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12-17-2019 PC MINMeeting of the ver Elk River Planning Commission Held at Elk River City Hall Tuesday, December 17, 2019 Members Present: Chair Eric Johnson, Commissioners Perry Beise, Alexander Feinstein, John Jordan, Jill Larson -Vito, Robert Rydberg, and Brad Thiel Members Absent: None Also Present: City Council Liaison Nate Ovall Staff Present: Senior Planner Chris Leeseberg and Sr. Admin. Assistant/Recording Secretary Jennifer Green I . Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Planning Commission was called to order at 6:39 p.m. by Chair Johnson. 2. Consider December 17, 2019, Planning Commission Agenda Moved by Commissioner Thiel and seconded by Commissioner Feinstein to approve the December 17, 2019, Planning Commission agenda. Motion carried 7-0. 3. Consider November 26, 2019, Planning Commission Minutes Moved by Commissioner Thiel and seconded by Commissioner Feinstein to approve the November 26, 2019, Planning Commission meeting minutes as presented. Motion carried 7-0. 4.1. Sogdiana LLC / Zafar Khamdamov — 732 Vernon Ave. NW • Zone Change from Single Family Residential (R I -c) to Residential Townhouse/Multi-Family Use (R3), Case No. ZC 19-04 Mr. Leeseberg presented the staff report. Commissioner Thiel asked if there were rental licenses taken out for the three units. Mr. Leeseberg stated the city requires rental licenses and he didn't think there were any licenses taken out for this property. The applicant spoke up from the audience and stated there was one rental license for the property. Mr. Leeseberg stated code enforcement notified staff of the ordinance violation. Planning Commission December 17, 2019 Page 2 Commissioner Larson -Vito stated this property is a block away from her home and in the five years she's lived in the neighborhood, she thought this property was multi -family and commented on the home posting two addresses. She asked if this property could instead be considered a duplex and what type of application and guidelines are required. Mr. Leeseberg stated the applicant would follow the same application and review as this request but the request would be different if applying for three rental units. The R3 zoning doesn't limit the number of units to three but can be for up to eight units. He indicated the assignment of addresses is handled by an addressing committee. Chair Johnson asked what the appropriate zoning would be if this property was intended to be used as two units. Mr. Leeseberg stated the zoning would be either R2 -a or R2 -b and noted this property, situated in a single-family neighborhood, was never intended as a multi- family dwelling but as a single-family home. Chair Johnson opened the public hearing. Zafar Khamdamov representing Sogdiana LLC stated he is the applicant and was advised by staff of the rezoning application process. He stated he was not sure of the difference between R3 and R2 zoning. He stated he acquired the property in February 2019 and at that time, it was used as a multi -family property. He checked the MLS listing and county tax records which showed the property taxed and used as a multi -family use property but stated he failed to check with the city, noting that was his mistake. He stated when he purchased the property, it was in devastating condition and he needed to use six - 40 yard dumpsters to remove all the trash from inside the home and in the yard. He stated he spent a lot of money to cosmetically restore the property, such as new siding. He stated he did apply for a rental license and is requesting to use this property as a rental for at least 2 families. He stated he selects certain tenants that will keep his property in good shape and condition. He requested this zone change be approved to continue preservation of this property to keep it in top-notch shape. Commissioner Beise asked Mr. Khamdamov how long the property has had a rental license. Mr. Khamdamov stated he applied for and received a rental license in May or June of this year. He was unaware if the previous property owner had obtained a rental license. Commissioner Rydberg asked if the previous owner relayed to Mr. Khamdamov that this was an approved rental property Mr. Khamdamov stated another agent showed him the property. Chair Johnson asked if this home was already set up for multiple family living. INATURE Planning Commission December 17, 2019 Page 3 Mr. Khamdamov stated each unit has their own independent entrance. He stated the bedrooms also have compliant egress windows and each unit has a kitchen and laundry room. He stated the previous owner had not pulled any building permits for remodeling but he stated he had obtained the proper plumbing, electrical, and re- siding permits and inspections, and hired licensed workers. There being no one else to speak, Chair Johnson closed the public hearing. Commissioner Jordan stated because the Planning Commission's role was not to negotiate, he wondered if there was something the commission could do to allow the applicant to continue using the home as two units. He sees the property as once blighted but because Mr. Khamdamov has put a lot of money into cleaning up this property, he asked if there a way to make this right and allow him to continue using the property as a rental dwelling. Mr. Leeseberg stated the applicant can continue to use the property as is until the City Council meeting but suggested postponing the application to allow staff time to review and determine how to reestablish the use as two units versus three plus units. He stated he wasn't sure if staff's recommendation would be much different. He discussed a similar instance a few years ago on a property across the highway that was rezoned because the residence was built as a duplex and the exterior property appeared as a duplex. He compared that property to the Vernon property, which appears as a single family home from the exterior but its interior is set up in multi- family units. Chair Johnson asked if any other properties in this vicinity were zoned R2. He stated if all the properties in this neighborhood were R1 -c he was hesitant to spot zone even though the applicant wasn't aware of the property zoning and made improvements to the property. Mr. Leeseberg reviewed the zoning map. Commissioner Larson -Vito stated she would support a rezone to R2 due to the fact that as a resident of this neighborhood, she felt this property existed as a duplex for at least the past 5 years, and she didn't feel there was anything wrong with a duplex fitting into this neighborhood. She indicated it never seemed like there were too many vehicles parked in the area and near the end of a cul-de-sac. She didn't feel there was a problem with a duplex fitting into that neighborhood but felt three or more units wouldn't fit well. Commissioner Rydberg stated he echoed Commissioner Larson-Vito's comments but stated to bring the property up to city rental standards may require significant financial expenses to accomplish. Chair Johnson asked what the process would be to change this request to R2 -b to conform to those standards and what would the requirements be. Mr. Leeseberg he would have to look into that but didn't feel there would be many P I I I a I I I NATURE Planning Commission December 17, 2019 Page 4 requirements for R2 -b. He indicated the applicant would have to request that his application be changed from R3 to R2 -a or R2 -b. Chair Johnson asked if the commission spot -zoned this property and then the property was torn down, what could be built there in the future. Mr. Leeseberg stated whatever was allowed in the R2 -a or R2 -b district. Chair Johnson asked if there were any other options for the applicant to allow the current use to continue. Mr. Leeseberg stated the only other option would be to amend the ordinance to allow this use in a single family zone. Chair Johnson stated spot zoning sets a precedence that he wasn't comfortable with. Commissioner Larson -Vito asked if a larger zone change was possible since the properties are next to the I2 zoning district. Mr. Leeseberg indicated that particular direction would have to come from the City Council. Councilmember Ovall stated that a larger zone change was going to be his suggestion. The Commission reviewed the zoning map and discussed rezoning the adjoining single-family properties. Mr. Leeseberg stated the city needs to carefully consider rezoning an entire block to fix one property. Commissioner Rydberg commented that this route would have to receive the support from the neighboring property owners. Commissioner Thiel asked if there was any input from neighbors regarding this rezoning. Mr. Leeseberg indicated staff had not received any comments from neighboring properties and there was no one in attendance at the meeting this evening. Chair Johnson stated at this point he wouldn't support the rezone to R3. Commissioner Thiel discussed the role of the Planning Commission to follow the ordinance guidelines and the City Council can choose a different route. Commissioner Larson -Vito suggested postponing the application for a month. pIWERII IT NATURE Planning Commission December 17, 2019 Page 5 Mr. Khamdamov indicated he was open to changing his application to R2 or perhaps an interim use at least through his ownership requested delaying a decision for a month to evaluate his options with staff. Chair Johnson also suggested an Interim Use Permit option. Moved by Commissioner Larson -Vito and seconded by Commissioner Jordan to postpone the request by Sogdiana LLC / Zafar Khamdamov for a Zone Change from R1 -c (single family residential) to R3 (townhouse/multi-family residential) to the January 28, 2020, Planning Commission meeting to allow staff time to discuss alternative options with the applicant. Motion carried 7-0. 5.1 Council Liaison Update Councilmember Ovall updated the Planning Commission on the recent City Council meeting items. 6.1 2020 Planning Commission Meeting Calendar Mr. Leeseberg presented the meeting calendar for the 2020 Planning Commission meetings to the commission for their consideration. 7. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:09 p.m. Minutes pre re by Jennifer Green. Tina Allard City Clerk ric Johnson Planning Commission Chair PIIIRII Ir NATURE- U