said he would go. Mr. Fitzpatrick said he had a breakfast meeting on April 20th, but he would get to this seminar as saon as he could. Mr. Clark said he was planning on attending if he didn'� have to go out of town for.the week-end. � 9. COUN�Y ROADS Mr. Harris said he thought the City streets were in very good con�i�ion, but he could not say the same for County roadso He said Mississippi Street, especially along the railroad tracks, was in very bad condition. He asked Mr. Clark to call Mr. Lundheim's office and see if this street could be kept in some kind of repair. Mr. Clark said the best route for this was to ha.ve the Council bring it to the County Commissioner's attention. l0e VARIANCES AND SPECZAL USE PERMITS FOR BILLBOARDS Mr. Clark presented a form that would be used as an application �"� for a special use permit for billboards and the answers on �his � application would determine whether a variance was need�d or not. Mr. Clark said he believed that the Board of Appeals and the Planning Commission were going to draft up some g.uidelines they were going to use in granting or denying special use permits and variances. P� � Mr. Drigans said the Board of Appeals doesn't have a very good record as far as the variances they deny and the Council approves. Mr. Fitzpatrick said rather than have any more joint meetings, that whatever was going to be done should ba at the Board of Appeals level. Mr. Drigans said he thought the agreement was that the two Boards sit down together and decide this, because some billboards may need a variance and others just need a special use permit. He said he thought there should be joint �eetings for these billboards, or just have one body hear these requests. , Mr. Fitzpatrick said there are complications with joint meetings. Mr. Clark said this was why the City Attorney had suggested that they draft up guidelines that would be used in considering these requests. Mr. Fitzpatrick said'that it was decided that each request be considered on its own merits, b�t guidelines should be established. Mr. Fitzpatrick continued that if he were a petitioner, he would hate to be told ahead of time which variaiic°�s would be granted and which �ould be denied, because that would � why he would be going for an appeal. � Mr. Drigans said this was true. Fie said we would have to look at the pattern of the variances that would be needed and see which ones would really be extreme. � Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Pa e 17 %'���� __ Mr. Clark said maybe we should just send these forms out on � the existing billboards and see what the variances are going to be, and then make up the guidelines. Mr. Fitzpatrick said it seemed to him that we had gotten most of this information at the joint meeting. Mr. Clark said Howard Mattson had gathere� this information for the joint meeting of the Planning Commission ai��• the Board of Appeals. Mr. Drigans said we need to have some type of guid�lines because, th� make up of.the differen-� committees changes from time to time, and then their decisions could be different. Mro Fitzpatrick said his feeling was that the or�dinance was the guideline. Mrm Harris said if we deny all the requests, �ae would be pu-tting our legal staff on �the spo:� in defending this position in Court. He said if we establish stringent guidelines, at least this will help the legal staff. � 1�': Drigar:s said �that before we start looking at variances and special use pern►its individually,�. he thought a pattern should be established so we would know what kind of requests we would be getting. � Mr. Drigans said it could happen that the Board of Appeals could /'1 ge�t two or three.requests for one meeting. Th� decision could be that if the members fel,t that there was no 'Zardship involved, they could tell the petitioner that he had to abi,de by the code. Wl�en the Plan- ning Commission gets the request for a special use permit, they may approve or deny it. Then the Council can turn around and start approv- ing the variances and Special Use Permits. Mr. Harris said the Council can make any decision it sees fit to m�ke. All we can do is try to do our best and give the Council our recommendation. Mr. Fitzpatrick said he thovght any ordinance that �ras constantly appealed should be looked into, because perhaps the ordinance needed to be changed. � Mr. Harris asked if there are any signs that met the code when they were erected but because of rezoning or develapment, they don't meet the Code now. Mr. Clark said there are some on the North end of University Avenue i.hat have been affected by new intersections. Mr. Clark said the Board of Appeals and Planning Commission might think abou�. whether they might give total denial or tota,l approval to these requests. He said �they could also extend these billboards for a certain limited time, say three years, which would be in addition to the five years the petitioners have had on these billboards. ^. ' Mr. Drigans said he felt that both the variances and special use n permits should be handled at the Planning�Commission level. This would allow the people to come�to one meeting. � Mr. Harris said he thought this would have to be a joint meeting then because the Planning Commission�was not au';:;rized to make recommendations on variances. • . �� � r'�, � �'"'� n � Planning Commission Meeting - April 17, 1974 Page 18' Mr. Cl.ark said he could check with the City Attorney on this to see if both requests could be handled by the Planning Commission. Mr. Harris said maybe we could call them visual pollution and refer them all to the Environmental Quality Commission. He said he thought the Chairman of this Commission should be an ex-officio member of the Planning Commission when these requests are to be heard. Mr. Lindblad asked on what basis would the Planning Commission �. deny these requestse We will have to have a reason. Mro Harris said the reasons wouldn°t be the same as the Board of Appeals woulcl have. We would have to come up with reasons like environmental pol.ltztion, urisightly, violates the codes, etc. What might hapgen on some of these requests is that we would extend them for the length of the lease, He would not lilce to see anyone financially hurte These could be extended for a maximum.of two to three yearse Mr. Clark said there were some small billboards that were on such small pieces of.property, that the property has no other use, and this will have to be considered also. Chairman Fitzpatrick adjourned �che meeting at 11:50 P.M. Respectfully submitted, ,c:� .-C � � ��, �t'�✓? 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