Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018/07/18 - ADMIN - Minutes - Planning Commission - RegularOFFICIAL MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA JULY 18, 2018 — 6:00 p.m. COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Lynne Carper, Matt Eckholm, Jessica Kraft, Claudia Johnston -Madison, Lisa Peilen, Carl Robertson MEMBERS ABSENT: Joe Tatalovich, Alanna Franklin (unexcused) STAFF PRESENT: Sean Walther, Meg McMonigal, Joe Ayers -Johnson, Gary Morrison STUDY SESSION 1. St. Louis Park 2040 Preliminary Survey Results Commissioner Carper had a number of questions about the statistics reported and asked if the responses could be reported by neighborhood, as the opinions on accessory housing units, duplexes, and other questions might vary by neighborhood. Staff responded they could inquire if the consultant could provide this information. Commissioner Eckholm said the cross section of neighborhoods that responded shows a lot more areas that are predominantly single family responded positively to the survey; whereas in an area like Blackstone, which is very high density, only 15 responded. He said this shows there should not be a concern about apartment dwellers taking over the survey. Meg McMonigal, Principal Planner, stated the survey questions are presented broadly. The city policy would be applied based upon land use category and by zoning districts, not individual neighborhoods, and our zoning districts apply to multiple neighborhoods and are mixed throughout the community. Chair Robertson commented that some neighborhoods have fewer zoning districts than others, so there is a difference. Ms. McMonigal spoke about lot size, lot coverage, access, separate buildings, owner occupied, and non -owner occupied as regulations that will also have to be considered. Chair Robertson said we need to be able to present how accessory dwellings impact property values as this is the primary question of property owners. Official Minutes Planning Commission July 18, 2018 Page 2 Regarding the survey question about the right amount of affordable housing, Commissioner Eckholm said it would have been good to see a breakdown of where survey participants are living. Ms. McMonigal stated participants responded that the city needs more mid-size single family homes. Ms. McMonigal noted that there was pretty strong support for the transportation statement and mobility options. There was a discussion about mobility options. Ms. McMonigal noted there were strong responses to the climate action questions. Ms. McMonigal spoke about the interactive map and how it worked in the survey. She said the consultant will consolidate all comments and commissioners will be able to look at all the land use changes questions. She said review of the second part of survey will be held at the August 1 Planning Commission study session. 2. Retail and Service Size Requirements Sean Walther, Planning and Zoning Administrator, introduced the topic. He said staff has explored and narrowed down options to address city council direction for planning commission discussion which include: 1) looking at the zoning of a lot of the C2 General Commercial areas to determine if it is the appropriate zoning; and 2) limiting the size of businesses within the C1 Neighborhood Commercial district. He said he hopes discussion will consider the context of the broader goals in the Comprehensive Plan that tie into this conversation. He gave a presentation. Chair Robertson spoke about PUD developments. He asked which C2 districts exist that don't already have big box. He asked what we are trying to prevent if big box is already in those areas. Mr. Walther reviewed sizes of existing stores in the city. He spoke of city council's stated concerns regarding larger stores. Commissioner Johnston -Madison spoke about smaller businesses in neighborhoods which have to be C1 and the need to maintain those businesses. These are being lost over time, perhaps because big box is so successful. She said if the city is promoting biking and walking it has to have businesses that people can reach in their neighborhoods. Official Minutes Planning Commission July 18, 2018 Page 3 Commissioner Peilen spoke about her appreciation for small stores. She said, however, she has some issues when the city starts micro -managing size. She said sometimes a one -size solution isn't always warranted. She said she has an issue with prohibiting expansion of a successful business. She spoke about the need to listen to the marketplace. Commissioner Peilen stated the issue regards a balance between good, sound planning and zoning and micro -managing. Commissioner Carper said he doesn't understand hostility towards large retail, in particular liquor stores. He said he doesn't think there have been problems with liquor stores. Commissioner Eckholm spoke about the desire to make things more human scale and the concern that there exists the ability to drop in a huge building which is allowed by code. Chair Robertson stated he doesn't like picking on particular types of businesses. He said denying citizens access to potential economic savings isn't good. Mr. Walther discussed the C2 areas map provided in the staff report. He reported staff's findings regarding the current size distribution of retail, service and liquor businesses in the C1 and C2 districts. He shared images illustrating the relative sizes of existing businesses in St. Louis Park. He discussed some potential unintended consequences of rezoning properties that are currently C2. Commissioners discussed scale. Commissioner Eckholm said he is concerned about the size of any kind of store in an area where we want people as well. He said he also wants to see housing above commercial uses. He doesn't want to see a large store being the only use taking up the space. Mr. Walther said one criticism he's heard of Fresh Thyme is that it has fewer entrances and fewer businesses than hoped for a more walkable environment. Chair Robertson said for a mixed use development to have a single ground floor tenant does take away from vibrancy. He added, however, that if you have five blocks of mixed-use with local shops, then an anchor tenant works and a district is created. He said that is tough to define but sometimes it works. Commissioner Carper said sometimes an anchor store has the ability to develop the area around it. Official Minutes Planning Commission July 18, 2018 Page 4 Commissioner Kraft said she agrees that every building can't provide mixed-use. The whole area has to be considered. The Chair and Gary Morrison, Assistant Zoning Administrator, discussed PUDs. Mr. Walther asked if commissioners wanted to look geographically at the zoning map at areas to be reviewed. He asked how the commission wanted to explore size limitations. The Chair said he was interested in looking at the areas individually and the likelihood that the site will redevelop in the next ten years. Mr. Walther suggested prioritizing and first discussing locations where change may be eminent and locations that do not require a Comprehensive Plan amendment and may be less complicated. There was a discussion about the Sam's Club site, Miracle Mile and the Hoigaard Village areas. Commissioner Eckholm spoke about considering mixed use rather than solely retail shopping center use allowed in the C2 district, and the desire that if uses change it becomes a little bit better oriented towards our goals, even if it stays commercial. Mr. Walther asked if focusing on maps and aerials for the next conversation would be useful. Commissioner Peilen asked if it should be a more general zoning discussion, separate from liquor stores. Mr. Walther mentioned areas which appear to be closer to C1 purpose and character such as Historic Walker Lake, the north side of Excelsior Blvd. east of Hwy. 100, parts of the south side of Excelsior Blvd. west of Hwy. 100, Cedar Lake Rd./Louisiana, and Texa- Tonka. Commissioner Carper recommended working on the small areas first. Chair Robertson said liquor stores shouldn't be removed from neighborhood nodes and should be allowed in mixed use and C1. Mr. Morrison spoke about timing and rezoning. Commissioner Kraft said she is interested in looking at specific sites in more detail but she doesn't want to lose the bigger picture. She said she doesn't want to lose too much Official Minutes Planning Commission July 18, 2018 Page 5 C2. She said by following some goals we don't want to lose a good mix in the community. Mr. Walther said staff could provide a list of those areas from the map that we might look at first. Regarding limitations on size, the Chair said he has a hard time limiting size for the sake of limiting. Mr. Walther explained how the city already does that with service uses being limited to 2,500 square feet in the C1 district. He mentioned a proposal in the draft form -based code which would limit size of businesses to 8,000 square feet. Commissioner Peilen said a blanket size limitation is a concern. Mr. Walther said to make a more pedestrian, bicycle and transit oriented environment is going to take a lot of effort and certain controls. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Nancy Sells Recording Secretary