HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023/04/19 - ADMIN - Agenda Packets - Planning Commission - Study Session Planning commission study session
April 19, 2023
6:00 p.m.
If you need special accommodations or have questions about the meeting, please call Sean Walther at 952.924.2574 or the
administration department at 952.924.2525.
Planning commission
The St. Louis Park Planning Commission is meeting in person at St. Louis Park City Hall, 5005
Minnetonka Blvd. in accordance with the most recent COVID-19 guidelines. Some members of
the planning commission may participate by electronic device or telephone rather than by
being personally present at the meeting.
Agenda
1.Discussion of zoning code update, phase 1
Future scheduled meeting/event dates:
May 3, 2023 – planning commission regular meeting
May 17, 2023 – planning commission regular meeting
June 7, 2023 – planning commission regular meeting
June 21, 2023 – planning commission regular meeting
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Planning commission: Study session
Meeting date: April 19, 2023
Agenda item: 1
1 Discussion of Zoning Code Update, Phase 1
Recommended Action: No action at this time. Provide feedback to staff and consultants on the
Zoning Code Update Phase 1 findings thus far.
Background: At the April 19th meeting, the Planning Commission will continue its discussion
of residential zoning districts. Using the discussion from the March 1st meeting, staff and HKGi
have drafted definitions of the housing types, preliminarily assigned housing types to places,
and created a draft approach to residential zoning districts. In addition to reviewing these
proposed drafts, Planning Commissioners will be asked to generally discuss lot sizes for house
scale housing types and potential standards that are needed when housing types are located
adjacent to each other.
Questions that are intended to be discussed at Wednesday meeting include:
•Are the right types of housing being proposed?
•Are the appropriate scales of housing being proposed for each of the place types?
•What scale of housing is appropriate for areas that historically have been primarily
residential in character?
•Are there different scales of housing needed adjacent to parks and schools?
•Will the proposed residential district framework meet the needs of the community?
•What should minimum lot areas be for single unit detached, two-unit (duplex), and two-
unit (townhome) units?
•Are there potential impacts from two housing types of different scales being
constructed next to one another that need to be addressed through standards?
Housing Types: As initially discussed at the last meeting, housing types have been divided into
four scales: house scale, low-rise scale, mid-rise scale and high-rise scale. Planning
Commissioners are asked to review the following table to confirm the housing types in each
scale and the definition for each housing type. Note that the definitions will be located in a
different location than the use table, so some definitions are more general and include multiple
housing types, such as the townhouse dwelling definition which covers both small townhouse
dwellings and large townhouse dwellings.
Housing Type Definition
House scale
Dwelling, single-unit detached Dwelling, single-unit detached means a fully detached unit
located on an individual lot and intended for occupancy by a
single-household. This includes a manufactured home.
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Study session of April 19, 2023 (Item No. 1)
Title: Discussion of Zoning Code Update, Phase 1
Housing Type Definition
Dwelling, detached courtyard
cottage/bungalows
Dwelling, detached courtyard cottage/bungalow means a
cluster of multiple, individual detached dwelling units arranged
around a shared courtyard or open space that is typically
perpendicular to the street and where the shared courtyard
takes the place of individual rear yards.
Dwelling, attached two-unit
(twinhome)
Dwelling, attached two-unit (twinhome) means a dwelling unit
designed for or occupied by two (2) households only, where the
units share at least one (1) common wall and each unit is on its
own individual parcel.
Dwelling, two-unit (duplex) Dwelling, two-unit (duplex) means a residence designed for or
occupied by two (2) households only, with both units on one (1)
parcel.
Manufactured home park Manufactured home park means a parcel of land under single
control or ownership which has been developed for the
placement of manufactured homes for residential use.
Low-rise scale
Dwelling, threeplex and
fourplex
Dwelling, threeplex or fourplex means a single residential
structure on a single lot which is designed for the occupancy of
three (3) or four (4) households living independently of one
another; the units have an individual entrance that either exits
outside or to a shared vestibule/hallway.
Dwelling, small townhouse (3
to 4 units per building)
Dwelling, townhouse means a single residential unit which is
located within a larger residential structure containing multiple
units and which is separated from the adjoining dwelling unit(s)
by at least one (1) common wall. Each dwelling unit may be
located on its own individual lot or on a common lot containing
all of the attached units. Each dwelling unit shall have a
separate and individual entrance. A small townhouse dwelling
is in a structure with three (3) or four (4) units, while a large
townhouse dwelling is in a building with between five (5) and
eight (8) units.
Dwelling, low-rise apartment
(3 stories or less)
Dwelling, apartment means a multi-unit residential building
that consists of side-by-side or stacked dwelling units on one (1)
lot and typically with a shared common entrance. A low-rise
apartment has no more than three (3) stories, a mid-rise
apartment has between four (4) and six (6) stories, and a high-
rise apartment has seven (7) or more stories.
Mid-rise scale
Dwelling, large townhouse (5
to 8 units per building)
See Dwelling, townhouse definition above
Dwelling, mid-rise apartment
(4 to 6 stories)
See Dwelling, apartment definition above
High-rise scale
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Study session of April 19, 2023 (Item No. 1)
Title: Discussion of Zoning Code Update, Phase 1
Housing Type Definition
Dwelling, high-rise apartment
(more than 7 stories)
See Dwelling, apartment definition above
Dwelling, apartment mixed
use
Dwelling, apartment mixed use means a building that has
multiple residential dwelling units, as well as at least one non-
residential use which is permitted in that zoning district.
Housing Types by Place: In the table below, Staff and HKGi used the last meeting’s discussion
to assign the different housing scales to the place types identified in the Comprehensive Plan.
As Commissioners may recall, the place types were broken down into smaller groups of similar
character. These groupings are reflected in the individual rows under the place type header.
In addition to confirming the place type assignments, Commissioners will be asked to discuss
the appropriate scales for those areas which historically have been primarily residential in
character. Staff has not made a recommendation for these areas as it was not discussed by the
Planning Commission at the last meeting. Another area of discussion which was identified by
the Planning Commission at its last meeting is whether there should be differences in scale for
areas immediately adjacent to parks and schools. To facilitate the discussion, an updated place
types map has been attached that also shows the location of parks and schools.
Place Type
High-rise
scale
Mid-rise
scale
Low-rise
scale
House
scale
Districts, Commercial Centers and Corridors
• Shelard
• West End X X
• Park Commons
• Knollwood
• Excelsior Boulevard
X X
Walker Lake X X
Neighborhood Commercial Nodes
• Minnetonka Boulevard at the following
streets:
- Texas
- Lake
- Ottawa
- Louisiana
- France
• Louisiana and Cedar Lake Road
X X
• Minnetonka Boulevard at Dakota X X
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Study session of April 19, 2023 (Item No. 1)
Title: Discussion of Zoning Code Update, Phase 1
Place Type
High-rise
scale
Mid-rise
scale
Low-rise
scale
House
scale
Street Types
Transit Priority Street
•Highway 25
•Louisiana South of 32nd
•Minnetonka East of Highway 100
X X
Transit Priority Street
•Minnetonka West of Highway 100
•Cedar Lake Road
•Louisiana North of 32nd
X X
Multi-modal streets
•Wayzata Blvd frontage road X X
Multi-modal streets
•outside of station areas X X
Draft Residential District Framework: The exploration of place types was used to inform the
development of an initial framework for residential districts. The framework is seen as a
starting point for Planning Commission discussion. As shown in the table below, the proposed
framework would transition the number of residential zoning districts from five to three.
Housing Type N-1 N-2 N-3
House scale X
Low-rise scale X X
Mid-rise scale X X
High-rise scale X
The following table builds on the table above by listing the individual housing types that would
be allowed within each district.
Housing Type N-1 N-2 N-3
House scale
Dwelling, single-unit detached X
Dwelling, existing single-unit X
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Study session of April 19, 2023 (Item No. 1)
Title: Discussion of Zoning Code Update, Phase 1
Housing Type N-1 N-2 N-3
Dwelling, detached courtyard cottage/bungalows X
Dwelling, attached two-unit (twinhome) X
Dwelling, two-unit (duplex) X
Manufactured home park X
Low-rise scale
Dwelling, threeplex and fourplex* X X
Dwelling, small townhouse* X X
Dwelling, low-rise apartment* X X
Mid-rise scale
Dwelling, large townhouse X X
Dwelling, mid-rise apartment X X
High-rise scale
Dwelling, high-rise apartment X
Dwelling, apartment mixed use X
*In N-1 it is suggested that through use specific standards that these units would be limited to corner
lots, lots with alley access, and/or lots greater than a specific size.
General Discussion of Standards: Once the residential district structure has been determined,
HKGi and staff will begin to identify specific standards for each district and housing types as
needed. To assist with that upcoming process, Planning Commissioners will be asked at the
meeting for their thoughts relative to minimum lot sizes for the house scale housing types of
single unit detached, two-unit (duplex), and two-unit (twinhomes). Currently the city has two
minimum lot size standards for single unit detached: 9,000 square feet in the R-1 district and
7,200 square feet in the R-2 and R-2 districts. Two-family uses are required to be at least 8,000
square feet in area in the R-3 district.
As initially discussed in the zoning audit process, the current residential zoning district
minimum lot area requirements do not reflect the mix of lot areas existing in the community
today. As shown in the table below, approximately 33% of lots are smaller than 7,200 square
feet, which is the minimum lot area requirement in the R-2 and R-3 districts. To illustrate where
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Study session of April 19, 2023 (Item No. 1)
Title: Discussion of Zoning Code Update, Phase 1
in the community lots of different area are located, the attached map uses the same area
groupings as in the table.
Lot Area Percent of lots
4,800 square feet or below 4%
4,801 to 5,400 square feet 12%
5,401 to 6,000 square feet 5%
6,001 to 6,600 square feet 12%
6,601 to 7,200 square feet 10%
7,201 to 8,400 square feet 16%
8,401 to 9,000 square feet 4%
9,001 square feet and above 37%
Total 100%
Lot size requirements for the city have changed over time. For context, staff has been able to
locate the zoning code requirements from the 1932 zoning ordinance that includes
amendments up until 1949. The approach to zoning at that time was different as one section
and map showed what uses were allowed in each of the six districts; a second section and
separate map showed whether buildings could be 2.5 stories, 3 stories, or 6 stories; and the
third section and separate map identified lot dimensions and setbacks. One would have to use
all three sections and maps to determine what could occur on a particular parcel.
In these ordinances there was a residence district and a multiple dwelling district. The 1932
ordinance allowed one- and two-family dwellings in the residence district. By 1949 the
ordinance had been amended such that only one family dwellings was allowed in the residence
district.
The density regulations section of the ordinances included four density districts:
•In the “A” density district the minimum lot area per family was 6,000 square feet and
4,800 square feet per family for two-family dwellings. By 1949 the one family minimum
lot size had increased to 7,200 square feet, though the minimum of 4,800 square feet
for two-family had remained the same.
•In the “B” density district the minimum lot area per family was 4,800 square feet. This
was amended by 1949 to be 4,800 square feet per family for interior lots and 3,000
square feet per family on corner lots or through lots for either one or two family
dwellings.
•In the “C” density district the minimum lot area per family was 4,800 square feet on
interior lots, 3,000 square feet on corner and through lots, and 2,400 square feet per
family for all two-family dwellings. The lot area requirements did not change by 1949.
•In the “D” density district a minimum lot area per family was not mentioned for one or
two family dwellings.
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Study session of April 19, 2023 (Item No. 1)
Title: Discussion of Zoning Code Update, Phase 1
In addition to discussing minimum lot area requirements, planning commissioners are invited to
share any thoughts or concerns that they have regarding potential issues that should be
addressed if housing types of different scale are located next to each other. For example, in the
proposed N-2 district, there could be the development of a mid-rise apartment next to a small
townhouse development. Are there potential impacts of these two housing types being next to
each other that should be considered when developing either district or use specific standards.
Next steps: Follow-up meeting with the Planning Commission to review and discuss the
proposed residential district structure, including district purpose statements, use table, lot and
site dimensions, and district/use standards.
Attachments: Place type map
Prepared by: Rita Trapp, HKGi
Reviewed by: Gary Morrison, zoning administrator
Sean Walther, planning manager/deputy CD director
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