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~L~~~RIN~ ~ ~SSO(IAT~S Memo TO: Honorable Mayor & City Council Members FROM: Lee Elfering, City Engineer DATE: July 13, 2010 RE: Subway Site The Planning Commission held a hearing for the proposed Subway sight at 85 Viking Drive on Thursday, July 8. The recommendation of the Planning Commission was approval of the proposed restaurant subject to the recommendations of the City Planner and review and comment of the driveway access by the City Engineer. This memo is in response to their concerns. In general the best driveway access for visibility is on a flat straight road. However the existing lot's location on a street curve and the topography of the area make this condition unobtainable. Viking Drive was reconstructed and realigned in 2007 based on state aid standards for a design speed of 30 mph. Therefore we are certain that all horizontal and vertical curves meet this design speed. As indicated on the plans and in the Planning Commission meeting minutes, the site is proposed to be served by a single driveway onto Viking Drive. The driveway would access the east side of the newly realigned portion of Viking Drive on the north end of the curve approximately 500 feet south of Minnesota Avenue. When looking at driveway access on a curve an important consideration is providing sufficient line of sight to allow for adequate stopping distance if a car was to pull out of the driveway with a vehicle approaching. The posted speed of 30 mph correlates to a stopping sight distance of 200 feet. Based on the condition that will exist after grading of the site, it appears that a car exiting the driveway will be seen from over 200 feet in either direction on Viking Drive and therefore the location would meet the stopping sight distance requirement. The City could install a "blind driveway" sign on westbound Viking Drive to make drivers aware of the new driveway location. The other concerns raised by the Planning Commission were the retaining walls and the storm water. The newly proposed wall on the east side of the property is not over 4 feet tall and therefore the information submitted is adequate because signed engineering plans are not required. The owners did indicate that their structural consultant did take the location of the existing retaining wall into account for the new improvements. The site is under the 20,000 square feet of disturbance so no storm water treatment requirements exist, however storm water rate control requirements do still apply. The proposed plan does provide the necessary rate control. A weir is proposed to be constructed in the southeasterly most parking lot storm structure to maintain the existing runoff rates while the large storm sewer pipe size will allow for the needed stormwater detention. If you have any questions concerning this information, please call me at (763) 780-0450. 10062 Flanders Court NE -Blaine, MN 55449 - Ph: (763) 780-0450 Fax (763) 780-0452 Memo-071310-CC (Subway)