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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/04/1995CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES January 4, 1995 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chairman Alan Felkner. Members Present: Alan Felkner, Frank Blundetto, Karen Edgeton and Mazcia Gowling. Members Absent: James Cady and Len Miller. Staff Present: Rick Kelley, Tom Lovelace, Kathy Bodmer, Mike Dougherty and Planning Consultant Julie Farnham. Others Present: See the sign-in sheet. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Felkner asked Staff and Commission Members if they had any proposed changes to the agenda. There being none, he called for its approval. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion carried 4 - 0. 3. MINUTES OF DECEMBER 7, 1994 Chair Felkner asked Staff and Commission Members if they had any changes to the draft minutes submitted in the packet. There being none, he called for approval of the minutes. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to approve the minutes of December 7, 1994, as submitted. The motion carried 4 - 0. 4. CONSENT ITEMS - None - Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 2 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Landmark Corner Hotel Chair Felkner noted that this proposal was being withdrawn. Consequently, the public hearing for this item which had been continued from the December 7, 1994, meeting is being dismissed. John Voss, representing the petitioner, stated that the reason the proposal was being withdrawn was that they were unable to come to terms with the adjacent property owner concerning the acquisition of an additional one-acre parcel. He said, however, that they are still interested in building a complex of a hotel, restaurant, and/or bank within Apple Valley. They are currently pursuing the acquisition of the old Minnehaha Falls Nursery site.. Mr. Voss then quickly displayed a schematic plan showing how a hotel, restaurant, and bank or second restaurant could be laid out on the property. He stated that they hoped they would be able to approach the Commission with a formal application at one of their February meetings. 5B. Preliminary Plat for the Youth Athletic Complex Chair Felkner opened the public hearing with the standard remarks. Acting Community Development Director Rick Kelley presented the proposal with a series of overhead transparencies. This property is located on the southwest corner of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and 140th. Street West. The City had acquired this property with the intent of redeveloping it for a youth athletic complex. The purpose of the preliminary plat is to subdivide and plat the property to clean up the legal descriptions. The lot to be created directly at the intersection of 140th Street and Johnny Cake would be sold to Dakota Electric Association for the purpose of constructing an electric substation. Chair Felkner asked if the Commission Members or general public had any comments on this proposal. There being none, he closed the public hearing. MOTION: Member Cowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to recommend approval of the preliminary plat of Eastview Addition. The motion carried 4 - 0. 6. LAND USE/ACTION ITEMS A. Williamsburg 2nd and 3rd Addition Preliminary Plat and Site Plan/Building Permit Authorization for Townhomes. Planning Consultant Julie Farnham presented the item to the Commission. This development proposal is located on both the northwest and southwest corners of Galaxie Avenue and County Road 38. The City Council had previously rezoned this property to M3- Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 3 C for multiple residential purposes. This evening the Commission will be considering the preliminary plat and site plan layout of the proposed townhomes. The second addition is located on the northwest comer and consists of 35 townhome units, a reduction of one from the initia136 units proposed for the site. Instead of back-to- back units as previously proposed, these are now all single loaded or traditional row home units, in much smaller buildings than the initial proposal. Sixty-two percent of the property is designated as green space, and the parking on site exceeds the minimum standazds required by City ordinances. Seventeen of the guest parking stalls are distributed throughout the proposed layout. The landscape plan includes some additional plantings along 130th Street, as well as boulevard trees, in order to provide some buffering of the development relative to the existing single family homes on the other side of 130th Street. Grading is also proposed in the County Road 38 right-of-way to create a more effective berm. A permit from the County is necessary to do this grading. The building perspective illustrates that a combination of brick and aluminum siding would be used to face the buildings. The rear of these buildings would be all brick, and the buildings would be two stories in height. The third addition is located on the southwest corner. This design remains unchanged from the last time it was considered by the Planning Commission, and consists of 63-1/2% green. space. A total of 19 dwelling units is proposed on this site in a single loaded, two story townhome arrangement. Ms. Farnham noted that there were ten overflow guest parking stalls provided throughout the. development, and that landscape would be installed around the perimeter to provide screening. As with the second addition, some grading within the County Road 38 right-of--way would be necessary to increase the. height of the berms. A county permit would be required to perform this work. She noted that the access. to this development is located 420 feet south of the intersection of Galaxie Avenue and County Road 38. The location of this access had raised some concerns the last time the Planning Commission considered the development. Member Gowling thanked Ms. Farnham for her clear explanation of the lot coverage, green space, and building design. Chair Felkner asked about the dead end, private street on the west end of the second addition layout, and questioned whether a turnaround was necessary at that point. Ms. Faznham noted that a turnazound was in fact provided at that location. Glenn Van Wormer of Short Elliott Hendrickson approached the Commission. Mr. Van Wormer stated that he is a traffic consultant employed by the City of Apple Valley, and that he was present this evening to offer more information concerning the access onto Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 4 Galaxie Avenue from the Williamsburg 3rd Addition development. He referred the Commission to his traffic report contained within the packet. He said that during the a.m. peak hour, a maximum of 7 or 8 vehicles would be added to the intersection of Galaxie Avenue and County Road 38. This constitutes less than 1% of the total traffic volumes at this intersection. He said that he understood that there was concern over northbound traffic on Galaxie Avenue, backing up at the County Road 38 intersection. He said that the a.m. peak volumes for left turning movements is approximately 400 vehicles, and for the year 2,000 this would be about 550 vehicles. He said that even with this growth, the total distance of queuing traffic of northbound vehicles would generally not exceed 400 to 450 feet on Galaxie Avenue. This would be relative to the 420 foot distance of the intersection into the Williamsburg 3rd Addition. He said that because of the timing of the lights at the intersection, in almost all cases this northbound queue will clear out in order to allow vehicles from the Williamsburg 3rd Addition to enter Galaxie Avenue without having to wait for an additional light cycle at the semaphore. He said it would be very rare for a vehicle from the Williamsburg 3rd Addition to have to wait through an additional light cycle at the semaphore. Member Blundetto stated that he felt. the traffic volumes on Galaxie Avenue make access near the vicinity of County Road 38 unsafe. He said that be travels this road every day, and notes that it is even difficult for cars on 132nd Street to safely make a left turn.. He said that he does. not dispute the numbers that Mr. Van Wormer has calculated, but disagrees with. the relative amount of safety that they represent. Gene Shellerud of G,M. Homes. stated that he had observed the intersection and timed the semaphore regarding the traffic movements in vazious directions. He said that he thinks the timing could be revised to give more emphasis to northbound Galaxie traffic that wishes to make left-hand turning movements. Mr. Van. Wormer stated that this semaphore is controlled. by accumulators. in the pavement that actually sense the amount of traffic in each lane and control the timing of the lights accordingly. Mr. Shellerud noted that the townhomes in the 2nd Addition have lookout basements for those units along the north tier. Because of the revised design, most of these units can now accommodate 3-season porches on the back. He said that by going to a row home configuration instead of a back-to-back configuration, the units would now be sold with townhome lots as opposed to a condominium plat. He said that one of the reasons for this is that with the more costly construction and sales price, ranging from $120 to $130,000 per unit, the market dictates some amount of ground ownership as well as unit ownership. He noted that in the 3rd Addition they aze dedicating the right-of-way for 131st Street all along the south boundary. This would allow, at the City's option, some type of street connection through the vacant property surrounding the 3rd Addition to ultimately interconnect with 132nd Street. Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 5 Member Gowling asked what the height was of the townhornes in the 3rd Addition. Mr. Shellerud said that the basements in these units would all have lookout windows so that all townhomes would be 2-1/2 stories in height. Member Gowling expressed her appreciation to the developer for working with the City to achieve an improved project, especially concerning the 2nd Addition, which she believes now fits the neighborhood better. Chair Felkner stated that while this was not a public hearing, he would entertain some. public comment since the layout of the units had changed significantly since the last time tine proposal was before the Commission. There being no public comments, he then called for a motion concerning the project's approval. Member Blundetto asked if it would be appropriate to consider the 2nd and 3rd Additions independently. City Attorney Mike Dougherty stated that would be acceptable. MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the preliminary plat of Williamsburg 2nd Addition. The motion carried 4 - 0. MOTION: Member Blundetto moved to recommend denial of the Williamsburg 3rd Addition preliminary plat. The motion died. for lack of second. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the preliminary plat of Williamsburg 3rd Addition. The motion carried 3 - 1 (Blundetto). MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the site plan and. building pernt authorization for Williamsburg 2nd townhomes. The motion carried 4 - 0. MOTION: Member Blundetto moved to recommend denial of the site plan and building permit authorization for Williamsburg 3rd Addition. The motion died for lack of second. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the site plan and building permit authorization, for Williamsburg 3rd Addition The motion carried 3 - 1 (Blundetto). This item will go to the City Council on January 12th, 1995. Mr. Shellerud thanked the Planning Commission and City Staff for its efforts in achieving a good project. Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 6 6B. Variance to allow a second freestanding sign at 14750 Cedar Avenue Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer presented the item, identifying the location as the Ryan Real Estate Building on the southeast corner of Cedar Avenue and 147th Street West. She noted that the current limited business use of the property restricts permitted signage to one freestanding sign and building signage. The building currently has a freestanding pylon sign along Cedar Avenue and building sign along that face as well. The variance request is to allow a second freestanding sign to be constructed along 147th Street. This item was last before the Commission on November 2nd, 1994, and at that time the petitioner was directed to work with Staff to try to reach some type of compromise position. Several meetings have been held with Staff, and such things as possible changes to the pylon sign or abuilding-mounted directory sign were discussed, but determined not feasible by the property owner. Bill Ryan of Ryan Real Estate stated that he was trying to consider his variance request based on the way that the Planning Commission would have to look at it, and in a manner which. would not appear to be the setting of a precedence for other commercial property owners to come in and request additional freestanding signs. He referred to the five conditions listed in the ordinance that must be met to demonstrate a hardship situation. He believes that his property meets this criteria in the following manner:. 1) The existing freestanding sign has an electronic leader board, which is the only one of its type in the City. 2) He did not create the sign; it was there when he purchased the property. 3) The existence of the electronic leader board and the necessity to use it for public service messages deprives him of some of the use of his sign. 4) He doesn't believe that he is getting any type of special privilege. 5) The second sign that he is proposing would be attractive and would not have an adverse effect on adjacent properties. Member Edgeton asked Mr. Ryan if he had a copy of the Apri15, 1994, letter from Scott Hickok. Mr. Ryan stated that he did have a copy of the letter, but that the sign requirements listed in the letter were not what he had understood to be permitted based on other verbal discussions with Mr. Hickok. He also said that he had already ordered the building signs at the time that he received this letter. Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 7 There was a general discussion among the Commissioners concerning the variance criteria to which City Attorney Mike Dougherty offered some guidance. Carol Ryan of Ryan Real Estate noted that additional building signage would be permitted on the other two building faces, and she thinks that a second freestanding sign would be much better looking than this. She said that she thought some miscommunication or misunderstanding occurred during some of the verbal discussions with City Staff concerning signage. Member Blundetto asked the Ryans when they purchased the building. Mr. Ryan stated that they closed on the property in June of 1994, but that they had entered a purchase agreement in December of 1993. There was a general discussion concerning sign area calculations, and the provision for additional building signage allowed on other street elevations, but that those additional building signs are. not counted against the maximum sign area calculated to be permitted on the primary or front building elevation. Member Cowling asked specifically where the second freestanding sign was proposed. Carol Ryan. stated that it would be along 147th Street, directly lining up with the building. Member Cowling asked Staff if there was any exchange of signs allowed in the ordinance. Staff responded that Were was a provision that a second. ground sign could be permitted if all building signs were removed. The ordinance does not have a provision to forego what is referred to as secondary or auxiliary building signs in exchange for an additional ground sign. The Ryans noted that the existing electronic leader board is not currently functioning in that the control lines were accidentally cut at some point in We recent past. They would have to have this line repaired, as well as purchase new control software prior to using the electronic leader board. Chair Felkner asked Staff if the definition of unnecessary hardship includes financial hardship. Staff responded that financial hardship does not constitute a hardship for variance purposes. Member Blundetto stated Wat he does not see a hardship, and that he does not see Wat giving up rights to put up nonexistent signs is sufficient. MOTION: Member Edgeton moved, seconded by Member Ciowling, to approve the variance request for a second ground sign subject to no additional building signs to be installed anywhere on the building, and Wat further, when tenants leave, the building signs currently on the building must be removed. Member Cowling stated that she thought it might be appropriate to review We sign ordinance relative to the split between building and ground or freestanding signs. Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 8 Chair Felkner said that in his opinion the building signage along Cedar Avenue could stay as long as no additional signs were put on the buIlding. It would be all right with him to review the ordinance. Member Edgeton said that she is not making any change in her motion, based on this discussion, because she believes that this building already has more signage than other similar buildings in the community. There was some additional discussion on the aesthetics of building signs versus ground signs. Chair Felkner called for a vote on the motion. The motion carried 3 - 1 (Blundetto). This item will appear on the January 12, 1995, City Council agenda. Chair Felkner called for aten-minute recess at 9:13 p.m. Chair Felkner reconvened the meeting at 9:23 p.m. 6C. Media Play Site Plan/Building Permit Authorization Assistant Planner Tom Lovelace presented the ktem. The subject property is located on the south side of 153rd Street, adjacent to the Frank's. Nursery facility, and just east of the Cub Foods Store. It is proposed to construct a 48,000 squaze foot addition to the Frank's Nursery building. This addition would house retail space for a Media Play operation. This property was approved at the time that Frank's Nursery was installed. There. is an existing parking lot on the front side of the property which is lacking only its second layer of asphalt. He said that the development proposal for Media Play meets the minimum parking requirements. Staff is recommending that an additional landscape island be installed within the sidewalk area in front of the store, and that a six foot minimum height screen wall be installed adjacent to the truck loading dock area. Lovelace noted that the packet included two separate building elevations: one prepared by the architects at Ryan Construction, which provides for an extension of the same appearance and building materials of Frank's Nursery; and a second one prepared by the architects of Media Play, which has more of a trademazk building with somewhat different materials which would be discontinuous from the Frank's appearance. He stated that Ryan Construction had informed him that the building elevation consistent with the Frank's Nursery is what would be used; however, the trademark front entry of the Media Play design would be placed over the front doors. Greg Madsen of Ryan Construction stated that he is the project architect for this project and is in agreement with the Staff recommendations. Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 9 Member Edgeton asked if the Media Play would be flush with the front of Frank's Nursery. Mr. Madsen said that there would be a slight angle out where the Media Play building is constructed. Cazl Pazaguay, representing the Musicland Group, said that it is their intent that the Media Play facility matches and conforms to alll city regulations, including sign regulations. Member Edgeton. asked what type of product Media Play sells. Mr. Paraguay stated that currently there are only 50 such stores in the United States, and that they sell computer software, video tapes, CD's and books. 'Their stores are unique in that they have preview areas where customers can listen or review a product before purchasing. He said that there will also be a separate children's area within the store. Member Gowling asked where the trash containers would be located. Mr. Parguay stated that they would have a small dumpster in the truck loading area. Mr. Madsen also noted that a pazapet constructed along the top of the building would screen the heating ventilation and cooling equipment. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to recommend approval of the site plan and building permit authorization of Media Play. 'The motion carried 4 - 0. 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Sketch Plan Review for Addition to Apple Valley Chrysler Building. Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer presented the item. She noted that the location is on the southwest comer of Galaxie Avenue and County Road 42. There is an existing Chrysler dealership located on this property, constructed in 1984. At the time this building was constructed there were no city regulations concerning. exterior building materials. The current code requires either a brick or natural stone exterior. The new owner of the building wants to expand the facility on both the east and the west sides, and to do it with a material matching the existing concrete decorative block. They intend to improve the site by adding landscaping and eliminating the east parking area to create a landscaped display azea. The use of an alternate exterior building material at a commercial district requires a conditional use permit. Ken Nordby of NAI Architects explained to the Commission what the property owner wishes to do. He noted that the exterior wall azea will increase by 39% over the existing building, and that the interior volume area will increase by 70% over the existing building. Since the exterior block material would be painted, they would be willing to post a Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 10 maintenance bond with the City to ensure that the paint was kept in a proper state of repair without chipping or peeling. John Marsh of Gilbert Construction Company, the firm that would be doing the expansion work, said that the new owner of the Chrysler dealership wants to have a light colored building because in his experience it encourages sales of motor vehicles. The block can be easily painted to meet this goal. Chair Felkner said that in his opinion this expansion would be acceptable using a similar concrete block material that matches the existing building. He said he would be concerned. that any proposed signage not deviate from the City ordinance. He asked which buildings were adjacent to this building. Staff responded that the Apple Valley Auto Service Mall and Apple Valley Ford were located to the west and south. To the east is the Cenex Convenience Store and Car Wash, and the Galaxie Park Office Warehouse building. Ken Nordby added that the existing black glass along the upper portion of the building would be replaced with clear glass. Member Edgeton said that she believes that an expansion situation is different than a brand new building concerning the brick. requirement. She does not have a problem with the use of concrete block for this. expansion. Assistant Planner Bodmer noted that on other buildings, an attempt had been made to incorporate some brick into the building elevations as opposed to going with all block. She asked if the petitioner should be asked to try and add some block to the building, either through banding or columns. The consensus of the Planning Commission was that no brick would be necessary. 8. OTHER BUSINESS A. Development Moratorium for Adult Entertainment Businesses Acting Community Development Director Rick Kelley briefly reviewed the memo distributed in the packets. The City Council is currently considering an ordinance which would create aone-year moratorium on the establishment of any adult entertainment business. During this one-year moratorium period, Planning Staff and City Attorney's Staff would work to reevaluate the current ordinances to determine if the level of controls are sufficient to regulate this type of business, or whether amendments or new ordinances would be appropriate. This information will be presented to the Urban Affairs Committee for their recommendation. The Planning Commission will at some point. become involved in holding public hearings for any possible amendments to the zoning ordinance regarding adult entertainment businesses. Once the Urban Affairs Committee and Planning Planning Commission Minutes January 4, 1995 Page 11 Commission are done with their work, the City Council will then consider all of the recommendations and make a final determination on adoption of any ordinance amendments. 9. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Member Blundetto, seconded by Member Gowling, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 4 - 0. The meeting adjourned at 10:04 p.m.