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Home My WebLink AboutJanuary 4, 2005 CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 590 40th Avenue N.E.. Columbia Heights. MN 55421-3878 (763) 706-3600 TDD (763) 706-3692 Visit Our Website at: www.ci.columbia-heights.mn.us PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING 7:00 PM TUESDAY, JANUARY 4,2005 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 590 40TH AVENUE NE 1. Roll Call 2. Minutes from the Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting of December 7, 2004 3. Public Hearings: NONE 4. New Business: o Duplexes in the R-2 Zoning District o Planning Commission Training 5. Miscellaneous: Chair and Vice-Chair positions 6. Adjourn MEMBERS: Gary Peterson. Chair Donna Schmitt Phillip Baker Madaine Szurek Rob Fiorendino W:\Home\ConunDev\ellenb\timi\P&Z Comm\2004 P & Z Comm\P&ZDecember2004Agenda.doc THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DoE'S NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 7, 2004 7:00 PM The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm. Roll Call: Present: Absent: Baker, Schmitt, and Szurek. Peterson and Fiorendino Also present were Pat Smith (City Planner) and Tami Ericson (Council Liaison). Planner Smith was named Secretary Pro-tern for the meeting. The minutes from the meeting of November 3,2004 were approved as written. All ayes. PUBLIC HEARINGS None NEW BUSINESS Commission members informally discussed some of the issues they would like to address as an advisory board to the Council. The following items were listed: · Szurek would like to discuss monitoring programs for dilapidated single-family homes. She would like guidance on what the Planning Commission can do about the issue. Szurek referenced an article in the Star Tribune about the City of St. Paul being more aggressive with single-family homes that do not meet their maintenance code. · The Commission also expressed concern about single-family homes turning into rental homes. · Szurek used the townhom~s on 41st and Central as an example of new townhomes becoming dilapidated in a short period. · The Commission asked if there were ways of reducing rental housing? · The Commission agreed tl? have training sessions after the regularly scheduled Planning Commission meetings. They would be available to meet until 9:30 pm on Planning Commission nights. · Schmitt mentioned she would like to discuss the City Council/Planning Commission/staff relationship. · The Commission would like to have a joint meeting with a Planning Commission from a similar city like Fridley, St. Anthony or Richfield. The meeting was adjourned about 8:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, Pat Smith Mayor: Julienne Wyckoff Councilmembers: Bobby Williams Tamrnera Ericson Bruce Kelzenberg Bruce Nawrocki City Manager: Walter R. Fehst COLUMBIA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DATE: January 4,2005 TO: Columbia Heights Planning Commission FROM: Patrick Smith, City Planner RE: Duplexes INTRODUCTION Due to recent events related to the construction of new duplexes in neighborhoods primarily comprised of single-family homes, the City Council directed staff to review the zoning regulations governing duplexes. Specifically, the City Council and Planning Commission have expressed concerns over the following items: 1. Duplexes located in predominately single-family neighborhoods. 2. The scale or size of duplexes being constructed compared to the character of the surrounding neighborhood. 3. The design of the new duplexes being constructed. 4. The number of duplexes being rented. 5. Utility fees being charged to duplexes. This memorandum addresses the first three concerns. The other issues will be addressed in the near future by the Fire and Finance Departments. BACKGROUND Based on rental licenses, Columbia Heights has 354 duplexes. Of these: . 59% (209) are located on non-conforming lots, . 18% (63) have been converted from a single-family home into a duplex. . Of the 291 originally-built duplexes, 170 are located on nonconforming lots; whereas, 39 of the 63 converted single-family homes are located on nonconforming lots. . 4,016 lots in the City are zoned R-2. 946 of these are larger than 8,400 square feet, the minimum lot size for a duplex. . 53 originally built duplexes are not on the rental license list. Of these, 36 are located on non- conforming lots. The attached Land Use Map shows the location of the duplexes in the City. Staff also compared Columbia Heights to 12 similarly developed cities. Columbia Heights has the highest percentage of dwelling units that are duplexes, 6.7%. The average percentage of duplex units is 2.3%. Columbia Heights has the second smallest minimum lot size for duplexes at 8,400 square feet. The average required lot size for a duplex in a R-2 zoning district is 12,130 square feet. South St. Paul has made it a policy that duplexes that have let their rental license expire and do not meet the minimum lot size must be converted to a single-family residence. City # of Total # of %of Minimum Lot Size for Duplexes Housinl! Units Duolexes Duolexes (square feet) Columbia Heights 8151 547 6.7% 8,400 South St. Paul 8314 489 5.8% 9,000 square feet, or 7,500 square feet for lots platted prior to 1967. Hastings 6749 272 4.0% 12,400 Hopkins 8404 334 3.9% 12,000 Anoka 7398 270 3.6% 10,500 West St. Paul 8779 242 2.7% 15,000 White Bear Lake 9855 160 1.6% 10,000 Crystal 9493 139 1.4% 15,000 Richfield 15357 185 1.2% 9,000, must be located on an arterial or collector street New Brighton 9155 105 1.1% 12,500 New Hone 8744 82 0.9% 12,000 Brooklyn Center 11599 97 0.8% 12,400 Shore view 10289 64 0.6% 12,000 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN There are two pertinent housing goals stated in the City's Comprehensive Plan regarding duplexes and single- family neighborhoods. First, the City will "provide a variety of life-cycle housing opportunities within the community." Second, the City will "promote and preserve the single-family housing stock as the community's strongest asset." An implementation strategy for the second goal is that the city will identify non-conforming uses within residential districts and take actions to bring them into compliance. NON-CONFORMING USES Non-conforming uses may continue indefinitely unless the nonconformity or occupancy is discontinued for a period of more than one year; or the nonconforming use is destroyed by fire or other peril to the extent of greater than 50% of its market value, and no building permit has been applied for within 180 days of when the property is damaged. In addition, current regulations do not allow non-conforming uses, including duplexes, to be expanded. RECOMMENDA nON Rezone originally constructed duplexes R-2B and the rest of R-2 as R-2A. Duplexes should be permitted in both R-2B and R-2A as conditional uses. Minimum lot size for R-2A should be 12,000 square feet. Minimum lot size for R-2B should be 5,100 square feet for lots existing on January 1, 2005, or 12,000 square feet for lots established after January 1,2005. The following table indicates the number of non-conforming duplexes that would result from this recommendation. All originally-constructed duplexes would become conforming, while the number of non- conforming single-family residences that have been converted to duplexes would increase from 39 to 54. Converted Duplexes Current Zonin - 8,400 sf 39 are non-conforming 24 are conformin 170 are non-conforming 121 are conformin 946 lots Pro osed Ordinance - 12,000 sf 54 would be non-conforming 9 would be conformin All conforming Originally -co nstru cted Du lexes Number of Properties that meet Minimum Lot Size 234 lots The attached R-2 Zoning map shows the 234 properties that are zoned R-2 and are greater than 12,000 square feet. The scale and design of duplexes may be controlled by permitting new duplexes as conditional uses and requiring the following conditions: Section 9.408 of the Zoning Ordinance requires all conditional use permits meet 9 requirements. The pertinent conditions for duplexes include: o The use will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that is compatible with the appearance of the existing or intended character of the surrounding area. o The use will not cause a negative cumulative effect, when considered in conjunction with the cumulative effect of other uses in the immediate vicinity. o The use will not impose hazards or disturbing influences on neighboring properties. Possible additional conditions for a new duplex include: 1. Street-facing garage doors must be recessed behind either the front fayade of the living area portion of the dwelling or a covered porch (measuring at least six feet by eight feet) by at least five feet. 2. Iflocated on a comer lot, each unit of the duplex shall have its address and entrance oriented to a separate street frontage. 3. Vehicle access to a lot must be from an alley if the lot abuts an alley. 4. The length of the garage wall facing the street may be up to 50% of the length of the street-facing building fayade. :z p..., LU ~ < enO ~~ 0 ~ LULU Z ~: '" - ~ u->- ~'::: E-< rn ~z rJJ ~ o:::::t ,...... ......, u~ >< o ~ Cl u CD z \J ~ ~ 'if.'$.';f.';f.,#'$.';f't.'#.~'#."#- '$.;f. ~ f-i ~~;;;~~~~C'!~~r; ~ ~~ i5 "8 ONlI')Cr""'t~f"")CIOO('l ~ N~ ~ ~ ri :~~~~~~f::g;g~;S ~~ ~ r--. Ei -i~t;::!~~~~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ I-l <<: - 0_, - '" N.S _ ~ lJ ::l Z '13.. ~ ~ ~.., 00 u ~ ~~ i ~ ~ ~ r'" "' e ~ ~ S-il b i ~ \,J ~~~lil ~i 1 ~ ~,51 f-< 11 ~ .. ~11~'i~"'~'U g 'lS~ ':; ..,;t " ::l '"'0 u,;.o ::l.~ -!il, ~~ .:!l ~ 0 011,51 ~>.. 01,<:1 ,,'." ._._ ~ l'l ...;l ..... f-< UU..U>f-< c..u.. "" .. uu ;;>_51 ] DEITIIIJ D ] DO 0 1 ~ ~ ~ j ~ q \ 'R :is I": ~ W ~ ~ a ,8 ~c~ -- ~ ~ :i!!~ .~ ;;. Q..- e ~ ~-~ ~ a ':;f).~ .. 8 -a -~ is ~'aE~Gri ~ !s -'=' E --...; Ii Jl<J8lQ. ~ e;, L+ (9 City of Columbia Heights R2 Zoned Parcels D [] ~ 6 EJ ill W l? N D 0 C;:::) G 8 0 8 ~ () 0 Do B 0 [[] '\]0 DO 0 8 0 D ~ G D cPo 0 O::::l D o D~ DelD 0 0 B mO o 0 OD oLbD 0 0 ~cW ~tL 0 rn 0 0 EtP 0 000 0 b cP D o 0 D ~ o 0 0 07 (l=D DO f&mD i V v ~ DI ~ 0 <> c::J [7<> <$> ~B 8 0 Q dIDI!ID 0 " a1J:: cP. · L~ R2> 12,000 sq ft (264 parcels) R2 other date: 1217/04 author: GIS Rangers source: Paroels.shp Total R2 parcels = 4016 CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 590 40th Avenue N.E.. Columbia Heights. MN 55421-3878 (763) 706-3600 TOO (763) 706-3692 Visit Our Website at: IVww.ci.columbia-heights.mn.us Mayor; Julienne Wyckoff Councilmembers: Bobby Williams Tammera Ericson Bruce Kelzenberg Bruce Nawrocki City Manager: Walter R. Fehst COLUMBIA HEIGHTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DATE: January 4, 2005 TO: Columbia Heights Planning Commission FROM: Patrick Smith, City Planner RE: 2005 Training Schedule At the December Planning Commission meeting, the Commission agreed that having training session after the regularly schedule meetings would work best. We will try to limit the meetings until 9:30 pm on Planning Commission nights for training. Below is a tentative schedule of the training items and dates for 2005. Actual dates will depend upon time availability at the regular Planning Commission meetings. · February - 1) Planning Commission's Roles and Responsibilities 2) Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance . March - 1) Making a Comprehensive Plan 2) Ethics . April - I) Zoning Ordinance 2) Conditional Use Permits 3) Rezonings . May - 1) Zoning Ordinance - continued 2) Variances 3) Non-conforming uses, structures and lots 4) Bulk regulations . June - 1) Subdivision Ordinance THE CiTY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DOES NOT DISCRIMINA TE ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER