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Mayor and City Council Planning Case No. 452-96: New Apostolic Church (Conditional Use Permit) October 10, 1996 Page 7 ilke City Forester has reviewed the plan, and fords that it is sound and, in his judgement, will provide buffering to adjacent properties once the landscaping matures. (He indicated that evergreens typically grow one foot up and one foot out each year.) He suggested that White pine be substituted for Austrian pine at the northwest corner of the site, and along the eastern edge since White pine is more shade tolerant than Austrian pine. He also suggested that where Black Hills Spruce and the White or Austrian pines are planted together that they be spread further apart to allow for the differences in branching patterns. There is some difficulty with transplanting evergreens at eight feet, in order to get the height required by the Code. The City Forester has suggested that they be specified at 6-7 feet in the list of plant materials. These items have been addressed by contingencies in the attached resolutions. Summary of Screening, Landscaping and Buffering Issue: The prevailing view on the Planning Commission is that this proposal does not provide adequate buffering to adjacent properties, nor does it fit with the character of the surrounding neighborhood. The Planning Commission did not have an opportunity to review the revised plans which: • reduced the seating capacity from 115 to 98 seats • the number of parking spaces from 29 to 27 • corrected the height of the building from 29'6" to 26'9" above grade, and • changed the width of the buffers along the northern and eastern sides of the site. 0 aff would remark that the most recent plans include revisions which address buffering to the immediate ighbors in a more satisfactory way, and come closer to meeting the Code requirements. In comparison to other church sites in Mounds View, however, this church proposal is a much more intense use of a site and it would be the smallest church site in Mounds View. Planning Commission has had an ordinance amendment under consideration which would require a minimum one acre site for churches in residential districts, and buffers of at least 20' on sites having 2.5 acres or less, and 30' on sites having more than 2.5 acres in size. At their meeting on October 9, the Planning Commission forwarded this amendment to City Council with a recommendation for adoption. A survey done of other suburban communities indicated that requiring buffers of between 20 and 30 feet when parking lots for non-residential uses abut residential uses was typical. This amendment will be before City Council for public hearing and first reading on November 12. If it were adopted, the proposal for the New Apostolic Church would not meet Code requirements. If the proposal for the New Apostolic Church is approved as is, it would set a new standard as to what is acceptable for development of churches in Mounds View and could be used as a reference point in the evaluation of other proposals. This standard would be below current conditions on church sites in Mounds View. As is noted above, the City Council has the ability to impose conditions which would increase the required lot size or yard dimensions. Yard dimensions include the distance from parking lots to property lines. Sixty (or 120) Day Rule The proposal from the New Apostolic Church is under the 60-day rule, and staff has notified the applicant that the City is taking the option of extending that required time for decision by an additional 60 days as is allowed OMnnesota law. The application was received on July 15, 1996. One hundred and twenty days from that would be November 11. Therefore action must be taken by City Council at your meeting on October 29. The next City Council meeting will be on November 12, after the end of the 120 day period for decision.