02-25-2004 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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NORTHWEST ASSOCIATED CONSULTANTS, INC. 5775 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 555, St. Louis Park, MN 55416 Telephone: 952.595.9636 Facsimile: 952.595.9837 planners@nacplanning.com nacplanning.com MEMORANDUM TO: Little Canada Planning Commission FROM: Stephen Grittman DATE: January 6, 2004 RE: Little Canada - Mendota Homes Town - Offices PUD, Preliminary and Final Plat, Architectural Review FILE NO: 758.09 — 04.02 Background and Analysis Mendota Homes is proposing a town -office project on the property located south of the Market Place Shopping Center, just north of the Saxon Lanes property. The site is currently occupied by unused parking lot for the shopping center. The area is zoned PUD, Planned Unit Development. To the east of the office site, the City will be constructing a stormwater pond that is a part of the area's overall stormwater management system. The project consists of 14 town office units, one of which will be oversized. The units themselves are two stories in height, and the applicant proposes a basement level as well. Each unit consists of 1,800 to 2,000 square feet of office space, plus the basement level. The applicant proposes that the basement will be designated for storage space only, and that no commercial use will be made of that level. The restrictions on the use of the basements will be an issue for parking calculation, since the City has permitted small office developments such as this one to provide a lesser amount of parking than would be normally required for similar square footage. The reduced parking supply is based on the assumption that a higher percentage of floor area is occupied by non - productive space, such as stairwells, restrooms, and mechanical areas. As a result, there is not much overflow parking available. The applicant has indicated that the owner's association documents will contain language restricting the basement uses. Physical, building code - related issues may also help to