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PC-03-06-18 CITY OF SHOREWOOD COUNCIL CHAMBERS PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 7:00 P.M. MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Chair Maddy called the meeting to order at 7:03 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: Chair Maddy; Commissioners Davis, Eggenberger, and Riedel; Planning Director Darling; and, Council Liaison Sundberg Absent: Commissioner Gorham 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Davis moved, Riedel seconded, approving the agenda for March 6, 2018, as presented. Motion passed 4/0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES  January 16, 2018 Davis moved, Riedel seconded, approving the Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of January 16, 2018, as presented. Motion passed 4/0. 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS None 4. OTHER BUSINESS A. Discuss Planning Commission Organization and 2018 Work Program Commissioner Davis nominated Dustin Maddy to serve as Chair for the Planning Commission. Commissioner Riedel nominated Sue Davis to serve as Vice-Chair. Chair Maddy and Commissioner Davis Motion passed 4/0. agreed to serve in those capacities. Chair called for a voice vote. Liaison Assignments: March – Commissioner Davis April – Commissioner Riedel May – Commissioner Eggenberger June – Chair Maddy July – Commissioner Gorham (tentatively) Planning Director Darling reviewed her suggestions for 2018 Work Program and noted that she included a suggested outline for items the Commission should discuss throughout the year. She reviewed some of her suggested discussion items and asked if the Commissioners had anything else to include. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING March 6, 2018 Page 2 of 4 Commissioner Riedel stated that outgoing Commissioner Bean had suggested that the Commission look at the accessory space rule of 1,200 sq. ft., which may fall under exterior storage. Chair Maddy agreed that it would be worth looking into. Director Darling asked if the Commission if any of the items on the list jumped out as higher priority items. Chair Maddy stated the exterior storage item jumped out at him because now there are no leaves on the trees and he can see storage units. Commissioner Riedel stated that proactive code enforcement was discussed at the last meeting and he questions whether it is in the Commissioners purview or if it should be a Council action. Planning Director Darling stated that the Commission may want to take a look at the exterior standards before looking at proactive code enforcement. Commissioner Riedel questioned whether the matter of proactive code enforcement was up to the Commission to decide and handle. Director Darling stated that it would be a City policy, but the Commission can work on what the City is looking for example, nuisance issues, but setback issues and other details won’t be able to be handled this way. Commissioner Riedel stated that there was a situation several months ago, where the applicant was applying for a variance to have the air conditioner in the side setback. There were pictures presented that showed the neighbor had the exact same violation and it was only because this applicant was applying for a building permit that they were required to comply and the neighbor was not. In his opinion, proactive code enforcement is a complicated issue. Chair Maddy agreed and stated that it may be best to leave it with the Council and have the Commission address regulations. Commissioner Riedel stated that just before Planning Director Darling started at the City, there were some code changes that suggested solar panels would be allowed with certain caveats. The one caveat that he was not comfortable with was where the language basically stated it would be approved provided the neighbors didn’t object to the glare it caused. He said that he didn’t think that was very well thought through and suggested once again taking some time to take a look at the language surrounding solar panels. Director Darling stated she will take a look at the language and add this to the Work Program for 2018. Council Liaison Sundberg asked if Planning Director Darling, with her experience coming from the City of Plymouth, saw things in our codes that should perhaps be written up or handled differently. She stated that she would welcome this kind of input from Planning Director Darling. Planning Director Darling stated that she did have a few things in mind, for example, public hearings versus public meetings. She noted, in relation to the schedule for meetings for the upcoming year, that she had included in the packet what she expects the meeting schedule will be. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING March 6, 2018 Page 3 of 4 5. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR None. 6. REPORTS • Liaison to Council Council Liaison Sundberg stated she had nothing to report. • Update on Projects Approved Director Darling stated that Minnetonka Country Club is moving into the design phase and sales appear to be going very well. She expects the City’s building division to be very busy this summer. The Starbucks is moving towards a building permit, as they have moved beyond most of the conditions put forth by the City. • Draft Next Meeting Agenda Director Darling stated that the Commission will be looking at two conditional use permits for accessory space over 1,200 sq. ft. One of these will also include a conditional use permit to bring in more than 100 yards of fill and a setback variance. There may also be a three-lot subdivision. The City has received a partial application, but it is not yet complete. Chair Maddy asked if Director Darling planned to discuss Fire Lanes at the next meeting. Director Darling stated that she needed a little more time to prepare for that discussion and suggested that the Commission may want to hold some sort of informational meeting where people can come and talk about it in more depth before there are any code amendments. She thinks there should be public testimony without having something preconceived by the Commission. She stated that the survey that was completed as part of the Comprehensive Plan showed responses that people really want more public access to the lake. She thinks there are a lot of people that don’t know the Fire Lanes are there and can provide access to pedestrians and you can launch a canoe or a kayak from these locations. Commissioner Davis asked about upcoming presentation on March 21, entitled “Does Every Road Need To Be A Runway”. She stated that when the City works on a road, Public Works Director Brown wants them to be wide and the neighborhoods fight to keep them narrower. She feels this might be an interesting presentation. Director Darling stated that this presentation is by the Sensible Land Use Coalition which is an informational group that tries to look at things from a land use perspective and is made up of planners, developers and real estate professionals. She noted the meeting will be held at Brookview in Golden Valley. Commissioner Davis and Eggenberger expressed interest in attending this presentation. Council Liaison Sundberg stated that she thought of one thing she would like to share with the Commission. She noted that she had to keep it very vague, but there is an entity that has been approved in the City and some things have come up at their other locations that are making the Council wish they had asked more questions about how they operate before approval had been given. She has taken this situation as a way to caution herself when new development comes into the City, to pay attention to past problems they may have had that could make our community look bad or even be bad for our residents. CITY OF SHOREWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING March 6, 2018 Page 4 of 4 7. ADJOURNMENT Riedel moved, Davis seconded, adjourning the Planning Commission Meeting of March 6, 2018, at 7:36 P.M. Motion passed 4/0.