This transcript features the **Lake Elmo Planning Commission** meeting from January 27, 2025. Based on the context provided and the dialogue, I have identified the speakers, including the Commissioners, City Staff (specifically "Sophia," the lead planner for this meeting), the applicants, and members of the public. *** **[00:00:00] Chair:** Call to order the January 27th, 2025 meeting of the Lake Elmo Planning Commission at 6:30. First order of business is please rise and we'll say the Pledge of Allegiance. **[00:00:15] All:** I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. **[00:00:30] Chair:** All right, next order of business is to approve the agenda from tonight. Do I have a motion? **[00:00:40] Commissioner Dunn:** I'll make a motion to approve the agenda for January 27th. **[00:00:43] Commissioner Chariz:** I'll second that. **[00:00:45] Chair:** Motion by Commissioner Dunn, seconded by Commissioner Chariz. All in favor say aye. **[00:00:48] All Commissioners:** Aye. **[00:00:50] Chair:** All opposed? Motion passes, the agenda is approved for tonight. Next item is to approve the minutes for January 13th, 2025. Do I have a motion? **[00:00:55] Commissioner Chariz:** Motion to make an amendment. And the amendment would be I need to correct the spelling of my last name to C-H-A-R-S on the end. It's indicated three times on the minutes where it needs to be corrected. **[00:01:05] Chair:** Thank you. Anything else? **[00:01:08] Commissioner Dunn:** I'll move the motion as amended to add the "s" to the end of your name for the minutes of January 13th, 2025. **[00:01:13] Commissioner Chariz:** I'll second that. **[00:01:15] Chair:** All in favor say aye. **[00:01:17] All Commissioners:** Aye. **[00:01:20] Chair:** All opposed? Motion with an amendment passes. Very good. Next item on the agenda is the public hearing for the Chavez property variances, and we'll get briefed by staff. **[00:01:30] Sophia (Staff):** Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Chavez variances are before you tonight. This item was tabled at your last Planning Commission meeting. The applicant for tonight's application is Joe and Joan Chavez. You'll also notice a signature line on the application for GWSA Land Development; they are currently the owners of Outlot B. The property is currently an unaddressed parcel mostly within Sunfish Lake. The property is 11.2 acres; roughly 1.37 acres is over the ordinary high water level mark. [Sophia continues to detail the seven specific variance requests regarding setbacks, bluffs, and grading]. Staff finds that only one of four of the required criteria are met. The City Engineer, Landscape Architect, and the DNR all recommend denial. Staff recommends denial. I can stand for any questions, and we do have the applicant here to speak. **[00:05:40] Chair:** Any questions for staff before we hear from the applicant? **[00:05:45] Commissioner Bing:** How long before the sewer and the water will be brought in there? Do we have any idea? **[00:05:50] Sophia (Staff):** The second edition has not yet received City Council approval. I’d say ideally this year at some point. **[00:06:05] Commissioner Bing:** And it looks like that Outlot B will become a part of that other property? **[00:06:10] Sophia (Staff):** I believe the applicants can speak to it, but I believe it'll be deeded to them. **[00:06:15] Chair:** Let’s hear from the applicant. **[00:06:20] Joe Chavez (Applicant):** My name is Joe Chavez. My wife and I own the parcel. I submitted a very detailed response to the issues the city planner submitted. We are not changing the essential character of the locality because there are homes in the Hamlet and Northstar Legacy that are considerably larger than what we're proposing. We are only looking for a 25-foot variance. This parcel has been a lot of record since 1980. **[00:07:30] Chair:** What work have you guys done trying to redesign what you've got so far? **[00:07:35] Joe Chavez (Applicant):** We have done nothing to redesign the original parcel. The footprint is in the most logical place. This is all theoretical because the main purpose is to demonstrate for marketing purposes that this is a buildable lot. **[00:08:20] Commissioner Bing:** Is it possible to push that back further to the East and make it a smaller footprint? **[00:08:30] Joe Chavez (Applicant):** Based on the surveyor, he's placed it in the most logical place. Our footprint is small compared to what surrounds us. **[00:10:30] Chair:** Staff question—variances are issued to the property, not the plan, correct? Because my concern is this is a proposal but it's still very fluid. **[00:10:40] Sophia (Staff):** Six of our variances are transferable between owners. If the plan changes, the variance might need to be modified. **[00:11:00] Joe Chavez (Applicant):** We clearly understand this is only in effect for a 12-month period. We suspect within that period, they will have that infrastructure in place. **[00:11:30] Commissioner Bing:** I'd be curious, what are those 28 trees that you think you need to take out? **[00:11:35] Joe Chavez (Applicant):** There's probably some oak trees there and ash trees. You wouldn't even see the house from the water because of the wooded area below it. We've owned the property since 1993 and it's been landlocked. We finally have an access point. **[00:12:45] Chair:** Should we open the public hearing? I need a motion. **[00:12:50] Commissioner Dunn:** I move to open the public hearing. **[00:12:53] Commissioner Chariz:** I'll second. **[00:12:55] Chair:** All in favor? Aye. Motion passed. We will open the public hearing at 6:57. **[00:13:05] Bill Frederick (Public):** Bill Frederick, 3691 Kelvin Avenue North. I'm a neighbor of Joanie and Joe. We are on the west side of the lake and we had the same issue in 1993 and we were approved for a variance. I just wanted to share that this has been approved for others in the past. **[00:13:55] Chair:** We'll close the public hearing. Motion? **[00:14:00] Commissioner Dunn:** I'll make a motion to close the public hearing. **[00:14:02] Commissioner Chariz:** I'll second that. **[00:14:05] Chair:** Public hearing is closed. Any other questions for staff? **[00:14:15] Commissioner Dunn:** I know Bill just said he had a variance from 1993, but these ordinances were different then. The DNR letter really stood out to me. Their recommendation for denial was very strong. **[00:15:00] Commissioner Bing:** I move to recommend denial of all of the seven Shoreland variance requests from Joe and Joan Chavez based on the findings listed in the staff report. **[00:15:15] Commissioner Dunn:** I'll second. **[00:15:20] Commissioner Bing:** I am concerned that by continually making variances, it's just going to keep going. The DNR is a professional body and their concern for water quality is a red flag. **[00:15:45] Commissioner Dunn:** The DNR words "arbitrary and capricious" hit me. **[00:16:15] Chair:** I feel like there's seven things being asked for here. I get that the homeowner has rights, but there wasn't much attempt to come back and say "what if we did something different?" It feels premature. **[00:16:45] Commissioner Bing:** A 2400-square-foot foundation is a big property. If you finish all three levels, that's a giant house. I would have liked to see a smaller footprint set back further. **[00:17:35] Joe Chavez (Applicant):** Size is not a guidance in terms of what someone can build unless you point to a regulation. This is the only logical place the house can go. **[00:18:15] Chair:** The motion is to recommend denial. All in favor say aye. **[00:18:25] All Commissioners:** Aye. **[00:18:30] Chair:** All opposed? Motion to recommend denial has been passed. This goes to City Council on February 4th. Moving on to item 4B, the Zoning Text Amendment. **[00:18:50] Sophia (Staff):** Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a housekeeping amendment bundle from 2024. There are seven sections. [Sophia details changes to definitions for Bed and Breakfasts, Open Space, truck parking, accessory structures, and lot line adjustments]. Specifically, for Bed and Breakfasts, we are proposing to add "short-term rental" and remove the "owner-occupied" requirement to follow current practices. **[00:22:15] Commissioner Chariz:** I have a question on the off-street parking. You moved the trucks up and took pickups off? **[00:22:25] Sophia (Staff):** We made a divide at Class 4 to account for pickups or cars that contractors might drive home, while excluding semi-trucks or large UPS box trucks in residential areas. **[00:22:50] Chair:** Motion to open the public hearing? **[00:22:55] Commissioner Dunn:** I move to open the public hearing. **[00:22:57] Commissioner Bing:** Second. **[00:23:00] Chair:** Open the public hearing at 7:19. **[00:23:10] Mel Eer (Public):** Mel Eer, 48 Keats Avenue North. I think we need to look at a different way of getting information out than the Stillwater Gazette. Also, "housekeeping" is too vague for an agenda item. Regarding Bed and Breakfasts vs. Short-Term Rentals, those are two different things with different state requirements. We shouldn't be allowing short-term rentals in every residential area without strict rules. **[00:26:10] Commissioner Chariz:** I have an email from Joan Zortman. [Reads email regarding the dangers of converting single-family homes into non-owner occupied commercial short-term rentals and the need for licensing]. **[00:28:10] Chair:** I have one from Joyce Kelch as well. [Reads email stating B&Bs should be homesteaded and agricultural buildings should be 40 feet from houses]. **[00:28:50] Chair:** Motion to close the public hearing. **[00:28:55] Commissioner Dunn:** Motion to close the public hearing. **[00:28:57] Commissioner Chariz:** I'll second. **[00:29:00] Chair:** All in favor? Aye. Public hearing is closed. **[00:29:15] Commissioner Bing:** I move to recommend approval of the proposed text amendments as presented by staff. **[00:29:20] Commissioner Chariz:** I'll second that. **[00:29:30] Commissioner Chariz:** I have concerns about the Bed and Breakfast/Short-Term Rental language. Removing "owner-occupied" is not in the best interest of residents. It allows investors to eat up housing stock. I recommend non-homestead housing should not be allowed as short-term rentals without further review and licensing. **[00:32:15] Chair:** I agree. We’ve got to pull that out and define it separately. **[00:33:10] Sophia (Staff):** Since this is housekeeping, if this is becoming a policy discussion, the amendment could just keep the B&B language as-is and we can bring short-term rentals back as its own agenda item later. **[00:33:40] Chair:** Let's vote on the existing motion first. All in favor? [Silence]. All opposed? **[00:33:50] All Commissioners:** Nay. **[00:34:00] Commissioner Chariz:** I move to recommend approval of the proposed text amendments as presented by staff, with the change of leaving the Bed and Breakfast section as originally worded with no changes. **[00:34:15] Commissioner Dunn:** I'll second. **[00:34:25] Chair:** All in favor? Aye. **[00:34:28] All Commissioners:** Aye. **[00:34:30] Chair:** Motion passes. Communications updates? **[00:34:40] Sophia (Staff):** No new City Council updates. Upcoming meetings are February 10th and March 24th, with a joint workshop on February 11th. **[00:34:55] Commissioner Dunn:** The Met Council is delivering their state of the region address this Thursday. Just be aware of the "Imagine 2050" plan. **[00:35:15] Chair:** Agenda is complete. Motion to adjourn? **[00:35:20] Commissioner Dunn:** Motion to adjourn the meeting. **[00:35:25] Chair:** We are adjourning the meeting at 7:41.