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HomeMy Public PortalAboutPC Minutes 05-12-2020 1 CITY OF MEDINA PLANNING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes Tuesday May 12, 2020 1. Call to Order: Chairperson Reid called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Chairperson Reid read a statement explaining that the meeting is being held by telephonic means because of the COVID-19 pandemic and provided instructions on how members of the public can participate. Present: Planning Commissioners Aaron Amic, Peter Galzki, Ron Grajczyk, Beth Nielsen, Kerby Nester, Cindy Piper, and Robin Reid. Absent: None. Also Present: City Planning Director Dusty Finke, and Planning/GIS Intern Ben Schneider 2. Public Comments on Items not on the Agenda No comments made. 3. Update from City Council Proceedings Albers reported that the Council met the previous week to consider a CUP for an accessory structure, which was passed unanimously with the recommended conditions. 4. Planning Department Report Finke provided an update. 5. Estate of Robert Roehl – 1735 Medina Road – Preliminary Plat for 2 Lot Subdivision Schneider presented a proposed lot split of 1735 Medina Road. He stated that the site is 28 acres, zoned rural residential with Medina Road cutting through the northern half of the property. He stated that the proposed lot split would create a northern lot of 6.5 acres and the southern lot would be 20.85 acres. He stated that both lots would meet the dimensional standards of the rural residential district. He stated that 40 feet of right-of-way is identified for the county road, noting that the county is requesting that be increased to 50 feet. He stated that staff recommends that construction traffic use Medina Road. He stated that staff recommends approval subject to the conditions noted in the staff report. Reid asked if the northern lot would have five acres of contiguous soils. Schneider confirmed that standard to be met. Jerry Roehl, applicant, stated that this property has been in his family since 1855 and has been continuously farmed. He stated that they would be dedicating a 33-foot easement for Morgan Road along with a cul-de-sac for Morgan Road. 2 Reid opened the public hearing at 7:11 p.m. No comments. Reid closed the public hearing at 7:11 p.m. Motion by Piper, seconded by Nielsen, to recommend approval of the preliminary plat for a two-lot subdivision at 1735 Medina Road, subject to the conditions in the staff report. A roll call vote was performed: Amic aye Nester aye Nielsen aye Galzki aye Piper aye Grajczyk aye Reid aye Motion carries unanimously. Finke stated that staff intends to present this to the City Council on June 2, 2020. 6. Ordinance Amendment – Chapter 8 of the City Code Related to Setback and Other Requirements for Residential Accessory Structures Finke explained that this arose from discussions with a property owner within the Foxberry Farms development. He explained that the current regulations require accessory structures to meet the same setback as the primary structure. He stated that there is an exception for sheds of 120 square feet or less. He stated that for smaller lots, the only allowed placement would be in the middle of the backyard near the rear of the home. He stated that staff reviewed the regulations of other cities and it is common to have reduced setbacks for accessory structures. He stated that State building code has also changed and any accessory structure under 200 square feet does not require a building permit. He explained that staff believes that perhaps it would make sense to use that same standard in Medina. He stated that a draft ordinance was included in the Commission packet with the proposed amended language. He stated that currently the ordinance is set to require a CUP for an accessory structure over 5,000 square feet. He noted that there are additional standards for buildings of that size and the review could be done in that manner by staff or could continue to go through the CUP process. Reid asked the height recommendation. Finke stated that he suggested 12 feet, but the language could go to 15 feet. He explained that the height is measured at the middle of the roof rather than the peak. Reid opened the public hearing at 7:21 p.m. No comments made. Reid closed the public hearing at 7:22 p.m. 3 Amic stated that he is in favor of increasing the regulation to 200 square feet. He stated that he does not have a preference on the height as most sheds would be under 12 or 15 feet in height. He did not have an opinion on the CUP issue. Nester commented that she believes that there should at minimum be a height restriction as she did not like allowing bigger structures closer to the property lines. She stated that she would not be in favor of loosening the restrictions. She did not feel strongly on the CUP discussion. Nielsen stated that she is fine with increasing the limitation to 200 square feet. She believed that there should be a height limitation. Galzki agreed with the comments thus far. He stated that his only concern would be with the different sizes of properties. He stated that a 120 square foot shed would be sufficient on a quarter acre lot, but a larger shed on a larger property would make sense. He agreed that a height limitation should be placed on the structure. He stated that for the CUP issue, the Commission typically reviewed maid quarters or beautiful barns. He commented that it is nice to have the public hearing to allow adjacent landowners to provide comments. He noted that perhaps specific uses do not need to go through the CUP process, as that process adds cost and time to a project. Piper asked if these kinds of structure could be used to house animals or horses. Finke replied that the animal structure setbacks would explicitly still apply. Piper stated that she would assume that most of these structures have a floor but cannot be mounted on a footing. Finke replied that they could be in theory, but that would be rare. He stated that the structure could be a pole structure without a floor. Grajczyk stated that he agrees with the staff recommendations. He stated that he would agree that a height restriction should be included. He stated that related to the CUP, he would not have any opinions to add. Reid stated that she would favor a height limitation and asked the desired height limit. Finke stated that he would believe that 12 feet would be sufficient. Amic agreed that 12 feet would be plenty. Reid stated that she would prefer to keep the CUP in place for now as there have been some odd requests in the past and would not want to see something the City is not expecting. She stated that perhaps that could be discussed in the future in an attempt to reduce the time and/or cost for that process. Motion by Nielsen, seconded by Galzki, to recommend adoption of the ordinance amendment related to residential accessory structures with the height limitation of 12 feet. A roll call vote was performed: Amic aye Nester aye 4 Nielsen aye Galzki aye Piper aye Grajcyk aye Reid aye Motion carries unanimously. 7. Approval of the April 14, 2020 Draft Planning Commission Meeting Minutes. Motion by Galzki, seconded by Nielsen, to approve the April 14, 2020, Planning Commission minutes with noted changes. Motion carries unanimously. 8. Council Meeting Schedule Finke advised that the Council will be meeting the following Tuesday and Nielsen volunteered to attend in representation of the Commission. Amic noted that he purchased a home in Orono and therefore will be resigning from the Planning Commission. 9. Adjourn Motion by Amic, seconded by Galzki, to adjourn the meeting at 7:42 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.