July 23, 2018 minutes

ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP

Alexandria, Minnesota 56308

Minutes of the meeting of July 23, 2018 

A regular meeting/public hearing of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 23rd day of July, 2018 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway.

Roll Call:  Commission members present were Shad Steinbrecher, Larry Steidl, Jarrod Oberg, Mary Hacker and Julie Haar.  Also present were Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk, and Ben Oleson, Township Zoning Administrator.  As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Steidl at 6:00 p.m.

Agenda: Steinbrecher, seconded by Hacker, made a motion to approve the agenda as written.  Motion carried unanimously.

Minutes: Haar, seconded by Steinbrecher, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 5/30/2018 meeting as written.  Motion carried unanimously.

Chairman Steidl recessed the meeting to open the public hearing on the Interim Use Request for Dirck Holdings, LLC.

Public Hearing:  Scott Dirck, representing Dirck Holdings, stated that their request is to stay in the cabin, located at 2506 LeHomme Dieu Hts NE, while building their new house. They will demolish the cabin once the new dwelling is complete.

Zoning Administrator Oleson reported the applicants are proposing to continue making use of the existing dwelling on the property (cabin) while constructing their new home on the same property.  The new home will be constructed so as to meet bluff and other setback requirements.  The applicant will not be allowed to begin living in the new home until the interim use permit is granted or until the existing home (cabin) is torn down or otherwise rendered unlivable.  While the property is an unusual shape and does not have frontage access to the road, it does, however, have an easement to provide access for the driveway.

Mr. Dirck mentioned a November timeline for the house completion.  Commissioner Hacker  asked if this was a reasonable projection.  Mr. Dirck stated that if the house was still not done by December they would vacate the premises, as the cabin is not winterized and is not suitable for year round living.  In any event, they will definitely tear down the cabin as soon as practicable.

Chairman Steidl opened the hearing to the public for comment.  Hearing none, he closed the public hearing and resumed the meeting.

Commissioner Haar asked about the establishment of a timeline for the demolition of the cabin in the event the home is not completed by the anticipated November deadline.

Commissioner Steinbrecher proposed a timeline of the spring thaw season as opposed to a hard and fast date.

Commissioner Hacker advocated giving sufficient time in the spring to allow for weather conditions, perhaps a June 1st deadline.

Mr. Dirck stated that by November/December the cabin would become unlivable and would cease to be a “dwelling” and they would move offsite. He prefers tearing down the cabin during the winter months if possible.  He said if they were granted an end date of April 15th, that should be sufficient.

Commissioner Oberg was in favor of ensuring the applicants have an adequate amount of time in which to complete the home and the subsequent teardown of the cabin.

Hacker, seconded by Haar, made a motion to recommend approval of the Dirck Holdings interim use request to allow a second dwelling to be left in place while construction of a new dwelling occurs and to include condition nos. 2 and 3 in the staff report, with condition no. 2 to be altered as follows:  “that the existing dwelling must be demolished and removed from the property within 30 days of when the new home is substantially completed and livable or no later than April 15, 2019.”  Roll:  Oberg – yes, Hacker– yes, Steinbrecher – yes, Haar – yes, Steidl – yes.  Motion carried unanimously.

Chairman Steidl recessed the meeting to open the public hearing on the conditional use request submitted by Shane Bay (Anthony Quitmeyer, owner).  Mr. Bay said he is proposing to open an auto repair shop with outdoor storage at 3505 County Road 82 SE.  The storage would consist of vehicles to be worked on or are in the process of being picked up, around 7 – 10, with an occasional trailer as well.

Chairman Steidl asked about disposal of waste oil.  Mr. Bay responded that any waste oil would be removed offsite.

Oleson stated the applicant would lease a portion of the existing building on the property and the remaining portion of the building would continue to be used by the owner of the property for his paint contracting business.  The outdoor storage would be comprised of vehicles either in the process of being worked on or those waiting to be picked up.  The applicant has also indicated a desire to display several miscellaneous items from time to time for sale on the property, such as small engine items or trailers.  At no time does the applicant anticipate having any storage of parts or inoperable vehicles outside nor would any body work be conducted outside of the shop.

Comnmissioner Haar asked for clarification of his request  – was it three-fold, meaning auto repair, storage and sales.  Mr. Bay said that the storage would consist of the vehicles awaiting repair or pick up versus storage of items for an indeterminant amount of time.

Chairman Steidl opened the hearing to the public for comment.  Hearing none, he closed the public hearing and resumed the meeting.

Steidl also asked about the applicant’s ideas for signage.  Mr. Bay stated perhaps on the building and maybe in front, noting that posts for signage already exist.

Commissioners Steinbrecher and Oberg advocated using the verbage “units” (as opposed to vehicles) since items to be displayed could be a range of things, such as small engine items, ATVs, trailers, etc.

Commissioner Haar asked if there would be both vehicle sales and miscellaneous items for sale, to which the applicant replied affirmatively.

Commissioner Oberg suggested putting a limit on the number of units for sale outside without differentiating between vehicles and miscellaneous items.

Chairman Steidl asked how many items (or “units”) the applicant perceives having for sale at any given time.  Mr. Bay responded 15 – 20 would be adequate.

Commissioner Steinbrecher asked about hours of operation.  The applicant thought 7 – 7, Monday – Friday would be adequate.  Steinbrecher asked if Mr. Bay wanted hours for Saturday as well.  The applicant thought half day on Saturday.

Haar, seconded by Steinbrecher, made a motion to recommend approval of the conditional use request submitted by Shane Bay and to include the three staff recommendations listed in the staff report, altering the first condition to read:  “A maximum of 20 items (with wheels or an engine) may be stored outdoors in an unenclosed or unscreened manner.  These shall include items for sale, those waiting to be repaired and those waiting to be picked up after repair.”  A fourth condition is to be added, as follows:  “Hours of operation to be Monday – Friday, from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.”  Roll:  Oberg – yes, Haar – yes, Steinbrecher – yes, Hacker – yes, Steidl – yes.  Motion carried unanimously.

Chairman Steidl recessed the meeting to open the public hearing on ordinance amendments relating to accessory structure regulations and private/vacation home rental use in all zoning districts.

Zoning Administrator Oleson provided copies of the zoning ordinance amendments recently adopted by Douglas County for detached accessory structures and private/vacation rental of homes as either a permitted or conditional use.

The commission discussed the regulations surrounding accessory buildings, in particular the maximum dimensions.  They noted that the township zoning subcommittee had recommended reducing the maximum sidewall height to 14 feet (from a maximum of 16 feet).  They also discussed whether the sidewall height(s) should be different based upon the location of the property; i.e. shoreland or non-shoreland.  They chose to make two motions, one for the dimensions, the second for the overall section.  Hacker, seconded by Oberg, made a motion to leave the maximum sidewall height for accessory buildings on 2.51 – 5 acre lots at 16 feet.  Roll:  Haar – yes, Steinbrecher – yes, Hacker – yes, Oberg – yes, Steidl – yes.  Motion carried unanimously.  Oberg, seconded by Hacker, made a motion to adopt Douglas County’s zoning ordinance amendments for accessory buildings as depicted in the staff report under Section V. J Accessory Building, which would include no change to the Dimensional Limits table as depicted under no. 2, to change the wording in the first paragraph of the section to read “Urban Residential” as opposed to just “Residential”, and to add definitions to Section VIII.  Roll:  Oberg – yes, Hacker – yes, Steinbrecher – yes, Haar – yes, Steidl – yes.  Motion carried unanimously.

The second item for discussion was the regulations surrounding private/vacation home rental use in all zoning districts.  Steinbrecher, seconded by Haar, made a motion to adopt Douglas County’s zoning ordinance amendments for the licensing and operation of private/vacation home rental use in all zoning districts as depicted in the staff report and to make the necessary corrections throughout to match the township’s zoning districts.  Roll:  Oberg – yes, Hacker – yes, Steinbrecher – yes, Haar – yes, Steidl – yes.  Motion carried unanimously.

Zoning Administrator’s Report:  none 

New Business:  none

Old Business:  The current site visit schedule is the Wednesday prior to the meeting date at 4 p.m.

Adjournment:  Being no further business Hacker, seconded by Steinbrecher, made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted…

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Bonnie Fulghum, Deputy Clerk

Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2018

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Larry Steidl, Chairman