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HomeMy Public PortalAbout04-11-2006City of Medina Planning Commission Minutes — April 11, 2006 PRESENT: Marilyn Fortin, Sharon Johnson, Steve Jacobson, Tom Crosby, Mary Verbick, Jeff Pederson and Doug Dickerson. Also present: City Planner, Rose Lorsung — Administrative Assistant, Janet Olson and Council Representative Elizabeth Weir. 1. Call to Order: Chair Tom Crosby called the meeting to order at 7:OOPM. 2. Public Comments: There were no comments from the public. Liz Weir provided a report on behalf of the City Council and provided a recap of the last City Council meeting. 3. Approval of Minutes from 3/14/2006 Planning Commission: MOTION/SECOND (Fortin/Verbick to approve the minutes from the March 14, 2006 Planning Commission as corrected. MOTION PASSES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE 4. Planner's Report: Rose Lorsung stated that the City Council approved going out for RFP for Wetland Assessment, Function and Analysis. The assessment will be done in the area of the city that is not in the Minnehaha Creek Watershed. The next Planning Commission agenda will include Adam's Pest Control, the sign ordinance and items as a result from the moratorium, such as the tree preservation ordinance. 5. Evanson Conditional Use Permit 87-59 Amendment - Tabled 6. Charles Cudd Concept Plan, south of Bridgewater and east of Arrowhead: Rose Lorsung stated the Charles Cudd Concept plan is for a multi -family residential development located north of Hwy 55 and east of Arrowhead. The plan will be south of Bridgewater at Lake Medina development. The site is in the MUSA, is zoned Business Park and guided UCI. The site is 24.7 acres with a density of 77 high end town homes. (3.81 units/acre) Rose Lorsung stated the site has attractive features such as exceeding density requirements, of 3 units/acres for sewered development, transportation issues, layout is attractive with paths, water features and landscaped borders. Lorsung continued that this plan would require rezoning and comprehensive plan amendment. Lorsung continued that the city has stressed to developers that at this time Comprehensive Plan amendments are discouraged as the city is beginning its comprehensive planning process. Richard Cavanaugh 205 Berry Bay, Wayzata (property owner) stated that he has owned and farmed the land for a long time and is now interested in selling the property to reap the benefits of his hard work. April 11, 2006 Planning Commission Minutes 1 Tom Crosby asked about the road with the cul-de-sac wondering who put in the road. Richard Cavanaugh stated that State of Minnesota put in the road when it closed access to Highway 55 Rick Denman representing Charles Cudd Company stated that Charles Cudd Company is excited about this project and happy with the success of Bridgewater. The proposed project is being motivated by the fact that the property owner is willing to sell. Although the property is zoned business park there is no market for that in Medina and this project will be a nice buffer from commercial to residential. There will be three units per acre and the homes will back up to water or trees. He continued that the property owner is not getting any younger and it is logical to start the comprehensive plan now and tie into the formal process. Tom Crosby asked what the price point would be at the present time. Rick Denman stated the three unit building would be $500,000 and the double unit would be $600,000. Steve Jacobson asked how many times the property owner was unable to get the crops in due to water in the fields. Richard Cavanaugh responded that every year he was able to get the crops in. Jeff Pederson stated that he owns adjacent property to this plan. General consensus of the Planning Commission is there is not a conflict of interest at this time as at this meeting it is a concept plan and no action will be taken. Joe Cavanaugh 275 Lakeview stated when this land was put into Business Park they were told it could be changed at any time. If this property were to be developed business park the residential divisions, such as Bridgewater and Foxberry would be upset. Joe Cavanaugh continued by stating that the city can not hold everything back during the comprehensive plan process. The family chose Charles Cudd Company for this project because of the strong history with the City. Doug Dunlay 4292 Arrowhead stated that he is concerned with the 100 new homes in Bridgewater and this addition. The increase in traffic will need to be studied. Tom Crosby stated that he is not against and not for this project but believes the city needs to look at existing conditions and see how this fits into the bigger picture. Tom Crosby continued by stating that he would be more comfortable in approving this project in conjunction with the planning process to determine if this is the best use of the property. April 11, 2006 Planning Commission Minutes 2 Doug Dickerson asked if Cavanaugh or Charles Cudd Company has shared this plan with the property owners to the north. Charles Cudd stated that if he were to be given even a yellow light he would contact the residents to the north. Doug Dickerson stated that he had spoken with two owners to the north. The residents had came to Medina for the rural character, and that they enjoy hunting geese on their land. The residents stated that they think it should all be zoned similarly in the area, and that they might move if the rural character is not maintained. Mary Verbick asked what the intent with this type of review is. If it is the intent to not do any comp plan amendments it is important to be consistent. The plan looks good but not the timing with the comprehensive planning process. Steve Jacobson asked if the wetlands are mitigated at a 2:1 ratio. Charles Cudd responded they were. Marilyn Fortin stated that other than timing the plan looks good and would be a nice buffer from commercial. Jeff Pederson stated that Charles Cudd is a great developer but the city is at bad time with the comprehensive planning process. He added that zoning the property Business Park at the time was a good idea because there was limited water and sewer capacity. Charles Cudd stated business park development would be a much scarier development and have a greater impact then what is being proposed. Doug Dunlay stated that he moved to the area because of the rural character and the benefits of hunting in the area. Adjacent property owners need to be considered because this development was not present when they purchased their property based on the rural character. Tom Crosby summarized the discussion of the Planning Commission. He noted a strong reluctance because of the timing, and a generally favorable look on the concept itself. Also it appears to be consistent as a buffer between commercial and residential. April 11, 2006 Planning Commission Minutes 3 7. Planning Commission Operational Procedures: Sharon Johnson questioned if the operational procedures would be a part of the Planning Commission Handbook. Marilyn Fortin stated she liked the organizational chart of the City and how it reflects the citizens are who everyone works for. The suggestion was made that the organizational chart should be included in the newsletter annually but includes the names of the individuals who hold the position. The Planning Commission member discussed some reporting relationships within the organizational chart. After general conversation it was agreed that Tom Crosby and Liz Weir would go through the manual and guidelines and bring back to the May 9, 2006 Planning Commission meeting. Planning Commission asked for an update on the Ordinance to-do list and suggested the list be reviewed quarterly. Motion/Second (Johnson/Verbick) to adjourn. MOTION PASSES BY UNANIMOUS VOTE Meeting Adjourned at 9:15 PM Janet Olson Date April 11, 2006 Planning Commission Minutes 4