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04-12-2005 PC MIN . . . WORKSHOP MEETING NOTES ELK RIVER PLANNING COMMISSION HELD AT ELK RIVER CITY HALL TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2005 Members Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Lemke, Offerman, Ropp, Scott, Stevens and Westgaard Members Absent: None Staff Present: Michele McPherson, Director of Planning; Scott Harlicker, Senior Planner; Chris Leeseberg, Planner Council Liaison: Council Member Motin (absent) 1. Call Meeting To Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk. River Planning Commission was called to order at 6:29 p.m. by Chair Anderson. 2. Continue 2005 - 2008 Goals Discussion The Commission reviewed the four goals that had been identified at the March work session which included: 1) move the NorthStar Corridor stop; 2) redevelop the Arrow Building/NAPA/Eagles site; 3) implement the Natural Resources Inventory recommendations; 4) transportation planning for the east-west corridors and Highway 169 interchanges. The Commission agreed to remove goal # 1, since in all likelihood it will not happen. Commissioner Lemke stated that he was frustrated with the City Engineer's comments in the minutes of March 14, 2005 regarding the waiting on MnDOT to complete the corridor study. He felt that the City should be moving forward quickly and immediately to plan for its road corridors. Commissioner Offerman stated that he looked at the Highway 169 corridor as a regional issue and that the City should be working to get other groups involved in order to promote the regional importance of the corridor, especially, to provide access those owning land in the lakes region. Ms. McPherson noted that perhaps the Chamber could become involved. They were successful in supporting the Northstar Corridor. Perhaps now that Northstar is funded, they would have time and energy to support transportation improvements on the highway. Chair Anderson suggested that the transportation issues could be separated into local and regional issues in order to properly focus energies. He also suggested that a Commissioner could be a participant in the City/County meetings and/or meetings with MnDOT. Chair Anderson stated that he would like to see as a goal urban service district expansion evaluations. . . . Planning Commission Meeting Notes April 12, 2005 Page 2 Commissioner Scott stated that he would like to see more focus on redevelopment of the river front in order to focus more attention on it versus the typical development pattern that has historically occurred. The consensus of the Commission was that that the following goals would be ones to focus on over the next three years: 1. Support Highway 169 Corridor Study 2. Support local transportation corridor planning 3. Implement the Natural Resources Inventory- 4. Develop long-range river front planning and development 5. Support redevelopment of the Arrow Building/NAPA/Eagles site 6. Evaluate land use change impacts north of County Road 33 7. Prepare criteria to evaluate Urban Service District expansions Staff will prepare work plans and generate a list of tasks that can be accomplished and measured in order to achieve these goals. 2. Discuss Old Town Land Use and Zoning Requirements The Commission discussed the objectives for the Old Town land use designation. The Old Town land use designation is essentially in the area of the core Village of Elk River. It has unique housing, commercial, institutional, and architectural characteristics. Currently, this area is zoned Planned Unit Development, Multiple Family Residential, Commercial, and Single Family Residential. Commissioner Stevens stated that this area can be divided into three distinct neighborhoods - south of Highway 10, west of Jackson north of Highway 10, and east of Jackson north of Highway 10. He stated that he felt that this the affordable housing area, but that numerous portions of it are blighted and may need to be redeveloped. He stated that he would not like to see" snout houses" and that some type of architectural standards should be established. Commissioner Lemke stated that he would like to see continuation of the existing grid system and to encourage detached garages. Commissioner Offerman stated that he felt that the Downtown District should be extended to the north side of the railroad tracks in the area of the post office and even in the Arrow Building/NAP A/Eagles area. The consensus of the Commission would be to do an inventory- and analysis by block of the general vicinity. They would like to see architectural standards, smaller lots, maintenance of the grid system, encourage detached garage, and if property owners wanted to combine lots and build larger homes, that there would be a need to have more architectural uniqueness as part of the approval process. 3. Review Schedule for 175th Avenue Focus Area Study Senior Planner Harlicker reviewed the proposed schedule for implementation of a land use study for 175th Avenue. The Commission concurred with the work plan. Commissioner Stevens stated that he would like information on where unbuildable areas are located. . . . Planning Commission Meeting Notes April 12, 2005 Page 3 Commissioner Westgaard agreed that a general concept plan should be approved that would guide future development of this area. Commissioner Offerman stated that he agreed that the area should be high density due to the presence of the commuter rail station. 4. Discuss Building Material and Design Standards for Commercial and Industrial Districts The Commission reviewed the proposed housekeeping language related to Case No. OA 05- 07a, regarding architectural standards. The Commission decided to separate the commercial from the industrial standards, due to the fact that they felt commercial buildings should have more than one type of building material. The Commission was not opposed to using single materials in the industrial districts, including simple types of concrete products. Commissioner Westgaard asked if "shingled" would include concrete and clay tiles or cedar shakes. Mr. Leeseberg stated that shinglffig is the category of those types of materials and yes, they would be allowed as a material. The consensus of the Commission was to separate the standards and to require two or more materials on commercial buildings on all sides, but to not require any specific percentage of materials. 5. Review End of Month Tour Route The Commission briefly reviewed the items to be seen on the tour on April 30th and verified the time of departure and return. Ms. McPherson noted that as of now, two members of the Monticello Planning Commission will be joining the group for the Saturday tour. 6. Adjournment Having no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Submitted by, Michele McPherson Director of Planning