02/14/2007 P&Z Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Comforts of Home page 9 6. Architectural and site standards shall be applied to establish aesthetically pleasing, high quality buildings and streetscapes. The residential area of the proposal includes pedestrian accessibility and connections, and the buildings are aesthetically pleasing. (Adding brick would bring them into compliance with city standards.) However, the condominium buildings are setback less than 30' from existing residential properties. The commercial area of the proposal lacks pedestrian circulation elements and the landscaping is minimal. Elements of the Master Plan specific to traffic, access, circulation and right of way are discussed below. Landscaping, Tree Preservation, Screening: The screening of large commercial buildings definitely is an important factor for any development adjacent to an existing residential neighborhood. The submitted landscaping plan shows the locations of general categories of plantings: deciduous shade trees, ornamental trees, coniferous trees, and deciduous shrubs and perennials. The plan does not depict enough plantings to provide the screening along the west and north borders that are required by Sec. 3, Subd. 4.Q. of the zoning ordinance. Almost all trees on the site would be lost if the project is built. In an area designated for commercial and mixed use, this probably should be expected. The great majority of trees depicted as "saved" on the tree inventory are located in the area to be dedicated for right of way for Hodgson Road. All these would be removed with future road improvements, so they should not be considered as saved trees. Lighting: City requirements allow no more than 0.4 foot candles at the residential property line and no more than 1.0 at street right of way lines. All exterior fixtures must be 90 degree cutoff fixtures. We received a photometric plan with cut sheets for parking lot and drive area fixtures. There are two fixture types noted as "forward throw ". This would need to be changed to meet the 90 degree cutoff requirement. The plan does not show any area that exceeds the foot candle maximums. However, there is no information regarding lighting in the back of the supermarket building. This would need to be supplied as this area could have a great effect on the homes to the west. We typically require cut sheets of the wall fixtures and the photometric analysis must include these fixtures. Signage: Signage is governed by the City's sign ordinance and permits are required for all signs. We typically would want a signage plan for a PUD of this scale. Individual signs then would be compared to the approved signage plan upon submittal of sign permit applications. The locations of monument signs are shown on the plans, but we have no other information. A complete sign plan could be required as a condition of approval.