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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-10-2005 MinutesCITY OF OAK PARK HEIGHTS PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Thursday, February 10, 2005 Call To Order Chair Dwyer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Commissioners Liljegren, Oswald, and Runk. City Planner Richards, City Administrator Johnson and Commission Liaison McComber. Absent: Commissioner Wasescha. Approval of Agenda: Chair Dwyer, seconded by Vice Chair Runk, moved to approve the Agenda, as amended to include Comments to February 8, 2005 City Council Meeting as Item B. under New Business. Carried 4 -0. Approve Minutes: Commission Liaison McComber noted that there were several minor changes made to the Minutes and that revised versions were provided to the Commission at their seats. A. January 13, 2005: Chair Dwyer, seconded by Vice Chair Runk, moved to approve the Minutes as amended. Carried 4 -0 P. February 1, 2005: Chair Dwyer, seconded by Commissioner Oswald, moved to approve the Minutes as amended. Carried 4 -0. Department /Commission Liaison Reports /Other Reports A. Commission Liaison B. St. Croix Crossing Update Commission Liaison McComber reported that the next Stakeholders Group meeting is anticipated to be held in May and that she would keep them apprised. C. Other: Visitors /Public Comment There being no visitors to the meeting other than those present for items upon the published Agenda, Chair Dwyer moved to the Public Hearings portion of the Agenda. Public Hearings A. Continued - Ackerman Estates To consider requests for Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Rezoning, Preliminary and Final Plat Approval for construction of nine single family residential dwellings, located NW of Oak Park Blvd., E. of Oakgreen Ave. and S. of Hwy. 36 City Planner Richards noted that correspondence was received from the applicant, withdrawing the single family development application. Richards further noted that the applicant has submitted a new application for March with a new density development proposal. Planning Commission Minutes February 10, 2005 Page 2 of 8 B. Wal -Mart To consider requests for a Conditional Use Permit, Variance, Subdivision and Site Plan Review for Wal -Mart store expansion at 5815 Norell Ave. N. City Planner Richards reviewed the February 3, 2005 planning report regarding requests for an amended conditional use permit, sign variance, subdivision and site plan /design guidelines review, to allow a 109,395 square foot expansion of Wal -Mart at 5815 Norell Ave. N. Richards noted that since the report was prepared, the applicant has advised him that the drive - through pharmacy was being removed from the expansion plan. Richards provided an issue analysis and discussed the same with the Commission. Chair Dwyer opened the public hearing for comment and invited the applicant and those wishing to spear to the matter to address the Commission. Dave Sellegren of Fredriksen & Byron, P.A. introduced himself as the Minnesota Land Use Counsel for Wal -Mart Stores, Inc. Twin Cities office. Mr. Sellegren noted that the technical team, architect and engineer to the project were present to discuss the proposed expansion and the building elements. Erik Miller P.E. of McCombs Frank Roos Associates Inc. introduced himself and discussed screening elements, such as fencing, landscaping, parapets and such, that were in place and those being further refined, such as temporary container storage, with City staff. Mr. Miller noted that the screening elements to the proposed expansion are a substantial upgrade to what is existing adding that they have been working with Presbyterian Homes as to screening between the their respective sites. Mr. Miller reviewed an elevation perspective from 58x St. and added that while they did not wish to exclude the option of occasional temporary container storage at the site, they were working very hard to remove it as a necessity. He pointed out that the drive - through pharmacy was removed as part of a nation wide change from the corporation. Mr. Miller discussed the signage elements desired and clarified that Wal -Mart wishes to maintain the existing pylon sign location and reconstruct it with improved architectural elements at a height of 20 -feet. Additionally, they wish to add a monument sign, similar in design and quality as the pylon. Greg Ultman introduced himself as an architect to the project and discussed the parapet design in relation to aesthetics, screening of specific areas and elevation conditions. Dave Sellegren of Fredriksen & Byron, P.A. addressed the Commission question as to the building material composition and what is typical for a Wal -Mart Super Center. Mr. Sellegren stated that what is typical has been a progression over time in relation to what communities desire. He pointed out that there is actually a great variety seen in styling and that in the North you tend to see the colors of tan and green on the buildings. As to typical design, Mr. Sellegren stated that "there really isn't a standard anymore." Duane Larson or Presbyterian Homes stated that they have been communicating with the applicant as to the project and pointed out that their largest concerns are semi -truck traffic off of 58th St. and screening of the area. Mr. Larson stated that Presbyterian Homes is comfortable with the current proposal and added that he felt the proposal to be conducive to the retail area and that it blends nicely. Planning Commission Minutes February 10, 2005 Page 3 of 8 Brief discussion ensued as to access to the store from 58th St. and safety issues related to access points in general. There being no other visitors to the public hearing, Vice Chair Runk, seconded by Commissioner Liljegren, moved to close the public hearing. Carried 4 -0 Commission discussion commenced as to issues such as the storage addition, signage, temporary container storage versus that of tractor trailer storage, hours of operation, lighting, fencing materials and ponding area vegetation. City Planner Richards and the Commission reviewed the list of proposed conditions within the planning report and discussed the same. Chair Dwyer, seconded by Vice Chair Runk, moved to recommend City Council approval of the application, subject to the amended conditions of the planning report, specifically: The final plat and all required easements shall be subject to review and approval of the City Engineer and City Attorney. 2. All access to Norell Ave. N. shall be subject to review and approval of the City Engineer. The applicant shall work with the City Attorney in addressing access to the front of the Wal- Mart property for adjacent development to the east as part of the development contract. 4. A plan for a crosswalk on Norell Ave. N. and sidewalk access to the front of the Wal -Mart store shall be provided by the applicant and is subject to review and approval of the City Engineer. All parking shall comply with the minimum dimensional standards of the Zoning Ordinance and is subject to City review and approval. The applicant shall research and provide a plan to the City Council for lowering the parking lot lighting levels during the nighttime hours. 7. All lighting shall comply with the minimal standards of the Zoning Ordinance for height, fixture type and foot - candle levels. 8. The landscape plan is subject to review and approval of the City Arborist. 9. The applicant shall provide plans for the proposed eight -foot wood fence and landscaping to fully screen the truck loading and outdoor storage area that shall be subject to review and approval by the City. 10. The grading, drainage and erosion control plans are subject to review and approval by the City Engineer and applicable watershed district. 11. The utility plans are subject to review and approval of the City Engineer. Planning Commission N inutcs February 10, 2005 Page 4 of 8 12. The front elevation sign that reads "We Sell For Less" shall be removed from the allowable signage. The "Low Prices" sign shall be changed to read "Retail Center." The "Liquor" sign shall not be red in color but shall be a color consistent with the other wall signage. 13. No signage shall be allowed on the south building elevation other than directional and informational signage as allowed in the Zoning Ordinance. 14. One freestanding monument sign shall be allowed on site that shall be conforming with all provisions of the Zoning Ordinance. The existing pylon sign shall be removed. 15. All trash /recycling activities shall be totally contained within the building. There will be no outside dumpster storage. The applicant shall provide noise information for the trash compactor, subject to review of the City Council. 16. The applicant shall provide adequate screening, subject to review and approval of the City, of all rooftop mechanical equipment. The rooftop equipment shall be painted to match the facade colors. 17. The Planning Commission is favorable to the proposed building architecture, materials selection, and colors and finds the design to be consistent with the City's Design Guidelines. 18. The site plan shall be revised in the area identified as "gas lease area" to include grass and landscaping. A conditional use permit with a revised site plan will need to be applied for and approved by the City Council to allow the automotive fuel station operation. 19. All automobile repair activities shall be limited to within the principal structure and the doors to the service bays shall be kept closed except when vehicles are being moved to and from the service areas. 20. There shall be no exterior storage of automobile parts, parked vehicles, or related items on the site. All storage shall be internal to the building. Any vehicles to be stored outside of the building shall be in full working order. 21. All noise created from automotive repair operations on the site shall be in conformance with Section 401.15.13.11 of the Zoning Ordinance. No outdoor speaker systems for the automotive repair operation shall be allowed. 22. The applicant shall receive and retain, if required, a Hazardous Waste Generators License from Washington County for the Tire and Lube Express operation. 23. The Tire and Lube Express operation shall not operate between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. 24. The applicant shall provide information and a plan to the City Council as it relates to potential battery and oil recycling programs. Carried 4 -0. Planning Commission Minutes February 10, 2005 Page 5 of 8 Chair Dwyer called a five - minute recess, after which he reconvened the meeting and continued with the Public Hearing portion of the Agenda. B. Lowe's To consider requests for a Conditional Use Permit, Variance, Minor Subdivision and Site Plan review for construction of a Lowe's Home Improvement Store, located South of 58th St. N., East of Memorial Ave. N. and West of Hwy. 5. City Planner Richards reviewed the February 3, 2005 planning report and clarified the requests being made by the applicant are for a Planned Unit Development and Conditional Use Permit and Variance approvals, to allow a 167,584 Lowe's Home Improvement store, including a garden center. Richards provided an issue analysis; recommendation and conditions for consideration should the Commission elect to recommend approval to City council. Chair Dwyer opened the public hearing for comment and invited the applicant and those wishing to speak to the matter to address the Commission. Scott McGee, Regional Vice President of Ozark Civil Engineering, Inc. introduced himself, reviewed and commented on the recommendations and proposed conditions within the planning report. Robert Fiebig, Site Development Mgr. — Midwest Region of Lowe's, Inc. introduced himself and discussed the layout and operation of sales areas, including lumber, garden center, promotional sales, retail storage shed display and more. Mr. McGee and Mr. Fiebig held discussion with the Commission as to the proposed landscaping for screening and general landscaping. It was noted that they were open to landscaping alteration possibilities for the site as a whole and as to screening, including the area of where the overhead doors are to be placed. As to the overhead doors, they discussed how they would be utilized as well as times and duration that they would be open. They noted that a walkie talkie system was used for communication versus that of an outdoor paging system and added that with respect to noise, the forklifts have emergency backup sound devices which if necessary can be removed and replaced with flashing lights. Parking and typical traffic patterns were discussed for stores of similar and larger sizes. The Commission was provided with an aerial photo showing a metropolitan store on a holiday weekend to give them an idea of a peak parking period. Lowe's would like to have as much parking as possible, but that they also want to ensure that they don't run the risk of losing a spot or two during the course of implementing the construction and utilities and end up violating any agreement they make as to parking space numbers. Mr. Fiebig noted that Lowe's stores have an identical operational plan and that they are very neat and orderly. Discussion commenced as to roadway lanes, entry, signage, garden center design and location, parapet design for company identity and mechanical screening, landscaping alternatives and elevations. Again, the applicant distributed photos to the Commission to provide a visual as to the elevation aspects of the project. Planning Commission Minutes February 10, 2005 Page 6 of 8 Joe Kohout of Xanadu Adventure Golf — 5595 Memorial Ave. N. questioned whether there would be changes or upgrades to the roadways of 56 St. N., 58 St. N. or Memorial Ave. N. There being no other visitors to the public hearing, Commissioner Oswald, seconded by Vice Chair Runk, moved to close the public hearing. Carried 4 -0 Commission discussion ensued as to issues such as logo parapet height, signage size and color, view of parapet signage from the rear of the building and related. The conditions within the planning report were reviewed and discussed. Chair Dwyer, seconded by Commissioner Liljegren, moved to recommend City Council approval of the application, subject to the amended conditions of the planning report, specifically: City Engineer shall review and approve access curb cuts. 2. Inclusion of City Engineer recommendations for road and traffic upgrades at Hwy. 5, 58th St. N. and on Memorial Ave. N. 3. The grading, drainage and erosion control plan is subject to review and approval by the city Engineer and Brown's Creek Watershed District. 4. The submitted utility plan should be reviewed by the City Engineer. Submittal of additional information for City Council review showing how the trash area, HVAC and electrical equipment will be screened is subject to review and approval by the City. Applicant shall provide noise information for the trash compactor, which shall be subject to City Council review and approval. The applicant shall provide a detailed plan for building lighting, which shall be subject to City Council review and approval. There shall be no flood lighting of building facades. The Planning Commission recommends approval of the vacation of Morning Dove Ave. N. S. Review and approval by the City Attorney of the utility easement at the vacated Morning Dove Ave. N. The applicant shall provide options for City Council review on changes to the front facade and the Lowe's sign area to reduce the mass and scale through detailing and color changes. 10. Submittal of an erosion control plan and approval by the City Engineer. 11. Additional screening shall be provided around the loading area next to Hwy. 5, subject to review and approval of the City Arborist. The applicants shall revise the plan on the Hwy frontage to provide more plant variety and visual interest, subject to review of the City Arborist. Planning Commission Minutes February 10, 2005 Page 7 of 8 12. Review and approval of the landscape plan by the City Arborist. 13. The applicant shall provide a minim of 500 parking spaces on site. 14. The applicant shall provide a revised outdoor sales area plan based upon Planning Commission comments and subject to approval of the City Council. Carried 4 -0. New Business A. Goal Setting City Administrator Johnson noted that the City Council was in the process of setting up a workshop for their own goal setting and team building. He suggested that in light of recent comments of the Planning Commission that they may wish to engage in goal setting and proactive discussion in the months that there are not items on their meeting Agenda and inquired if this would be of interest. Discussion ensued as to a variety of issues of potential discussion, including the Central Business District and access at the recently proposed Wal -Mart expansion, in relation to Johnson's inquiry. Chair Dwyer stated that he felt it would be appropriate for the Commission to do some goal setting and prioritization and also that the Central Business District was an issue that should be discussed "sooner than later ". Johnson noted that the intent would be to engage in proactive discussion of larger issues and that the subject matter would certainly vary. He encouraged the Commission to ask that an item be placed on an Agenda for discussion when there is an issue they wish to discuss. B. Comments to February 8, 2005 City Council Meeting Vice Chair Runk stated that he attended the recent City Council meeting and as to the discussion of the Planning Commission Liaison, and that he wanted to clarify a couple of matters. First, he wished to address the City Council comment that it wasn't the Planning Commission's role to participate in the Liaison appointment. Runk clarified that while opinions were expressed, he did not feel that the Planning Commission took a position on the appointment of a new Commission Liaison. Chair Dwyer, with confirmation from the rest of the Commission, spoke on behalf of the Commission in that the Commission's collective opinion was that they were surprised to hear of a new liaison appointment, that they were very happy with Councilmember McComber's level of involvement, ability to keep them current and her regular attendance at the Planning Commission meetings in the role of their liaison and that they stressed their hopes that the newly appointed liaison would be as diligent. Secondly, Vice Chair Runk noted that at the meeting Counciltnember Doerr, who was appointed as the Alternate Planning Commission Liaison seemed to have gotten the impression that the Planning Commission did not want him. He stated that the Commission never intended to send a message that he wasn't welcome and added that he was sorry that Doerr received that impression and extended his personal apology if he had said anything to give him that impression. Planning Commission Minutes February 10, 2005 Page 8 of 8 Chair Dwyer also extend apologies to Councilmember Doerr, on behalf of himself and the Commission body, stating that the intention wasn't to infer that any appointed liaison was unwelcome but rather the Commissions happiness with McComber and their hopes to see her level of service continued. Old Business None. Informational A. Next Meeting March 10, 2005 7:00 p.m. — Regular Meeting B. Council Representative February — Chair Dwyer March — Commissioner Liljegren Adjournment Commissioner Oswald, seconded by Commissioner Liljegren, moved to adjourn at 10:08 p.m. Carried 4 -0. Respectfully submitted, Julie A. Hultman Community Development Approved by the Planning Commission: March 10, 2005.