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04-18-23 Work Session - Summary1 CHANHASSEN PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION SUMMARY MINUTES - 6:00 P.M. APRIL 18, 2023 CHANHASSEN FOUNTAIN CONFERENCE ROOM PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Kelsey Alto, Edward Goff, Erik Johnson, Eric Noyes, and Perry Schwartz. PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Ryan Soller. STAFF PRESENT: Olivia Adomabea, Planning Intern, Sam DiMaggio, Economic Development Manager, Bob Generous, Senior Planner, Eric Maass, Planning Director, Kim Meuwissen, City Clerk, MacKenzie Young-Walters, Associate Planner. PUBLIC PRESENT: Unnamed resident. WORK SESSION: Called to Order at 6:15 p.m. by Eric Noyes A.1. Planning Commission Appointments and Oaths of Office At 6:15 p.m., Kim Meuwissen administered and the two Commissioners, Eric Noyes, and Steve Jobe, recited their Oaths of Office and signed the Oath document before a notary public. A.2. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair Perry Schwartz nominated Eric Noyes as chair. Kelsey Alto seconded the nomination. There were no other nominations. The Commission voted 6–0 to appoint Eric Noyes as Chair. Edward Goff nominated Kelsey Alto as Vice-Chair. Perry Schwartz seconded the motion. There were no other nominations. The Commission voted 6–0 to appoint Kelsey Alto as Vice-Chair. A.3. Adoption of Bylaws Eric Maass noted that annually, the Commission was required to adopt their bylaws. As part of the discussion, a time limit of 5 minutes per speaker was recommended, which is similar to City Council procedures. The Commission discussed this item and determined that it was adequate time to allow for public input in the process but would also limit individuals from going on and on about issues that may or may not be pertinent to the discussion. No formal timekeeping was anticipated, and the chair would manage it. A second item of discussion was changing the start time for the Planning Commission to an earlier time. The initial discussion was for a 5:30 start which would allow individuals to come in on their way home from work should they wish to attend a meeting. The Economic Development Commission has this start time, and the Parks and Recreation Commission will be discussing it as part of their bylaw discussion. While the Commission felt that an earlier start was appropriate, there was some concern that 5:30 was too early. Commissioners were concerned that people may not be able to make it that early and may interfere with dinner. As a compromise, a 6:00 was proposed with a corresponding limit of 9:00 end for the start of new business. 2 The Commission questioned how the agenda was determined. Staff advised them that we look at the applications and try to determine which item would be able to be reviewed more quickly and try to put those on first to get participants out sooner, rather than having to wait on a more complicated and or contentious item. Regarding the 9:00 end time, there was discussion that sometimes the item may not be able to be completed in that time frame and it may need to be tabled. However, the Commission felt that once an item has been started, the preference was to take it through for a decision, rather than bringing it back on the next agenda. Steve Jobe moved to approve the Planning Commission Bylaws with the amended 5-minute speaker limit and 6:00 start and 9:00 end to the meeting. Kelsey Alto seconded the motion. The motion was approved 6-0. MINUTES B. 1. Approve the Planning Commission Meeting Minutes dated January 17, 2023, and March 7, 2023 Erik Johnson moved, and Kelsey Alto seconded a motion to approve the January 17, 2023, minutes. The Commission voted 5 – 0 to approve the minutes. Kelsey Alto moved and Erik Johnson seconded a motion to approve the March 7, 2023, minutes. The Commission voted 5 – 0 to approve the minutes. DISCUSSION & EDUCATION 1. Role of Planning Commission Eric Maass stated that the Planning Commission is an appointed advisory body to City Council and primarily acts on applications related to the City’s zoning code and comprehensive plan. C.2. Economic Development 101 Sam DiMaggio introduced herself to the Planning Commission and told them she had been with the City for approximately 8 months. Economic development deals with job creation, investment in the community, creating economic well-being, and improving the quality of life. Her job is to provide connections between developers, landowners, and businesses and direct them to the appropriate city staff to coordinate and facilitate their projects. Sam DiMaggio went through various actions and programs she worked on in Shakopee, Le Sueur, and Farmington. She also noted that Eric Maass did the same function in Hastings. Sam DiMaggio is an advocate for businesses in Chanhassen. She is working on a Business Retention and Expansion Program (BR&E), is using new software for tracking activities, has joined the Chamber of Commerce as Ambassador and is a member of Buy Chanhassen. She serves as a contact for new and existing businesses. She noted that new development on green field sites is difficult because most of the sites are challenging. She noted that development and redevelopment is challenging due to increased costs and lack of employees. She relies on the comprehensive plan to provide guidance on development. 3 C.3. Development Triangle – Pyramid of Discretion Eric Maass reviewed the development review development discretion levels with the Commission. The Decision Pyramid shows the levels of city discretion from highest discretion for Comprehensive Plans and lowest for building permits. Legislative-type reviews, such as Comprehensive Plan amendments, Code amendments, and rezonings create policy and have the highest levels of discretion. He pointed out that some items were quasi-judicial in review, which requires that the Planning Commission review a project in relation to the regulations in City Code. Comprehensive Plan – legislative. City has the greatest discretion since it is creating policy and vision for the community. Zoning – legislative. City has the greatest discretion since it is creating policy and vision for the community but must be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Subdivision – quasi-judicial. Does it meet the requirements of the subdivision ordinance, comply with Code and be consistent with the comprehensive plan. Conditional Use Permits and Interim Use Permits – quasi-judicial. Conditional uses are permitted uses but must meet conditions for their use. The City may require reasonable conditions to mitigate the uses impact. Interim Use Permits are reviewed in the same fashion but have a sunset date to the use. Variance – quasi-judicial. Variance process whereby the Planning Commission sits as the Board of Appeals and Adjustments, where individuals are requesting a deviation from City Code. Site Plan Review – quasi-judicial. Site plans are required prior to construction of new buildings. The City has limited discretion, rather determines if the project complies with City regulations Finally, building permits, which the Planning Commission does not review, but it has the least amount of discretion for the City. If the plan complies with Code, it must be approved. Staff pointed out that it was critical that the Planning Commission be cognizant of the timeframe for review of such items, which must be completed within 60 days unless the City takes a 60-day time extension, or the applicant grants an extension to the review timeframe. C.4. 2040 Comp Plan Overview with Focus on Land Use and Housing Chapters MacKenzie Young-Walters discussed the Land Use and Housing Chapters of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The Land Use Chapter guides all the land within the community to show what uses can go where based on the City’s vision of the community. The land is divided into residential, commercial, office, industrial and open space and public spaces. The residential land uses are further divided into different densities of housing from Large Lot to High-Density Residential. Within the residential lands, there are various housing types that can be built. Within the housing chapter, the city included a projected housing demand schematic breaking down the housing demand for different types of housing and ownership categories. This study was prepared by an outside consultant in 2014 so some of the assumptions may need to be revised. In calculating housing demand, staff had to prepare land use absorption rates for each land use within the community to satisfy the Metropolitan Council’s requirement for meeting our minimum housing density as an Emerging Suburban Edge community of 3 units per acre. Based on our analysis, we can meet that standard. 4 C.5. Ongoing & Future Development A map of the short-term and long-term development areas was shown to the Commission, which is included in the Comprehensive Plan. This map was overlaid with the five-year development activity that has been reviewed by the Commission. Bob Generous went through an inventory of commercial and residential projects that have been reviewed by the Planning Commission over the past five years. The status of each project was discussed. There are two redevelopment opportunities that may come forward within the downtown area this year. C.6. Planning for the Future & Sustainability Eric Maass presented some trends in planning and sustainability including housing practices beyond the building code, housing affordability, multigenerational, corporation acquisition of single-family homes, multifamily housing, and changing parking requirements. Additional issues related to the changing climate include landscaping and irrigation, electrification (EV charging), and the future of traditional gas stations. Hydrogen as an alternative fuel source was also discussed. The changing retail market was presented. The future of work including the aging population and the increase in remote work was discussed. Finally, the issue of health was addressed including the aging of the population and the health effects of green space. ADJOUNMENT Steve Jobe moved, and Eric Noyes seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. The Commission voted 6 – 0 to adjourn. The work session ended at 9:10 p.m. Submitted by Eric Maass Planning Director Prepared by Bob Generous, Senior Planner, MacKenzie Young- Walters and Jenny Potter, Sen. Admin. Support Specialist