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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021/11/03 - ADMIN - Minutes - Planning Commission - Regular Meeting: City council Meeting date: December 6, 2021 Consent agenda item: 4r Official minutes Planning commission November 3, 2021 – 6:00 p.m. Members present: Jim Beneke, Matt Eckholm, Jessica Kraft, Michael Salzer, Sam Tift, Joffrey Wilson Members absent: Tom Weber Staff present: Jacquelyn Kramer, Gary Morrison, Sean Walther Guests: none 1. Call to order – roll call 2. Approval of minutes – Oct. 6, 2021 A motion was made by Commissioner Beneke, seconded by Commissioner Wilson, to approve of the Oct. 6, 2021, planning commission minutes as presented. The motion passed 6-0 (Commissioner Weber absent). 3. Hearings 3a. Zoning text amendment off-street parking Applicant: City of St. Louis Park Case No: 21-31-ZA Ms. Kramer presented the report. Commissioner Wilson asked if the reductions are for future developments only or if existing developments can reduce their parking. Ms. Kramer stated when a rule in the zoning code changes, other existing uses can generally utilize the new code, unless there is a specific condition or regulation specific to the property requiring a certain number of parking stalls. Commissioner Beneke asked about restaurant parking reductions and if they are for fast food restaurants only. Ms. Kramer stated yes, only fast-food establishments would have the parking reduction. Sit-down restaurant requirements are not proposed to change in the ordinance. Commissioner Kraft asked about parking near transit and if this includes all types of projects and uses and all building types. Ms. Kramer stated yes, smaller or larger buildings, and all uses quality for the transit reduction if they are close enough. Commissioner Tift asked if there is excess parking with developments now. Ms. Kramer stated we are looking mostly around areas with transit. City council meeting of December 6, 2021 (Item No. 4r) Page 2 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes November 3, 2021 Commissioner Tift asked if parking regulations are cost prohibitive. Ms. Kramer stated almost all developers will tell you parking is expensive but they have requirements by their lenders. Developers are smart about how to use the space most efficiently. Mr. Walther stated approvals granted with reductions have been justified so there has not been undo parking on the street. He stated this sets the floor and if it’s in an area with not very good transit service, the city does allow for more parking. Commissioner Salzer asked why coffee shops are called out separately. Ms. Kramer stated that coffee shops are already a separate category with one space for every 200 square feet. She noted they have been shown to have less parking demand and higher turnover. Chair Eckholm open the public hearing. There were no comments. Chair Eckholm closed the public hearing. Chair Eckholm stated staff has done a good job on this, taking feedback, and developing this text amendment. He stated this will make it easier to take advantage of parking that already exists and he likes the idea of more EV chargers as well. He stated he is supportive. Commissioner Beneke will also s upport this, adding this was well thought out by staff. Commissioner Tift also said he will vote in favor, adding that his main concern was around lowering parking requirements for multi-family developments. He stated that the city’s previous experience managing these lower requirements without the developments leading to excessive street parking addressed this concern. Commissioner Salzer stated he liked the changes and will vote in favor as well. Commissioner Kraft made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Tift, to approve the zoning code text amendment pertaining to off-street parking. The motion passed 6-0 (Commissioner Weber absent). 4. Other Business 5. Communications Mr. Walther stated following this meeting there will be planning commission study session. The next meeting is November 17. He noted the election results for City Council: Margaret Rog, Tim Brausen, Lynette Dumalag, Sue Budd, adding that certification by the city council will be forthcoming. City council meeting of December 6, 2021 (Item No. 4r) Page 3 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes November 3, 2021 Commissioner Salzer introduced himself to the commission and public as the newest commissioner. 6.Adjournment – 6:25 p.m. Study Session 1.Solar energy systems Mr. Morrison presented the re port. Mr. Morrison stated the ordinance would provide clarity and is required to get the SolSmart gold d esignation. Mr. Morrison not ed three policy changes and s tat ed he w ill be asking f or f eedback from the commission; should ground mounted solar energy systems be allowed in the front yards, should staff be given authority to administratively alter approved landscaping plans to accommodate solar energy systems, and should the city continue to require six foot privacy fences around pools when they are located closer than 25 feet to the rear lot lin e. Chair Eckholm stated he would prefer some aesthetics with a solar array when mounted on the ground. He added he is not excited about the idea of changing landscape to do this although he wants to e ncourage adding solar. He stated there are expectations that can be se t forth also, adding he would hate for large trees to be torn down to make way for solar, noting there should be more discussion on this. Commissioner Kraft asked if there are any ground mounted solar panels in St. Louis Park. Mr. Morrison stated no. He added the ordinance proposes to require solar panels in residential districts to be on rooftops. Commissioner Tift asked what the threshold is for when staff can approve landscape changes. Mr. Walthe r stated there is a rule that allows staff to administratively make changes that impact less than 10% of the change. Staff includ es the city forester typically when adjustments are made. Mr. Walther added that staff is concerned about making value judgements on removing mature trees. Commission er Wilson stat ed city staff d o es h ave flexibility to make s ome d ecisions o n landscape and not only rely on the residents, adding that e ach case is different. Mr. Walther stated staff would not be that involved on a single-family lot and would be more in volv ed in a multi-family d ev elopm ent. City council meeting of December 6, 2021 (Item No. 4r) Page 4 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes November 3, 2021 Commissioner Wilson stated solar and EV is the direction cities are going so it will be important to put the infrastructure in place to be ready for the future of solar. He added he is hoping to avoid incremental costs for the city in the future, where and when possible. Mr. Walther stated these are good points and added that sustainability staff is working on this, however there are some limitations at this point. He also noted the city has worked with a consultant on this, as well. Mr. Walther added there will be solar panels on the Via Sol project roof. Commissioner Salzer asked if this relates to residential or commercial. Mr. Morrison indicated it could apply to both as written. Mr. Walther stated if solar is not allowed in the front yard, a resident could pursue a variance through the city. Commissioner Salzer asked about vegetation required to be underneath. He asked what if there were no grass, but asphalt only. Mr. Morrison stated for residential there is a limit as to how much of the front yard can be covered with impervious surface. For commercial this would not be an issue as there is typically asphalt in front of many buildings and landscaped area is also required by code. He added commercial and residential would be differentiated within the ordinance. Commissioner Salzer asked if there are any size requirements for solar array. Mr. Morrison stated the maximum is 15% lot covered as an accessory use and there is not a minimum size. Commissioner Kraft stated most will want to get the most bang for their buck on solar but noted she would be supportive of not allowing solar in front yards. Commissioner Beneke agreed. Mr. Morrison asked about landscaping adjustments. The commissioners agreed going beyond 10% for administrative adjustments would be fine if there are some aesthetic guidelines included for the solar equipment. Regarding swimming pools, Chair Eckholm stated it would depend how close the pool would be to another residential property. The commissioners suggested keeping the privacy fence requirement. Mr. Walther stated the Great Plains Institute has been helpful to the city on solar. He also noted that within the state of MN, there are cities where the electric transmission lines are at capacity and they may not be able to integrate solar into the grid for many years or take advantage of the current solar incentives. That doesn’t prevent individuals from adding to their properties on their own and only serving their site. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be a common issue in St. Louis Park. Mr. Morrison stated the ordinance will go before planning commission on December 8, 2021 for a public hearing. City council meeting of December 6, 2021 (Item No. 4r) Page 5 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes November 3, 2021 2.Zoning ordinance amendment pertaining to daycare Mr. Morrison noted that commercial daycares are being requested within the city, especially with all the multi-family housing being developed. He also noted that they are having difficulty meeting city requirements. Commissioner Wilson stated he agrees with all the issues brought forth related to this amendment. He asked about using rooftops for play areas. Mr. Morrison stated this would be possible if it meets building and fire codes. Chair Eckholm also agreed with the items noted as well. He noted concerns about pedestrian crossings and is hesitant to comment on loading and unloading; he would prefer to see those at a turnaround or non-arterials. He added the daycares should not be on the second floor in the business park, and having the 50% limit on the first floor seems like an arbitrary restriction. For industrial and mixed-use areas, day care should be allowed, but not heavy industry. Commissioner Beneke stated he has mixed feelings about the use of parks as some commercial daycares may not get kids outside if they have to go down a block. If it is going to limit the development of group daycares, then he may support it. Commissioner Wilson stated parents would likely police the daycare and the safety issues involved. Commissioner Kraft agrees with most items but she has one concern about using public parks as some in St. Louis Park are not appropriate for younger children. She added if the daycare is using only one park, multiple hours of the day, she would have concerns about this also. She stated she would prefer daycares have a playground included on the premises. Commissioner Wilson stated we have invested in our parks, so let’s use them. Chair Eckholm asked if there was anything preventing the city from accepting a donation of play equipment from a prospective day care center in order to bring a nearby city park's facilities up to a standard acceptable for a day care to use. He noted that this could allow a center that already budgeted for equipment but cannot find adequate space to install it a way to avoid a rooftop play area and would add additional value to the adjacent park. Commissioner Wilson left the meeting at 7:34 p.m. Mr. Walther stated staff will also be discussing this with the operations and recreation staff. Mr. Morrison added a park must be 1,500 feet from the daycare center. City council meeting of December 6, 2021 (Item No. 4r) Page 6 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes November 3, 2021 Commissioner Kraft added she is open to daycare children using parks but only in addition to the play area that would be attached to the daycare itself. Commissioner Kraft asked for more detail about the loading and unloading. Mr. Morrison stated that this is currently required to be onsite and the code would be adjusted to allow for some on-street curbside loading and unloading. Commissioner Beneke asked when a daycare becomes commercial. Mr. Morrison stated the home-based daycares are licensed by the county and the occupant of a home can operate with a maximum of 14 children and one outside employee. He added the proposed ordinance will not affect home-based daycares. Mr. Morrison stated staff will work on this ordinance and clarify the language and bring to council on December 8, 2021. 3.Adjournment -7:41 p.m. Sean Walther Matt Eckholm ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Sean Walther, liaison Matt Eckholm, chair member