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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/18/1992CITY OF APPLE VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES March 18, 1992 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Alan Felkner called the March 18, 1992 meeting of the City of Apple Valley Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Jim Norris, Jeannine Churchill, Alan Felkner, Eugene Kitzman, Marcia Gowling, and Karen Edgeton. Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Meg McMonigal, Scott Hickok, Lon Anne, Dennis Welsch, Tom Melena, Keith Gordon, John Gretz, and Rick Kelley. Others Present: See the sign -in sheet. 2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA The agenda was approved as submitted with one exception. Item 6C, the Boodoo Car Care building and Site Plan Review was moved to the Consent Agenda as Item 4A. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MARCH 4, 1992 The minutes of the March 4, 1992 meeting were approved as submitted. 4. CONSENT ITEMS (One motion sends items needing no discussion on to the City Council with the staff recommendations.) A. Boodoo Car Care Building /Site Plan Review LOCATION: Southeast Corner of Granada Avenue and 146th Street PETITIONER: Roopnarine Boodoo (PC92- 016 -B) MOTION: Member Edgeton moved, seconded by Member Norris, to recommend approval of the Boodoo Car Care Building and Site Plan Review as per the Planning Staff recommendation. The motion carried unanimously. 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 1992 Page 2 6. LAND USE /ACTION ITEMS A. Oxford Hollow Preliminary Plat and Site Plan Review - 46 Townhomes Located in the Southeast Corner of Cedar Avenue and the Zoo Road LOCATION: Southeast Quadrant of Intersection of Cedar and Hwy 77 PETITIONER: Good Value Homes, Inc. (PC92- 011 -SB) STAFF REPORT: Meg McMonigal, March 18, 1992 Associate Planner Meg McMonigal provided a background report on the preliminary plat and site plan review for the Oxford Hollow Townhouse Project. She also reviewed the revisions to the landscape plan and screening. She noted that street trees will be placed along the main road as per the Planning Staff recommendation and that the building materials requested from the developer have been designed into the project. McMonigal listed the comments from the public hearing held on March 4, 1992: 1) The amount of traffic on 132nd Street could be expected to increase to 1706 per day. 132nd Street is a neighborhood collector street, designed to handle 3,000- 6,000 vehicles per day. 2) The zoning and the land use designation on the site are appropriate for the townhouse project. The Comprehensive Plan designates this site for medium density housing and the zoning is M -3 and M -4. 3) School enrollment is not considered a major problem for children within the Oxford Hollow Project. School District statistics illustrate that townhouse projects of this nature contribute 1 child for every 2 units constructed, or a total of 23 new students from this project. 4) Rental versus sale units was discussed by the Planning Commission at the last meeting. The City cannot control whether a owner of a property rents out the property. 5) On- street parking would be controlled by the Homeowner's Association with a limit of no more than 72 hours of parking in one location. Associate Planner McMonigal stated that the preliminary plat meets all requirements of the City Code and recommended approval of the project with the condition that Outlot A be incorporated into the final plat. In addition, she recommended that the site plan be approved subject to the new landscape plan and building materials that meet the City's requirements. Member Kitzman asked for further information regarding the townhouse association parking on the street in comparison to parking in parking bays. He stated that the townhouse association will not enforce parking requirements along the street. Parking on the street will become a difficult problem for the future association members. McMonigal noted that the street is a 28' wide street instead of a 24' wide street, thus allowing for parallel parking on one Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 1992 Page 3 side of the street throughout the development. The Staff felt that parking along the side of the street reduced the amount of pavement that would be required in or near the townhouse units. Member Kitzman asked for further details regarding landscaping in the northeast corner of the project. The landscaping in this corner of the project will be regraded into a grassy slope. Member Kitzman asked for further information regarding the road system and the possible blind spot on 132nd Street. Lon Aune, City Project Engineer reported that the vertical curves and site lines along 132nd Street have been reviewed and do meet all safety standards currently in place by the City and the State. John Peterson, representing Good Value Homes, stated that Good Value Homes is willing to change the parking as necessary to meet the City Codes. Currently, the City Codes require two garage stalls for parking plus one exterior garage space per townhouse unit. Oxford Hollow will have two garage stalls, plus two exterior spaces for each unit. The project will have 23 more parking spaces than are required by the City Code. Peterson described the landscape plan which was prepared by Minnesota Registered Landscape Architect, Mary Nelson of Northfield. Landscape Architect Nelson recommended additional plantings in the MnDot ponding area south of the townhouse project to create more of an amenity in the surface water storage pond. Member Gowling asked for clarification regarding the number of floor plans and styles of units. John Peterson responded that there will be three types of units, a rambler, a split - entry and a two -story unit. Most units have a minimum of two bedrooms. The units will range in size from 1,100 square feet to slightly more than 1,300 square feet. Chairman Felkner asked for comment from the audience, noting that this was not a public hearing, but new information would be accepted. He noted that the Planning Commission action on this project is limited to the approval and /or changes to the design of the development. The land use is not the issue. MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the preliminary plat with the condition that Outlot A be incorporated into the final plat. The motion carried, five in favor and one abstention ( Kitzman). MOTION: Member Gowling moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the site plan with the landscaping and building materials as per the staff report. The motion carried five in favor and one abstention ( Kitzman). 6B. Conditional Use Permit for On -Sale Liquor Operations LOCATION: 14805 Granada Avenue PETITIONER: Larry Neck (PC92- 012 -BC) STAFF REPORT: Dennis Welsch, March 18, 1992 Member Edgeton stepped down from the Planning Commission in order not to take part in the discussion of this topic. Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 1992 Page 4 Community Development Director Dennis Welsch provided a background report that reviewed the purpose of the restaurant with liquor sales and noted that the existing facility which was formally Apple Valley Liquor Store, could be used for a restaurant without further permits. The issue the Planning Commission must deliberate on is whether adding liquor sales to a restaurant makes this site more or less compatible than other uses on the site. He asked the Commission to consider whether there were additional requirements that needed to be placed on the site to make the project more compatible in the future. He highlighted the parking and traffic in the joint parking lot and comparisons of the peak demands for parking. Welsch also reviewed competition for parking space with neighboring centers. He explained revisions to the restaurant plan and patio which were distributed on March 17, 1992. He noted that the joint parking agreement between the owner of the former liquor store and the owner of the Granada Shopping Center is a matter between the two property owners. Mr. Mark Conley of Valley Cleaners asked the Commission to consider how many employees may be working at the proposed restaurant at any one time. Applicant Larry Neck stated that a maximum would be 12 to 15 employees at any one time. The employee parking spaces are calculated into the overall need for parking on the site. Sybil Wilensky, the managing partner of the Granada Shopping Center Partners, stated that the Granada Shopping Center includes east and west buildings along former Granada Avenue and that both buildings utilize one collective parking lot. She noted that at certain times, all buildings have a similar peak parking demand time. The site is short of parking, even without the restaurant being located on the site. She noted that the liquor store was sold to the City by the previous owners of the shopping center and lately the liquor store has been sold by the City to its Economic Development Authority. The Economic Development Authority is attempting to sell the property to Mr. Larry Neck. In 1990 the City and the Shopping Center Partnership redesigned the site, at which time 26 more spaces were lost from the parking lot. The center currently has approximately 39,000 square feet of space. The liquor store originally had 3,000 square feet of space for retail purposes. The restaurant will have almost 5,500 square feet of space for restaurants, a more intense use. She noted that the proponents will have to take down light standards and mail boxes in the parking area. She commented on the competition between R- Berry's and customers of her shopping center for use of the same parking lot. She stated that the restaurant increases the demands for parking spaces at the same time as other shopping tenants. However, the restaurant patrons will stay longer in the same spaces than customers of other stores in the center. She stated that the cross parking easement does not make up for the lack of parking already evident on the site. She stated that the addition of one heavy parking lot user, such as a restaurant with liquor sales would materially damage the nineteen existing tenants and the Granada Shopping Center itself. She stated that the Granada Shopping Center Partnership will not agree to any infringement upon the existing cross parking easement. A general discussion ensued regarding the peak hours of use on the site. Mr. Roy Grubb, Apple Valley Jewelers, stated that at 10:00 a.m. the parking lot is nearly full. He noted that a restaurant with a bar would take up one -third of all parking spaces in the parking lot. Member Norris stated he was opposed to the City involvement in this project. Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 1992 Page 5 Member Kitzman stated that he felt there was an obvious disparity in the number of spaces allowed and that the existing nineteen tenants do have rights regarding that parking space. Member Churchill stated that she would have a hard time philosophically approving the sale of alcohol on a site which will be so congested. MOTION: Member Norris moved, seconded by Member Kitzman, to recommend denial of conditional use permit for the sale of liquor within a restaurant complex at 14805 Granada Avenue by Applicant Larry Neck. The motion carried 4 in favor and 1 abstention (Gowling abstained). Member Edgeton did not participate in this discussion. 7A. Cub Foods Conditional Use Permit Sketch Plan Review Associate Planner Scott Hickok provided the Planning Commission with background reports regarding the proposed nursery sales lot to be located within the Cub Foods canopied entry area. He noted that the canopied entry area currently is utilized for overflow cart storage and is screened by the use of a brick knee wall. The carts currently in that location would be taken off site during the time in which nursery sales occur on the 800 square feet of canopied area. He stated that after the public hearing was held on April 1, 1992, the Staff will recommend approval with conditions attached. Member Edgeton asked, where will the carts be stored during the sales events. Mr. Rich Deneen from Cub Foods, stated that the carts will be stored off site at a vendors location. He noted that the nursery stock sale will occur from April to the first part of June. No action was taken. 6D. Capital Improvements Program Review LOCATION: City -wide PETITIONER: City of Apple Valley (PC92- 005 -P) Associate Planner Meg McMonigal provided a background report on the Capital Improvements Process and introduced City Administrator Tom Melena to provide an overview of the City budgeting and staffing needs for the next seven years. Melena discussed four documents including: A) The 1992 Budget B) The Seven Year Staffing Plan C) The Seven Year Budget Forecasting Plan D) The Seven Year Capital Improvements Plan After a discussion of the budgeting process, Public Works Director John Gretz, City Engineer Keith Gordon, and City Project Engineer Lon Anne presented details regarding the City street and road improvement programs for 1992. MOTION: Member Churchill moved, seconded by Member Edgeton, to recommend approval of the 1992 - 1999 Capital Improvement Program to the City Council. The Commission understands that the Capital Improvement Program is a part of its Comprehensive Planning effort and that the first year of the Capital Improvement Program is an adoptable Planning Commission Minutes March 18, 1992 Page 6 plan, whereas future years in the plan tend to be utilized for guding development and planning purposes. The motion carried unanimously 6 - 0. 7B. Auto Park Sketch Plan Review - Verbal Report by Dennis Welsch Welsch reviewed the proposal to develop the area east of the Target Complex for a series of auto dealerships. He noted the work is currently in a very early conceptual stage and no site plans have been distributed to the City Staff. The proposal currently would require some extensive realignment of road systems in the area and would require public hearings and approval by Planning Commission and City Council in the future. A general discussion ensued regarding the types of development which may occur. 8. OTHER BUSINESS None. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 11:10 p.m.