[music] [music] >> Well, good evening and welcome to the August 6th meeting of the Minnetonka Planning Commission. The Commission generally meets twice a month, always on a Thursday. The schedule and tentative meeting agenda can be obtained by calling the planning division or by checking with the city website at minnetonkamn.gov. The Commission holds public hearings on land use applications. For all land use applications, the city notifies property owners within at least 400 ft of the site and post plans and information on minnetonkamn.gov. For some applicants, the city also places signs in the properties and places notices in the Sun Sailor. From a specific process standpoint, the Commission makes recommendations to the City Council on rezoning, subdivisions, conditional use permits, and addendums to the city's comprehensive guide plan, zoning ordinance, and subdivision regulations. We also make final decisions on site plans, sign requests, variance requests, and expansion permits, unless these requests are part of an application that must be heard by the City Council. In that case, the commission makes recommendations to the City Council, and the City Council makes the final decision. Anyone aggrieved by a final Planning Commission decision may appeal the decision to the City Council. If you wish to appeal, you must submit a written request to the city staff within 10 days of this meeting. From a broader standpoint, the city's comprehensive guide plan, the zoning ordinances, and subdivision regulations are the city's best efforts to codify a balance between the individual rights and community responsibilities. Individual rights are easy to understand. Community responsibilities are more subtle. But, the idea is that we, the members of the community, agree to limit our individual rights for the common good of the group. The Planning Division, the Planning Commission, the City Council are charged with the managing this sometimes difficult balancing act. We ask that you keep the the keep this broader perspective in mind as we review tonight's applications. Again, welcome. Staff, please take roll call. >> Johnson. >> Here. >> Shear. >> Here. >> Shoemaker. >> Here. >> Banks is absent. Brink. >> Here. >> Chair Minion. >> Here. Thank you. Next on the agenda is the approval um of the Next on the item on the agenda for approval is the agenda. Staff, is there any changes? >> No, we have no changes this evening, Chair Minion. >> May I have a motion to approve the agenda? >> Make a motion. >> Motion Schumaker Schumaker. Uh may I have a second? >> Second. >> Second Shear. All those in favor, please notify by saying I. Any of Oh. >> Just the voice vote. >> I. I. >> I. >> I. All right. Next is the approval of the minutes from July 23rd. Commissioners, are there any changes? >> No. >> All right. May I have approval May I have a motion to approve the minutes? >> I'll make the motion. >> Motion. Motion brings second and Johnson. All those in favor, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. >> Next report from staff. >> Uh chair and commissioners, a couple of items to report from the city council meeting last week. They considered three conditional use permits that you had all looked at. Those three oversized buildings. If you'll recall, there was a greenhouse on Highland Road. It in and of itself wasn't oversized, but there were multiple accessory structures there. A garage with a gambrel roof on Excelsior Boulevard. It was just a little bit too high and then a replacement garage on Orchard Road. Those were all approved per your recommendation with the conditions that you suggested. Your next meeting is August 20th. And then I just want to do another reminder on September 3rd, we will have our first your first kind of introduction to the draft zoning ordinance. As of right now, that's the only item on the agenda, but that's a good item to have. I also encourage you, if you have not already done so, to go to minnetonkamatters.com and visit the zoning ordinance update page and you can sign up to receive notifications when things get posted. There will be quite a few things posted. Um we're starting our public engagement uh processes really next um next week. So, you'll see things um popping up there, and we would encourage you to to follow along. And that's all I have, Chair. >> Thank you. Commissioners, are there any reports from commissioners? Mr. Mr. B Thank you, sir. >> I just like to real quickly thank uh the staff all the staff for the uh um planning and uh conducting of the wonderful tour that we got a week ago tonight. Uh we toured uh this was for the council members and commissioners of the various uh city commissions, and um yeah, we got a nice little bus tour of uh some various projects going on in a couple of our more prominent businesses. So, it was uh wonderful. Um it was well well done and um enlightening because we got to see a lot of what kind of goes on behind the scenes for some of these uh projects that happen. So, so thank you very much to staff. Anyone else? Chair. >> Thank you, Commissioner. >> sorry. >> Thank you, Chair. Um uh for the youth climate action fund, so as part of the sustainability, I I missed last um month's meeting due to being out sick. However, we do get updates about what's going on, and just so you know, there are targeted communications coming out for the youth climate action fund micro-grants that have started. So, if you know any young people who want to um do some studies or do some work about in the environment and how they can show what they're doing in their communities or something, the grants are out there. So, there's surveys out there, so you can look at that, but please please get the word out there. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> If I may just add to what Commissioner Sherer said, the city is quite we're quite tickled. We applied for this grant and by we I mean our sustainability coordinator, Ally Sutherland, whom some of you have met. She applied for this grant through Bloomberg philanthropy group and we were one of just two in Minnesota awarded the grant, Minneapolis the other. There's 300 communities worldwide that received this grant. So we're very excited about it. We hope that the youth will also be excited. So thank you Commissioner Sherer for bringing that up. >> It's wonderful news. Anyone else? Well, I too would like to say thank you for the city to the city for the tour. [clears throat] Also for we had our National Night Out in our neighborhood and it was good to see people like our award award one city council person Patsy Foster Bolton. We had visitors from the Minnetonka police and we had Janet from our natural resources out and it's nice to see that the city won their award for excellence. I have to say it's really nice to be able to um live in a city where we have such dedicated people whether it's our elected officials or our full-time employees who are willing to work long hours, nights, and weekends. The people in this room and are supporting us in this in this effort right now, but also in all those things that go around the city and it's easy to see how we're able to get that recognition of excellence and and thank you very much. All right. Well, tonight we have a consent agenda item. And the next on the agenda say staff places items that are considered routine on the consent agenda. No staff or applicant presentations will be made. The commission will hold one public hearing and approve all items in the consent agenda with one motion subject to staff recommended recommended conditions of approval. Before voting the on the consent agenda, I will open a public hearing, announce each item and ask if anyone wishes to have a separate discussion or vote on them. If so, the commission will then remove that item from the consent agenda and hold a separate hearing on it after voting. And the remaining consent agenda items, I will allow informational Sorry. Vote on after remain on the remaining consent agenda items. I may also allow informational questions without removing the item for a consent agenda. I'll open the public hearing. The first item is a is number 7A, conditional use permit for accessory dwelling structure more than 12 feet high at 13511 Minnetonka Boulevard. Do any commissioners wish to remove this item? No. Any members of the audience? Staff, is anybody for >> Hold on. >> No, we have no callers this evening. >> you. Um as no one wishes to speak, I will close the public hearing. Commissioners, whoop, commissioners, may I have a motion to approve the items on the consent agenda? Sure, Commissioner Sheriff. >> I motion to approve the conditional use permit for an accessory structure more than 12 feet in height at 13511 Minnetonka Drive. >> May I have a second? I'll second. Commissioner Commissioner Banks Brinks. All right, staff please pull the commission. >> Johnson. >> Yes. >> Sure. >> Yes. >> Shoemaker. >> Yes. >> Banks. Is absent. I apologize. Brink. >> Yes. >> Chair Minion. >> Yes. >> All right, motion carries. This is a recommendation to the city council to adopt the resolution approving the request and the required four votes. So, we made it. Good job. Um >> If I If I may, I just want to apologize for staff here. We're having some technical difficulties with our um PowerPoint. So, if you see us looking uh frantic or frenetic, that is >> [laughter] >> That is why, not because of what's going on um with the group here or here. >> So, these items uh So, this item is recommendation to the city council and the cons council will consider the items on >> Uh these will be going to the city council on August the 31st. >> August 31st, thank you. All right. Uh before we begin consideration of non-consent agenda items, I'd like to review the steps in the process and the public hearing procedure that will be followed for each proposal. First, the item will be announced and the staff will report on the subject. Commissioners will then ask questions. Next, the applicant will be invited to make a presentation and offer comments. Commissioners may ask additional comments at this at this time. After the application After the applicant has finished, the public hearing will be opened and given anyone present the opportunity to to comment on the proposal. If you wish to speak, please come to the podium, state your name and address of record. We ask that you keep your comments brief and try not to repeat points already made. Once everyone has spoken, we may allow speakers to return for additional comments at larger meetings. Neighborhood spokespeople are encouraged and given up to 15 minutes to present. The first item on this agenda is 8A, preliminary and final plats of Oakland Woods second edition, a two-lot subdivision at 2213 Oakland Road. All right. Staff, do you have a presentation for us? >> Yes, thank you, chair. This area may look familiar as Oakland Road has had several recent subdivisions. One of them, the Planning Commission reviewed in December 2025, which was Oakland Woods Estates, shown in red on this map. >> [clears throat] >> It was approved by the City Council in January of this year. Tonight's proposal is Oakland Woods second edition, so immediately to the south. So, I reference these both cuz both were approved, excuse me, applied for by the same applicant, Zander Homes. For clarity, I'll refer to this previously approved edition as the first edition, just to differentiate. The first edition was approved and met subdivision ordinance standards and did not require any variances. Both homes in that development are under construction. For the subject property, it is 1.93 acres in size and is a improved with a two-story single-family home with an attached two-stall garage. There's a pool on the property and a detached two-stall garage. There are two wetlands on the property as well as an associated 100-year flood plain covering both. The property currently has no storm water facilities. And while there is an area of steeper slope, uh it does not meet our city code definition of a steep slope. Again, Sender Homes is requesting a preliminary and final plat for the approval of Oakland Woods Estates second addition, which is a two-lot subdivision. Similarly to the first edition, the proposal would require demolition of all existing structures, creation of two lots from the existing one. Each lot would have a separate driveway access off of Oakland Road. And generally, the project will meet the subdivision ordinance and has no variances required. In this table, you'll see those subdivision ordinance standards. Required uh is listed basically the city code requirements. Lot one is a northerly lot. Lot two is a southerly lot. And you'll see that it meets this the half-acre minimum size. Has over 3,500 square feet for buildable area. It meets our width requirements at the right-of-way and at the setback. And then each lot will meet the depth of at least 125 feet. Additionally, with those subdivision standards, we do look for other applicable uh ordinances, excuse me. And for this case, it would be the wetland, flood plain, and tree protection ordinances. For flood plain and wetland, we're generally looking to see that the setbacks are met, and that includes the buffer. There's no encroachments or any kind of uh uh damage or uh effects to the flood plain and wetland. Grading is generally going to be the around the two building pads, around the storm water facilities, and the driveways. And the site contains 53 protected trees. Of those, our threshold removal allows 35% of high-priority trees to be removed and 50% of significant. As proposed, the removals would be right at that threshold. So, that's 13 high-priority trees and seven significant trees. At this time, the staff hasn't received any public comments on this project. Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend that the City Council adopt the resolution approving the preliminary and final plat for Oakland Woods Estate Second Edition at 2213 Oakland Road. The applicant and property owners are in the the audience as well as I stand for any questions. Thank you. >> Thank you. Commissioners, any questions? No questions. All right. At this time, we invite the applicant to come and make a presentation. >> Good evening. Eric Zander is Zander Homes, 10300 10th Avenue North in Plymouth. Um I don't have a lot to add. Staff did a great job as usual presenting it and seeing you have no questions, we'll keep this simple, I guess. So, if you have any questions for me, I'm happy to answer them, but it's pretty straightforward, but good. >> Nope. No. No questions. Questions for Miller. Maybe can you just talk about the the the differential on the the two plots, where they are, you know, and the width How do you address that? I think it's not It doesn't meet a certain condition, I believe, is what you described, but does look like there's a fair bit of differential there. >> Between the like that the basically like the elevations of the both lots. I mean, we're just trying to match the contours. Um I am certainly not an engineer and so I just kind of rely on my engineers to tell tell me what makes sense and that's how they designed it. So, yeah, I mean, short of that I don't have a lot of other information. >> I was trying to understand what the retaining wall, I assume that part is not there with >> The pool retaining wall? Yeah, that's going away and we are bringing the north lot lot one down a little bit. I think it's roughly two feet. I think. >> So it slopes differently. >> Yeah, it will just bring the top down a little bit so that way you know, we can meet the kind of the walkout elevation at the back. So, and bring the try to bring the driveway grade down a little bit, too. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Anything >> All right, I've got a question for you. Will you just kind of lay out for us a little bit how you see the water flow, how you going to protect the properties from eroding with the different elevations and kind of what your intents are in doing that? Just a kind of a high-level >> Yeah, sure. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they'll both be they will still have ground cover on both of them which will be sod. So, you know, the the rain garden and storm water mitigation on site is designed to take that runoff and and obviously filtrate and and draw down the the storm water and you know, the grades won't be significantly different than you know, any other lookout or walkout you know, lot in Minnetonka or any other you know, suburb or city for that matter and so yeah, they'll have ground cover so erosion shouldn't be shouldn't be an issue. >> All right, thank you. Let me call you back up, but thank you. Um, Oh. Commissioners Brink. Um, just a quick question. Uh, presuming this all, you know, sails through the approval process here, how soon do you anticipate starting construction? >> Uh, that's a great question. I mean, I think you know, obviously it's a little bit based on market conditions and we're a custom home builder. We generally do pre-sold homes. We have done a few more spec homes and models lately. So, it just kind of depends on you know, our how the fall kind of goes sales for the in the summer and fall. I would anticipate probably more of like a spring build on as the first one. But, we do have plans kind of designed for the the south lot as more of like a villa style product um that we'll start marketing relatively soon here and you know, if obviously if someone comes along wants to start on it, we'll start on it when they're when they're ready. But, I think we'll probably do the we'll probably apply for the site development permit still right away and and demo and do trees. But, uh um otherwise, we will just wait for builds until probably probably next year I'm guessing. Yeah. But, it won't be won't be years by any by any means. So, yeah. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, thank you. >> Commissioners, any other questions? No questions. All right. Uh I will now open the public hearing. If you'd like to speak, please come to the podium, state your name and your address for record. Staff, is there anybody online? All right, seeing nobody wants to rush up, I will close the public hearing. Um All right. Bring it back to the commission for comments. Commissioners, any comments? Mr. Commissioner Brink? >> No, it it looks like a good project. It's very straightforward. There aren't any variances being sought after that it's meeting all the all the code and regulatory requirements. No infringements into the wetlands or the the flood plain. Um and it meets the requirements for the trees too. So, I don't see any problems with this. Looks like a a good plan. >> Commissioner, does anybody else comment? Commissioner Sherer. >> Thank you, Chair. I have um one question. So, it's back homes. Does that mean the footprint would change on the house? >> Could the >> Could the footprint change on the house requiring a possible variance in the future or >> Well, um thank you for the question. We certainly won't be applying for any variances. That's kind of my always my strategy, especially in Minnetonka. Variances as as you guys know are are very difficult in Minnetonka as they are in most cities. Um but Yeah, we won't Yeah, we will not be applying for any variances. >> in the parameters kind of >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yes, back home just means So, like the footprints of these are example homes. So, the footprints certainly might change from these homes. We we're required to once we go in for building permit, you know, make sure that everything, you know, complies, storm water, all that sort of stuff again. So, these are examples that we have to show that we can build the house, you know, and certain size, but it certainly probably won't be those two plans. So, the footprint might change, but we won't require variances. No intention of that. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Any other questions or comments? Oh. Miss Miss T. >> Uh yeah, Chair Meeting I thought maybe I would just take a a moment since we have some newer commissioners to talk a little bit more about what Mr. Sender said. And that is when the Planning Commission and City Council approve a project that meets all of our minimum standards. Um we approve that with some conditions that basically say that the grading on this plan has to be substantially compliant with the grading that you're seeing here. The the overall impact to the site has to be compliant with this, but the specific home designs are things that um can move or change, but within that impact zone. So, just thought since we don't have anything on else on the agenda, I would give that information. >> Thank you. Anyone else any comments? Commissioner Schumacher >> for a motion? >> I think we are. I'm kind of doing a last survey. It looks like it. All right, would somebody like to make a motion? Commissioner Johnson, go ahead. >> I make a motion that we recommend the City Council approve the preliminary and final plat of Oakland Woods Second Edition to lot subdivision at 2213 Oakland Road subject to the conditions set forth in exhibit B of the resolution. >> Thank you. May I have a second? >> I second. >> Commissioner Schumacher. All right. Staff, please Well, let me say it. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Schumacher. Staff, please poll the commission. >> Johnson >> Yes. >> Shear >> Yes. >> Schumacher >> Yes. >> Thanks. Gone. Gone. Brink >> Yes. >> And Cherminion >> Yes. >> All right. Sounds as though the motion carries. Uh this is a final No, it is not. This is a recommendation recommendation to the City Council for resolution approving the request of that is for 8A. All right. Um other business. Is there any other business? >> There is no other business. >> All right. It brings us to item number 10. May we have an motion for adjournment? >> Motion to adjourn. >> Commissioner Shear, a second? >> I second. >> Second Commissioner Johnson. All in favor? >> I >> I >> I >> Great job, buddy. >> That may have been the record for this year. >> Woo!