06-20-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Firm Ground Architects 612.819.1835 275 Market Street, Suite 368 info@firmgroundae.com Minneapolis, Minnesota 55405 www.firmgroundae.com Site Plan Variance Request Narrative Background of Lapham-Hickey Steel Lapham-Hickey is a regional steel fabricator with multiple locations in the Midwest area. Founded in Chicago in 1926 they are ranked as one of the top 30 Service Centers in the USA. They supply a variety of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous materials. Over the years, they have added value added services such as cut to length, Oxy Fuel/Plasma cutting and surface conditioning while continuing to look for opportunities to better service their customers. Locally, Lapham-Hickey is proud to be a major supplier to Bobcat, which has a sales location in Little Canada as well (as well as a future assembly line in Rogers). This is just one example of how Lapham Hickey is committed to growing business for itself and others in Little Canada, and looks forward to continuing this long term relationship with the community. Lapham Hickey Expansion Lapham Hickey seeks to expand 2 of 3 bays of their production floor to increase the volume of their operations. In the past several years, the demand for steel fabrication has increased considerably in the metro area and Lapham Hickey’s current space is inadequate in keeping pace with this demand. In the existing warehouse there are three overhead cranes used for moving large steel pieces across the facility to machinery for different processes. The proposed plan would be to expand two overhead crane bays to extend the production floor 210 feet. In order to make this plan feasible, the proposed expansion needs to utilize the existing crane infrastructure and expand it northwards so that the flow of the assembly line remains continuous. This requires that the layout of the addition is calibrated in such a way that the new crane rail and structure aligns exactly with the existing crane path. These rigid parameters result in the proposed addition being located 6’ set back from the east property line as opposed to the required 20- foot rear yard setback. The applicant believes that these constraints provide for a practical necessity of a setback variance: a 20’ building setback would impede the flow of production since the eastern crane runway would no longer be able to be expanded and Lapham Hickey’s growth of production potential at this property would be stunted indefinitely. By granting a 6’ rear setback variance, Lapham Hickey will be able to expand their production line in such a way that improves not only efficiency, but worker safety as well since cranes will run continuously without obstacle across the whole plant. Lapham Hickey has long been a positive presence in Little Canada and it is their desire to grow in place rather than relocate to a larger facility elsewhere- one of the primary reasons they started production on this site originally was the growth potential within the parcel. The applicant respectfully requests that City staff, Planning Commission and City Council support this variance request so that Lapham Hickey can continue to realize this vision of growth in its current location. These variances for Lapham Hickey Steel will have little impact on the surrounding area. The objectives of the industrial zoning districts are about the efficient harboring of manufacturing. The site in question is bordered on one side with industrial buildings and on the other side with a large wetland that cannot be developed in the future. This proposal aligns with the industrial zoning code goals with regards to making sure that established companies of the community continue to be prosperous.