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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022/01/19 - ADMIN - Minutes - Planning Commission - RegularMeeting: City council Meeting date: February 22, 2022 Consent agenda item: 4h Official minutes Planning commission January 19, 2022 – 6 p.m. Members present: Jim Beneke, Matt Eckholm, Jessica Kraft, Michael Salzer, Tom Weber, Joffrey Wilson Members absent: None Staff present: Jacquelyn Kramer, Gary Morrison, Sean Walther 1. Call to order – roll call 2. Approval of minutes – December 8, 2021 Commissioner Kraft moved, seconded by Commissioner Wilson to approve the December 8, 2021 Planning Commission minutes as presented. The motion passed 6-0. 3. Hearings 3a. Westside Wine and Spirits – conditional use permit Applicant: Thomas Schoenberger, applicant Case No: 21-42-CUP Mr. Morrison presented the report. Commissioner Salzer asked if there are any requirements related to delivery hours that the community should be concerned about. Mr. Morrison stated there are general rules within the city code and deliveries for the liquor store should be consistent with other tenants. Chair Eckholm opened the public hearing. Mr. Schoenberger stated he lives in St. Louis Park and has been involved with wine for many years. He is very excited to be part of this endeavor. He stated this will be a different type of store than Texa Tonka Liquors which is nearby. Commissioner Wilson asked if he is currently operating any liquor stores today. Mr. Schoenberger stated no. He has been in the restaurant business for over 30 years and he understands the concepts of both. Commissioner Salzer pointed out the overlap with the two liquor stores in the Texa Tonka area and asked how Mr. Schoenberger will differentiate from the other outlets. Mr. Schoenberger stated he will have a deeper wine selection than the nearby liquor stores. Based on his experience and passion for wine and having a selection of wines all City council meeting of February 22, 2022 (Item No. 4h) Page 2 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes of January 19, 2022 the way to top of the line, he will be able to offer more in the area. He added he will offer classes and education with wines and selection. He noted there will be a larger selection and a bigger store with more offerings than the liquor stores. Commissioner Weber noted this would be comparable to the France 44 model with wine and food items. Mr. Schoenberger stated he is familiar with the model but that is not close to his home. He hopes to have this location with offerings for folks in St. Louis Park. Sakya Dama stated he owns the liquor store nearby and he has concerns with the wine shop coming so close to their shop. He wanted to bring this to the attention of residents in the area. He also presented a petition to the commission delivered to city hall earlier in the day. Chair Eckholm stated at planning commission, they decide if properties meet code and if they meet requirements for any exceptions and make recommendations. He added final decisions are made at the city council and not with planning commission. Chair Eckholm closed the public hearing. Commissioner Weber agreed with Chair Eckholm’s comments and pointed out the code. He added this does meet the requirements and should be approved. Commissioner Kraft agreed and stated she looks at the code when voting on this item. She added it does not prohibit two competing businesses close to each other. Commissioner Wilson stated given the role of the commission and does it meet standards. He added he supports competition but does not want it to affect other businesses in the area. He stated this might be evaluated in the future and discussed further by the commission. Commissioner Salzer stated since these are not direct competitors, this is a viable solution. He noted a previous beer store that operated nearby for a few years. He stated the city’s reputation about it being a hub of liquor stores might be considered but stated he would support this application. Commissioner Beneke moved, seconded by Commissioner Weber to approve the CUP as subject to the conditions recommended by staff. The motion passed 6-0. Mr. Morrison stated this will be on the February 7 city council agenda. 3b. Preliminary and final plat – 20 West End Applicant: Jason Howard with Sambatek Case No: 21-43-S City council meeting of February 22, 2022 (Item No. 4h) Page 3 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes of January 19, 2022 Ms. Kramer presented the report to the commission. Chair Eckholm opened the public hearing. There were no callers on the line. Chair Eckholm closed the public hearing. Commissioner Weber moved, seconded by Commissioner Kraft to approve the preliminary and final plat at 20 West End subject to the conditions recommended by staff. The motion passed 6-0. 4. Other Business 4a. Election of officers Mr. Walther stated both Commissioners Beneke and Kraft are interested in the Chair position and Commissioner Kraft stated she also would be interested in Vice Chair as well. Commissioner Weber moved, seconded by Commissioner Wilson to propose Commissioner Beneke as Planning Commission Chair and Commissioner Kraft as Planning Commission Vice Chair for 2022. The motion passed 6-0. 5. Communications Mr. Walther noted Commissioner Tift has given his resignation and has moved from St. Louis Park to another community. Mr. Walther stated the city council has adopted the solar energy systems ordinance and the daycare ordinance that the planning commission had forwarded to them in December. Mr. Walther stated February 2 will be the next Planning Commission meeting and the agenda will include a public hearing. 6. Adjournment – 6:42 p.m. Study Session 1. 2021 Annual Report City council meeting of February 22, 2022 (Item No. 4h) Page 4 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes of January 19, 2022 Mr. Walther asked if there was any feedback from the commissioners on the annual report. The commissioner did not comment. 2. 2022 Workplan Mr. Walther stated in 2021 the workplan was revisited a few times last year, so many items are carryovers into 2022. He added the industrial zoning district topic was shifted to be taken up later as applicant driven requests resolved the more pressing issues related to that subject. Commissioner Weber noted the outdoor emergency rules put into place in 2021 for outdoor spaces were helpful and he asked if there were any code changes to review on the list. Mr. Walther stated they could review temporary uses and two businesses have asked the city to change their tent ordinances to more than 14 days. He stated they could revisit this as well and have further discussions about time limits. Commissioner Salzer asked if this pertained to Chick-fil-a with their tents. Mr. Walther stated yes, tents were allowed during the declared emergency to allow for outdoor seating and reduced parking. He stated the commission could review to what degree tents will be allowed now that the declared emergency has ended. Mr. Walther stated there are no formal applications to make amendments at this time. Staff recognizes the community’s tolerance and interest regarding temporary structures may be evolving; the commission could discuss this further. Commissioner Weber stated he appreciates the rollover of topics for discussion. He added there should be discussion on the new norm as well and what that might look like. Commissioner Weber also noted ADU’s and the hope was that more people would want to have them; the city has not had an application for one yet. He ask if this should this be revisited and review changes so people might be more interested in doing them. Commissioner Eckholm stated this was discussed in depth by the commission and the only thing he thought may be a barrier would be to allow non-owner-occupied properties to establish ADUs, which many were not interested in doing. He stated it is disappointing there have been no applicants, but he does not believe after only one year, it is time to make changes. He added he would be more interested in looking at duplexes instead and discussing ADUs further. Commissioner Weber agreed with duplexes, but he would like to also include the ADU discussion again, as well. He stated he would like to include both topics and how they could all work together. Chair Beneke stated there might be room for a discussion to educate the commission on everything the city is doing for more affordable housing and any other equity issues. City council meeting of February 22, 2022 (Item No. 4h) Page 5 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes of January 19, 2022 Mr. Walther stated he appreciates this conversation and noted staff has identified implementation steps within the comprehensive plan and taking them one at a time, due to available staff and commission time to pursue these. He stated duplexes and other housing are topics that can be discussed further. He noted staff is looking to conduct some audits of our residential standards and their efficacy. Staff can certainly include the commission in these discussions and the commission’s input would be helpful. He added a presentation from housing staff and affordable housing goals has been conducted in the past; there is room for conversation on all these topics. Mr. Walther stated staff is also looking at structurally how ordinances are organized and organization and types of districts, as well. He added the commission will have a busy spring with some complex zoning applications and projects expected so these conversations might not be able to launch until summer. Commissioner Wilson asked if discussions could be timed with the onboarding process for new commissioners. Chair Beneke suggested the city do a white paper on all that is being done on affordable housing. Mr. Walther stated reports to the city council can be a good place to review this. He offered that staff may be able to attend commission study session meetings to present topics also. Commissioner Kraft asked if the city council has any more direction for this year, especially since some plans are carry overs. Mr. Walther stated the council has one new member, Sue Budd. He stated the council has a workshop at the end of January so after that is completed, there might be more direction from them as well as approval of the planning commission work plan in May. Mr. Walther stated there unlikely be appointments to planning commission until May 2022. He added if Chair Beneke is not reappointed by the school board as a planning commission member then a new chair would need to be elected by the commission at that time. Mr. Walther added on the “parking lot” topic list there are a few items still on hold, including water conservation. He stated his suggestion is that these issues be addressed as written updates regarding activities the city does, rules it enforces, and how the city is progressing vs. a policy discussion for the commission. Commissioner Eckholm stated he is a bit confused as to the role of the planning commission in water conservation. Mr. Walther stated the zoning and subdivision codes does not go into this very deeply, nor does the commission’s responsibilities, but it is part of the city’s development and permitting review processes. Commissioner Eckholm stated the last time the commission presented to the city council, there was interest in exploring how to make some parts of the city more walkable and where those areas are within the city. He noted the concept of the 15- minute city or complete neighborhoods. City council meeting of February 22, 2022 (Item No. 4h) Page 6 Title: Planning commission meeting minutes of January 19, 2022 Commissioner Weber asked about the hiring of sub-contractors and if there is any data or a scorecard on hiring of minority-owned businesses. He stated this would be a very helpful tool so the city has data on if developers have done this in the past. Commissioner Wilson stated that can be done; companies can track and having a staff scorecard would also be helpful, as well. He added this is something that should be done longer term if the city has capacity for it. Commissioner Kraft agreed and stated contractors can provide this information and if it is a city priority it must be discussed at continual points. Commissioner Weber stated the commission could ask developers to give data on their last three projects, as a starting point. Mr. Walther stated he appreciates commissions interest in this topic, however noted the city council is having a similar conversation on this topic currently. They are working on this goal with city projects, city businesses, and with development agreements for project that receive city financial assistance. He added they are also looking at the development team that is hired and involved, not just construction contracts and labor. He stated since council is undertaking this and directing staff to do this work also, it may not be an item the commission can be informed of. Commissioners may be able to comment on with commissioners’ unique experiences but it is outside the formal and assigned responsibilities of the commission. Commissioner Eckholm asked again about the duplex conversation. Mr. Walther stated duplex study and reforms are already included in the comprehensive plan implementation strategies and is included in the work plan for 2022. Mr. Walther stated he will take this feedback and information back for some refinements to the work plan that gets presented to council. He also noted staff will schedule written reports and/or study session agenda topics on the strategic priorities and connections to the comprehensive plan. 3. Adjournment – 7:30 p.m. Sean Walther Jim Beneke ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Sean Walther, liaison Jim Beneke, chair member