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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20080303 - VII-1VII-1 MEMO To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Nick Egger -City Engineer Date: February 28, 2008 Re: City Project 2008-1, North Vermillion Area Improvements Council received the feasibility report for the pro~osed 2008 North Vermillion Area Street & Utility improvement Program at the February l9 meeting. The public hearing for this project has been scheduled for the March 3rd Council meeting. The proposed North Vermillion Area Improvement project is a City initiated project that will require the votes of six Council members to approve the project. PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS $z DESIGN FEATURE ISSUES The proposed North Vermillion Area Improvements project involves reconstructing 6`i', 7~`, 8`" & 9~' Streets between Vermillion Street and Spring Street, Eddy Street from halfway between Sd' and 6d` Streets to 1 Od' Street, Spring Street between 6d' and lOd` Streets, on 7~' and 8d' Streets between Vermillion Street and Bailly Street, and on Sibley Street between 6d' and 8d' Streets. The proposed improvement area consists of 26 % blocks of street and utility reconstruction, along with the reconstruction of three alleys. 2008 Street and Utility Improvements City of Hastings NearOtd Hastings Historic District 613 ,o al I. ~~ g....:.__. I -i ~~y~ GTN ST YI~ ~~~ ~ BTM STE __ .. _ ~ ~ SEAS w _ SCNO01. I ~ ~ IT11 ST ~'! , I'rf''I~II 'f '' ~~~-!r ... ;~BIH Sr 5'/ ~_ Yrll Sf 1'I mrH sr Ti 7T11 Sr E 8TH 5T E Historic Properties Designation Study Consetvadon District Guidelines Hlslorlc District Guldel6>as •••••••. Existing Hlslorlc Dlslrlct Bountlary ~ STREET RECONSTRUCTION -All street segments are substantially deteriorated and modern curb and gutter is not present throughout the project area. Ail streets would be reconstructed to current standards for pavement thickness, and include new modern curb and gutter. Grades on some street segments would also be modified to improve drainage capability. The proposed assessment rate for all parcels in the project area is $60/front foot. ~ STREET WIDTH -This project area contains street segments of varying widths. Several of the streets within the project are proposed to be reconstructed at a 32 ft. width -the City's standard street width for low volume residential streets with parking on both sides of the street. However, in consideration of feedback received at recently held neighborhood meetings, as well as regard for the Historic Hastings Design Guidelines, streets to be reconstructed within the Historic District will remain at their existing widths of 30 feet. The City's Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) and reviewed this design feature and recommended approval of the street width design within the Historic District at the existing width of 30 feet. The Hastings Planning Commission also reviewed this item as it applies within the Conservation District, where the guidelines indicate streets of up to 32 feet in width are allowed, and recommended the proposed street width designs within the Conservation District. 6TH ST W 7TH ST W~ 2 8TH ST W . ~i 2 9TH ST W _..., r o a ~, W _... _: r a ,~. +~; _ N i ., ....-~ 30'f30..... ~ ....30739'_.._.._.1 .~ i~ o ~ M ~' .......i30'I30'......._ ~..... 30'fe _.___ ~_ • r .. ~ .... ' ' s? _ m ZO ! ~ :. _ _ _. s 1 y ~ , C ~ j ~ 't C ~ WATER MAIN -Many of the water mains in the project area date back to the original system of the early 1900's and are beyond the age of sufficient reliability and durability, and most of the mainlines throughout the area are also undersized for adequate fire flow capacity. These water mains would be replaced and increased in size to meet the fire flow requirements. In conjunction with this work, all water services would be replaced from the main lines out to the right-of--way line. ~ SANITARY SEWER-Like the water system, much of the sanitary sewer system for this area dates back to the original system and has reached the end of its reliable lifespan, while other areas have experienced failures and continue to be susceptible to root intrusion and backups because of the materials they were originally constructed from. All sanitary sewer main lines and structures are proposed to be replaced. STORM SEWER-Many new storm sewer segments will be constructed throughout the project, improving drainage capacity and storm water conveyance. SIDEWALKS - In general, existing sidewalks in the project area would be replaced with some areas remaining if they are found to be in good condition. There is one segment of new sidewalk proposed on 8`" Street between Tyler and Bailly Streets. The proposal is in accordance with the City's comprehensive sidewalk and trail plan. In addition, there are a few concerns on which staffhas received comments during the neighborhood meetings, and from both the Hastings Heritage Preservation and Planning Commissions; Width -The City's standard sidewalk width has been 5 feet since the late I980's, which was adopted by the City Council in response to complaints from sidewalk users that widths narrower than this were not conducive for walking side. Staff received comments from several of the affected property owners in the Historic District that they desire for sidewalks to be replaced at a width of 4'/z feet to maintain the dimensions and proportion of the original sidewalk, as well as to alleviate concerns about the sidewalks' impact to boulevard trees. The Hastings Heritage Preservation Commission echoed this feedback with a recommendation to the City Council that existing sidewalks within the Historic District be reconstructed at a width of 4'/2 feet. The Hastings Planning Commission also received comments on this item at their February 25`" meeting for areas within the Conservation District. It was the recommendation of the Planning Commission that the sidewalks be constructed/reconstructed at a width of 5 feet within the District. Sta,~f Recommendation The HPC°s recommendation to construct 4'/z feet wide walks in the Historic District conflicts with the Council adopted policy of 5 feet wide walks. Staff is requesting direction from Council on the width of sidewalks within the Historic District. Staff is recommending constructing standard 5 ft. wide walks within the Conservation District. Materials/Appearance -The City's standard sidewalk is a plain concrete material with a broom finished surface. Comments were received from some attendees of the neighborhood meetings that sidewalks in the Historic District should receive a special surface treatment to mimic the appearance of some segments of existing sidewalks and sidewalks in other Historic Districts within the City. Stafi's experience with and observation of these types of designs are that they tend to deteriorate more rapidly, and cost approximately 25% to 50% more than the City's standard design. In addition, streets in the Historic District (Ramsey and Tyler) that interconnect with streets proposed for reconstruction have existing sidewalks that do not carry a special material or textural feature, presenting an issue of discontinuity of design and appearance. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends that the Council approve construction of sidewalks using the City's standard for materials and appearance. Sidewalks on Private Property -During the development of the project plans, it was the discovery of Staff that several sidewalk segments reside partly on private property. To maintain these sidewalk corridors, Staff is recommending obtaining permanent easements from the effected property owners. Staff will be approaching these property owners to present the situation and proposed solution. In the event that a property owner is unwilling to agree to the City's request for an easement, Staff recommends leaving the affected segments of sidewalks in place. ~ ORNAMENTAL STREET LaGHT1NG -The Neighborhood Street Design Guidelines of the Original Hastings Design Standards indicate that ornamental lighting fixtures be implemented as part of the streetscape, at a concentration of four per block. With block lengths within this project area consistently between 250 and 300 feet, this would result in light pole spacing of approximately 100 feet assuming lights at each corner. The City's current policy on street lighting is that all intersections be lit, with blocks longer than 500 feet in length receive amid-block light. Staffs recommendation is that a light at each intersection, and one mid block will suffice, resulting in a routine spacing of three lights per block. An example of this spacing interval can be found along Eddy Street between 2nd and 5th Streets. However, such lighting has not been incorporated into recent projects other than along the aforementioned section of Eddy Street, which was done complete lighting around the perimeter of Wilson Park, and to extend lighting to the end of the Residential Mixed Use District. Furthermore, a system of lighting meeting the design guidelines would require the installation of approximately 75 new ornamental poles and carry a cost on the order of $500,000 or more, not including continual operation and maintenance costs. This cost is beyond the City's capacity for bonding for project costs this year while holding to the proposed assessment rate of $60/frontage foot. To incorporate street lighting into this project would require the assessment of approximately $100,000 more than what is currently being proposed, which represents an increase to assessment amounts of approximately 20%, or to approximately $72/frontage foot. For example, a property having a $10,000 assessment would need to be increased to approximately $12,000 to cover the added project expense of ornamental street lighting. Adding lighting to the project would also require additional project development time, which Staff estimates could delay project start date by 4-6 weeks, placing the starting date of construction into late June/early July, and completion into November. For these reasons, Staff has not inc}uded this feature in the project plans. Instead, Staff solicited received feedback from the HPC and Planning Commission on their desires regarding this item. Both Commissions have indicated and made recommendations to the City Council that the pursuit of ornamental street lighting is desirable. If the City Council also desires ornamental street lighting be implemented within the Conservation and Historic Districts, Staff recommends that the Council consider an annual street lighting project on a much smaller scale, until the areas within these districts met the guidelines for street lighting. ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHiJRCH ON-STREET PARKING - St. John's Church has requested that the City construct angled parking in front of their property on both sides of Eddy Street and extend the existing angled parking on the north side of 8th Street west to their west property line (see enclosed drawings and pictures). The proposed additional angled parking would generate a net 11 or ] 2 parking spaces. Staff's does not recommend construction of the additional angled parking for the following reasons: ^ Conflict with the streetscape design guidelines of the Historic and Conservation Districts ^ Removal of mature boulevard trees ^ Snow removal concerns At their most recent meetings, both the HPC and the Planning Commissions made recommendations to the City Council against allowing angle parking to be added on Eddy Street. The Planning Commission did recommend to approve St. John's request to add 4 to 5 parking stalls by attaching a section to the west end of their existing angled parking along 8`~' Street. Memos from both HPC and Planning Staff summarizing the Commissions' actions, as well as a letter from St. John's Lutheran Church, are attached for the Council's reference. Staff Recommendation If the Council were to approve angled parking in any of the areas requested, Staff seeks direction on the financing of such improvements. ^ Shall the City cover all expenses incurred by the installation of the angled parking? ^ Shall the incremental costs of adding angled parking be assessed back to St. John's Church? The costs for the various sections of the angled parking have been estimated as follows: ^ 8`h Street Stalls - $5,000 ^ Eddy Street West Side - $10,000 ^ Eddy Street East Side - $7,500 BOULEVARD TREE PRESERVATION -The project area contains many mature boulevard trees. Accordingly, staff has made diligent efforts during the design process to preserve existing trees to the maximum extent possible while still maintaining the infrastructure improvement goals of the project. Engineering Department staff worked closely with the City Forester and Parks Superintendent to determine conditions of existing trees, and whether project design features have potential in harming existing trees. Staff is also determining tree species that will be planted in boulevard areas in need of populating and in cases where trees must be removed due to poor health or where removal is unavoidable. For this project, a list of 10 trees recommended for removal has been developed by City Forester Paul Mahoney and Parks Superintendent Kevin Smith. Many the trees listed are considered risk trees due to poor health, decay, or concerns about long term stability such that these trees pose a threat to public safety in the event that they would fall. Other trees obstruct sight lines at intersections, prevent the City's ability to reconstruct public sidewalk ramps and transitions to meet handicapped access standards, which also present a concern to public safety. SUMMARY OF OTHER ISSUES AND COMMENTS About 30% of the property owners in the area attended the neighborhood meetings, other than the issues discussed above, those who did attend primarily asked general questions about logistics of construction, timing of the start and completion of the project, accessibility during construction, and assessment amounts. All of which staff provided answers for to the satisfaction of the attendees. ATTACHMENTS Several Documents are attached for the Council's reference and use in consideration of the project proposal: • May 5, l 988 Letter from HPC Staff John Grossman to St. John's Pastor Damrow • June 2, l 988 Notice of Public Hearing for Minor Subdivision and Variances • June 13, 1988 Planning Commission Minutes • June 14, 1988 City Council Minutes • February I I, 2008 Letter from St. John's Pastor Damrow to City Council • April 15, 1987 Letter from Planning Director Tom Harmening to Richard Fuchs of First National Bank • May 15, 1988 Parking stall layout plan drawn by City • Staff Memo and Minutes from February 19 & 26, 2008 HPC Meetings • Staff Memo and Minutes from February 25, 2008 Planning Commission Meeting • January 29, 2008 email from Public Works Director Montgomery to City Council regarding St. John's Parking request • Neighborhood Street Design Guidelines and Historic District Design Guidelines • Summary of comments received at February 6-7 Neighborhood Meetings with Staff response and comments COUNCIL ACTION REQUESTED Council is requested to adopt the enclosed resolution ordering the improvements, and the enclosed resolution approving the plans for the project and authorizing the advertisement for bids. CITY OF HASTINGS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION ORDERING THE IMPROVEMENTS FOR PROJECT. No.2008-1 NORTH VERMILLION AREA IMPROVEMENTS WHEREAS, a resolution of the City Council adopted the 19`" day of February, 2008, fixed a date for a Council hearing on the proposed street and sidewalk reconstruction, storm sewer, sanitary sewer and watermain improvements for the North Vermillion Area Improvements which include 6`", 7`", 8`", and 9`" Streets west of Vermillion Street (TH 61) to Spring Street, Spring Street between 6`" Street and 10`" Street, Eddy Street from %z block south of St" Street to I0`" Street, 7`" and 8`'' Streets east of Vermillion Street to Bailly Street, and Sibley Street between 6`" Street and 8`" Street, alleys from Vermillion Street west to Eddy Street between 6`" and 8`" Streets, and the alley from Vermillion Street east to Sibley Street between 7`" and 8`" Streets, and WHEREAS, ten days mailed notice and two weeks published notice of the hearing was given, and the hearing was held thereon on the 3`d day of March, 2008, at which all persons desiring to be heard were given an opportunity to be heard thereon, NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HASTINGS AS FOLLOWS; that l . Such improvement is necessary, cost-effective, and feasible as detailed in the feasibility report. Such improvement is hereby ordered as proposed in the feasibility report dated February 19, 2008. ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF HASTINGS, MINNESOTA, THIS 3'm DAY OF MARCH, 2008. Ayes: Nays: Paul J. Hicks, Mayor ATTEST: Melanie Mesko Lee, City Clerk SEAL CITY OF HASTINGS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION APPROVING PLANS AND AUTHORIZING ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR PROJECT 208-1 NORTH VERMILLION AREA IMPROVEMENTS WHEREAS, via resolution adopted the 3rd day of March, 2008 the City Council has ordered the construction of Project 2008-1, the North Vermillion Area Improvements, and WHEREAS, the City Council has provided City Staff direction on the design features of said project. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HASTINGS AS FOLLOWS; that I . Plans and specifications for the North Vermillion Area Improvements prepared by the Hastings City Engineer are hereby approved. 2. The City Engineer and City Clerk shall cause to be made a matter of record via this resolution the decisions regarding design features made by the City Council at the March 3, 2008 Public Hearing. The City Engineer shall prepare and cause to be inserted in the Construction Bulletin, on the Quest Construction Data Network web site, and on the City of Hastings official web site an advertisement for bids for the construction of the approved Project 2008-1, the North Vermillion Area lmprovements in accordance with such approved plans and specifications. The advertisement shall be published for two weeks, shall specify the work to be done, shat] state that bids will opened at 12:00 Noon, Thursday, April 3, 2008 at Hastings City Hall, and that no bids will considered unless sealed and fi}ed with the Clerk and accompanied by a cash deposit, cashier's check, bid bond, or certified check payable to the City of Hastings for 5%of the amount of each bid. ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF HASTINGS, MINNESOTA, THIS 3R° DAY OF MARCH, 2008. Ayes: Nays: Paul J. Hicks, Mayor ATTEST: Melanie Mesko Lee, Ciry Clerk SEAL CITY 0~ HASTINGS ~~~ 100 SIBLEY STREET, FfASTINGS, MINNESOTA 55033.0087 ~s J...i _ is Phone tS12) 437-4127 =• Hustings on th6 Mississippi Percy J. Darnrow, Pastor May 5, 1988 St. John's Lutheran Church 202 W. 8th Street Hastings Dear Pastor Damrow, The Hastings Heritage Preservation Commission viewed your preliminary concept drawing of the subdivison of the former Fuxber property- at their meeting on April 27, 1988. They made the following recorrrnendations for the Church and the new owner to consider. As I mentioned during our phone conversation ~on April 28, the Corrrni.ssion~~ made no objection to the concept 'of the subdivision. Their basic concern is for the appearance of the whole property. They want to see the original scale and proportion of the yards around the house retained by minimizing the appearance of two properties. In order to accorrrplish this object, they make the following recorm~endati_ons. * Additional parking provided by curb cuts rather than by building lots on the yard west of the house. * Maintain the existing iron fence in place to preserve the visual continuity along 8th Street. * Maximize the use of landscape materials to divide the property and provide for privacy. If a new fence is needed, screen it by bushes or hedges which will eventually conceal it. Fa-tensive landscaping was an integral part of the whole house and yard plan for this style of house and its period of construction. Therefore the Preservation Commission views the historic site as a whole rather than as two properties. The Carrnission will review and comment upon your subdivision and site plan as submitted for the Planning Commission. I understand that the location of the new garage will be on the site plan. Review of the design of the garage itself will be a seperate process. Let me know if you have questions or if I may be of assistance. Yours truly, John Grossman HPC Staff cc: Thomas Harmeing, City Planner Merlin Wilbur, Building Official Debbie Falk An Equal Opportunity Employer CITY OF HASTIPJGS MOT I CE OF PUBLIC HEARING RF2UEST FOR APP20VAL OF •'~.RItJJR SUBDiVISIOtJ AND VARtAt~ICFS ~JOTICE IS HERBY GIVEN that the Hastings Planning Commission will meet at 7:30 P.i'M. on June 13, 1983 in th~ City Counci I Chambers located in the Hastings City Hall for the purpose of revie;ving the following matter: A request by St. Johns Lutheran Church for approval of a minor subdivision of Lot 5,5,7 d~ 8, Block 53, Town of Hastings. This property is located at the northeast corner of 8th and Eddy Street and is more commonly known as the lio:ves-Graus/Carriage House property. The applicant is requesting that theaforementioned pro party b° split into two parcels such fihat the Hones.-Graus home arould be located on one parcel :vith the Carriage House structure located on the other parcel. The applicant is also requesting .several variances including: 7) Setback variances with respect to existing structures and their location to the proposed lot line; 2) Parking lot setback variances for a parking lot which the applicant is considering constructing on the Carriage House parcel; 3} Variances ;pith respect to the number of parking spaces required for the Churches full use of the Carriage House structure as well as parking required for a proposed expansion to the existing St. Johns Church facility located at the northtirest corner of 8th and Eddy Street. 4} Front and side yard setback variances for a proposed expansion to the existing St. Johns Church facility located at the northwest corner of 8th and Eddy Street; 5) Setback variances with respect to a proposed expansion to an existing storage shed located on the Carriage House property at the northeast corner of 8th and Eddy St. Please note that as a Dart of revie~rring matters nertainin9 to oarkinn needs of the Church, examination will alto he given to the ~~ssibility 9f allo;•ring additional angled on-street aR eking Qn hoth 3th St and giddy St. • Prior to the date of the public hearing parsons may view exhibits pertaining to this matter which are available at the Hastings City Halt befiween the house of 8:00 A.P•1. - 4:30 P.`•1. :Monday-Friday. Persons may obtain copies of the exhibits at his or her expense. All persons are welcome to attend this meeting and make comment. B~ order of~he Hastings Planning Commission this 23rd day of f•1ay, 1 8' . Thomas K. Harmeni rector Published: 6-Z- N~STl;tJ~S p1_A'~J1 "JG :~r~'t1SSI0N J U"JE ] 3, i 933 The regular meeting of the Planning Commission eras called to order at 7:30 p.m. lembers Present: Commissioners Krook, Or2dge, f<aiser, Anderson, Zendor, Yoalker, and Chairman Folch 'lembers Absent; Commissioners Ditty and Featherstone Staff Present: Planning 'lirector Harmening A motion was made by Canmissioner Krook, seconded by Commissioner I:a i sec to approve the '•-lay 7.4, 1943 PI ann i ng Cantu i ss i on m i n utes . ilpon vets taken, Ayes, 7; lJayes, 0. Canmissioner Featherstone arrived at 7:35 p.m. M anni ng Director fiarmen i ng i nd i Gated that Advanced I-fames of Hastings is requesting a rezoning from Ag to R-3 PRA and preliminary plat approval for a development called Riverwood 4th Addition which is proposed to be located directly south of the existing Riverwood development. Harmening also indicated the applicant was requesting a variance to Section ]].05, Subdivision 3b of the Platting Jrdinance which requires that in bloc!<s tong/r than 500 feet a pedestrian crossway or wal!<ing path is required. Harrening noted tha i)eveloper was raquirad to make provisions for walkway on its plat adjacent to the subj~cfi property. Harmening informed the Planning Commission that the overall development scheme proposed was similar to the type of singly family develop.~nent format in the existing Riverwood Jevelopment.,fn the plat in question the applicant proposes 23 single family homes and ?_ four unit townhouse tots. density is 4.1 units per gross acre and 5.5 units per net acre. Harmening ravieared with the Planning Commission a number of items pertaining to the plat including zoning, Comprehensive Plan issues, park land dedication requir~nents, sidevralks, walkways, proposed lot Payout setbacks, infrastructure issues, curbing, gas pipeline issues, concept plan issues, etc. Chairman FalcfZ opened the public hearing on this rnatter at 7:40 p.m. As no one •was in attendance to speak on the issue, chairman 1=olch closed the public haaring at 7:4] p,rn. ••"•7! NIJT~S PJ$L l C -IE AR I "JG-~ =?~'J I ".1r 3 PR~L I ^i I PJARY PLAT- RIV=R!1DDp 4T11 AnDfTldiJ '~•Jembers of the Manning ^ommission discussed in length matters pertaining to tha proposed development including issues pertaining to the type of homes proposad to be built in the plat, curbing, gas pipeline issues, etc. Neil Sietirert, a representative of the applicant, was in attendance to address issues or questions of the Planning Can:nission, ?']r. Sievert noted the proposed single family homes in this development were proposed to be modular or stick built homes which would be built on permanent foundations. The homes would be priced to be affordable, probably in the mid X70,000 range. Commissioner !<aiser indicated that she was not in favor of seeing surmountable curbing in the plat, '-1r. Sievrer# pointed out that one reason for utilizing surmountable curbing eras to allow for a cost savings which would be passed on to future homQrnrnsrs in the development. After discussion, a :notion ~•ias made ~y Commissioner ':roo!c, seconded by Com:nissionsr Zender, to recom~end that the ity council approve th~~ rezoning of th-~ "2lverwood 4th Addition area from .Agriculture to Z-3 °~~. Upon vote taken, Ayes, B; id ayes, 4. After further discussion, a motion :ras made by Commissioner Featherstone, seconded by ~ommissionor Voai'cer to recommmend that action on the pr=o[irninary plat bs tabled such that questions on various issues of the plat could be worked out. !Ipon vata taken, Ayes, :o:nmission,~rs Featherstone and Va°licer; 1-dayes, 5. After further discussion a ,motion was made by ;ornm issioner ?ender, seconded by Commissioner 'croak to recommend that the City Council approve the preliminary plat for Riverwood 4th Addition subject to the following conditions: 1. That pursuant to PdR~C recommendation, the applicant shall donate approximately 3 acres of land, ~rrlth the remaining park land dedication requirements to be met with cash. The final location of the park, tentatively targeted for the area directly south of the Riverwood 4ti Addition Plat, and the Gash dedication schedule shall ba :corked out between the city and the applicant. Furtherrnore, it is recommended by the lJ2ZC that the land dedication twice place not later than 3/1/39. _ , Z. Pursuant to the recommendation from the ••I't2C, the developer shat I shah plat and dedicate two 20 foot parcels in 'aleck t and ? in align:nont consistent with the ~ralicway location in '2ivervraod 2nd Addition. Furtherrnore, the applicant shall install a bituminous path in those dedicated ;valk~riays as :vela as in the dedicated ~r~allc;vay location in Riverwood 2nd Addition at the time the i:nprove~n~nts era installed by the developer in the °iver;wood 4th Addition olat. Also, duo to the :val;c!vay location it is also recommend^d that one lot 5s deleted from Flock 1 and 2. in order to achieve adequate and reasonable lot sizes. The preliminary plat should be revised to illustrate the rraik;•ray and new lot line locations. 3. That pursuant to the :4ain !'adsstrian Routs System Plan, the applicant shall install side:vaiks along Riverwood 9rive and Village Trail, the location of ~,vhich are yet to be determined. The i)ev~loper shall install th~a sidewalks at the tins the other 'smprovements era installed by the developer in the River rood 4th Addition Plat. 4. Th•a °Jovoloper shall pay 54,650 in interceptor s~;ver charges. 5. Setback requirements - As previously approv~sd for th~a existing River:vood developments, the fol{owing recommendations are mad•s: a. :; ith respect to the single family residential deveiop:nent, th~ R-2 setback r~aquframents ,rill be in e€fect with several exceptions. The resulting setbacks ors as follo:vs: -Front yard setback - ~5' (all structur~ss). -interior side setbac:c - 5' tall structures)_ -corner side setback - 10' (all structures). -rear yard setbac:{ - 2(}' for principle structure and 10' for accessory structure except that Lots 1 throu3h 12, 31ock 1 shall ;maintain a 50' rear yard setback for alt structures. b. :'d ith respect to th~a torrnhome tots, tho ~-3 ?~~ standards shall be in effect with one exception. The rLsulting setbac~s ar=~ as follows: -Front yard setback - 2~+ (elf structures). -rear yard setbac!c - ZO' (all structures). -Interior side setback - 1/Z buif•ding height except that a 5•~' setback shall be maintained from the north lot lino of Lot 1, Block 3. 5. Final site plan approval ~sust be riven by tho Planning Commission and City ~ounci I for the townhouse developments. 7. The prsli~ninary plat shell be revised to illustrate the proposed lot lives for Hach townhouse on the two proposed townhouse locations. In the alternative, the to~vnhouse lots shaft be platted as outlots and repfatted at a later date when a developrnent proposal is made. 3. The applicant shat! work with the City's utility, engineering, and fire department to resolve utility and infrastructure issues. The applicant shalt provide street and utility profiles :vith respect to the utility crossings of the gas main. 9. River;rood Crive shall be platted with a 5b' right of way with a 40' street width. Vitlage Trail shall be platted with a 50' right of way width and 35' street width. 1rJ. The applicant shall comply with r•aquiroments of th~a "Jorthern tdatural was Pipeline Company. 11. The applicant shall provide to the City for approval plans and specifications for the utility and street irnprove~nents including the ;vallc~;rays and sidewalks. Furthermore, occupancy of homes in the plat shall not take place until all the improvements have been completed to the satisfaction of the City of I~astings subject to security (bond, letter of credit) which the applicant may provide to the City to insure that the improvements are completed in a timeEy fashion. 1 Z. That a develop^~ent agreement be entered into to take into consideration the conditions and understandings :mentioned above or those that may be recognized at a Later date. upon vote taken, Ayes, 6; I~ay~s, Commissioners ~eathsrstone and Voellcer. P i ann i ng t) i r~actar Har:~le n i ng i nd i catad that St. John ~ s ~ uth gran P!13E. (~ H:`-'r'iR I ~JG-?~f !tJ J~ Church was requesting approval of .a minor subdivision of the S'1i3DIslIS10?J rY VARIANCE Howes Kraus/Carriage House property located at the northeast REQUEST-ST.JOHPJ'S corner of 3th ?k Eddy Street. In addition, the Church was LIII•HEFtAN CHURCH requesting a number of variances sane of :vhich were directly related to the minor subdivision. Harmening briefly reviewed vrith the Planning Com~-nission the content of the minor subdivision and variance applications made by the church. Harrnening also reviewed with the Planning Commission the revievr and recommendations made by the Heritage Preservation Commission regarding the proposed minor subdivision and variance request. Chairman Folch opened the public hearing on this matter at 8:30 p.m. Comments made were as follows: Ken Dahl, 7th ~ Eddy St. - ?•Ar. Dahl expressed concerns regarding parking In the 8th & giddy Street area. ::=4r. ~ahf indicated that this particular area has turned into a parking lot. i~~1r. Bahl also indicated that variances should only be granted if a defined problem exists. Sunday parking does not appear to be a problem and ?•1r. Dahl indicated he did not feel boulevards should be torn up for parking purposes. ?••4r. Dahl also indicated the east side of Eddy Street should be maintained as is. Turney Hazlet, 10210 Lock Blvd. - '•9r. Hazlet was in attendance representing St. Johns Lutheran Church. Hazlet indicated that the parking lot on the Carriage House property is proposed t be constructed in tyro to five years. Hazlet a{so indicated the church doss not prefer fihe on street angle parking arrangement. Percy Damrav, Pastor of St. Johns Lutheran Church, 1111 Hillside St. - ~••9r. Damro:v indicated St. Johns Lutheran Church was requesting approve I of the parl< i ng space variances for the Carriage blouse and the proposed addition to the existing church at the northwest corner of 8th a Eddy Street. Thera being no further comments from the audience, the Chairman closed the public hearing at 3:43 p.m. The Manning Commission discussed in length matters pertaining ~to the proposed minor subdivision and variance requests made by the church. After discussion a notion was made by Commissioner !{aiser, seconded by Cammissioner Featherstone to recommend that the City Council approve the minor subdivision. Upon vote taken, Ayes, :3; Hayes, 0. After further discussion a motion was made by Canrnissioner Featherstone, seconded by Commissioner Kaiser to recanmend that the fol ioavi ng variances be granted: A. Setback variance - Exisfing Structures From PJe:y Lot Line - Qased upon the location of the existing structures and the associated problems with developing a now lot line location, the Planning Ca~nm i ss ion recommends that a rear yard setback vari anco of 15 feet to 1? feet be granted for the existing Carriage House structure and that a rear yard setback variance be granted from 35 feet to the proposed setbac<< of 8 feet to the nearest point on the existing Howes-6raus structure. 3. S~~bacit ~lar i ante - Add i -i• i an To T~? ~ara~e - t f i s r ecomi~ ndpe~ that approval be given to a rear yard setback variance from the squired five foot setbac'=c to two feet and that a side yard setback be granted from the alley to allow a three foot setbactc rather than the five foot setback tivhich would alloy the addition to be made at the same setback as the existing garage. C. Parting Lot Setback Variance - Ina Planning Commission recommended that a setback variance be granted from the required ten foot setback from the street right of way lines to the proposed five foot setback as illustrated on the survey drawing of the property. Furthermore, it is recommended that a setback variance be granted from the required 8 foot setback for parking lots from rear lot lines to the proposed five foot setback as illustrated on the survey drawing of the property. 0. Parking Space Variance - Carriage House - In light of the built up and mature nature of the neighborhood in which the Church is located and the resulting lack of space for off street parking needs, as well as the fact these same parking needs have generally existed in the past except .that the church used its existing facility for meeting space, it is recommended that approval be given of a variance from the technically..r_equ.i.red 43 aff street parking spaces to.9 spaces (existing3`for the .church;s use of the Carriage Nouse for 450 sq. ft. of office space on the upper floor, 800 sq. ft. of meeting and assembly space on the main floor and 850 sq. ft. of elementary and junior high classroom space on the lower level ;vh'-ch vrill accomodate 30 children and three classrooms. rJpon vote fatten on the variances, Ayes, 8; tJayes, 0. After further discussion a motion :vas made by Commissioner Kaiser, seconded by Commissioner Featherstone to recommend that a setbac!c variance be granted to allow an addition to the existing church from 12 feet to 10 feel- and that a partcing space variance be granted for the proposed addition to the existing church from 10 spaces to 0 spaces. Approval of these variances was as per the recommendation made by the City Planner. After discussion, Commissioner Featherstone indicated he desired to withdraw his second to the motion as he did not fully understand the motion made by Ccxnmissioner I:aiser at the tune he provided the second to the motion. Aft~:r additional discussion, a motion was made by Commissioner ?ender, seconded by Commissioner Anderson to reccxnmend de•ni,.al of the structure setback variance for the addition to the churcti'~and the parking space variance for the proposed addition to the church. The reasons for this motion was due to the fact that th~a addition to the church was proposed to be undertaken at some time in the future and that these variances could be handled more thorough{y at the time an actual proposal :vas made to construct the addition. Jpon vote taken, Ayes, Ccmmission•ers Anderson, Zender, Volker; vayes, 5. After additional discussion a motion arras made by Commissioner Dredge, seconded by Comaroissioner Kaiser to recommend that in light of the fact the proposed addition to the church will not extend any closer to the side lot line than the existing structure (as per the preliminary site plan dated 4/1b/87), it is recommended that approve! be given of an interior side setback variance from the required 12 felt to i0 feet as illustrtated on the site plan for purposes of constructing a class room addition to the church. Approval of this variance is subject to the church making application for final site plan approval. Upon vote taken, Ayes, 3; ~Jayes, 0. After additional discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Dredge, seconded by Canmissione.r Featherstone that in light of the built up and mature naturs of the neighborhood in which the church is located and the resulting lack of space for off street parking needs, it is recommended that a variance be granted from the required 10 spaces to 0 spaces to allow for an addition to the church which would accomodat~ six classrooms and 120 elementary grade students. Furthermore, it is recommended that approval of the minor subdivision and variances be subject to compliance by the applicant tvith all other city codes, including building and fire codas. Upon vote taken, Ayes, 7; Mayes, Commissioner Fo{ch. Planning D i rector Harrne n l ng i nd i cated that "1r. Hunec;ce was VARIANCE REC!1EST-OORPdE~ requesting a 7 foot corner side setback variance so that he may SiOE SETBACK-HtJ'JECi~, add four feet unto the south end of an existing porch. The side 401 ;'t. 11TH STREET corner setback of the porch is proposed fo be three feet rather than the required 10 feet. itr. Hunecke was in attendance to discuss the variance request with the Planning Commission. '~4r. Hunecke also provided the Planning Commission with pictures of his property. Hunecke indicated . the existing large evergreen, :vhich would be located directly adjacent to the addition, would remain. He indicated he ~vould only trim the tree back to allow for the addition to be made. Hunecke also indicated that the addition was proposed to be a three season porch with no heat. After discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Featherstone, seconded by Commissioner 7_ender to recommend that approval be given to the variance due to the fact it wit! not have a negative impacfi on the neighborhood and that the addition will increase the value and use of the property. I,1pon vote taken, Ayes, 5; idayes, Ccxnmissioner Kaiser and Krook. A motion ivas made by Commissioner Kaiser, seconded by Commissioner ORDER PJCLIC HEARIiJC {reek to order that a public hearing be held on June 27, 1988 l~11lJOR SU3DIVISION at 7:30 p.m. in order to review a proposed minor subdivision 413 ~?• 4?_2 E. 5TH STRFE~ request made by Dries/Diersen for property located at 4i8 8 4?_2 E. 5th Street. Upon vote taken, Ayes, 8; Nayes, 0. Harmening updated the Planning Commission on the annexation OTHE? 3USitJESS/UPI)AT~S issue and recent actions taken by the City Council. Harmening also informed the Planning Commission of the t-letro cast Development Fair taking place on June 15, 1983. There being no further business a motion :vas made by Commissioner Kaiser, seconded by Canmissioner Dredge to adjourn the meeti~-g at 9;45 p.m. Upon vote taken, Ayes, 8; yayes, 0. Hastings, tdinnesota June 14, 1988 The Clty Council of the City of Hastings, Minnesota met in a al meeting on'Tuesday. June 14, 1988 at 5:30 p.m. In the City Ball 11 Chambers, 100 Sibley Street, Hastings, f4innesota. 14embers Present: Councilmember Ross, Riveness, Bond, Trautmann and fdayor Stoffel. Members Absent: Councilmember Kulzer The Mayor called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. and asked n Harmening, City Planner, to give a sunmary of the recommendations de by the Planning Canmisslon and Heritage Preservation Canmisston 3arding the various zoning requests made by St. John's Lutheran Church fh respect to the Ho:aes-Graus/Carriage House property and the Church ~perty located at the northwest corner of 8th 8 Eddy Street. After a lef summary the following action was taken. Councilmember Kulzer arrived at 5:45 p.m. !loved by Councilmember 4lerner, seconded by Councilmember Bond MINOR SUBDIVISION approve a Minor Subdivision with the condition that any fencing Called be appropriate to the property. This approval Is contingent n the sale of Parcel B as Illustrated on the survey submitted by Church. 7 Ayes; Nayes. None. Moved by Councilmember l9erner, seconded by Councilmember Ross to SETBACK VARIMICE- pt the Planning Canmissions recommendation that a rear yard setback EXISTING ante of 15' to 12' be granted for the existing Carriage STRUCTURES e structure and that a rear yard setback variance be granted from to the proposed setback of 8' to the nearest point on the existing s-Graus structure. This approval is contingent upon the sale of ei B as illustrated on the survey submitted by Cho Church. 7 Ayes; s, None. P•loved by Councilmember 49erner, seconded Dy Councilmember Bond to SETBACK VARIANCE- ept the Planning Commissions recommendation that approval be given ADDITION TO a rear yard setback variance from the required 5 toot setback to 2' GARAGE a sideyard variance to the north side lot line tran 5' to 3' which Id allow an addition at the same setback as the existing garage Heritage Commission will review any building permits submitted for Itions to the garage. This approval is contingent upon the sale of col B as illustrated on the survey submitted by the Church. 7 Ayes; es, None. Moved by Councilmember Werner. seconded by Councilmember Riveness PARY.ING LOT accept the Planning Canmissions recanmendation that a parking lot SETBACK VARIANCE back variance be granted from the required 10' setback from street ht of way Tines to the proposed 5' setback. Futhermore, a setback lance will be granted from Cho required 8' setback for parking lots m rear lot Itne to the proposed 5' setback. Approval of these variances contingent on the sale of Parcel B as illustrated on the survey milted by the Church. In addition. approval of these variances subject to the following understandings as recommended by the Itaoe Preservation Ccmmiss(on: This approval is not to be construed as giving prior approval of a parking lot building permit when or if a permit is applied for. The City strongly recommends other parking solutions to the Church. es; Nayes, None. Moved by Councilmember Riveness, seconded by Councilmember !Verner PARKING SPACE accept the Planning Commissions recanmendation for approval of a VARIANCE-CARRIAGE lance from technically required 43 off street parking spaces to 9 HOUSE cos (existing) for the Church's use of the Carriage House for 450 ft. of office space on the upper floor, 800 sq. ft. of meetino and ambly space on the main floor and 050 sq. ft, of elementary and ~lor high classroon space on the lower level which will accomodate ohlldren and three classrooms. Approval of this variance Is' tingent on the Salo of Parcel 6 as illustrated on the survey mlttod by the Church. 7 Ayes; Nayes. None. June 14, 1988 ~~ ttoved by Councilmember Werner, seconded by Councilmember Bond to STRUCTURE S accept the Planning Commissions recommendation to approve the Interior VARIANCE-AR s[de setback vartance firom the required 12 feet to 10 feet as TO CHURCri illustrated on the site plan for purposes of constructing a classroom ,~ addltton to the Church. Approval of this vartance is subject to the Church making appl~icatlon for tinai site plan approval. and also contingent upon the sate of Parce! B as Illustrated on the survey submitted by the Church. 7 Ayes; Nayes, None. Moved by Councilmember Riveness, seconded by Cauncilnpmber Pierner PARKING SPAC to accept the Planning Commissions recommendation for approval that a VARIANCE-lSiU variance be granted from the required 10 spaces to 0 spaces to allow ADDITION 't, for an addltton to the Church which would accomodate six elass~ooms and 120 elementary grade students. Fhis approval also includes a °•! condition that minor subdivision and variances be subject to compliance by the applicant with all other city codes, including building and fire codes. This approval is also contingent upon the sale of Parcel B as Illustrated on the survey submitted by the Church. F4oved by Councilmember Warner, seconded by Councflmember Riveness to amend the original motion to grant the variance except for 12 parking spaces to be located on the existing Carriage House property. The amendment was withdrawn. Councilmember Trautmann left the Council Chambers at 7:00 p.m. Upon vote taken on the original motion: 2 Ayes; Nayes. Kulzer, Riveness. Stoffel and (Verner. Moved by Councilmember Werner, seconded by Councilmember Ross to ADJOURNMENT adJourn the meeting at 7:11 p.m. 6 Ayes; Nayes, None. 1 ~ O " ' ATTEST_,~~~lo r f?i ~ ~ p City Clerk St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church 202'West Eighth Street Hastings, MN 55033 65I-438-3730 February 11, 2008 City of Hastings City Council 1014' Street East Hastings, MN 55033 Re: 2008 Street Improvements 8~` Street and Eddy Street Hastings, MN 55033 Dear City Council: This letter is to request that the Hastings City Council grant St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. John's), permission to have increased curb cut parking installed during the upcoming 2008 street improvements. We at St. John's feel #hat city staff unfairly refused to consider this request. We feel that a good faith agreement was made between St. John's and the city in 1988, which they are now reneging on. St. John's believes that upon reviewing the following letter and attached information, the city council will decide to grant our request and direct the city to install the curb cut parking as agreed. BACKGROUND: In 1987 St John's bought the entire Furber property (northeast comer of 8`~ & Eddy St) with the express purpose of providing off street parking for the church. The off street parking was deemed necessary when an opinion by former City of Hastings Planning Director, Thomas Harmening, stated that without off street parking a planned building project for a classraom addition would very likely not be granted without such parking. In a Letter dated April 15, 1987, he wrote: "The only manner in which the city could allow the construction of the classroom facility would be if St. John's Lutheran Church requested and received from the City Council a variance to the city parking standards. Considering the fact that the Church does not provide any off street parking for the existing facility, I would expect that the city would have very serious reservation about granting a parking variance to allow the proposed classroom addition. " A copy of the complete letter is attached. After St. John's purchased the Farber property for off street pazking, the Hastings Heritage Preservation Commission expressed it's strong opposition to relocating the house and, instead of using any part of the property for off street parking, recommended that curb cut pazking be considered. The City Engineering Department proposed a curb cut parking design. In fact, they even prepared a street improvement plan (attached) indicating the proposed parking layout. Further, in a letter by the Hastings Heritage Preservation Commission, dated May 5, 1988 and signed by John Grossman, the curb cut parking was again recommended. A copy is attached, but it reads in part: "The Hastings Heritage Preservation Commission reviewed your preliminary concept drawing of the subdivision of the former Farber property at their meeting on April 27, 1988. They made the following recommendation for the Church and the new owner to consider. As I mentioned during our phone conversation on April 28, the Commission made no objection to the concept of the subdivision. Their basic concern is the appearance of the whole property. They want to see the original scale and proportion of the yards around the house retained by minimizing the appearance of two properties. In order to accomplish this object, they make the following recommendations, • Additional parking provided by curb cuts rather than by building lots on the yard west of the house. " St. John's, in good faith, accepted this proposal and subsequently requested and received approval of a minor subdivision of the Farber properly to separate the Howes-Graus House from the Carnage House. The former house was thereby preserved on location and _ the latter was modified to serve as classroom and office space for the church. At the time, neither the Church nor the City had the necessary funds to construct the curb cut pazking. Therefore, the Church developed its Long-range plan to construct that parking at such a time when 8~' and Eddy Streets would be improved. CITY STAFF'S OPINION: St. John's request to include curb cut parking in the 2008 street project was made in November 2007 through phone contact with the City of Hastings Engineering Department. We delivered the 1988 pazking plan, drawn by the City of Hastings, and asked for a meeting with the engineering staff. After several contacts with City staff, a meeting was scheduled in January 2008. Representatives from St. John's met with members of the city staff on Tuesday, January 22, 2008. We requested that the parking plan, drawn by the City of Hastings Engineering Department in 1988, be incorporated into the project. During the meeting, city staff members, Nick Egger, Thomas Montgomery, John Hinzman, and Kevin Smith, indicated 2 that because of the new Design Guidelines for Original Hastings of 2003, the church's request would not be considered in the street improvement project. They cited the foIlowing specific reasons that it was denied: 1. Tree removal 2. Street width 3. Sidewalk restraints 4_ Difficult snow removal ST. JOHN'S REBUTTAL: I. Tree removal We realize that trees are an asset to our neighborhood. Seven of the eight trees affected by curb cut parking were planted by St. John's within the past 20 years. When the project is complete we will surely replant trees to line up as closely as possible to other trees on the boulevazd. St. John's Church has planted no less than 11 other trees on our property within the last 20 years which will not be affected by the proposed parking design. And that is in addition to many shrubs and other green plantings. 2. Street width St. John's is willing to cede footage on the north side of 8~' Street and on both sides of Eddy Street to provide adequate depth for angle parking. 3. Sidewalk restraiats St John's is the only property along Eddy Street, between 5th and 10'~ Streets, that has sidewalks. No additional sidewalks are planned for Eddy Street in the street improvement project. The Church's sidewalk was installed by St. John's and will continue to be maintained by St. John's. Curb cuts for angle parking will not bring the sidewalk out of alignment with others when there are no others along the Sa` through l0a' Street portion of Eddy Street. 4. Difficult snow removal The city has hauled snow away from the curb surrounding the church only one time in the last 25 years. St. John's has contracted for snow removal in recent years and we will continue to do so. ADDFTIONAL ARGUMENTS: We recognize that off street parking is ideal. However, such property is not available near the church. Even if it were, approval for demolition or relocation of one or more homes in this historic neighborhood would not likely be granted. Our attempt to create off street parking on our portion of the Farber House lot some years ago meet with harsh disapproval and led to the City of Hasting curb cut parking design. As the longevity of life in the U.S. population increases so does the mean age of the members of our community and St. John's is no exception. As a result, there are and will continue to be more members with walking difficulty. Perhaps the net gain of 11 pazking spaces near the church by creating curb cut parking vs. parallel parking seems insignificant. It does, however, mean for St John's that between 11 and 55 (providing there are five persons in each vehicle) additional persons will be able to pazk near the church buiidvng and be spared the challenge of wallcing several blocks to get to church. The idea of curb cut parking is not unprecedented. Our Savior Lutheran Church, located on the comer of 9~` and Ashland Streets, has curb cut parking. It has angled on street pazking not onl~ on the sides of the street adjoining the church property, but also on the south side of 9 Street which adjoins city property. St. John's is requesting curb cut parking only on a portion of the streets along the sides of its own property. CONCLUSION: We at St. John's are convinced that curb cut parking wi11 not be detrimental to the neighborhood. It will ease congestion and provide for the safety of St. John's members as they come to church for worship and other activities. It is our opinion that the 1988 recommendation letter and curb cut parking plan, proposed by the Hastings Heritage Preservation Commission and designed by the City of Hastings Engineering Department, constitutes a legal commitment to allow the curb pazking to be installed_ Therefore, we feel that despite the new design guidelines of 2003, this previous commitment should be honored and "grandfathered in". Thank you for considering our request to grant a variance so that the spaces for curb cut parking maybe increased for St. 3ohn's in the 2008 street improvement project. Sincerely, St. John's Lutheran Church Ron Stark, Chairman Encl. C: file 4 CITY 0 F ~ASTI~NGS ~_ t00 SIBIEY STREET, HASTINGS, MINNESOTA 55033-0097 Phone{6t~437.412T ''~'~"'' " '` Hastings on th• Mississippi Apr i l f 5, 1937 Mr. Richard P. Fuch s First National Bank Bldg. Hastings, Minnesota 55433 Re: Classroom addition - St. Johns Lutheran Church Oear >~ir. Fuchs: t am writing this lettsr in response to your request that ! provide canment on the proposed classroom addition to St. Johns Lutheran Church. Based on the calculations which you have provided it vrould appear that ten off street parking spaces would be required to accomodate the proposed classroom addition. These ten spaces are in addition to the 117 spaces which you have calculated as being required for the existing overall facility if it were built today. The only manner in which the city could al i ow -the construction of the classroom faci l !tv would be i f St Johns Lutheran Church requested and received from the City Council a variance to the citys parking standards. Considering the fact that the Church does not provide any off street parking for the existing facility, 1 would expect that the city would have very serious reservations about granting a parking varrance to allow the proposed classroom addition. 1 would like'to point out that the purpose of off street parking, as outlined i n the Zoning Code, "is to alleviate or prevent congestion of the public right of way and so to• prorrate the safety and general wet fare.of the public". If there should be any questions regarding this matter please feet free-to ntact Ina at •437-4f Z7. Si cerel Thomas K. Harmening, P Wing 4irector City of Hastings . TKH:jt V An Equal Opportunity Employer b F . g Y f g~ O rr~ rV !! V z U U z da(yy I..L. W 2 z 0 o ~T- ~~ ~_ I 1' 1 11 ~ l__ i__ .J ,~.___-r 1 1 ~ }~ j S - r 1 S ~ 1 __ S`J V __ ! ~ F I O ~b' t W 1 ____ ~J ____ ' i f 1 _____ _____ ~ 1 ~ 7 ~~ m 1 1 1 ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ 1 1 7 ! --~ ` i1 -~ »+is ~ 1331115 9Nkid$ ~•" 1 r U Q ZS' Q W F Jf N ~ $• S F { i i K 2 _ F y Q 2 lt. O ~ Y - Y J (~ 71 ~II,~ _~ 's t .I Z ~ if ~ Memo To: Engineering Department From: Justin Fortney, Associate Planner/ Heritage Preservation Specialist Date: 2/28/2008 Subject: HPC's Recommendation for Angled Parking on the East Side Of Eddy St Background: City ordinance requires the HPC to comment on changes to the streetscape in Historic Districts when City or private improvements would change the existing conditions. St. John's Lutheran Church asked the HPC to recommend approval of their proposal that the City install angle parking. The east side of Eddy Street, north of 7`'' Street, is within the Old Hastings Historic District and adjacent to the Howes Graus House, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The HPC held an open meeting on February 19`h where they heard from representatives from St. John's Lutheran Church concerning their interest in angled parking on the east side of Eddy St, which is in the Old Hastings Historic District. After a great deal of discussion the HPC tabled the issue so two absent Commissioners could provide input and allow for further discussion. They arraigned a special meeting to be held the next week to provide the council with a recommendation prior to the City Council meeting on March 3`a HPC Recommendation to the City Council: The HPC acknowledged that while The HPC did recommend curb cut parking in 1988, it was the Commissions preferred alternative to the church's proposal to build a parking lot on the Howes Graus House property, which the church had just acquired. They noted that there were many differences between then and now. Commissioners said they were operating under a different ordinance with different guidelines and the subject property was not part of a historic district in 1988. As time passes and ordinances change, people cannot expect the same options to be available after 20 years. The HPC stated that their guidelines adopted by the City Council in 2002 specifically say that streets shall not be widened and to preserve the mature neighborhood tree canopy. After holding 2 public meetings where they heard from both representatives from the church and opposed citizens from the surrounding area, the HPC unanimously recommended that the City Council Deny the request with the finding that the proposal was not in conformance with the Historic Guidelines for Streetscapes, specifically, do not increase the width of existing streets and preserve the boulevard trees and sidewalks. Attachments: Draft HPC Minutes HASTINGS HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Minutes of the Meeting of February 19, 2008 held at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall in the Community Room I. Quorum: Goderstad, Simacek, Behnke, Sovik-Siemens, and Nellie present. Staff: Fortney, Grossman, Egger, Montgomery; Chairman Goderstad called the meeting to order. II. Minutes A. January 15, 2008. A motion by Sovik-Siemens for approval with a spelling change was made and seconded by Simacek; motion carried. IIl. Review of building permits or design proposals A. 608 Eddy St -Replacing the siding Justin Fortney presented the staff report. Paul Troutman with Timberland exteriors said that he will be using a 4-inch lap Hardiboard because he believes that is what was used on the house. He added that he will increase the window trim similarly to what was previously around them. Sovik-Siemens said that she believes projects that were started prior to the beginning of the study should be able to continue with appropriate plans that were in process. Motion by Behnke, second by Simacek to approve replacement of the siding with Hardiboard as proposed; motion carried. IV. Business A. Make recommendations to the City Council on the 2008 street reconstruction project adjacent to the Old Hastings Historic District. Justin Fortney presented the staff report with Thomas Montgomery, Public Works Director and Nick Egger, City Engineer providing further details. Commissioner Sovik-Siemens said that the engineers prefer a 5' sidewalk and she has measured most of them at 4.5'. Montgomery stated that the City Council has adopted S' sidewalks due to complaints from citizens after the construction of narrower sidewalks. He added that the HPC's direction for the new sidewalks in this area would be forwarded to the City Council. Chairman Goderstad asked how many trees will be removed during this project. Nick Egger said that l0 trees have been identified for removal due to the risk they pose to safety because they are diseased or otherwise prone to falling down. Sovik-Siemens said she noticed that in the past protection for trees disappeared and left roots exposed and wondered if more could be done to protect them this time. Egger said that they have done more planning and will be doing more inspections than ever before for this project. Montgomery agreed. Goderstad asked which streets will be widened. Egger explained the map showing that all the streets within the historic district will not be widened. He added that streets outside of it are proposed to be widened to 32' where there are no constraints. Goderstad asked where walls would be located. Egger said that some of the major wall projects were going to be at Eddy and 6`" in addition to the south side of 8`". These major walls will be approximately 2-3 feet tall. Joe Balsanek of 224 7`" St W asked if a retaining wall was proposed on his property. Montgomery stated that a small one was to be installed. Sovik-Siemens asked if any alley work was proposed. Egger said yes, to stabilize the new walls being installed as part of the Vermillion St wall reconstruction project. Balsanek asked if historic lighting was proposed with the project. Montgomery said no. Balsanek said that other districts have lighting and theirs should too. Montgomery said there is not a policy to install lighting. Goderstad asked how many lights are in the district. Montgomery said mostly just at intersections. He added that the City spends $200,000 dollars per year on electricity for streetlights. Dick Graham of 608 Eddy St asked what the projected cost of decorative streetlights would be for the project. Egger responded $500,000. Balsanek said that homeowners in the district must get special permission to perform work on their homes, why should the City not have to do extra work like the homeowners. Commissioner Simacek responded that since lighting is not being replaced it does not have to go for approval and the HPC could then not require it. He added that if a homeowner was changing siding, the HPC could not require the windows to be replaced. Balsanek asked if there will be any extra money to improve the district if the streets and sidewalks are narrowed. Egger answered that the amount of money saved would be negligible because labor and preparation would not change, only a little less material. Paul Swanstrom owner of 807 Vermillion asked if there were streetlights in this area before. John Grossman said that some iron lights existed from the 1920's to the 1950's, but he is not sure how far they were located into the neighborhood. He added that if the Commissioners wanted streetlights, they could request a separate program that would install a couple new lights per year. Graham stated that a few lights per year will eventually get us there. Andy McCoy of 209 7t" St W said that Wilson Park has an exposed aggregate sidewalk. He asked if that is what is being proposed here. Montgomery said no they are proposing normal concrete because it lasts much longer. Balsanek asked if they considered stamped concrete. Montgomery said they used that downtown and they are not happy with how it is holding-up and they would not likely consider using it again. Sovik-Siemens added that it is not a historical design. McCoy asked if the alley behind him could be improved to help with drainage. Montgomery said they would look at it and would improve it if it could simply be done with a grader. Behnke asked how much a light pole costs. Egger said $8,000 to buy and install it, not including energy and upkeep. Motion by Sovik-Siemens, second by Behnke to approve rebuilding the streets within the Historic District at existing widths of 30 feet; motion carried. Motion by Sovik-Siemens, second by Simacek to approve rebuilding the sidewalks at 4.5 feet wide, which is the width of most of the sidewalks in the district; motion carried. Motion by Hellie, second by Simacek to approve the design and construction that should minimize the impact on the existing trees as much as possible; motion carried. Motion by Simacek, second by Behnke to provide a recommendation for an ornamental lighting program within the historic district to the City Council; motion carried. Motion by Sovik-Siemens, second by Hellie to construct retaining walls within the historic district that are similar to the previously approved Vermillion Street Historic Wall Repair alternate flat concrete modular block design; motion carried. Motion by Sovik-Siemens, second by Hellie to amend the motion to require that if fences are needed on the walls, they must be brought to the HPC for approval; motion carried. B. Make a recommendation to the City Council on St. John's proposed on street parking that is adjacent to the Old Hastings Historic District. Justin Fortney presented the staff report with Thomas Montgomery, Public Works Director and Nick Egger, City Engineer providing further details. Percy Damrow, Pastor at St. John's Church explained that parking is essential to any business in addition to a church. They bought the historic home in 1978 and planned to move it to build a parking lot until the City expressed apprehension about it. They then sold the house and planted some trees. The HPC suggested curb cuts for parking. The Engineering department made a diagram of how the parking could be laid out. On January 22"d we had a meeting with City staff and felt betrayed when they suggested a private parking lot rather than curb cuts. David Senter who spoke on behalf of St. John's said that there was a good faith deal with the City. We felt that the City got what it wanted and now we don't. Duane Groth who spoke on behalf of St. John's said the City moved the 10 commandments monument to the church. Henry Hoeft who spoke on behalf of St. John's said they put the trees there and would put them back. Balsanek asked how many parking spaces would be gained after all of this work is done. He added that the diagram shows 7 spaces proposed, how many parallel cars can be parked there? A couple people from the audience responded 4. Balsanek responded that a total of 3 spaces would be gained from this proposed location. Dan Dancer who spoke on behalf of St. John's asked if you are taking a fair and balanced approach to the well being and safety, to an unspecified person. Groth explained that with angled parking people would not have to exit their car in the snow. McCoy said the diagram shows 22' [between the ends of the angled parking spaces], is that consistent with the separation between the parallel-parked cars? Egger responded that there would currently be 14 to 16 feet of space. McCoy asked if it could be posted that no large cars/ trucks could use these spaces. Damrow said they could post that in their bulletin. Goderstad reminded everyone that we are to only be concerned with the east side of Eddy St at this meeting. Simacek asked what the width is of a road that posts no parking on one side of it. Montgomery responded 28' wide or less. Sovik-Siemens said we are only here to follow our guidelines. Behnke agreed and said it could set a precedent. Groth said when you changed your guidelines you should have sent us notice that it wouldn't let us make curb cuts for parking. Damrow said the diagram was made at the HPC's Request. Goderstad said the parking diagram didn't come to the HPC in 1988. Montgomery said the diagram was done later for a parking analysis to determine ifthe angled parking could be done within the right-of--way. John Grossman said the diagram wasn't drawn for the HPC, it was done later for the church to see what was feasible. Damrow said John Grossman`s letter suggests that parking could be done with curb cuts rather than a parking lot. Behnke said he feels value in holding decisions that were made in the past and I would like to table it. Motion by Behnke, second by Simacek to table the request; motion failed to carry. Hellie and Sovik-Siemens opposed. Simacek asked if they are really only gaining 3 parking spaces in this area. Groth responded that it is also a safety concern with opening doors. Duane said that if you are afraid of affecting precedent, no one else has a 20-year-old letter about it. Simacek said that the issue is that the request is not inline with our adopted guidelines that we are here to follow. We are really between a rock and a hard place. Sovik-Siemens said you would have been notified that the property was included in the district. Duane responded that we wouldn't have known what that meant to our proposed parking. Nellie said his concern is that if we approve these 7 spaces and the Planning Commission denies the one across the street, it would result in a reduced driving area. He added that he does feel as though he has an obligation to consider a recommendation from 20 years ago, but it was a recommendation. Sovik-Siemens said that even if they actually gave approval for work to be done on a property 20 years ago and the work was never done and the regulations changed since that time, they would have no choice but to abide by the new regulations like everyone else. Damrow said we have been continuing to make the two properties appear as two. Swanstrom said it makes no sense to have one side of the street different from the other. Nellie said now it makes sense to have this tabled. Motion by Nellie, second by Behnke to table the request to a special meeting on Tuesday 26'h at 7:00 P.M.; motion carried Not an agenda item- Paul Swanstrom owner of 807 Vermilion St wanted to discuss the impacts of the designation study and designation. Swanstrom said it appears that designation wouldn't have allowed him to place the vinyl on his property and you can't even tell that it has vinyl. Swanstrom asked how to not be researched for designation. Fortney said you would have to ask to be put on the agenda for the Commission to consider removing it. Fortney added that the most appropriate time to make the case for not being designated would be when the HPC receives the completed research and recommends properties to the City Council for designation. All property owners who were selected for research will be notified of that HPC meeting. C. Consider selecting 906 Vermillion St for further research for the 2008 Designation Study Justin Fortney presented the staff report Keith Estenson said he is interested in buying the property for its historical value, but he is not in favor of historic designation if it does not provide a benefit. He added that another prospective buyer may want to build an addition onto it and he wonders if the HPC would approve that. Commissioner Nellie said we should continue the discussion on this property. It was decided to continue discussions at the special meeting on Tuesday the 26`h V. Adjourn. Motion by Behnke, second by Nellie to adjourn and continue the discussion of items B and C at the Special meeting on February 26th; motion carried. - 9:SOP.M. HASTINGS HERITAGE PRESERVATION COMMISSION Minutes of the Meeting of February 26, 2008 held at 7:00 p.m. at CiTy Hall in the City Council Chambers I. Quorum: Goderstad, Simacek, Behnke, Sovik-Siemens, Warg, Martin, and Nellie present. Staff: Fortney, Egger, Montgomery; Chairman Goderstad called the meeting to order. II. Business D. Make a recommendation to the City Council on St. John's proposed on street parking that is adjacent to the Old Hastings Historic District. (Tabled Item) Justin Fortney presented the staff report Percy Damrow, Pastor at St. John's Church said that we are asking you to recommend approval to the City Council. He explained that parking is essential to any business in addition to a church. He added that the church wanted to build an addition in l 987 and the City said it was doubtful because they were deficient on parking. He said they bought the historic home in 1978 and planned to move it to build a parking lot until the City expressed apprehension about it. They then sold the house and planted some trees to blend the two properties together. The HPC suggested curb cuts for parking. The Engineering department made a diagram of how the parking could be laid out and we have included the thought of curb cut parking in our lonb range plan. On January 22°d we felt betrayed when City staff suggested a private parking lot rather than curb cuts. David Senter who spoke on behalf of St. John's said if you look at the correspondence from ] 988 it looks like an arrangement was made. He said the City got what it wanted, to save the house. He added that they will certainly replant trees. Duane Groth who spoke on behalf of St. John's said if you look at an aerial picture you can see that angled parking looks more historical. He added that we want angled parking because we don't have a parking lot. He said that snow along the curbs makes less room for parallel parking. He also said that he passes up single parallel spaces because it is hard to park in them. Dan Dancer who spoke on behalf of St. John's said they have no intention to disregard historic preservation, we have demonstrated that. He said does ownership mean anything anymore. He also said where do you want us to go, what do you want us to do. Chris Reese who spoke on behalf of St. John's said our only other option is to put blacktop next to the carriage house. He added that many historic areas have angled parking like Stillwater, Redwing, and Cottage Grove. He ended by saying no it doesn't fit historical guidelines but it fits. Jackie Boler of 402 7`h St W said she saw the Planning Commission meeting on T.V. and wanted to give some perspective on preservation in the late 1980's. She said the Howes-Graus House was a locally designated property as well as on the National Register of Historic Places. She read an excerpt of the historic ordinance in place in 1988 from the 1985 Hastings Historic Handbook concerning ordinances in place then. ]t said that approval for demolition, moving, or placing a parking lot on the property would have needed HPC approval and may not have been likely. She reiterated that it was not a guideline but an ordinance adopted by the Council thereby making it a law. She said it would be unfortunate if the City staff overstepped their bounds in 1988 and gave false impressions of what could be obtained in the future. She said there have been many public hearings since 1987 that adopted guidelines and policies related to streetscapes. She added that the old guidelines were more fluid than the current ones. She said that she attended the original City Council meeting with her husband in 1988 and it was way out of order and she is glad to see such a civil debate this time. She added that the duty of the HPC is not to solve the parking problem or any homeowner's problems; their job is to interpret the guidelines. Groth asked how the house south of City Hall was demolished. Commissioner Martin said it was never protected as a historic property. Commissioner Warg said it is my understanding that Eddy St. is 32 feet wide and you propose to double it to 66 feet and that is what worries me. He said that St. Elizabeth Ann Seton wanted modular classrooms in the parking lot. He said the Commission felt terrible because they knew how badly they needed the space, but we denied the request because it was not inline with the guidelines. He added that in 1999 the district was adopted and in 2002 the new guidelines were adopted by City Council. He said if a building permit were issued and work was never done and the rules changed along the way, then the building permit would no longer be valid. He added that in this case a permit was never even obtained. Martin said that the Commission's scope is to uphold the guidelines. Rita Dahl of 205 7`'' St W said I would first like to show my support to the Planning Commission and staff for the recommendations on the street reconstruction project. She said that she attended the 1988 council meeting and spoke against the angled parking. She added that Turney Hazlet spoke on behalfofthe church at that time and said the church didn't want angled parking and were not asking for it. She said that curb cut parking does not integrate into the neighborhood and Eddy St. is an entrance into the neighborhood. She added that in the late 1970's the area lost many Elm trees to Dutch EIm Disease including the boulevard adjacent to the church and I would hate to see these trees sacrificed again. She said there is risk to increased traffic and speed and there will be more confusion having people back up and heading north and south at the same time. She said as a neighbor I do not park on the street on Sundays or Wednesday evenings to provide more street parking to the church. She ended by saying that the Planning Commission said they should first look at a parking lot on the vacant church property next to the gymnasium. Reese said to the HPC with your motion ask to get information from public safety on safety issues. We are trying to offer a solution without building a parking lot. Motion by Martin, second by Simacek to recommend denial of the request to the City Council; motion carried 7-0 E. Consider selecting 906 Vermillion St far further research for the 2008 Designation Study. (tabled Item) Justin Fortney presented the staff report. Commissioner Simacek said it should not be up to the Commissioners to remove properties from the study or not recommend them for designation based on requests. The Consultant's and our job is to use our expertise to recommend properties to the City Council that qualify for designation. If the City Council wants to not designate properties for various reasons that is up to them. Martin said our role is to find houses to study and then study them, to determine if they qualify for designation. Motion by Simacek, second by Hellie to recommend denial of the request to the City Council; motion carried 6-0- Commissioner Warg abstained III. Information and reports Fortney informed the Commissioners that the next meeting will be held on March 25 rather than 18`j' so the consultant will be able to attend and give an update on the designation study. Fortney informed the Commissioners that Commissioner St. James wants to continue to serve on the Commission and will try to restructure her schedule to do so. VI. Adjourn. Motion by Martin, second by Sovik-Siemens to adjourn; motion carried. -8:05 P.M. Memo To: Engineering Department From: Justin Fortney, Associate Planner/ Heritage Preservation Specialist Date: 2/2812008 Subject: Planning Commission Recommendation for Angled Parking on the West Side of Eddy St and on the North Side of 8t" St W Background: The Planning Commission met on February 25th to make a recommendation to the City Council on the construction of angled curb cut parking adjacent to St. John's Church. The Planning Commission reviewed this request because it is within the Original Hastings Design Standards (OHDS) area, which is often referred to the Conservation District. The Commission heard from representatives from the church as well as opposed citizens from the neighborhood. Planning Commission Recommendation to the City Council: The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend the following action: I) AIIow angled curb cut parking along the north side of 8th Street consisting of 4-5 additional spaces. Angled curb cut parking is already established, the additional spaces would not significantly change the character of the street. 2) Deny angled curb cut parking along both sides of Eddy Street. The addition of angled curb cut parking spaces, widening of the street, loss of street trees, and loss of boulevard areas is inconsistent with the Original Hastings design standards and would signifcantly change the character of the street. The Planning Commission also discussed the request in relation to the ] 988 actions for minor subdivision and variances for the Howes Graus House, a historic property located directly across Eddy Street from the church. While they acknowledged the recommendation by the HPC for angled parking, they did not find the 1988 variance and subdivision approvals to be linked to future commitments for angled curb cut parking. Commissioners characterized the ] 988 discussion of future parking as a "possibility'', but did not see it as a commitment. Planning Staff Recommendation to the City Council Staff does not support St John's parking request finding it inconsistent with the Original Hastings Design Guidelines as follows: 1) Street width along Eddy St and 8th Street would be extended beyond the 32 foot limit. Along Eddy Street the width would be nearly 66 feet, more than double the 32 foot width limit. 2) Removal of existing mature boulevard trees. All of the mature boulevard trees along Eddy Street would be removed which would significantly alter the character of the roadway. 3) Removal of landscaped boulevard. The landscaped boulevard between the sidewalk and Eddy Street would be removed; the widened street would be located directly behind the existing sidewalk with no transition or buffering. 4) Limited increase of parking. Conversion of existing parallel parking spaces to diagonal parking would achieve a net increase of only 10-1 l parking spaces. 5) Limited use of parking. Parking spaces would remain vacant at most times. Parking use would likely be limited to Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Attachment • Draft Planning Commission Minutes Hastings Planning Commission February Z5, 2008 Regular Meeting 7:00 p.m. Chair Truax called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Roll Call Commissioners Present: Truax, Hiedeman, Zeyen, Peine, Stevens Commissioners Absent: Schmitt, McInnis Staff Present: Planning Director John Hinzman Associate Planner Justin Fortney Public Works Director Thomas Montgomery City Engineer Nick Egger 2. Approval of Minutes -February 1 1, 2007 Motion by Hiedeman to approve the February l I , 2008, meeting minutes. Seconded by Stevens. Upon vote taken, Ayes 5, Nays 0. Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS 3. City of Hastings -Amendment to Home Occupation Ordinance. Planning Director John Hinzman gave the staff report. Commissioner Truax confirmed that renewal would be after 4 additional years rather than 2. Hinzman confirmed this. Public Hearing opened at 7:03 Public Hearing closed at 7:03 with no comments being made Action by Planning Commission: Motion by Stevens to approve the amendment to the home occupation ordinance. Seconded by Hiedeman. Upon vote taken, Ayes 5, Nays 0. Motion carried. OTHER ACTIONS 4. City of Hastings -Review Public Improvements for OHDS Consistency. Justin Fortney, Associate Planner gave the staff report. Commissioner Stevens asked Fortney if the Commission can act on the two items separately. Fortney responded yes. Commissioner Stevens asked if the HPC has reviewed this request. Fortney responded yes, but they have tabled St. John's request for on street parking to a special meeting tomorrow. Commissioner Truax asked if the sidewalk adjacent to St. John's was going to be extended. Nick Egger, City Engineer said no because of all the boulevard trees and it is not specified in the comprehensive plan. Truax said parts of it are in disrepair and asked if it will be repaired or replaced. Egger said like all sidewalks in the project area it will be evaluated. Commissioner Stevens asked Egger if any of the trees proposed for replacement are located around St. John's Church. Egger responded no. Egger added that the trees to be replaced were chosen by the City Forester because of their poor health or risk of coming down. Commissioner Truax said that when they were discussing the Original Hastings Design Guidelines they were told there would have to be at least 4 ornamental streetlights per block to provide adequate light. He asked if this is still the case or would any changes in technology require less streetlights. Egger responded that it is possible, but they would work with a lighting engineer to determine the correct amount based on the type of lights. Thomas Montgomery, Public Works Director added that the city has a policy not to light continuous areas due to high electrical costs. He also said that ornamental lights are ornamental and are for an improved streetscape rather than for lighting. Montgomery said that existing streetlights on wooden poles at intersections will not be removed. Stevens asked if the lights are put in later, would it cost more than installing them now. Montgomery said either way they would be installed using directional boring to limit damage to trees so the cost would be about the same. Stevens asked what is the smallest width of streets that will be maintained. Egger said it would be 28 feet. Truax asked if money was the driving factor in not including streetlights in the area Like was done on Eddy St. Montgomery said we put the lights in the downtown area, which is the only reason there are any on Eddy St. There are also some on County Road 42 that were paid for with a scenic byway grant. Truax asked if the Guidelines still say to install ornamental Iights. Montgomery said yes, but in this case the Iights were not included in the bonding, we didn't know about them being necessary, and there is no money available for them. He added that at the HPC meeting staff suggested adoption of a street light installation program ifornamental lighting was still desired within neighborhoods. The Planning Commission may want to consider similar direction. Truax said that Southview Drive was built narrower to slow traffic. Montgomery replied that there was only 40 feet of right-of--way available and parking was restricted to only one side. Dick Graham, 608 Eddy Street said that he has lived in his home for 33 years and the City seems to be invested in historic preservation. Citizens are asked to do what they wouldn't normally do. He said that Thomas Montgomery said if they wanted to keep the roads narrow they could. He added that this is important to keep cars out of there. He said we don't want Eddy Street to be a feeder street. He added that he was told that the savings from keeping the streets and sidewalks narrow could provide one blocks worth of ornamental lighting. He ended by adding that his assessments are in excess of 10,000 dollars. Truax asked Graham if there was only parking allowed on one side of the street, would it be a problem. Graham responded that there are not usually cars parked there. He added that the less concrete the better. Graham asked if 6th St between Eddy St. and Spring St. was going to be widened. Egger said the map shows that it is under a different jurisdiction and it may or may not be widened depending on constraints. Truax asked Egger if he was open to negotiation of street widths. Egger responded that negotiation is not the correct description. He said that we are looking at the characteristics of the rights-of--way and will be limited by trees, walls, etc. Truax asked what the benefit of widening the streets was. Montgomery said it allows for safer parking of parallel cars and limiting parking to one side in an existing neighborhood could be bad. He added that a 30' wide street with cars parked on both sides will slow traffic more than a 28' wide street with cars parked on one side. Joe Balsanek, 224 W 7th Street said that he wishes we could table this request for another year to restart this process. He added that when the planning began the Engineering Department didn't even know that this was a historic district. If they had known we could have discussed ornamental lighting and sidewalk treatments. He said that changes to the streets can negatively effect the historical integrity of the historic district and the individual property be distorting the scale. He added that as a historic homeowner he is required to spend more on projects. He said that his projects have cost him from 25% to 28% more to complete due to the required Historic Guidelines. He added that if homeowners have to spend more to maintain their properties under the guidelines, the City should reciprocate and do the same. He added that he would like all of the extra money from the road narrowing to be reinvested in ornamental streetlights. Egger said the savings would be about 20,000 to 30,000 dollars, which would be enough for about a block of streetlights on one side of the street only. Balsanek said that I have heard that the streets are being rebuilt because of the Vermillion Street wall reconstruction project. If this is true there is no need to replace the streets this year and we can table it until next year. Truax said this project did not just come up all of the sudden. Balsanek said that the other two districts have ornamental streetlights and this one does not. Truax asked if we recommended a narrower road what would staff suggest. Montgomery replied that if the Commission recommended anything less than 30 feet wide, staff would recommend there be no parking on one side. Commissioner Zeyen said if we recommend anything less than 32 feet wide we're ignoring the plan. He was opposed to making amendments to the Guidelines for the request. Stevens said that a 32' wide street would accommodate parallel parking. Action by Planning Commission: Motion by Zeyen to approve the proposal as stipulated below. Seconded by Stevens. Reconstruct streets at 32 feet wide to accommodate parallel parking when possible Boulevard tree placement and preservation 4 foot minimum width sidewalks 4 foot minimum width boulevards Recommend the adoption of an ornamental street light program Upon vote taken, Ayes 5, Nays 0. Motion carried. Truax said to the audience that the Commission would be interested in hearing from the public concerning the request by St. John's request for curb cut parking on 8`h St W and the west side of Eddy St. St. John's Church Pastor Percy Damrow said he has been pastor since 1981. He said he would like to have the street plan amended to add curb cut parking on 8`'' and Eddy streets. He added that parking is essential for any business and a church is no different. He said they bought the historic home for parking and when the City opposed it they sold it and planted some trees. He added that the City also discouraged adding parking to the landscaped area south of the carriage house. The HPC suggested curb cuts for parking. The Engineering department made a diagram of how the parking could be laid out. He said because of this they have had this idea in their long range plan. He said we appreciate the variances from the Planning Commission and City Council in 1988, but we still need parking. He said he felt betrayed when they suggested a private parking lot rather than curb cuts that were recommended in 1988. David Senter with St. John's said we did everything we were told to do in l 988 and our request should be grandfathered due to it being worked out prior to the new guidelines. Duane Groth who spoke on behalf of St. John's said he is a long time member of the church and added that angled parking is preferable to parallel. He also said parallel parking spots are often passed up because it is hard to maneuver into. Ken Dahl of 205 7`h St W adjacent to the request spoke in opposition to the addition of curb cut parking. Mr. Dahl said his family built their house and has lived there since 1906. He added that the Commission voted in favor of the staff recommendation to deny this request. He said it is not an appropriate use of public space. He added that it wasn't a historic neighborhood when any recommendations were made 20 years ago. He said there are many more homes in a designation study and this will continue over time. He said this curb cut parking is inappropriate at this time. Rita Dahl of 205 7`h W adjacent to the request spoke in opposition to the addition of curb cut parking. She pointed to a picture of Eddy Street and spoke of its beauty. She added that this is the entrance to the neighborhood and would only be used for a Limited time on Sundays and Wednesday evenings. She said it is hard to visualize the loss of beauty this would cause. She said there are children in the neighborhood and a 66-foot wide road could cause an increase of traffic and speed in the area. She ended by saying a petition will be passed around the area. Groth asked the Dahl's questions as they returned to their seats and Chairmen Truax called for order. Damrow mentioned that the Church would surely replace the lost trees Mr. Dahl said the Church used to own their neighbors house and had an opportunity to turn it into parking at one time but instead sold it. Rita Dahl said the City should not be providing convenience parking for a private use. She added that the church has mentioned numerous times that this parking is for convenience. Groth said they say why provide parking for a private use, but we aren't asking. We aren't asking, we'll pay for our portion. We didn't do it then because we didn't want to replace the road. Dan Dancer who spoke on behalf of St. John's said we have upheld preservation by adhering to the recommendations of the City. He added that he cannot dispute the beauty of the street, but there should be appropriate balance of safety of children and the elderly. He ended by saying we haven't had this opportunity in the past. Commissioner Peine said the legal posting for the variances and minor subdivision at the June 13`h Planning Commission meeting mentioned the possibility of angled on street parking. Hinzman said in that staff report for the variances the Planning Director recommended adding of conditions to the variances like angled parking but the Commission did not add them to the approval. Truax read a quote from the minutes from that meeting where Turney Hazlet representing the church said the Church does not prefer the on street angled parking arrangement. Truax added that a deal was never made. He said that he sees a lot of references in the 1988 documents about possibilities not approval. He also said the June 1988 City Council minutes say the approvals of the variances are not to be construed as giving prior approval of a parking lot building permit when or if a permit is applied for. Truax said this doesn't give any approval for additional parking. Truax said he believes by granting the variance to the parking requirements the Planning Commission and City Council allowed the church to have less spaces rather than having to obtain spaces in other ways being proposed. Truax said if there ever was a time to install additional on street parking spaces it would be now. The City would be responsible for building them, maintaining them, plowing them, in addition to accepting liability. He added that the spaces would only be used by St. John's Church and we're giving up more green and trees. Damrow said that the spaces may also be used on Fridays by Todd field goers. Brian Weinkaufwith St. 3ohn's said with a 30-foot wide street that has parallel parking it chokes traffic and it would be hard to get emergency vehicles down it. Zeyen asked ifthe HPC will be meeting again on this matter Hinzman said yes tomorrow night at 7:00 right here. Zeyen asked if the property was registered as historic when they bought it Fortney said yes and the district was formed around it in 1999 Stevens said he wouldn't have a problem expanding the 8`h Street angled parking 4 to 5 spaces. He added that there were possibilities in 1988 for increased angled parking, but in 20 years times have changed. Zeyen asked the Church if they have considered building a parking lot on the vacant church property adjacent to the gymnasium. Groth said they may want to add on to the church in that area at some point in the future. He added that they were against curb cut parking, they wanted a parking lot on the historic property. He said 1 wish we had the right to teardown the historic house in 1988 for parking. Bruce Reuter with St. John's asked what type of curb is proposed on 8th and Eddy streets. Egger responded the same type that you find on all newly constructed roads. Reuter said they could install low curbs that people could drive over and park on. Action by Planning Commission: Motion by Stevens to recommend approval of the 4 to 5 additional angled curb cut parking spaces on 8`h Street W adjacent to St. John's Lutheran Church and recommend denial of angled parking on Eddy Street. Seconded by Peine. Upon vote taken, Ayes 5, Nays 0. Motion carried. 5. Discussion -Discuss future amendments to the Adult Use Ordinance and possible rezoning. Associate Planner Fortney gave the staff report. Chair Truax asked if the adult use spacing could be changed from 200 feet from any residential property to 200 feet from any residence or another way that would keep the separation from homes rather than from zoning for homes. Stevens asked how we came up with the 200-foot separation. Fortney replied that 200 feet was adopted with the existing adult use ordinance. Stevens said he was just wondering because St. Paul requires 1,500 feet. Peine asked if there was a plan B on where the adult uses could be located. Hinzman responded no, the industrial park offers the only commercial opportunity on secondary roads that are not highly visible as opposed to the main roads where other commercial opportunities exist. Peine asked if we could provide much less than 6% of commercial area to adult uses if the property was largely vacant. Hinzman responded that court cases mostly look at total available land and not vacant land. 6. Other Business Planning Director Hinzman updated the Commission on an ordinance amendment that the city Council is considering that may change commissions' term limits. Hinzman also noted that Comprehensive Plan Committee will be meeting on Wednesday the 27th of February. 7. Adjournment Motion by Zeyen to adjourn the February 25, 2008, Planning Commission meeting. motioned, seconded by Peine. Upon vote taken, Ayes 5, Nays 0. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Justin Fortney Associate Planner Mayor and City Councilmembers, Nick Egger Page 1 of 2 From: Thomas Montgomery Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 1:33.PM To: 'Anthony Alongi ; 'Barb Hollenbeck ; 'Danna Elting Schultz'; 'EDWARD RIVENESS (E-mail)'; 'Mike Slavik ; 'Paul Hicks (E-mail)'; 'Turney Hazlet' Cc: Nick Egger; John Hinzman; John Grossman; Dave Osberg Subject: 2008 North Vermillion Area Street and Utility Improvements - St. John's Lutheran Church Pkg Attachments: St John's Parking -Close Up.pdf; St John's Parking - Aerial.pdf; PC HRA Docs - St John's Parking 1988.pdf; Smith Atwood historic home 718 Vermillion St.jpg; Neighborhood Street Design Guidelines_pdf; eddy st angled pkg req.pdf; 8th st angled pkg req.pdf Mayor and City Councilmembers, As part of the proposed 2008 Street and Utility Reconstruction Program, both 8th Street and Eddy Street would be reconstructed, affecting St. John's Church located at the NW corner of 8th and Eddy along with the church offices located across Eddy Street from the church, behind the historic Smith-Atwood house. The draft plans call for reconstructing the project streets at the existing 32 ft. width and preserve the existing angled parking in front of St. John's Church on 8th Street. St. John's Church has requested that the City construct angled parking in front of their property on both sides of Eddy Street and extend the existing angled parking on the north side of 8th Street west to their west property line (see enclosed drawings and pictures). The proposed additional angled parking would generate a net 1 l or l2 parking spaces. City staff met with representatives from the church and explained that staff would not be recommending construction of the additional angled parking for the following reasons: . The properties are within the Conservation District or the Old Hastings Historic District. Neighborhood Design Guidelines note that the character of existing neighborhood streets should be maintained, with 32 ft. wide streets, sidewalks and boulevard trees. The addition of angled parking would effectively pave the entire 66 ft. wide right of way on Eddy Street south of the alley, converting the street into a parking lot. The angled parking would not fit in with the existing character of Eddy Street and would not meet the Conservation District's design guidelines. . Six mature trees would be removed from the boulevard on Eddy Street; two trees would be removed from the north side of 8th Street. . Snow removal would become an issue as the entire Eddy Street right of way is parking or sidewalk, leaving no place to push snow. Background In 1988, St. John's Lutheran Church purchased the historic Smith-Atwood house, whose property extended back to Eddy Street. St. John's Church initially proposed moving the house and utilizing the property for their office and church parking. The Historic Preservation Commission opposed moving the historic home. The HPC and St. John's Church reached a compromise under which the property would be subdivided, separating the Sibley St. frontage from the rest of the historic property. Under this proposal, the existing carriage house was converted to an office with a smaller parking lot and variances were recommended to allow fewer parking stalls than ordinances required. As part of the analyzing overall parking needs, the Engineering Department prepared the enclosed drawing illustrating the maximum number of parking stalls that could be created on street to address the additional parking needs generated by 2/28/2008 Mayor and City Councilmembers, Page 2 of 2 the office conversion and planned addition to the church. I have also enclosed 1988 correspondence and Planning Commission minutes on this issue for your information. The St. John's Church representatives asked how they could further pursue their angled parking request. 1 asked them to send me a letter explaining their request, noting that I would forward it to the Council along with other comments staff receives from the February 5th and 6th neighborhood meetings. I a}so mentioned that they have the opportunity to address the Council directly on this issue at the public hearing on the proposed 2008 North Vermillion Area Street Reconstruction Project, which will be held in March. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like more information about the parking request. Tl~owt.as M. Mowtr~ow~.er~ Public Works Director City of Hastings 1225 Progress Drive Hastings, MN 55033 651-480-6188 tmontgomery@ci. hastings. mn. us 2/28/2008 ice.. ~ t~"-. ~<~ ~'""v~'~ ~ y' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ p J -.Q ^ `'' ~ ,~ ~ V .~ = ~ ~ > u .n ~ ~ may. c ~ .~ ~ ~ y ~ u ~~~ ~ ~ `, ,~,' .7 ~ r7 ~ -~' ~ _. s~ .. } ~ '~- ~ tYi C. ~ '71~ Residential Guideline 12: Puhiic Landscape anti Sueetscape T)esi:#;n Guidelines C7ne important #utture of l-Ts>rtitings' historic districts and neilhborhoc>ets is the priginallayout nfgrid-plan stteeks, alleys, and sidecvalka and die regular division of blocks and Ints. The reKUlting nr•,t~vork of spaces is a part of the city's historic character. I'he maintenance Ind rc}pair of streets, sid~t+~~11ks, planting strips, retaining walls, and fcsncing re~uir~~: public engineering stan- ci<~rds that a:m sensitive to the sear acid appearance of historic areas. 1. The maintenana~ and. dasign of. existing or nets streets in or adjacrnf to historic districts should rupcct the original plan of intoratnnected streets, sidewalks, and alleys. 5tretts should not be tn~idened to accommodate thrauglt traffifand alloys should not be vacated. Cul-de-saf aatd dead-end scree#s should riot be created in existing grid-plan areas. Z. PrLSlr1~L' thC' IYGtture nlaigltboTltooci tote Canopy tYheI'eVII pC?SSlble, and xeplant tti~th regtilarly-spaced frees wheri netc.~ssary. Planting strips and sidewalks should be pru~served and maintained at nYa.~rirriutn twJid tlt. 3. R~taictittg t~ tills slutuld be compatible ~,=ith traditional tti:t.lls in Hastiag~, which were primarily limestone brick, and poured confreti:. ti~'ltiie split- #ace (rock-face) fonczc:te black is appropriate for the construcHUn of net+~ retaining; tvall~, block t~~itlt a round, striated, ctr polygonal profile should be avoided. (...Iron or stt~1. fencing should Have apprcapriately scatlcad and cietailc;d ma:;onry or steel piers. 5. SurfacL parking lots .shoulci be sfrtrned tvitlt Ia.ndstaping, lot~° masrxtry walls, or iron or steel feniting of appropriate de~;ign. A uz;r. jcyrre cctgr-Y L4: $rrmt~; 5trc31, 2llt)2. 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U . . a> i ° ~ ai -a .a c~ _~ °~ °' ,~ bA ° x ai ~ vi _ N on ~ ~ ~ N i +-~ ~ ° s ~-. ~ .~ ° ~ ~ O a~ ~ z. O O O ~ i~ ~ -p 3 L O N 3 .~ .~ x cd = U ~ ~ ,~.., "Q ~ Y •B ~ ~ U O C L ~ L N ~ L ~ •~ U c. y ~ L ~ F - o 3 ~ '~ ~ ~ ~ ~ L ~ •~ . -~ ~ ~ = 3 s •c N '~ ~ ~ ~ ~'~~, o U U "Q O -O ~ • L ~ i~-~ .-C ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ bA ~ • ^~ N .~ ~ U _ ~ ~ ~ L ~ ~ a ~ N ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ y ~~ O-C'~''' -' p ~'~ ~ N~ +-+ ~ N cn.~ i~. a a w .~ a. 3 a ~ -°v ° Ems- os ~ ~ ~ ° U N ~~3 +-+ N w > .~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ o ~ °O m °° VJ ~ O a ~~ ~ ~ z~ Wo O '-' rV•y' V ~y ~ O W •--~ •~_ f•-1 a~ A ~ ~ ~ az pQ o0 x~ ~° r1 N W z Ate' .O a O -O ''' z. ~ O O N ~ s.. O ~ ~ >, N ~-+ _ ~ ~' ~ -o ~ ~ ~ ° ~-~ ~ ~ cc 3 ~, ~ w ~ ~ o ~ ~ L ~ ~ ~ c a~ ,... ~ x.. • c Y ~ ~' s °? -a a ° -a s ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~ ~ °' o ~ a~ _ JJ ~ .-0 iJ ° ' N ~ ~ .~ O Ci O a-+ ~ 'a • ' S ~ •C~ G) fl. ~ N O O O O ~ ~ ~ ~1--. cd L ~ o > ~ o bA N O~~ c °' ~' -c 3 O i L ~ ~, ~ L ~ N ~ C N c~ ~ ~ L O .- ~ N c~ .s ~ p r... ate-. 'O .U i y f1 O .a ~ "a _ N +-. oo ~ ~ ~ ° ~ Q~~-+ .L ~ (r.. Y ° L L d--. S i-. ~ ~ ~ (~ Q c a ~ o i-~ o > > .~ ~~~ ~ 3 ~~° ~ ~ 3 0 ~ os E•~~ ~~•a :v_ ~ ~~ o ~ 3 an ~ ~ ~ ~ o V - ~ ~ L w ~ o ~ ~ ~ 3 n. -a ~ a C N J O N 0 0 0 • ~ Cd U C. L 'O ~ L ~+--. O N O N .~ N~ ~+-- ~ N - ~~ ~~ ~ L '~ J~~ ^~ ~• ^Q ~ Q~ ~ L ~ ~ ~ •~ ,~ y ~ ~ ~ ~: 3 av~ ~ a.~ ~U ~-a ~ ~~ 3m z O C7 z W W O x O 1~ M~~i z ~/] ~-+ a.> a~ ^O ill F-1 c~ .~ ~ti ..--~ S~r .~ 7O I~ O N U a~ . O S--i ~ . ~ -- ~ ' ~ o `~ W ~ ~ ~ a~ -a o 3 ~•' . ~ ~, ~ ~ ~ 'L ~ ~, ~, ~ C~ i. 4-. 'l O U Vl ~ C~ ~„ C ~ " ~ 4" ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 3~ ~ N Q" N L N C O Nom., N 3 ~ sU. rn 'x ¢ ~ N v~ O tti L 4•.'~ s.. ;L7 O Q. a . .Nd • , C~ N F- • N L y ~ j . ftj o ~ a ,., c c a~ ~ s N „ ~ ~ 3 ~.• ~ ~ ~ ._ o o~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ c ~ ~ ~ ~ 3 ~ - ~ ~ ' ~ ~~ .a o-o ~ ~:a~ 4- ~ ~ v O 'CI ~ 3 v ;~ L • U ~ s. 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O O o x ~ ~- ~ ~ 3 3 0 ~ y ~ ~ ~ ~ • ~ cn a~ °-' ~ v~ ~ ~o~ ° ~~ ~~w3~.c~U3 x~ ~ ~ o~~w ~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ L -a ~ • U - N _ D` - cn ~x ° v 3 fl ~ ~ o ~ ~ ~ ° ~' 3 o ~ w- 3 . ~ o o ~ ~ ~a L ¢'3 °v °?s o 3 o 3 ~ g L3 i ~ o a> a d 3 ~ U a.. , - ~ s ~ ~ ~ 0 r 0 p 3 L ~3 3 3 ~~ ~~ z~ ~' ~~ ~~ -' ti Z -- tY N E-- N -+~- To: Mayor Paul Hicks John Grossman, Historical Pre4servation Administrator Commissioner Bert Goderstad Engineering Supervisor Dave Chalmers City Engineer Tom Montgomery Date: 8 February, 2008 PLEASE DISREGARD MY LETTER DATED 7 February 2008 From: Joe Balsanek ~?- 224 7th Street West ""~ Hastings, MN 55033 651-438-5998 I attended the open house on the 7th Street improvements and would like to pass along what I discussed with the engineering staff: 1. My concerns revolve around the fact that the project is being done in a designated historic district. But the project as explained to me does not reflect that. 2. Great care should be taken so that the project will preserve, restore and enhance the area as a historic district. 3. Widening 7th Street takes away from the original character and proportion of the street to the buildings and foliage. 4. The perspective of the distance from the street curb to structures would be affected aesthetically. In other words, the overall harmony of the street size and the housing would be out of tune with the district's historic look. 5. From a practical standpoint, the street does not need to be widened. Traffic volume does not warrant it. The cost of the project can be reduced by not widening the street. 6. The width of the sidewalks should remain as it is (four feet} to maintain the historic character of the neighborhood. This would also save on the cost. of zlae project. 7. As of now, there is no accommodation for a historic treatment to street lights in the project. There should be. This fits in with the character of other historic areas of Hastings, namely the historic downtown district, Levee Park and Wilson Park. 8. There should be a historic marker placed on Vermillion Street designating this area as a historic district with information on the history of the neighborhood which was once known as "Silk Stocking Row." 9. The new sidewalks should be designed and constructed with a historic look similar to the sidewalk treatment in the downtown Hastings historic district. 10. The curbing on the project should have a design and construction that replicates the original curb of the period when the neighborhood was developed. 11. All fire hydrants should have a historic design. 12. All utilities on Spring Street should be underground to reflect the historic look of the area which had no electricity when it was developed. 13. Any retaining walls installed as part of the project should be made of material that reflects the period in which the neighborhood was originally developed. 14. I observed the phases of the last two street projects immediately to the north of this project, which were done over the last two years. a. On the Eddy Street project, the sod was not installed until December. b. On the Spring/Sth Street project the sod was not installed until the end of October. This tune frame is unacceptable. The project's bid specificatio~zs should call for the .sod to be installed immediately after the curbing has cured for safety and drair2age control. 15. I am raising a practical point relating to the city's ordinance on installed sprinkling systems. My property has an underground sprinkler system. I am maintaining that portion of the yard (known as the right-of-way) which belongs to the city. I water, seed, fertilize and cut that portion. The city should be responsible for returning the favor. I was told I would have to absorb the cost of removing and repairing the parts of the system affected by the project. I find that unacceptable and would like to see the ordinance changed so that homeowners are reimbursed for costs such as these. In closing, the homeowners in this historic district have taken great care to maintain the history and integrity and of their homes. In most cases the costs of rehabilitation, repair and restoration have required expenditures that were ten to 25 percent more than the cost of typical repairs on contemporary dwellings. These extra costs were due to requirements designated by local historic preservation ordinances. With all the above in mind, the city should adhere to its own strict standards. Therefore, I strongly recommend that the nature, integrity and aesthetics of the project be decided with the advice and consent of The Hastings Historic Preservation Commission due to the tremendous impact the project will have on this historic district. Sincerely,