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03-23-2021 Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, March 23, 2021 – Page 1 PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES March 23, 2021 A regular meeting of the Hopkins Planning & Zoning Commission was held on March 23, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. by video conference call through Zoom in response to the COVID-19 emergency. Present were Commission Members Gerard Balan, Sam Stiele, Nathan White, Douglas Dyrland, Maggie Sedoff, and Emily Fiamova. Also present and City Planner Jason Lindahl. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Balan called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. ADOPT AGENDA Commissioner White moved, Commissioner Sedoff seconded, to adopt the agenda. The motion was approved unanimously. OPEN AGENDA – PUBLIC COMMENTS/CONCERNS CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Fiamova moved, Commissioner Stiele seconded, to approve the minutes of the January 26, 2020 Planning & Zoning Commission regular meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING – 1. Planning Application 2021-02 425 Madison Avenue Subdivision City Planner Lindahl gave an overview presentation of this item. The applicants, Elaine and Jeff Zhang, request rezoning and subdivision approvals for the Yang Addition for the property located at 425 Madison Avenue North. These applications would allow subdivision of the existing 1.48 single-family property into two single-family lots. The proposal would keep the existing single family home on one property and create another parcel for future single-family development. The applicants went through a concept plan review in July of 2020 and had general support from the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council for a 3-lot design; however, the new proposal is only for two lots. Rezoning with a Planned Unit Development (PUD) is necessary to allow for lot width, lot frontage and accessory building position that would not meet city standards. Staff recommends approval of these applications, subject to conditions. Chairperson Balan opened the public hearing. The applicant, Elaine Zhang addressed the Commission and was available to answer questions. Commissioner Sedoff asked the applicant about the changes made since the concept plan application last July. Ms. Zhang replied that due to a number of factors, they decided to split the property into two lots instead of three. Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, March 23, 2021 – Page 2 With no additional comments, Commissioner Fiamova moved and Comissioner Stiele seconded to close the public hearing. The motion was approved unanimously. Commissioner Dyrland moved and Commissioner Fiamova seconded, to adopt Planning & Zoning Commission Resolution 2021-04, recommending the City Council approve an ordinance rezoning the subject property from R-1-C, Single Family Medium Density to R-1-C Single Family Medium Density with a Planned Unit Development, subject to conditions. The motion was approved unanimously. Commissioner White moved and Commissioner Fiamova seconded, to adopt Planning & Zoning Commission Resolution 2021-05, recommending the City Council approve the preliminary plat for the Yang Addition, subject to conditions. The motion was approved unanimously. Commissioner Sedoff moved and Commissioner Fiamova seconded, to adopt Resolution 2021-06, recommending the City Council approve the final plat for the Yang Addition, subject to conditions. The motion was approved unanimously. Mr. Lindahl informed the Commission that this item would be presented to the City Council with the Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval at their April 6 meeting. OLD BUSINESS – None. NEW BUSINESS – 2. Planning Application 2021-03 Hopkins Apartments Concept Plan Review City Planner Lindahl gave an overview presentation of this item. The Beard Group, Inc. is requesting concept plan review for the Hopkins Apartments development (formerly Hopkins Cinema Flats). An application was originally submitted in December of 2020; however, shortly after submittal the applicant requested the City table their application so they could have more time to consider and revise their plans. The applicant seeks to redevelop the Hopkins Cinema 6 Movie Theatre into a multi-family, mixed-used development. The revised concept plan renames the project Hopkins Apartments and offers a different exterior architecture but the same type of building with a mix of ground floor commercial space along Mainstreet, apartments on the three levels above and two levels of parking. A concept plan review is an optional process that allows the applicant to present their development proposal to the community, Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council for discussion and comment. No formal action is taken to approve or deny the project. Concept plan review does not require a public hearing, however, the City did require the applicant to hold a virtual neighborhood meeting to gather feedback. The applicant received two comments. The first were the residents of CitiGables who shared concerns with building height, privacy and security in the area between the buildings, landscaping and pets. The second comment weas from the Hopkins Coalition. In general, Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, March 23, 2021 – Page 3 the Coalition did not take a position on the concept plan as it relates to the City’s zoning standards but supports the potential tax revenue and economic impact of the project on the local economy. Additionally, the City received 31 email comments regarding the proposed plan which were included in the staff report, and 7 more comments were received before the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. Of these comments, one was neutral, five were generally supportive and 32 were generally opposed. The issues most cited in the comments by those generally opposed included saving the theatre, the need for less rental and more owner-occupied housing, the need for more affordable housing, the design not fitting Downtown, keeping the “hometown feel”, the need for more parking, retail space should include restaurants and bars, and the commercial space should be locally owned and not include chain stores. Those that generally supported the projected cited the need for more high-density housing, more home ownership opportunities, tax revenue and the economic impact of more residents downtown. Mr. Lindahl continued with a detailed review of the concept compared to the City’s comprehensive plan and zoning regulations. After the presentation from City staff, Bill Beard, President of the Beard Group Inc., addressed the Commission and shared background of the property and more detail on the redevelopment plan, and provided reasoning behind preferring to apply for variance requests as opposed to a PUD. Jeff Wrede from Momentum Design Group provided information on the exterior materials, building elevation and renderings. The Commissioners had a general discussion about various aspects of the proposal. The discussion included building height, density, impact on CitiGables residents, ground floor uses, parking, landscaping plans, exterior materials, project financing, overall architectural design, sustainable practices and energy conservation, balconies and the intended use of the ground floor commercial space. While the Planning & Zoning Commission was generally supportive of the concept plan they noted some concerns with the density, height and exterior materials but could not reach consensus on a recommendations for revising the plan. Mr. Lindahl shared that the concept plan will be presented to the City Council at their April 6 meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS – City Planner Lindahl updated the Commission on the following items. • The Raspberry Ridge II development received approval by the City Council and construction on the project will begin this summer. • Construction on the Vista 44 development will likely not begin until early 2022. • Staff is continuing check-in conversations with Trilogy on the proposed Blake & Excelsior development. There is currently no timeline for application submittal. • Commissioner Stiele questioned if there have been discussions on incorporating an inclusionary housing policy in Hopkins. Mr. Lindahl replied that the City does not have a Minutes of the Planning & Zoning Commission, March 23, 2021 – Page 4 policy that requires affordable units, but it could be a requirement of a PUD or other agreement with developers. ADJOURN Commissioner Fiamova moved, Commissioner White seconded, to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30p.m. Respectfully submitted, Courtney Pearsall Administrative Assistant