02-12-2004 Planning Comm. Minutes

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MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 12, 2004 Street. In describing the front and rear elevations of the buildings, Mathern noted that the back of the building proposed along Market Place Drive does not look as nice as the front of the building which faces the parking lot. Mathern reviewed the options presented for building placement. Option 1 is the original plan that was submitted with one building backing up against the pond area and the second building somewhat central on the property with parking on either side. Option 2 breaks the two buildings into four and decreased the amount of parking spaces to 63 while the City's code required approximately 96 spaces. Option 3 brings the central building up to Market Place Drive with the front entrance facing the parking lot and the back of the building facing Market Place Drive. There will be no entrances to the individual town offices from Market Place Drive. Mathern reported that it is their position that Option 1 is still the best alternative for a number of reasons. Mathern reported that she has driven the area and has found only the Tacheny project with buildings up to the street frontage. All the other newly developed sites in the area have parking between the buildings and the street. Mathern also noted the orientation of parking to the Market Place Shopping Center, and pointed out that Option I continues that orientation and blends into the area. Mathern stated that they understand the desire of the City to keep within its redevelopment guidelines, but felt the project and the area was such that an easy access to parking was preferable. Mathern reported that a clear view of the building from the street is very important to this project so that drivers can see where they can park. Keis asked if the businesses that would locate in this project were destination or drive-by businesses. Mathern reported that the businesses would be office-type businesses that require easy identification. Keis pointed out that the location is already a block off Rice Street. Therefore, he did not believe that these businesses would be dependent on drive-by Traffic to bring customers in. Keis noted that the City has been working to redevelop the area. There is existing development that cannot be changed. I-Iowever, as new development comes in, the City is trying to move towards its streetscape goals. If redevelopment does not comply with the streetscape vision, the City will never achieve that goal. Mathern indicated that Mendota I3omes is not in the habit of challenging cities on their vision. However, in this case, they are trying to come up with the best plan for the site. Mathern noted that Market Place Drive is fairly wide and the shopping center parking lot is on the north side of the -2-