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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 23, 2007 4646 Dakota Street S.E. Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714 REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA MONDAY, JULY 23, 2007 City Council Chambers 6:00 p.m. 1. Call Meeting to Order: 2. Roll Call: 3. Approval of Minutes: 4. Consent Agenda: 5. Public Hearings: 6. Old Business: 7. New Business: A. EP 07- 131 A petition requesting a name change for North Berens Road located north of the Shepherds Path campus. 8. Announcements and Correspondence: 9. Adjournment: The Commissioners will reconvene for a workshop in the Parkview Room to discuss: · Planned Unit Developments - Section 1106 · Senior Care (SC) Overlay District - Section 11 06A L:\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSION\07 AGENDASIAG072307.DOC f www.cityopriorlake.com Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES MONDAY, JULY 23, 2007 1. Call to Order: Chairman Lemke called the July 23,2007, Planning Commission meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Those present were Commissioners Billington, Fleming, Lemke, Perez and Ringstad, Planning Director Jane Kansier, Planning Coordinator Danette Moore, Planner Jeff Matzke and Recording Secretary Connie Carlson. 2. Roll Call: Billington Fleming Lemke Perez Ringstad Present Present Present Present Present 3. Approval of Minutes: The Minutes from the June 25,2007, Planning Commission meeting were approved as presented. 4. Consent: None 5. Public Hearings: None 6. Old Business: None 7. New Business: A. EP 07-131 A petition requesting a name change for North Berens Road located north of the Shepherds Path campus. Planning Coordinator Jane Kansier presented the Planning Report dated July 23,2007, on file in the office of the City Planning Department. On June 26,2006, the City Council adopted Resolution 06-91 approving the final plat for Shepherd's Path. This final plat realigned McKenna Road so it extends straight south to CSAH 42. The easterly leg of the original street has been renamed Shepherd's Path. A new street extending from McKenna Road on the west to the east property boundary was also created. This northerly segment of the former McKenna Road was named North Berens Road on the final plat. On September 11, 2006, the City received a petition to rename North Berens Road to McKenna Road. The petition was not processed immediately because the Council L:\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSION\07 MINUTES\MN072307.doc 1 Planning Commission Meeting July 23, 2007 needed to reestablish the Naming Committee. On February 5,2007, the City Council disbanded the Naming Committee and delegated street naming tasks to the Planning Commission. Since renaming a platted street is an amendment to the approved final plat, the City Council must make the final decision. The Planning Commission's recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council. The primary function of street names and addresses is to provide a unique identifier for each building, residential or commercial, in the City. The identification system is critical for public safety purposes, especially police, fire and ambulance. When the final plat was approved, the street was assigned a name with new addresses. The owners of the existing houses along this road were notified of their new addresses. A change to the street name will affect both the existing properties and new development. It will require all property owners change their addresses to be consistent with the new name. In addition, new street signs must be ordered and installed. Lemke clarified "McKenna" and "Berens" are not options for the new street name. Kansier confirmed. Lemke pointed out since the City Council appointed the Planning Commission as the "name changing committee" they did not feel fully qualified with the 911 addressing system. Kansier explained the idea was that the Planning Commission reviews all the plats. The Commissioners will see in the next preliminary plat phase staffwill be making suggestions on name changes. Fleming asked "Prior to renaming Shepherd's Path, was there any record of confusion of service providers with McKenna Road?" Kansier responded not that she was aware of. Prior to Shepherd's Path there were no other roads. Even though McKenna road curved around it was still one continuous road. Comments from the public: Richard McKenna, 13787 McKenna Road, asked why they were just picking on "McKenna" as there were several roads in Prior Lake with similar names with "Lanes" "Circle", etc. He then went on to ask how many times are they going to change the name of the road. First it was a P.O. Box, and then it was a Shakopee road, now it's going to be changed again. Lemke ask what would be his preference. McKenna said "McKenna Road". He said he could not understand why this couldn't be tabled until the developers come through and develop the adjoining property and make the road longer and leave it McKenna Road until there is a new development. McKenna felt it would be changed again when someone decided they don't like "McKenna Road". Perez asked if there were other duplications. Kansier said there were other areas, like the Wilds; Wilds Ridge, Wilds Parkway, Wilds Lane - it has become an issue with the police L:\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSIONI07 MINUTES\MN072307.doc 2 Planning Commission Meeting July 23, 2007 and fire departments. She cannot speak to the previous names of McKenna Road over the years. The street was changed because of the development of Shepherd's Path. Lemke asked what the issue would be with "Old McKenna Road". Kansier explained as the City grows there are many public services that will not know "old" from "new". She also pointed out there are ambulance drivers who are not local and serve an area much larger than just Prior Lake. This is the reason staff is trying to eliminate duplication. Wanda Ahlman, a neighbor of McKenna' s, said she needed to know how and why it was changed to "Berens". The neighbors signed a petition to keep McKenna Road. One of the most important reasons she wanted it to change is because it is a family area. " It's not a name you pulled out of a hat like the Berens Road. Or like you are asking us to do now, pull another name out for the road." Ahlman went on to say it is not a safety issue. Even though she lives on the cities boarders and her kids went to the Shakopee schools, she considers Shakopee her home. "Prior Lake is moving into the area and that's fine". She stated she did not have any problem with Prior Lake being her home however McKenna Road is the address she has lived with since moving to the farm. She is backing the name McKenna Road as the residents of Shakopee know exactly where it is. She argued it was not a problem to change a name by adding "north, south, etc." This is only a little stretch of road and only involves 4 properties at this time. Progress is bringing more people with it but they will deal with that problem when the time comes. Ahlman stated she was begging to change it back to McKenna Road. Why was it changed without even asking us? Who gave permission to put the sign up? She said she did not understand. Fleming - as a point of clarification from staff - was there a petition before North Berens was implemented? Kansier explained "North Berens" came about because of the Shepherd's Path Plat. The old portions of the road were probably established as field use and became a standard because of use. The developer (Shepherd of the Lake) chose the North Berens name. At the time the City told him he needed to change it because McKenna Road was extending south. Staff does not know why they chose North Berens. Kermit Mahlum is present and can explain why he chose the "North Berens" name. Staff did not receive a petition prior to the name change. Kermit Mahlum, representing Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, gave a brief update on why the name change. The road (McKenna) was realigned running north and south therefore the east/west road had to change. Our property was bought from the Berens family and thus changed the road to North Berens Road. His greatest concern was if a name had to be changed it would be Shepherd's Path as it is the name of the campus. The reason the church signed the petition as they understood it could be changed back to McKenna Road. He said they didn't have a choice except naming the other streets. He understands the confusion it creates. They had a number of police calls and confusion with the departments. They are located in the City of Prior Lake with a Shakopee mailing address. They are again meeting with the postal service to come to a conclusion on the address. L:\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSION\07 MINUTES\MN072307.doc 3 Planning Commission Meeting July 23, 2007 Fleming asked how the Berens family would feel if their name was removed from the road. Mahlum felt the Berens would feel like the McKenna's, they were honored we named the street after them. However, the Berens do not have the years of attachment. The church could rename Generation Lane to Berens so the name would remain on the campus. If the neighbors approved, he would be happy to go along with what will help. Comments from the Commissioners: Ringstad: . I heard Kermit use the word "confusion" several times - what staff is trying to do is avoid the confusion with public safety and the 911 system. . There is a McKenna Road running north and south. . Looking at what is best for the City - we have a new senior center relying on the road name for accuracy. I agree with the City Staffs recommendation to change the name to something other than "McKenna". . The Commissioners were not asked for any specific recommendations for the proposed name other than passing it on to the City Council that some sort of name change is appropriate. . For those reasons I will support staff. Billington: . Agree with Commissioner Ringstad. My concern, as I agree with staff is the public safety aspect. It could be a dangerous response time and cost lives if there is a change away from Berens. . It is not a positive impact for the community. It is dangerous for a lot of people, especially the senior complex. . Calling for assistance will be an issue. For that reason I cannot support the petition. Fleming: . This is tricky; we are bound to reconcile issues of public safety, health, wellness and all those things. I am personally not certain. . I appreciate the fact there is a strong connection with the McKenna family. Not comfortable in my reconciling the safety issues. . I do live in the Wilds and see similar street names and just found out a few minutes ago in this process, found out Berens was given a modifier - "North Berens" Road. I am not willing to say we cannot go back to some iteration of "McKenna". Perez: . Agree with the confusion with the names. . Concerned we have duplication with names as Commissioner Fleming pointed out. As staff talked about it is coming to a point where we need to stop doing what we used to do. It is up to this Board to make sure there is no confusion in the future. L:\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSION\07 MINUTES\MN072307.doc 4 Planning Commission Meeting July 23, 2007 . As far as McKenna Road - I would say I couldn't approve it based on staffs report. . Maybe changing the name to something close to "Kenna Crossing". . For safety sake, and trying to do the right thing for the community, I can not support the petition. Lemke: . Just to clarify - South of County Road 42 is also considered "McKenna Road". Moore confirmed it was. . Moore explained the impact and confusion of the road remaining "McKenna". . That does not seem to be a good option, I am concerned of the message it would send to the Berens family. . Is Shepherd's Path the only street in the City called Shepherd's Path? Moore said it was. . It's hard to believe in this GPS world they can't find something like "Old McKenna Road". . My understanding is we would recommend a name change or leave it the same. We would not be recommending a specific name. Kansier stated if they were going to recommend a name change it should be specific. Kermit Mahlum said the senior complex does have the address of Shepherd's Path. Everything on the east side of Shepherd's Path will have the Shepherd's Path address. There is no confusion as far as that is concerned. The neighbor's are concerned where Shepherd's Path comes up to meet "North Berens Road". Fleming asked Kermit if the majority of emergency service calls from the senior center might come from Shepherd's Path address. Kermit said they would. Lemke said he was inclined to change the road to "Old McKenna Road" and let the Council say "No". Moore clarified the North Berens Road will have the same dilemma as the road continues to the east. Fleming asked how far that road will be extended. Moore said it will go to at least County Road 21. Fleming asked if a name change takes place now, why it would be an issue in the future. Moore responded it was two separate roadways. Perez pointed out it will affect more than 4 residents. L:\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSION\07 MINUTESIMN072307.doc 5 Planning Commission Meeting July 23, 2007 Ringstad: . Thanks for the clarification on the senior housing - ifthere is any kind of confusion - the postal service already has problems. It just pounds home the point further. Sometimes it is not as simple was we think. . Ifwe are hearing the people from the public safety sector are suggesting a name change - holding the emotion out of it, it sounds like the right thing to do. Fleming: . Would like to add he understands all of that but has a hard time balancing all the safety issues. Using that logic, then none of us should have a comfortable level of confidence having access to emergency service. Not compelled to use that logic. Ringstad: . That's not logic, its emotion. The logic of communication is factual and it is in front of us. Emotion, not withstanding, I would think according to what staff and our report indicate. . As Commissioner Perez said, "It doesn't matter how we got here" and now that we are growing... I don't think we can allow this going forward. Fleming: . Understands Ringstad's point, maybe I should use the word "passion" instead of "emotion". Sometimes the word emotion has a negative connotation. I believe at 6:40 p.m. on Monday, July 23, if emergency services are currently able to mitigate all the iterations and variations in my neighborhood and we have the technology. I'm just not convinced they would mitigate potential confusion with "Old McKenna Road". Wanda Ahlman asked if that road might be changed to "New McKenna Road" the new development made all this confusion in the first place especially if this is going to be changed again. Moore wanted to correct some of the statements - The name North Berens Road does not have to be change. If it were changed to be something like "Shepherd's Path" in the future when that road extends to County Road 21, we would be back here having to change it. If the road stays "North Berens Road" or another name that is individual and not a duplication it would not have to be changed. Fleming asked how the Church arrived at the name of "McKenna Crossing" for the senior facility. Mahlum responded it was picked by Presbyterian Homes who are part of the senior project. The reason for the new plat name is that Shepherd's Path ends at North Berens but some day the road will extend with future development. Billington: . I am sympathetic to the attachment of the names, what we would be doing by abiding by the petitioner's request is creating two McKenna Roads - one north and south; one east and west. There will be confusion from public emergency L\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSION\07 MINUTESIMN072307.doc 6 Planning Commission Meeting July 23, 2007 responses. Someone is going to say "McKenna" and it will be confusing. It's just not a good idea. . While I understand the feelings, I cannot support the petition. Lemke: I do not like how we got here - there are a lot of street signs, 911 systems, it is more than just "well we don't like that name, we should change it back." Wish we could but McKenna Road is still there running north and south. At this point in time I would not be in favor of recommending a change. Dick McKenna said he has son-in-law and a nephew on the Prior Lake Fire Department who said they know where they are going before they get into the truck. MOTION BY RINGSTAD, SECOND BY PEREZ, RECOMMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL A CHANGE TO A STREET NAME CONSISTENT WITH THE STREET NAMING SYSTEM. Fleming - just a point of clarification - Will the City Council actually change the name or sustain an existing name? Kansier said the motion is to change North Berens Road to a unique name. Either the staff or someone would have to go to the Council with a name or it would be back here again. Ringstad verified that was the intent of the motion. Vote taken indicated ayes by Ringstad, Perez, nays by Lemke and Billington, Fleming abstaining. The motion failed. Fleming - I'm not saying "nay" because it's coming back to us. Everyone here knows how I feel. I will abstain. Ringstad: . Why do we need to change it from North Berens Road? Kansier responded staff is not recommending changing it, but if the Commissioners do want to change, then we would want to it correct as well. You can leave it as North Berens Road. A petition to change to McKenna was submitted. . Kansier explained two plats came in at the exact time with the same names. This street added "north" to Berens Road because it was so far along into the process. Staff gets calls regularly from the public safety agencies and 911 system telling us they do not like duplications. . Staffs suggestion is - if you want to leave it - fine, but if you want to change it, change it to something completely different. Fleming: . Asked if we send this to the Council with no name attached will they kick it back to us? Weare in no position to clarify and recommend a specific street name tonight. L:\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSION\07 MINUTES\MN072307.doc 7 Planning Commission Meeting July 23, 2007 . Councilman Erickson said he believed there was something done by the City Council a few months ago recommending the street names be assigned by staff. Before that it was part of the development process. . The Council would have the final approve however, the Council thought staff would do a better job of street naming than the Council. Lemke suggested tabling this for a couple of weeks and find out how is suppose to recommend names. Perez said he through out a couple of names like "Kenna Crossing" but didn't know ifit was acceptable for the 911 system. Kansier said it was not a duplicate and would be acceptable. MOTION BY PEREZ, SECOND BY FLEMING, RECOMMENDING TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE CHANGE STREET NAME TO "KENNA CROSSING" REPLACING "NORTH BERENS ROAD". Vote taken indicated ayes by Perez, Fleming, Billington and Ringstad - nay by Lemke. MOTION CARRIED. Kansier stated staff will take the recommendation to the City Council on August 6,2007. Kermit asked if the Planning Commission would consider changing Generation Lane to Berens Lane. The Church would really like to leave the name "Berens" on the campus. Perez asked if it would take another petition and it is still a duplication. Kansier agreed it would still be a duplication of what the City is trying to avoid. 8. Announcements and Correspondence: None 9. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m. Connie Carlson Recording Secretary L:\07 FILES\07 PLANNING COMMISSION\07 MINUTESIMN072307.doc 8 Conducted by the Planning Commission 1U{j ~ . d3 ~ The Planning Commission welcom s your comments in this matter. In fairness to all who choose to speak, we ask that, after speaking once you allow everyone to speak before you address the Commission again and limit your comments to new information. Please be aware this is the principal opportunity to provide input on this matter. Once the public hearing is closed, further testimony or comment will not be possible except under rare occasions. The City Council will not hear additional testimony when it considers this matter. Thank you. ATTENDANCE - PLEASE PRINT L:\DEPTWORK\BLANKFRM\PHSIGNUP .doc