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4. Draft minutes 06-01-2021 Planning Commission June 1, 2021 The Scandia Planning Commission held their regular monthly meeting on the above date with modifications. The meeting was conducted in-person at the Scandia Community Center and 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 7:01 p.m. The following were present: Commissioners Greg Amundson, Jan Hogle, Perry Rynders, and Chair Travis Loeffler. Staff present: City Planner Evan Monson, City Administrator Ken Cammilleri, City Clerk Brenda Eklund. Council member liaison Jerry Cusick was also present. PUBLIC FORUM Michael Lubke, 10929 Scandia Trail, gave a brief presentation on suggested amendments to the City’s distribution solar energy system ordinance. Lubke offered suggestions to stricter vegetation and screening requirements, and the allowance for solar arrays to be located within shoreland areas under certain conditions. Lubke explained his goals to operate a regenerative farm on his property, with a distribution solar energy system that is now prohibited due to the shoreland overlay on his property as defined by a small water body. Chair Loeffler commented that solar ordinance amendments may be worth exploring. There were no other public comments. APPROVAL OF AGENDA, MINUTES Amundson, second by Hogle moved to approve the agenda as presented. Motion unanimously carried by roll call vote. Hogle, second by Rynders, moved to approve the May 4, 2021 minutes as presented. Motion unanimously carried by roll call vote. PUBLIC HEARING: VARIANCE TO INSTALL A NEW SEPTIC SYSTEM LOCATED WITHIN REQUIRED SETBACK AREAS AT 12408 228TH STREET NORTH. AUSTIN ADAMS, APPLICANT. PC RESOLUTION NO. 2021-09 Austin Adams has applied for a variance to construct a new septic system within required setback areas from the existing house, garage and side lot line on his property recently purchased at 12408 228th Street North, a 0.41-acre lot located within the shoreland overlay of Bone Lake. County standards require that a 20-foot setback be maintained between occupied structures, and the soil treatment and dispersal area be at least 10 feet from a non-occupied structure. The proposed absorption area is to be 16 feet from the house, and 9.5 feet from the garage. The absorption area will be 13.3 feet from the east side property line, requiring a variance from the city’s 20-foot side yard setback. Planner Monson summarized his staff report. County staff indicated that aside from the setbacks, the proposed system meets their standards. The 50-foot setback from the well is met, and the sandy soil should allow for decent infiltration without much horizontal movement to travel the 16 feet to the house. Monson recommended approval with findings of support based on the June 1, 2021 Scandia Planning Commission Page 2 of 5 ordinance criteria. The request is in harmony with the Comp Plan to have safe and functioning septic systems, there is a limited amount of space on the lot – a practical difficulty not created by the landowner, and the request appears to be the minimum action required to eliminate the practical difficulty of the small lot not providing ample space for a septic system that meets required setbacks. A resolution with findings and five conditions of approval was presented, including that any required Watershed and grading permits are secured. Chair Loeffler opened the public hearing at 7:24 p.m. There were no comments and the hearing was closed. Commissioner Amundson commented that there seem no other options on the property to locate the septic system and the request appears pretty straightforward. Amundson, second by Rynders, moved to approve PC Resolution No. 2021-09, Approving a Variance for 12408 228th Street. The motion carried 4-0. The recommendation to approve the variance to construct a septic system within required setbacks will be presented to the City Council on June 15, 2021. DISCUSSION ON VARIANCES FROM ZONING REQUIREMENTS TO CONSTRUCT A DECK AND STAIRS AT 13260 182ND STREET NORTH, WITH AMENDMENTS. DAN AND MELISSA POTTER, APPLICANTS. PC RESOLUTION NO. 2021-10. CONTINUED FROM MAY 4, 2021 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. At their May 4th meeting, a public hearing was held for variances for proposed changes Dan and Melissa Potter are seeking on their property at 13260 182nd Street. A variance to construct a new septic system within a required setback from the side lot line was approved at the meeting, but the requests for a new garage and an addition to an existing deck were tabled to allow the applicants time to revise their plans. Based on feedback, the Potters rescinded the variances for the new garage and excess impervious coverage. The Commissioners discussed the continued request to add a staircase and addition to the existing deck, with the steps located 3.3 feet from the east property line and the deck 50.2 feet from the OWHL of Big Marine Lake. A calculation of impervious lot coverage determined the new plan to be at 24.3%, less than the 25% maximum allowed. Planner Monson explained findings of approval for the request based on ordinance criteria. The existing house and deck are non-conforming, a practical difficulty not created by the landowner resulting in any addition needing a variance. A resolution with findings of approval and six conditions was presented, including Watershed permits and grading reviews be secured before a building permit is issued. Chair Loeffler allowed comments from the public. Maria Hinz, 13000 182nd Street, said she is disillusioned by Scandia granting so many variances. This is a substandard lot with a history of variances for its development. She said it’s not fair to June 1, 2021 Scandia Planning Commission Page 3 of 5 landowners who follow the rules to continue to have variances approved on these small lots. This house has had a lot of exceptions, and there is already a deck on the front. Dan and Melissa Potter, applicants, explained that they have removed the request for a garage and driveway to get the impervious coverage under 25%, but respectfully continued a request for an emergency exit which the new stairs would provide. They said this is a modest request, and they are working with the Watershed to mitigate any impacts, such as adding a buffer towards the lake. The neighbor to the east approves of the 3.3’ setback and does not see it as an intrusion. The deck and stairs will be professionally constructed with cable railings for a minimal design. Commissioner Rynders said he is okay with the deck; it’s modest, the plan shows lot coverage to be under 25%, they are adding raingardens to protect the lake, and the engineer’s comments regarding any land alteration are a condition of approval. Chair Loeffler said he was also in agreement that it is a minimal request; however, there is an earlier history for this property being allowed a variance. Having a deck isn’t the minimum action required to eliminate a practical difficulty in this case – they can either remove the lower deck or have the upper, but not both. Administrator Cammilleri noted the ordinance criteria for variances which must be considered. A lack of a second egress can be a practical difficulty. Rynders stated that the existing deck is relatively useless, and this request does meet the criteria. The deck is a modest addition, and the Potters are taking a responsible approach by mitigating with raingardens. The Commissioners questioned if they should be looking at the past history of the property, and to consider if a deck was enclosed sometime earlier. Commissioner Hogle stated that policy and criteria for evaluating variances may change over the years, and they need to be careful about researching past decisions. Rynders, second by Hogle, moved to approve PC Resolution No. 2021-10, Approving Variances for 13260 182nd Street. The motion carried 3-1, with Loeffler opposed. The recommendation to approve the variance to construct a deck and stairway within side yard and lake setbacks will be presented to the City Council on June 15, 2021. DISCUSSION ON VARIANCES FROM ZONING REQUIREMENTS TO CONSTRUCT A DETACHED GARAGE AT 12620 181ST STREET NORTH, WITH AMENDMENTS. FORREST AND NATALIE MELCHER, APPLICANTS. PC RESOLUTION NO. 2021-11. CONTINUED FROM MAY 4, 2021 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. At their May 4th meeting, a public hearing was held for variances to build a detached garage at 12620 181st Street, to be closer to the road right-of-way and larger in size from the requirements for the 2.39-acre lot. The request was tabled to allow the applicants to revise their plan. Forrest and Natalie Melcher provided a new site plan to place the garage 40’ from the ROW, meeting this setback requirement. The size of the garage remained at 2, 216 square feet, exceeding the maximum allowed size of 1,000 square feet for property this size. Planner Monson summarized his staff report. The proposed site meets the standards to allow the building to be closer to the road than the house. Findings to approve the location and size were June 1, 2021 Scandia Planning Commission Page 4 of 5 presented in a resolution. Given the location of the house, an addition of a garage or additional storage space to the house is not practical, and vegetation and slopes limit where a garage can be built on the property. The proposed size exceeds the permitted, but the lot is still well below the impervious surface coverage limit. Monson recommended conditions be added to ensure the request is the minimum action required to eliminate the practical difficulty. Chair Loeffler allowed comments from the public. Maria Hinz, 13000 182nd Street, said the city should rethink their laws due to the number of variances being requested. It appears there is a carte blanche attitude in approving them. Forrest and Natalie Melcher, applicants, explained the revised plan to rotate the garage and move it further from the road, with preservation of the mature oak trees a primary concern, and are willing to plant vegetative screening from the road. Melcher described his storage needs, and showed an aerial map of the neighborhood with similar sized structures, saying his property is at the end of the road, next to a future regional park. The garage would have low visibility. Arthur Miller, 12615 181st Street, said he appreciated that the garage was moved back from the road, but has a concern about potential noise when used for a wood shop. Commissioner Amundson said he was bothered about the size of the garage being over twice what is permitted saying the allowed size chart is pretty black and white. Commissioner Rynders said he has no issues with the location or size, being not excessive for the neighborhood, and supports the request. Administrator Cammilleri reminded the Commissioners that they are evaluating the request based on the seven criteria for variances as provided in the ordinance. They can re-evaluate the code for future changes, but now they need to question if the applicant is making the case to justify a practical difficulty of why they cannot meet the required code. Does the garage fit the surrounding character with a consistent look of a pole barn in the front yard? Commissioner Hogle said she has no problem with the location, and understands that equipment needs to be stored inside a building, but maybe the chart of allowed accessory structure sizes is unreasonable. This seems like a reasonable request that doesn’t fit the chart, but is not out of character for the area. Administrator Cammilleri said there is rationale for limits on size and number of accessory structures, to control density. The ordinance doesn’t require storage to be on-site; other options exist for off-site storage. Chair Loeffler said he agrees with Amundson and Hogle. Amundson said he would like to see the accessory structure ordinance changed, but for now they need to abide by what the ordinance allows. June 1, 2021 Scandia Planning Commission Page 5 of 5 Rynders, moved to approve PC Resolution No. 2021-11 as presented, approving variances for the location and size of the garage. The motion failed for lack of a second. Amundson, second by Hogle, moved to amend and approve PC Resolution 2021-11 with only a variance for the garage with a 40’ road right-of-way setback, to be closer to the road than the house, but to deny the variance to exceed the allowed size for this property. Findings to deny the size: need to follow the ordinance limit of 1,000 square feet in size, failure to justify the practical difficulties, and the request does not meet the minimum action required to eliminate the practical difficulty. The motion carried 4-0. The recommendation to approve a variance to construct a garage closer to the road right-of-way than the house and deny a variance for the garage to be over 1,000 square feet will be presented to the City Council on June 15, 2021. ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDAS – NEXT MEETING JULY 6, 2021 Chair Loeffler reviewed the Council actions to the Commission’s recommendations from their May 4th meeting. Administrator Cammilleri explained that the Council chose a different policy direction on voting in favor of amendments to the future land use map, and felt the Rural Commercial District can be evaluated for permitted uses which fit the rural character during the development code update. Commissioner Hogle asked staff to compile a database of past variance actions over the past year. ADJOURNMENT Rynders, second by Hogle, moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:06 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Eklund City Clerk