PC SUM 2007 04 03 WORK SESSION
CHANHASSEN PLANNING COMMISSION
WORKSESSION
SUMMARY MINUTES
APRIL 3, 2007
Fountain Conference Room
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Debbie Larson, Jerry McDonald, Kathleen Thomas and Kurt
Papke.
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Mark Undestad, Kevin Dillon and Dan Keefe
STAFF PRESENT:
Kate Aanenson, Community Development Director, Bob Generous,
Senior Planner; Sharmeen Al-Jaff, Senior Planner; and Alyson Fauske, Assistant City
Engineer
PUBLIC PRESENT:
Jeff Fox and Rick Dorsey
NEW BUSINESS
The Planning Commission moved to the next meeting the adoption of the Planning
Commission by-laws and election of a chair and vice-chair since three Planning
Commissioners were not present.
LAND USE STUDY
Kate Aanenson introduced Barry Warren and Monique McKenzie with SRF who will
assist the City in examining land uses, specifically commercial. Barry will assist the city
to refine its policy on retail commercial. A retail study was conducted that showed
potential market for addition retail. There have been two round table discussions that
included downtown business owners, developers, etc.
A joint work session with the City Council will be held on April 9, 2007 to further
discuss review this issue.
What are the opportunities in Chanhassen and how can we capitalize on them?
Tonight we will discuss values of the Planning Commission. We will look at a broad
commercial base (City wide) and not just focus on a Regional Mall.
There are mixed feelings on expanded commercial- what is the cost to down town?
There are strong feelings both pro and con for maintaining the downtown vs. a regional
mall. Need and opportunities presented with increase in population-we need to look 15
years down the line and evaluate what role does the community have?
Market Gravity Models show that employment and business opportunities exist for the
southwest sector.
Planning Commission Summary – April 3, 2007
What are the strengths of Chanhassen?
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Wealth an exposable income.
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New accessible parcels with Highway 312.
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Void of services in the Southwest area. People are not likely to go south of the
river to satisfy this demand.
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Currently under-served.
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Commercial development provides additional taxes due to higher valuations.
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Currently there is a good mix of uses within the community.
What are the Challenges?
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Roads and infrastructure: potential traffic congestion and Highway 5 is a chock
point/barrier for transportation due to limited capacity.
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Potential to overburden resources due to overdevelopment on lakes, creeks,
ravines and other natural resources.
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Vitoria will be larger than Chanhassen and Chaska.
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Will commercial in Chanhassen (if not on Highway 5) be out of the way for
them?
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NIMBY-Buffer and transition. Development must be done appropriately.
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Disruption of peace and tranquility for the southern portion of Chanhassen
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Needs verses responsibility
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Taxes- fiscal impact – Could be negative due to additional costs for police, sewer,
water, etc.
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Providing convenience commercial including hours of operation. Can’t always
shop locally because the small business closes.
Do we have enough Neighborhood Business Commercial?
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People who feel they are out in the country will be sensitive to development and
lights.
What type of commercial do we need?
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Good destination restaurants, prefer high end, sit down and family owned.
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No pent-up need for big box.
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Eden Prairie is the destination and is close enough to satisfy such shopping
opportunity.
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Specialty Stores
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High end destination shopping.
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Question whether the community can support more retail.
The large box is here (Best Buy, Hardware, discount, etc.) as a market supply
mechanism.
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There seem to be enough on the periphery.
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Target was an issue to get in to the community. It had to meet our standards.
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Planning Commission Summary – April 3, 2007
Chanhassen is proud of downtown.
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Nice blend of moderate box and small shops, Byerlys, target, small boutiques.
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Walkable
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Seems to have a critical mass of businesses.
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Good parking and good driving access.
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Concern with Dinner Theater.
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Want more development like Market Street Station.
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Provide a performing arts center.
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Would like to maintain the lower scale. “Wayzata scale” development with
greater density and intensity of buildings. Like to park in front of the store and
park once and shop many stores.
Should there be housing in downtown?
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It is the trend because it keeps people in the downtown area.
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Something the city should look at including.
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Would like affordable workforce, senior and young adult housing opportunities.
Should trips be reduced by providing more retail?
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On what bases should it not be considered? Where should it be?
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Arboretum shopping center has not been successful
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Highway 5 acts as a barrier. People south of Highway 5 would like retail
opportunities.
Issues the city will need to look at as part of the comprehensive plan update.
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Land use plan must be sustainable economically, environmentally and socially.
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Connectivity – trails and sidewalks.
Questions that the City will need to address:
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What portion of the market opportunity should the City look at capturing?
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What additional recreational opportunities should the City provide, e.g., ice arena,
legion ball type baseball fields, etc.?
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What type of retail opportunities are missing in the City?
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Where should these retail opportunities be?
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
th
Kate Aanenson pointed out that the next Planning Commission meeting on the 17 will
also be a worksession. We will begin to look at infrastructure, as well as an issue paper
on Historic Preservation and Natural Resources management. Kate showed maps of land
use from the Village of Chanhassen, for the 1995 study area and for the area between
Lyman Boulevard and Pioneer Trail prepared for a group of land owners prior to the
adoption of the 1998 comprehensive plan. The Planning Commission was also shown the
existing Metropolitan Urban Services Area (MUSA) Phasing Map.
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Planning Commission Summary – April 3, 2007
LAND USE ISSUE MAP
Bob Generous presented a map of areas of the City that currently have land use guiding
inconsistent with the zoning and actual development of the property, those areas that have
dual land use guiding or areas that the City may want to investigate revising the land use
guiding, e.g., undeveloped large lot areas within the Highway 101 corridor, upland area
on the south side of Flying Cloud Drive.
ENGINEERING ISSUES WITH SUBDIVISION REVIEW
Alyson Fauske explained how grading plans are prepared, what the contour lines
represent and how to read the plans. She also explained how runoff is calculated, which
include drainage area, the amount of precipitation, the curve number ( an imperical
number between 25 and 100 which is based on soil type and ground cover), and the time
of concentration, which is the time it takes a raindrop to go from the high point to the low
point (based on cover type, distance and slope). She also pointed out that when
developers submit plans we require that they provide predevelopment and post-
development runoff calculations.
Submitted by Kate Aanenson
Community Development Director Prepared by Bob Generous
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