12-17-2002 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

A small area of ornamental shrub plantings is shown along the parking area around the north building of Lot 3. This planting is adequate, however, the space between driveway areas along the common boundary between Lots 2 and 3 would benefit by some additional landscape planting. Planning staff would recommend clusters of trees and shrubs, similar to that used along Country Drive. The central driveway is flanked on the west side of the drive by an open row of crabapple trees. A similar planting along the east side of the drive would create a more balanced plan. Future development along the east side of the driveway should be able to avoid interfering with that planting. Also on both Lots 2 and 3, an interim landscape cover for the area of the future building is not identified. Planning staff would suggest that the area is planted with grass seed to control dust and minimize runoff until development plans are finalized. Finally, the area north of the main Knox building on Lot 2 has nc tree or shrub plantings shown. While it is not necessary to plant this area in a way that would interfere with visibility, the addition of some plant materials would soften the impact of the buildings and pavement, and provide shading to the area. Signage. The applicant's plans do not include specific signage for the PUD. However, a pylon sign previously used by Knox along Country Drive has been converted to identify Drywall Supply. It should be noted that this business will not have direct frontage on Country Drive. Planning staff would not recommend that additional pylon signs be utilized by the occupants of the PUD. A preferable arrangement would be to allow monument -style signage along the public street, in which case the PUD could be approved with an allowance for off-site signage. An off-site pylon sign would not be consistent with the City's typical expectations for an industrial PUD. Utilities and Drainage. The City Engineer has indicated that a number of questions and issues remain with regard to drainage and utility plans for the PUD. Staff has scheduled a meeting for next week with the applicant's engineers to review these issues. Summary and Recommendations For a Development Stage PUD and Preliminary Plat, the City is asked to approve a plan that is well- enough defined so that the project can be built, and the details of the project are evident to City officials. The submitted plans identify the layout of the lots, and the location of buildings, but a significant amount of site development detail is missing. Both planning and engineering staff are unable to fully identify impacts of grading and drainage, utility services, parking demand, nor is it clear on the plan how the applicant intends to treat much of the ground cover — pavement, gravel, grass, or other landscape cover. In addition, because this PUD is proposed to be developed in phases, plans