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IV.1. Minutes of the April 23, 2019 Planning & Zoning Commission DRAFT Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, April 23, 2019 – Page 1 PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES April 23, 2019 A regular meeting of the Hopkins Planning & Zoning Commission was held on April 23, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. in the Training Room at Hopkins Fire Station. Present were Commission Members James Warden, Samuel Stiele, Elizabeth Goeman, Gerard Balan, Emily Wallace-Jackson, Kristin Hanneman and Laura Daly. Also present was City Planner Jason Lindahl. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Warden called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. ADOPT AGENDA Commissioner Wallace-Jackson moved, Commissioner Hanneman seconded, to adopt the agenda. The motion was approved unanimously. OPEN AGENDA – PUBLIC COMMENTS/CONCERNS – None. CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Goeman moved, Commissioner Balan seconded, to approve the minutes of the March 26, 2019, regular meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING 1. Planning Application 2019-06-AMD Wilshire Properties, LLC Zoning Code Text Amendment Mr. Lindahl gave an overview of this item stating that the applicant, Bruce Lawrence of Wilshire Properties, LLC, requests a zoning code text amendment to allow Licensed Residential Programs for 7 to 10 persons as a conditional use in the R-1-D and R-1-E districts. Mr. Lindahl continued that recent complaints from the surrounding neighborhood led city staff to conduct a series of site inspections and contact the property owners regarding these issues. This process found the property housed a licensed residential facility with 10 residents. Under state law, this type of facility is permitted in any single-family residential district provided it has no more than six residents. As a result, staff initiated a code enforcement process to bring the site into compliance. In response, the property owner filed for the stated application to change the zoning standards to allow a Licensed Residential Facility serving 7 to 10 residents as a condition use in the R-1-D and R-1-E districts. Staff recommends denial of this request. Chairperson Warden opened the public hearing. Coming forward to address the Commission was the applicant, Bruce Lawrence. Mr. Lawrence shared some background information on the history of the group home and the services they provide to their residents. Mr. Lawrence also detailed the requested changes to the zoning code for Conditional Uses within the R Districts to include Licensed Residential Programs Service 7 to 10 Persons. DRAFT Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, April 23, 2019 – Page 2 Shannon Schlecht, elected official of the Knollwood Association and resident at 302 Cottage Downs, shared concerns on how allowing the proposed changes to the zoning code could potentially affect the future of the single-family neighborhood in a negative way and the precedent it could set for other group homes to also start allowing more residents. Commissioner Daly followed with a question on how the difference between six or nine residents specifically affects the neighborhood. Mr. Schlecht did not have an example available but replied that the increase in persons contributes to more activity, deliveries, garbage, etc. The Commission asked about the number of cars regularly coming and going from the group home and how that has negatively affected the neighborhood. Mr. Schlecht did not have an average number to provide to the Commission. Marshal Taniguchi, 122 Wilshire Walk, commented that he is very supportive of group homes and the services they provide, but is wondering what the proper number of residents for a group home is. Mr. Taniguchi also referenced a study that discusses how the quality of life starts to decrease starting at four residents living in a group home, and drops significantly after six. Arthur Horowitz, resident of the Knollwood neighborhood, is supportive of the group home within the confines of current state law and City ordinance but is concerned that increasing the number of residents opens the neighborhood up to the possibility of major changes. Ben Rubin, 115 Cottage Downs, is not supportive of the zoning amendment and believes the change, even with the conditions proposed by the applicant, creates the possibility of major changes to the neighborhood. Mr. Rubin is in favor of letting the residents that are currently there stay until they choose to move out or are otherwise no longer living there, after which the property will operate within the current standards. Chairperson Warden questioned whether the City would allow the property to continue to operate under the violation and gradually come into compliance with the standards. Mr. Lindahl replied that he would have to discuss that with the City attorney. Kim Burmeister, 810 Edgemoor Drive, addressed the Commission seeking clarification on who is the owner of the property and who runs the group home. Susan Reader, 417 Cottage Downs, shared concerns about the number of cars in the neighborhood around the group home. Jim Hicks, 815 Park Terrace, commented on the amount of income the group home brings in monthly with each resident. Sharon Steinfeldt, 240 Bridle Lane, is supportive of the group home but is not in favor of changing the current zoning and shares concerns that allowing more residents will alter the feel of the neighborhood. Jed Gurlin, 805 Park Terrace, shared a quote from Hubert Humphrey: “The measure of a society is how we take care of the most vulnerable among us.” DRAFT Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, April 23, 2019 – Page 3 Bruce Lawrence was invited to address the Commission and answer the questions and concerns from the community: • Related to parking and number of cars coming and going from the property, Mr. Lawrence explained that they operate a one to three staff to resident ratio. A maximum of three staff members come and go during shift changes throughout the day. Visitors of residents may also periodically park their cars in the driveway. There could be 9 or 10 cars parked at the property at any given time. In terms of how the traffic affects the Knollwood neighborhood; the applicant does not believe it should, based on the location of the driveway on Oak Ridge Road and not Wilshire Walk. • In response to the comment on how the number of residents affects quality of life, additional staff is added to be sure there is adequate care for each resident. If the application is denied, a current resident in need of special care would need to be moved to another facility. • In response to emergency evacuations, there are plans for safe evacuation of the residents in case of an emergency. • Addressing the concern of how the text amendment could encourage other group homes in the area to expand in a similar way, the applicant reiterated the requested conditions of the text amendment would ensure other group homes would have to go through the same conditional use process in order to make any changes to how they operate. • Regarding the ownership of the property, the applicant owns the care business that operates inside the property but does not own the property itself. • In response to a comment about a large amount of cars at the property for a dying person, it does not happen often and is usually only for a short period of time. • The applicant is willing to make alternations to help conceal the view of cars in the driveway. • If the application is denied, the applicant requests some time to locate another facility for a resident in need of special care. The Commission questioned how much time is reasonable to move the resident; the applicant responded a minimum of 30 days. John and Deb Anderson, 203 Wilshire Walk, commented on how the property at 601 Wilshire Walk is the perfect location for the group home and lists the only concern as group homes taking over the rest of the neighborhood. With no one else wanting to speak, Commissioner Wallace-Jackson moved and Commissioner Balan seconded to close the public hearing at 8:06 p.m. The motion was approved unanimously. Commission discussion after the public hearing included: • There are multi-family residential zones in Hopkins that are zoned to accommodate group home 7-16 residents. • How was this group home previously introduced to the City Council as an 8-bed facility and not recognized as a violation of City Code? Mr. Lindahl responded that he was not a staff member at that time, but believes the prior operators made a good faith effort to introduce themselves to the City Council and because the Council did not have the standards of the City Code in front of them during the meeting, the violation was not immediately DRAFT Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, April 23, 2019 – Page 4 recognized. However, this does not require the City to continue to allow the violation to continue. • What are the next steps in the process if the City approves the applicant’s proposal for the text amendment? Mr. Lindahl responded that applicant would need to come back though the conditional use permit process and meet whatever the City ultimately sets. • Concern over the precedent the zoning amendment could provide to other group homes and the risk of affecting single-family neighborhoods. • Concern for the current residents required to vacate if the zoning amendment is denied. • Commissioner Daly agreed with an earlier comment about 601 Oakridge as an ideal location for the group home. • Confirmation that the applicant cannot split the lot under current zoning, which would not change with approval of the proposed text amendment. • The City can set standards that would limit the number of group homes in a single-family neighborhood with seven or more residents; however, group homes with six or fewer residents cannot be restricted as it is state law. • Support for protecting single-family neighborhoods, but concern about the impact on the vulnerable individuals being cared for by the group home. • Discussion of the option to table the item in order to examine the broader picture against the Comprehensive Plan. With no further discussion by the Commission, Commissioner Daly moved and Commissioner Goeman seconded, recommending the City Council approve the zoning code text amendment request from Wilshire Properties, LLC to allow Licensed Residential Programs serving 7 to 10 Persons as a conditional use in the R-1-D and R-1-E zoning districts. The motion was approved 4-3 with Commissioners Balan, Warden, Daly and Goeman voting for, and Commissioners Wallace- Jackson, Hanneman and Stiele voting against. This application will be presented to the City Council at their May 7, 2019 regular meeting with the Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval. OLD BUSINESS 1. Planning Application 2018-12-AMD 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update Mr. Lindahl gave a brief overview of the item before introducing Haila Maze from Bolton & Menk who presented a summary of the comments received during the comment period for the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission was instructed to review the comments and draft responses and determine if there should be any changes to how comments are addressed. When Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council reviews are complete (including a public hearing), the plan will be approved by resolution for submittal to the Metropolitan Council for formal review. Once the plan is submitted, the Met Council will have 15 business days to do a completeness review. If any issues are found, they will be brought to the attention of the city via a letter. The City then will have an opportunity to work with the Met Council to resolve any remaining items before final approval by both bodies. DRAFT Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, April 23, 2019 – Page 5 The Commission requested receiving the draft a week in advance of the public hearing to allow more time for review. NEW BUSINESS – None. ANNOUNCEMENTS – None. ADJOURN Commissioner Goeman moved, Commissioner Balan seconded, to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:04 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Courtney Pearsall Administrative Assistant