Planning Commission Minutes

CITY OF VICTORIA
REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
MARCH 17, 2009

MEETING

Pursuant to due posted and mailed notice thereof, the Victoria Planning Commission met on March 17, 2009, at 7951 Rose Street in the Council Chambers.

Chair Simanton opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Members Present: Chair, Gordy Simanton; Commissioners: James Donadio III, Bud Hiivala, Grant Peterson and Tom Vogt.

Members Absent: None.

Others Present: Community Development Director, Holly Kreft; Councilmember Tom O’Connor and Tanya Schmieg, Recording Secretary.

A. Adopt Agenda

A motion was made by Vogt, seconded by Peterson, to adopt the agenda as presented. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays. Motion Carried.
 

#2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

A. Minutes of the February 3, 2009 Planning Commission Meeting.

A motion was made by Simanton, seconded by Donadio, to adopt the agenda as presented. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays. Motion Carried.

B. Review Minutes of the February 9, 2009 City Council Meeting.

The above minutes were reviewed.

C. Review Minutes of the February 23, 2009 City Council Meeting.

The above minutes were reviewed.
 

None.
 

Ms. Kreft said they are continuing to update the zoning ordinance. She said they are rewriting the entire ordinance as a follow up to the comprehensive plan. She noted the update to the zoning ordinance is being funded through the 1000 Friends Grant.

Ms. Kreft explained there are four areas they are looking for input. The first is home occupations. She said that currently the home occupation language is only included in the definition section of the zoning ordinance and staff is recommending the home occupation definition stay within the definition section and create a separate section for home occupations and deal with those in each of the zoning districts. Ms. Kreft said there is a one-time $500 fee for a conditional use permit that stays with the property.

Commissioner Donadio said they have a homeowner’s association and have tried to deal with two issues that received lots of complaints. He stated it is difficult to get the homeowner’s association conveyance changed. Chair Simanton said if there was a stronger city ordinance that would supersede. Ms. Kreft questioned if there was support to become more restrictive.

Chair Simanton talked about some research he did and said he didn’t see the word "home occupation" anywhere. He said what he saw was home office and home business. He stated those were made very specific in terms of how they were defined. Chair Simanton said he will give Ms. Kreft the information. He noted the research also talks about urban versus rural and the different parameters. Chair Simanton clarified he didn’t know if the research was more restrictive, but it was more detailed. He suggested having more detail in the ordinance. Chair Simanton stated the purpose of the ordinance he had information on was to preserve and protect the peace and tranquility of the residential zoning district.

Commissioner Vogt said that in the current ordinance exterior evidence of secondary use does not mention traffic.

Commissioner Donadio commented on having the new zoning ordinance to plan new areas that home businesses could go to in the future.

Commissioner Donadio asked about property that is currently outside the city limits but would someday be within the city limits. Ms. Kreft said the structures would get grandfathered in but the use would not.

Commissioner Peterson asked if there was a way to regulate the ordinance without a conditional use permit so it doesn’t stay with the property. Ms. Kreft said that right now there is not language in the ordinance for the interim use permits. She explained the interim use permits have more flexibility to allow a sunset. The Planning Commission agreed interim use permits should be allowed.

Ms. Kreft talked about the industrial area south of Highway 5 and said those businesses could be handled through interim use permits. Chair Simanton clarified that those businesses would have to come before the Planning Commission for approval and asked if they would have to pay another fee. Ms. Kreft said they would have to figure that out.

Commissioner Hiivala asked about Timberwall encroaching on the wetland. Ms. Kreft said they notified the Watershed District who did a site visit last fall and they do not see any issues. She noted that staff provided them the aerial photos from the last ten years. Commissioner Vogt stated one of the stipulations the Planning Commission made during approval was that there would be no encroachment and that was part of the motion in the record.

Ms. Kreft explained the next topic of motion signs. She said they currently prohibit motion signs in the zoning ordinance. Chair Simanton clarified that the City of Victoria has two billboards. Ms. Kreft noted they are talking about just the conversion of the two existing billboards. Commissioner Hiivala asked if it can be left to a conditional use process. Ms. Kreft said yes. Chair Simanton commented on the aesthetics upgrade by going to a digital billboard, but said the proximity to the highway for residential neighborhoods would probably create some problems. Ms. Kreft stated she will have the attorney review the existing language.

Ms. Kreft said the industrial district will be eliminated and re-guided as central business district. She explained the three options to be considered. Commissioner Vogt stated he would be in favor of creating a transitional district. The Planning Commission agreed with the transitional district.

Ms. Kreft explained that the comprehensive plan has language related to agricultural businesses. She said staff would like direction on certain agri-businesses being permitted or conditional permitted uses. Commissioner Donadio said he likes the conditional use process. The commissioners all agreed.
 

Councilmember O'Connor said there is a workshop on the comprehensive plan next Monday.

Councilmember O'Connor talked about the new rules of the Minnehaha Watershed District. He said that the stormwater management is the main issue and remains outstanding as an issue. He noted there have been many meetings. Ms. Kreft said the last board meeting was successful and there were a number of communities that spoke. She explained that the cities have pushed to have this looked at as a regional approach. Chair Simanton asked what the advantages are to have it looked at as regional. Ms. Kreft responded one is fiscally and used Lake Wasserman as an example with the pollution. Chair Simanton clarified that there would be long term solutions. Councilmember O’Connor talked about the street reclamation programs and said the assessments would be several thousand more with the new stormwater management rule. Ms. Kreft said the new rules would be a partnership between the watershed district and the cities.
 

Ms. Kreft said there is a workshop at 5:00 on Monday on the Comprehensive Plan.
 

A motion was made by Hiivala, seconded by Vogt, to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 p.m. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Tanya Schmieg
TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.