06/22/1998 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Zoning. The subject site is zoned SC, Shopping Center District. The purpose of the SC District is to provide opportunities for modern integrated retail commercial locations. All of the principal uses indicated on the concept plan are permitted within a SC District. The drive - through facilities for the proposed drug store, restaurant and bank uses requires consideration and approval of a conditional use permit as per Section 7, Subd. 5.H.3. Other criteria for the CUPs will be evaluated in subsequent paragraphs. The applicant is also requesting planned development overlay due to the need for flexibility from maximum lot size, lot width and frontage to a public street requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. The purpose of the PDO is to grant flexibility for the purpose of creating a more imaginative design with attention to greater amenities and open space preservation. Section 9, Subd. 3.D of the Zoning Ordinance outlines specific criteria for evaluating a PDO Concept Plan. The subsequent paragraphs of this report are oriented towards addressing these criteria. Project Design. In general, the proposed layout of buildings, parking areas, and access drives does not encourage an integrated development. The primary access street is an extension of Apollo Drive from Lake Drive on the west property line and intersecting 77th Street at the north property line. The number of secondary access streets and individual parking areas that connect with the Apollo Drive extension would create significant cross traffic and physical barriers within the development. The present design would make traffic flow difficult and also discourages pedestrian movement between buildings due to distance and automobile conflicts. As such, the staff would recommend that development should be redesigned to cluster the buildings around shared parking lots to the extent possible. It would be our office's recommendation that the 72,000 square foot and 6,000 square foot retail building in the northwest quadrant of Phase I remain as is. In the northwest quadrant of Phase 1, the three stand alone buildings should be clustered around one central parking lot. The second access road west of the 5,000 square foot retail building should be shifted to the east of said building, aligning with the drive aisle between the drug store and grocery store. Similarly, the two restaurant uses and two 12,000 square foot retail buildings in the southwest quadrant of the development should be clustered around a common parking lot. This arrangement would eliminate the need for the secondary access road that extends from Lake Drive to the planned Apollo Drive extension. Finally, southeast quadrant of the development should be redesigned to reorient the bank facility and drive through and parking lots to integrate with the proposed 7,000 square foot retail building to reduce the number of accesses to the Apollo Drive extension from three to one. The redesign of the site plan should also give consideration to the proposed extension of a village bridge from the southeast quadrant of I -35W and Lake Drive. 2