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4.a Draft minutes 05-07-2024 Planning Commission May 7, 2024 The Scandia Planning Commission held their regular monthly meeting on the above date. The meeting was conducted in-person and virtually over an electronic platform. All participants who joined the meeting remotely could hear each other and contribute to discussions. Chair Travis Loeffler called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. The following were in attendance: Commissioners Laszlo Fodor, Jan Hogle, Kirsten Libby, Travis Loeffler and Perry Rynders. Staff present: City Planner TJ Hofer, City Administrator Kyle Morell and City Clerk Brenda Eklund. City Council member liaison Steve Kronmiller was also present. PUBLIC FORUM There were no public comments. APPROVAL OF AGENDA, MINUTES Libby, second by Hogle, moved to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Hogle, second by Libby, moved to approve the April 2, 2024 minutes as presented. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING: ZONING MAP AMENDMENT TO REZONE 13952 205TH STREET NORTH FROM RURAL RESIDENTIAL GENERAL TO VILLAGE NEIGHBORHOOD, A SITE PLAN REVIEW FOR A MAJOR PROJECT, A PRELIMINARY PLAT, AND A WETLAND REVIEW TO DEVELOP THE PROPERTY AS LAUREL RIDGE DEVELOPMENT. APPLICANT DWAYNE SIKICH, CONTINUUM DEVELOPMENT GROUP, ON BEHALF OF PROPERTY OWNER MITCHELL JOHNSON City Planner Hofer described an application requesting approval for a zoning map amendment, site plan review for a major project, preliminary plat, and a wetland review to subdivide a 39.47- acre parcel into eight residential lots ranging in size of 4.38 to 4.49 acres to be known as Laurel Ridge. The property is located at 13952 205th Street North, and access to the lots would be individual driveways along 205th Street. The site is currently used for agricultural purposes with one dwelling unit that will be demolished. There is one wetland on the site. Planner Hofer explained the background of the application, originally submitted for review on June 4, 2023 as a 13-lot subdivision. The 2040 Comprehensive Plan sets the density of the Village Neighborhood future land use at 1 unit per 1.5 acres, but this conflicts with the density set in the development code for the V-N zoning district of 4 units per 40 acres, or 1 unit per 2.5 acres if certain conditions are met. To allow time to resolve this conflict, the City Council initiated a moratorium on August 15, 2023 that prohibits new development within the V-N district, but elected not to extend the moratorium to Laurel Ridge with a request the developer revise their concept based on density concerns. On September 19, 2023, the applicant presented a new concept plan for an eight-lot subdivision with a request the city waive any requirements for improvements to 205th Street on the basis that the reduction of lots would not adequately fund Scandia Planning Commission May 7, 2024 Page 2 of 8 the street improvements. The Council was agreeable to the request to review the proposal under the 2040 Comp Plan guidance but did not approve a motion or resolution. The current application has a review deadline of July 17, 2024. Planner Hofer explained that the current zoning of the property is Rural Residential General and is guided by the 2040 Comprehensive Plan as Village Neighborhood. Planer Hofer said the proposed lot areas would be allowable within the V-N zoning district, meeting the UDC criteria for rezoning. The parcel abuts RR-G properties and V-N on the northeastern side. Hofer described preliminary plat review guidelines and concluded that this application generally meets the UDC criteria aside from density, having one dwelling unit per roughly 5 acres which is lower density than one dwelling unit per 2.5 acres allowed in the Comp Plan. The sites will be served by individual well and septic systems. Stormwater is proposed to be managed with eight separate basins, but conflicts with some standards of the city. The applicant will be revising stormwater plans to meet the requirements as outlined by the City Engineer. Hofer said the landscaping and woodland preservation plans submitted meet the specifications of the ordinance. The developer will be planting 200 trees to replace the 44 being removed; plantings will be along lot lines and along borders of the stormwater basins. A wetland review was completed by the Washington Conservation District, and noted that the existing driveway is nonconforming and must be relocated to meet wetland setbacks. Hofer said the easements shown on the plat are consistent with the UDC, having 10-ft. drainage and utility easements along all lot lines, over the wetland, and over the stormwater basins – parts of the lots will be undevelopable but enough buildable space remains. Staff identified areas of stormwater management that need to be modified which will require revisions to the easements. Hofer recommended park dedication fees be paid in lieu of land at a cost of $3,000 per lot, totaling $24,000. Hofer reviewed comments received from the Watershed, Washington Conservation District, City Engineer regarding stormwater revisions, and the Public Works Director who addressed construction traffic. Hofer concluded that staff found the proposed plan is generally consistent with the Comp Plan and UDC, with revisions needed for stormwater management to address the concerns of the City Engineer. Hofer reviewed findings from the UDC to deny the proposal, and stated that staff believes the proposal does not meet any of the standards to deny the application. Hofer explained his recommendation that the Commission open the public hearing, receive comments, request revisions to the stormwater plan, and table the request for further review. Commissioner Rynders questioned the lot standards table on page 3 of the staff report, and asked how comfortable they should be about increasing density in the UDC without public sewer and Scandia Planning Commission May 7, 2024 Page 3 of 8 water. Planner Hofer said this UDC table should have been revised when adopted as based on the Comp Plan; the documents are not consistent and the city is working to address this. By requiring this lower density standard, it will leave the city liable; the City Attorney advised the City Council that the application should move forward based on the Comp Plan in place at the time of the application. Commissioner Libby asked for clarification that if the property remains RR-G and not rezoned to V-N, no more than four lots could be created. Planner Hofer confirmed this. Commissioner Rynders clarified that no changes to the roadway is proposed for a trail, and that any improvement would be deferred until future improvements to 205th Street are scheduled. Rynders said it doesn’t make sense to make trail improvements for this partial section along the street. Rynders asked about the conditions for not approving a preliminary plat found on page 9 of the staff report, one being that the design is detrimental to the health, safety, or general welfare of the public, and asked for guidance for these terms. Planner Hofer said these are more subjective terms than citing pollution or an impact to natural resources. Commissioner Libby addressed parkland dedication, and asked why staff is recommending cash in lieu of land? Planner Hofer said there is no basis for parkland on this property and requiring payment of park fees is common among cities in the metro. Libby said she doesn’t agree with taking payment from the developer. Chair Loeffler asked the applicant to address the Commission. Dwayne Sikich, Continuum Development Group, Forest Lake, MN, said he is generally good with staff comments and can meet the requirements for stormwater management before the next Council meeting. Sikich said this is a conservative, low impact development design. Sikich said because he plans to work with the city and watershed engineers, he asked for a recommendation of approval rather than tabling the application based on working with staff on stormwater changes. Rynders, second by Fodor, moved to open the public hearing at 7:50 p.m. Motion carried 5-0. Alana Sundberg, 14145 205th Street and 14620 205th Street, said traffic is a huge concern, especially because of her children; also damage to the road due to construction traffic. Sundberg asked why the Council decided the moratorium on development didn’t apply to this application. Sundberg questioned the detrimental language in the staff report, saying many in attendance disagree with it not affecting this application. Sundberg said a Council member commented that this development will be affordable for families as an incentive. Sundberg said this will not be affordable, and asked this statement be clarified. Sundberg said the internet is awful, and the additional houses will only add to the load. Sundberg summarized her concerns about the aquifer, traffic, and safety. Planner Hofer explained the moratorium as drafted by the City Attorney for the City Council. Based on state statute, if an application is submitted, the city cannot directly impact the ability Scandia Planning Commission May 7, 2024 Page 4 of 8 for that use or development to move forward based on current code at the time of application; to protect the city from damages, they chose not to extend the moratorium to this project. Council member Kronmiller stated that Midco just announced it will be expanding high speed internet along 205th Street within the next year due to a line extension grant Midco received. Rachel Sundberg, 14177 205th Street said she re-iterates Alana Sundberg’s comments. Traffic is a huge concern that will be very dangerous and against safety and welfare to the public. Rebecca Bastiaens, 14107 Scandia Trail, said their property is adjacent to the north. She bikes 205th Street constantly, and eight driveways along 887 feet of road frontage is too many. Bastiaens said the city should preserve rural character and natural resources – why not cluster the homes to preserve rural space and lower the impact of driveways. Bastiaens said she is upset about taking out so many trees, and asked what size of trees are being planted for replacement? Chair Loeffler said tree replacement will use the woodland preservation ordinance based on caliper inches of mature trees being removed, saying this is a specific tree replacement plan that meets the city’s improved ordinance. Alisha Soule, 21027 Odell Avenue, said she has concerns about safety, and that travel on Odell Avenue will be used even more as a through street. Soule said drivers are already going at dangerous speeds through the neighborhood. Soule asked if there have been any traffic studies or analyses of those who travel Odell Avenue. Soule said there are 27 to 30 children on this two- block radius. Soule said their road is used by many pedestrians and she is concerned what the added houses and construction will do to this road. Soule said they’ve asked the neighborhood association about installing speedbumps but this was denied by the City Council. Soule said speed rates are dangerous, and many are concerned about this and the intersection at Highway 97. Soule said the issues are safety and recreation; what will you do about this? Administrator Morell said he is not aware of a traffic study or speed bumps being considered on Odell Avenue. Planner Hofer said a traffic study is only required for developments of 50 units or more – this project does not generate one. Hofer looked up crash data in the city’s published Comp Plan, and reported no crash data at that time. Hofer said 205th Street is a minor collector road designed for more traffic. The Public Works Director will limit travel to strictly 205th Street east to Olinda Trail, not through the Wyldewood Acres neighborhood. Regarding driveways, Planer Hofer said this standard is established in the UDC, and staff cannot require less driveways. Council member Kronmiller said staff is against speedbumps as they can be taken out with snowplows in the winter. Sharon Opheim, 13747 205th Street, said she moved here because of the rural nature, but is concerned that if this is turned down based on density, the property will get more density in a future proposal. Opheim said if we haven’t seen the revised design for stormwater, do not approve the project but instead table it and have them come back for your review. Planner Hofer said that future density could be higher intensity but is still a bit unclear. The city could move forward at ratio of 1 dwelling unit per 1.5 acres if served by public sewer and water, Scandia Planning Commission May 7, 2024 Page 5 of 8 but is reviewing this standard to make it less restrictive for sewer. Hofer said if the Comp Plan amendment is approved, the property can be developed at a higher density. Bill Strusinski, 13690 205th Street, said the zoning is 4 per 40 under the current plan. There is no shoulder on 205th Street, with many people walking the road; the city shouldn’t be adding to the problem, as this development adds more traffic. Strusinski said his concerns come from a safety perspective. More thought needs to go into this. The recommendation is not addressing the problem. The city is being premature with this; it must get the Comp Plan in synch with the development plan. The city needs planned development with infrastructure, and should slow down on this proposal. Strusinski said he is okay with 4 per 40 density. Carolyn Smith, 13809 Scandia Trail, said she supports this message just given; it’s not easy to blend urban and rural. Smith said the tree preservation plan sounds good but what is the guarantee for the life of the plantings? Smith said she is concerned about screening of the ag land to the north. The driveways need to be clear for viewing the road. Smith said she is horrified at the density that could be allowed, and sorry the city is in this predicament. Smith asked when are you going to start working on a new Comp Plan? Smith said we moved here not to be anti- neighborhood. Administrator Morell said the 2040 Comp Plan is scheduled to be revised in 2026-27 based on Met Council direction to update it every 10 years; however the city can amend it in between the revisions. Robert Soule, 21136 Odell Avenue, said the density is too much. There is no other development on 205th Street with this many driveways on this amount of frontage; the most being 6 homes to the west. Soule said he has safety concerns because the road has narrow shoulders and a dangerous steep ditch. Soule said the Sand Lake bike trail is on this road; this is an opportunity to make the road safer now. Chair Loeffler asked if there were only two accesses to 205th Street for the development, would you be okay with this? Soule said no, there would still be too much traffic. Willem Bastiaens. 14071 Scandia Trail, said rural character needs to be preserved, safety is a concern, and all driveways will be on steep slopes which is dangerous with so much car and pedestrian traffic. Unknown speaker, Odell Avenue, said she has two young children and concerned about safety. If there is no plan for a bike path, why wait until there is an accident? This will be adding more unsafe issues, when not even addressing the injury at the school intersection last year. There needs to be a safety plan when there are so many children in the Odell neighborhood, and no one is doing anything about safety. This will add to the traffic problems – it’s insanity the safety and traffic issues now. Administrator Morell said that Highway 97 traffic is being addressed with a Washington County/MN DOT study in progress. Scandia Planning Commission May 7, 2024 Page 6 of 8 Clay Steffens, 20868 Odell Avenue, said he recently had a near miss on the road when walking. There is no shoulder at all, and then a steep drop. Steffens said the 5 acre lots are big enough, but 8 driveways is too much on 205th Street. Steffen said he is not anti-development, but this is a well-used bike trail, and overall planning needs to be done when adding neighborhoods; there should be a study of impacts to the streets and aquifer. There were no more speakers. At 8:40 p.m., Chair Loeffler announced the Commission is done taking comments and moved on to discussion. Commissioner Rynders said the big issue is that they don’t have a proper stormwater plan, and he is reluctant to recommend approval without that. Safety is an issue, there being a hill with no shoulder. Rynders said the city would be premature in approving the development without some road improvements, especially given the fact that this road is a designated bike trail, saying he finds this illogical. Administrator Morell said the city cannot make them improve the whole road. Commissioner Hogle asked if park dedication fees can be used towards the installation of a trail along the road. Morell said this is a discussion for the Parks Committee and would need a recommendation. Morell said there are many more feet of road outside this project that have issues. Commissioner Hogle said it’s not just this road, but many other roads have these issues beyond this development that is the city’s concern. Hogle asked how can they fit this problem into a solution? Commissioner Libby said it’s been made important tonight that safety is a problem; the road is at an incline, and the stormwater plan needs to be done right or else it will cause issues in the future. Libby said she could not vote in favor because the project is not ready for approval, and recommended they keep the discussion going for work that can be done. Libby said a two- driveway scenario makes sense, and why not widen the road at this space? Libby said she is very interested in the stormwater plan, which needs to be done right for the infrastructure piece; now is the time to plan. Commissioner Rynders said he agrees with the last speaker; one dwelling unit per 5 acres with no streetlights is okay for rural character, but safety is an issue. The eight households are not too impactful, but the safety concerns brought up make this the time to address them. Commissioner Hogle said the lot size is not ruining the rural view, but rather the issue comes down to safety on the road, as well as stormwater management being a big concern. Commissioner Fodor asked if the eight driveways can be reduced or be addressed? The road having no shoulders is dangerous. Applicant Dwyane Sikich addressed the Commission and explained the rational of ingress and egress shoulders being designed at the driveway accesses. A traffic calculation was used to allow for a proper turning radius for safe travel. Scandia Planning Commission May 7, 2024 Page 7 of 8 Chair Loeffler said the safety concerns cannot be argued with. He agreed with the comments that the 5 acre lots are rural, saying the Odell neighborhood with small lots around the corner is not rural. Loeffler said he is bothered that development is shut down; this zoning is encouraging of what the Met Council wants in terms of development, and the city needs housing. Loeffler said we want to develop responsibly, to make sure the road is taken care of it. Loeffler said there is a 6-lot development to the west that are out in the open. This development has the houses strategically placed and is being done responsibly; Loeffler said he wants this development here. Loeffler said if pushed in the wrong direction, it could get a lot worse; let’s accomplish this the right way safely. Loeffler said that all the roads in Scandia are tricky; however, as this road is designated as Sand Lake Trail, let’s make sure this trail is safe. Loeffler said he is okay with a side road for lesser accesses in lieu of a wider shoulder, and that the placement of two accesses could be safer. Loeffler said a trail only on this road segment of the development will not look right. Improving the entire road would be good for our community. Loeffler moved to table the application to make sure the City Engineer’s requirements are met or compromises an agreement with the developer, and the applicant address the safety issue with a modification plan to address the public comments about shoulders and walkways along 205th Street. Fodor seconded the motion. Commissioner Rynders said terms of a road access for shared driveways may not be feasible, and agreed that the plan is not there yet for approval. Planner Hofer said he cannot comment on reasonableness of this safety issue as identified in code standards to deny a preliminary plat. Standard #4 has been identified but what safety data is there to require something be acted on. Hofer said there must be a reasonable condition with justification, and he cannot elaborate or establish this right now. Chair Loeffler said the topography and ditches should be looked at for a solution here. Commissioner Libby said it’s reasonable the application does not meet #6, the subdivision is premature as there are too many open questions and concerns of safety issues. Chair Loeffler said the city decided with the Comp Plan that this is an area for more development, to move it outward from the Village Center. Commissioner Hogle inquired if we are asking the developer to do something specific to the road? Planner Hofer said they can table it and ask the developer to evaluate the safety concerns addressed here or provide a statement explaining why the plan already presented is satisfactory. Chair Loeffler called for a vote on the motion. The motion carried 5-0 by roll call vote to table the application to the June 4, 2024 meeting. GENERAL BUSINESS Planner Hofer reported that letters were sent to existing solar operators and owners to address inadequate screening concerns of the community solar installations. Most all have responded to increase screening to meet their landscaping requirements at the time of approval. Scandia Planning Commission May 7, 2024 Page 8 of 8 Council member Kronmiller brought attention to the pile of tree debris at the Highway 97 / Manning Trail solar site. Kronmiller said he had been told that those logs are not part of the solar garden property. Administrator Morell said staff will look into this; haphazard storage of wood is a nuisance. CITY COUNCIL UPDATES Council member Kronmiller reported that the City Council tabled the Comp Plan amendments at their April 16th meeting in order for staff to answer questions about shared septic systems, and for staff to refine the higher density as Planned Unit Developments. FUTURE ITEMS: Next meeting – June 4, 2024 Planner Hofer reported that a Scandia Plaza expansion may be ready for a review by the Planning Commission at the next meeting. The public hearing for Laurel Ridge development will continue. ADJOURNMENT Hogle, second by Rynders, moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:24 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Eklund, City Clerk