12-03-14 PC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – December 3, 2014 2 REPORTS A. Planning Commission Comments and Requests Commissioner Holewa wished everyone a safe and happy holiday season. B. Report from the City Council Councilmember Holmes updated the Planning Commission on City Council activities from the November 3, 2014, Special City Council Work Session stating that representatives from United Properties were in attendance to address retail locations, market demand, and desired amenities on the TCAAP site. United Properties recommended that a minimum of 20 contiguous acres of land on the western side of the Spine Road be zoned for retail uses in order to accommodate an anchor tenant and a diversity of smaller retail businesses. The City Council was generally supportive of this recommendation. At the November 17, 2014, City Council Work Session, the third TCAAP zoning workshop with Gateway Planning was held. Brad Lonberger, Gateway Planning, presented revisions to the sections of the TCAAP Redevelopment Code (TRC) addressing street design along with open space, streetscape and landscape standards. The final workshop with Gateway Planning is scheduled for February 2, 2015, at which point a final draft of the TRC will be presented. At the November 24, 2014, Special City Council Work Session, the City Council and staff discussed possible revisions to the draft TRC to address the Council’s vision for the Hill and Creek neighborhoods on the TCAAP site. Specifically, the Council supports single-family housing with a variety of lot sizes in the two neighborhoods with overall density decreasing as development moves away from the town center area. A limited number of townhomes may be acceptable in the Hill neighborhood in specific locations. Staff will be continuing to refine these revisions to the draft zoning regulations. At the November 24, 2014, City Council Regular Meeting, the City Council approved (5-0) Planning Case 14-027, which was a Site Plan Review and Variance for the expansion of the parking lot at 1160 Grey Fox Road. In a related case, the City Council also voted to approve (5- 0) Planning Case 14-028 for a Site Plan Review and Variance for the expansion of the parking lot at 3728 Dunlap Street. The Planning Commission reviewed these two cases at their meeting on November 5, 2014. For both cases, the Planning Commission did not vote to approve or deny the request since a motion to approve and a motion to table resulted in a split vote (3-3, Holewa, Zimmerman & Bartel). Therefore, the planning cases were forwarded to the City Council with no formal recommendation from the Planning Commission. Councilmember Holmes provided the Planning Commission with an explanation of why the City Council approved the variance requests in Planning Case 14-027 and Planning Case 14-028. Councilmember Holmes informed the Planning Commission that at their November 24, 2014 meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution ordering the County Road E improvements. She provided the Commissioners with details on the project and the expected construction schedule.