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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-15-2023 Planning Commission Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION May 15,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono Planning Commission met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Chair Chris Bollis, Commissioners Mark McCutcheon,Dennis Libby,Jon Ressler,Bob Erickson, Scott Kirchner and Gary Kraemer. Representing Staff were Community Development Director Laura Oakden, City Planner Melanie Curtis, and City Planner Natalie Nye. Chair Bollis called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Libby moved,Kraemer seconded,to approve the Agenda.VOTE: Ayes 7,Nays 0. APPROVAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 17,2023 Kirchner moved,Ressler seconded,to approve the minutes of the Orono Planning Commission meeting of April 17,2023.VOTE: Ayes 7,Nays 0. OLD BUSINESS 1. LA23-000017 MURPHY& CO. DESIGN,746 TONKAWA ROAD,VARIANCES FOR HARDCOVER,DRIVEWAY WIDTH,AND REAR YARD SETBACK City Planner Nye said this item was tabled from the April 17 Planning Commission Meeting. The applicant wishes to build a new three-car garage near the street and demolish the existing garage which is non-conforming and served by a steep driveway. The proposed garage is 10 feet from the rear or street property line where 30 is required. Due to the proximity of the garage to the street,the driveway does not have the opportunity to taper down to the 20-foot maximum width,she said, so the applicant is requesting a variance from the rear yard setback and also for driveway with to allow a 34-foot wide driveway. The applicant is also requesting a variance to hardcover. The project would reduce hardcover from 35 to 32 percent but will still be over 25 percent so it requires a variance. The original plan removed a small portion of the shared driveway,Nye said, but the revised application restores the shared driveway to its original design. The neighbors are in favor of the new design. Dan Demeules with Murphy and CO Design, 235 Lake St. East, Wayzata, spoke as the applicant, explaining they met with the homeowner to the north and agreed to keeping the existing paving line for the shared driveway. The plan also removes a stair that used to be on the side to provide outside access and the owners will now be using a stair inside their garage to get to their lower level. Bollis said he remembers the Planning Commission were mostly in favor of this request at the last meeting except for the issue of the shared driveway. Kraemer said he was in favor before but it's good to get the neighbors on board and that there had been good communication by everyone. He called the revised plan a no-brainer. Kirchner said it looks like the difficulty from the previous meeting had been resolved and he had no issues with supporting the request. Page 1 of 5 MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION May 15,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Kirchner moved,Libby seconded,to approve LA23-000017 Murphy& CO.Design,746 Tonkawa Road,Variances for Hardcover,Driveway Width,and Rear Yard Setback as presented.VOTE: Ayes: 7,Nays 0. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. LA23-000011 MATTHEW AND SUSANNE JOHNSON, 1015 WILDHURST TRAIL, SUBDIVISION/PRELIMINARY PLAT City Planner Curtis gave a presentation on the item, stating it is a 9.29 acre parcel near Saga Hill Park Preserve.A recent administrative boundary line adjustment moved the eastern property line to west. The proposal is for two lots where half acres is the density guide.An outlot would serve as access to both properties with a private shared drive off of Wildhurst Trail. The property would be served by City sewer and private wells.Minnehaha Creek Watershed District has said this proposal as a two-lot design does not trigger their stormwater rules.Hennepin County has reviewed and did not have any comments.Access to both properties would be through an outlot so an easement and maintenance agreement for the shared private drive should be required.No public comments have been received. Staff recommends approval of the preliminary plat. Curtis noted the applicant is present. Matt Johnson, 1003 Wildhurst Trail,the abutting property, said he is the applicant. There is a purchaser for the north property,lot one, and he is purchasing lot two.He said the plan is about half the density that is allowable there,but they were trying to keep the lots bigger. The sewer line will come down the outlot. According to Johnson, lot one had an existing house on the southeast corner and it is the intension of the buyer to build in the same area. There are no development plans for lot two at this time,so no pad location is indicated. Chair Bollis opened the public hearing at 6:14 p.m. Barbara Schmidt,50 Landmark Drive, said over the weekend she downloaded the agenda and this item was not under public hearings so it was misleading and neighbors did not get proper notice that it would be a public hearing. Curtis said the legal notice in the newspaper and the web site was correct. Oakden said it was her understanding that the item was linked to the PDF and available on the website so the information was published. Chair Bollis closed the public hearing at 6:16 p.m. The Commissioners discussed the item. Libby said he thought this was a very comprehensive review and he supports that in Orono applicants can come in with a sketch plan in the early stages.He said he did not see any reason to delay as he is very familiar with precedent in such cases and this was done thoroughly and transparently. Ressler said the packet had a great deal of information with comprehensive research and everything in the packet makes sense.He said he can't think of anything that would allow him to reject or deny the preliminary plat application as it is well though-out. Page 2 of 5 MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION May 15,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Bollis said it is a conforming subdivision so he doesn't see any reason not to support it. Whether or not there was proper legal notice is a matter for staff and the attorney, he said, adding that the Planning Commission can only vote on the plan it sees in front of it. Erickson said the plan not only complies with but exceeds the minimum standards for lot size. He said it's an excellent plan in a neighborhood where there are larger parcels to the west and smaller to the east. These are in-between size so a good transition that fits the character to neighborhood,he said. Libby moved,Erickson seconded,to approve LA23-000011 Matthew and Susanne Johnson, 1015 Wildhurst Trail,Subdivision/Preliminary Plat.VOTE: Ayes: 7,Nays 0. 3. LA23-000020 JAMIE GRANT, 3020 CASCO POINT ROAD, REQUESTS A VARIANCE FROM LAKE AND FRONT YARD SETBACKS. City Planner Nye gave a presentation on the item, stating the applicant is requesting a variance from average lakeshore setback to expand the deck on the lake side of the home. Currently the home has a non- conforming deck and the owners would like to expand the deck to make it more usable and functional. The deck is proposed to be expanded by approximately 205 square feet and will be about seven feet closer to the lake. The deck meets all other setbacks including the 75 foot setback and is within hardcover. It is positioned in such a way that it does not impact lake views for the neighbors,Nye said. There is a dense row of evergreens between the deck and the north neighbor. Staff is in agreement and Nye said they have recommended approval in the past when the proposal does not disrupt the view of neighbors and is not within the 75-foot setback.No public comment was received. Alex Grant, 3020 Casco Point Road, said the family just wants to extend the deck to have more space. She said large trees keep their deck from the view of neighbors. The existing patio underneath the deck needs to be replaced but expansion of the deck would give more protection. She added,her father is often in a wheelchair and the expansion would help with his mobility issues. They have the approval of both neighbors. Chair Bollis opened the public hearing at 6:26 p.m. There were no public comments. Chair Bollis closed the public hearing at 6:26 p.m. Ressler noted the neighborhood goes out to a lagoon rather than the full-on lake and the neighbors are not opposed. For those reasons and with staff support, he would support the application. McCutcheon said the intent of the ordinance is to protect the view of lake for the neighbors. The deck is not within setback,the neighbors are in support and the plan does not take down any existing trees. He said the intent of ordinance is there and this is not a big ask. Kirchner mentioned the trees in between the properties are massive. Kraemer moved,Kirchner seconded,to approve LA23-000020 Jamie Grant,3020 Casco Point Road,Variance from Lake and Front Yard Setbacks.VOTE: Ayes: 7,Nays 0. Page 3 of 5 MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION May 15,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. 4. LA23-000021 HOME REFLECTIONS, 2691 ETHEL AVENUE, AVERAGE LAKESHORE SETBACK VARIANCE Curtis gave a presentation on the item, stating the existing property is entirely lakeward of the average lakeshore setback. The neighboring home at 2697 Ethel is a flag lot with a 15-foor lane connecting it to the lake.The flag setback significantly impacts buildable area on the applicant's property, she said. They are proposing to expand the deck on the lake side of the home and square it off and add a staircase. They also propose to raise a portion of the roof slightly to increase the symmetry of the roofline and construct a new entry with a covered roof entry porch. The additions to the home have been designed to improve the aesthetic of the home and update it while minimizing the impact to the adjacent properties and their views of lake, she said.Staff agrees the location of the neighboring home creates an unreasonably severe setback. The roof expansion is minor and should not affect the lakeview of the neighbors, she added. The front porch is on the street side and should also not negatively impact the neighbors. The reconstructed deck would be no closer to the lake than the existing.However, no improvements can be constructed to the home without variances. Staff recommends approval. Teresa Elsbernd,president of Home Reflections,the remodeler on the project, said the applicants bought the home just before Thanksgiving and were not aware at the time that it was a non-conforming house.A variance was granted in 1993 so an old house could be torn down and a new house built on approximately the same location. She said as the remodeler she was surprised to find it has this severe setback situation because of the flag-shaped neighboring lot although the flag portion along the south side is unbuildable. She thought it made for a strange way to determine average setback. She said they were applying for a variance to do modest work on the exterior of the house. Chair Bollis opened the public hearing at 6:37 p.m. Luann Runkle,2684 Casco Point Rd.,said they have been in their home since 1981,and are the neighbor on the north and west side. She said she wanted to comment on the existing LMCD variance order in 1994 affecting the four homes in that location.The LMCD order has stood for 29 years and states that this property could have a dock and the two neighbors had to share it. She indicated the new owners had spoken of plans to add a boat canopy and a big boat and they need to be aware of all setbacks and dock size requirements of the LMCD order. Relating to the current application,she called it an encroachment of the deck on the north side and said it would kind of hang right over their property. Chair Bollis closed the public hearing at 6:42 p.m. The Commissioners discussed the item. Bollis said it is virtually impossible for a house on this lot to comply with a setback for the house that is behind it.He said he can see the practical difficulty and doesn't think the exterior changes are egregious or beyond what is normal for that existing house. Kirchner also said the practical difficulties have been well-established and he is generally in support. Ressler said the City had tried to find a way to clean this up and make it one size fits all and it's virtually impossible when it comes to lakeshore and flag lots so that is why there are variances. He said he tends to agree with the developer that it is a strange way to define average setback but the City had to come up with a way that meets most situations. Page 4 of 5 MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLANNING COMMISSION May 15,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Ressler moved,Kraemer seconded,to approve LA23-000021 Home Reflections,2691 Ethel Avenue, Average Lakeshore Setback Variance.VOTE: Ayes: 7,Nays 0. OTHER BUSINESS—Update on MAY 8,2023 City Council Meeting Oakden updated the Commissioners on the May 8 City Council meeting noting that the City Council did approve the seven or eight applications the Planning Commission saw at its last meeting and recommended for approval. The one change was on LA23-000019,the council approved the application but change the sidewalk addition to pervious pavers. ADJOURNMENT Libby moved, Erickson seconded,to adjourn the Planning Commission Meeting.VOTE: Ayes 7, Nays 0. The Orono Planning Commission meeting adjourned at 6:47 p.m. ATTEST: G r o is, Chair 30A ke 55 &— Page 5 of 5