08-24-2005 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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to turn around a vehicle, particularly a larger delivery vehicle. The site plan should accommodate a loop or cul de -sac to correct this deficiency. 2. The parking area runs along the north side of the property, and units will face the back side of the "Midwest Spring" building. No connection is provided to future development to the south. It is likely that some type of redevelopment will occur toward the south over the next few years. A better design would incorporate the possibility that future redevelopment projects could be connected to this site for shared access and internal circulation, similar to the connection to the Tacheny project proposed in this design. As a part of this comment, the applicant may wish to consider varying the location of the buildings relative to the parking area, or wrap the parking around the last few buildings to provide the looped circulation. 3. The site plan provides for a total of 80 parking spaces. The City's basic parking requirement for office uses is one space per 200 square feet of usable floor area. This would result in a typical expectation for anywhere from 71 to 84 parking spaces. Parking supply will need to be verified as part of the building plan review at the Development Stage PUD application. 4. It would appear that a different building design, such as two larger buildings east and west divided by a larger central parking lot would be a more attractive use of this site. In this way, the central parking area could be designed to provide for the looped circulation mentioned above. 5. Enlargement of the "Tacheny" stormwater pond is proposed by the applicant. This should be confirmed by the City Engineer, and full drainage information will be required as a part of the "Development Stage PUD" application. Summary and Recommendation The project proposes an office use of the subject property, consistent with the City's PUD zoning designation for the site. As noted above, architectural considerations will comprise an important part of this project. Planning staff would note that circulation improvements will be necessary to accommodate this project, and will necessitate some measure of revised building layout. While office condominiums have been a successful style of development, this site may be better used by larger buildings and a central parking area. This option should be considered by the Planning Commission and the applicant. pc: Kathy Glanzer Lee Elfering Steve Westerhaus John Matthews, 2994 Rice Street, Little Canada, MN 55113 2