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2020.01.13 - MinutesApproved Planning Commission Minutes – January 13, 2020 CRYSTAL PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Monday, January 13, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers, Crystal City Hall 1. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Crystal Planning Commission convened at 7:00 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  Commissioner (Ward 3) Buck X Commissioner (At- Large) Seffren Other attendees: City planner Dan Olson, rental licensing specialist Chee Yang, City Council liaison Brendan Banks, City Council member Nancy LaRoche, Ken Rohlf, Stephen Linn, and Elliot Stendel representing Linn Investment Properties LLC, Jeremy and Joel Larson representing Hampton Companies, and other interested persons. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Moved by Strand and seconded by Heigel to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2019 regular meeting. Ayes: Heigel, Strand, Selton, Einfeldt-Brown, Johnson, and Seffren. Abstain: Maristany. Motion carried. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS a. Site plan review request from Linn Investment Properties for a proposed Tumble Fresh laundry at 6023 – 42nd Avenue North (Application Number 2020-01): Planner Olson presented a summary of the staff report and stated he is recommending approval of the site plan. Olson provided amended language for condition #1 to include language about the installation of the water main. Commission member Strand asked clarification questions about the exterior lighting plan. Olson answered those questions and said that the lighting plan meets the city’s requirements. Commission member Seffren asked where the existing watermain is. Olson said that it’s in 42nd Avenue, but is not sufficiently sized for the new building. The new watermain will be connected in Adair Avenue. Approved Planning Commission Minutes – January 13, 2020 Commission member Maristany suggested that the applicant dim the lights when patrons are not in the laundry. She also wondered if patrons will use the vacuum late at night. Stephen Linn said there are no windows facing the residential properties so lighting should not be an issue. The laundry will be open from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. He believes that the vacuum is typically not used late at night. Outdoor tables will be available for patrons near the building. Commission member Strand asked if employees will be on site. Mr. Linn said there are cleaning and management staff, but they will not be on site at all times. Much of the building is automated. Strand asked additional questions about building security. Mr. Linn said they have security cameras and motion detectors that assist with security inside the building. Chair Selton opened the public hearing. A Crystal resident asked what the minimum water main size is and if a panic button will be installed inside the building if fights break out. Mr. Linn said he believes that the minimum water main is 6” because of the need for a fire sprinkler system, and that a panic button is not needed because of the prevalence of cell phones. Children would also be likely to push a panic button. Maristany said the proximity of the site to the police station is helpful. A Crystal resident seconded the request of 4170 Brunswick Avenue for the retaining wall to be repaired and a new fence installed. He was also concerned about the outdoor vacuum. This resident asked how the stormwater infiltration basin will work and where the dumpsters will be. Olson explained how the basin will work and showed where the dumpster enclosure location is on the site plan. Olson said that this resident already has a fence on their property, but 4170 Brunswick does not. A Crystal resident asked why the City is giving the alley land to the applicant for free. Olson said the applicant will be the underlying property owner once they close on the property, and the vacation application merely remove the city’s right to construct an alley. Therefore there is no need to have the applicant pay for the alley property. This resident also asked if the water will be coming from Crystal or Robbinsdale. Olson said that half of the Adair right-of-way is in Crystal and the water is coming from Crystal. A New Hope business person said he owns a laundry facility in that city and Tumble Fresh is a corporate business that will threaten his livelihood as a local business person. If this laundry is constructed, there will be four laundries between Highways 169 and 100. Council member Banks asked whether the landscaping will be sufficient to protect the neighbors. Olson described how the landscape plan will screen the parking lot and dumpster, providing a buffer for residents. Mr. Banks asked where the monument sign will be located. Olson showed the location of the sign on the site plan. Commission member Maristany said if a fence is constructed, it would be on Tumble Fresh property not the resident at 4170 Brunswick, creating a gap in the fence at 4171 Adair. Mr. Linn said if that resident wants a fence, he would be willing to reimburse the resident up to $2,000 for that fence. That resident would construct the fence on her own property. A Crystal resident asked if fabric softener sheets smells will come from the laundry. Mr. Linn said he’s not aware of that happening at their other stores. Approved Planning Commission Minutes – January 13, 2020 A Crystal resident said she’s concerned the laundry will be open so late and that the vacuum will be loud. Hearing no one else who wished to speak, Selton closed the public hearing. Commission member Strand said she worked with Linn many years ago on a project and said they do a good job running their businesses. The laundry site plan is well done and will be an asset to the neighborhood. Commission member Maristany said she would like to take up Linn’s offer to pay up to $2,000 for the neighbor’s fence. Olson suggested that rather than making that a condition of site approval, staff can connect Linn with the neighbor to work out the details. Commission members were in agreement with this approach. Moved by Strand and seconded by Seffren to recommend approval to the City Council of the site plan review application for the proposed Tumble Fresh laundry at 6023 – 42nd Avenue North, with the conditions in the staff report as amended. Ayes: All. Motion carried. b. Rezoning to Planned Development from Hampton Companies for a proposed specialized care facility at 3501 Douglas Drive North (Application Number 2020-02): Planner Olson presented a summary of the staff report and stated he is recommending approval of the rezoning. Commission member Strand asked what kind of input was received at the neighborhood meeting. Olson said that residents asked questions, but there was a positive view of the development. Commission member Maristany asked if the Edgewood right-of-way should be vacated so it can be incorporated into the development. Olson said the applicant has not asked for that, and the City is probably not interested in vacating that right-of-way since that would land-lock a few properties. Commission member Strand asked why the applicant is not incorporating the lots owned by the City’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) into the development. Olson said the applicant has not expressed an interest in purchasing those lots. Commission member Selten asked if the applicant has other facilities. Jeremy Larson explained where their other facilities are located, and where new ones will be. Commission member Maristany asked why they are putting 25 parking spaces, which exceeds what they are required to build. Joel Larson said that that number of spaces has been proven to be a good number for their facilities. Approved Planning Commission Minutes – January 13, 2020 Commission member Strand, Selten, Heigel, and Einfeldt-Brown asked what types of employees will be on site. Joel Larson described the kinds of medical professionals on site, and that complaints about care are handled through state licensing requirements. Commission member Maristany asked if exterior lighting will be dimmed at certain hours. Joel Larson said lighting will be located in the front away from most residential areas. Maristany asked what the city will inspect. Chee Yang described the licensing and inspection process. The city will not be inspecting resident’s medical welfare. Chair Selton opened the public hearing. A Crystal resident asked where light poles will be. Olson said light poles will be reduced from three poles to two in the front parking lot. The resident also said that this proposal is much more acceptable than the use proposed last year on this property, but he’s concerned about what will happen with the other vacant lots in the area. Hearing no one else who wished to speak, Selton closed the public hearing. Commission member Strand said she thinks the development is well done and she’s voting in favor of it. Selten said he will also be voting in favor of the development. Moved by Johnson and seconded by Strand to recommend approval to the City Council of the rezoning to Planned Development application for the proposed specialized care facility at 3501 Douglas Drive North, with the conditions in the staff report. Ayes: All. Motion carried. 4. OLD BUSINESS - None 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Election of Officers: Chair: Motion by Maristany, second by Strand to nominate Selton for chair. Ayes: all Vice-Chair: Motion by Strand, second by Seffren to nominate Einfeldt-Brown as vice-chair. Ayes: all Second Vice-Chair: Motion by Heigel, second by Seffren to nominate Maristany as second vice-chair. Ayes: all 6. GENERAL INFORMATION  City Council actions on previous Planning Commission items: Planner Olson said that the City Council will be considering approval of the conditional use permit (CUP) and variances for a telecommunications tower at 3200 Vera Cruz Ave N at their January 21, 2020 meeting. Approved Planning Commission Minutes – January 13, 2020  Update from Council Liaison: Mr. Banks said the EDA has toured different apartment buildings as examples of redevelopment projects, and had a work session to discuss potential redevelopment around Becker Park.  Staff preview of likely agenda items for Monday, February 10, 2020 meeting. Mr. Olson said he has not received any applications for the meeting, but the deadline is not until tomorrow. 7. OPEN FORUM Commission member Strand said the “Cheers to Crystal” event is March 20, and proceeds will benefit Becker Park. Commission member Johnson asked if the city has thought of placing signs on properties where a development review application has been submitted. Olson said city staff is working on doing that. 8. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Strand and seconded by Einfeldt-Brown to adjourn. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.