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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-07-12 CC Handout4 Stantec 2335 Highway 36 West, St. Paul MN 55113 Memorandum DATE: July 12, 2017 TO: Centerville City Council FROM: Phil Carlson, AICP, Stantec, Senior Planner; and Mark Statz, P.E., City Engineer RE: Peltier Estates - Rezoning and Preliminary Plat lflhrodu IIa� � & Sur"rur"fTaly all� �ddIa� �s Todd Christianson has applied for a rezoning and preliminary plat for Peltier Estates, fronting 20th Avenue in the NE corner of the City. Summary information and recommendations are as follows, which are detailed later in this memorandum. 1) Requests. Two requests are being considered - a rezoning and a preliminary plat. Although applied for together, the requests should be acted on separately - at separate meetings if the Council wishes. An amendment to the Comprehensive Plan is not needed. 2) Rezoning. I recommend approval of the rezoning to R -2A High Density Single -Family Residential from R-1 /Rural Residential. 3) Comp Plan. The City's Comprehensive Plan guides the property for Low/Medium Density Residential. The R -2A zoning district is clearly a low density residential district. Basic planning policy and practice is that the zoning should follow the comprehensive plan and this request accomplishes that. 4) 60 -Day Rule -Rezoning. Per State statute, the rezoning application must be acted on within 60 days of the date of application, June 2, 2017. That deadline expires August 1, 2017. If the Council does not act on the request tonight it could: a. Continue the item to a City Council meeting before August 1 for a decision. b. Continue the item and instruct staff to inform the applicant in writing that the City is extending the deadline an additional 60 days as allowed under State statute because the Council wishes to have more time to discuss and decide the issue. c. I recommend extending the deadline so that the Council can act at a later date. ua ° ign W11,1h c orni°yluurilhliin rni ir1 July 12, 2017 Centerville City Council Page 2 of 7 Peltier Estates - Rezoning and Plat 5) 120 -Day Rule - Plat. Per State statute, the preliminary plat application must be acted on within 120 days of the date of application, June 2, 2017. That deadline expires September 29, 2017. The plat application is missing significant information and analysis, and is not ready for consideration or a decision. The Planning Commission passed a recommendation to the City Council (see below), which I recommend the City Council accept, but take no action on the plat. There is time within this 120 -day window to review and decide on the preliminary plat. 6) Informal Plat Review. As was discussed extensively at the meeting and in our memos to the Planning Commission, we don't have all the information needed to make a recommendation on the plan. There are significant issues to resolve. If the Council wishes to discuss the plat informally with the applicant, that is their choice. Such discussion may help the applicant address some of the issues, but we would caution that there may be information in the analysis yet to be done that could influence the design of the plat. I suggest the City Council schedule another workshop meeting at a later date with the applicant once there is more information to share. 7) Current plat submittal. As discussed here and in previous memoranda, we would recommend denial of the plat as currently submitted, due to incomplete information submitted, lots being placed on delineated wetlands, and the creation of several substandard lots with little or no rear yard that is outside of wetlands. Rather than deny the plat, we suggest the process above, discussing the plat at a later date once we have more information. a a,IIhIIhIIIIh;a rrIIYrrIIrrli h AcIIIIaI°h Ja„ IIy 11, 2017 The Planning Commission voted to send a message or statement to the City Council, not quite a recommendation, on the rezoning and preliminary plat. My paraphrase of the motion is: Planning Commission moves to send a statement to the City Council on the Peltier Estates rezoning and plat applications that R -2A zoning is acceptable on the property when accompanied by a low density concept plan. The Commission prefers a cul-de-sac versus a through street and requests all lots have adequate building pads plus rear yard space that are upland, not wetland. The recommendation assumes all engineering and stormwater related issues are reviewed and approved by the City Engineer. (Passed 4-1) The Planning Commission's motion is generalized and points to a number of basic issues that need to be resolved before the plat can be reviewed in detail. Bringing it up for substantive discussion does not seem to serve a purpose at this point. Dr",;,iii W1II1I cra i t uUll 1y i i nfiirld �, July 12, 2017 Centerville City Council Page 3 of 7 Peltier Estates - Rezoning and Plat r°;rllhllhlllltg & II tga llwerlI tg Ilss,u s Comprehensive Plan The City's Comprehensive Plan (Growth Management Plan) guides the property for Low/Medium Density Residential (yellow on the map below). The R -2A zoning district is clearly a low density residential district. Rezoning the property to match the City's Comprehensive Plan is appropriate and reasonable. ONWhal Mrosay,Rau 1, I MXMI1 U0,0 wMeW WOO 00 1. I: pook WOO pl n MR now Zoning The property is now zoned R-1 Rural Residential, because it is largely vacant and City services have not been extended into it: Proposed Peffler Estates pllat Dr",;,iii W1II1I crrl i t uUlI 1y i i nfiirld �, July 12, 2017 Centerville City Council Page 4 of 7 Peltier Estates - Rezoning and Plat Low/Medium density The R -2A District is low -medium density and is appropriate for this property, assuming it is connected to City sewer and water. It should be noted that much of the yellow "Low/Medium Density" on the Comprehensive Plan map is zoned R -2A, and some of it R-2. There was discussion and some confusion at the Planning Commission meeting because the R -2A district has the phrase "High Density" in its title (an unfortunate choice of words in my opinion). It is high density among Centerville's single-family zoning districts but is not high density compared to Centerville's other residential zoning districts or as that is understood in common planning practice. The minimum lot size in the R -2A district is 11,500 sq ft, placing it at the larger, less dense end of the range of single family zoning generally. Many cities have single-family lots sizes of 5,000 sq ft and smaller and are still considered low density residential zoning. Wetlands A critical issue for this plat are the wetlands on site, colored in on the map below: CON AN The Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) will need to approve any alterations to the wetlands on site. There are considerable encroachments proposed, including for the new road through the property and for two of the home lots. It is unlikely RCWD will approve these encroachments for the two lots, and the schedule for review by RCWD will likely not be complete until late September. Dr",;,iii W1II1I crrl i t uUll 1y i i nfiirld �, July 12, 2017 Centerville City Council Page 5 of 7 Peltier Estates - Rezoning and Plat Lot size and rear yards Regardless of RCWD handling of the wetlands, the City has a responsibility to review and approve plats that create buildable, livable lots. Of the 17 lots proposed in the initial plat, two of the lots have their building pads in wetlands and another three lots have little or no backyard outside the wetlands (home pads outlined in red below). The wetlands would be protected by an easement in the plat and a homeowner may not build a shed, swimming pool, or otherwise disturb a wetland. Having no back yard is not just an inconvenience for the homeowner but it creates an enforcement and maintenance problem for City Public Works when owners place landscaping or structures in the wetlands. The Planning Commission discussed requiring at least a 30' to 40' deep rear yard on upland for all lots. We believe a plan is possible for the site that proposes almost as many lots but respects as much wetland as possible, and provides adequate rear yards. OMI Grading & stormwater management Grading the lots is connected to how runoff is handled and overall stormwater management, which is a significant issue to these future residents as well as existing property owners in the area. Those issues have not been analyzed in depth yet, and are important both to the City and RCWD. Sewer & water City sewer and water connections will need to be designed and analyzed. Dr",;,iii W1IIGI crrl i t uU11 1y i i nfiirld �, July 12, 2017 Centerville City Council Page 6 of 7 Peltier Estates - Rezoning and Plat Street connection & alignment The plat proposes a through street connecting 20th Avenue on the east with Brian Drive, an existing cul-de-sac on the southwest edge of the property. At the Planning Commission public hearing there was considerable discussion of maintaining the cul-de-sac vs. a through street connection, and the previous assumption on whether Brian Drive was intended to be extended through this property. One can sympathize with the current neighbors who do not want a through street built on their street, but the larger context is important to consider. As can be seen in the map below, the platted right-of-way lines for Brian Drive show that it was intended to go through some day, as does the City's transportation and street plan, regardless of temporary construction of a cul-de-sac turnaround. Comparing the two dead-end streets below, one can see the large platted bulb of right-of-way for Deer Pass Drive, below to the right, pulled back from the adjacent property, and the narrow straight street right-of-way lines for Brian Drive, abutting directly the adjacent property to the north. There was also discussion of Rice Creek Watershed District policy not allowing wetland disturbance for a cul-de-sac vs. a through street. Until that is resolved through RCWD the applicant and the City Council cannot know the final shape of this plat. Dr",;,iii W1IIGI crrl i t uUlI 1y i i nfiirld �, July 12, 2017 Centerville City Council Page 7 of 7 Peltier Estates - Rezoning and Plat County access permit to 20th Avenue The property fronts on 20th Avenue, which is a County road and an access permit is required from the Anoka County. While we believe the request is reasonable and likely to be approved, there may be issues the County will consider in locating access to its road. City staff and consultants are interested in helping this landowner and developer get approval for a successful project. We support the rezoning, but there is more information and work to do before a final plat can be reviewed and approved. Dr",;,iii W1IIGI crrl i t uU11 1y i i nfiirld �,