Title
RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE PLANNING COMMISSION’S DECISION TO APPROVE A PLANNING REVIEW FOR A HOTEL AT SUNDBY ROAD AND W PAGE STREET.
Body
CITY PROPOSAL:
RESOLVED, that the city council finds as follows:
(a) That on August 10, 2022, Kinseth Hotel Corporation submitted an application (PL 22-143) for a planning review for a hotel at Sundby Road and W Page Street, on Parcel 010-2710-04594, with final information constituting a complete application being submitted on September 7, 2022; and
(b) A sufficient petition was filed with the city requesting the planning review; and
(c) Pursuant to Section 100 of the City Charter and Section 50-37 of the Duluth City Code, as amended, such petition was duly referred to the city planning commission and such commission gave notice of public hearing and did consider same in a public hearing on September 13, 2022; and
(d) After considering public testimony, the planning commission tabled the item for more information and to ensure adequacy of mail notice as required under Section 50-37.1.H of the Duluth City Code. At the subsequent planning commission meeting on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the planning commission reopened the public hearing; and
(e) According to Chapter 50 of the City Code, the planning commission shall approve a planning review if the planning commission determines that the application complies with all applicable provisions of the chapter; and
(f) The planning commission, at a Tuesday, October 11, 2022 regular meeting, after considering public testimony and information from the applicant, documented in Attachment 1, approved the planning review with a vote of 7 yeas, 1 nay, and 0 abstentions; and
(g) The planning commission’s findings and conclusions in support of its approval are set out in its October 13, 2022 action letter, which is Attachment 2 hereto; and
(h) That on October 21, 2022, the city received a notice of appeal from Jill Crawford-Nichols, a copy of which is attached as Attachment 3, requesting the city council reverse the planning commission’s approval; and
(i) That the city council heard the appeal at its December 19, 2022 meeting; and
(j) That the city council finds that, of the grounds, cited in Attachment 3 in support of reversal, only the following relate to applicable provisions of Chapter 50:
(1) height limits in Section 50-15.3 of the Duluth City Code;
(2) pedestrian connections in Section 50-23 of the Duluth City Code; and
(3) vegetation buffer requirements in Section 50-18.1 of the Duluth City Code;
(k) That the city council finds that the record supports the planning commission’s findings, as set out in its October 13, 2022 action letter, which the city council hereby adopts in full;
(l) That the city council finds that none of the grounds listed in paragraph (j) above requires reversal of the planning commission’s decisions, because, as set out in the planning commission’s October 13, 2022 action letter, Attachment 2 hereto, at paragraphs 1, 3, 4, 11, the proposed plan either does not violate the cited provisions or will be subject to subsequent review, and because the dead-end sidewalk in Sundby Road does not extend to the proposed hotel entrance nor is it shown in adopted bike or pedestrians plans; and
(m) That the council concludes, for the same reasons as those set out in the planning commission’s October 13, 2022 action letter, that the application for planning review meets all applicable provisions of Chapter 50 of the city code.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the decision of the planning commission to approve the planning review is affirmed.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This resolution affirms the approval of the planning review for a 4-story hotel at Sundby Road and W Page Street.
In 2009, the owner of the subject property applied for rezoning from R-1-b (one-family residential) and Suburban to C-5 (commercial) in 2009 (FN 09004; ordinance 9963). Planning commission recommended denial in part because the comprehensive plan’s designation for the area did not support rezoning. City council voted 8 yeas and 1 nay to pass the rezoning. When the Unified Development Chapter (UDC) was adopted in 2010, all C-5 zone districts were converted to the new Mixed Use Commercial (MU-C) zoning.
This proposal for a hotel requires a planning review because it is in an MU-C district. The criteria for approval for a planning review are that the application must meet all zoning regulations in the UDC. The planning commission shall approve the planning review or approve it with modifications, if it is determined that the application complies with all applicable provisions of the chapter.
Planning commission held public hearings on September 13 and October 11, 2022 on the proposal. At its October 11, 2022 regular meeting, the commission voted 7 yeas, 1 nay, and 0 abstentions to approve the planning review.
Complete Application Received: September 7, 2022
City Council Appeal Received: October 21, 2022
City Council Action Deadline under Minn. Stat. § 15.99: March 6, 2023