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CR 91-179 CUP - TownhomesAugust 14, 1991 S Y O ti 5 0 P K Council Report: 91-179 CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT - TOWNHOMES Proposed Action. Staff recommends the following motion: Move to adopt Resolution 91 -7 approving the conditional use permit to construct 12 townhomes on the corner of Hiawatha and Cambridge. Approval of this motion will allow the applicant to construct 12 townhomes. ov rview. The applicant is proposing to construct 12 rental townhomes on the east side of Ramsgate along Hiawatha Avenue. These townhomes will be two story, three bedrooms with a 2 car tuck -under garage. Access will be from Cambridge. There is no car access from Hiawatha to the townhomes. A ponding area will be located on the north end of the site. The south end of the site will be a parking area for Ramsgate Apartments and the townhomes. This conditional use permit was referred back to the Planning Commission because of a change in the site plan. The site plan was changed to accommodate a larger holding pond which resulted in removing one unit. The Council referred this back to the Commission and asked the Commission only to review the site plan for land use and design issues. Other issues involving the past actions by the City will be reviewed the City Council. See the attached "Notes from the Zoning & Planning Meeting." An EAW was ordered to be prepared by the City Council for this project on April 2, 1991. Action on the C.U.P. and other applications were continued until the E.A.W. process had been completed. Primary Issues to Consider. o Does the proposal meet the zoning requirements? o What is the impact of this project on the surrounding area? o Should Hiawatha be widened? o What are the changes detailed on the revised plan? suvvortina Documents. o Detailed Background o Analysis of Issues o Alternatives o Site Plans o Resolution No: 91 -7 o Memo from Jim Kerrigan regarding acquisition of property �. Anderso CR: 91 -179 Page 2 D tailed Backaround. Zoning and Comprehensive Plan. The zoning of the subject parcel is R -2, Low Density Multiple Family. The Comprehensive. Plan has designated this parcel as high density residential. The applicant has requested an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan from high density residential to medium density residential. Exterior materials. The exterior of the townhomes is masonite siding. The color will be earth tones. Parking. The proposed plan has a two -stall garage for every, unit, plus a driveway long enough for two ,more spaces. The Ordinance requires 2 parking spaces per unit. The proposed plan complies with this requirement. The parking area on the south side of the site can be used by both the townhomes and. Ramsgate. If the Commission is concerned about enough parking for the townhomes, parking spaces can be designated for additional spaces for the townhomes. The applicant would be willing to designate spaces for the townhomes. Engineering Considerations. At the March 5, 1991 City Council meeting the City Council ordered a feasibility study for the Hiawatha sanitary sewer. This study was ordered.as a result the City's consulting engineer the sewer system in Hiawatha with the new information regarding sewer problems. The City is prepared to correct the sewer problems in Hiawatha. The site plan has been revised to accommodate a larger ponding area on the north side of the property. The City's consulting engineer has approved the revised plan. The applicant will have to get permission from the Minnehaha Watershed District for this development.' Any approval should be contingent on. their approval and the City's consulting engineer. Landscaping. The Ordinance requires one tree per 2000 square feet of open space. The Ordinance requires 16 trees for this site.. I The landscape plan details 23 new plantings which meet. or exceed the Ordinance requirements. There are also 106 other plantings of trees and shrubs that will be added to the site. 18 existing trees will also be retained on the townhome site if possible. Trash Handling. There will not be community trash area. Each unit will have their own trash container. a CR: 91 -179 Page 3 Access. Access to the site will be from Cambridge. The townhomes and the apartments will share a 24,foot driveway easement. This easement will have a bituminous surface. 12 feet is an existing bituminous surface. Lighting The site will have individual lights on the front and rear of the buildings. The road to the garages and parking area will also be lit. The lights for the access road are pole lights, with a height of 12 feet Fire Marshal Consideration. The Fire Marshal has reviewed the preliminary plans and found no problems at this time. He also noted that this area has been a problem with grass fires. Screening. The parking area on the. south end of site will be recessed. A retaining wall with a guard rail will be constructed on the east part of this site. The east part of the parking area abutting the residential area will remain as a buffer to the parking area. Primary Issues to Consider. o What are the changes detailed on the revised plan? The major change to the site plan was changing number of buildings to two from three and removing one unit on the north side the site. There is 10 feet separating the buildings to allow for drainage. The plat has changes slightly. The north lot line of Lot 2'has been moved approximately 27 feet to the south. o Does the proposal meet the zoning requirements? The following are the zoning requirements for the R -2 district and the proposed development: R -2 front yard: 35 feet rear yard: .35 feet side yard east: 12 feet Proposed townhomes 110 feet 35 feet 25 feet (with new. ROW) side yard west: 12 feet height 35 feet open space 1:1.5 29.5 feet 31 f eet 1:1.88 This is a corner lot. The front yard is.Cambridge. (Attached is a letter from Jerre Miller regarding the front yard for this project.) CR: 91 -179 Page 4 o What is impact of this project on the surrounding area? Any development will have an impact on the surrounding area.since the lot is vacant at this time. However, because of the way the access has been designed the impact should be quite minimized for the single family homes to the east and south. Much of the activity will be from the west side of the townhomes. The townhomes, with the proposed density, will provide a good transition from single family to the higher density of the Ramsgate apartments. The apartments to the east should not have any impact. The townhomes will abut parking and garages on the apartment site. The new parking area for the apartments should be an improvement to the apartments and the current parking situation. o Should Hiawatha be widened? Hiawatha has .a 40 foot right -of -way with a 22 foot bituminous surface. If the 'road were to be reconstructed the current roadway policy requires a minimum right -of -way, of 50 -60 feet with a 26 foot roadway. The staff is recommending that 10 feet be taken from the applicant's property for right -of -way. The additional 10 feet will give Hiawatha a 50 foot right -of -way. Also, the applicant should be required to widen Hiawatha by 4 feet to the west. The extra right -of -way and the widening of the road will meet the minimum roadway requirements established in the roadway policy. The applicant has agreed to give the additional right -of -way and to widen Hiawatha by 4 feet. Alt rnatives 1. Approve the conditional use permit. By approving the conditional use permit the applicant will be able to construct 12 townhomes 2. Deny the conditional use permit. By denying the conditional use permit, the applicant will not be able to construct 12 townhomes. The City Council will have to state findings of fact which support the denial of the conditional use permit. 3. Continue for further information. If the City Council indicates that further information is needed, the item should be continued. CR: 91- 179 Page 5 Notes from Zoning & Planning Meeting Staffing explained the change from 13 units to 12 units. Arlene D' applicant a ixson representing the a PP appeared before the Commission and also explained the changes. Joey Carlson appeared before the Commission. Mr. Carlson expressed a concern about the preserving of the trees on the site. The Commission discussed corner lots and if the setback on Hiawatha neater. should be g The ,City Attorney advised the Commission that if they added a condition requiring a greater setback on Hiawatha, they would be im osin a requirement that was not enforceable. p Several other residents appeared before the Commission and s oke about trees on the site. p t the The Commission discussed adding the following conditions to the resolution. .13. Require that the front yard setback 'be from Hiawatha 14. That no grading or removal of trees occur until approval by the Environmental Quality Board.. Mr. Pavella moved'to approve resolution RZ91 -1 with the two added conditions. The motion failed on a.1 -3 vote. After a considerable discussion on what to do, another motion was made. Mr. Maxwell moved to approve resolution RZ91 -1 with the two added conditions. The motion passed on a 3 -1 vote, Mrs. Reuter voting nay. The Hiawatha residents submitted a petition to the Environmental Board requesting an Environmental Assessment Worksheet. The Quality proposal does not meet the mandatory threshold for a EAW. The proposal may meet the minimum requirements for a discretionary EAW. Staff is studying this issue ,further and will provide additional information to City Council during the meeting. If the proposal meets the minimum r the City for a discretionary EAW, the City Council will need to undertake a r o c es s of determining whether it wishes to require a discretionary EAW, a process Also attached is the memo from Jerre Miller regarding he co . ate was a regarding edition from the CUP when Ramsgate approved regarding access to the Ramsgate Site.