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PC-08-01-17 CITY OF SHOREWOOD COUNCIL CHAMBERS PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2017 7:00 P.M. MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Chair Maddy called the meeting to order at 7:01 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Maddy; Commissioners Bean, Davis, Riedel and Sylvester; Planning Director Darling; and, Council Liaison Johnson Absent: None APPROVAL OF AGENDA Davis moved, Riedel seconded, approving the agenda for August 1, 2017, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES  July 18, 2017 Bean moved, Riedel seconded, approving the Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of July 18, 2017, as presented. Motion passed 4/0/1 with Davis abstaining due to her absence at the meeting. 1. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chair Maddy 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. 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 Council. The recommendation is advisory only. A. Conditional Use Permit and Lot Width Variance for a Substandard Lot in the Shoreland District Applicant: Mark and Karleen Leslie Location: 28241 Boulder Circle Chair Maddy opened the Public Hearing at 7:02 P.M. He explained this evening the Planning Commission is going to consider a conditional use permit (C.U.P.) and lot width variance for the property located at 28241 Boulder Circle. Director Darling explained Mark and Karleen Leslie own the property located at 28241 Boulder Circle just west of the intersection of Boulder Circle and Smithtown Road. The applicants propose to remove the existing single-family home, attached garage, and accessory building (a play house) and construct a new home and attached garage on their property. The adjacent properties are all developed with single family homes. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING August 1, 2017 Page 2 of 5 The applicants’ property does not conform to the lot area (40,000 square feet) and lot width (120 feet) requirements of the R-1A/S Single-Family Residential/Shoreland zoning district. The existing home does not conform to the required shoreland setbacks. The shoreland section of the Zoning Code requires a C.U.P. for redevelopment of substandard lots that abut the shoreline and are within 70 percent of the requirements of the zoning district. With regard to the analysis about substandard lots of record, Darling explained Section 1201.03 Subd. 2.c.(3) of the Shorewood Zoning Code provides criteria for building on a substandard lot of record. The Code states that a lot is considered to be buildable if it complies with the criteria listed in the ordinance and discussed in the staff report. With regard to the analysis about variances, she explained Section 1201.05 Subd. 2.b of the Shorewood Zoning Code sets forth criteria for the consideration of variance requests. She reviewed how the applicant’s request conforms to the criteria for variances. Darling noted staff recommends granting approval of the applicants’ request for a lot-width variance and a C.U.P. Kristy Raash, with Alexander Design Group, noted she was present to answer any questions the Planning Commission may have. Seeing no one present to comment on the case, Chair Maddy opened and closed the Public Testimony portion of the Public Hearing at 7:07 P.M. Commissioner Bean asked if Boulder Circle was platted at the same time as Boulder Bridge. Someone responded it was before that. Bean stated there may be several nonconforming lots in terms of width in that immediate area. He questioned what kind of precedent may be set if this application is approved. Director Darling explained she thought most of the lots may be substandard yet most of them would meet the 70 percent of the lot area and width requirements. She stated a variance precedent is challenging because no two circumstances are exactly equal. Bean noted his question was more about general interest than this particular application. Bean noted he thought what has been proposed would be an improvement over the current situation. Commissioner Sylvester concurred. Bean moved, Sylvester seconded, recommending approval of the lot-width variance and conditional use permit for Mark and Karleen Leslie, 28241 Boulder Circle. Motion passed 5/0. Director Darling noted Council will consider this item during its August 28 meeting. Chair Maddy closed the Public Hearing at 7:10 P.M. B. Consider Zoning Code Text Amendments Regarding Home Occupation Regulations and Definitions Chair Maddy opened the Public Hearing at 7:10 P.M. He explained this evening the Planning Commission is going to consider Zoning Code text amendments pertaining to home occupation regulations and definitions. Director Darling explained the text amendments the Commission is being asked to consider are intended to clarify the City’s intent to minimize the impact home occupations have on a surrounding CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING August 1, 2017 Page 3 of 5 neighborhood. Most of the revised language concerns parking and how many people come to a residential property. Staff proposes an amendment to the definition of home occupation which adds two definitions; one for Commercial Trailer and the other for Commercial Vehicle. Both definitions acknowledge that if the vehicle or trailer is used for a home occupation they are considered commercial and must be stored on the property in conformance with the rules for home occupation parking. Staff has proposed clarifying the rules for parking to indicate the property must maintain at least two parking spaces that meet the required setback. The setback varies from 35 to 50 feet. Also, all of the superfluous language was removed from the parking rules so that it is clear that all parking for home occupations shall occur on the existing driveway. The codes are also written to set an upper limit for the number of people that can come to the property per day. Under the current code, for professional offices and teaching one person at a time is allowed but there is no limit on the total number that can come during one day. Darling noted the requirements now list examples of home occupations that would be prohibited. She stated she has had problems with pet care/ boarding services in the past but noted there is an example of a pet boarding business in Shorewood that has had no issues. She suggested the Commission review the lists and decide if it wants to add to or remove businesses from the lists. Darling also noted the City did receive a letter regarding the proposed changes to home occupation regulations. Seeing no one present to comment on the case, Chair Maddy opened and closed the Public Testimony portion of the Public Hearing at 7:17 P.M. In response to a question from Commissioner Riedel, Director Darling explained the permitting process for a special home occupation follows the same process as a conditional use permit (C.U.P.) except the approval is not recorded to the property and the permit is not transferable to another person who purchases the property. Riedel asked if the permit is indefinite in duration. Darling explained the first special home occupation permit lasts for one year. After that a person can apply for a three-year permit. The Planning Commission would have to hold a public hearing on the permit application and Council would then have to approve it. There was Planning Commission consensus to change in the proposed definitions for commercial trailer and commercial vehicle “… used for occupation or enterprise that is carried on for profit by the owner, lessee, or licensee …” to “… used for occupation or enterprise by the owner, lessee, or licensee …”. Commissioner Sylvester asked why the City has strict limits on the number of commercial trailers or vehicles that can be stored on a residential property yet has no limit for personal trailers or vehicles. Director Darling stated she thought it was to reduce the impact of the home occupation on the neighborhood; it would help keep the properties looking like residential properties and not commercial properties. Commissioner Davis stated this topic has been discussed a few times by previous Commissions. She thought it prudent to make the language as specific as possible. She cited the example of a landscaping business and equipment being stored on a residential property. After discussion the Commission did not recommend any changes to the proposed additions and clarifications under Subd. 12.d.(1) General Provisions. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING August 1, 2017 Page 4 of 5 After discussion there was Commission consensus, in Subd. 12.d.(2)(c) change “… no more than one pupil at a time …” to “… no more than one client/pupil at a time …”. After discussion there was Commission consensus, in Subd. 12.(d).(3)(d)(ii) change “… no more than one day per week, unless further limited by the City Council …” to “… no more than one day per week, unless approved otherwise by the City Council …”. After discussion there was Commission consensus, in Subd. 12.d.(4)(a) to change “… Auto repair, whether for consideration or not …” to ”… Auto repair …” and to also address it under residential regulations. There was also consensus to remove proposed Subd. 12.d.(4)(b) limiting the number of clients/pupils and number of occurrences because it is redundant to other language in Subd. 12.d.(2) and Subd. 12.d.(3). There was also consensus to remove Subd. 12.d.(4)(c) regarding pet car/boarding facilities and to include that in the animal ordinance. There was no objection to adding the word special before home occupation permit in Subd. 12.f. Inspection. Commissioner Riedel stated with regard to the letter written to the City regarding home occupations he asked Director Darling to comment on what the individual objected to. In the letter it states they thought they had been the subject of a witch hunt and that they think the amendments are specifically directed at them. Darling stated she thought the proposed amendments are more general than that and noted the City has received quite a few complaints about parking for that person’s home occupation. That occupation is a cleaning service. Chair Maddy stated based on his experience there are a lot of landscapers and mechanics that do worse than a cleaning service. Maddy noted he does not think the amendments are directed at any one person. Commissioner Davis asked if the business owner has a number of vehicles. Darling confirmed that. Davis asked if the proposed language regarding vehicles would address that. Darling stated there is a limit to the number of commercial vehicles that could be parked on the property for a limited home occupation. She stated language could be added under special home occupations if the Commission thought it would be okay for Council to add more under certain circumstances. Maddy stated he did not think the limit needs to be increased in a residential area. Commissioners Bean and Davis concurred with Maddy’s comment. Commissioner Sylvester stated when Council considers the proposed amendments she asked if the resident who wrote the letter would have an opportunity to bring their concerns up before Council. Director Darling confirmed that and noted it would be a public meeting. Chair Maddy stated if the Commission recommends approval of the proposed amendments subject to the changes it proposed he asked when the amendments would be considered by Council. Director Darling stated on August 14. Bean moved, Sylvester seconded, recommending approval of the proposed ordinance amending the Zoning Code as it pertains to home occupation regulations in Subd. 1201.02 and 1201.03 Subd.12 subject to the following changes: 1)in the proposed definitions for commercial trailer and commercial vehicle change “… used for occupation or enterprise that is carried on for profit by the owner, lessee, or licensee …” to “… used for occupation or enterprise by the owner, lessee, or licensee …”; 2) in Subd. 12.d.(2)(c) change “… no more than one pupil at a time …” to “… no more than one client/pupil at a time …”; 3) in Subd. 12.(d).(3)(d)(ii) change “… no more than one day per week, unless further limited by the City Council …” to “… no more than one day per week, unless approved otherwise by the City Council …”; 4) in Subd. 12.d.(4)(a) change “… Auto repair, whether ” to ”… repair …” and to also address it under residential for consideration or not, …Auto CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING August 1, 2017 Page 5 of 5 regulations; 5) remove Subd. 12.d.(4)(b) in its entirety; and, 5) remove Subd. 12.d.(4)(c) in its entirety and include the language in the animal ordinance. Motion passed 5/0. Chair Maddy closed the Public Hearing at 7:59 P.M. 2. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR 3. REPORTS • Liaison to Council Council Liaison Johnson stated Council’s consideration of the Starbuck’s proposal was delayed on July 24 because the developer had a family emergency. He reported on Council’s discussion during its July 10 nd meeting about the setback variance request for Court and Susan Queen, 27180 West 62 Street (as detailed in the minutes of that meeting). Council ultimately granted the additional six feet of variance for the portico as opposed to the four feet recommended by the Planning Commission. Chair Maddy stated during the July 24 Council meeting he was asked what the definition of a wharf was. The dictionary states a wharf is a solid dock that is either parallel or at an angle to a shipping way where a boat can pull alongside of and either load or unload. • Other – Update on Projects Approved • SLUC Chair Maddy noted he is going to attend the next Sensible Land Use Coalition session scheduled for August 30. Director Darling stated it is titled Baby Boomers versus Millennials: Who will impact the future of development? Commissioner Davis stated she would also like to attend it. Maddy stated he thought that will impact Shorewood greatly over the next 30 years. • Draft Next Meeting Agenda Director Darling stated there are more Zoning Code amendments slated for the September 19, 2017, Planning Commission meeting. 4. ADJOURNMENT Riedel moved, Davis seconded, adjourning the Planning Commission Meeting of August 1, 2017, at 8:06 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder