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07-28-2020 PC MINi� Elk River Meeting of the Elk River Planning Commission Held at Elk River City Hall Tuesday, July 28, 2020 Members Present: Chair Jill Larson -Vito, Commissioners Perry Beise, Alexander Feinstein, Eric Johnson, John Jordan, Robert Rydberg, and Brad Thiel Members Absent: None Staff Present: Planning Manager Zack Carlton and Senior Planner Chris Leeseberg 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 6:52 p.m. by Chair Larson -Vito. 2. Consider July 28, 2020, Planning Commission Agenda Moved by Commissioner Thiel and seconded by Commissioner Feinstein to approve the July 28, 2020, Planning Commission agenda. Motion carried 7-0. 3. Consider Planning Commission Minutes Moved by Commissioner Beise and seconded by Commissioner Thiel to approve the June 23, 2020, Planning Commission minutes. Motion carried 7-0. 4.1. Copart Phase II Update: Copart of Connecticut, Inc. — 15932 Jarvis St. NW ■ Conditional Use Permit to Operate a Salvage Yard, Case No. CU 20-14 ■ Preliminary Plat of Cascade Industrial Park Third Addition, P 20-11 Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. He explained the need to open and continue the public hearing to a special meeting August 12, 2020, to allow review of the land use amendment. He stated the Parks and Recreation Commission will also review the request and make a recommendation regarding the Park and Recreation Master Plan, and the City Council will review on August 17, 2020. Chair Larson -Vito opened the public hearing. Phil Collins - 16234 Jarvis St., Elk River — lives and operates his business near the site and explained his concerns with the speed of truck traffic leaving Copart's Planning Commission July 28, 2020 Page 2 current site, noting that due to the difficulty of vehicles attempting to enter Highway 10 from Jarvis Street, vehicles instead travel north on Jarvis to 164" Lane and through the Northfork development in Ramsey. He felt they also travel in that route to avoid passing the weigh station. He suggested an acceleration lane on Highway 10 at Jarvis to provide time to get up to speed. He stated there are 5-10 vehicles a day entering the property and you notice from the truck traffic back and forth. Northfork has placed `no truck traffic' signs in their development. Mr. Collins stated Ramsey Police also contact him regarding the truck traffic in the neighborhood and he indicated the vehicles were not his company's but sub -contractors that work for Copart. He felt some of the vehicle traffic seemed sketchy. His other concern was with truck parking and wondered if there will be future parking on roads. Dan Privette property manager for Copart. He stated their hours are 8-5 and they do not allow overnight parking. He stated most of their haulers are independent contractors although they have two or three truck. He stated he cannot control their actions but did tell them not to travel through the neighborhood. He stated they are only operating two days a week. Security cameras on site are monitored 24/7. There being no one else to speak, Chair Larson -Vito closed the public hearing. Mr. Carlton explained Condition 7 of the Conditional Use Permit, which outlines that parking, stalling, and staging on Jarvis St. and 163'/165`' Avenues or any other rights-of-way in the area is prohibited. He said when the vehicles enter Copart property, a gate is entered and staging of unloading vehicles occurs on a paved area while being checked in. He stated when the prior CUP was approved, the city recognized traffic challenges, which is why they required two rounds of traffic analysis, which ultimately showed that it didn't meet any warrants for improvements after Copart was constructed. He stated MnDOT is also completing an analysis of improvements along Highway 10, specifically along this interchange to the county line as the city wants to better understand what traffic circulation will be along Highway 10. An additional study was completed by the city of Ramsey reviewing the area between Alpine and Jarvis and how that can be combined into one intersection, and MnDOT is currently working. He stated they can work with law enforcement to continue monitoring traffic concerns. Commissioner Rydberg asked if streets are weight -restricted to exclude that kind of vehicle. Mr. Carlton stated it sounded like most of the vehicles are in Anoka County/city of Ramsey so staff will work with those agencies. Councilmember Ovall asked if there are no parking signs on Jarvis St. so their vendors are aware they cannot park there. Mr. Carlton stated he didn't know if the streets were signed but he could look to Copart as it is a condition of their CUP and a violation could be grounds for revocation, a concern they have heard since day one. He stated they would work PI�EAEI BT NaIATURE Planning Commission Page 3 July 28, 2020 with Copart to address those concerns and facilitate the enforcement and communication. Mr. Collins stated Jarvis has no parking signs and the two cul-de-sacs do not have parking signs. He stated the drivers do not ask to park there either and he wants to keep things good, but asks for respect, keep the area clean, and prevent problems now before they become larger. Chair Larson -Vito asked how independent contractors would receive communication knowing there are specific rules in place, as the applicant is still responsible for their actions. Commissioner Rydberg stated he is an independent contractor and companies have agreements in place with standards, rules, and regulations to meet. He stated he did not feel it would be a problem to include parking rules and restrictions. Commissioner Johnson stated he still has concerns about screening along the railway and felt Copart did a good job screening with phase I. He wondered as the expansion continues, will the grading influence the view from the YAC fields and park expansion. He wondered with 15' above grade and 7' above the fence line, will people see a junk yard. He would like to see taller trees and a taller fence that will screen the view, and suggested placement of the YAC parking lot closer to the Copart property. Mr. Carlton stated they could absolutely require more screening, which is why they called out that concern to Copart, who will have their engineer adjust the grade as much as possible. He stated it is a unique situation to have athletic fields in this area and more screening along with placement of the stormwater pond on the exterior of the property, then trees and then a fence will attempt to create as much separation as possible. Councilmember Ovall asked if Parks and Recreation weighed in on this design. Mr. Carlton stated Parks and Recreation Commission will review this design on August 12 and will have a formal recommendation to the City Council whether in support or opposition to the project, which is a condition of approval of the plat. Conunissioner Thiel stated if the Parks and Recreation recommends approval of this phase, the city could also provide an additional buffer for this or any other industrial use near YAC. Moved by Commissioner Thiel and seconded by Commissioner Beise to continue discussion of the Copart Phase II Update to August 12, 2020. Motion carried 7-0. PO fAERE6 IT N ITVRE Planning Commission July 28, 2020 S. Council Liaison Update Page 4 Councilmember Ovall discussed the Copart project work session the council had to review this Phase II update. He also discussed in detail the CommonBond approval by the City Council with a split vote and in the end felt compelled to move forward with the project. He explained he did not like overriding both staff and Planning Commission recommendation and provide some insight why he voted in favor of the project. He stated he talked with numerous citizens in his ward who were against approving the project. He went into the vote without prejudice but was conflicted with his decision. He stating he felt CommonBond did an exceptional job of community outreach and articulated sound counter positions and exceptions made to accommodate the community. He appreciated the developer coming to the meeting. He felt CommonBond, a long-standing company, is a strong entity in the affordable housing industry. He also discussed the traffic studies for high density housing and that it seems to have less traffic than retail. He finished stated in the end he was in favor of this project and we have an affordable housing problem in Elk River. Commission Thiel thanked Councilmember Ovall, noting he was personally offended by some of the comments opposing the project he had received and read. He asked about the parking concerns. Councilmember Ovall stated the council held the developer on the 2.5 stall parking standard and the developer has offered for proof of parking the adjacent land across the street for internal circulation road. He stated they also discussed the height and mass of the building to the surrounding area. He noted a commercial lighting could be even higher and felt the design would fit into the area better than a commercial building. 6. General Business There was no general business to discuss. 7. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:24 p.m. Minutes pre axed by Jennifer Green. Tina Allard City,...�lerk JillL'Larson-Vito Planning Commission Chair 1IVI1[1 0 NATURE