100708 planning commission
CITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
NEW HOPE, HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428
PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 7, 2008
City Hall, 7 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Planning Commission met in regular session pursuant to
due call and notice thereof; Chair Hemken called the meeting to order at
7 p.m.
ROLL CALL Present: Jim Brinkman, Pat Crough, Kathi Hemken, Jeff Houle, Roger
Landy, Bill Oelkers, Tom Schmidt
Absent: Paul Anderson, Sandra Hunten, Ranjan Nirgudé. Steve
Svendsen
Also Present: Curtis Jacobsen, Community Development Director, Steve
Sondrall, City Attorney, Eric Weiss, Community
Development Assistant, Pamela Sylvester, Recording
Secretary
CONSENT BUSINESS There was no Consent Business on the agenda.
REVIEW OF
Planning Case 08-11 Chair Hemken introduced for discussion Item 4.1, request for rezoning,
conditional use permit, vacation of existing easements and creation of
Item 4.1
new easement, site and building plan review, preliminary plat to be
known as Ambassador Addition, and sign plan review for expansion of
existing facility to provide short-term rehabilitation and nursing care,
8100 Medicine Lake Road and 2724 Virginia Avenue, Good Samaritan
Society - Ambassador, petitioner.
Mr. Eric Weiss stated that the petitioner was requesting several planning
applications to accommodate an expansion of the facility at 8100
Medicine Lake Road and 2724 Virginia Avenue. The vacant parcel on
Virginia Avenue is zoned R-3 medium density residential and the existing
nursing home site is zoned R-5 senior/disabled. The combined site area is
approximately four acres. The current building contains 34,066 square
feet and the proposed addition would be 15,180 square feet for a total
building area of 49,246 square feet.
Mr. Weiss explained that this application was considered at the August 8
Planning Commission meeting and the Commission recommended
approval subject to 19 conditions. The City Council considered the
request at its August 25 meeting, but referred the case back to the
Planning Commission due to concerns regarding the rain garden, a
PILOT agreement, fuel source for the back up generator, and the large
number of conditions.
Mr. Weiss stated that the applicant submitted revised plans and met with
the Design and Review Committee to review the conditions approved in
August and revisions made to the plans. He reviewed each previous
condition and informed the Commission of the petitioner’s response.
Condition 1 referred to the site improvement agreement which now will
also include landscaping maintenance (condition 6), city attorney
recommendations regarding the plat (condition 12), rain garden
maintenance (condition 16), and utility easement agreement (condition
19). Condition 2 is for the financial guarantee, which will remain.
Conditions 9 and 10 dealing with engineering issues will be combined
and remain. Condition 13 will remain and the applicant must comply
with recommendations from West Metro Fire-Rescue District.
The following conditions have been completed by the applicant and were
removed. Condition 3 required revised plans to show consistent location
of easements, which has been completed. Condition 4 dealt with
compliance with state licensing laws; this is not a city issue and condition
was removed. Condition 5 required a letter of agreement with Midland
Shopping Center permitting grading/landscape work on its site, which
has been submitted. Condition 7 required the landscaping plan to be
revised to show appropriate plant types and this was completed.
Condition 8 required fencing details to be shown on the plans, which has
been completed. Condition 11 dealt with the sign plan and a revised sign
plan and map have been submitted in compliance with the sign code.
Condition 14 required approval of plans by the building official, which is
standard procedure prior to the issuance of a building permit. Condition
15 was for the Planning Commission to waive review of the final plat, and
this was approved at the August 5 Commission meeting. Condition 17
dealt with the backup generator and the applicant submitted the required
information and the generator meets all requirements of the city and
state. Condition 18 dealt with the rain garden, which meets city
requirements.
Mr. Weiss reported that the City Council was concerned with tax
implications by removing 2724 Virginia Avenue from the city tax rolls,
due to the fact that Good Samaritan is a non-profit entity. The city portion
of taxes for that parcel is approximately $2,000 per year. Good Samaritan
has agreed to a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement in the amount
of $2,000.21 per year with no annual increase.
The revised landscaping plan meets city requirements. The large rain
garden proposed along the property line adjacent to Midland Center was
acceptable to the city engineer and an agreement with Midland Center
was submitted to the city. A portion of the existing fencing was removed
and two small patios with fencing surrounding the areas were included in
the revised plans near the existing wing.
The applicant submitted a revised sign plan and includes sign details. A
revised sign plan map was also included. The current sign plan complies
with city requirements.
The applicant agreed to comply with all requests made by West Metro
Fire in its memorandums of July 15 and August 15.
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Planning Commission Meeting October 7, 2008
Mr. Weiss stated that a 1,000 kW diesel fueled backup generator was
proposed. All state licensed nursing homes are required to have a backup
generator, which must be fueled by a reliable source – or one that cannot
be interrupted. CenterPoint Energy submitted a letter stating natural gas
is not a reliable fuel source due to the fact that it can be interrupted either
by manmade or natural causes. An on-site diesel fuel system was
proposed that meets state standards. The generator would meet city noise
standards.
In summary, Mr. Weiss explained that Good Samaritan – Ambassador
was proposing a 15,180 square foot addition to its current nursing care
facility. The addition would consist of 21 beds for short-term
rehabilitation care. The building addition was designed to reflect a
residential look and feel. Improvements would include extensive
landscaping and a rain garden. The existing easements would be vacated
and a new easement would be created. The project generally complies
with the city’s Comprehensive Plan. Approvals would include rezoning
the 2724 Virginia parcel from R-3 to R-5, conditional use permit for long-
term care facility, vacation of existing easements and creation of a new
easement, replatting to combine the two parcels into one parcel, site and
building plan review, and sign plan review. Mr. Weiss stated that staff
recommended approval subject to the conditions outlined in the planning
report.
Commissioner Brinkman requested an explanation of the PILOT
agreement. Mr. Jacobsen explained that PILOT stood for payment in lieu
of taxes. A PILOT agreement was utilized when a taxable property
became tax exempt through the sale of the property or a new use for the
property. The portion of the taxes the city received for 2724 Virginia
Avenue was $2,000.21 for 2008, and Good Samaritan has agreed to
contribute this amount every year to the city as may be required by the
PILOT agreement. The city would not, therefore, lose any taxes by
allowing the parcel to become tax exempt. Some agreements require that
the payment go on forever and some agreements include a timeframe for
renegotiation or elimination. Currently, there are several agreements in
the city. Mr. Sondrall interjected that one agreement was negotiated when
North Ridge was purchased by Minnesota Masonic Homes, who is tax
exempt. The city entered into a PILOT agreement with Minnesota
Masonic Homes to reimburse the city for real estate taxes. Most
agreements continue while the property is utilized for its intended use
under the CUP. While Good Samaritan was agreeable to a PILOT
agreement, the duration and contribution has not specifically been agreed
upon. A suggestion was made to keep pace with current taxes.
Commissioner Landy stated that the plans did not indicate any screening
or landscaping around the generator and questioned whether or not
screening should be provided.
Mr. Gary Gust, architect with Horty Elving, came forward to address the
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Planning Commission Meeting October 7, 2008
Commission. He stated that the generator would be located on the
southeast side of the existing building. He agreed the plans did not show
any screening, however, Ambassador would be agreeable to placing
shrubbery around the generator. The approximate size of the generator
would be 10 feet high by eight feet wide by 15 to 20 feet long. Members of
the Design and Review Committee stated they remembered discussing
screening of the generator. Mr. Sondrall suggested that the landscaping
plan be revised to illustrate the screening.
Motion Motion by Commissioner Houle, seconded by Commissioner Landy, to
Item 4.1 approve Planning Case 08-11, request for rezoning, conditional use
permit, vacation of existing easements and creation of new easement,
site and building plan review, preliminary plat to be known as
Ambassador Addition, and sign plan review for expansion of existing
facility to provide short-term rehabilitation and nursing care, 8100
Medicine Lake Road and 2724 Virginia Avenue, Good Samaritan
Society - Ambassador, petitioner, subject to the following conditions:
1.Enter into a site improvement agreement with the city to be
prepared by the city attorney.
a.Maintain landscaping and replace all damaged or dead plant
materials.
b.Comply with recommendations of city attorney related to plat
(July 29, 2008, correspondence).
c.Applicant to enter into rain garden maintenance agreement.
d.Enter into utility easement agreement and repair landscaping,
if necessary.
2.Provide financial guarantee (amount to be determined by city
engineer and building official).
3.Comply with city engineer recommendations dated July 30, 2008,
and September 24, 2008.
4.Comply with West Metro Fire-Rescue District recommendations
dated July 15, 2008, and August 15, 2008.
Voting in favor: Brinkman, Crough, Hemken, Houle Landy, Oelkers,
Schmidt
Voting against: None
Absent: Anderson, Hunten, Nirgudé, Svendsen
Motion carried.
Chair Hemken stated that this planning case would be considered by the
City Council at its meeting on October 13 and asked that the petitioner
attend that meeting.
Commissioner Oelkers commended the petitioner on the expansion
project and added the representatives were great to work with and
responded to all of the Design and Review Committee’s requests. This
facility is a great addition to the community.
Design and Review Commissioner Oelkers reported that the Design and Review Committee
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Planning Commission Meeting October 7, 2008
Committee met in September to review the revised plans for the Ambassador project.
Mr. Jacobsen added that at this time staff was not aware of any planning
Item 5.1
applications to be submitted for the November meeting. The committee
would be contacted if a meeting would be necessary on October 16.
Codes and Standards Chair Hemken stated that the Codes and Standards Committee did not
meet in September.
Committee
Item 5.2
OLD BUSINESS Commissioner Oelkers questioned whether or not Coborns Delivers
would be subject to the same conditions as Simon Delivers as long as it
Miscellaneous Issues
was operating in the same manner. Oelkers indicated that many residents
on 36th Avenue were concerned with the truck traffic. Mr. Sondrall stated
that staff would look into the conditions associated with this project and
possibly meet with the representatives from Coborns.
NEW BUSINESS Commissioner Schmidt initiated discussion on the graffiti located on the
vacant building at 7231 42nd Avenue. He wondered whether staff had
notified the property owner to clean up the side of the building. Mr.
Jacobsen explained the process that must be followed per city ordinance.
The first notice to the property owner allows 10 days for clean up to take
place; the second notice allows for five days. If no action is taken by the
property owner, then the city can have the graffiti cleaned up and bill the
property owner. This property is vacant and owner lives out of state,
which makes timely notification a little more difficult. Generally, when
the property owner lives nearby, the response time for clean up is much
faster. City staff responds the same day as notification when the graffiti is
on city property. Mr. Sondrall indicated that the graffiti ordinance was
appropriate as written, but the steps laid out in the ordinance must be
followed. The Police Department and Community Development staff
takes the graffiti vandalism seriously, as did the City Council when it
adopted the ordinance to allow staff to deal with it. Several
commissioners suggested staff should be more aggressive when dealing
with graffiti issues.
Motion to Approve Motion by Commissioner Landy, seconded by Commissioner Oelkers, to
Minutes approve the Planning Commission minutes of August 6, 2008.
Commissioner Schmidt abstained from voting. The balance of the
commissioners voted in favor. Motion carried.
ANNOUNCEMENTS If a November Planning Commission meeting is necessary, the meeting
would be held on Wednesday, November 5, due to elections.
ADJOURNMENT The Planning Commission meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:45
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela Sylvester, Recording Secretary
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Planning Commission Meeting October 7, 2008