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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 09-10 PC PACKETCTTY.OFGEM LAKE, MN City Hall_- 4200 Otter. Lake Road Gem Lake; MN 55110-3763 Telephone 651-747-2790 E-mail Cityna gemlakeMN.org To: Planning Commission, City Council, and Mayor Uzpen From: Craig Rafferty, Planning Commission Chair I 711-tilmIm GEM LAKE PLANNING COMMISION AGENDA, Sept. 7, 2010. Place: Heritage Hall 1. Call to Order at 7PM. 2. Review and Approval of August 2010 Meeting Minutes 3. Public Hearing CUP 1577Cty Rd E • Owners Sally Ackerman and Giorgi Gochitashvili 4. Public Hearing Hunting Ordinance 5. Other Business Look for us on the World Wide Web at gemlakemn.org CITY OF GEM LAKE, MN 4200 Otter Lake Road _ r Gem Lake, MN 55110-3227 Telephone 651-747-2790 E-mail CityngemlakeMN.orQ Gem Lake Planning Commission Meeting 3 August 2010 The regular meeting of the Planning Commission of Gem Lake was called to order by Chairman Craig Rafferty on Tuesday. August 3, 2010 at 7:03 p.m. in the Gem Lake City Hall conference room. The following members were present: Chairman Craig Rafferty, Planning Commissioner Beth Herzog, Commissioner Dan Marier, Commissioner Derek Wippich, and alternative Commissioner Arthur Pratt. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND MEETING MINUTES Planning Commission Agenda: Chairman Rafferty asked for any changes, deletions or added agenda items. None was given, so proceeded to move forward with the meeting. l Planning Commission Minutes: Chairman Rafferty called to approve the June Planning Commission meeting minutes. The June Planning Commission minutes were discussed and upon motion by Commissioner Herzog and seconded by Chairman Marier, the May minutes were approved. Ayes — 3, Nays — 0. PUBLIC HEARINGS Public Hearing — Wind Towers Ordinance Number 121: The ordinance refers to the Wind Energy Conversions Systems (WECS) with the City of Gem Lake. Copies were received by the Planning Commission. It is a residential ordinance for facilities within the city. The Planning Commission went through the ordinance and read the ordinance to the public. It will be required to provide a site plan to scale when requesting a license. The license will be three years. Has to be at code for electrical, sounds decimal and the height of the tower has to comply with Federal and Aviation .Air. The tower has to be controlled and limited so children will not be climbing on it. There was some discussion on the setback of the tower, and also the ten kilowatts versus 40 kilowatts. Public Hearing opened at 7:15 p.m. j Gem Lake Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 of 4 It was suggested that the tower be a self supporting tower versus guide towers. The section called the test tower to serve before the final tower is put in. Can have a test tower for two years. It is the best interest of the residents having the tower and also benefits the community. Public Hearing closed at 7:21 p.m. The Planning Commission will forward this ordinance to the City Council with the following changes to the ordinance: 1. Increase kilowatts from 10 to 40 2. Need clarification of renewal license 3. Term of license from three years to five years 4. Self supporting tower 5. Test tower increase from eighteen months to twenty-four months 6. Combine point number six a and b. Upon motion by Commissioner Wippich and seconded by Commissioner Marier, will send forward to the City Council with the changes noted. Ayes — 4, Nays — 0. CUP 1577 County Road E: The information was submitted too late to place the notice in the White Bear Press, so this is not a public hearing this evening. Will reschedule the meeting at the September meeting. The owners Sally Ackerman and Giorgi Gochitashvili gave a short presentation of the plans to open a small up -scale dealership. They are not making changes to the existing building and the owners will run a small dealership in the existing car wash building. They are waiting for the approval of the City of Gem Lake zoning for the car dealership to be in the car wash building and would like to remove the underground tanks. They want to have around twenty cars to be inside the building with office space and also a detail shop in back of the building. When the building is gutted there will be twenty-six feet of space. They would like to put a deli and a retail store in the other building on the property. Plan on painting the exterior of the building and doing landscaping. They are planning on doing this as a two step process. Chairman Rafferty explained the letter that was submitted to the Planning Commission regarding complaints about the history of problems regarding the property from the former tenants. Commissioner Herzog encouraged them to move forward and put a business on that property again. Chairman Rafferty is interesting in getting the zoning put through. The convenience store might require another conditional use permit and zoning. The owners have been working with Tom Riedesel from White Bear Township. Public Hearing on Hunting Ordinance: The hunting ordinance was discussed by the Planning Commission, stating that the hunting permit shall be a three week permit for discharge of a weapon. The Planning Commission looked over the ordinance and there was discussion on the wordage of the target archery. They feel that the definition of a reasonable distance needs to be defined better. Look for us on the World Wide Web at gemlakeran.org Gem Lake Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 of 4 Commission Marier suggested striking the second sentence on Section 4.2 — Target Archery. Open Public Hearing at 7:55 p.m. Tom B. does a lot of bow hunting and feels this ordinance is an anti -hunting ordinance. He went through the bow hunting part of the ordinance to give his view points. He would like to request different provisions on bow hunting and firearm hunting. He is part of the DNR and has hunted on state land, city property and private land. Because of the wordage of the ordinance, the landowner would have to have an agreement with an attorney to let hunters hunt on their land. Laws for this have already been established by the state. Land owners can call the state to let them know that they will allow hunting on their property. He suggested following the state law that is already in place for bow and firearms hunting. Bow hunting season is from September 15t" to December 31st. He feels the permit should comply with state law. A written permit from the city would have to specify what the permit will say as it will be questioned by the land owners. Tom gave his notes to the Planning Commission to look over and will talk to the Hunting Association to see if there are any good hunting ordinances to copy from. The Planning Commission stated they need a hunting ordinance that can be enforced by the Sheriff department for the City of Gem Lake. The Planning Commission decided to re -discuss and will report to the City Council to continue this discussion. Upon motion by Commissioner Herzog and seconded by Commissioner Marier, it was decided to table this ordinance for discussion. Ayes — 4, Nays — 0. Public Hearing closed at 8:26 p.m. Letter to City from Kunins and Hoeschlers challenging Five Acre Estate Zoning Language: The Planning Commission received a letter from the Kunins and the Hoeschlers regarding the zoning code in the April Planning Commission meeting and feel that their two properties are the only two affected. Mr. Jack Hoeschler spoke to the Planning Commission regarding the language used in the Comprehensive Plan which is already in the comp plan, but not in the zoning code. They object on the merits of implications that it raises. Language in the plan wants acreage west of the lake to have a sewer put in. Mr. Hoeschler feels that taxes are being raised due to the big parcels of land. He feels the city and the two families that own these properties should be more pro active. He is concerned that the code isn't written in as a five acre zone. They would withdraw their letter of concern if the city has plans for a minimum five acre zone lots. He suggested using help from the U of M to work with traditional zoning. Mr. Hoeschler feels both parties need to sit down and reach an agreement. Can be superseded by a PUD. The city is most interested in knowing what it is, versus the density. There is a PUD process to help with the best interest of the community. Councilmember Lindner discussed that the original idea behind the five acre zoning was to hold off requirements that the Met Council wanted so Look for us on the World Wide Web at gemlakemn.org J Gem Lake Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 of 4 many homes on a three acre lot. A five acre lot would make a more creative PUD as a three acre lot is restricted. The City of Gem Lake has residential, commercial and estate zoning. Councilmember Lindner had given the information to SEH on the sewer portion of what to sewer now versus what to sewer five years from now. Mr. Hoeschler feels it would be helpful if the city obtained the contour maps from the county, which the cost is around $60.00. If the money is not in the budget, Mr. Hoeschler would reimburse the city for the costs of the maps. Commissioner Herzog requested Mr. Hoeschler to put together some information concerning this issue. Chairman Rafferty suggested that if the owner came up with the PUD, they would be responsible for all costs. There is a time lines in doing a PUD and the Planning Commission would be requesting updates. At this point in time, the city doesn't have the money in the budget. The property owners need to discuss the situation with the city attorney. Chairman Rafferty explained to the property owners that the Planning Commission has an open forum for new developments on parcels of land that gives some sense of direction without any developers making a commitment. OTHER BUSINESS None at this time. ADJOURN Upon motion by Commissioner Herzog and seconded by Commissioner Marier, the August 3, 2010 regular meeting of the Planning Commission was adjourned at 9:02 p.m. Ayes — 4, Nays — 0. APPROVED: ATTEST: ATTEST: Julie Newkirk Craig Rafferty Recording Secretary Chairman Look for us on the World Wide Web at gemlakemn.org