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Planning Commission • Planning Case No.464-96: 2375 Highway 10 October 9, 1996 Page 4 Subd. 2 f. Subd. 3 c. Subd. 8 e. The entire site,other than that taken up by a building,structure or plantings,shall be surfaced with a material to control dust,drainage and erosion which is subject to the approval of the Director of Public Works/City Engineer. Subd. 3 f. A curb not less than six inches(6")above grade shall separate the public sidewalk from motor vehicle service areas. Subd 2 c. Subd 3 i. At the boundaries of a residential district,a strip of not less than ten feet(10')shall be landscaped and screened in compliance with subdivisions 1103.08 (1)through(5)of this Title. Subd 81. A minimum of 10%of the property,excluding setback requirements,is required for landscaped greenspace. The plan(t)ing plan and type of shrubbery shall require approval of the Planning Commission based upon a recommendation of City Forester. Subd 8 m. A natural screen shall be erected and maintained along all property lines separating the site from any residential district. The screening shall include landscaping(trees,shrubs,grass, • etc.)of a type(layout,species,height,size and density)in compliance with subdivisions 1103.08 of the Title. The proposal represents an extension of the existing Saturn dealership. The applicant is maintaining the same architectural character in the building expansion as is in the original, and will be landscaping the added site area so the effect will be one seamless development. All areas which are not in building or landscaping will be paved and the parking area will be bordered by a concrete curb. The site does not border property in a residential district and therefore screening and buffering is not required. A landscaped area at least 10 feet in width is shown al••• • •- • • •-•• ' -s. The 1 -raw of Black Hills Spruce along the north property line of the added site area which matches the existing site. The frontage along Highway 10 will be sod as is the existing site. The criteria from Section 1114.04 Subd 8.1. was added in 1996 and creates a problem for the Saturn site. It states that the area in required setbacks shall be excluded from calculating if 10% of the site is in landscaping. The expanded Saturn site would have 142,703 sq.ft. of land; 10%would be 14,703 sq.ft. The proposed landscaped area is, 33,606 sq.ft. or 23.5%, which is more than twice the requirement based on percentage. Almost of all this area, however, is in the required front, side and rear setbacks. Present day staff is not certain what the intent of the ordinance amendment was. It is a very common practice for the landscaped area on a commercial site to be along the perimeter. In fact, the Zoning Code specifically prohibits the placement of parking and loading in the front setback, so the most logical use for the setback area is landscaping. The Saturn site