This transcript features the **Apple Valley Planning Commission** meeting from February 7, 2024. Based on the context provided and the dialogue, I have identified the speakers, including city staff, commissioners, and petitioners. [1:05] **Chair:** Good evening. This is the Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting for Wednesday, February 7th, 2024. First item is approval of the agenda. Is there any changes by staff? [1:17] **Tim Benetti:** Mr. Chair, we do not have any changes for you at this time. [1:20] **Chair:** Okay. Is there any changes by Commissioners? [1:24] **Commissioner Schindler:** Move approval. [1:26] **Commissioner Melander:** Second. [1:28] **Chair:** Was motion by Schindler, seconded by Melander. The next item in the business—the approval of consent agenda. Consent agenda items are—excuse me, I need to back up. We didn't vote approval of the agenda. Indicate by saying aye if you agree. [1:58] **Commissioners:** Aye. [2:03] **Chair:** That moves forward. Approval of the consent general items. Consent items are considered routine and will be enacted with a single motion without discussion unless a commissioner or citizen requests an item separately considered. It will then be moved to the land use action items for consideration. Can I get a motion? [2:25] **Commissioner Schindler:** Move approval of the consent agenda. [2:28] **Commissioner Melander:** Second. [2:30] **Chair:** Motion by Schindler, seconded by Melander. All in favor indicate by saying aye. [2:36] **Commissioners:** Aye. [2:48] **Chair:** That moves forward. The next item of business is public hearing. We have one tonight. I will open the public hearing for agenda item 4A. The Affidavit of Publication for the notice of public hearing is available for inspection in the planning department. Anyone wishing to speak at this public hearing should be sure to fill out the attendance roster with her name and address so that accurate records can be maintained. We will begin the procedure with a brief presentation by City staff followed by a presentation by the petitioner of the hearing. Upon the conclusion of the presentation, City staff will be asked to comment on the proposal's conformance in pertinent regulations and policies. After that, comments will be taken by the general public. Please come to the podium and speak and address all comments to the questions to the chair. Tonight's presentations with our Community Development Director, Tim Benetti. [3:44] **Tim Benetti:** Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the commission. Before you tonight is an application from Les Schwab Tire Center at 15698 English Avenue. Before you tonight is a site plan with a building permit authorization and a conditional use permit. Again, this is for authorization for a new 15,774-square-foot auto accessory store with related installation facilities... [Detailed project description]. With that, I'll stand for any questions, or if you prefer, the developer applicant is ready to make a presentation right now. Whatever your wishes are for this presentation. [12:12] **Chair:** Does anybody have some initial questions they'd like to ask Tim? Go ahead. [12:15] **Commissioner Melander:** Mr. Chair, Mr. Benetti, the definition of "bay"—does that just simply include the garage door? Because it looks to me, based on one of the schematics, that there are eight service areas but not service bays. [12:44] **Tim Benetti:** Correct. If you look at this image here... [Explains bay vs. service area layout]. Hence, a two-bay opening. [13:43] **Commissioner Melander:** Okay, but eight service areas. [13:45] **Tim Benetti:** Eight service areas, but only two bays. All the bays basically put on this building are simply an exit and an entry. [13:56] **Commissioner Melander:** Okay. I totally agree. I did a similar search for different tire centers... I concur with your assessment. While the revised drawings make some progress, the ones you see out west in Colorado or California—I think those designs fit so much better with the aesthetics of that new development... [Discusses architectural concerns]. [17:15] **Tim Benetti:** Mr. Melander, you're making some good observations. This is what we've already started—the development of this very critical, important area... We want to make sure we encourage that design out there... These are only suggestions. We'd like to see if they could imprint some of these design features. [18:31] **Commissioner Melander:** I agree. I just think the proposed design, even as amended, is something that we might have seen 15 or 20 years ago. This newer development, I just think there's a lot more architecturally and aesthetically pleasing styles. [19:15] **Tim Benetti:** This is a unique building for Les Schwab. This is probably one of their firsts where they had to do a two-door design where it's all "enter in, exit out." [Explains sound attenuation benefits]. [20:25] **Commissioner Melander:** I agree with your emphasis on the designs that have been put forward in other locations. [21:13] **Tim Benetti:** Commissioners, Mr. Chair, members of commission... [Discusses decorative screens and architectural articulation]. Hopefully, by the next time we bring back something, you'll be pleased by what you see. [22:20] **Commissioner Melander:** I agree. I just want to make sure we're continuing to put buildings in there that fit with the aesthetics that have been established. [23:40] **Chair:** I would agree. Tim, the only thing I was going to ask—you didn't talk about were the drive entry points. [23:45] **Tim Benetti:** Thank you. Because we are coincidentally—we did receive a secondary application for that sketch plan... [Explains access points along English Avenue and Texas Roadhouse alignment]. [26:05] **Chair:** I think going from two to the one is appropriate in this case. The other thing—have you had any discussion about the trash container where it's currently at? [26:15] **Tim Benetti:** Right now, we prefer to see all trash containers or enclosures try to match the exterior with the building. We want to make sure that facility is also not overburdened with old tires. [Explains tire storage inside the building]. [28:13] **Chair:** That’s something that we're very consistent with, using similar materials. And then the secondary question I had: is that the most appropriate spot, being in front of the building? [28:22] **Tim Benetti:** Because this site is somewhat restricted by the drainage utility easement, they're focused on this west side of the lot. If there are other areas they can put that enclosure, I'll work with them. [28:38] **Chair:** And last and finally, before we ask them to come up—I noticed with all their drawings and renderings, they're adding "alignment, breaks, and shocks," which I don't think fits in with our signage. I know that comes under a separate application, but keep that in mind. Anybody else have a question before we bring the petitioner up? Go ahead. [29:20] **Commissioner Hiebert:** I'm just curious about where the single entrance in the middle—how would that then work? Because the other side makes sense where you're coming in and out between the parking. [29:33] **Tim Benetti:** Assuming that this area here is still left open for adequate two-lane traffic, this would be a wider access point. [Explains traffic flow]. [30:38] **Commissioner Hiebert:** Thank you. [30:42] **Commissioner Melander:** Mr. Chair, what is the speed limit on English? Is it 30? [30:48] **Tim Benetti:** It's probably a local road system, so it's probably limited to a 30 mile per hour. [30:52] **Commissioner Melander:** I like the idea of the single entrance, but the only concern I have is the curve and making a left turn might become more difficult if there's more traffic. [31:27] **Chair:** That's a good point that I will defer to the applicant's consultants. Please. [31:36] **Mark Roper:** Good evening. My name is Mark Roper. I'm a civil engineer with KLJ Engineering, and I'm here representing Les Schwab Tire Centers. [Provides history of Les Schwab and community involvement]. I'd like to go into the changes we made based on the comments we received from Tim and the staff... [Discusses sidewalks, trash enclosure, and logistics]. We haven't gone to the next step of the single access point across from the apartments, we just need to run the auto-turn to see if we can get that truck in there. [Explains building materials and textures]. [40:48] **Chair:** Commissioners, questions? Go ahead. [41:15] **Commissioner Melander:** Mr. Chair, just one observation. The introduction slide had another very aesthetically pleasing building. I find that more aesthetically pleasing, and I think the opening up of the retail area with more glass fits better. [43:00] **Chair:** I have a couple of questions. One is to stress the importance of a four-sided or a balanced design to the building. Do you have any pictures of these panels that look like faux windows? I’m not a fan of faux windows—if you're going to put windows in, put the windows in. [Discusses trash enclosure materials and pedestrian connectivity]. [45:47] **Commissioner Hiebert:** Mr. Chair, I think I basically just want to echo what is being said. If there's a way to make these real windows, that would be not only from the outside but even from the inside for the people working in there. [46:12] **Mark Roper:** In the last meeting we had with the architects, they were going to look into putting some across the top. Next time you come through, hopefully, we'll have more variety. [46:42] **Chair:** Thank you. [46:48] **Tim Benetti:** Mr. Chair, members of the commission, this is a public hearing. If you'd like to invite anybody else to make any public comments, this would be the perfect time. [47:05] **Chair:** Is there anybody from the public here that would like to comment? [Pause]. So, your options are you can close the public hearing or table it. [47:18] **Tim Benetti:** For now, we would like you to just direct staff. I can work with Mark, and we had a real good dialogue with their architects out west. We think we can bring back a great product. We want this to be a really great addition to the community. [48:58] **Chair:** With all the discussion tonight, especially from the architectural perspective, would that warrant us to leave the public hearing open to allow for those changes to come forward versus closing it? [49:15] **Tim Benetti:** Mr. Chair, that's your decision. You can continue the public hearing or leave it open till the next meeting. [49:33] **Chair:** What is the pleasure of the commission? I don't know that we need to leave the public hearing open. With that, I will close the public hearing. It is the policy of the Planning Commission not to act on an item on the same night as its public hearing... [Item concluded]. Next Item B of business—other business, which is item 6A: Orchard Place Multi-Family sketch plan. And that's Kathy Podmore. [50:50] **Kathy Podmore:** Good evening, Mr. Chair and Planning Commission members. The project proposer for this request is Trident Development LLC. They have submitted a sketch plan for a four-story, 128-unit apartment building. [Detailed explanation of comprehensive plan amendments, rezoning, and site layout]. Staff is a little bit concerned and this will be something that'll have to be refined... [Discusses parking shortages and proximity to trail head]. [1:01:14] **Chair:** Does anybody have questions for Kathy at this time? [1:01:17] **Commissioner Melander:** Just one quick question if I could please, Kathy. You had mentioned four-story apartments and the stipulation that it's adjacent to the City Center. Would this be a first for Apple Valley should this move forward at a four-story that is not adjacent to the city? [1:01:46] **Kathy Podmore:** No. We have Applewood Point, which is a four-story building, so they dealt with that through a P.D. zoning. [1:02:04] **Commissioner Melander:** Mr. Chair, Kathy, I think I do like the discussion items. My concern is with certain considerations about what uses can be made of commercial and retail properties. How, if at all, will placing a multi-family housing development impair future development? [1:04:47] **Kathy Podmore:** rooftops provide energy and demand for retail, so additional housing could be a benefit. It just needs to be done well and done right. [1:05:13] **Commissioner Hiebert:** Mr. Chair, Kathy... some of the things that came to my mind were just in terms of hours allowed to be on the patio this close to a residential area for restaurants like Texas Roadhouse. Are we going to be impacting existing businesses? [1:06:20] **Chair:** That's a very fair question. The first thing that came to mind was how this fits into our long-term plan in terms of adding additional residential versus the retail. I’m assuming these are just market-rate apartments? [1:06:50] **Kathy Podmore:** That's our understanding. [1:06:53] **Chair:** It's kind of intriguing, but it's going to take some work to do it right. As far as to the west of this, there's the townhomes, so this would be even higher in elevation. [1:07:44] **Kathy Podmore:** Those townhouses are quite tall, so it would be worthwhile getting that information. [1:08:44] **Commissioner Bergman:** Mr. Chair, Kathy, I'd prefer that this would stay in the retail business classification. I don't think you just want the parking lots combining. It really just means, "What's this apartment doing in the middle of all this commercial and retail?" You have such a perfect delineation of the pathway and the water to separate commercial from residential... My initial instinct is I'd rather save this space for those appropriate uses. [1:11:46] **Chris Mo:** Good evening. I'm Chris Mo with HJ Development, the master developer for Orchard Place. Back in 2019, the retail landscape was a little bit different. The bigger box stuff is just really not happening. We're not apartment developers, but we're looking at what else we can do that would complement the retail we have. [Explains layout logic and tenant demand]. [1:19:35] **Sharon Hills:** Mr. Chair, if I may please. This is a sketch plan, so we're not here for a full proposal or a full presentation of issues, merely presenting what they're looking at. I remind the commission of the "Continuance of Property" Supreme Court decision. You provided feedback, but there's not a formal application. [1:20:15] **Chris Mo:** Thank you. [1:20:23] **Roger Frink:** Mr. Commissioner, members of the Planning Commission, good evening. My name is Roger Frink, Senior Vice President of Trident Development. We recently received full approval from the City of Chaska on a similar development. [Discusses property management, target demographics, and shows slides of previous projects like Artisan Apartments and Quest Apartments]. [1:31:30] **Tim Benetti:** Mr. Chair, members of the commission, your next meeting is two weeks from now, Wednesday, February 21st. [Lists upcoming schedule]. [1:32:30] **Chair:** Can I have a motion to adjourn? [1:32:33] **Commissioner Schindler:** So moved. [1:32:35] **Commissioner Melander:** Second. [1:32:38] **Chair:** Brought forward by Commissioner Schindler and seconded by Commissioner Melander. All in favor indicate by saying aye. [1:32:50] **Commissioners:** Aye. [1:33:04] **Chair:** Meeting is closed.