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<br />“Your well-built project begins with and endures on Firm Ground” <br /> <br />Firm Ground Architects & Engineers Inc. 612.819.1835 <br /> <br />275 Market Street, Suite 368 info@firmgroundae.com <br />Minneapolis, Minnesota 55405 www.firmgroundae.com | Follow us on <br /> <br /> <br />July 25, 2016 <br /> <br />Site Plan Variance Request <br />3250 Spruce Street Little, Canada, MN <br /> <br /> <br />Lapham-Hickey <br />Lapham-Hickey is a regional steel fabricator with multiple locations in the Midwest area. Founded in <br />Chicago in 1926 they are ranked as one of the top 30 Service Centers in the USA. They supply a variety <br />of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous materials. Over the years, they have added value added services such as cut <br />to length, Oxy Fuel/Plasma cutting and surface conditioning while continuing to look for opportunities <br />to better service their customers. Year to date they have processed roughly 6500 orders with a customer <br />base covering the 5 state region locally. With their other 7 locations, they ship to customers throughout <br />the lower 48. Their history attests to longevity and continued growth. <br /> <br />Lapham Hickey Expansion <br />Lapham Hickey seeks to expand 2 of 3 bays of their production floor in order to increase the <br />volume of their operations. In the past few years, the demand for steel fabrication has increased <br />considerably in the metro area and Lapham Hickey’s current space is inadequate in keeping pace with <br />this demand. In the existing warehouse there are three overhead cranes used for moving large steel <br />pieces across the facility to various machinery for different processes. The proposed plan would be to <br />expand two overhead crane bays to extend the production floor 150 feet. In order to make this plan <br />feasible, it needs to utilize the existing crane infrastructure. To accomplish this, we are limited as to <br />where an addition can be placed. On the plans provided, we show the existing crane and how adding on <br />to the tracks determines how the building is situated on the site. Following the existing tracks, the <br />addition ends up being 7 feet off of the eastern property line instead of the 15 feet required by the zoning <br />ordinance. <br />To continue Lapham’s current operation without this variance, the only option to comply with <br />the 15 foot setback would be to build a new crane in the addition. However, this option would be <br />prohibitively more expensive and would not be compatible with the day to day operations of <br />manufacturing. If the bays were broken up into 2 cranes, workers on the production floor would be <br />unable to move large pieces across the length of the building which would be a substantial obstacle to <br />operations. <br />Lapham Hickey is also requesting a variance for a breakroom addition on the north portion of the <br />existing building. This location for the breakroom is ideal for the current use of the building as well as <br />placement for future expansions. The proposed location of the breakroom is centered on the existing and <br />planned expansion to facilitate easy access for the workers. The more important reason for the <br />placement is that it does not interfere with potential future expansions to the north and west of the <br />building. Lapham Hickey plans to stay at this site and needs flexibility to expand as their business <br />expands. <br />During the process of planning the proposed addition, we have spoken to the fire marshal Jim <br />Lee and the city building official Steve Westerhaus to identify any building code issues. In our