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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/19/1995 CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES April 19, 1995 1. CALL TO ORDER The City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. by Chairman Alan Felkner. Members Present: Alan Felkner, Marcia Gowling, Frank Blundetto, Diane Nagler, Karen Edgeton and Dave Swanson. Members Absent: Paul Oberg. Staff Present: Rick Kelley, Tom Lovelace, Kathy Bodmer, Keith Gordon and Mike Dougherty. Others Present: See the sign-in sheet. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Felkner asked Staff and the 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 draft agenda as submitted. The motion carried 6-0. 3. APPROVAL OF APRIL 5, 1995 MINUTES Chair Felkner asked Staff and the Commission members if they had any changes to the draft minutes submitted in the packet. There being none, he called for their approval. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to approve the minutes as submitted. The motion carried 6 - 0. 4. CONSENT ITEMS - None - 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Consolidated Real Estate Daycare Chair Felkner opened the public hearing with the standard remarks. Assistant Planner Tom Lovelace presented the item, which is located on the southwest corner of 143rd Street West and Glenda Drive. The purpose of the hearing is to consider a conditional use permit for the establishment of a child daycare Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1995 Page 2 center on one of the two vacant lots, being taken up by a proposed office would share a common parking lot. with the other vacant lot building. The facilities The property is currently designated on the comprehensive plan for limited business use, and it is also zoned for limited business. A daycare is a conditional use in a limited business zone. The site plan illustrates an access to both 143rd Street and to Glenda Drive with a drop-off lane located by the front door of the daycare. The daycare would be 10,000 square feet in area, and the office building would be 5,700 square feet in area. A total of 68 parking stalls would be provided on the site. At this point, one or two comments were made from unidentified members of the audience. Chair Felkner reminded the audience of the public hearing procedure. The Staff and petitioner would first make presentation, followed by questions from the Commissioners, followed by an opportunity for the audience to make comments at the podium. Mr. Lovelace continued with his review of the site plan, calling out the landscape features and grading that is proposed for the site. He noted that the landscape plan needs to have an additional schedule of plantings to demonstrate the 2 1/2 percent requirement of the City. He also noted that the forester would prefer a greater variety of plantings than that illustrated on the site plan. The elevation plan of the buildings indicate that a combination of smooth and rock faced concrete block would be used on the exterior of the building, which is not in complete conformance with the City's exterior building materials requirement. Karen Edgeton asked if a sample of the material is available. Mr. Lovelace noted that the applicant does have samples available and will address the proposed building materials in more detail. Dale Runkle of DCR Planning and Development stated that he was representing the petitioner for this project. Mr. Runkle stated that they will address the concerns staff has raised concerning the landscaping with a more detailed planting plan and cost estimate. He also noted that they have revised the building elevations to illustrate a combination of rock faced block on the lower 36 inches of a dark earth color, and the balance of the building to have a smooth stucco facing. Mr. Runkle then stated that they had a brief video tape on the Tutor Time Daycare operation which he wished to share with the Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1995 Page 3 Commission. The City Staff then played the video tape which lasted about 15 minutes. Mr. Runkle continued his presentation, along with the architect, explaining that the detailed architectural plans for the office building were not complete, but that the building elevations will meet the City criteria. They noted that they will be using a pitched roof with dark red asphalt shingles, and that on the daycare operation six-inch accent the with red, yellow, and blue will create diamond shapes to provide architectural interest. Chair Felkner noted that with the amount of audience interest on this item, the petitioner may wish to meet immediately after the presentation, outside of the counsel chambers, with the neighbors to allow them to look at the building elevation drawings more closely. Commissioner Edgeton raised a question on the current zoning designation and list of permitted uses. She also asked what the building materials used on the adjacent Norwest Bank building were. Staff responded by displaying a list of the existing permitted and conditional uses in the limited business zoning district. It was also noted that the Norwest Bank Building is a combination of brick with some decorative block accents. Commissioner Blundetto asked about the grout between the blocks. The architect responded that the grout will be colored to match the block so that the joints will not be visible. Chair Felkner asked that Tom Lovelace prepare a summary of building materials on all of the surrounding commercial buildings from the site. Commissioner Cowling asked if some additional buffering along Glenda Drive to screen the parking lot might be possible, consisting of either a higher berm or additional landscaping. Chair Felkner then opened the public hearing up for audience comments. He noted that the standard procedure is to receive public comment, but to not take an action on the item this evening. If at the next Planning Commission meeting questions have been answered to the Commission's satisfaction, they will then consider action. Dorothy Dornfeld, 14363 Glenda Drive, asked what the daycare enrollment would be. The representative from Tutor Time Daycare responded that the maximum enrollment at any one time would be 194 full-time equivalent pupils. Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1995 Page 4 Al Folland, 14330 Glenda Drive, stated that he was concerned over the driveway entrance location on Glenda Drive, and asked if the berm could be built up to better shield the view of the parking lot and building. Mrs. McCabe., 14365 Glenda Drive, stated that if this daycare is constructed, there would then be three daycare centers within about a three block area of their neighborhood. She stated that her townhouse lies across the pond from the KnderCare Daycare on 145th Street, and that she can hear the children playing outdoors all day long. She asked what the policy is on outdoor playtime for children attending the daycare. The representative from Tutor Time noted that State requirements stipulate that each child must be outdoors for a certain length of time each day. Their policy addresses this by providing for a 30 to 45 minute playtime, for between 50 and 60 children at a time. Between 4 and 5 hours a day there will be children in the play area. He also noted that the play area would be on the east side of the building, adjacent to Cedar Avenue, which is away from the townhome development and would be shielded by the daycare building itself. Lowell Becker, 14313 Glenda Drive, stated that he was concerned over the amount of traffic on Glenda and speeding issues. Chair Felkner asked if Mr. Becker had contacted the City Police Department concerning speeding problems. Mr. Becker responded that he had, but there has been no change in the conditions. Chair Felkner suggested that. if speeding continues to be a problem along this street, Mr. Becker might wish to consider appearing before a City Council meeting during the audience discussion item period to let them know of his concerns. Louis Grife, 14324 Glenda Drive, asked how many teachers would be at the facility, and how- much traffic would be generated. The representative from Tutor Time noted that a maximum of 23 teachers would be employed here, and that he believed about 90 cars arriving or departing twice a day would be generated. Mr. Grife said that 90 cars a day would add too much congestion to the street. The representative from Tutor Time said that he does not know what the current traffic levels are on Glenda Drive, but he believes that the amount generated from the proposed daycare would represent only a small percentage of that total amount. Assistant Planner Tom Lovelace added that a traffic count has been ordered for the street, and these numbers should be available at the next Planning Commission meeting. These numbers will be compared to the overall traffic capacity of the roadway. Mr. Grife continued with his comments by stating that Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1995 Page 5 he believed the proposed access onto 143rd Street seems to be dangerous given the curve in the street, as well as the hill. Chair Felkner asked that it be noted on the grading plan how site lines will be changed as part of the construction to improve this situation. Ray Hanson, 14369 Glenda Drive, said that he is concerned over the appearance of the buildings, especially the professional office which has not been completely designed at this point. He thinks that at a minimum, additional trees should be placed on the site plan. He also stated that he does not like the appearance of the play areas adjacent to any street, and compared the existing daycare play areas on 142nd and 145th Street to barn yards. Commissioner Gowling asked what the hours of operation at the daycare would be. It was replied that typical hours are 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Commissioner Gowling then asked what the hour limitations would be if a permitted use, such as a medical clinic, were to be established on the property. Mr. Lovelace. responded that the ordinance does not limit the hours of operations for medical clinics. Commissioner Gowling asked that Staff come up with some estimate of other traffic generation which would occur if permitted rather than conditional uses might be located on this property. An unidentified audience member expressed her displeasure with the development proposal by stating that seniors don't count. Norbert Timon, 14327 Glenda Drive, stated that any traffic counts. to be taken on this road should also incorporate the estimated amount of traffic that would come from the recently approved Midway Bank Building on 143rd Street which has not yet been constructed. Commissioner Edgeton asked if, when the traffic study is prepared, the amount of estimated traffic to come from existing vacant parcels of land in the area will be included. Assistant Planner Tom Lovelace responded in the affirmative. Commissioner Blundetto also asked that the traffic report include figures on the traffic capacity of the street. Margaret Zahalon, 14407 Glenda Drive, stated that the driveway to her townhome is directly across from the driveway to the daycare center. She thinks that the noise from the play lot will carry across the parking lot regardless of the location of the play area. She said she was also concerned about the noise Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1995 Page 6 generated from early morning garbage truck pickups. Finally, she noted that there is a small vacant lot directly to the south of her townhome that needed to be incorporated into any traffic projections. Chair Felkner asked that when staff continues its analysis of the proposal that the amount of traffic on this street be compared to other similar streets or locations in Apple Valley. The City Engineer Keith Gordon noted that Glenda Drive is a 44 foot wide. street that has a maximum traffic capacity of about 8,000 trips per day. Commissioner Cowling asked Staff what restrictions were placed on garbage pickup in residential areas. Rick Kelley responded that in single family areas, garbage pickup may not occur until after seven in the morning. However, in commercial and multifamily areas there is no restriction on garbage pickup times. Commissioner Nagler asked that in the next packet the lot dimensions be more clearly marked on the plan. Norbert Timon, again addressing the Commission, noted that along Glenda Drive the mailboxes are all located on one side of the street. He is concerned that some of the elderly residents who are not able to walk typically could become traffic accident victims as they walk over to retrieve their mail. He also said that he was concerned there might not be enough parking stalls on the site plan. Barbara Jedlicki, 14443 Glenda Drive, asked that the installation of a traffic semaphore at Cedar Avenue and 143rd Street be considered in order to encourage traffic to use that intersection rather than driving back around through their neighborhood. She also asked that consideration be given to the elimination of the driveway access from the daycare onto Glenda Drive. There being no additional audience comments, Chair Felkner closed the hearing with the standard remarks. He then called for a brief recess at 8:10 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:25 p.m. 5B. High School No. 4 Chair Felkner opened the public hearing with the standard remarks. Assistant Planner Tom Lovelace presented the issue, which consists of a comprehensive plan amendment, rezoning, preliminary plat, conditional use permit for additional height, all for the property located on the west side of Johnny Cake Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1995 Page 7 Ridge Road between 140th Street and 147th Street. The property being acquired by Independent School District 196 would be consolidated with property owned by the City of Apple Valley to create a large campus arrangement containing both the high school and a large athletic field complex. He displayed an overhead transparency illustrating the master conceptual plan for the site. Commissioner Edgeton questioned the reason for the unusual appearing alignment of 147th Street and Ferris Avenue in the southwest corner. City Engheer Keith Gordon responded that the reason for this is that 147th Street is intended to continue on to the west to ultimately connect to Galaxie Avenue. Because. of limitations on the alignment established by the North Star Concrete Plant and the Williams Brothers Tank Farm on the south side, the road must be kept in as northerly a position as possible, which results in this alignment. Commissioner Blundetto asked about the size of that corner piece outside of the site plan. Tom Lovelace responded that, while it has not been surveyed, it appears to be between six and eight acres in size. Chair Felkner asked about the parking requirements for a site such as this, relative to having both a large high school and athletic field and stadium complex. Tom Lovelace noted that the architect representing School District 196 will address this issue. Roger Schroepfer of Wold Architects introduced himself, as well as other members of the design team, including Chet Harrison of Clark Engineering, Jim Boeson of Independent School District 196, and Dick Dewey, the future principal of this new high school.. Mr. Schroepfer identified on the plan where the low areas in the southwest and southeast corner of the site are, which are the result of sand & gravel mining activities. The ponds will be placed in these areas. The school itself will be located in the northwest corner where there has not been any grading or mining activity to date. Approximately 225,000 cubic yards of material have yet to be mined. from the site prior to the land being occupied by School District 196. He explained the traffic circulation on the site, and their desire to separate the staff and public parking area from the student and bus parking area. He noted Staff's concern over the close proximity of the two access points onto 140th Street West, and said that he does not believe that they could move one of those accesses further Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1995 Page 8 west without compromising the mixing of staff and student parking. Mr. Schroepfer then displayed a parking comparison chart which illustrated the size of this facility compared to other District 196 facilities. The chart indicated that there will be much more parking at this facility than at other facilities. He then displayed an elevation of the building which will be constructed of a combination of Kasota stone and a burgundy colored brick. Commissioner Edgeton had a question concerning parking for the athletic fields. Mr. Schroepfer pointed out the 78 stall parking lots along Johnny Cake and along 147th Street which are intended to serve these fields. Commissioner Nagler asked if the architect was comfortable with adding another access to Ferris Avenue. Mr. Schroepfer said that they are opposed to that in order to try to better control. access to the site, particularly during the 8 to 10 minutes in the late afternoon when all the school buses leave the site and they attempt to stop all other traffic from leaving the property. Commissioner Blundetto asked about control of the athletic fields. He was particularly concerned about joint activities which would necessitate school children crossing Johnny Cake Ridge Road to move between the proposed fields here and the Eastview fields on the opposite. side of Johnny Cake. Commissioner Nagler asked who would be acquiring the six acre parcel in the southwest corner. It was noted that the School District is not pursuing acquisition of either the road right-of-way or that parcel at this time.. Chair Felkner then opened the hearing up to audience comments . Paul Hattouni, 14458 Exley Lane, addressed the Commission. He asked if he might obtain a copy of the Staff report prepared for this development. He then asked how many students would be occupying the high school. Representatives from the School District responded that the capacity design of the school would be for 2, 000 students from grades 9 to 12. He then asked if there would be parking permitted on Johnny Cake Ridge Road. City Engineer Keith Gordon responded by stating that Johnny Cake Ridge Road has four driving lanes, and no parking is permitted on that road. Mr. Hattouni then asked about the utility plan which appeared to direct water into the southwest and southeast ponds. City Engineer Keith Gordon responded that those are storm Planning Commission. Minutes April 19, 1995 Page 9 water lines which would convey the rain water runoff from the athletic fields to the ponds. Brian McNamara, 13503 Gossamer Court., read a statement into the record. The statement indicated that as a representative of the underlying property owner, the Planning Commission was requested to be consistent with its policy of not acting on this item the same night as its public hearing. The statement went on to say that certain issues have arisen regarding the interpretation of the sales contract between the underlying property owner and School District 196. There being no further public comment, Chair Felkner closed the hearing with the standard remarks. 6. LAND USEfACTION ITEMS B. Heritage Lutheran Church Assistant Planner Kathy Bodmer presented the item, which is located at 13401 Johnny Cake Ridge Road. This item concerns the construction of a 3,710 square foot building addition which would contain a new sanctuary for the existing church. The property is currently zoned for institutional uses, and churches are a permitted use in this zone.. As part of the site plan, there is a requirement to install a NURP pond for storm water runoff prior to discharge into the rest of the storm sewer system. It is also necessary to install concrete curb around the perimeter where no concrete curb exists. Finally, some relocation of landscaping will be necessary to accommodate construction in the area of the addition. The City Forester has also recommended some installation of shade trees along the parking area to soften the appearance of the parking lot. from the roadway.. Staff has also raised some concern over the possible clash between the architectural styles of the addition and the existing structure. Paul Madson, the architect preparing the plans for the church, said that they have been and will continue to work on landscape changes to meet City requirements. He does, however, hope that some credit is given for the existing plantings that had been placed on the property by the parishioners over time. They believe that the amount of parking being provided on site is adequate, and the only times that they can recall any overflow parking having to use the adjacent public street is on such special events as Easter or Christmas Eve services. Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1.995 Page SO He stated that he understood Staff's concerns over the apparent clash between building styles of the addition and the existing structure, and stated that they had prepared a massing plan to illustrate the actual appearance of the addition from several different angles. He then presented the model to the Commission to make his point. He said that they have attempted to maintain the same 4/12 pitch on the roof, and to use a stucco material of a matching color. They would use a rock face concrete block as a lower architectural banding on the building. In order to update the appearance of the building, they are hopeful that when they receive their construction bids, there will be enough money to refinish the existing portion of the building with a new stucco material which would then be changed to a sand. color as opposed to the current off white color. Jerry Fayham introduced himself as the Director of the Church Properties Committee. He emphasized the fact that they hoped that they would be able to work with the City to receive credit on previously installed landscaping materials so they would not have to expend additional funds on new landscaping. Ed Sorgatz of Olson Construction Company also introduced himself to the Commission as the prime contractor for the project.. A general discussion ensued concerning the value of the existing landscaping on the site, and how to arrive at a fair evaluation of that, as well as to not set an improper precedent for future redevelopment projects. Rick Kelley stated that there are some accepted standards and procedures which can be followed in evaluating the monetary value of the existing materials to arrive at an equitable solution. MOTION: Member Cowling moved, seconded by Member Blundetto, to recommend approval of the site plan and building permit authorization per the Staff recommendation. The motion carried 6 - 0. 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS - None - 8. OTHER BUSINESS - None - 9. ADJOURNMENT Planning Commission Minutes April 19, 1995 Page it MOTION: Member Blundetto moved, seconded by Member Nagler, to adjourn the meeting. The motion. carried 6 - 0. The meeting adjourned at 9:43 p.m.