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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3 - 9.9.24 PC Minutes 1 PRIOR LAKE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES Monday, September 9, 2024 1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance: Vice Chair Ringstad called the Monday, September 9, 2024 Prior Lake Planning Commission meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Those presents were Commissioners Dan Ringstad, William Kallberg, Doug Johnson, Michael Tennison, Christian Fenstermacher and Michael Pasquarette. Absent Jason Tschetter. Also present were City Council Liaison Victor Lake, Community Development Director Casey McCabe, Planner Paul Moretto, Assistant City Engineer Luke Schwarz, and Deputy Clerk / Administrative Assistant Megan Kooiman. 2. Approval of Monday, September 9, 2024 Agenda: Ringstad: Amended the agenda by moving item 5A Old business to item 4A Public Hearing. MOTION BY FENSTERMACHER SECONDED BY JOHNSON TO APPROVE THE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 PRIOR LAKE PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA SUBJECT TO MOVING ITEM 5A TO 4A. VOTE: Ayes by Ringstad, Johnson, Fenstermacher, Tennison, and Kallberg. Motion carried 5-0. 3. Approval of Monday, August 26, 2024, Meeting Minutes: MOTION BY JOHNSON SECONDED BY KALLBERG TO APPROVE THE MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2024, PRIOR LAKE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES. VOTE: Ayes by Ringstad, Johnson, Fenstermacher, Tennison, and Kallberg. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Public Hearings: A. PDEV 24 – 000017 – 17801 Fairlawn Ave – Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Preliminary Plat / Preliminary Planned Unit Development Applications – Consider an Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map, an Amendment to the Development Staging Plan, and a Preliminary Plat and Preliminary Unit Development Plan for a Development ot be know as Aspen Ridge at 17801 Fairlawn Avenue. Planner Moretto: Introduced the Item. Wooddale Builders has applied for approval of a Preliminary Plat and Planned Unit Development to be known as Aspen Ridge. The application proposes a 48-unit single- family residential development at 17801 Fairlawn Avenue in Spring Lake Township near the intersection of Fairlawn Avenue and 180th Street East. Due to the property being located in Spring Lake Township, it must be annexed into the City of Prior Lake and incorporated into the City of Prior Lake Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map. Planner Moretto discussed the request to amend the Development staging Plan to identify the parcel in the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA) in order to receive sanitary sewer service. Mr. Moretto also reviewed the proposed preliminary plat and preliminary planned unit development (PUD) plan and stated city staff are recommending approval of the requests. Commissioner Comments / Questions: Ringstad: Asked about the outlots containing wetlands proposed for City ownership and if there were any potential future city costs related to maintenance of the wetland areas. McCabe: Stated there will be a conservation easement over the wetland dedicated to the Prior Lake - Spring Lake Water Shed district and mentioned few plantings within the outlots. Maintenance around the wetland is very minimal and generally includes annual mowing. 2 Kallberg: Commented on seeing a development proposal for this parcel several years ago. Applicant Craig Kanis representing the developer, 2602 Woods Trail North, Burnsville: Provided an overview of the proposed 48-lot single family development and the home style and price point that are anticipated. MOTION BY TENNISON, SECONDED BY KALLBERG TO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM 4A AT 6: 12 P.M. VOTE: Ayes, Ringstad, Johnson, Fenstermacher, Tennison, and Kallberg. Motion carried 5-0. Public Comment: Wade Waddell 18301 Country Square Circle, Prior Lake: Provided comments about how a wetland area at the rear of his property along 180th Street used to be dry and is now full of water. Shared issues that he believes are contributing to the increased water level and possible solutions to repair the issue. Expressed concern about additional stormwater from this development impacting property owners to the south along 180th Street. Encouraged commissioners to take another look at the plan and to resolve the drainage issues. Assistant City Engineer Schwarz: Provided an overview of the process to review the applicant’s engineered stormwater report, including review by city staff and Prior Lake - Spring Lake Watershed District. Mr. Schwarz explained from a review of the stormwater report, the stormwater volume reaching the wetland to the south will not increase and the rate the stormwater reaches the wetland will marginally decrease. This development will not result in an increase to the rate or volume of stormwater to the wetlands to the south. Applicant Engineer Bob Molstad, Sathre-Bergquist, 14000 25th Ave. Suite 120, Plymouth: Discussed the stormwater management plan his company has sent to the City of Prior Lake and Prior Lake - Spring Lake Watershed District for review. Acknowledged city and watershed district staff have provided comments, which they are addressing. Commented on the four stormwater ponds and two sand filtration basins. The plans will meet the requirements of the watershed district and the city and will have a volume reduction and rate reduction. Kelly Steffens, 3344 Winfield Way SW: Owner of property where Winfield Way will extend. Expressed concerns about property values and traffic due to Winfield Way becoming a through street and the related impact on their neighborhood. Questioned why it is necessary for the development to have access on Winfield Way; doesn’t feel there needs to be a second access for a 48-lot development. Feels 180th St. should be improved with this project and didn’t agree with comments made at a neighborhood informational meeting related to maintenance concerns if 180th was paved due to its location in a wetland area. Without 180th being paved, there will be a significant amount of cut-through traffic on Winfield Way. Paving 180th would also benefit sales in the development. Suggested alternate location options for multiple access points instead of Winfield Way. Requested modifications to plan and commented about a right to appeal if this moves forward. Ringstad: asked about the comment related to paving 180th St. McCabe: Commented about how the city received an escrow for the cost to pave the northern haft of 180th St. when Maple Glen was approved. A similar escrow would be required for this development. Then discussed how the other half of the 180th Street is in Spring Lake Township and cooperation from the township would be needed for a 180th St. improvement project. A decision on whether or not to pave 180th St. would be made at a later date. 3 Ringstad: Clarified the city would collect the funds and hold them in escrow for the north half of 180th St. and hope Spring Lake Township agreed to pave the street. McCabe: Correct. Commented about the neighborhood meeting hosted by the developer where residents supported paving 180th St. but concern was expressed related to ongoing maintenance of a paved street vs. gravel road. John Gessner 3091 Maple Drive: Lives north of proposed subdivision and commented about the need for Maple Drive residents to get sewer and water services. Asked a question about sewer and water utilities along Winfield Way and only Water along Maple Drive. Proposed bringing sewer and water in along Maple Drive so residents could tap into sewer in their rear yards. McCabe: Commented about several conversations with Maple Drive residents and a meeting with County and County CDA staff to look at options to bring sewer and water down Maple Drive. Stated the purpose of bringing water into the development from Maple Drive is to loop the water system so there is not a long dead end water line. Commented about the sewer and water that were extended to this property boundary in the Maple Glen subdivision were sized to provide service to this parcel. To bring sewer down Maple Drive would be more costly to the developer due to additional length. This was explored as an option with the developer early on but was not found to be a viable option. Staff continues to evaluate other options for providing sewer and water service for Maple Drive residents. Gessner, asked why the sewer can’t follow the same path as the water line from Maple Drive. McCabe: responded if sewer is extended from Maple Drive, that cost would not benefit the developer because they would not use that sewer line to serve their development. In staff’s opinion, that would not be a wise choice because sewer in the rear yards would only benefit the residents on the south side of Maple Drive and if it went down the center of the right-of-way, it would serve parcels on both sides of the street. Gessner: asked about who has access to the wetland areas. McCabe: Explained that the wetlands would be on a city owned outlot. There is no trail system planned around the wetland area, but people could access the wetland area on public property. Kelly Steffans: Asked if there was a unit limit for a single means of access. McCabe. Stated there is no specific limit. Merissa Vaughn, 3349 Winfield SW: owns property bordering development. Commented about understanding this was a future through street and the cul-de-sac was not permanent when they purchased their property. Expressed concerns about traffic and felt Winfield Way is not wide enough to be a through street. Commented about the development increasing from 45 homes to 48 homes and feels the increased traffic, decreased lot sizes and setbacks will have a negative impact on their property values. Asked for reconsideration of Winfield Way street connection. Concerned about Fairlawn Ave. being large enough to support traffic with no improvements planned for Fairlawn Ave. McCabe: Addressed the comment about the development increasing from 45 to 48 units per acre. The development must meet a minimum of 2.5 units per acre to receive a s ewer extension permit from the met council. The original site plan included 45 units, but that was under the 2.5 unit per acre minimum. 48 units are needed to meet the 2.5 unit per acre minimum. This development is at the bare minimum number of lots to get a sewer extension permit. 4 Stephanie Schussler, Winfield Way: Expressed several concerns and reasons she is against the proposed project. Commented about others from the neighborhood who are in the audience and opposed to the project. Concerns included safety for children who play in the street. Asked if there was an alternative to a lot or unit to meet the minimum density instead of a residential building. McCabe: Explained a unit is any type of residential house and it needs to be a home to be considered in the unit per acre calculation. Schussler: commented on narrow lots proposed along Winfield Way. Commented on wetland along 180th Street flooding and asked what happens when it floods or if anything is going to be done to prevent flooding. McCabe: Referring to comments provided earlier by Assistant City Engineer Schwarz that this development should have no greater impact than what exists today. Schussler: commented about the city assuming 180th will not flood over and asked what will be done if it does flood. McCabe: clarified if the road floods currently, it can still happen in the future, but this development is not going to make the situation worse than it is today. Schussler: commented about wetland impacts and expressed concerns for impacted wildlife and chemicals in the wetlands. Commented about lots going right up to the wetland with no natural boundary to protect the wetlands. McCabe: replied there will be a wetland buffer around all wetlands on the property. Schussler: asked if the buffer was just space. McCabe: confirmed it is space. Schussler: asked if there was a requirement to keep natural prairie grass to keep chemicals out and protect the wetland. McCabe: responded the buffer is a natural area, there is not a specific requirement for what needs to be planted. The property owner will need to recognize the buffer which will be marked with signage. Schussler: asked about proposed wetland impacts. Schwarz: Replied none of the wetlands will be filled in and highlighted the two smaller wetlands that will be deepened slightly. Schussler: expressed concern for wildlife due to the wetland being deepened. Ms. Schussler also feels Winfield Way is too narrow to support a through street. Commented about delays in snow removal on Winfield Way. Ringstad: commented about the time limit being reached and asked Ms. Schussler to wrap up her comments. Schussler: Feels 180th is a narrow street and asked about any concerns to put sewer and water utilities in 180th. St. McCabe: responded if 180th is improved it would be a street section only. No utilities. 5 Schussler: asked if sewer and water could be extended from Winfield Way but not connect the street. Provided a comparison of Maple Drive and Sunray Ct. where utilities extend but the street does not. McCabe: commented about that being an existing condition. The city has a maximum cul-de-sac length of 500 ft. in the public works design manual. Having a long cul-de-sac that does not connect would not meet the PWDM or engineering standards. Schussler: Commented about the three additional lots that have been added to meet the minimum density requirements are making things worse for the neighborhood. Kelly Steffans: Asked a clarifying question about the possibility for Winfield Way to remain a cul-de-sac but still extend utilities. McCabe: Replied that is possible but it would not meet our engineering standards. Lisa Quinn Spring Lake Township Board Member: Asked about the additional cost to extend sanitary sewer down Maple Drive instead of Winfield Way. McCabe: directed that question to the applicant’s engineer. Bob Molstad: didn’t have a specific cost but said it would be expensive because it would require a full street reconstruction. McCabe stated a preliminary staff estimate is approximately $800,000 to extend sewer and water in Maple Drive. Quinn: Asked if a Maple Drive sewer extension was evaluated as an option. Molstad: they evaluated options with city staff but the sewer and water service were available in Winfield Way. Quinn: Clarified the services available in Winfield Way were sized to service this development. Informed residents of Maple Drive in attendance the township is discussing their sewer problems and researching solutions. MOTION BY KALLBERG, SECONDED BY FENSTERMACHER TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM 4A AT 6:55 P.M. VOTE: Ayes, Ringstad, Johnson, Fenstermacher, Tennison, Pasquarette, and Kallberg. Motion carried 5-0. Commissioner Comments: Pasquarette: commented about developer not being responsible to run services for Spring Lake Township and understands that is an ongoing issue. The wetland and stormwater drainage information addressed any concerns he may have had. Fenstermacher: asked a clarifying question related to the maximum 500-foot length for a cul-de-sac and asked about the width of the property and the reasoning for the requirement. McCabe: commented about it being related to emergency vehicles access and turn around. Commented about other situations in the community with long cul-de-sacs that will be future through streets. Fenstermacher: asked about the emergency access from the northern cul-de-sac. 6 Schwarz: confirmed the northern cul-de-sac does have any emergency accesses Fenstermacher: asked about plans for future trails. Schwarz: the recently adopted park and trail master plan calls for a trail along 180th Street. Developer will connect trail loop from emergency access and grade a trail for future city construction. Fenstermacher: Recognizes the density requirement that must be met. McCabe: commented about the 2.5 unit per acre requirement, the comprehensive planning process and how the Metropolitan Council calculates density requirements per community using the lowest unit per acre number in each category and needing to reach three units per acre overall throughout the community. The Met Council would not issue a sewer extension permit if the development does not meet the minimum 2.5 unit per acre requirement. Tennison: Confirmed it was always planned that Winfield Way would be extended. McCabe; Correct. When Maple Glen was approved, a temporary cul-de-sac was installed where there is a future through street sign in place. At that time the city didn’t know for certain the street would extend because the property is located in Spring Lake Township and required a property owner petition is needed for annexation. The utilities and street were sized accordingly to support extension in the future. Tennison: asked if there are sidewalks on both side of the street. McCabe: there is a sidewalk on the south side of Winfield Way that would be extended through Aspen Ridge. Johnson: asked about the width of Windfield Way and if there is a minimum width for a through street and does this meet that requirement. McCabe: Winfield Way is 32 feet which is standard for a local street. Johnson: asked if there is a difference between a cul-de-sac width and through street width. McCabe: stated there is no difference between a cul-de-sac street width and local street width. Johnson: asked about the drainage concerns expressed by a resident south of 180th Street and stated it sounds like there is not concern this development will add to that but this property currently contributes to that. Asked if it was concerned to collect funds from the developer to correct the issue. McCabe: Staff did not consider that because the stormwater report shows the development will not be impacting the situation worse than exists today. This is something staff can investigate further and discuss with township staff. Kallberg: commented there may be as many as 100 homes on this property if there were no wetlands. Traffic issues do not make a lot of sense. Doesn’t feel there will be a lot of traffic on local streets when Hwy 13 and Fairlawn provide a more direct access to the proposed development. Doesn’t think this project will significantly add to the traffic count. Ringstad: asked clarifying question related to the 180th Street paving escrow and maintenance concerns expressed about paving a road in proximity to the wetland. Asked if escrow would be for blacktop only or reconstruction including subgrade. 7 McCabe: replied the escrow would be for reconstruction including a suitable base. Ringstad: Engineering reports indicate property to the south will not be adversely impacted and will be supporting the request. MOTION BY KALLBERG, SECONDED BY TENNISON APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN LAND USE MAP, AN AMENDMENT TO THE DEVELOPMENT STAGING PLAN, AND A PRELIMINARY PLAT AND PRELIMINARY PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR A DEVELOPMENT TO BE KNOW AS ASPEN RIDGE AT 17801 FAIRLAWN AVENUE. VOTE: Ayes Ringstad, Johnson, Fenstermacher, Tennison, and Kallberg. Motion carried 5-0. 5. Old Business: None. 6. New Business: None. 7. Announcements & Adjournment: None. MOTION BY JOHNSON, SECONDED BY FENSTERMACHER TO ADJOURN THE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2024, PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AT 7:07 P.M. VOTE: Ayes, Ringstad, Johnson, Fenstermacher, Tennison, and Kallberg. Motion carried 5-0. Respectfully submitted, Megan Kooiman, Deputy Clerk / Administrative Assistant