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Mayor and City Council Planning Case No. 452-96: New Apostolic Church (Conditional Use Permit) October 10, 1996 Page 6 • Screening, Buffering and Landscaping There are a number of criteria which apply to this use concerning its compatibility with the surrounding residential properties and if adequate screening and buffering will be provided to shield the use and the parking lot from existing homes, and from surrounding and abutting uses. In this case, the surrounding and abutting uses are single family homes. These are the key issues in evaluating this proposal. The Code requires that accessory off-street parking shall be not less than five feet (5') from any lot line. (Section 1121.10 Subd. 3.) The Code also says in Section 1125.01 Subd. 3.c. "In permitting a new conditional use or the alteration of an existing conditional use, the City Council may impose, in addition to these standards and requirements expressly specified by[the Zoning Code], additional conditions which the City Council considers necessary to protect the best interest of the surrounding area and the community as a whole. These conditions may include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Increasing the required lot size or yard dimensions. (2) Limiting the height, size or location of buildings. (3) Controlling the location and number of vehicle access points. (4) Increasing the street width. (5) Increasing the number of off-street parking spaces. (6) Limiting the number, size, location or lighting of signs. (7) Requiring diking,fencing, screening, landscaping or other facilities to protect adjacent and nearby property. (8) Designating sites for open space. III The applicant is proposing to provide a buffer area along the north and east property lines. (The west and south property lines abut streets.) The northern buffer varies in width, going from west to east, from 15 feet to 24 feet and then to 19 feet. This area has been widened from earlier plans reviewed by the Planning Commission, where the buffer was shown at 15, 24 and 10 feet. The property owner on the north side indicated at meetings before the Planning Commission that a buffer of at least 15 feet is needed in order for the buffer to be adequate. Staff has done a survey of other church sites in Mounds View as to the width of buffers between the church sites and abutting residential properties. They vary from 14 feet to 63 feet, with the typical width being 30 feet. The eastern buffer is 12 feet in width, which is also wider than the proposal reviewed by the Planning Commission (10 feet), but less than the minimum seen on other church sites in Mounds View. The house belonging to the property owner on the east side is approximately 60 feet from the common property line. There is an existing wooded area on the neighbor's property along the common property line. It is unknown if this property owner regards a buffer of 12 feet on the church property as adequate. The applicant has provided a double row of evergreen trees along the northern boundary, interspersed with lilacs and existing mature deciduous trees. (There are four trees between 10" and 24" in diameter shown as remaining along the northern property line. Extraordinary care must be exercised during construction if these trees are to survive.) They have also provided a row of evergreens along the eastern boundary anchored on either end by deciduous trees. III The Austrianine and Black Hills spruce are specified at 6 feet high; the lilacs at 3' high when installed. P P g g This is less than the eight feet required by the Code.