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PC-09-02-14 CITY OF SHOREWOOD COUNCIL CHAMBERS PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2014 7:30 P.M. MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Chair Geng called the meeting to order at 7:31 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Geng; Commissioners Davis, Labadie, Maddy and Muehlberg; Planning Director Nielsen; and, Council Liaison Siakel Absent: None APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Geng stated it is his understanding that Item 1 a minor subdivision for the property located at 5915 Minnetonka Drive has been postponed. Because of the time he proposed first discussing Item 2 and then moving to Items 5 – 8 and discussing as many of those as possible before the first Public Hearing start time of 8:00 P.M. Davis moved, Maddy seconded, approving the agenda for September 2, 2014, as amended. Motion passed 5/0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES  August 5, 2014 Davis moved, Maddy seconded, approving the Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of August 5, 2014, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. 1. MINOR SUBDIVISION Applicant: Carl Zinn, Representing Roger Lubke Location: 5915 Minnetonka Drive This item was postponed. 2. MINOR SUBDIVISION AND COMBINATION (Lot Line Rearrangement) Applicant: Brian McConnell and Brent Hislop Location: 5990 and 6000 Strawberry Lane Chair Geng explained the Planning Commission is comprised of residents of the City of Shorewood who are serving as volunteers on the Commission. The Commissioners are appointed by the City Council. The Commission’s role is to help the City Council in determining zoning and planning issues. Any recommendation the Commission makes is advisory only. He noted that if the Commission makes a recommendation this evening, this item will go before the City Council on September 22, 2014. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING September 2, 2014 Page 2 of 8 Director Nielsen explained Brent Hislop owns the property located at 6000 Strawberry Lane and Brian McConnell owns the property located at 5990 Strawberry Lane. Mr. Hislop proposes to buy the westerly 250 feet of Mr. McConnell’s lot so they have applied for a minor subdivision and combination. Both properties are located in the R-1A, Single-Family Residential zoning district. The Hislop property currently contains 5.32 acres of land and the McConnell property contains 2.1 acres. Upon completion of the lot line rearrangement, the Hislop property will contain 6.32 acres and the McConnell property will contain 1.1 acres. Both of them will meet or exceed the R-1A zoning standards. Nielsen stated staff recommends the applicants’ request be approved subject to the following conditions. 1. The survey should be revised to show drainage and utility easements, 10 feet on each side of each lot line (some are shown as five feet). Proposed legal descriptions should be revised accordingly. 2. The applicants’ attorney must prepare deeds for the above proposed drainage and utility easements. 3. The applicants’ attorney must prepare an up-to-date (within 30 days) title opinion for review by the City Attorney. The City has already received it. 4. A public hearing has been scheduled for the September 22, 2014, City Council meeting to consider the vacation of existing easements in exchange for the new easements. Items 1-3 should be submitted by 16 September. Upon receipt of a certified copy of the resolution approving the division/combination the applicants must record the division and combination with Hennepin County within 30 days. Nielsen noted that both of the applicants were present. Commissioner Labadie asked if the up-to-date title opinion has been reviewed by the City Attorney. Director Nielsen noted it has not. Maddy moved, Davis seconded, recommending approval of the minor subdivision for Brian McConnell for the property located at 5990 Strawberry Lane and the combination of the 250 westerly feet of that property with the property located at 6000 Strawberry Lane owned by Brent Hislop as well as the easement vacations in exchange for new easements subject to the conditions recommended by staff. Motion passed 5/0. Discussion moved to Item 5 on the agenda. 3. 8:00 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING – Conditional Use Permit for Fill in Excess of 100 Cubic Yards Applicant: Peter Kapsner Location: 5905 Seamans Drive Chair Geng opened the Public Hearing at 8:00 P.M., noting the procedures used in a Public Hearing. He stated this evening the Planning Commission is going to consider a conditional use permit (C.U.P.) for fill in excess of 100 cubic yards for Peter Kapsner, 5905 Seamans Drive. He explained the Commission is comprised of residents of the City of Shorewood who are serving as volunteers on the Commission. They are appointed by the City Council. The Commission’s role is to help the City Council in determining zoning and planning issues. One of the Commission’s responsibilities is to hold public hearings and to help develop the factual record for an application and to make a non-binding recommendation to the City CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING September 2, 2014 Page 3 of 8 Council. He noted that if the Commission makes a recommendation this evening, this item will go before the City Council on September 22, 2014. Director Nielsen explained that Mr. Peter Kapsner has purchased the property located at 5905 Seamans Drive. Mr. Kapsner intends to build a new home on the property. He proposes to raise the grade on the property two to five feet over approximately the front third (or 40 percent) of the site. His intent is to raise the elevation of the portion of the property where the house will be in order to accommodate a full basement and to maintain the current easterly drainage pattern on the site. The contractor estimates that the proposed grading plan will require approximately 300 cubic yards of fill to be brought in to the site. Shorewood’s Zoning Code requires a C.U.P. for fill in excess of 100 cubic yards. The property is zoned R-1A, Single-Family Residential and contains 40,903 square feet of area. The land is bounded on its west, north and south sides by single-family residential development. The Minnetonka Country Club is located to the east. The C.U.P. process for fill/grading projects serves several purposes. It places heightened scrutiny on drainage issues and to ensure it will not create drainage issues for surrounding properties. It provides control over traffic patterns for trucks hauling fill. That is a minor issue for this request because the amount of fill that will be brought in will not be significant. And, it advises local residents of what can amount to a dramatic change in terrain. Although two to five feet of fill appears to be a lot, 300 yards is considered to be a relatively small amount and it is being placed on a relatively small portion of the site, with the deepest area being behind the home. The grading is quite gradual, except for the small area behind the house. He reviewed the City Engineer’s recommendations which are as follows.  For the building permit, the grading plan should be revised to show the contrast between existing and proposed contour lines.  A defined swale should be graded across the front of the property to conduct drainage to the north and then east across the north side of the lot. The property in general drains to the east toward the Minnetonka Country Club’s golf course.  Silt fence must be placed around the entire area affected by construction. Nielsen noted that staff recommends approval of the C.U.P. subject to the City Engineer’s recommendations. He also noted that the City received two pieces of correspondence from property owners to the south of the subject property expressing concern about the potential negative impact on drainage on their property. He then noted that Mr. Kapsner was present. Chair Geng stated the grading plan does not show the drainage away from the rear of the proposed house. Director Nielsen explained the drainage will flow east from there the same way as it does now. Peter Kapsner, owner of the property located at 5905 Seamans Drive, stated based on discussions he had with Director Nielsen and the Building Official he thought there were three main issues that had to be addressed related to the fill. One was not to build a house on a hump. Their intent is to build a house so the property will look somewhat the same. They want to build a full basement so they have a place to go during severe weather yet do as minimal amount of raising height as possible and to make the increase in grade gradual. The second was related to the quality of the fill. The builder’s intent is to bring in clean, CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING September 2, 2014 Page 4 of 8 clay-based fill. The third issue was to ensure drainage flows to the north and then east; similar to how it flows today. They are committed to ensuring there is no negative drainage impact on their neighbors. Commissioner Davis stated the proposed driveway has a 4.5 percent slope paved toward the south. Director Nielsen noted there will be a swale on that side as well and the Engineer wants that to connect to the swale on the north. Davis asked if that means there will be drainage under the driveway. Nielsen stated there may have to be a culvert there. Chair Geng opened the Public Testimony Portion of the Public Hearing at 8:11 P.M. Karen Coune, 5935 Seamans Drive, noted her property is located to the south of Mr. Kapsner’s property. She stated that she and her husband did have questions about drainage and the quality of the fill. They had been provided with a copy of the staff report. She noted she was pleased to hear Mr. Kapsner say he was committed to being a good neighbor and to being careful with his property. She expressed confidence that their issues have been discussed and addressed by staff and the applicant. Chair Geng closed the Public Testimony Portion of the Public Hearing at 8:13 P.M. Commissioner Davis stated the plans appear to address drainage across the front of the driveway but not off the actual driveway down from the garage. She would like that to be a condition of approval. Labadie moved, Maddy seconded, recommending approval of the conditional use permit for fill in excess of 100 cubic yards for Peter Kapsner for the property he owns located at 5905 Seamans Drive subject to the City Engineer’s recommendations and to all drainage concerns being addressed to the City Engineer’s satisfaction. Motion passed 5/0. Chair Geng closed the Public Hearing at 8:19 P.M. 4. 8:10 P.M. PUBLIC HEARING – Conditional Use Permit for Accessory Space over 1200 Square Feet Applicant: Linda and Louis Tilton Location: 5620 Covington Road Chair Geng opened the Public Hearing at 8:20 P.M., and noted the same procedures used for the previous Public Hearing will be followed again. He stated this evening the Planning Commission is going to consider a conditional use permit (C.U.P.) for accessory space over 1200 square feet for Linda and Louis Tilton, 5620 Covington Road. Director Nielsen explained Linda and Louis Tilton own the property at 5620 Covington Road. They propose to build an attached garage on the north side of their home. That addition, when combined with the floor area of other accessory structures on the property, puts the property in excess of 1200 square feet of accessory space. That requires them to obtain a C.U.P. in accordance with Section 1201.03 Subd.2.d. of the City’s Zoning Code. The applicants’ architect’s letter dated August 5, 2014 stated the applicants would like to keep an existing nonconforming old garage/carriage house located on the east end of the property as well as a small shed. When there is a nonconforming structure a property owner cannot exceed 1200 square feet of accessory space. Section 1201.03 Subd. 2.d.(4)(e) of the Shorewood Zoning Code provides for the preservation of structures with “historic, cultural and/or architectural value”. If that structure would be classified as such the nonconformity of the structure would not be counted against the applicants. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING September 2, 2014 Page 5 of 8 The subject property contains 54,901 square feet of area and is zoned R-1A/S, Single-Family Residential Shoreland. There is a significant grade change on the property from Covington Road down to the shoreline of Christmas Lake. The site is occupied by the Tilton’s home, the garage/carriage house, and a shed located to the west of the house. According to the architect, the house contains 4630 square feet of floor area in two and a half stories above grade. The existing garage/carriage house contains 1242 square feet of floor area in one and a half stories. The proposed garage will have 1032 square feet on the main level with a 576 square-foot room above. The shed on the west side of the property contains 252 square feet, for a total of 3102 square feet of floor area. Upon completion of the new garage, impervious surface on the site will reach 23.3 percent of the site area; 25 percent is the maximum. He noted the meeting packet contains photographs of the existing buildings. Nielsen reviewed how the applicants’ request complies with the four criteria in Section 1201.03 Subd. 2.d.(4) of the City’s Zoning Code. 1. The total area of accessory space (3102 square feet) does not exceed the floor area above grade of the home (4630 square feet). 2. The total area of accessory space does not exceed ten percent of the minimum lot size for the R- 1A/S zoning district (.10 x 40,000 = 4000 square feet). 3. The old garage/carriage house is nonconforming with respect to its height and its setback from the property line. The structure actually encroaches onto the Covington Road right-of-way. The height of the building is mitigated somewhat by the fact that the building is tucked into the hillside. From the street it appears to be a one-story structure. The two-story side facing west is well hidden from surrounding properties. The shed does not comply with the lakeshore setback for Christmas Lake. It is 33 feet from the shoreline, whereas 75 feet is required. While nonconforming structures have been afforded certain protections under recent state legislation, the City is not required to allow the expansion of nonconformities (in this case the total amount of accessory space). The applicants have cited the provisions of Section 1201.03 Subd. 2.d.(4)(e) as justification for retaining the old buildings. In 2007, the City adopted an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan setting forth its intention to recognize and preserve special structures in Shorewood. This was followed by an amendment to the zoning regulations, providing for the preservation of certain nonconforming structures that have historical, architectural, or cultural significance. The Tiltons believe their buildings are consistent with the criteria for keeping such structures. a. The applicants have submitted aerial photos dating back to 1956 which show the subject buildings. The scale of these photos is somewhat small and do not lend themselves well to photocopying. The letter from their architect attests to the approximate age of the garage/carriage house and its historic and cultural value. The same case could be made for the construction and architectural detail (timber peg framing, etc.) of the shed which Ms. Tilton had noted is shown in the 1956 photo. They also submitted copies of photographs published in a 1922 House and Garden Magazine article titled The Summer Camp about the structures. b. The architect advises in his letter that the garage/carriage house is structurally sound. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING September 2, 2014 Page 6 of 8 c. Based upon the material submitted the garage/carriage house could qualify under more than one of the criteria set forth in the code (i.e. historic and cultural). The Tiltons’ background material provides good evidence to that effect. d. An ad hoc committee made up of Kris Sundberg (Council), Sue Davis (Planning Commission), and Justin Mangold (Park Commission), reviewed the material submitted by the applicants and voted unanimously to recommend to the Planning Commission that the property satisfied the historic preservation provisions of the Zoning Code. e. If the structures are found to have satisfied the criteria, a brief development agreement should be drafted, setting forth the applicants’ right to keep the buildings in question and their responsibility to maintain them in good condition. Repairs or alterations to the structures should be consistent with its current style, character and materials. 4. The proposed garage is very much in keeping with the existing buildings on the property. Nielsen stated he thought the applicants have done a good job demonstrating that the garage/carriage house is consistent with the City’s intent and with its current Code requirements and that staff recommends approval of the C.U.P. He noted the City received twelve pieces of written correspondence from people familiar with the history and culture of the Christmas Lake area all saying they support what the applicants are proposing. He reiterated staff should be directed to draft a development agreement, pursuant to paragraph 3.e. above approving the C.U.P. The agreement should be recorded with Hennepin County within 30 days of the adoption of the resolution approving the C.U.P. Nielsen noted that the Tiltons were present. Linda Tilton, 5620 Covington Road, noted they also had obtained a copy of photographs from the University of Minnesota from the 1940s which also showed the carriage house and the shed. The shed is more visible when the photographs are viewed online than on a printed copy. Commissioner Maddy asked if the intent is to deem both the carriage house and the shed historic. Director Nielsen stated yes and explained that the shed fits the same elements as the carriage house and it has some architectural features. Ms. Tilton thanked the ad hoc committee for taking the time to look at photos and listen to what she had to say, and for staff’s efforts. Chair Geng stated the Tiltons did a nice job of getting people to send correspondence of support to the City. Seeing no one present to comment on the case, Chair Geng opened and closed the Public Testimony portion of the Public Hearing at 8:34 P.M. Chair Geng thanked the members of the ad hoc committee. He stated it is his recollection that this is the third time that the preservation ordinance has come into play. Commissioner Maddy stated he finds the request to be a little bit awkward being two structures on the parcel are considered to have some historical, architectural, or cultural significance yet the main structure does not and because the applicants want to add a two-story attached garage. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING September 2, 2014 Page 7 of 8 Louis Tilton, 5620 Covington Road, stated the garage/carriage house is located approximately 300 feet from their house. They would drive up to the house and park outside rather than walk that distance over the last 25 plus years they lived there. The proposed attached garage addition will allow them to park close to their home and park inside. Commissioner Maddy stated if the current house is a gem itself then attaching a garage to look kind of like the house but taller than the house seems a bit off. Mr. Tilton clarified it would not be taller than the house. There is a part of the house that is taller. Mr. Tilton stated part of the reason they teamed up with the architect they did was to make the proposed garage look as if it was always there. Commissioner Maddy noted that he is satisfied with the explanation. Davis moved, Muehlberg seconded, recommending approval of the conditional use permit for accessory space over 1200 square feet for Linda and Louis Tifton, 5620 Covington Road, and directing staff to draft a development agreement, pursuant to paragraph 3.e. in the staff report, subject to the agreement being recorded with Hennepin County within 30 days of the adoption of the resolution approving the C.U.P. Motion passed 5/0. Chair Geng closed the Public Hearing at 8:39 P.M. P.M. Discussion moved to Item 9 on the agenda. 5. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR This was discussed after Item 2 on the agenda. There were no matters from the floor presented this evening. 6. OLD BUSINESS / NEW BUSINESS Director Nielsen noted that during its August 25, 2014, meeting Council adopted the noise ordinance subject to changing two items. The hour refuse hauling could begin was changed to 7:00 A.M. from 6:00 A.M. (the current start time). The allowable hours for domestic activities on Sunday and public holidays were changed to between 8:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. The hours proposed had been between 8:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. Chair Geng stated he assumes there was no need for the Planning Commission to again discuss the ordinance based on the City of Excelsior’s hours of operation which was what the Commission talked about during its last meeting. Director Nielsen stated he thought changing the start time for refuse hauling makes it consistent with Excelsior and Council must have thought the hours were consistent enough with Excelsior’s. Director Nielsen noted that refuse haulers have until November 1, 2014, to adjust their start time. Commissioner Muehlberg asked if changing the start time hour for refuse haulers has a major impact on the haulers. Nielsen stated that a 7:00 A.M. start time is quite common. Chair Geng stated he assumes the rest of the ordinance would go into effect upon publication. Director Nielsen confirmed that. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING September 2, 2014 Page 8 of 8 7. DRAFT NEXT MEETING AGENDA Director Nielsen stated tonight’s Item 1 could potentially be considered during the Planning Commission’s October 7, 2014, meeting. The Commission will likely do its walk of the potential Smithtown Road east walkway/trail that evening so the meeting will start earlier because of the diminishing daylight. He will put a study session item on the agenda as well. 8. REPORTS • Liaison to Council No report was given. • SLUC • Other Chair Geng recessed the meeting at 7:47 P.M. Chair Geng reconvened the meeting at 8:00 P.M. Discussion commenced on Item 3 on the agenda, the 8:00 P.M. public hearing. 9. ADJOURNMENT Maddy moved, Davis seconded, Adjourning the Planning Commission Meeting of September 2, 2014, at 8:40 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder