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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021/05/19 - ADMIN - Minutes - Planning Commission - RegularMeeting: City council Meeting date: June 21, 2021 Consent agenda item: 4j Official minutes Planning commission May 19, 2021 – 6 p.m. Members present: Jim Beneke, Imran Dagane, Matt Eckholm, Courtney Erwin, Jessica Kraft, Tom Weber Members absent: none Staff present: Jacquelyn Kramer, Sean Walther Guests: Jim Vos, Sara Riegle, Asher Michels-Allen, Ryan DuPuis 1.Call to order – roll call 2.Approval of minutes – May 5, 2021 Commissioner Beneke noted he was listed as both absent and present in the minutes. Mr. Walther stated a correction will be made to note his time of arrival to the meeting under the list of people present and delete his name from the absent list. Commissioner Kraft made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Kraft, to approve the minutes as amended. The motion passed unanimously. 3.Hearings 3a. Rise on 7 Applicant: CommonBond Communities Case No: 21-16-CP, 21-17-5, 21-18-PUD Ms. Kramer presented the report. Commissioner Weber asked if on the north side the entrance is off the frontage road vs. Highway 7, and turns could be made right or left. Ms. Kramer stated yes, that is correct. Commissioner Weber asked if the reason there is no access off Division Street is related to increased traffic on the quieter road. Ms. Kramer stated yes, adding the site grading and access to the level of structured parking also contributed to the proposed driveway locations. Commissioner Weber asked how pedestrians would walk to Knollwood and if there is a way to make it safer to walk across Highway 7 at this intersection. Mr. Walther pedestrians should cross at Texas Avenue or Blake Road signaled intersections. He stated there are no plans for additional upgrades at those intersections. There have been improvements at the Blake Road and Texas Avenue intersections in the past few years and the city successfully advocated for preserving the existing pedestrian crossings, while Minnesota Department of Transportation has considered closing some crosswalks. Page 2 City council meeting of June 21, 2021 (Item No. 4j) Title: Planning commission meeting minutes May 19, 2021 Commissioner Weber stated he does have a concern about this intersection, especially if the city wants to be a walkable city. He also wanted to be sure there is a way to get to the bus stop and there are sidewalks available for pedestrians to access. Chair Eckholm agreed adding it is important to have sidewalks to the light rail station for pedestrians. He encouraged the city to add Division Street to the Connect the Park plan as soon as possible so there is access for folks living in this new development and for safety purposes as well. Commissioner Kraft agreed as well and stated it is important these connections are made. She also asked about the daycare and how the shared parking and drive-up lanes would work for pick up and drop off. Ms. Kramer stated several spaces would be signed for daycare pick up and drop off. Commissioner Dagane asked how many units are affordable. Ms. Kramer stated all the units will be affordable to people ranging in income from 30% of the area median income (AMI) up to 70% AMI and there would be a mix of affordability for all the different types of apartment units. Chair Eckholm opened the public hearing. Caleb Rollins, 4003 Wooddale Avenue, stated his support for the project. He noted two congregations came together to do this project and wanted to make sure this development was affordable and also had the daycare component. He stated the congregation supports this and hoped the commission will do what needs to be done to get the project through. Donna Christiansen, 1422 Division Street, asked about parking on Division Street. The caller noted that Division Street is a snow emergency road. Mr. Walther stated he is not sure who is handling snow removal on Division Street since it is on the border of Hopkins and St. Louis Park. He stated St. Louis Park has exceptions to snow emergencies when there is on-street parking adjacent to multi-family residential uses, and plows pass through later and coordinate with property managers. He added those parking stalls might not be needed. Ms. Christiansen stated current residents do park there. She asked about the daycare and apartment play areas and if they are fenced in to protect children from going onto Division Street. She has concerns about traffic coming in and out of the complex and how the city will handle this. She stated there will be more traffic in that area. She asked what percentages are for the AMI, and she asked if this is section 8 housing, which will impact the neighborhood. Ms. Kramer stated both playground areas are fenced in. Mr. Michels-Allen, the applicant representative, stated currently the breakdown of AMI is 19 units at 30%, 35 units at 40%, 15 units at 50%, 30 units at 60% and 21 units at 70%, however he said that is likely to change a bit. Page 3 City council meeting of June 21, 2021 (Item No. 4j) Title: Planning commission meeting minutes May 19, 2021 Bill Milanko, stated his family has owned the property at 8215 Highway 7 since 1971, noting it is currently occupied by Yardbird Furniture. He stated he is concerned about shadowing, which is more than allowed by city code. He asked for reduction of the height of the building or revisions to the building location. He stated he also has concerns about parking and noted the on-street overflow parking will run 600 feet along the frontage road and is twice the frontage allowed and will overwhelm the area with traffic concerns. He also stated his other concerns are related to visibility of his property, due to increased parking and landscaping. He stated his property relies heavily of highway traffic, noting they already lost 50% of access when Blake Road intersection was redeveloped and now will lose another 50% from landscaping. He asked the commission to please consider this. Barry Wong, 1424 Division Street, stated he has concerns about on-street parking on Division Street along with concerns about traffic and turning left, going northbound. His parking concerns also involve pedestrian safety, and this has not been properly addressed. He stated it is a lot of cars and traffic to add and the conditions of those living there now has not been taken into consideration. William Bigley, 1821 Highway 7, has similar concerns. He is the owner of the building here and is in favor of affordable housing. He noted the eastbound traffic here will be a problem, on Highway 7 and Texas, which is already a clogged intersection. He added pedestrians have no sidewalk on Division that goes to Blake Road. He noted he is in favor of a pedestrian and traffic study here also, which is not being pursued by city staff. He stated this is a good development, but with traffic, access and stacking will make it difficult for his business. Chair Eckholm closed the public hearing. Commissioner Weber stated he does take the callers concerns to heart. He noted the concerns about shadows and trees, and the consideration of where trees are planted should be noted as well as sidewalk placement in the future. He stated the concerns about traffic and cars could be addressed by adding sidewalks to make it a more accessible area and noted the city can encourage less cars parking if sidewalks are added and more pedestrian access created. He encouraged the commission and staff to look further at these issues. Commissioner Kraft stated she had concerns about the shadowing also and has not heard the applicant discuss changing the massing of the building. She stated this is a valid concern from the owner and in the report and should be addressed. Commissioner Beneke agreed with the commissioners and stated the lack of access to Blake Road is also concerning, especially since it is so close to the LRT. He stated this should be addressed with Hopkins as well and could be discussed with council. Chair Eckholm stated he agrees with the recommendations and that there are still some items to iron out. He stated he is supportive of the development and wants to be sure they are a good neighbor. He recommended there be sidewalks added in this area and Page 4 City council meeting of June 21, 2021 (Item No. 4j) Title: Planning commission meeting minutes May 19, 2021 that they be included in the Connect the Park program soon. He noted the caller that mentioned landscaping and he asked if the type of landscaping could be reviewed further in order to minimize blocking the visibility of the business here. He encouraged staff to look into this with the applicant. Commissioner Weber made a motion, and Commissioner Kraft seconded, to recommend approval of the comprehensive plan amendment and preliminary and final plat, with conditions recommended by staff. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Weber made a motion, and Commissioner Beneke seconded, to table action on the preliminary and final PUD pending hearing back from the applicant on the items noted above. The motion passed unanimously. 4.Other Business - none 5.Communications Mr. Walther noted the June 2 meeting will have a development proposal, a PUD amendment, and an application from a business owner to amend zoning code text, and potentially the item tabled this evening. He thanked Commissioner Erwin for her years on the commission, noting she will be moving away. Commission Erwin complimented staff on their good work and wished everyone well in the future. Mr. Walther congratulated Commissioner Eckholm and Kraft for their reappointments and added two new commissioners were appointed to cover two vacancies. He noted they will join at the June 2 meeting. He stated the commission will begin meeting in person again in July. 6.Adjournment - 7:07 p.m. Sean Walther Matt Eckholm ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Sean Walther, liaison Matt Eckholm, chair member