1987 10 28
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CHANHASSEN PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
OCTOBER 28, 1987
Chairman Conrad called the meeting to order.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Tim Erhart, Steven Emmings, Robert Siegel, Ladd
Conrad, James Wildermuth and David Headla
MEMBERS ABSENT: Howard Noziska
STAFF PRESENT: Barbara Dacy, City Planner and Jo Ann Olsen, Asst. City
planner
PUBLIC HEARING:
ROBERT PIERCE APPLICANT, LOCATED AT 6830 MINNEWASHTA PARKWAY ON THE
EAST AND WEST SIDE OF MINNEWASHTA-PARKWAY, APPROXIMATELY 172 ~ILE SOUTH
OF HIGHWAY 7: - -
A. SUBDIVISION OF 9.04 ACRES INTO 15 SINGLE FAMILY LOTS ON
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PROPERTY ZONED RSF, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL.
B. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR A RECREATIONAL BEACHLOT.
Public Present:
Name
Address
Robert pierce
Fred plocher
Chuck & Helen Lawson
Mary Mann
Gordon Simonton
JoAnn Hallgren
Carol Uppal
Mary Jo Moore
Ray Roettger
Barbara Headla
Dell Schott
Jeff Martineau
Applicant
Box 181, Victoria
5807 So. Hwy 101
7211 Minnewashta Parkway
375 Hwy. 7, Victoria
6860 Minnewashta Parkway
11014 Oak Knoll Terrace No.
3231 Dartmouth Drive
3221 Dartmouth Drive
6870 Minnewashta Parkway
7034 Red Cedar Cove
2565 No. Shore Drive, Orono
Jo Ann Olsen presented the staff report on the subdivision request.
Erhart moved, Emmings seconded to table the subdivision request of 9.04
acres into 15 single family lots on property zoned RSF for Robert
pierce per the applicant's request. All voted in favor and motion
carried.
Conrad: Now staff has the report on the conditional use permit for the
beachlot. How can we move on this until we see the subdivision?
.~
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October 28, 1987 - Page 2
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Olsen: Make it conditioned upon approval of the preliminary plat. I
feel we can condition it upon approval of the subdivision. It meets
all the requirements.
Jo Ann Olsen presented the staff report on the recreational beachlot.
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Robert pierce: As we brought this before the City we've been working
hand in hand with them trying to develop this and I'd like to say, one
we feel we're willing to work to the benefit of all around us as much
as possible and with the City as much as possible. Again, our thinking
is that we have approximately 9 acres of land there and the reason we
came in with the beachlot and one dock with three stalls in it is that
this, as I understand your ordinances, would be the exact same as far
as the dock question. A single family home could have three boats on
one dock. I know and have understood clearly that there is concern for
your lake and that you want to limit the amount of boats that can be on
it. I can understand that. That's why we came in with this
particular, what we feel was a very low usage of the lake and then
allow the other people to enjoy a beach. Up and down Minnewashta
Parkway, as I'm sure you're aware, there are numerous usages of this
manner. Some of them much higher usage than what we're proposing. We
meet most of the requirements for it. We are a little short on one.
On the one side, the northerly side, we have about 120 feet and on the
southerly side we have about 80 feet and it does narrow a bit
inbetween. Our square footage is over and above what is needed for one
dock and also instead of 200 feet we have approximately 500 feet of
lakeshore. The thing that is really critical to our plan is to get the
dock. What we plan is that we would let one of the three lots, like 3,
4 and 5 each have one slip on the dock. If we can do this, we can come
in here and set a mood for a very high quality or upper bracket
neighborhood which will carry right on through. We're looking at homes
roughly in the $300,000.00 range on the frontage and the $200,000.00
range behind. without that dock, the value of the property is greatly
reduced. We just feel that in order to do that, it changes the whole
idea of what we're trying to do. The housing, the cost would certainly
be an asset in the idea of valuations for the neighbors and if we're
limited without the dock, you just can't begin to think that we can put
in that type of homes. It just won't work. I think from that
standpoint and in that way, we're trying to keep a minimal use of the
lake and bring in a real quality development. I'm aware that people
sometimes just plain and simple don't like development and I can
understand their feelings but we'd like to do it such that the
development can set a precedence for further development behind if that
would ever happen or if it doesn't happen, if you have a nice
development on the lake front that can move on back, it would do
nothing but make it possible to just continue on that price bracket and
make their land worth more at a future date. If there are any
questions maybe I could try to answer them.
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Chuck Lawson: I lived there for over 70 years. My folks moved there
in 1915. For many years they rented boats on this property. We've
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October 28, 1987 - Page 3
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always had a dock and I believe that somewhere I read that the City of
Chanhassen wants to open up the lake for everybody. Not just a few
people living right along the shore and that seems to me what this plan
is opposite of what it should be. I guess that's about all. Maybe I
should make that clear. I mean the Planning Commission's plan is
opposite not Mr. Pierce's.
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Ray Roettger: I live 3221 Dartmouth Drive on the north end of the
lake. I guess I've looked at property and new homes going up and some
of the areas are thickly wooded. A developer comes in and does a nice
job and they're bui Idi ng $300,000.00 to $400,000.00 homes. I've always
kind of wondered why doesn't somebody come in and take some lake
property close to the lake where you have a view of the lake and
relieve us of some of the taxes we're paying. I think we're being
overtaxed on the north end of the lake simply because we're sitting on
lake property. I think this is a pretty good approach to it. Taking
the three lots and putting a dock out. It won't overload it anymore.
I guess first of all when I came in here I was kind of against this but
I think just looking at the basic proposal it seems quite reasonable.
The thing I would be against is a common beachlot which we have, and I
have one right along of my home, and that has been nothing but
problems. It's in the Sterling Estates area. We have perhaps 10 lots
that that outlot would serve and there is a dock and there was one
boat, then two boats then three and then there was four. The problem
is I'm looking at it and so is my neighbor but nobody takes care of it.
They just tie up their boats. Sometimes they break loose. Nobody has
cut the grass. Nobody has picked up the cans. Nobody has done
anything so I'm against any beachlot that provides for a number of
homes because it just doesn't work.
Conrad: So you don't like this proposal?
Ray Roettger: No, I think this man has the right approach. Put some
high price homes, and I have nothing against people who can't afford
the higher priced homes but I'm saying to relieve the tax burden, if
you're going to put some high priced homes someplace, you certainly can
do it there and provide a single boat, not three boats for each home.
If he limits it to that, one boat and he goes on record that he's going
to build homes for $300,000.00 or more.
Conrad: This proposal and this beachlot is a common beachlot which you
don't like. This is a beachlot. What the applicant is asking for is
one dock which houses three boats.
Ray Roettger: Three slips. One for each one of them, Lots 3, 4 and 5.
Conrad: Yes.
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Mary Jo Moore: I feel that the City did a two year study on lake
usage. We came up wi th a plan... accepted by everybody in the area.
I see problems with beachlots. It's left up to the residents of the
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October 28, 1987 - Page 4
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area to patrol it. I've also seen the new townhomes go on Lake
Minnewashta and dockage has increased. Now they are mooring boats by
sailboat moorings. It just gets out of hand if you allow people to
stretch the ordinance.
Fred Plocher: I'm a developer of the Red Cedar Cove Townhouses, just
around the corner from here and I represent the seller of the property
as the real estate broker for this property so I'm not unbiased. As I
understand the ordinance, those lot lines could not continue on the
other side of the road. Is that right Jo Ann?
Olsen: Not without lot area variances.
Fred plocher: So you have somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 to 500
feet of lakeshore here which I believe staff is recommending not have a
boat which sounds like on the surface of that, a bit illogical.
Whereas if it were sold as one parcel, it could have one dock. It
could have a dock as one parcel. In other words, Mr. Lawson who has
lived there for 70 years has been illegal to have a dock on that
property?
Olsen: His dock was grandfathered in.
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Fred Plocher: So you have 400 to 500 feet of lakeshore on Minnewashta
and you can not have a dock on it. That seems to me to be illogical.
Given the ordinance to protect the lake and I don't know of anybody who
is against that ordinance but there has to be a balance of logic. To
have that much ownership on a lake and not be able to have a dock is
illogical. There are several parcels of property along Minnewashta
Parkway that have that same condition. It's too bad all those property
owners aren't here tonight to hear that. They'll never be able to have
docks there when that property changes hands. I think it's the duty of
the Planning Commission and Council to take a look at the logic of
ordinances where they were well meaning and well written but maybe did
not foresee every circumstance. Thank you.
Headla moved, Erhart seconded to close public hearing. All voted in
favor and motion carried.
Conrad: For my information Jo Ann, tell me why a property owner
couldn't buy this, or two, and not have a dock.
Olsen: According to the subdivision ordinance, if a parcel of land is
separated by a street, it's a separate parcel. A dock is an accessory
structure and you would have to have the principal structure on there
prior to having a dock. Mr. Lawson did have a dock there for many
years but it has not been there or in use for the past year. If there
was a dock still on there, it would be grandfathered in.
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Conrad: When that requirement and the ordinance was set forth, do you
think it was considering this particular situation or this type of
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October 28, 1987 - Page 5
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situation? It was probably anticipating something else and not this
particular one.
Olsen: There are other communities that have lakeshore lots similar to
this that are considered part of the property across the street where
the person would have a dock but right now the way our ordinance
states, that's the way we have to look at it.
Conrad: Then we can consider this a hardship?
Olsen: The way we look at the hardship is that there is no use of the
property.
Conrad: We are telling the applicant that they can't use the lake.
Olsen: They can use the lake but not have a dock. They can have the
sand blanket. They can have a.swimming beach.
Erhart: I agree that it makes sense to somehow figure out a
a dock here so I'm trying to look at this hardship as well.
to me that if you pick the hardship because you're comparing
another applicantion made on Lake Riley.
way to put
It seems
this to
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Olsen: No, we looked at it specifically.
Erhart: Okay, for a moment let's just look at that. The hardship
there is a 50 foot wide lot. That 50 foot was created by the
developer.
Erhart: So I look at this hardship being different than this hardship.
It boils down to the only technical difference is this one is 5%. It
meets all the requirements except for one. Where the other one misses
at 50% and the fact that it isn't even meet...
Olsen: We weren't necessarily trying to compare. It's just that
according to the Attorney's office, there's no hardship in this case.
Conrad: Let me get a knack of where you're coming from Tim.
Erhart: I was trying to figure out if this was a state highway imposed
hardship versus the other one being imposed by the developer himself.
Emmings: I guess this case is to different to me from Lake Riley that
we don't want to get into extensive comparisons maybe except that it
was brought up in the material. Over there you had a 50 foot wide lot
width and neighbors living on each side and I think that's a terrible
situation. That's where I think beachlots are an abuse. I also live
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October 28, 1987 - Page 6
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on Lake Minnewashta so I'm not unbiased either. I live on the north
end of Lake Minnewashta. We've got a lot of classic examples of how a
beachlot should not be constructed on Lake Minnewashta. Be that as it
may, in this situation, we've got 500 feet of frontage, to even suggest
that you could deny a dock to someone who bought that whole parcel to
me is ridiculous. I have almost no doubt in my mind that if I owned
that parcel I know I'd get a dock. I think if the City wouldn't give
it to me, I have little doubt that a Court would. And given that, I
don't see why there shouldn't be a dock. Now, the other side of that
though, the flip side of that is there could be certainly one dock out
there and if we limit the number of boats. Use by three different
households is not the same as use by one household and you discussed
that at length here but still for the amount of frontage that's there
and everything else, if it's limited to just three boats, one boat per
lot then I don't think that's an overuse of the property in any way. I
guess I'd be inclined to find a way here to draw the distinction
between this and a lot of the bad proposals we've seen and allow there
to be a dock here. One thing I'd like to put in here as a condition,
I'm concerned about the ramp as providing vehicle access. The
ordinance provides that you can't have parking on a beachlot but
whenever you make it so easy as driving down a ramp, I think you're
inviting it and I'd like to see someway, I almost thing they ought to
have it closed off by some means.
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Olsen: I think when they talked about a ramp, they meant more of a
ramp for the handicapped and wide enough for a wheelchair and for
pedestrians if they had to go down with a stretcher. Not necessarily
for cars.
Emmings: Oh great. If there's going to be a ramp then it shouldn't be
able to be used by cars.
Olsen: That's prohibited on a recreational beachlot.
Emmings: The other thing is, I think there ought to be, we've talked
about this from time to time too, there ought to be a specific
obligation of a homeowners association to maintain this beachlot such
that if the City at any time feels that it's not being adequately
maintained, that they can go in and maintain it and charge that back to
the homeowners association and to the individual lots that use it so
that we're sure that we don't wind up with any messes along there that
we can't somehow effectively cope with. Other than that, I think there
is a hardship imposed by the road.
Siegel: What's the definition of a hardship in this case?
Olsen: Where there is not a reasonable use of the property. It's the
section where the enforcement of the ordinance would cause an undue hardship.
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Siegel:
Make it unliveable you mean?
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Olsen: A true hardship would be where they wouldn't have any use of
that property whatsoever. There is the option that they could possibly
get a housepad on there. They'd have to get numerous variances for the
setbacks but there is that possibility and the possibility of a
recreational beachlot without a dock. The biggest hardship is when
it's self created, then there's no question but again, this is not self
created.
Siegel: So when somebody is designing a piece of property to meet his
own design, that is not necessarily determined as a hardship when he is
creating it himself or creating what we may assume to be a hardship if
we assume that not having a dock on his property is a hardship. It's
sort of interesting because a hardship can take all kinds of different
forms depending on the piece of property involved. I agree with Steve
with the analogy that we would say that a single property owner could
not have a dock on a piece of property of this size is a little
incongurous. I don't think the courts would go along wi th it. I'm
just wondering if that could be also construed in the light of common
sense of stretching our ordinance requirements too far thereby causing
a de facto type hardship in this case. Especially in consideration
of the fact that he's asking for a dock with only four slips. It's not
like he's asking for four docks with four slips. I would tend to think
that we're causing a little more stringency here than is required. If
~ it affects the other decisions we've made, our Attorneys would have to
~ look at that. I can't see how we could not grant a conditional use
permit for this purpose.
wildermuth: ...the outlot does not meet the criteria that we've set up
in the ordinance in this particular case, I think we either have an
obligation to modify the ordinance or enforce the rules.
Headla: Are we talking now a beachlot for the whole property? So
called 9 acres? Would there two beachlots? One for the three
homeowners to put a dock in and then another beachlot? How do you plan
to do that?
Bob pierce: At this point, what we did is basically came in with a
general idea or concept. We could go either way. My idea was that the
dock was for the use of the three homeowners and the beach lot would be
for the use of everybody else. To answer the question as far as
maintaining it, we'd be more than willing to, in the Homeowners
Association to address that so that would be taken care of because once
we build it and are gone, it's to the advantage to us too to have that
looking nice 5 years from now for several reasons. One, I continue to
be in the business and also if we are working with the City, if we hold
up our end of the bargain and we do a nice development, it just makes
it that much easier to continue to have a good working relationship so
that's just kind of a concept but that's kind of what we were planning.
~ Headla: The access to the beachlot, will it be where the old road is
~ going down to the lake or were you going to put in something?
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Bob pierce: I assumed, again I think it can be moved. That is where I
just saw a natural spot was for it but it's not cast in concrete.
Headla: You've got terribly beautiful oaks there and there are some
low spots, do you plan on doing some fill between the road and the
lake?
Bob pierce: What we had planned on was to bring in some sand. They
proposed that we have a plan for what we do down there as far as the
trees. I'd like to be able to come in there and to trim some of the
trees and just get the underbrush out in the areas that the beach
will be and I just kind of anticipated leaving the end toward the north
and the south pretty much wild. Just kind of get the buffer zone
between the parks and land.
Headla: I see the fi re marshall recommended a ramp. I disagree wi th
that. I think at that grade, that percent and somebody going down a
ramp, certainly not a wheelchair you wouldn't want to go down a ramp
like that and if someone was walking down there, since my place is
right next to it, I have some idea of what a driveway is, and I think
somebody is really liable to fall. I'd like to leave it up to the
option of the builder what he wants to do there and I'd like to see
something, steps like we were at yesterday looking at the duck pond. I
think that would be by far the more practical. Also, if he can have
e steps like that, he can control the runoff down into the lake where if
he just has a ramp, most of it's going to go shooting down the ramp and
then into the lake. I just hate to see that. The engineering, when
you have an idea and you go through a thought process and like you said
yourself you tend to go to an extreme and let me carry something to an
extreme here. I think the Lawson's qualify for a dock and my rationale
is I've seen Chuck and Helen have a dock there ever since I've been out
there. There's been a dock there and the kids would swim there and
people would use that to fish. I think the principal that we're
looking at is, is there a dock there the last year. Well, my extreme
is, why can't Chuck and Helen go out there this weekend and put a dock
in. Then they've established they had a dock in this year.
Conrad: Jo Ann, tell me about the concept of depth in a beachlot.
Maybe I'll talk to you about what I perceive the depth issue in a
beachlot is to be and basically it might be a safety factor. It might
allow people space to recreate in. Are there other issues besides
those that would be prominent in terms of why we wanted 100 foot depth.
Olsen: That's essentially to provide good area.
Conrad: Would this area have good area to recreate in?
Olsen: It's more or less provides enough space for the beach.
_ Conrad: In staff's opinion then, your opinion, 10 or 12 or however
..,many houses we've got here, what do we have l5? 15 houses, is this a
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October 28, 1987 - Page 9
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suitable area for a common beachlot?
Olsen:
It's not a whole lot of area.
Conrad: So literally what can they do on that property? They can have
a canoe rack and a dock and really the land itself would be hard to use
otherwise?
Olsen: They could also have the beach area. The applicant has
proposed that just the lots along Minnewashta Parkway will be the ones
using the beachlot.
Headla:
I thought we were opening up to the whole.
Bob pierce: The beachlot, as far as swimming is for the whole thing.
The dock issue was for the 3 homes. That was always my intent.
Conrad: Okay, let's say for swimming you need a beach area. Is this
suitable property for supporting 15 families to go down to the beach?
Olsen: There is a wider area on the northern part where they are
proposing the dock and the beach area to be right now. It'd be tight.
Headla: Let me draw a similarity. Go north about 300 to 400 yards to
~ Pleasant Acres. Take away that parking lot from that beachlot, that
leaves what 40 to 45 feet and that's all. They play volleyball there.
They swim. They got plenty of room if you take the parking lot out.
Conrad: So you feel that here there would be plenty of room?
Headla: Definitely. with the approximate number of homes he has and
the way we used our lot, and we used our lot a lot in the summertime,
what he'd say 31,000 square feet, I think there is adequate room for a
park for the number of homes he intends.
Conrad: Adequate room on the beachlot for people to enjoy the
beachlot?
Headla: Right. That's no parking. Not putting anything down except
for these people.
Olsen: But that would require extensive grading and removal of the
vegetation. According to the Shoreland Ordinance, that would not be
permitted.
Headla: with the plan, can't they cut out the brush as long as they
leave the major trees?
Olsen: Yes, they can do that.
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Headla: That's the way I look at it. I can see all the brush cut out.
Just right on through and to me, that's what it will be. He's got nice
trees and I think that could really add to that whole thing. I think
it's a positive thing.
Conrad: It seems to me we can do two things tonight. Three things.
We can reject it because it doesn't meet it and one thing that I'm
really concerned about, this beachlot ordinance, as a lady suggested,
it's there. It's not the best but it's something that is also
protective of a lot of things that we hold dear to us in Chanhassen. I
don't want anything we do tonight to impact how that beachlot ordinance
impacts the other beachlots in the community because they'll all be
here if we set a precedent in some means if it's not justified. If
it's justified and we can rationalize it, then I'm comfortable. I
think we can do a couple things. The part has got to be able to use
the lake and get a dock out there and I think we can alter any
subdivision ordinances we've got to allow it. They could potentially
have 3 or 4 pieces of property that would have docking rights if we
changed that subdivision ordinance therefore not imposing a hardship on
this property so there is an alternative. We can go and change that
ordinance and make sure that any new folks that move in on Parkway and
have property frontage, are going to be able to have a dock there.
That seems logical to me. Rational. I can't imagine we wouldn't want
that to happen. On the other hand, the proposal seems like a less
e intensive use than what I just described and in that light, I would go
along with the proposal as long as it doesn't set a precedent for any
other beachlot in Chanhassen. That's where I'm at right now. That's
why I led in here Jo Ann with my comment, as long as it looks like a
beachlot that people can really enjoy and serves the purpose of a
beachlot, the applicant's request seems reasonable, rational and good
for the lake. I could go along with it. I would have a real tough
time voting for on something tonight unless I knew that the words and
the rationalization and justification granting the variance was
approved by an attorney saying that we have not altered anything and
set a precedent for other properties that are already out there. I
would have a real tough time right now without an attorney telling me
how to justify the variance.
Headla: I thi nk that's probalby the way to go on that.
why we need a variance.
I don't see
Conrad:
It doesn't meet our requirements Dave.
Headla: What requirements? He was grandfathered in.
Conrad: No he's not. As soon as he sells it's gone so there's no
grandfathering there.
Emmings: No, he's subdividing the whole property. That's where you
~get into a problem. He's subdividing that whole property. Where there
..,was one lot, now there are 15.
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October 28, 1987 - Page 11
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Olsen: And the fact that they did not have a dock in use for over the
past year.
Headla: But if he put a dock in this weekend?
Olsen: It would be non-conforming.
Headla: Why if he has a dock every year?
Olsen: From I know, that dock hasn't been in place for over a year.
It comes back to the subdivision ordinance defining that as a separate
parcel. Just to review that, the Attorney and staff, we did review
each of the scenarios that Mr. Conrad is pointing out. Whether we
could possibly grant 3 or 4 lot area variances and let that Outlot A be
separated and each have their own dock or it has a recreational
beachlot. This was when we thought that it wouldn't be able to even
have a recreational beach lot without a dock, we would have to permit
them some use. We were really torn because no, we don't want non-
conforming lots along the lake there but then we found we could have
the recreational beachlot without the dock. Give him still some use.
I know it's not the ideal use and maybe not the most logical use but we
did get confirmation from our Attorney that it is not a hardship.
Headla: If the Lawson's sell it and he's had his dock there, does that
4Itgrandfather totally go by the wayside?
Olsen: If the dock had remained there and it's always been there, was
still there today, that dock would be grandfathered in.
wildermuth: Could he put a dock there today, the original owner?
Olsen: No because technically it's a separate parcel and the dock is
an accessory use. You have to have your house there first before you
have an accessory use.
Headla: If he lived there and he's had the dock there for umpteen
years, just because he moved away, isn't that dock still valid?
Olsen: The dock isn't there anymore.
Headla: Right now it isn't there but what if it was there last year?
Olsen: If it has not been used in over a year, it has been removed for
over a year, it's lost it.
Conrad: The one dock though, this is a beachlot. We're asking for a
beachlot, the applicant is, but the beachlot ordinance governs what can
go on it and based on the physical dimensions of this beachlot, you can
not have a dock.
.
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Headla: I hear you say that but I hear Jo Ann say that if a dock had
been standing there it would have been grandfathered in.
Erhart: Not for the subdivision.
Headla: Not as a beachlot?
Conrad: Not for a beachlot.
Headla: Okay, so that's not a point.
Conrad: No. They're asking for a beachlot. Our ordinance says no you
can't have a dock based on the fact that it's not deep enough. The lot
does not meet the depth requirements of our beachlot ordinance.
Erhart: Ladd, I have a bit more basic question now. Are we talking
about a variance to have a beachlot here at all? In other words, does
our ordinance say that a beachlot has to be 100 feet deep?
Olsen: It says 200 feet wide.
Erhart: And there's no depth requirement?
Olsen: No.
4ItErhart: How do you tie the 100 feet with the dock?
What's the logic for not having a depth requirement
then having a depth requirement for a dock?
What's the logic?
for a beachlot and
Conrad: There's a flaw someplace but I think the logic Tim is the fact
that, I'm not even sure what the logic was and I've been around enough,
I've been through the development of these things and I can't remember
why. I was just trying in conceptual terms trying to think about it.
Again, if you have a dock, it probably means that people are going to
swim, boat and play around there and therefore you need some property
to do that on and therefore you should have enough depth to do that and
keep you away from, usually there are adjoining properties and you're
trying to keep people away from those adjoining properties. You're
trying to give people space so they're not sitting on the property
line. When you don't have that depth the assumption is, you may be in
a different situation. You may be in a situation like this. I guess I
could construct a scenario why that 100 foot depth makes sense in many
cases for a dock. I'm not sure that's the real reason that we thought
of many years ago.
Emmings: There's another provision in the ordinance that I've never
seen before and it says that each recreational beachlot has to have the
width measured both at the ordinary high water mark and at a point 100
feet landward from the ordinary high water mark of not less than 4
A lineal feet for each unit which has apertinent right of access so we
",would have to have a variance for that provision, dock or no dock.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 13
e
Olsen: That's an option if you don't have the width. That you could
just go over a certain amount of feet as kind of an option rather than
the flat out width.
Emmings: That's not what it says.
Headla: On Riley, how many square feet did they have?
Olsen: It was 50 by 100, 5,000 square feet.
Headla: 5,000 and now we're talking about 31,000 square feet.
Conrad: I really have a general feeling that I'd like to table this
thing. I'm not sure why. Maybe to outline the options of correcting,
just the ability to have a dock in a situation like this. What is it,
our subdivision ordinance or our zoning ordinance that is controlling
the fact that it's a separate parcel?
Olsen: Subdivision. It's under a definition of a lot.
Conrad: I guess that bothers me. I don't think that is considered,
this particular type of situation and I think we should review it.
Therefore, we could review that and give the applicant other
alternatives in terms of use of that property. On the other hand, we
_COUld go ahead tonight and approve it. The staff is saying no dock and
that doesn't appear acceptable to me. I think the property has got
enough footage there so I guess I'm looking for staff, I personally
would be looking for somebody to help me out of this one and
rationalize, justify, without us trying to verbalize it here in public.
Erhart: I don't think there's any reason to conclude this thing
tonight anyway.
Conrad: It's got to come back but I think we should give the applicant
and those people here a general drift of what we're doing. Maybe we
have. Maybe in our comments we're giving a sense for what we're doing.
Bob pierce: In the hardship case, wouldn't just the idea that before
these ordinances were invoked, let's just pull a number out, let's say
his land was worth $100,000.00 because he had a dock and had lakeshore.
Now these ordinances that came about 2, 2 1/2 to 3 years ago, you've
taken his parcel and now you've said it's not really lakeshore. It's
pretty to look at and all that but you can't put a dock in. It seems
to me that would be an incredible hardship because I would guess the
devaluation of the value of his property has gone down 40%. I mean
that's how important it is.
Conrad: I don't know. I've never found that reduced value creates a
hardship as long as you had some reasonable use of that property and
~I'm not an attorney but as we've watched those things, we've never been
..,able to say that you've decreased value by 10%, therefore it's a
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 14
_
hardship. That's never come up in years here.
Bob pierce: But the word reasonable there is kind of the key.
Conrad: I think we all recognize that the property needs access and
deserves it and I guess my feeling is, what you've proposed is treating
the lake much better than some alternatives that I could see.
Therefore, I feel good, I'd like you to maintain that posture at least
in terms of this beachlot. At least for me. I like how it looks and
how it reads right now. I'm not sure, the rest of the subdivision we
haven't talked about it but I would hope that there are some
improvements in the rest of it. I guess I would like to table this if
everybody feels comfortable with that action and allow staff to mull
over our comments and come back with some alternatives and some
justification given the fact that we think that there should be
dockage. Staff should recommend to us whether in light of maintaining
the philosophy of the current ordinance, how we do that.
Erhart moved, Wildermuth seconded to table the Conditional Use Permit
Request #87-17 for a recreational beachlot. All voted in favor and
motion carried.
Tom Heiberg: Mr. Chairman, I missed the public hearing. I know it's
_closed here this evening. I just have a couple questions regarding
this matter. Would you have time to indulge another citizen for about
two mintues?
Conrad: Go ahead.
Tom Heiberg: The reason I'm here is I'm concerned primarily about
pedestrian and roadway traffic along Minnewashta Parkway. As many of
you probably know, there are a lot of us out in that particular area
and I come from, I live on Red Cedar Point at 3725 South Cedar Drive.
I'm just concerned, I walk on that darn road everyday and people drive
it too fast. I'm guilty of driving it too fast. A lot of people,
there are not good sight lines there. I can see the development of the
property should not be discouraged. The petitioner should have the
opportunity to do that but I see that we're once again putting
pressure, development pressure, traffic pressue, in my judgment on
inadequate roads. Then we're also talking about contributing to
pedestrian traffic across that way. I don't know who will be the
owners of those homes but I would suspect there will families involved.
We've had too many close calls already on Minnewashta Parkway and I'm
very concerned about encouraging additional close calls.
Conrad: Could you have our Public Safety Director address those
comments in a note to us the next time back? In terms of crossing.
.Erhart:
_a trail?
You're also aware that there's a 20 foot strip designated for
A walking trail.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 15
e
Tom Heiberg: No, I was not aware of that. I'm sorry I was not here.
This is a 20 foot walkway along Minnewashta Parkway, a 20 foot wide
trailway?
Headla: That's what the Park and Recreation Commission is recommending
which seems to be extremely wide.
Olsen: That's an easement. It will a 6 foot trail or an 8 foot trail.
Headla: Over in Lake Susan Hills they have 5 feet and they have a lot
more traffic there. Tom, I've got a study on that if you want to stop
by.
Tom Heiberg: I'll be happy to see that and maybe we had been noticed
but if you recall I was here maybe 8 months ago with Greg, Phil and Ed
Hasek, he's on the Park and Rec Board, and I haven't seen or heard any
results yet of our requests to put a trailway in there or walkway with
the improvement of that road. It was my error for not doing my
homework there but I am just really concerned. Thank you for your
time.
Headla: Jo Ann, adjacent landowners shouldn't they have been notified
of this meeting? On the Lawson property, anybody who has a home that
is adjacent to them, shouldn't they be notified?
tit Olsen: Yes.
Emmings: Everybody around the lake too.
Headla: I know the people around the lake but I'm not sure that the
adjacent landowners were.
Olsen: We made sure everyone was within 500 feet.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Headla moved, Conrad
Minutes o~the Planning Commission meeting
amended by Ladd Conrad on pages 12 and 15.
motion carried.
seconded to approve the
dated October 14, 1987 as
All voted in favor and
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE = TRANSPORTATION, MARK KOEGLER.
Mark Koegler: What I've done, if you recall our discussion of the last
meeting, we talked about a whole book of topics and one of the things
we wanted to take just a little bit of time tonight and focus on was TH
101. I know it's a subject that Tim has discussed both publicly and
when we've been able to meet from time to time in the past. We also
talked about this concept of doing a little bit further review of some
_of these corridor studies and that decision has yet to be made by the
.City Council. I believe it's going to be made on Monday night just
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 16
e
what direction they want to provide back to you and how to approach
that. Regardless of what decision they may make, TH 101 as is
portrayed in here is still something that needs to be addressed because
the MUSA line is part of the land use element in the Comprehensive Plan
so in that regard what we brought back to you tonight is certainly not
a wasted effort. It's something that we need to do and I thought it
was a good way perhaps to focus a little bit on what you're thinking is
along that corridor as a whole. The item that I've given you that is
labeled corridor study is not meant to be a final format in any way,
shape or form. It's simply something I had assembled earlier today to
just kind of help facilitate some discussion this evening. The land
use scenario that's in there is predominantly one that you have seen
before. We talked about that in regards to some of the TH 212
discussion that occurred probably 6 to 7 months ago so it may not be
something that immediately comes back to mind but we talked about
various land uses along that corridor. Particularly down in the
interchange area along TH 101. Again, in tonights format it's really
more of an example than it is anything but hopefully it will get you
thinking that this is a type so you can focus on a little bit more
specific level of detail. Particular with regard to TH 212 which with
any bit of optimism is presumably going to be a reality at some time.
So with that, I will just basically turn it back to comments that you
might have on how you want to approach the TH 101 segment. I know it
was mentioned last time that we never really even talked about some of
ethe realignment alternatives but I think that has been generally kicked
around for a number of years by various people. Perhaps not
specifically by this body. This is a copy of the land use scenario
that is in there. It does identify, at least a recent form of
potential interchange. I don't know if it's the most recent but the
folded diamond type of interchange. The dot pattern here for TH 212.
This then generally depicts the realignment that has been envisioned
for TH 101. Get rid of the hortizontal and vertical curvature problem
that exists up in through here. Potentially push the road a little bit
more throughout this single family residential area with the basic goal
being to get rid of the job situation that we have and slightly run the
road to the east. So essentially they talked about, I think literally
since the 1980 Comprehensive Plan and probably even a little bit prior
to that. Realignment completely under the roadway and either removal
or partial use, depending on the land use scenario that you picked out.
Part of it still may maintain as kind of a frontage area for access
purposes but as you get further north presumably part of that alternate
would be removed and turned back to some of the abutting properties or
whatever. So that particular alignment has been kicked around for
quite some time and has been, I think on a number of plans.
Conrad: Do you reaction to what you just said?
Mark Koegler: Stop me anywhere you want to.
~conrad: The proposed alignment of TH 101 makes sense. Is there any
..,reason we would not want to see that? The Planning Commission in terms
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 17
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of how that is there. I think it's been documented that way many, many
times and I don't think we're going to set any kind of precedent or
nobody is going to surprised when we say yes, this is what we want but
is there any disagreement with that? I guess that's the point that we
should bring up right now. Anybody care? Makes sense to straighten it
out if it's going to be a high traffic area.
Headla: what happens if you would run it up and down Chanhassen? Run
that straight west to CR 17 and then down and south of CR 18 create a
new road. It looks like the way they're going now it's going to be
very expensive. Particularly when you go south. Would that be totally
out of line to hook one that's not quite a mile from TH 101? You've
got a substantial road there already.
Conrad: I guess I didn't track.
where it is period?
You're thinking of eliminating TH 101
Headla: Leave it, it's really a nice road in that type of community
and take the real traffic out. So if we could avert the traffic coming
from the north, go west to Powers Blvd. and then go south. You
wouldn't have to fool around with that one bridge which is going to be
a major undertaking.
Siegel: You mean eliminate the road as a trunk highway?
eHeadla: As a trunk highway right. The road has got a lot of
character. When you go on it, it's almost a shame to destroy it.
Siegel: You don't think we'll lose any access to downtown Chanhassen
by eliminating that road as a main corridor?
Headla: I doubt it. I wanted to throw it out as an idea. I was going
to bring it up last time we were talking about it and I didn't but now
at least I wanted to bring it up. It's something to think about.
Erhart: I think the problem Dave is that TH 101 currently goes south
to Shakopee and CR 17 currently goes to Chaska.
Headla: I think at one point there you would have to continue straight
south with a new road. The point is, if all that land isn't developed
yet, you could probably put in a better road and less expensive and I'm
shooting from the hip on this but I would suspect you could build a
better road and less expensive than trying to realign TH 101 the way it
is now. Then you lose a road with a lot of character.
Emmings: Can it be less expensive if you have to go buy all that
right-of-way?
Headla: What are you going to do when you realign TH 101?
4ItEmmings: Not the whole southern portion of the road.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 18
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Mark Koegler: Do you want responses to some of those kind of points?
To touch on some of your points theoretically. First of all, in terms
of reconstruction, this segment is probably one of the easier ones to
achieve. Where you get south from here in the future that it's going
to be a lot more difficult. The primary reasons being again, assuming
this occurs at some point in time, we've got major reconstruction
that's going to be occurring essentially by about one-third. The
northern third adjacent to the industrial district is all part of the
tax increment district which ultimately when this is developed, that's
ripe for becoming part of the improvements that mayor may not be a
part of that so that segment becomes one that perhaps is a little
easier to plan out so you really are left with a fairly small piece.
The other response is that when you're looking at the overall traffic
plans for the City, TH 101 right now the way we've been talking about
it in general terms, probably will be a minor arterial rather than a
collector, the way it's been designated in the past. The broadened
study area was done by the HRA. That talked about at least the
northern segment being a minor arterial. The key in that that we look
for is continuity and you typically don't like to take traffic and
divert it east or west a mile off the normal path of movement so having
TH 101 and having CR 17 are not in conflict with one and another. They
both serve very specific purposes. I can't argue against the
aesthetics of driving on TH 101, I enjoy it also but in terms of safety
and movement of traffic, it certainly loses out.
eHeadla: That first point you mentioned where the new TH 212 would be,
if you took that cloverleaf, whatever it is and moved it over to CR 17,
would you still have the same opinion? You've got a good point with
the tax increment. I have no argument with that but all the
destruction that we do right at TH 101 and pioneer, if we moved that
west to CR 17, where CR 17 could be, would you still feel the same way?
Mark Koegler: Part of the problem with moving it to CR 17 and putting
an interchange there any time in the near future is less great for
northerly movement. Look sometime at a map of the south of CR 17 and
try to determine how that could be projected southward which we have
done. You run into the golf course and you run into extreme, extreme
grade problems along the Bluff Creek area which we basically concluded
is going to be economically not feasible to extend that road to the
south. So in terms of any continuity of the southern movement, the TH
101 corridor still shows better promise.
Headla: So from an economic place you say it just doesn't make sense
to extend CR 17 south?
Mark Koegler:
It's just not very feasible.
Headla:
Okay, that's fine.
econrad:
Why don't you go on Mark and talk about the land use.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 19
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Mark Koegler: The land uses that are shown that I referenced before is
essentially one of the scenarios that has been presented to you and
probably not been discussed in a great detail. It's largely I think
representative of a combination of factors. The existing zoning. The
existing Comprehensive Plan. The potential changes that are going to
happen as a result of construction of the TH 212 interchange and what
that may mean. The likely pressure for some commercial development on
the south end around interchanges. I think that's a topic that this
body may specifically want to address and how it all fits with the
existing land use patterns there. There are existing pockets of low
density residential expanding from here and out. Certainly an existing
portion of it through here that have been recognized. There are a
number of smaller little isolated tracks that begin to be created as a
result of the highway interchange construction and the right-of-way
will be a part of that and in dealing with those, a great deal of those
have been tabbed as more of a mid-density type residential. Whether it
be a townhouse configuration or whatever with a little more sight
design flexibility for some of those parcels. There is a commercial
site that is shown down on kind of the southwest quadrant of that
intersection. It's important to emphasize that that is a commercial
site that's within the MUSA line and I think I put some reference in
there that presumably that would be a combination of things. Auto
oriented and neighborhood oriented from my judgment at least. Several
things like gas stations and convenience stores and maybe dry cleaners
ec;r whatever it might be that would satisfy some of the needs of the
surrounding neighborhood but yet undoubtedly somebody would want to
market to traffic volume that's going to be going along TH 212 and you
may get some service stations and something like that for that parcel.
So we have shown some commercial down there and again I remind you that
commercial would not necessarily be competitive with downtown. We have
a little bit different type of use and to some degree similar to what
is happened along Lake Drive East. Aside from that, there is a pocket
which on this map is shown as low density. It obviously is very
extremely low density. It's not sewered right now and in fact the MUSA
line I think still jogs around that so that parcel would remind
essentially in a hobby farm kind of format for some time to come. The
parcels east of that has been shown as additional low density
residential with some mid-density residential. When we get over into
here we're dealing with existing Lakeview Hills complex and I don't
know what expansion plans they mayor may not have for future. I think
you heard one night they had one of their counsel present talking about
possibly expanding on a future phase and concerns about what the north
corridor of TH 212 would do to that. I'm not sure where that sits but
that's shown as high density over in that area. The only other pockets
are really some of the existing open space areas down along Rice Marsh
Lake. Presumably that would continue along the creek. This is open
space park up in here which recently has been expanded to some degree.
Part of the Lake Susan Hills PUD is talking about trail networks and
things coming down here. Talking about open space down in here as part
~~f Chanhassen Hills subdivision. There was a park that was acquired
~own in that area so those kinds of existing things that have been
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 20
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added to the system within the last year or so as well. Again, it's a
scenar io as to how some of the land uses may be considered down there
and any comments that you would have that you would want to offer would
certainly be appreciated. We will get into this in a little bit more
detail depending on what we do with these corridor studies depending on
what Council decides but again, it's still germain in this topic
because this is an area we need to focus on anyway.
Conrad: It makes sense to me Mark. I think the residents of the area,
I forgot what I've told the residents that were worried about
commercial down there. I can't remember if I said there will never be
any commercial down there, that's probably what I said. It sounds like
I'd say that but it sure looks like the area that you identified for
commercial is well sectioned off. It fits there. It's probably
appropriate for the neighbors. How do you see the other side of CR 18
developing? When you put commercial in there, do you see the other
side of CR 18 as commercial? Do see long term if going to be low
density or do you see commercial? The next demand is going to be to
follow TH 101 down from a commercial standpoint. Anything on that
corner of CR 18 and TH 101 is a good intersection should be there.
Mark Koegler: Here again, the biggest thing we've got corning across
Lyman is the MUSA line right now which depending on how you view it,
maybe that's going to change in the next 10 years, 15 years, maybe that
~ommercial is not. In my mind, it's very likely that that decision is
a ways down the road and that's not to say that you don't address it or
begin to think about it. To a certain degree I think it's going to
depend on what we market actually proves to be doable down there and
then the site there, I'm not sure how much area they are reactions to
but if that is enough land to support a small neighborhood kind of
center which my reaction would be that is adequate for that general
area. And to say I don't know that it's necessary from a community
standpoint to ever extend that south. I would be very sensitive to
thinking in terms of long term TH 101 being developed as a commercial
corridor. I don't know that there's anybody who really thinks that
that should happen. There are several parallels I think we can see
around the Twin Cities. Something that comes to my mind is the city of
Bloomington. If you follow 18 down south ,where it approaches the
bridge, there's a big park down there, there is multi-family and
there's a little neighborhood convenient center that is now sprouting
up and there's high density down in the southeast quadrant of the
intersection. There is low density in the northeast. It's commercial
on the northwest and park on the southwest. I can see those kinds of
mixes all the way up in here to undoubtedly...
Siegel: When you put these blobs in place here, is there a
geographical reason why you put residential low density parcel then
right next to it another residential low density in a little smaller
parcel and then on the other side of the planned TH 212 you've got the
~~ame thing sort of happening. Is there a reason? Is there a
~eographical reason why you've separated the blobs?
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 21
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Mark Koegler: There are several things. There are what I guess you
call intrastructural reasons and there is topographic reasons. This
area essentially down here is undevelopable, down in the southern
portion. This boundary line right here, it's not really shown on here
but high density comes in essentially right over here where we've got
kind of a natural buffer of the lower western area there. In essence,
the grid is shown in here to a large degree as a buffer between the
high and the lower uses. These two lower uses really could connect to
these lines if you wanted to. The only reason they're broken is this
is going to be extremely low density probably for some time to come
because of the lack of uses situation again. This is within the MUSA
line and may develop at some point in time sooner. You get some of the
same kind of fractional things over here and I suspect that is probably
part of your comment also. That really ultimately has to receive more
detail than what the Comprehensive Plan will give it but this is
assuming that existing TH 101 will be maintained in here, at least as
some kind of an access road and not totally wasted if you will. The
same thing might happen here that it would come down and terminate in
some fashion or tie into this development in some fashion. We end up
with some kind of remnant parcels that exist as a result of the highway
construction and as a result as some of the existing land use patterns.
Generally they are representative of either road structure or
environmental.
tlsiegel: How about that little one north of the TH 212 there where you
have the little residential low density and then a large one?
Mark Koegler: Really this would be the entire thing. The only reason
we have that segregated is we essentially have an existing situation
and we end up with kind of a remnant piece here that could have still
service off of it and there's been enough lot depth there that we may
not necessarily have much impact on the highway situation.
Siegel: Where is the MUSA line in relationship to Lyman?
Mark Koegler:
is out of it.
picks up the
over to Eden
area and all
It comes across Lyman. There's a little extra here that
It comes across and then comes down and basically just
existing area down to Kiowa, comes back up the lake on
prairie so essentially all of this is in except for this
of this is out.
Siegel: Who owns that property? That little jog in there, in the
lake?
Mark Koegler: There are a series of owners there. Probably half a
dozen. I guess what we're asking for tonight is not a definitive
conclusion for feasible land uses you want to designate for this area.
Simply doing this as kind of saying, here's what we're doing and what
we're going to be doing and any comments you specifically have on TH
e101 corridor right now.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 22
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Erhart: I don't know if we're talking about the whole document or if
we're going through it kind of paragraph by paragraph.
Conrad: No, I just picked up on what Mark was talking about here.
Erhart: I think what you have Mark is very appropriate. Is the very
thing that I would envision making TH 101 really the southern access
through Chanhassen and preventing what we've done on the northern
access. I think we have the opportunity here to make the southern
half, with the freeway so it would be the major access through town.
We have the opportunity to do good planning and I think what you're
proposing here is appropriate and really adds to the value of the
downtown. I would like to see us even go one step further, which is a
very small step and that's the boulevard parkway road system from TH
212 into town and actual designate that as a residential or automotive
use since we already have designated the CR 17 intersection for
industrial use and industrial park. If you start knowing that, like
the parkways in St. Paul, do you know what I'm talking about?
Mark Koegler: I know what you're talking about and in my mind that
sets up some functional problems. One of the things that we're going
to have to address pertaining to TH 101 and the Comp Plan and I just
kind of touched on that again tonight but keep thinking about that.
The position that we have that says that is a minor arterial. Normally
tltities don't maintain an old minor arterial. Normally it's at the
County level so right now the jurisdiction to TH 101 should be the
reponsibility of the County. You start eliminating various types of
traffic on that, I'm not sure what that does to that kind talk. The
County may, and I have to emphasize may, make the philosophy... When
you start eliminating various types of traffic, you get into some
awkward situations. It's usually better to do that by design if you
can rather than by signage. Making more traffic for CR 17 or whatever
the entry into the industrial park itself.
Erhart: I'm concerned that the thing will get foggy if we don't then
all of a sudden we're going to end up with a boulevard and then no
intersection down there and then all the trucks that go into the
printing companies and envelope company, the junk mail capital of the
world is going to come up this boulevard... You're talking about a
situation that really we're not going to accomplish, all we're going to
accopmlish then is we end up losing one of those intersections. That's
where I'm coming from.
Dacy: One more think on that issue, maybe we should schedule that for
another agenda in the future but remember that there are a number of
interchanges proposed along TH 212 and we can't build all 4 or 5 of
them.
Erhart: You mean in the southwest corridor?
e
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 23
e
Dacy: Correct. There's going to be a limitation of funds and a
determination of which interchange should go first and the combination
of the TH 101 interchange and maybe the CR 4 interchange. In that
case, TH 101 could potentially be handling traffic to the industrial
park because that CR 17 interchange is dependent upon extension of CR
17 as a whole. Which pairs of interchanges are first?
Erhart: I'm just bringing the subject up because I think we need to
get our ducks in a row and fight for those interchanges and I think
this boulevard and entrance to the City, that's one of our strong
reasons why we need both interchanges. So rather than going into this
thing saying we can...I think we have a plan here. We have a reason to
get both of those interchanges. Then the issue is, what happens if we
don't get these done? Mentally what are we planning here if TH 212
never happens? Is the realignment still a good idea. Living in the
south and running into Chanhassen, I still think it's a great idea. I
guess I open that up because I think it's something that's got to be
thought about and then again are we still interested in getting the
right-of-way acquired for a boulevard? Let's say a subdivision comes
in here tomorrow, now if we accept this plan in this area and we want
the right-of-way for this thing to get a boulevard we need an extra 20
feet right or something like that?
Dacy: What I can say is that MnDot is now looking at preparing a
~etailed alignment based on that concept that you see there and looking
at the right-of-way widths because the next step would be to have an
official map hearing process for the TH 101 realignment.
Erhart: Do you think we're going to see that this year?
Dacy: I would say it's more likely in 1988.
Erhart: Okay, well that's great. Those are some of the issues that
come to my mind.
Siegel: Wasn't there a transportation meeting out here in Chanhassen
Dinner Theater concerning metro transit?
Dacy: That's November 9th.
Siegel: Do you suppose this parcel is what's going to be discussed?
Dacy: The primary emphasize is going to be improvement of TH 5 and
then TH 212 to a certain degree and probably overriding everything is
highway funding.
Siegel: When Mark mentioned the possibility that the County would be
the owner of TH 101, is that the way we should be leaning? I mean
there are three possible jurisdictions. I'm asking Mark, why did you
tltsay the County might have control over TH l01?
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 24
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Mark Koegler: Predominantly because of the minor arterial designation
and the conclusion of the Benshoof's broadened study area reported that
the road will function at that level. If you look at the Metropolitan
Council's criteria for interchanges, for example along the freeways,
minor arterials is a minimum threshhold for having an interchange which
is where we're at with TH 101. There are a number of indicators that
seem to say that that's the functional classification that should be on
that road. When we get north of TH 5, we've gone through some of these
scenarios before and that got bogged down in discussions between the
State and Hennepin County and Carver County and the intent was to turn
that road back, in an attempt for jurisdiction and that got caught up
in a snag with all of three different routes and I'm not sure where
that is today but essentially I think they're back now to only thinking
in terms of trying to get rid of the crosstown and CR 18 to the state
and not get anything in return. The State's position was part of the
fact that there will be returns from TH 101 and the County was willing
to do that at one point in time. That's not to say that improvements
didn't have to be made or whatever and that issue has never ever really
been totally resolved in Carver County as to how they would fit in so
we have a jurisdictional situation essentially splits TH 101. A
portion of it north of TH 5 and then it comes totally into Carver
County when you get into the downtown area. But the reason that
statement is in there right now, and this is just a discussion tonight,
is that if it is to be a minor arterial that's probably the appropriate
~esignation. Let's not begin to try to predict as to how Carver County
might react to that. They may have no interest in it at all but it
still gets back to the point that I think the City in the Comprehensive
Plan has to make a position one way or the other. Are you stating that
it should be a state route, should be a county route or that you're
willing to look at taking that as local. That's the only way
ultimately I think there's any chance to resolve this thing. Nobody
else seems to want to take a lead because they don't live with it
everyday.
Siegel: Carver County then has not taken any kind of stand on
questions at all? They left it up to Hennepin County...
Mark Koegler: The previous discussions that occurred, it's my
understanding that I don't think it was intentional but Carver County
was almost neglected and came into the discussions fairly late. I
think it dawned on them that TH 101 is actually in two counties in this
area and I know they did get in fairly late but I don't think they
really thought they were...
Conrad: Is TH 101 going to be the major access to Chanhassen off of TH
212 then? Is that the most probable scenario?
Siegel: Wouldn't it almost have to be if you consider the restriction
of the MUSA line on development in Chanhassen? We've only got one
~lternative for a main entrance into Chanhassen within the MUSA line
~orridor and that's TH 101. Otherwise you're going to force
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 25
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development on the agricultural area.
Dacy: Met Council does look at where the MUSA line is when they look
at interchange locations. That's one of the criteria. An
Environmental Impact Statement for the TH 212 corridor will be looking
at the traffic indications from the interchanges. One study appears to
affect traffic versus another set. Your question is, is it the number
one access at the time. Really we haven't had a decision on that yet.
wildermuth: Shouldn't we be looking at some other zones down there
other than residential? Should we be looking at extension of the
Industrial Park possibly around the interchange there?
Dacy: That was one issue that came up during the public hearing
process for the official map. There was strong concern for strip
commercial along TH 101 and concern that that would not occur. Another
option that was looked at at that time was an all residential option.
Industrial was never a part of that picture originally. I don't know
if you really have lot sizes that have the area to accomodate that type
of use.
Mark Koegler: The biggest problem seems to be one of continuity to
some of the existing industrial that's in and specifically you've got a
number of existing land uses in there. Both on the Tiguo area and down
~long Lyman Blvd. there is a pocket. Admittedly a low density pocket
but there's still a pocket of existing land there that by the time you
drop the interchange in there, you really end up with some fairly small
remnant parcels and those obviously in a lot of communities do take on
an industrial type of use. Chanhassen has taken the position,
essentially in the industrial that it prefers more of the planned
industrial type of approach where you have more of a business park.
Whether tha t be the one a t the east end of town or tha t be the maj or
Chan Lakes Business Park. I think in terms of the way this plan is
approached, the industrial is probably maintaining that philosophy.
That if you look at it being areas that are larger in size and perhaps
have a little bit more uniform boundary configuration, then more
logical future extension might be to look to the west and the southwest
of the existing industrial park and eventually expansion in that area.
There is a fair amount of vacant land still in the industrial park.
The piece on the north side of Lake Susan for the most part is
undeveloped and that has been tied up with some state problems in the
past. I don't know if that still is the case or not but when you get
to the south of the existing Chan Lakes Business Park south of the
railroad tracks and again there's another phase in there in that
project which ultimately will occur as a part of the extension of the
Lake Drive West there. So the philosophy has been to concentrate on
the larger, more planned industrial kinds of approaches. I think that
was the main reason why on the land use scenario put together for this
area, industrial was ommitted.
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 26
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Dacy: One final consideration would be that if we look to these
corridor studies, the Commission should consider some type of statement
that these types of uses, commercial and heavier density uses, are
anticipated upon construction of these improvements. I think there's a
real concern out there in the neighborhood too that commercial is
proposed next year on Lyman Blvd. and that occurs prior to funding
being allocated for TH 212 or TH 101 realignment issue is resolved
so that might be another consideration.
Conrad: I think that's significant. Let me go back to my primary
access to Chan. If it is, if it goes through, in terms of how that
road looks Mark, what kind of controls, what kind of ability do we have
to make that a real boulevard going into Chanhassen? A center island,
trees, something that looks different than a normal road? Really a
road that says welcome and maybe a boulevard concept. Is that out of
our control? Who would the design of that highway be under?
Mark Koegler: You ask a multifaceted and difficult question. The
general statement, I think that section of TH 101 probably this City is
in as good a position as it's ever been with any transportation
corridor to affect the design. What that ultimate design will look
like. The reason I say that is because I really believe that if that
improvement is going to happen, the City is going to be involved
.financiallY. Whether that be in the tax increment area or whether that
e in special assessments, whatever. I think realistically for that
corridor to be realigned, Chanhassen will have a financial stake in
that which gives you a better leverage in the design process. That's
not to say that when it gets down around the interchange area that it's
not going to be very important for the city to communicate it's
thoughts and desires to MnDot as to what you think that should or
shouldn't be. Again, that may mean more cost to the City. I don't
know how that sorts out because MnDot may say, well that's fine. We'll
build a 48 foot road and if you want boulevards it costs this much more
and somehow you have to find a way to fund that. But there are enough
pieces in that particular stretch that the City I think will have
involvement with the financial point of view because that gives you the
best leverage of design in probably any site that I'm aware of. I
think what that means, in terms of realistically what you want it to
be, you've got an opportunity to set it up with boulevards, to control
lighting, to control berming, distance along there, just include the
right-of-way, what to acquire. I think yes indeed this is a good
opportunity to do that and I think that's some of what at least we've
talked about for TH 5 and that eventually gets extended with how can
the City impact that and make sure that that's handled in the most
aesthetic manner that is feasible and I think that means looking at the
lighting. Looking at overhead power lines and looking at all of those
things that impact you visually when you move through a community.
Again, this will probably be easier as we get to a smaller scale.
_conrad:
So we will have that control when the time comes?
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 27
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Mark Koegler: You may have opportunity to have that control.
Conrad: Does anybody care what that place looks like and maybe this is
not the time, comprehensive planning to be talking about highway design
elements and maybe that's off base right now. Is that Mark?
Mark Koegler: No, I don't think it's off base. The Comprehensive Plan
has a lot of components to it. It certainly is your vision of what
this City is going to be in the next 15 plus years and I think in that
regard particular if we take the emphasize at least with corridors in
the MUSA line, if none of the others, you have the opportunity to go a
little bit above and beyond the norm with these little vignents that
we're talking about doing. Set up another subcategory. Here's the
goals for this corridor. Here are the recommendations that I want you
to know.
Conrad: Is it worthwhile following up? Just conceptually saying that
this is our major access to Chanhassen. That we should try to make it
as pleasing, as nice an access as possible. That design consideration
should incorporate some kind of friendly way of entering the City. I
just don't know what that means. That could mean how you design the
berms, how you design boulevards. It's obviously going to be, there
are cost considerations there that I have no idea what that impact is.
Is there support for that, that we look at that area as something on
~he Comprehensive Plan?
Siegel: I think we should definitely say something to that effect. I
don't know exactly what. Afterall there are considerations of
ownership and whether we will financially participate in the
development. Things that are really not part of the consideration but
if you're considering it as a part of the Comprehensive Plan we should
be looking at this as the entrance to Chanhassen.
Conrad: I think I would like that type of wording in this Mark. The
entrance to Chanhassen and to incorporate maybe some loose words that
kind of help indicate that we're really interested in how we present
ourselves to a first time or somebody that's corning in. Do you need
more input from us?
Mark Koegler: I think that's clear. I would suggest also that in
looking at designs that I've done before in similar situations in other
communities, if we've got a corridor like this with a lot of interest
and a lot of emphasize, we've included things like just a small graphic
typical section of what hypothetically we want it to be. So that
you've got a graphic example in the plan that we need 100 feet of
right-of-way and in that 100 feet of right-of-way we're going to have
24 feet of pavement and 24 feet of median and 24 feet of pavement and
lighting and whatever. That's real quick and easy to do and something
that I think has a lot more punch than creating some nebulous words as
&:. 0 w hat we'd 1 i k e to do. Th 0 sea r e par t 0 fit too. I hop ewe can
~park that with a little graphic will help.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 28
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Siegel: One question Mark, you sort of indicated here the interchange
at TH 212 to be a, what is it an inverted diamond or how do you
describe that?
Mark Koegler: A folded diamond.
Siegel: Is that what we've been looking at other interchanges?
Mark Koegler: That's what MnDot has been working on.
Siegel: Okay. I just couldn't remember for sure the configuration. I
just wanted to make sure of that point.
Erhart: One more point and I think rather than being apologetic about
this thing, I think we ought to take the view that if Eden prairie can
design a beautiful street system in their city, we ought to be able to
do it too. I think it's just great that we can address this. The
other thi ng, are we go i ng to get on the agenda with i n the nex t meeti ng
or so with us taking a stand with regard to the State and County about
doing some straightening and improving sighting south on TH 10l? Is
that this meeting? I remember Al Klingelhutz at the last meeting said
this is the time to do it. I'd like to begin this week and as the
County Commissioner he wants a statement. In fact I've got
clarification. He wants simply a statement from the Planning
.ommission and City Council that he can have that goes to the State and
says look, we want some money funded to improve some sightings,
straightening, ditch grading and so forth. He believes there's enough,
with our support, he feels that there's a good chance of getting the
funding to do that so I ask that we direct the staff to put together a
document that we can sign.
Conrad:
south?
I'm not sure what it means. Minor improvements to TH 101
Erhart: I think what he's asking for is a document that says the city
of Chanhassen is behind us so he can put it up along with Chaska and go
to the State and get additional funds. He senses that there are funds
available if somebody will carry the banner and go get it. He sat here
and asked us, it wasn't quite clear what he wanted so I met with him.
A resolution, that's the word. It makes it clear and I think we just
list some of the things that we'd like to see. Sight improvement is
number one. Perhaps some straightening and grading of some of the
ditches.
Siegel: Where is he going to go with this resolution?
Erhart: To the State.
Siegel: Department of Transportation?
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 29
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Erhart: Yes. Because they came out and did that sight improvement
right outside Cbanhassen Hills and all of a sudden, they never had any
money for TH 101 and all of a sudden they do.
Dacy: It's the developers.
Erhart: I don't know. Somehow he feels with some appropriate pressure
right now that he can get some funds.
Siegel: We might as well try it. You've got to remember that TH 101
doesn't go through Chaska so it's a single community effort within this
jurisdiction.
Erhart: Anyway he's the Carver County Commissioner and if we could
just get a resolution, let's do it.
ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT - GENERAL DISCUSSION.
Conrad: Basically what staff would like on these items is our opinions
and then some direction as to, do we proceed? How do we proceed from
here? Why don't we take them one at a time.
Barbara Dacy presented the staff report on the 150 foot lot depth
erequirement.
Emmings: I mentioned last time I thought that as the lot widths
increase, and I thought maybe the sideyard setbacks ought to be
increased or there ought to be some attempt to center that. I guess
what I had in mind what someplace, if you've got a development in and
if you've got 175 foot wide lots or 150 foot wide lots or something
like that, somehow it seems that if there's a house built here and
you've got an open lot for that house to come in and build within 10
feet of that lot line and decides to leave the other side of his lot
completely open doesn't seem fair to that neighbor.
wi ldermu th: I t depends on wha t he does with it though. I f he bu i Ids a
tennis court over there or something like that, swimming pool.
Emmings: I guess what I'm thinking about is if I'm the neighbor that's
living here, if we all have nice wide lots and he comes in and decides
for whatever reason he wants his house as close to mine as he can get
it, I'm not going to be very happy about that. I'm not going to happen
to look at that. Now the neighbor on the other side may be just as
happy as can be but I'm not going to be too happy. It seems to me that
maybe there ought to be some kind of a sliding scale so that if you're
making the lots wider to try and give it akind of a look so the houses
are a little further apart, why let this guy build all the way over
next to the lot line within 10 feet of it so maybe if you have, I don't
~know. Maybe if you have 100 foot lot, maybe you leave them at 10. If
~ou have 150, maybe you increase it to 15. Just a little bit more just
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 30
_
to provide more of a buffer to the people who are already there.
Siegel: Do we have a lot width requirement?
Dacy: Yes, it's 90 feet.
Siegel: 90 feet so you're not suggesting that we change that?
Dacy: No. Lot width is later on.
Siegel: How does that affect the strange shaped lot where we grant a
variance because of the shape of the lot. We just created a 50 foot
entryway to a 25,000 square foot lot. You know what I'm talking about?
Dacy: You mean a flag lot?
Siegel: Where you just have enough room for a driveway to get into a
lot.
Dacy: If it's going to be that large, I'm sure that the depth is going
to be well in excess because the throat of that lot, the 50 foot strip
is going to have to open out into a larger area for their flag portion
if it's 25,000 square feet and that would certainly I would think would
_be excess of 150 feet. Is that what you're asking?
Siegel: No, well I'm asking about it in the context of a subdiVision.
If it's obviously going to affect the two lots on either two sides of
this entranceway and the configuration of those lots. In other words,
we might have two 90 foot and a 40 foot entryway to a larger lot behind
it. Obviously the lot depth would be measured from where? The roadway
or the back of that lot back in the back corner?
Dacy: The ordinance defines lot depth as the average distance between
the front property line abutting the public right-of-way back to the
rear property line.
Siegel: So his depth would be from the road then to the back of his
lot?
Dacy: Right. We're going to be talking about flag lots and the
problems that they pose a little bit later.
Headla: Steve's got a point there. I'll give you a first hand example
of that. Here's my property and the neighbors property goes like
this. They put up a barn, and we're talking just imaginery but this
thing is like 120 by 60 and we're 10 feet away from the line. If you
look at the watershed coming off of there and the snow and my fence
line is right on the line, it used to be the fence is down, it raises
havoc with the trees. It just doesn't seem right that they should be
~able to put a building like that. If they were within the laws, I
~hink we should control something like that and when you mentioned a
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 31
.
sliding scale, I think that's very appropriate.
Dacy: I hate to do this sometimes but when I worked in Florida we did
have an ordinance provision for sideyard setbacks. If a lot width
exceeded 100 feet then the side setback would be 10% of the lot width
but at minimum you had to have 8 feet as a side setback. I think that
gets at what you're trying to do however there are two cautionary
points that I want to thrpw on that. One is from an enforcement
standpoint. It poses problems because it was one of those details that
got lost in the process in the number of building permits every month
to be looking at 10% of the 110.9 feet is 10.1 so they've got to have
10 feet on either side of the lot. The second comment that I would
have is if you do have 110 or 120 foot wide lot, you would have a
buildable area width of 100 feet and I'm sure there's going to be some
isolated cases that some people are going to cramp all to one side. I
think the norm is that people tend to center their homes on the lot.
So there is a mechanism to do it. From a staff's standpoint we're kind
of leary because of enforcement and monitoring aspect. That issue
comes up on another item that we're discussing.
Emmings: I guess my reaction is enforcement is a totally separate
question. My notion is if that's what people will do anyway, then it
will never be an issue and we don't have to worry about it but if it's
~here, then you protect. In that one case where the guy comes in and
..,is going to be abusive, you've got a reason, something to point at to
say no you can't do that.
Conrad: I don't know what abuse is. I'm having a tough time with
that. I really understand what you're saying but if we have a sideyard
setback of 10 feet and somebody meets that, we obviously feel that 10
feet is not an abuse of the neighbors property regardless of if the
other side is 90 feet and this side is 10, it's still by ordinance we
felt that it's good enough for everybody in the community. Somebody
gets the advantage of having 90 feet of sideyard but still the
ordinance has protected you by the 10 feet.
Headla:
absolute
picture.
probably
I think you're trying to measure something in strictly
terms without stepping back and looking at the overall
My situation there, they've got about 500 feet, they're
within 10 feet.
Conrad: I would just hate to get into ratios and stuff like that. It
seems real arbitrary.
Emmings: You're saying arbitrary and you've got a 10 foot sideyard
setback now and you tell me what great compelling logic that made that
anything but arbitrary.
Conrad: Let's do a couple things. Let's sort of take a straw poll
ahere in terms of should we have staff proceed in allowing the depth to
~hange from our current ordinance? Yea or nay on that?
L
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 32
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Erhart: We're talking about 125 anyway?
Emmings: To whatever they want as long as they meet 15,000 square
feet.
Dacy: No, we're saying a minimum of 125 feet.
Erhart: I'm in favor of that.
Emmings: Yes.
Siegel: Yes.
Conrad: Me too.
Wildermuth: We felt at the time when this ordinance was put into
place that there was a value to having a deep lot along with the
minimum of 15,000 square foot lots. I don't think we've tested it
enough, given it a fair shot to change it now. Maybe 6 months from now
or 4 or 5 subdivisions from now if it turns out to be an issue in every
one, that the variances are corning at us from right and left on every
one, then yes I think we better listen to what's going on.
~eadla: I'll go for 125 based on what Mark Koegler said last time.
~ertainlY would make his planning a whole lot easier.
It
Conrad: It looks like consensus is to go ahead and draft something and
pass it by the City Council. Jim, my only thought is, I hear you and I
think that's valid yet on the other hand, when you think about a
physical look of a neighborhood, when you pack the houses together and
they're only 20 feet apart, to me that looks crammed regardless of how
deep the rearyard is so I think Council was talking about give people
open space in their rearyards but I think there's also something to the
appearance. I think the flexibility to allow developers to use the
land a little bit easier. So, it's a yea on that one. In terms of the
scaled ratio, that seems real complicated to me but Tim, would you like
to have staff work on some kind of a way to move that setback?
Erhart: Nay.
Emmings: Yea.
Siegel: Yea.
Wildermuth: I don't care.
Headla: Yea.
Conrad: And I'm a nay so we have two nays and three yeses and a I
~don't care so why don't you draft something that might seem easy to
_implement.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 33
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Fence Ordinance.
Olsen: Pretty much all we did was just to add into the fence section
of the ordinance to say that the use of barbed wire fence is
prohibited.
Conrad: How do you feel about that Dave?
Headla: Now that's any fence, barbwire that's in place now is okay?
Olsen: Right it would probably be grandfathered in.
Erhart: We're talking about no barbwire in the residential areas?
We're not talking about agricultural? We're not talking about fences
used for horses in agricultural areas?
Olsen: It's not in the agricultural.
In the residential area.
Headla: Where do you draw the line there? The people where we were
all classified agricultural tax wise but you've got us listed as
residential.
Olsen: You're zoned residential.
4Iwildermuth: What about industrial where you've got a cyclone fence
with a strand of barbwire? I think we should take a look at it.
Olsen: It's not permitted right now anyway.
Wildermuth: I think we should take a look at it because we may get
some kind of a business in town that has a very high security
requirement and we ought to do something about it.
Emmings: I didn't understand the language of the proposal because I
understand what you're proposing. You say the use of barbed wire
fences is prohibited in the residential districts for any use other
than agricultural purposes. What would it be permitted for?
Olsen: It could be used for agricultural purposes in the agricultural
district.
Emmings: No, that's not what that says though.
Erhart: Yes, you need to go back and focus on that.
confusing.
It's really
Headla: Steve, if I put cattle on my property, I interpret that as I
can put up a barbwire fence.
eEmmings:
Can you have cattle anyplace that's zoned residential.
.----.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 34
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Headla:
I'm agricultural.
Erhart: No, it says residential. The language is confusing.
Olsen: No you're not agricultural. You're zoned residential.
Headla: My tax says I'm agriculture.
Olsen: We want to make it clear that in the agricultural district, in
the A-2 and unsewered areas where agriculture is a permitted use, there
barbwire fences are permitted. In the single family districts where
it's not agricultural, it's not a permitted use.
Emmings: Are you saying that barbwire fence will be prohibited in
residential districts period? Then you need a period and you need to
delete the rest of that sentence. Then it says it can be used in the
agricultural area and I guess it already says it, barbwire fences are
permitted in the agricultural district when used for agricultural
purposes and I was just wondering if we ought to put in there or just
put in, for active agricultural purposes or uses. The thought being
that we would then have a way to go. I take it people don't like
barbwire and my thought was, if somebody wants to have, what do you use
barbwire for? It's always for cattle and horses? Alright, so if
~heY're going to have that use in the agricultural area, that's fine
~ut let's make it almost like a conditional use in the sense that as
long as you're using it for cattle fine but if you're going to quit
using it for cattle, you ought to take that barbwire out of there. Are
we that much opposed to barbwire that we'd like to do something like
that? I personally have no feelings about it one way or the other.
Erhart: I agree with Dave. When you get into the residential area
I'm opposed to it but there's an advantage in the rural area even if
you have horses because for the money constraints you've got, you can
provide a lot bigger area for your horses for a lot less money spent on
a fence. There's a real advantage to it. I think I'd be careful
wording it so it doesn't get interpretted later that horses are not
agricultural therefore it's not useable on horses.
Siegel: Does this anticipated change affect any existing stables in
the residential area? I can think of one. Those horse stables over
there on CR 17. Right up by Shorewood.
Conrad: Pat Jensen?
Siegel: Pat Jensen Stables.
Conrad: She's gone. Moved out west.
Siegel: They will be informed of the change or will they be
egrandfathered in if they are barbwire?
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 35
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Olsen: They would be grandfathered in.
Siegel: In a situation like that, would we inform them anyway just so
they might do it out of their own goodwill?
Olsen: What we'll do is just send them a notice to all people with
horses.
Conrad: Jim, your concern?
Wildermuth: What about a company coming into Chan Lakes Industrial
Park. Let's say they process precious metals or something and they've
got to put up a cyclone fence stranded with barbwire on top of the
fence. Are you going to tell them they can't do that?
Olsen: It does specify what kind of fences can be used in the
industrial park.
Dacy: It's prohibited in residential and commercial and industrial
districts. The use of barbwire fence is prohibited in the commercial
and industrial areas.
Wildermuth: That's not what I would like to see.
~t optional for your industrial area for example.
W3 minimum height.
I would like to see
You may want to put
Conrad: That would probably be a good way to do it.
Olsen: We've got a maximum of 8 feet in the commercial. Anything over
that has to get a conditional use permit.
Headla: If we left it as you suggested, no barbwire fencing, could a
conditional use permit allow them to put barbwire at the 8 foot level?
Olsen: Not with that language. You need to tell us what you want for
commercial and industrial. They are allowed to go to 8 feet or
barbwire may be considered in commercial and industrial areas through a
conditional use permit.
Headla: Maybe that's a good way to do it.
Wildermuth: I think that's good to do it as a conditional use permit.
Siegel: Have we addressed the fencing requirements in commercial and
industrial districts within the context of the fence ordinance?
Dacy: Yes.
ACCESSORY BUILDINGS.
tlbo Ann Olsen presented the staff report on Accessory Buildings.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 36
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Erhart: I like the concept and I think I was the one that started out
with this thing. I think it's a good approach. I would just question
the example where someone comes in wanting, he's in a residential area
and owns a big lot and wants to build a four stall detached garage with
cedar shake roof and it's beautiful. He's going to spend $30,000.00 on
this garage and I think we need to accomodate that guy. I'd like to
see us raise the 850 to 1,4010 but limit the height or whatever way you
define the difference between a steel barn in a residential area and a
beautiful detached garage. That's the only concern I have.
Emmings: I don't know how you're going to do that because if you allow
the size, I think what the person chooses to build it out of, you
aren't going to be able to regulate that.
Erhart: Can't you make aesthetically similar to the main structure on
the house? I should say architecturally similar to the primary
structure.
Emmings: I actually went through the same process. I thought a 3 car
garage is very common today. I thought about building one and it's 22
by 36, which isn't far from the standard size, that's 792 square feet
so that fell within the 800 so I was kind of comfortable with the 800
myself but I agree with you, if somebody wanted it to be a four car
~arage and they were going to do a nice job, I really wouldn't have any
~bjections to that. I don't know how you can draw that line in
language in there. If they can think of someway to do it, that would
be fine.
Erhart: I think any number, 8010 or 1,400 is going to eliminate the
problem we had with the 510 foot by 30 foot or how big was that barn?
Headla: That was like 100 by 50 that he wanted to put in. That's the
one you really want to stay low. The height is a clear way to
eliminate that one.
Erhart: Even 510 by 30, that's like a small Menard's steel shed.
What's that size? 510 by 30 so that's 1,500 square feet.
Emmings: If we can get away with saying that it will be
architecturally consistent with the principal use, that would be nice.
Headla: You're talking about these low sheet metal buildings and low
barns, they're all portable.
Erhart: I would think that 800 and 1,400, anywhere in that range would
serve to cover that 30%.
Emmings: What kind of a height minimum would help to get rid of these
metal barns?
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 37
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Headla: What I was thinking, the only time people put up those
buidings like that, they like to hide for dump trucks coming in,
construction trucks. Like on mine, I have a 12 foot opening and that's
mandatory for good sized equipment but if you limit it to 20 feet,
you're going to knock out the sheet metal buildings.
Erhart: And yet you could still put a nice 3 car garage with a 20 feet
ceiling I would think.
Headla: I look at the height of my house, it isn't that high.
Siegel: How many square feet existed in that infamous St. Louis Park
treehouse? Probably 800 to 900 square feet? Okay, we better consider
some types of these kinds of things. You're talking about the barn
type of house structure and you're talking about height and square
footage here.
Erhart: At 1,400 square feet?
Siegel: No, you're talking about you're trying to restrict that kind
of structure in size in relationship to the rear lot. But the rear lot
may not be dimensional a part of a person's plan for detached accessory
structure.
~rhart:
period.
I thought we were talking about limiting height to 20 feet
Siegel: That means no building could be taller than 20 feet? I don't
know if I go along with that for every application in the world. I can
see your point and what you're trying to achieve but I can see some
structures coming in here for permits, especially for the larger pieces
of property. I'm talking about a detached building on the lot.
Erhart: In the first place the ordinance doesn't allow detached
garages.
Dacy: No, it says if you have a certain style house you have to attach
your garage but you can have detached garages.
Erhart: I agree that we should allow detached garages.
Siegel: We already have. There have been people in here asking for
permits for detached garages.
Dacy: Weren't you saying, we're talking specifically about the
rearyard area and somebody is going to build a four car garage, it's
going to be detached, it's going to be fairly close from the side or
the rear of the lot.
_rhart: So we don't get into problems with horses, I think you should
~ake out the rearyard and just call it accessory buildings.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 38
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Dacy: I think the original intent of this was if somebody had the
Sears buildings that it could be placed as near as 5 feet to the rear
lot line but yet we wanted to put some type of area.
Erhart: But then this guy with a 5 acre lot can walk in and put a barn
in front of his house and say it's not in the rearyard. When you get a
5 acre lot, it's going to be difficult.
Headla: Tim has a point.
Dacy: That's why we're proposing a 800 square foot maximum. Like the
lot on Highway 7, you're saying it's 5 acres but there was single
family lots in Shorewood and this area could be subdivided.
Erhart: I'm just saying, don't talk about rearyard at all.
Headla: The Lawson property, which is the front yard and rear yard?
You've got double fronted lots.
Olsen: The street frontage side of the lots are the front yards.
Headla: Well, he's got two streets.
_conrad: Where did the 5 come from? 5 feet from any rear lot line?
Olsen: That's in the ordinance right now.
Conrad: That seems close to any lot line.
Wildermuth: It seems too close.
Conrad: It does and I don't like that.
Siegel: I don't see why you'd have a problem with that. Why do you
think somebody is going to build their house facing their yard to the
rear?
Conrad: It's just 5 feet is this far.
Siegel: Yes but the other guy has 5 feet so you've got 10 feet.
Conrad: The wa ter from the eaves of thi s barn or roof will hi t the
neighbor's property.
Dacy: It was consistent with what the older ordinance also. The only
thing that was new in this was the 30% thing. Trying to establish a
maximum area.
Erhart:
.ommon.
I think a lot of this accessory stuff, I think they're fairly
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 39
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Conrad: Accessory structures are garages right so garages are covered?
That's the typical accessory structure that we're talking about now.
Is that right?
Olsen: Yes and the tool shed.
Conrad: So whatever, we have to make sure that whatever restrictions
are not really restricting a garage.
Siegel: That also says that provided no detached accessory structure
shall be placed nearer than 5 feet from any rear lot I ine. I've got
one that's closer than that. It's my pump house for the swimming pool
and it doesn't affect my neighbor at all. And I'm sure there are a lot
of people on smaller lots who are going to be faced with similar
circumstances. If they put in any kind of detached accessory
structure. It doesn't say a garage. I guess that's where I'm having
problems with that because it says no detached accessory structure
because it covers too many possibilities or all the possibilities.
Emmings: Permitted accessory uses in RSF, there's garage, storage
building and there's a bunch of others. Also like a kennel. Those are
the kinds of the things that are permitted.
afonrad: I originally didn't like the 81010 feet thinking that they're
~arages but I guess I'm comfortable with the 81010 and I could be
persuaded to go up from 81010. I guess I'm not really concerned that it
fits the character. What I don't want to see is a humongous building
out of context in the residential area and I think it sure seems like,
whether it be 81010 or 1,41010, we'll probably rule that out so I don't
care which number we pick.
Emmings: What would be the sideyard setback on the accessory building?
110 feet?
Conrad: So, who would like to go along with a larger than 8101O?
Erhart: I would. Is there a typical dimensions for a 3 stall detached
garage with a little workshop area at one end?
Emmings: You've got 12 feet per stall, per car stall and then whatever
you want for your shop.
Erhart: How deep is it?
Emmings: 210 is minimum and they are typically 22 or 24.
Erhart: That's 1,1056 feet.
Conrad: What should we do? Should we round it off to 1,101O1O? Should
tire go up to 1,2101O?
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 40
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Siegel: Why not leave it 30%?
Conrad: Let's leave it at 1,000.
Emmings: Do people want that 30% referred to in there too?
Conrad: I don't like the 30%. It's not meaningful to me at all and
that was my biggest problem with this whole deal. The 30% does not
mean anything to me.
Emmings: Out of 15,000 square foot lot, say half of it was your
backyard, is that reasonable? Do you think it would be half of it?
It certainly wouldn't be bigger than that.
Erhart: So let's say you go down a lot, say you only have a quarter of
a backyard, is that reasonable and that's 1,125 square feet.
Emmings: So we don't really need the 30%.
Dacy: It's in there for smaller lots.
Erhart: What are our smallest lots?
Conrad: It's 13,500.
-
Dacy: There are some existing lots that are 8,000 or 9,000 square
feet.
Emmings: Maybe you ought to leave it in for a just in case.
Siegel: Yes, I'm really worried with setting any size on it. I'd
rather stick with a percentage. We've got too many different sizes of
lots to try and yield the maximum or even the minimum.
Erhart: But if you stick with this percentage and then some guy comes
over with 150 by 20 foot barn.
Conrad: The straight percentage doesn't work for me.
Olsen: I think the reason that we have that percentage is just for the
benefit of small lots that don't have 1,000 foot.
Conrad: Okay, I buy that. Instead of the 800 we can put in the 1,000.
We can leave the 30% in controlling...
Olsen: Small lots.
Conrad: Right and we'll up the 800 square feet to 1,000 and we'll
change the 5 feet from any rear lot line. Obviously I have no support
4lior by change to 5 feet.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 41
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Emmings: Change it to 10. I think it should be 10. Why not?
Conrad: I think it should be too. If the side is 10.
Conrad: If the side is 10, why wouldn't the rear yard be l0? What do
you want to do. 10 or 5?
Emmings: 10.
Siegel: 5.
Conrad: I say 10.
Siegel: I can envision a lot of situations in small lots where you're
going to have problems with that kind of requirement. It's fine for
those that have 15,000 square foot lots and larger but you down to
those under that size and we're going to have a lot of people in here
asking for variances on their rear lot line requirements for accessory
buildings.
Emmings: Especially where they're setting up these small metal sheds
that you buy at the store.
Siegel: Even a gazebo in a corner of a lot. They're going to have to
~ome in here because they can't put it 5 feet from the fence? Their
own fence because you're going to make them put it 10 feet in?
Headla: But why should you put it so close to the lot line? That's
imposing on the neighbors.
Siegel: A gazebo is imposing on their neighbors? You're actually 20
feet from them minimum.
Emmings: Why?
Siegel: Because there would be 10 feet on their side.
Conrad: There's some validity in what Bob says in terms of those other
little structures. Let's take another vote? 5 or l0? 5's win.
TREATED WOOD.
Olsen: Basically what I said is let's not do anything right now until
we have all the information.
Conrad: Does anyone want to do anything right now?
~omething that can be very dangerous.
..,e have no way of controlling it.
Headla: Yes. I don't think we should allow treated wood in the ground
unless they show us that it's not harmful. I can come up with
I can stick it in the ground and
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 42
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Conrad: How do they show, they can't show right? They can't show that
it's not dangerous.
Headla: I think it's up to them to show that it's not dangerous.
Olsen: I'm investigating having some tests done. They are sending me
some addresses of labs who can do tests.
Headla: Yes but I think the vendor or the manufacturer of that product
should be doing the testing and pay for it. I don't think we should
spend one penny verifying that. I think it's up to the manufacturer to
verify that it is not dangerous. Like this wood, why can't we bury
that in the ground? That's prohibited. We have to haul it away.
That's a situation I really get sqwimish.
wildermuth: Rather than take this issue on ourselves, I think we ought
to be pressing for the EPA or some state agency to look into it.
Olsen: They have looked at it and concluded that ...
Headla: Do they list it by product, the manufacturer?
01 sen: When we pu t a board wal kin, we don't see the type of wood
that's being used.
4Iteadla: So somebody really can use just about any type of treated
wood?
Olsen: Right. It's all treated with three major chemicals that are
used in the pressure treated woods and they have not found that they
are harmful.
Conrad: Are we talking about treated wood that is in the water? We're
not talking above ground, we're talking about below ground?
Headla: That was my main concern where people wanted to put in
boardwalks over wetlands with treated wood in the water.
Conrad: What is the alternative for treated wood? If we don't use
treated wood in the wetland...
Headla: Cedar poles, oak poles. They last what, 20 to 30 years.
Olsen: Or metal.
Conrad: Is that a hardship?
Wildermuth: More expensive.
~onrad: What typically are we talking about? Are we talking about
~oardwalks? That's what brought it on was boardwalks through wetlands.
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 43
tt-ildermuth:
Aren't we just spinning our wheels if we...
Conrad: We can't provide it's harmful.
Wildermuth: We aren't going to be able to point to some State Statute.
Olsen: The EPA said they didn't specifically do, there are 1,000
different combinations.
wildermuth: At this point all we can conclude is there no issue here.
Headla: I disagree. I think we should say no treated wood in water
period. Are we going to get our backs against the wall by saying 5 or
10 feet clearance, no way.
Siegel: How are you going to police that though?
Headla: I guess the same way you would police the 5 foot.
Siegel: No but how are going to police it as a community? They can go
to Eden prairie and buy their treated wood. You're talking about a
bigger question than just what one municipality can do. I think it's
fine if we alert the concern, if we have one, to the Environmental
Protection Agency and maybe it already has been or others should voice
. concern but why should Chanhassen not allow treated wood without the
apabilities of enforcing it?
Headla: I think you can enforce it. Just remember now we're only
saying like putting treated wood posts in the wetlands. When somebody
comes in to put a boardwalk over the wetlands, that's when we explain
to them that they can use treated wood as the actual walkway and
everything. You just can't put treated wood down into water.
Siegel: That's for new construction?
Headla: Oh yes. That's all we could do.
Conrad: At what point in time would we have control on knowing if it
was treated wood or not?
Olsen: A lot of those docks we don't even know about.
Conrad: When would we have an opportunity to tell anybody that we
don't allow treated wood in the water?
Olsen: Like a wetland alteration permit.
Conrad: Probably only in the wetland alteration permit process. We
say you can't do it. You've got to have a dock or you have to have a
boardwalk.
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 44
~iegel: Can we as a community dictate the materials used in such
construction?
Dacy: That was the issue that we were just discussing. If a national
agency and the Sta te has not found whether or not it is harmful, for us
to have a basic ordinance or legal justification being reasonable and
so on, if that were challenged.
Emmings: Meaning the health, safety and public welfare, does it if
there's not any proven harm?
Erhart: I think if some agency or some group came out, anybody, even
the University or a doctor came out and said treated wood is harmful in
water then I think we'd have an excellent, good reason to make this
ordinance. Whether or not we could enforce it. Just to make that
statement but the fact that no one, if we can't find some even semi-
official agency to do that.
Headla: What about that treated wood at a construction site? Why
can't they? Why can't we bury that right at the construction site?
Like right next to your house.
Erhart: You're saying we can't do that now?
tlreadla: Right.
Siegel: We can't?
Emmings: Who says? I'm not arguing with you, I just wonder where does
that come from?
Headla: I knew you were going to ask me that too when I started. I'm
going to have to look into it more.
Conrad: Here's what I'd like to do. Let's defer this issue Jo Ann at
least until Dave can find an agency or somebody saying it's negative or
let's look at it in 6 months. In the interim, if we can in the wetland
alteration permit process highly recommend that treated wood not be
used in contact with water, let's highly recommend it. I don't know
how you get tha t word ou t bu tin your con tact with them, I th ink tha t
would be at least some temporary thing.
Olsen: It's a hot issue right now and I think it is being
investigated.
AMATEUR RADIO TOWERS.
Olsen:
site.
e
I'm essentially saying let's limit it to one radio tower per
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 45
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Emmlngs: I agree.
Conrad: I agree.
Erhart: I agree.
Headla: You can put many antennaes on one tower. I can put a whole
bundle, I can put 20 to 30 square feet up on one tower and that's what
that one fellow I think he was really angling to do that. I don't know
the right wording but I think this really doesn't cut it. I think
there's a good way, people can really be imposing on their neighbors if
we word it this way.
Olsen: I looked at your concerns. It's really difficult to put all
your antennaes because they're so different and varying in sizes and
sometimes you they are closed up and then they are extended when
they're used. That might be getting more into what the FCC is trying
to prevent the cities from doing and allowing them to at least
communicate. When you're limiting them to that one tower, it may be
hard to come up with a maximum size but we can look into it.
Headla: I really think that's the way to go. Like 12 feet maximum
area.
.onrad: It's just all relative though Dave. It's like is a telephone
~ole uglier if it's got 3 wires on it versus 2? The pole is intrusive
to begin with and that's like 90% of the impact and the wire.
Headla: Some of those things get pretty obnoxious.
Conrad: I just don't know how in the heck you can regulate that.
Headla: I don't either.
Emmings: To me, isn't is a separate thing maybe? One thing we ought
to do is regulate the number of towers and then maybe we want to go a
step beyond and regulate what's on it to the extent we're able to but
we don't know how to do that so at least this is taking the first step
in regulating the number of towers.
DEMOLITION DEBRIS DISPOSAL.
Olsen: The next one was from Ci ty Counc iI, they wanted to have some
control over demolition debris disposal. I pretty much took a lot of
the data from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Conrad: Yes, it sounded like it was exactly or the way I read it, so
what have we done? Why do we need this?
Olsen: They don't regulate those.
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 46
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Conrad: Those are just recommendations?
Olsen: No, those are conditions if it's 15,000 cubic yards of open.
Conrad: And we've adapted it to a smaller space. Any comments?
Emmings: Yes, the key is the permit obviously so you know what's going
on where and you can regulate it. I think it looks fine.
ARCHITECTURAL EXTERIOR STANDARDS.
Barbara Dacy presented the staff report on architectural exterior
standards.
Erhart: It sounds good. I think the thing we have to think about is I
think people building industrial plants here are not willing to pay the
same kind of price as they would in Eden Prairie. It's just a thought.
I think it's a lot easier for us to price ourselves out of industrial
jobs. It's a lot easier for us to carried away with Eden prairie
because Eden prairie has such high minimums. I'm in favor...that we
don't find ourselves in the position where we're adversely affected.
I'm just saying I don't think we have quite the luxury of Eden prairie
to dictate some of these things.
~onrad: I think it's okay.
LOT WIDTH REQUIREMENTS ON CUL-DE-SACS AND FLAG LOTS.
Barbara Dacy stated that she had a presentation that would easily take
half and hour and asked that this item be tabled until the next
meeting.
PLANNING COMMISSION GOALS FOR 1987.
Conrad: Point number one on the goals, increase communication between
Planning Commission and public such as encouraging attendance by
reporters from local newspapers, regular articles. How are we doing
that? That's the one I really wanted to focus on.
Olsen: We really didn't start doing much on that until recently.
Conrad: What other things will encourage reporters from the paper
here? What's the strategy and I guess I haven't hit an objective?
Olsen: I think we just wanted to let people know about what was
happening before it gets to Council. When a subdivision was approved,
let it know that it is in the process.
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Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 47
~onrad: My agenda is, we used to have a whole lot of attention and
awareness of the Planning Commission, a whole bunch and I'm not sure
that we do anymore. We used to have a whole lot of pressure to get
onto the Planning Commission and I'm not sure that we do anymore. It's
a case where if you read the materials that come out of City Hall and
what have you, very seldom do you see anything about Planning
Commission on those materials. We're just not a very visible unit and
that's not because I think we need our pictures in the paper because I
don't think anybody is here for that but I am concerned that the public
knows what the Planning Commission is all about and I am concern that
we're as visible in newsletters that the community puts out so it's not
all park and rec, which is all park and rec. As much as I'd like that,
there is a Planning Commission and until we start letting people know,
they won't know how to participate in government and we have a whole
lot of new folks in this community. To be very honest in the last year
I've seen literally nothing on the Planning Commission so that's my
agenda on that particular subject and I'm real happy to see folks here
from the press and that's going to help out a whole lot. Hopefully we
can maintain that kind of coverages. As long as these meetings can be
and as arbitrary as we can be sometimes, it's still nice to have that
kind of visibility because it communicates that people do have a chance
to communicate to government. Because we hold those public hearings,
this is their chance to talk to us and we do listen and we do take
action but right now I think we're a little bit invisible. That's my
agenda so my agenda is not only in terms of newspapers but it's also
hat is being controlled by the City. I really thing we haven't done
much in the first 6 or 8 months but we certainly can improve on that
and it looks like we are. This is sort of a real arbitrary goal and I
guess wha t IIi ke in goal s are some number sand da tes and wha t are we
going to do so in point 2, continue working on review of the
Comprehensive Plan. Can we put in some dates and guidelines on that
particular goal so we know where we're going?
Dacy: I think Mark had intended that we proceed with the initial
review by the Planning Commission on all the items and have that
completed by the end of this year. In 1988 we would be initiating the
public hearing process.
Conrad: I guess what I'd like to see as a result of our discussion
here and I sure hope you guys jump in if you like to on this thing but
I'd like to kind of see a rework of these goals. It could be real
simple, half a page but just so we all kind of know what we're doing.
If we could rework that one just simply with a date I'd be happy. The
third one dealing with City Council, we've gotten that. That's been
achieved. We've got their comments. Do we need to do anything more on
that particular one? I don't think we do. Four is non-goal oriented.
It doesn't mean anything to me. It says do your job so that's what we
do so that's not a goal. Is there something we want to finish this
year? We can narrow it down to the two that we've talked about. A
little bit more exposure so the public understands what the Planning
tlFommission is doing and then working on the Comprehensive Plan. We've
Planning Commission Meeting
October 28, 1987 - Page 48
~ot a lot of things, like tonight we covered a whole bunch of stuff.
The thing that we're doing very well that we've never done before is
hear the public and actually direct staff to change ordinances and
recommend changes and that's something that we have never done
aggressively. Is there anything else we should be working on that you
can think of right now that we'd like to get done this year?
Emmings: There's only two months left. The Comprehensive Plan is big
enough as it is. I think that's fine.
Erhart: I have a question, why are we talking about goals for 1987
when it's almost done?
Siegel: This is a review of our goals.
Conrad: I just wanted to get a status of them and there was one that I
knew we weren't doing much with.
Emmings moved, Siegel seconded to adjourn the meeting. All voted in
favor and motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 p.m..
Submitted by Barbara Dacy
_ity planner
prepared by Nann Opheim
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