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100317 Planning CommissionCITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH NEW HOPE, MINNESOTA 55428 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES October 3, 2017 City Hall, 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Planning Commission met in regular session pursuant to due call and notice thereof; Chair Schmidt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Scott Clark, Jim Brinkman, Matt Mannix, Chris Hanson, Tom Schmidt, Roger Landy, Bill Smith, Cedrick Frazier, Michael Redden Absent: None Also Present: Jeff Sargent, Director of Community Development; Stacy Woods, Assistant City Attorney; Alan Brixius, Planning Consultant; Jessi Weber, Recording Secretary CONSENT BUSINESS None PUBLIC HEARING Planning Case 17-14 Item 4.1 Chair Schmidt introduced Item 4.1, request for site plan approval for the construction of a new Police Department/City Hall facility located at 4401 Xylon Ave N; City of New Hope, petitioner. Mr. Jeff Sargent, Community Development Director, gave background on the planning case. Sargent stated this meeting is acting as a Public Hearing even though one is not required. He stated that on March 25, 2013, the city hired Wold Architects to conduct a space needs s tudy to determine whether the current City Hall space and set-up allowed business to be conducted in an appropriate manner. The r esult of the study indicated City Hall is currently undersized; which was especially evident in the Police Department. A citizen task force was created in 2015 to make a recommendation to the City Council as to where the most appropriate location for a new building would be. During this process, various locations were taken into consideration. It was determined the best location for a new building would be somewhere within the current Civic Center Park property. On January 11, 2016, Wold Architects was hired to study the various site options for the Police Department/City Hall. After much consideration, the citizen task force made a recommendation to the City Council at the September 19, 2016, City Council meeting to locate the new building on the pool site. The major driving force behind this location was the soil conditions of the property. Sargent explained the soil boring analysis and that the pool location had the best results. The City Council agreed the pool site would be the best location for the new building with the condition that a new swimming pool would be constructed within Civic Park in the future. Next, Sargent reviewed the zoning analysis. The subject property is zoned GPO and located in Planning District 11. The 2040 Comprehensive Plan promotes the upgrade of governmental facilities as 2 Planning Commission Meeting October 3, 2017 needed. The proposed building setbacks are acceptable and allow vehicle circulation. Two existing entrances into the City Hall parking lot would remain to allow park access with an additional entrance being added that would access the garbage area, Community Development Department garage, SWAT vehicle garage, underground parking, and secured police department parking lot. Access from Zealand Ave N would remain for WMFRD, and a second access for Police Department. The curbing, sidewalk, pavement, parking stalls, pedestrian connections throughout the property, and loading/unloading areas are all adequate. The proposed parking will be able to accommodate Police Department, City Hall, pool, and park users. The landscaping, tree removal and replacement, and lighting all meet city code. There are plans to incorporate storm water treatment areas with either tree trenches or rain gardens and a potential underground storage tank to help irrigate the ballfields in Civic Park. Grading, drainage, erosion control, and snow storage and removal are all being addressed as part of the design. The exterior façade materials meet the minimum requirements of the Design Guidelines. Sargent concluded that staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the site plan review for the construction of a new Police Department/City Hall for the city of New Hope. When Chair Schmidt questioned whether any of the Commissioners had any questions for staff or the applicant, Commissioner Redden asked if bicycle parking would still be incorporated in the plan and where it would be located. Mr. Sargent stated there would be bicycle parking and it is still in the design stages, but would likely go somewhere in the front of the building. Commissioner Smith asked if the entrances for the underground parking would be secure. Sargent explained there the ramp to access underground parking is inside a secured fence area. Commissioner Mannix inquired as to what the estimated time of completion would be. Sargent replied there is a timeline posted on the city web site and an estimated completion in 2019. Commissioner Landy confirmed it was an estimated 16-18 months for completion. Commissioner Brinkman questioned if fencing around the Police Department would be the same around the pool. Sargent said he was not sure of the fencing type, as the pool has not been planned yet. He would imagine the fencing would not be the same as the secure fence is decorative but has the function of not being easily accessible. The fencing for the pool may be something similar to what is there now. Chair Schmidt asked how the listening session for the pool went. Sargent stated from what he had heard it went well. Commissioner Landy stated it went well and 43 people spoke with feedback for having 3 Planning Commission Meeting October 3, 2017 a 50-meter pool. Sargent stated that the request in front of the Planning Commission solely focuses on the Police Department/ City Hall and that staff is currently seeking approval of the design of the site plan. Commissioner Brinkman questioned how many phases there were in total. Sargent replied that there are five phases for the construction of the new building. Commissioner Landy went through the timeline and financing with the goal of things being in place by January. Chair Schmidt inquired if anyone in the audience would like to address the Planning Commission. Michelle Urbancic, 4509 Aquila Ave N, New Hope, MN, stated she was at the pool listening session the night before and wanted to attend this meeting to see how far along the planning was for switching the pool and City Hall. Planning was further along than she had realized. She wants to see the city keep things as green as possible through LEED certification, solar panels, and green space for the park through minimizing the parking lot space. Commissioner Landy stated moving the Police Department and City Hall off site during construction would cost extra money. Ms. Urbancic stated she was hoping a better maintenance plan would be in place for the building to keep everything looking nice. Commissioner Landy explained the cuts in 2008-2010 resulting in the reduction of almost $500,000.00 of local governmental aid and that greatly affected the maintenance budget. Commissioner Redden explained LEED certification is a focus in the plans and gave reference to the secure fencing; which, is made out of 96% recycled domestic steel and is eligible for LEED points. Being that no one else wanted to speak, Chair Schmidt asked for a motion to close the Public Hearing. Commissioner Clark stated there are other mechanisms to notify residents about meetings that are happening. Motion by Commissioner Landy, seconded by Commissioner Redden, to close the public hearing. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. Motion Item 4.1 Motion by Commissioner Clark, seconded by Commissioner Landy, to approve Planning Case 17-14, request for site plan approval for the construction of a new Police Department/City Hall facility located at 4401 Xylon Ave N; City of New Hope, petitioner. Voting in favor: Clark, Brinkman, Mannix, Hanson, Schmidt, Landy, Smith, Frazier, Redden Voting against: None Absent: None Motion approved 9-0 Chair Schmidt stated the case will move forward to the October 23rd 4 Planning Commission Meeting October 3, 2017 City Council meeting. COMMITTEE REPORTS Design and Review Committee Item 5.1 There is a pre-application meeting scheduled for Friday. There could potentially be a meeting on October 19th if staff receives an application. Codes and Standards Committee Item 5.2 None scheduled and staff will let the committee know when one is scheduled NEW BUSINESS None OLD BUSINESS Approval of Minutes Item 7.1 Commissioner Frazier stated his name was duplicated under the attendance section. Motion by Commissioner Landy, seconded by Commissioner Frazier, to approve the Planning Commission minutes of September 5, 2017, with the correction of Commissioner Frazier’s name. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Schmidt questioned if anyone had heard updates on the 4 Seasons Mall. It was stated that no updates have been heard. ADJOURNMENT The Planning Commission meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jessi Weber, Recording Secretary