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03-21-2006 PCM MINUTES HUTCHINSON PLANNING COMMISSION Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Hutchinson City Council Chambers 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:30 P.M. Vice Chairman Lynn Otteson called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. with the following members present: John Lofdahl, Jim Haugen, Vice Chairman Otteson and Mike Flaata. Absent: Farid Currimbhoy, Robert Hantge and Chairman Kirchoff. Also present: Kent Exner, City Engineer, Marc Sebora, City Attorney, Bonnie Baumetz, Planning Coordinator, and Jessica Evans, EDA Assistant. 2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Vice Chairman Lynn Otteson announced election of officers will take place at the April 19, 2006, meeting when more members are present. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) Consideration of Minutes dated February 21, 2006 Mr. Flaata moved to approve the minutes of February 21, 2006 as submitted. Seconded by Mr. Lofdahl. The minutes were approved unanimously. 4. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) CONSIDERATION OF LOT SPLIT AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO AMEND THE PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT SUBMITTED BY CROW RIVER HABITAT FOR HUMANITY LOCATED AT 570 HILLTOP DRIVE N.E. FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A TWIN HOME Vice Chairman Otteson opened the hearing at 5:35 p.m. with the reading of publication #7433 as published in the Hutchinson Leader on March 9, 2006. Ms. Baumetz commented on the request noting a conditional use permit was granted March 22, 2005, and has expired. The construction plan is essentially the same as it was last year. Staff would recommend approval of the lot split and conditional use permit with the following recommendations: 1. Allow existing 1" water and 6" sanitary sewer services from the mains within Hilltop Drive to service this twinhome. Services shall be configured such that the shared pipes are Minutes Planning Commission - March 21, 2006 Page 2 within the platted drainage and utility easement and curb stops/clean-outs are installed on all services at the property line. Any potential service pipe water flow/pressure or sewer back-up issues would be the shared property owners' responsibility. 2. Dedicate drainage and utility easements along the westerly property line. Mr. Exner commented that staff is confident that the 1" water service and the 6" sanitary sewer services will be adequate in this case. Per city ordinance any problems with the service will be the responsibility of the homeowner. Mr. Flaata made a motion to close the hearing. Seconded by Mr. Haugen. The hearing closed at 5:43 p.m. Mr. Flaata made a motion to recommend approval of the request with staff recommendations. Seconded by Mr. Haugen, the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Lofdahl abstained from voting. Ms. Baumetz stated this item will be placed on the City Council consent agenda at the meeting held March 28, 2006 in the Council Chambers at 5:30 p.m. b) CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR A VARIANCE TO REDUCE PARKING REQUIRED AT A NEW HARDWARE STORE TO BE LOCATED AT 108 _1ST AVE N.E. Vice Chairman Otteson opened the hearing at 5:45 p.m. with the reading of publication #7434 as published in the Hutchinson Leader on March 9, 2006. Ms. Baumetz commented that if this business were located on the other side of Hassan Street this would not be an issue. City Code requires 5.5 spaces per 1000 sq. feet. It is requested that this amount be reduced to 1.9 spaces per 1000 sq. feet (22 spaces in this case) as recommended in the Parking Generation manual. The unique circumstance in this case is that the building is landlocked, and there is no land available for an additional parking lot. Staff recommends approval of the request with the following recommendations: 1. Review landscaping requirements with the City Forester. 2. Eliminate existing driveway access on Hassan Street if not utilized. Repair to match existing curb. 3. Northerly edge of new access shall be no closer to the intersection than shown on site plan. 4. Collect and discharge on-site stormwater into public right-of- way infrastructure. No diverting stormwater onto adjacent private properties. 5. Per the "Parking Generation Manual", a minimum of 22 parking spaces must be provided. Minutes Planning Commission - March 21, 2006 Page 3 Staff also recommends that a One-Stop Shop be called with City Staff. The building owner is agreeable to this. There was discussion regarding the Parking Generation Manual and the City Ordinance. Staff was directed to research the two and place on the next agenda for discussion. Mr. Lofdahl made a motion to close the hearing. Seconded by Mr. Flaata. The hearing closed at 5:58 p.m. Mr. Flaata made a motion to recommend approval of the request with staff recommendations based on the hardship of no available land to purchase for additional parking. Seconded by Mr. Lofdahl, the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Haugen abstained from voting. Ms. Baumetz stated this item will be placed on the City Council consent agenda at their meeting held March 28, 2006 in the Council Chambers at 5:30 p.m. c) CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW OPERATION OF A PLUMBING BUSINESS TO BE LOCATED AT 15 MONROE ST. SE IN THE IIC DISTRICT Vice Chairman Otteson opened the hearing at 6:00 p.m. with the reading of publication #7435 as published in the Hutchinson Leader on March 9, 2006. Ms. Baumetz stated that in November 1988 a survey disclosed the building at 15 Monroe St. was constructed 1.65 feet over the property line into public right of way. A request to vacate the two foot strip 65-feet wide was granted with the stipulation, if the building would be replaced in the future, the street is to go to the original width. Documentation is on file regarding the City reserving the possibility of reverter dated November 3, 1988. The building is in the 1 OO-year flood plain. The building meets the parking requirements for employees with the current amount of concrete. Staff would recommend approval of the request noting the agreement of 1988 should the building be destroyed, the 2 foot vacated strip of Monroe Street would revert back to public right-of-way. Fill for the proposed pavement will not exceed 1000 cubic yards. Monroe Street may be reconstructed in the future following the potential round-about construction and railroad depot development. The following staff recommendation is: 1. A conditional use permit is required for outdoor storage in an industrial or commercial district and 100% opaque fence or wall not less than 5 feet in height will be required around the items being stored outside. Mr. Flaata made a motion to close the hearing. Seconded by Mr. Lofdahl. The hearing closed at 6:06 p.m. Mr. Lofdahl made a motion to recommend approval of the request with staff recommendations. Seconded by Mr. Flaata, the motion carried unanimously. Ms. Baumetz Minutes Planning Commission - March 21, 2006 Page 4 stated this item will be placed on the City Council consent agenda at their meeting held March 28, 2006 in the Council Chambers at 5:30 p.m. d) CONSIDERATION OF A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW TENT SALE OF FIREWORKS IN THE WALMART PARKING LOT LOCATED AT 1300 HWY 15 SOUTH Vice Chairman Otteson opened the hearing at 6:07 p.m. with the reading of publication #7436 as published in the Hutchinson Leader on March 9, 2006. Ms. Baumetz reported that a conditional use permit was approved for the same company for the same time of the year, last year. Staff would recommend approval noting the display must be kept secured. There do not appear to be any traffic flow issues, in that there are no entrances onto Highway 15 in this area. Access would be from the internal parking lot. It should be noted that any signage requires separate applications and permitting. The following recommendations are suggested: 1. Display must be kept secured. 2. Signage requires a separate permit. 3. Access must be from the internal parking lot. 4. The permit is good for a total of 15 days prior to expiration on midnight on July 5, 2006. Mr. Flaata made a motion to close the hearing. Seconded by Mr. Lofdahl. The hearing closed at 6:10 p.m. Mr. Lofdahl made a motion to recommend approval of the request with staff recommendations. Seconded by Mr. Haugen, the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Flaata amended the motion with the addition that the company shows adequate liability insurance as required by City Code. Ms. Baumetz stated this item will be placed on the City Council agenda at their meeting held March 28, 2006 in the Council Chambers at 5:30 p.m. 5. NEW BUSINESS 6. OLD BUSINESS 7. COMMUNICATION FROM STAFF a) TOUR WITH CITY COUNCIL MARCH 28TH AT 3:00 P.M. Ms. Baumetz has requested the Planning Commission inform her if there are any special stops that should be made. Discussion followed as the group informed Ms. Baumetz of some of the areas of the city they would like to see. Minutes Planning Commission - March 21, 2006 Page 5 b) Ms. Baumetz reported that the Physical Appearance committee has been working on the existing sign ordinances pertaining to downtown. Off- premise signage will be one item of discussion in the following months. c) Mr. Exner commented on new Design Standards being considered by the Public Works and Planning/Zoning/Building Departments. Three items will be discussed: 1. Sump Discharge Connection to Curb Drain It is proposed to require that all new homes make a direct, gravity connection of the sump pump system from the house to the installed draintile behind the curb and gutter. It is proposed that the City of Hutchinson follow the lead of many other cities in requiring the connection for all new homes where draintile facilities are available, and establishing a standard for all existing homes. 2. Concrete Driveway Panel and Curb Opening As residential lots get smaller and driveways get larger, issues such as: more intensive stormwater runoff, less area for landscaping, increased difficulty in locating and installing underground utilities, and a lack of boulevard space for snow storage, are emerging. Many cities limit the width of driveways on right-of-way streets to deal with these issues. Mn/DOT has a maximum recommended width of 24' on State and State-Aid routes. It is proposed that the City of Hutchinson adopt the same 24'-wide standard, in which the driveways can widen after the standard 10' boulevard depth. Existing driveways would be grandfathered in. Staff will need to discuss what would happen if a homeowner wishes to re-do their driveway. 3. Public Utility Se/Vice Installations Due to recent State legislation, all public utility service pipes must be located, up to the private property line, by City staff. The utility owner must have physical means to locate the infrastructure. Thus, City staff has developed an approach utilizing consistent installation of water shut-offs and sewer clean-outs, standard installation methods, curb stamping, and tie-card preparation. If water shut-off or sewer clean-outs must be installed within a driveway, proper protective devices have been developed from contractors to use. 8. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 6:32 p.m.