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2019.04.08 - MinutesApproved Planning Commission Minutes – April 8, 2019 CRYSTAL PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Monday, April 8, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers, Crystal City Hall 1. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Crystal Planning Commission convened at 7:03 p.m. with the following members present:  Commissioner (Ward 1) Sears X Commissioner (Ward 2) Selton [Chair] X Commissioner (Ward 4) Einfeldt-Brown [Vice Chair] X Commissioner (Ward 1) Heigel X Commissioner (Ward 3) Maristany [Sec. Vice Chair] X Commissioner (Ward 4) Johnson X Commissioner (Ward 2) Strand X Commissioner (Ward 3) Buck  Commissioner (At-Large) Seffren Other attendees: City Planner Dan Olson; City Council Liaison John Budziszewski; City Council members Nancy LaRoche and Therese Kiser; representatives from A-1 Reliable Home Care, including Tom Wasmoen, Deborah Ojogwu, Benjamin Ojogwu, and John DeFreitas; and other interested persons 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Maristany and seconded by Strand to approve the minutes of the March 11, 2019 regular meeting. Ayes all. Motion carried. 3. PUBLIC HEARING a. Rezoning to Planned Development for a proposed specialized care facility at 3501 Douglas Drive North (Application Number 2019-04): Planner Olson presented a summary of the staff report and stated he is recommending approval of the rezoning application with the conditions in the staff report. Commission member Strand said she attended the neighborhood meeting and said there was a lot of interested persons in attendance. She felt the applicant did not adequately answer many of the attendees’ questions. Strand asked if there would be subsequent phases of this development. Planner Olson said that the applicant is asking for a 30-bed facility and if they wanted to have more beds, they would have to go through a public process to amend the Planned Development. The City Council would review any amendment on its own merits. Approved Planning Commission Minutes – April 8, 2019 Commission member Heigel had several operational questions, which were answered by the applicant’s team:  Can the windows be opened? Answer: In this facility, they will only be opened to allow for a 4” gap  Is each floor designated for residents with certain medical issues? Answer: No  How many residents are allowed in the outdoor recreational area at one time and how are they staffed? Answer: There is room for approximately 8 residents and staff  What times will this recreational be used: Answer: It varies based on the desire of the residents, but a staff member is present  How are doors accessed (card or something else)? Answer: Probably either by fob or punch pad. A hardware consultant will provide details during creation of the building plans.  Is one security person on staff enough for all their responsibilities? Answer: The security personnel will be able to monitor the entire building on camera. Other staff will also be overseeing the residents.  Who will be watching out for the welfare of the residents since the State won’t be doing that? Answer: The MN Department of Health (MDH) has requirements for how to handle complaints from family members for vulnerable adults. A-1 has a care plan for each resident, and works with the family to resolve conflicts. If A-1 needs further guidance on MDH rules, they will contact them.  What do the residents do during the day? Answer: Each resident has programs they attend and A-1 provides transportation to those programs. The residents are very busy.  Is the RN only in the building during the day? Answer: Yes, but the RN is on- call after those hours and there are other medical staff on duty at all times. Pre- packaged medication can be provided by on-duty staff at those times when the RN is not present.  Are the five examples submitted in the narrative confirmed as “housing with services”? Answer: Planner Olson said he has confirmed some are not regulated by the state in the same manner. Commission member Maristany asked several operational questions that were answered by the applicant:  Are out-patient services provided: Answer: No  What is the age range of residents living at the facility? Answer: All are adults  Will the residents have a range of cognitive abilities? Answer: Yes, but they are all self-preserving and are able to walk  Will residents have a history of destructive or criminal behavior: No  Staff will stay at the home on the property? Answer: Some staff will live at the home, much like an apartment.  Will light pollution be an issue? Answer: A lighting plan meets the city’s requirements and lighting will not spill over the property lines.  What about this location makes the site a good fit for A-1? Answer: The site provides a sense of community for the residents. A-1 already has a facility in nearby Robbinsdale. Approved Planning Commission Minutes – April 8, 2019 Commission member Strand said that the building will tower over nearby residential uses and is much taller than other buildings in the area. She believes that the EDA-owned lot south of A-1’s site will be unbuildable and should be included with any redevelopment project at 3501 Douglas. She believes that A-1 has a nice facility, but it does not fit in with the adjacent land uses. Mr. Wasmoen said that the proposed building will be nestled into the hill so it will have the appearance of a 2-story building. Strand asked where snow storage be. Planner Olson stated there is a snow storage area adjacent to the stormwater infiltration basin. Strand asked how many office units will be in the existing building. Mr. Wasmoen said A-1 will have the top floor and the lower units will be remodeled and rented out. Chair Selton opened the public hearing. Selton read into the record a comment letter from the property owner at 3329 Florida Avenue dated April 8, 2019. The letter was received by city staff after the Planning Commission agenda packets were sent out. Selton invited those audience members who filled out a green card to make comments or ask questions. Each person spoke once. A Crystal resident said he does not support the rezoning because the high density facility is not compatible with the lower density neighborhood. There would also be a lot of traffic conflicts, making the currently quiet neighborhood a noisy place to live. There will be more emergency vehicles and delivery vehicles as a result of this development. A Crystal resident said she does not support the rezoning. This property should be developed for new homes which are badly needed in Crystal. The A-1 facility would cause a lot of traffic which would be dangerous to pedestrians and create more congestion. A Crystal resident said he does not support the rezoning because a mental health facility is not appropriate for this neighborhood. The facility would not be regulated by the State and should not even be allowed in Crystal. A Crystal resident said he does not support the rezoning. The Commission should do the right thing and vote against the proposal. A Crystal resident said she does not support the rezoning. She’s concerned that a tall retaining wall is needed to protect the neighbors from the residents. A health clinic like this is not appropriate for this area. Mr. Wasmoen said that the retaining wall is needed so that that the building can be set into the hill, lessening the impact of the height of the building. A Crystal resident said he supports the rezoning. This facility will be run according to state regulations and many of the concerns of tonight’s attendees are not related to zoning. The facility will meet the requirements of the city’s zoning code. A Crystal resident said he does not support the rezoning. There should be houses on this site, not a commercial facility. The area is not a commercial area. A Crystal resident said he does not support the rezoning. He said A-1 has not made it clear whether the residents would be here by court order. He believes the height of the building will be too tall for the neighborhood. There will need to be an inspection of the Approved Planning Commission Minutes – April 8, 2019 commercial kitchen of the A-1 facility. He believes the rental house will become a “flop- house” for A-1 employees. He said that the EDA lot south of A-1’s site will not be developable if this rezoning is approved. He questioned how evacuations of residents will take place if there is a fire. Will a small staff be able to evacuate 30 vulnerable adults? He believes that the facility should comply with the density requirements of the Comprehensive Plan just like an apartment building. He does not think this neighborhood should be a redevelopment area. Mr. Wasmoen said the residents would not be placed here by court order. The commercial kitchen will be inspected by a health department. Ms. Ojogwu said the residents would come from hospitals and stay here until they get well. A Crystal resident said he does not support the rezoning. He wants to do a significant remodeling of his home and if this is approved, he may leave Crystal. He felt mislead by A-1 at the neighborhood meeting, where A-1 said the residents were here by court order but now they are saying something different. He said that A-1 did not previously describe the residents going to and from the facility, but at tonight’s meeting they are saying that residents will frequently leave the facility. He said that A-1 has several complaints online from a state agency. The complaints relate to the inability of A-1 personnel to do their jobs. Ms. Ojogwu said every state-regulated facility receives citations. If the state believes they are not capable of operating a facility, they will be shut down. Mr. Ojogwu said that they are invested in the care of the residents and this facility will create employment for many people. A Crystal resident said she does not support the rezoning. She is concerned that the site will only have a property maintenance inspection by the city. She will be impacted by police calls and traffic of this facility. Ms. Ojogwu said that any police calls would most likely be because of the refusal of residents to attend their medical appointments, not because of the misbehavior of residents. Ms. Ojogwu said that the opposition to A-1’s facility feels like racial prejudice (Ms. Ojogwu is black). Chair Selton said he has seen the citations referenced by the previous resident and they are not about the abuse of A-1’s residents. It appears that the State’s citations refer to employees not being properly oriented on A-1’s policies. A Crystal resident asked how residents are transported. If staff are transporting residents, then they are not in the facility taking care of the residents. Mr. Ojogwu said they have contracted out for transporting of residents, and staff help out as needed. The resident said she would rather see a one-story senior living building here than A-1’s facility. A Crystal resident said he wanted to know if a study had been done in other cities to show how many police calls a facility like A-1’s would generate. Planner Olson said he’s not aware of such a study. The resident is also concerned that criminals will be placed in A- 1’s facility. Mr. Ojogwu said that A-1 has the ability to determine which residents they accept. A Crystal resident said he does not support the rezoning. The request is not compatible with the Comprehensive Plan. This commercial use would encroach farther into the neighborhood than envisioned by the plan. This use should be subject to density requirements. He believes A’-1’s large facility would make the development of vacant parcels in the area less desirable. A-1’s facility would be open 24 hours per day, which is very different from the surrounding neighborhood. This facility should be in a commercial area. Approved Planning Commission Minutes – April 8, 2019 A Crystal resident said she does not support the rezoning. She said A-1’s facility would be understaffed when staff are home ill. A Crystal resident said she does not support the rezoning. She said the facility should be subject to density requirements and the density would be too high with residents and visitors coming to the property. This rezoning would also lead to other rezoning requests in the area. The facility would have negative environmental impacts. Commission member Heigel asked how residents would be referred to this facility. Ms. Ojogwu said they are referred to them by the state. Each resident has a case manager who refers them to A-1. Complaints can be made to the case manager. Commission member Maristany asked if A-1 has the ability to not accept a resident. Ms. Ojogwu said yes. Chair Selton closed the public hearing. Moved by Strand and seconded by Heigel to recommend denial of the rezoning to Planned Development and continue this agenda item until May 13, 2019 so that city staff and the city attorney may prepare findings for denial for review by the Commission. Ayes: Strand, Heigel, Einfeldt-Brown, Johnson, Maristany. Nays: Selton, Buck Motion carried. 4. OLD BUSINESS – None 5. NEW BUSINESS - None 6. GENERAL INFORMATION a. City Council actions on previous Planning Commission items: Planner Olson stated that the City Council approved the rezoning to Planned Development for the Rivertree School expansion project. b. Update from Council Liaison: Mr. Budziszewski provided an update on the Becker Park groundbreaking event. The Economic Development Authority (EDA) has looked at potential property they could sell for new homes. The Council is working on their 2019-20 goals. c. Staff preview of likely agenda items for Monday, May 13, 2019 meeting. Mr. Olson indicated that the application deadline is not until next week. The Commission is expected to review a 3-lot subdivision request for the western portion of Ironhorse Park as well as review a draft of the proposed Town Center zoning regulations. 7. OPEN FORUM Approved Planning Commission Minutes – April 8, 2019 Commission member Strand said the brew-fest fundraiser held on March 15 for Becker Park was pretty successful and plans are to hold another such event next year. The next park fundraiser is a plant sale on May 19. Commission member Einfelt-Brown asked when Taco Bell would open and what was happening at the old Wendy’s restaurant. Planner Olson said he believes the building permit has been issued for the Taco Bell, but he’s not sure when the restaurant will open. A sit-down restaurant is going into the old Wendy’s building. 8. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Buck and seconded by Heigel to adjourn. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:41 p.m.