ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP
Alexandria, Minnesota 56308
Minutes of the meeting of August 26, 2024
A regular meeting/public hearing of the Planning Commission of Alexandria Township was held on the 26th day of August, 2024 at the Township Conference Room, 324 Broadway, and via teleconference.
Roll Call: Commission members present were Shad Steinbrecher, Larry Steidl, Linda Dokken-McFann, and Julie Haar. Also present were Bonnie Fulghum, Administrative Assistant, and Ben Oleson, Township Zoning Administrator. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Steidl at 5:00 p.m.
Agenda: Steinbrecher, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to approve the agenda as written. Motion carried unanimously.
Minutes: Steinbrecher, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to approve the minutes of the 07/22/2024 meeting as written. Haar abstained. Motion carried.
Chairman Steidl recessed the meeting to open the public hearing on the conditional use request submitted by Lucas Mogenson for Geneva Haven Estates. The property is located off Liberty Road along Old Glory Drive NE.
Public Hearing: Brad Nyberg, of Nyberg Surveying, spoke on behalf of the developers: Lucas Mogenson, Ray Fuglestad, and Dan Weber.
Mr. Nyberg explained that the property consists of approximately three acres. The project entails the construction of a PUD consisting of five duplexes, totaling ten units, on seven existing lots. The lots are spread out to meet the mandatory 25 percent impervious calculations. Approximately 50 feet has been allocated between each building. There will be one well per duplex. ALASD will utilize the existing seven stubs and create an additional three stubs to cover the ten units. The structures will be patio homes sitting on a pad with shared driveways. An association will be responsible for maintenance. Aesthetically, the homes will fit in well with the neighborhood as there are other townhomes in the area. No wetlands are onsite. A house plan has been chosen. Impervious calculations are just under 25 percent.
Zoning Administrator Oleson reported that in the instance of a PUD, two applications are required: a conditional use, since what is proposed is different than the traditional lot / block unit, and a preliminary plat, as the property is being platted out so each unit can be sold separately. All setbacks, density calculations, and impervious calculations are met. Since this development isn’t creating more than an acre of new impervious, a stormwater plan is not required. When this area was originally platted, a stormwater plan was required and there are existing stormwater ponds.
Chairman Steidl opened the hearing to the public for comment.
Alan Twardowski, 5107 Patriot Court NE, said he wants stormwater to be addressed. Properties in the area are already flooded. Neighbors behind his property on Old Glory are flooded. A berm was required when Mr. Twardowski applied to build his home, so he feels they are not contributing to the water issue.
Mike Kober, 294 Old Glory Drive NE, stated his biggest concern is the runoff, as he currently has an 8-foot-wide swath of water running through his yard. While he has a swale running north and south, there is no swale going to the curb. He’s not against the houses, but just wants something done with the water.
Wes and Deb Thompson, 408 Old Glory Drive NE, have water sitting in their yard. The properties slant to the back of the lots, which is affecting the amount of runoff onto existing homes. Mr. Thompson said he prefers single-family homes to the proposed PUD. Mrs. Thompson thought the covenants required all single-family homes on the inside circle and townhomes would be allowed on the outside circle. Mr. Nyberg stated that was how the development was set up originally. The developers have applied for the CUP since this proposed development deviates from the original. Mr. Thompson said the water wants to go to the swampy area, but it can’t. He also stated that if he added fill to his property, his neighbor, Dave Klein, would suffer the consequences.
Mr. Nyberg said the developers can attempt to capture runoff with gutters and have it flow to the street.
Commissioners Steinbrecher and Dokken-McFann felt the swale and culvert should be checked to ensure adequate flow along with the size of the culvert to maximize drainage.
Mr. Twardowski stated even with the berms they were required by the township to install, the waterflow is too extensive.
Chairman Steidl asked if the swale could be extended to the pond to the north.
Dokken-McFann commented that the water issue has been ongoing and the solution has to be borne by all homeowners.
Steinbrecher asked if there were drains in the cul-de-sac (Patriot Ct).
Oleson showed a map depicting the original stormwater plan. A wetland symbol was shown on the map.
To recap, Oleson stated there is no absolute requirement to mandate a stormwater plan because it doesn’t meet the thresholds in the ordinance. The town could require more. He agreed with Mr. Nyberg that if the developers weren’t doing a PUD but rather just single-family homes, there would be no requirement outside of the 25% impervious, which they are meeting, and all the water issues would remain. Water can be graded to flow certain directions — to the street and hopefully to the wetlands. He mentioned that with the last few years being dry, we aren’t sure if we are dealing with water in an average year or something more. Even if the town required ponds, it would still be designed to accommodate a 100-year rain event. The recent excessive amount of rainfall may have exceeded that event.
Haar asked to whom the town could refer the landowners for guidance in these water issues.
Oleson stated the landowners could hire their own engineer to review or Oleson could ask the town board if they would be amenable to having the township engineer review.
Haar requested Oleson to follow up with the town engineer and then to pass along that information to the landowners.
Ray Fuglestad asked if they, the developers, were to go the extra mile to get the grading done and it doesn’t fix the problem, what then? He doesn’t feel the majority of the problem is coming from their lots. He said they do not wish to cause further problems with the neighbors, but rather to be part of the solution.
Mr. Thompson stated he felt a lot of the water they are encountering is runoff from the lots the developers are proposing to build upon.
Mr. Koberg said he just wants the water alleviated and to flow properly.
Hearing no further comments, Chairman Steidl closed the public hearing and reconvened the meeting.
Dokken-McFann, seconded by Haar, made a motion to recommend approval of the conditional use request for Geneva Haven Estates submitted by Lucas Mogenson with conditions 1- 5 as outlined in the staff report and adding condition no. 6 to read: “Incorporate a stormwater management plan for the Geneva Haven Estates development.” Roll: Haar, Steinbrecher, Dokken-McFann, Steidl – yes. Opposed: none. Motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Steidl recessed the meeting to open the second public hearing on the preliminary plat request for Geneva Haven Estates submitted by Lucas Mogenson. The property is located off Liberty Road along Old Glory Drive NE.
Neither Nyberg nor Oleson had anything further to add for background information.
Chairman Steidl opened the hearing to the public for comment.
The question was asked as to the size of the twinhomes.
Hearing no further comments, Chairman Steidl closed the public hearing and reconvened the meeting.
Haar, seconded by Steinbrecher, made a motion to recommend approval of the Geneva Haven Estates preliminary plat submitted by Lucas Mogenson with the six conditions outlined in the staff report, modifying condition no. 2 to read: The applicant shall provide drainage easements as required by the Subdivision or other applicable Ordinance. Utility easements are not necessary.” Roll: Haar, Steinbrecher, Dokken-McFann, Steidl. – yes. Opposed: none.
Motion carried unanimously.
New Business: none
Old Business: none
Zoning Administrator’s Report: Oleson provided an update on zoning activities.
Adjournment: Being no further business Steinbrecher, seconded by Dokken-McFann, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 6:37 p.m.
Respectfully submitted…
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Bonnie Fulghum, Administrative Assistant
Approved this ____ day of ___________, 2024
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Larry Steidl, Chairman