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variance on front setback and a variance on lot coverage. It should be noted that the existing • Embers resident is not compliant with code and the proposed plan represents a slight improvement. At a neighborhood meeting on May 13, residents had voiced concerns about traffic - Crawford and Arona have long been used for cutting through the neighborhood to avoid Snelling and Larpenteur -and about the proposed drive-through service. It was shown at that meeting that the drive-through would be constructed so that noise from the speaker would not go past the lot line; also there will be a new screening fence and landscaping to mitigate the impact. Ms. Worthington said that, in response to resident concerns, she would recommend to the City Council the formation of a task force on the whole issue of traffic in that neighborhood. Several residents have already expressed an interest in being involved. Planning Consultant Dan Cornejo spoke next to comment on his review of the site plan. His written report, which was given to the Commissioners earlier, is the review of an earlier site plan; some of the points are now moot because the plan has been revised to take care of some of the problems and eliminate some of the issues which would have required variances. He emphasized that the site is extremely difficult because of size and access issues, and he doubts that any permitted use could meet all of the requirements of the code without some variances. It would be very tough to meet all requirements for setback from neighbors, for parking, for handicapped access and also to meet the 25% landscaping requirement. He concluded by saying that the revised site plan represents a good effort to bring the plan closer to code and balance the different requirements. The number of variances needed has been reduced to two. Commissioner Lukermann asked about the parcels along Snelling, currently part of the right-of- way along Snelling. Could those not have additional landscaping? Mr. Cornejo said the parcels are not under the control of the applicant and cannot be considered for purposes of this • application. Lukermann also asked if handicapped access will be directly from the designated spaces to the building. Mr. Cornejo said the curb shown in the plan would be surmountable by a wheelchair adjacent to handicapped parking. Administrator Worthington added that the two MnDOT parcels were easements that had been deeded to the City, and the City will soon acquire ownership of the parcels and would consider conveying those to Dino's at some future time. In response to a question from Commissioner Lageson, Worthington added that she did not have a sense of cost at this time. Commissioner DeLeo asked about the proximity of parking spaces to the entry/exit drive opening on Crawford. He pointed out that there could be difficulties caused by cars backing out so close to the entry. Mr. Cornejo agreed that this is a potential safety issue, but that the configuration shown is only one of several that might be used. The plan for the frontage parcels is not really under consideration now because the property is not owned by the developer. Commissioner Harris asked if the Crawford entry is the only access. No, there are also two openings to the alley to the south (approximately where opening are now). Next, Kevin Pape of Howard R. Green, the City Engineers, presented the results of the traffic study commissioned by the City. The purpose of the study was to find out the extent of cut- through traffic on Crawford and Arona now and to calculate the traffic that would be added by the new restaurant. Counts made last week showed that the traffic was approximately the same as what was found in 2000. The peak traffic at noon and late afternoon/evening is about as expected for this type of road. The traffic here (about 1000 on Arona and about 800 on Crawford per day) is at the low end of the normal range for collector type streets, which these are. Mr. Pape explained that the data was collected over a 48 hour period last week, both by tube counters and by peak hour observers who noted behavior of cut-through drivers. They found that during the • p.m. peak hour approximately a third of the traffic Arona and about half the traffic on Crawford is cut-through. (Some cars continue to Pascal instead of turning at Arona) The speed of traffic was 03_0527.doc Falcon Heights Planning Commission, May 27, 2003 Page 4 of 8