12-12-2013 Planning Comm. Minutes

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MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION DECEMBER 12, 2013 The Planner noted that the applicant is requesting to expand his outdoor storage area by about 12,000 square feet to approximately 72,000 square feet and increase stack height from 14 feet to 20 feet. The applicant also has one trailer that is used for dust collection and is requesting to have three such trailers. These trailers would not be considered as outdoor storage. The Planner noted that the property is zoned PUD District, but in looking at outdoor storage standards for Industrial -Park (I -P) properties, those limitations are that outdoor storage must be the lesser of 25% of the building size or 10% of the land area. Using the Pallet Services building sizes, 10,000 square feet of outdoor storage would be allowed. Using the lot size, 71,000 square feet of outdoor storage would be allowed. Therefore, the request is in the general area of allowed outdoor storage utilizing lot size, but not taking into the account the provision for the lesser of the two standards. The Planner noted that the Fire Marshal reviewed the application and has concerns about the ability to fight fires on the property. Therefore, he referred his review to the City Engineer to study water service to the property. The Planner reviewed the City Engineer's December 61I1 report and the attached graph which shows the location of two hydrants on the property and the area that a fire fighter could drag a hose to fight a fire. Based on his review, the City Engineer has indicated that it may be beneficial to install a hydrant on the west side of the existing building to provide more options for fighting fires in the storage area stacks and provide standard coverage of most of the area west of the building. He is also recommending that fire protection engineer do a study to determine the needed fire flow volume for the site, including the storage area. Once that study is done, a decision could be made on whether or not it is necessary to loop the water main in this area. The Planner pointed out that the Fire Marshal has indicated that access must be maintained in the storage area in compliance with the Fire Code. This relates to both spacing and surfacing between the stacks. The Fire Marshal has recommended paving of the fire lanes to fully support access for fire trucks. He noted that there are certain times of the year when the existing lanes are in poor condition. Knudsen asked who would bear the cost of these items. The City Planner replied that the cost of the study would be borne by the applicant. If a hydrant and water main loop were required, the applicant would bear the cost of benefits received by his property. If there were additional City benefits from these improvements, those may be borne by the City or adjacent property owners. - 3 -