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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022/06/15 - ADMIN - Minutes - Planning Commission - RegularI/fSt. Louis Park Meeting: City council M I N N E S O T A Meeting date: July 18, 2022 F pericnce Uf! n +he Flack Consent agenda item: 41 Official minutes Planning commission June 15, 2022 — 6 p.m. Members present: Mia Divecha, Matt Eckholm, Jessica Kraft, Michael Salzer, Tom Weber, Jan Youngquist Members absent: Jim Beneke Staff present: Laura Chamberlain, Gary Morrison, Sean Walther Guests: Mark Laverty, director of development, Saturday Properties; Greg Anderson, president/CEO, Anderson Companies; Sheldon Berg, principal architect, DJ Architects 1. Call to order — roll call 2. Approval of minutes — June 1, 2022—The minutes were approved unanimously as presented. 3. Hearings 3a. Wooddale Station Apartments Applicant: Saturday Properties and Anderson Companies Case No: 22-18-S, 22 -19 -PUD Ms. Chamberlain presented the report. Commissioner Youngquist asked if the tree replacement is part of the landscaping. Ms. Chamberlain stated yes, they can count toward both requirements. If fees are still required then they will be calculated and paid separately. Commissioner Youngquist asked about the alternative landscaping and if there is anything beyond the public art. Ms. Chamberlain stated yes there are alternative elements that quality, including rain garden elements. Mr. Walther added qualifying elements also include xeroscaping and native plantings requiring less or no irrigation, green roofs on buildings, and public art. He noted the focus has been on the public art element with this development and should satisfy the alternative landscaping on its own, even if other qualifying elements included in the plan. Commissioner Weber asked for clarification on the project and if it is still two siz-story buildings or if that has changed. Ms. Chamberlain stated the building heights have not changed and they have been six -story buildings all along, however, some elements such as the exterior design and materials have changed. Commissioner Divecha asked about the age -restricted residential component of the project and if that is a formal or general recommendation. Mr. Laverty stated the age City council meeting of July 18, 2022 (Item No. 41) Title: Planning commission minutes of June 15, 2022 Page 2 restriction is 55+ and this was completed after feedback from residents that wanted senior housing; he added that this component is independent living. Commissioner Salzer asked if both buildings were six stories in the original RFP. Mr. Laverty stated yes, adding this project was always two -six story buildings from the beginning, as part of the public RFP. Commissioner Divecha asked about the public space and noted the trees on the perimeter with small public entrances for people to enter. Ms. Chamberlain stated the light rail station platform entrances are at the ends and the intention was to direct folks to Wooddale Avenue and Yosemite Avenue in the SWLRT design. She also noted significant grading changes and amenities around the light rail that will include a retaining wall with plantings, helping to guide folks to access points on the site and to the plaza. Commissioner Divecha asked if the bike racks are for public use. Ms. Chamberlain stated yes, they are available for public use. Commissioner Salzer asked about the status of the parking study. Ms. Chamberlain stated this is not a parking study, it is a parking management plan which will be attached to the planning development contract and will guide parking management ongoing for the site. She noted there will be various aspects of the plan, including shared parking, time restrictions, and other management details. She added if there is a concern with parking, the plan can be adapted if there are concerns with overflow uses. Commissioner Salzer asked if both residential and commercial will use underground parking stalls. Ms. Chamberlain stated the underground parking is one unit and is residential only. She pointed out Level 1 will have both commercial and residential parking. There could be opportunities for employees to park in the residential part of the Level 1 parking. Commissioner Divecha stated she likes the emphasis on sustainability with the project but wondered why there is no organics recycling including in the building. Mr. Laverty stated there will be organics recycling in the trash areas, in accordance with the Hennepin County project, in the west building. He stated they can look at including this at the east building also; the west building's trash room is open to residents from the east so they can drop off their organics. Commissioner Youngquist asked about the commercial, which seems to be oriented toward 36th Street. She wondered if there are any areas of the commercial that will face the public plaza. Ms. Chamberlain stated yes, the intention with the plaza being the main feature of the site, the commercial businesses are proposed to have entrances and windows facing the plaza. Vice Chair Kraft opened the public hearing. City council meeting of July 18, 2022 (Item No. 41) Title: Planning commission minutes of June 15, 2022 Page 3 Mr. Anderson stated they have been working on the project for the past two years and have enjoyed working with staff on this. He noted the name of the project, OlyHi, and its connection to the history of the site. He stated it fits the Wooddale Station theme very well. Mr. Laverty stated they have been very involved in community and public engagement with neighbors. They met with neighborhood groups right away to gather feedback from neighbors on the past project, what they liked and did not like, and incorporated that into this new project. Mr. Berg added connectivity was one of the important aspects that neighbors noted. He stated they completely overhauled the old project, gave the building more character, focused on the ground level experience, pedestrian amenities, and green space based on the comments of the neighborhood. He noted the live/work units on the east building where there are front porches that provide connectivity as well as some privacy. Commissioner Salzer asked how many people the plaza will hold. Mr. Berg stated this plaza will be similar in size to the one at the Bridgewater Bank building and three to four times larger than the Ellipse on Excelsior plaza. Commissioner Weber asked what kind of lane closures there will be during construction. Mr. Anderson stated they hope to build from the inside and only close off to the curb and sidewalks; not the street. Commissioner Weber stressed he is hopeful the construction near the street will be as minimal as possible, especially when considering the neighborhood. Mr. Berg stated much of the utilities work will be done ahead of time so as not to disrupt the vehicle travel lanes. Mr. Anderson added the intent is to close off sidewalks during construction but not the lanes. Commissioner Salzer asked if the inbound driveway will be right turn only or allow left turns from eastbound 36th Street. Mr. Anderson stated their hope left turns will continue to be allowed but added they are still collaborating with staff on that. Mr. Walther added the city's work underway currently is with replacing sanitary sewer mains and 36th Street will be reduced to three lanes total to accommodate turn lanes and bike lanes. There will be two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane. He noted the road project will not install any physical barriers to making a left turn into the site but traffic levels may have practical impacts and limit when a left turn can be made. Commissioner Youngquist stated she is happy about the senior component but asked about the market for three-bedroom units with senior housing. Mr. Laverty stated there is also a 20% affordability component. He stated some of the 55+ folks will be coming from single-family homes and transitioning into the three-bedroom units. City council meeting of July 18, 2022 (Item No. 41) Title: Planning commission minutes of June 15, 2022 Page 4 Commissioner Youngquist noted the workshops held with neighbors and asked about the commercial/retail aspects. Mr. Laverty explained about the panels which featured question and answer sessions related to the public space. Commissioner Youngquist noted the economic development authority owns one site and another has existing retail. She asked if the business owners of the existing retail were part of the engagement and are their opportunities to include them in the new development. Mr. Laverty stated some of the retail could work in the new building space and others will not. He stated they have an agreement with the current property owners that limits their ability to engage with the businesses regarding relocation and will be working on this to have more flexibility to work with the retailers. Vice Chair Kraft closed the public hearing. Commissioner Divecha stated she loves the public plaza especially with the light rail. She added she wants to be sure people know this is a public area, noting the intention is for the public and just wants to be clear this is a place for the public to spend time. Commissioner Salzer stated he likes the plan, however, he added it is tight. He stated he lives in the neighborhood and likes what has been presented. Commissioner Eckholm added he likes the project and noted the extensive work that has gone into it, as well as the engagement. He likes the name presented and noted if there was a way to include those historic elements into the design and interior spaces of the development it would be a great addition. Commissioner Divecha noted the organic recycling. She is happy to see it being built into the project and would also like to see it included in the east building. Commissioner Youngquist added it is exciting both the developer and builder are St. Louis Park -based companies. This project embraces the adjacent light rail station, adding she is supportive. Commissioner Weber made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Divecha, to recommend approval of the preliminary and final plat, and the preliminary and final planned unit development (PUD) subject to the conditions recommended by staff. The motion passed 6-0 (Chair Beneke absent). 3b. Comprehensive plan and zoning map amendments for 7116 Minnetonka Blvd. Applicant: Anh Nguyen Case No: 22 -2 -CP, 22-23-Z Mr. Morrison presented the report. Commissioner Weber asked if the owner currently occupies the house. Mr. Morrison stated the home is not currently occupied but is owned by the applicant. City council meeting of July 18, 2022 (Item No. 41) Title: Planning commission minutes of June 15, 2022 Page 5 Commissioner Salzer asked why this was zoned commercial. Mr. Morrison stated it has been zoned commercial since approximately 1935 and there are no records specific to that decision. Commissioner Youngquist asked if the owners ever lived in the home. Mr. Loi Nguyen stated his family purchased the business and the home in 2000 because the previous owner sold them together. His family has never lived there but his parents would like to live adjacent to the business they own and work at. They have previously rented the house out to others but now it is vacant. Commissioner Youngquist asked if the cars shown in the aerial photos are allowed to be parked there. Mr. Morrison stated that if the house property is rezoned to residential then the cars belonging to customers and employees of the business cannot be parked at the residential property. Staff is recommending, as a condition of approval, that a landscaped barrier be installed to separate and distinguish between the two parking areas while still allowing driveway access. Commissioner Youngquist asked if there is sufficient parking on the commercial property. Mr. Morrison stated yes there is sufficient parking for this size building when occupied by retail or services uses. There is not enough parking for a restaurant or other similarly more intensive commercial uses. Commissioner Youngquist asked if in the future the shared access along Minnetonka Boulevard were removed, what the spacing distance along Louisiana Avenue would be for a new access site? Mr. Morrison stated a new driveway on Louisiana would have to be at least 50 feet from the Minnetonka Boulevard intersection. Commissioner Youngquist stated she wants to be sure that if this moves forward there is sufficient parking for the current use and the area remains developable in the future. Mr. Walther stated there is flexibility along Louisiana to accommodate a new driveway access and it has fewer controls and barriers than the county road. Vice Chair Kraft opened the public hearing. Mr. Morrison noted an email that was received by the city and shared with commissioners before the meeting that is included for the public hearing record. Vice Chair Kraft closed the public hearing. Commissioner Weber stated the fact that this is not already residential is a bit weird since this house has been there for 100 years. He said it seems like we are putting into the zoning code, what has been there, and he is supportive and excited about this for the family. He added he loves that this family is there and will continue with the business and the home. City council meeting of July 18, 2022 (Item No. 41) Title: Planning commission minutes of June 15, 2022 Page 6 Commissioner Eckholm added he is supportive but does share some concerns included in the email they received about losing space for neighborhood -oriented commercial businesses. He understands why the property was zoned commercial, and he will vote yes, but he asked staff to explore the city parking lot at the southwest corner of Minnetonka Boulevard and Louisiana Avenue. He would like to see if that might be made into a more walkable and engaging area. Commissioner Salzer agreed with Commissioner Weber's comments. He pointed out that the commercial building is not a very large footprint. Rezoning and building a new house on the adjacent lot may limit expansion opportunities of the commercial building and might limit the types of businesses that can go in there. Commissioner Eckholm asked if residential would be allowed under the neighborhood commercial district. Mr. Morrison stated the C-1 neighborhood commercial district allows medium density residential as part of a vertical mixed-use building and residential is not allowed on the ground floor. Commissioner Weber stated this has been zoned this way for many years but could be flipped back to commercial in the future and it should not be a problem. Commissioner Youngquist noted this is a unique situation with the zoning and layout. She stated she looked at the site and she saw why the shared access is needed onto Minnetonka Boulevard because the existing driveway access from Louisiana Avenue is tricky. She thought a lot about this proposal and she noted having visited and viewed the site changed her mind; she will be supportive. Vice Chair Kraft agreed and noted the improvements of removing the old house will improve the look there. She added this creates a live/work situation that may not be traditional but will provide for a family that has invested in the community for many years; she is supportive. Commissioner Weber made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Salzer, to recommend approval of the comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning subject to the conditions recommended by staff. The motion passed 6-0 (Chair Beneke absent). 4. Other Business 5. Communications— Mr. Walther stated there maybe a July 6 meeting to consider previously tabled applications and he asked the commissioners to continue to hold that date in their schedules. 6. Adjournment— 8:08 p.m. City council meeting of July 18, 2022 (Item No. 41) Title: Planning commission minutes of June 15, 2022 Sean Walther Jessica Kraft Sean Walther, liaison Jessica Kraft, vice chair member Page 7