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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/03/20161. CALL TO ORDER CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES FEBRUARY 3, 2016 The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order by Chair Melander at 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Tom Melander, Ken Alwin, Tim Burke, Keith Diekmann, Angela Polozun and Paul Scanlan. Members Absent: David Schindler Staff Present: City Attorney Michael Klemm, City Planner Tom Lovelace, Planner Kathy Bodmer, City Engineer Brandon Anderson and Department Assistant Joan Murphy. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Melander asked if there were any changes to the agenda. Hearing none he called for a motion. MOTION: Commissioner Burke moved, seconded by Commissioner Scanlan, approving the agenda as amended. Ayes - 6 - Nays - 0. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES JANUARY 20, 2016 Chair Melander asked if there were any changes to the minutes. Hearing none he called for a motion. MOTION: Commissioner Diekmann moved, seconded by Commissioner Scanlan, approving the minutes of the meeting of January 20, 2016. Ayes - 5 - Nays - 0. Abstain — 1 (Burke) 4. CONSENT ITEMS --NONE-- 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Apple Ford Lincoln Quick Lane Addition C.U.P. — Public hearing to consider conditional use permit to allow an approximately 3,200 sq. ft. Quick Lane building addition that results in combined width of garage doors exceeding more than 50% of the length of the south building elevation facing a public street in the "PD-541" (Planned Development) zoning district. (PC16-01-C) LOCATION: 7200 150th Street West PETITIONER: Apple Ford Lincoln Apple Valley CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes February 3, 2016 Page 2 of 4 Chair Melander opened the public hearing at 7:01 p.m. Planner Kathy Bodmer stated Apple Ford Lincoln wishes to construct a 3,200 sq. ft. addition on the southwest side of the building for Quick Lane service bays. The addition includes six drive -thru service bays entering from the west and exiting on the east side of the addition. Six drive -in service bays would also be constructed on the south side of the addition. The building addition will add three overhead garage bay doors to the west, three to the east and three to the south elevations. The site is located within PD -541 which requires a CUP in order to construct a building elevation with garage doors exceeding 50% of its length visible to a public street; the 50% requirement is exceeded on the south elevation and is visible from 152nd Street W. The door width requirement is met on the other elevations. The property is zoned Planned Development No. 541 (PD -541) which was established specifically for auto dealerships and repair facilities. The Planned Development has stringent performance standards to ensure any auto use would be compatible with the City's downtown. The planned development contains the door width restriction to help ensure the buildings are not dominated by garage doors. In order to exceed the 50% requirement, the property owner must obtain a conditional use permit. The City Council must find that special architectural treatment of the bay doors or elevation containing the doors has occurred which softens, camouflages, or minimizes the appearance of the doors from the public street. Internal circulation within the site will also be revised to help direct traffic flow between the dealership and the maintenance areas of the site. While traffic circulation is improved, pedestrian circulation is reduced. The plans should be revised to provide pedestrian access to the building from the public sidewalks abutting the site. The petitioner indicates that as a result of the Quick Lane addition project, 19 parking spaces will be lost on the site. The petitioner indicates the spaces will be display spaces, not customer or staff parking spaces. The petitioner states that any display space lost on site will require storage at their off -site storage property in Shakopee. It should be noted, however, that currently Ford employees are parking along 152nd Street and Gallivant Place. The daily on- street parking impacts snow removal and visibility at intersections in the area. The City will be constructing a parking lot in the Central Village and some of the spaces are expected to be leased by Ford for employee parking. Staff is concerned that the loss of 19 parking spaces on the site may result in additional need for on- street parking. Staff recommends that a condition of approval of the CUP will be submission of a Parking and Inventory Management Plan that addresses how inventory and parking will be managed on the site to reduce the need for daily on- street parking. Commissioner Alwin asked if parking along 152nd Street and Gallivant Place was legal on- street parking and if there were any restrictions during snow plowing operations. Ms. Bodmer answered yes, that parking there was legal but there were conditions during snowplowing operations. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes February 3, 2016 Page 3 of 4 Commissioner Alwin asked what kind of visibility concerns there were and if there were any ordinance violations. He had concerns for going over and beyond in a conditional use permit and allowing on-street parking when the street is owned by the City. He felt it was a bit of an overreach. Ms. Bodmer answered that one visibility concern she experienced was that some of the vehicles were full sized pickup trucks and with that extra height they get too close to the intersection. Commissioner Alwin had concerns for how parking was to be reduced and was concerned about restricting on-street parking as related to the structure. Ms. Bodmer said it is the City's expectation for a parking lot/ramp that could hold employee parking for businesses in the downtown area and that the expectation would be that employees would use that lot and free up the parking on the street. Parking on the street is not a violation of the ordinance but the fact that the vehicles are parked there day after day has created a burden on that part of the City. The City expects businesses to have parking for employees on their own site. Commissioner Scanlan expressed concern for the loss of 19 parking spaces. He felt the design did not meet with the Planned Development that is in place. He inquired about pedestrian crossing and a lighting plan for safety concerns. He felt there were a number of issues that still needed to be worked through before the Commission were ready to vote on it. Commissioner Diekmann asked if the parking requirements are based on the building size and what were the parking requirements. He felt there should be enough parking on-site for their employees and parking needs to be looked at if they will be losing 19 spaces. Ms. Bodmer commented that would need to be looked at. Darwin Lindahl, Architect with Darwin Lindahl Architects, said the 19 spaces eliminated are display area and not employee/customer parking. They would really be gaining customer parking. Referring to the total length of garage door length on the south side elevation, he felt they were right at the 50 percent or even a little less. He added that they could do striping and lighting for pedestrian use. Ms. Bodmer said there was a conflict in interpretation of the blank wall by the petitioner versus the blank wall by staff. Commissioner Scanlan commented that the design does not meet the planned development and was there a way to meet the requirements. He questioned if this was the best design. Chris Gulbrandson, Apple Valley Ford, commented that the quick lane area creates obstruction for traffic. Insurance does not allow for inventory to be parked off-site. They are working with other businesses to allow employee parking on their sites. CITY OF APPLE VALLEY Dakota County, Minnesota Planning Commission Minutes February 3, 2016 Page 4 of 4 Chair Melander said he was not as concerned about the 50 percent of the elevation as he is on the parking solution and that parking needs to be looked at. Chair Melander closed the public hearing at 7:35 p.m. 6. LAND USE/ACTION ITEMS --NONE-- 7. OTHER BUSINESS A. Review of upcoming schedule and other updates. City Planner Tom Lovelace stated that the next Planning Commission meeting would take place Wednesday, February 17, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. 8. ADJOURNMENT Hearing no further comments from the Planning Staff or Planning Commission, Chair Melander asked for a motion to adjourn. MOTION: Commissioner Burke moved, seconded by Commissioner Diekmann to adjourn the meeting at 7:36 p.m. Ayes - 6 - Nays - 0. Respectfully Submitted, 4-4t, Murphy, Planning Approved by the Apple Valley Planning Commission on