Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem work session 3601 Thurston Avenue Anoka, MN 55303 763.231.5840 TPC@PlanningCo.com 1 MEMORANDUM TO: Daryl Morey FROM: D. Daniel Licht, AICP DATE: 29 May 2019 RE: Lakeville – Zoning Ordinance; Annual Review TPC FILE: 135.01 BACKGROUND The Planning Department initiates an annual review of the Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Ordinance, and/or City Code. The review of the City’s development regulations for 2019 is to be undertaken in two phases. The first phase will address a general review of issues identified in the course of ongoing administration of the City’s development regulations and review of development applications. A second phase of work will involve legislating ordinance amendments required to implement the 2040 Lakeville Comprehensive Plan. A work session has been scheduled for 6 June 2019 to discuss the list of housekeeping topics compiled by City staff during 2018 for the Phase 1 review and receive direction from the Planning Commission as to possible amendments. Exhibits:  Downtown Lakeville parking map  Letter on behalf of All Saints Catholic Church dated April 10, 2019 ANALYSIS Development Fees. The City has established fees for applications required by the Subdivision Ordinance and Zoning Ordinance intended to ensure that the costs of processing development applications is borne by those making the request. The development fees address costs incurred for City staff, publication of public hearings and ordinances, recording costs, and overhead expenses. The City also charges applicants for costs incurred for planning, engineering, and legal expenses for the review of development applications and administration 2 of approved development plans, permits, and agreements. An escrow is collected at the time a development application is submitted that the City utilizes to pay for these professional services. The property owner is ultimately responsible for all costs incurred by the City related to a development application, whether the request is approved or denied. If invoiced expenses above the initial development application fee and escrow are not paid, the City has the ability to assess the unpaid charges to the property to be paid with the property taxes. The Subdivision Ordinance and Zoning Ordinance must be amended to clarify the City’s certification of unpaid development application costs in consideration of the case of Great Western Industrial Park, LLC v. Randolph Township, 853 N.W. 2d 155 (Minn. App. 2104). In that case, after Randolph Township denied a conditional use permit application submitted by an applicant and the applicant failed to pay the expenses incurred by the Township in processing the application, the Township passed a resolution under Minnesota Statute 366.012 that certified the expenses to the county auditor as an unpaid service charge to be collected with applicant's property taxes. The Court of Appeals reversed the Township’s certification order but indicated that the Township may have had a right to certify the unpaid costs if they had included a provision in their land use ordinance to allow them to certify unpaid planning costs to the applicant’s property taxes citing Minnesota Statute 462.353, subd. 4a., which states: A municipality may prescribe fees sufficient to defray the costs incurred by it in reviewing, investigating, and administering an application for an amendment to an official control established pursuant to sections 462.351 to 462.364 [governing municipal planning and development] or an application for a permit or other approval required under an official control established pursuant to those sections. Except as provided in subdivision 4a, fees as prescribed must be by ordinance. Fees must be fair, reasonable, and proportionate and have a nexus to the actual cost of the service for which the fee is imposed. Based on the case of Great Western Industrial Park, LLC v. Randolph Township, City staff recommends drafting amendments to Section 10-3-6 of the Subdivision Ordinance and the Zoning Ordinance to outline the City’s established pass-through cost structure for processing development applications and include a specific citation of Minnesota Statute § 462.353, Subp. 4a related to the property owner’s responsibility for unpaid charges. Building Type and Construction. Section 11-17-9.F of the Zoning Ordinance defines various types of building exterior finish materials regulated by the Zoning Ordinance. City staff recommends moving the list of these definitions to Section 11-17-9.A of the Zoning Ordinance so that they are more readily identified by architects and builders as they are preparing plans. City staff believes this amendment will result in fewer plan changes required due to proposed building exterior finishes not complying with the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. 3 Exterior Finish Materials. Architectural design, construction techniques, and exterior materials continue to evolve and advance. The City has from time-to-time found it necessary to review and amend its building type and construction standards set forth by the Zoning Ordinance to be consistent with current practices and technology.  Simulated Wood Panels. Target Corporation received approval to update the exterior of the SuperTarget building within the Timbercrest at Lakeville PUD District to incorporate simulated wood panels as an accent material. The proposed simulated wood is a durable material that is weather, impact, and graffiti resistant suitable for use in commercial buildings. The simulated wood panels are installed on the exterior of the building by anchoring brackets, which also allows single panels to be replaced as needed for long-term maintenance. The use of the simulated wood material is complementary to other materials and colors used for the exterior of SuperTarget, and is appropriate as an accent for the building exterior while maintaining a high-quality masonry as the primary material. City staff recommends adding simulated wood panels as an allowed Grade B material within Section 11-17-9.B.2 of the Zoning Ordinance.  Wood. Section 11-17-9.B of the Zoning Ordinance defines use of wood that is naturally suited or treated for outdoor use as a Grade D material along with smooth and scored concrete block, and glass block. Section 11-17-9.D of the Zoning Ordinance allows use of Grade D materials to comprise up to 10 percent of the exterior finish of commercial buildings. The 10 percent limit on Grade D materials limits these exterior finishes to being more of an accent treatment. Recent building proposals, particularly within downtown Lakeville, have sought to use wood as a primary exterior finish as part of an overall architectural character. City staff recommends reviewing the current classification of wood as a Grade D material, either within the C-CBD or commercial districts generally, to classify the finish as a Grade B or C material. Yard Encroachments. Section 11-17-11.A of the Zoning Ordinance provides exceptions to setback requirements to allow certain building elements to encroach into required setbacks. Existing exceptions are allowed for cantilevered building elements not more than 2 feet; Terraces, steps, decks, stoops or similar structures; residential clothes lines, arbors and trellises, gazebos, and air conditioning or heating equipment; and a 1 story enclosed entrance not exceeding 10 feet in width for single or two family dwellings into the required front yard. The list of exceptions needs to be expanded to allow for disability accessible ramps to encroach into a required setback. City staff recommends that the exception only provides for landings of a size sufficient to allow access to and from the home. This exception would be similar to the existing provision allowing for an enclosed building entrance, but not a full-width porch or deck structure unless yard setbacks are met. Storm Shelter. The greatest weather-related risk for life and property in Lakeville is from severe storms, and specifically a tornado. A basement within a dwelling does not insure maximum protection for occupants. Conditions occurring during the most severe storm or tornado events may cause a structural collapse of the building into the basement that results in 4 injury or death for people seeking shelter in these locations. However, seeking shelter in a basement is generally considered to be an acceptable level of protection in this area. City staff provided information regarding Federal Emergency Management Guidelines for storm shelters for discussion as part of a Zoning Ordinance update in 2000. A storm shelter is not required by the Building Code. However, establishment of a requirement for a storm shelter to be installed is within the authority of the City to protect public health, safety and welfare as stated in Section 11-1-1.B of the Zoning Ordinance. The City of Lakeville has required construction of an interior room such as a bathroom or laundry room as storm shelter meeting FEMA requirements within slab-on-grade dwellings since 2000. The City of Hugo discussed a storm shelter requirement after a tornado struck the City in 2009, but makes provision of a storm shelter optional for the initial buyer. The only other City within Minnesota that requires a storm shelter for slab-on-grade homes is Otsego. City staff has received comments from developers, particularly since the Great Recession in the latter part of the prior decade, that the storm shelter requirement is prohibitive from a cost standpoint and not desired by buyers. The Building Department does not track the number of dwelling units that have been constructed with a storm shelter, but the indication that City staff receives from developers is that they typically elect to construct dwellings with split entries or basements that do not require the storm shelter. City staff is requesting the Planning Commission discuss the storm shelter requirement and possible alternatives such as allowance of:  Reinforced areas of refuge within an attached garage.  Use of a prefabricated above-grade storm shelter unit that would be installed within an attached garage. The area of the attached garage would be required to be increased to accommodate the storm shelter without impacting area for parking vehicles.  Use of a prefabricated below grade storm shelter that would be installed within the garage floor with provisions addressing access and clearances.  Use of community buildings within developments such as Spirit of Brandtjen Farm or Avonlea as areas of refuge.  Eliminate the requirement that storm shelters internal to the dwelling can only be provided in a bathroom or laundry room.  Modifying storm shelter requirement such that builders are required to offer buyers the option of constructing a storm shelter within slab-on-grade dwellings. Our office recommends that there is no distinction between an amendment repealing the storm shelter requirement and a regulation making it optional as the option to provide a storm shelter already exists in the absence of requirement that one be constructed. 5 Off-Street Parking. Section 11-19-13 of the Zoning Ordinance establishes requirements for a minimum number of off-street parking stalls to be provided for specific uses. The off-street parking requirements are based on parking demand studies prepared by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the American Planning Association, and other professional organizations or agencies. The intent of requiring a minimum number of parking stalls is to ensure the functionality of a site from a traffic circulation standpoint and avoid causing congestion on adjacent public streets. Section 11-19-7.J of the Zoning Ordinance establishes an administrative permit process to defer construction of the required minimum number of parking stalls when it can be demonstrated that the projected demand for off-street parking stalls will be less than the number specified by the Zoning Ordinance. This situation is most often presented for large scale retail commercial or industrial buildings where space within the structure is used for storage of goods. City staff proposes that the off-street parking requirements be reviewed to establish a revised standard for large scale retail commercial and industrial buildings to avoid the need for deferments on a case-by-case basis. In rare situations, the City encounters a development proposal that provides substantially more off-street parking than required by Section 11-19-13 of the Zoning Ordinance, which is not desirable due to construction and maintenance costs, increased stormwater runoff, loss of greenspace, or under utilization of a site’s development potential. SuperTarget at TimberCrest at Lakeville is an example of a retail store where the number of parking stalls provided exceeded the number of stalls required by 167 stalls based on Target’s estimated demand for parking on a limited number of peak shopping days per year. City staff is seeking input from the Planning Commission on establishing an approval process for construction of off-street parking stalls that exceed the requirements of Section 11-19-13 of the Zoning Ordinance based on a percentage of required stalls. The other off-street parking issue in need of review is the requirement for parking stalls within the C-CBD District. The intended character of downtown Lakeville is to de-emphasize the need for parking through business interchange, pedestrian connections, shared parking, and public parking options. Section 11-19-21.A of the Zoning Ordinance states that on-street parking stalls abutting a site may be used to satisfy the off-street parking requirement of Section 11-19- 13 of the Zoning Ordinance for businesses within the C-CBD District. Section 11-19-21.C of the Zoning Ordinance provides for a further deferment of off-street parking requirements through a development agreement that would require financial participation in public parking improvements. Since 2000 when these provisions for C-CBD parking were adopted, the City has constructed 254 public parking stalls in four separate parking lots within downtown Lakeville to support retail, service, and office uses within the area. City staff is recommending that the requirements for off-street parking for commercial uses within the C-CBD be reduced and/or eliminated based on the supply of on-street and public parking that is available to promote the desired character of downtown Lakeville. 6 Loading Areas. Chapter 20 of the Zoning Ordinance establishes provisions requiring uses to provide loading areas and addressing performance standards regarding location, surfacing, screening, size, and circulation. Section 11-20-3 requires a specified number of loading areas for multiple family residential, commercial, and industrial uses. Designation of loading areas for multiple family residential uses for moving purposes or commercial uses for delivery of goods is most often integrated as part of the overall site plan and managed by the property owner. Loading areas for industrial uses is determined based upon the operational needs for the specific business. City staff recommends amending the Zoning Ordinance to eliminate the requirement for a minimum number of loading areas based on use or building area. City staff further proposes reviewing existing performance standards related to location, access and circulation, and screening to ensure functional site plans and operations that will not impact adjacent properties or public streets. Fence Construction. Section 11-21-5.C of the Zoning Ordinance requires that fences be constructed in a “substantial, workmanlike manner and of substantial material reasonably suited for the propose for which the fence is proposed”. City staff recommends that this provision be revised to provide more quantifiable standards that can be understood by property owners and better administered by City staff. Commercial/Industrial Fences. Section 11-21-5.H.1.a of the Zoning Ordinance does not allow fences to be erected in required front yards for commercially zoned properties. Section 11-21- 5.H.1.b of the Zoning Ordinance allows fences for industrially zoned properties to be erected in all yards, including required front yards, up to a height of 8 feet; a fence within a required front yard or the side yard of a corner lot abutting the street must be at least 75 percent open unless an administrative permit is approved to allow for more solid construction. City staff recommends reviewing the fence provisions for commercial districts to make an allowance for fences within front yards, side yards of corner lots, or rear yards of through lots similar to that allowed for industrial districts. Land/Sea Containers. Section 11-22-7 of the Zoning Ordinance addresses outdoor storage of land/sea containers and parking of semi-trailers. Section 11-22-7.A of the Zoning Ordinance declares outdoor storage that does not comply with the provisions of this section to be a non- conforming use that was to have been removed by 1 June 1996. Minnesota Statutes 462.357, Subd. 1c prohibits amortization of non-conforming uses that are allowed to continue as they were legally established by Minnesota Statutes 462.357, Subd. 1e. Section 11-22-7.A must be revised to eliminate the reference to removal of non-conforming uses by 1 June 1996. Existing legal non-conforming uses will be regulated by Chapter 15 of the Zoning Ordinance. Signs. The following sign related issues are proposed for review of possible amendments:  Directional Signs. The City receives requests from large scale industrial sites to add directional signage, especially when the site provides for separate patron/employee and loading access. Section 11-23-7.B of the Zoning Ordinance makes allowance for 2 signs not to exceed 4 square feet to be placed within a property for the purpose of 7 accommodating directional signage. Industrial users would like to provide larger signs that are more easily identifiable to traffic looking to access the site. City staff supports allowing for larger signs for directional purposes to improve site access and circulation and avoid congestion on public streets.  Temporary Signs. Section 11-23-15.G of the Zoning Ordinance makes provision for a property to display 1 temporary sign upon a property for up to 60 days per year. City staff recommends not allowing a site that has a dynamic display sign from obtaining a permit for a temporary sign. The allowance of the changeable display on the dynamic sign should allow the property adequate opportunity to communicate short term messages that would not otherwise be possible with a static sign, thus creating a need for a second, temporary sign.  Development Signs. Section 11-23-15.X.2 of the Zoning Ordinance allows placement of temporary signs upon approval of a final plat for three or more lots to identify the proposed development. The City has implemented procedures to expedite the process for developers to start construction including allowing grading following preliminary plat approval. So as to better communicate information about development activity, City staff recommends amending Section11-23-15.X.2 of the Zoning Ordinance to allow posting of development signs upon preliminary plat approval.  Utility Boxes. Section 11-23-17.O of the Zoning Ordinance prohibits “signs painted, attached or in any other manner affixed to trees or similar natural surfaces, or attached to utility poles, bridges, towers, or similar public structures, or public fences”. Signs placed on utility boxes needs to be added to the list of prohibited sign locations addressed by this clause.  Dynamic Display Signs. A letter has been submitted on behalf of All Saints Catholic Church requesting that the City consider amending the Zoning Ordinance to allow their property a larger sign that incorporates a dynamic display. All Saints Catholic Church is located within a RM-1 District with two accesses to Holyoke Avenue. Section 11-23- 19.B.1.a of the Zoning Ordinance allows 1 freestanding monument sign up to 100 square feet in area, which may include 40 square feet of non-electronic changeable copy, and up to 10 feet in height at each site entrance from a collector or arterial street. Section 11-23-15.T of the Zoning Ordinance allows for use of dynamic display signs on properties zoned C-2, C-3, or P-OS District. Freestanding signs within commercial districts and the P-OS District are limited to 100 square feet except within the I-35 corridor, so the area of the sign allowed All Saints Catholic Church is not more restrictive under RM-1 District requirements. The basis of allowing dynamic display signs by Zoning District is to insure a legally sound time/place regulation and avoid possible land use compatibility issues for dynamic display signs within residential areas. 8 The request from All Saints Catholic Church would involve amending the Zoning Ordinance to make allowance for dynamic display signs for non-residential uses within residential zoning districts accessed from collector or arterial streets that would include religious facilities, schools, daycare uses, golf courses, and government uses or parks operated by agencies other than the City of Lakeville.  Office Tenant Signage. The signage for office buildings having a single tenant are addressed in Section 11-23-19 of the Zoning Ordinance for the respective zoning districts. Signage for multiple occupancy commercial and industrial buildings are addressed in Section 11-23-15.R of the Zoning Ordinance. Section 11-23-15.R.3.a provides that the number of individual wall signs is limited to 1 per elevation per tenant space (except additional sign(s) may be displayed on a second elevation for the tenant of a corner suite or a suite that extends through the building thus having two (2) exterior walls) provided that each tenant identified with a sign has an exclusive exterior entrance. These standards are most applicable to commercial retail strip buildings. However, it is becoming more common for multiple tenant office buildings with common entry, lobby area, and elevators to have wall signs displaying major tenants. City staff recommends consideration be given to amending the Zoning Ordinance to allow for wall signs for individual tenants of a commercial or industrial building when the tenant occupies a given percentage of the building area to recognize a major presence within the building. Prohibited Animals. Section 11-35-3.I of the Zoning Ordinance and Section 5-1-19 of the City Code lists animals that are prohibited from being kept within the City. The City Attorney is recommending the section be revised to indicate that only those properties that received approval of an interim use permit prior to the effective date of the most recent amendment to this section are allowed to keep any of the listed animals (subject to the provisions of the interim use permit). This clarification of the prohibited animals will aid City staff in the administration and enforcement of the regulations in the Zoning Ordinance and City Code. Goats. Planning Department staff has received more requests over the years to allow goats on a short term basis on private residential and commercial properties as a means to control invasive plants such as buckthorn. Goats are defined as a farm animal that would only be allowed to be kept on farm properties. The City of Eagan has recently adopted City Code language regulations and a permit process to allow these animals for vegetation control purposes. A permit is required and allows rental of goats on properties (or combined properties) of at least half an acre. A fence enclosure is required and in most cases, goats may be on a property no more than 30 days, up to 2 times per year. City staff is seeking direction from the Planning Commission if a similar allowance for goats should be made in Lakeville as an environmentally conscience means of invasive weed control. RM-1 District Design and Construction Standards. Section 11-58-21 outlines design and construction standards for developments within the RM-1 District. Similar design and construction standards are adopted for developments within the RM-2, RH-1, and RH-2 9 Districts. The design and construction standards are applicable to detached townhouse and townhouse uses. Allowed uses within the RM-1 District include single family dwellings and two- family dwellings constructed on a traditional lot to which the design and construction standards are not intended to apply. City staff recommends clarifying that the design and construction standards set forth in the RM-1, RM-2, RH-1, and RH-2 do not apply to single family or two family dwellings. City staff further recommends that the requirement for guest parking stalls in each of the respective districts be modified to allow on-street parking spaced to be counted to satisfy the requirement applicable to detached townhouse or two family townhouse dwellings. C-CBD District Motor Fuel Facilities. The purpose of the C-CBD district is to provide specifically for the regulation of high intensity commercial uses located within downtown Lakeville. The desired character for downtown Lakeville is described in the Downtown Development Guide as a unique, identifiable and thriving business district. Section 11-74-7.L of the Zoning Ordinance allows for motor fuel sales with or without a convenience store as a conditional use. There are currently no motor fuel facilities within downtown Lakeville. City staff suggests that allowance of a modern-day convenience motor fuel use is not in keeping with the desired character of downtown Lakeville. We recommend that allowance of motor fuel uses within the C-CBD District be repealed. I-1 District Commercial Recreation. Commercial recreation is allowed as a conditional use within the I-1, Light Industrial District subject to the provisions of Section 11-86-7.D of the Zoning Ordinance. Section 11-86-7.D.5 of the Zoning Ordinance requires that the site of a commercial recreation use be accessed from a collector street. The intent of this provision was to locate a proposed commercial recreation use at the periphery of an industrial area to avoid land use compatibility and traffic congestion issues. However, requiring access to a collector street is not consistent with access management practices to insure efficient traffic movement on the collector roadway. City staff recommends removal of the requirement for commercial recreation uses to be accessed from a collector street. The general provisions regarding site compatibility and street capacity reviewed as part of the conditional use permit process will provide adequate protection that commercial recreation uses are appropriately located within the I-1 District. PO-S District. The purpose of the P-OS, Public and Open Space District is to provide for facilities devoted to serving the public. It is unique in that the primary objective of uses within this district is the provision of services, frequently on a nonprofit basis, rather than the sale of goods or services. It is intended that uses within such a district will be compatible with adjoining development, and they normally will be located along arterial or major collector streets with full availability of urban services. Governmental utility buildings, public maintenance buildings and structures for the City of Lakeville are permitted uses. Facilities for government units other than the City are not allowed within the P-OS District. City staff recommends making governmental administration, utility buildings, public maintenance buildings and structures for jurisdictions other than the City allowed as a conditional use within the P-OS District. 10 CONCLUSION City staff is providing the information outlined herein as a summary of the issues to be reviewed during Phase 1 of the 2019 update of the City’s development regulations. City staff is seeking consensus from the Planning Commission as to both the issues to be addressed as well as the direction proposed for possible amendments. Based on this direction from the Planning Commission, City staff will proceed to draft language amending the City’s development regulations for further review and discussion by the Planning Commission and City Council. c. Justin Miller, City Administrator David Olson, Community and Economic Development Director Andrea McDowell-Poehler, City Attorney • • • • 210th Street