HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL AGENDA 08161988 (3) Meeting Sheep
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Document 0L AGENDA 08161988
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• = TY O F -E>= _ ANTHONY
P L ANN=N G C OMM= S S = ON M=NUT E S
AU GU S T 1 6 1 9 8 8
1 The meeting opened at 7 : 30 P.M. with the Pledge led by Chair Wagner.
2 ROLL CALL
3 Present for roll call : Brownell , Hansen, Wagner, Werenicz , Madden.
4 Absent: London (death of mother, ) Franzese (attending District 63A
5 IR Convention)
6 Also present: David Childs , City Manager
7 JULY 19, 1988 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
8 Motion by Brownell , seconded by Hansen to approve with the following
9 changes :
10 Page 2 , line 4 : Substitute "would be" for "had been" at end of
11 the line.
Page 2 , line 5 : Substitute "third" for "second" reading.
0 Page 3 , line 5 : Substitute "which" for "who" .
14 Page 3 , line 6 : Insert "up" between "put" and "a" .
15 Page 5 , line 3 : Correct "found" at end of line.
16 Page 9 , line 8 : Correct "to" at end of line.
17 Page 11 , line 8 : Correct "Driven" and insert "had" between "and"
18 and "never" .
19 Page 12 , line 38 : Strike "more" .
20 Motion carried unanimously.
21 Commissioner Hansen Will Represent Planning Commission at Council's
22 August 23 , 1988 Meeting.
23 PUBLIC HEARINGS
24 Proposed Changes in P.U.D. for Phase 3 of Kenzie Terrace Redevelopment
25 Project Given Unanimous Commission Approval
26 At 7: 35 P.M. Chair Wagner read aloud the notice of the hearing on the
27 above changes which had been published in the August 3rd Bulletin and
28 sent to all property owners of record within 350 feet of the subject
29 property with the notices to 60 Kenzington residents had delivered.
30 No one present reported failure to receive the notice or objected to its
31 content.
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f
4Proposal:
21 *request from Lang-Nelson Development, who had entered into a
3 Redevelopment Agreement with the City August 4th, for amendment of the
4 existing Development Concept Plan and Detail Plan to complete the
5 project as proposed in the site plans prepared by Pope Associates, Inc.
6 and printed August 9, 1988;
7 *to erect three rather than the two buildings proposed by the
8 Gaughan Companies; and
9 *that the City acquire a small triangular parcel on the west side
10 of the Town and Country Foods Store which would allow the developers to
11 increase the individual unit size by about 100 square feet to meet a
12 perceived senior market demand.
13 Staff Report
14 *Childs' reiteration of information contained in his August 12th
15 memorandum as well as in the Notice of Hearing in the Commission's
16 agenda packet;
17 *his report that Lang-Nelson's proposal had been accepted after
18 the Gaughan Companies had failed to execute the Redevelopment Agreement
19 the H.R.A. had approved for execution, October 13, 1987;
an indication that the Council perceived Lang-Nelson's proposal
to construct two smaller senior units rather than the 100 unit senior
22 building proposed by Gaughan would better fulfill seniors' preference
23 for shorter hallways and more than one elevator;
24 *calculation that with the acquisition of additional land from
25 the Town and Country Food Store property, the total land area would be
26 increased from the Gaughan proposal of about 8 acres to 9. 34 acres which
27 would probably more than meet the Ordinance maximum density require-
28 ments of 24 units per acre;
29 *conclusion that in addition to amending the P.U.D. for an extra
30 building, the only other amendment which would be necessary would be
31 to allow a building height of 43 feet where 42 feet had been approved
32 for the Gaughan proposal and the Ordinance set a maximum height of 35
33 feet.
34 The City Manager also reported that part of the agreement the City had
35 signed with the developer provided for a pedestrian pathway from the
36 adjacent Minneapolis "Stinson Triangle" neighborhood up the east side
37 of the property behind the Northgate Office Park to the shopping areas
38 which would remain after this development is completed. An existing
39 City street right-of-way would become part of and be maintained as part
40 of the project to accomplish this access. Mr. Childs also advised that
is 2
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1 the Lang-Nelson proposal met all the setback, parking, drainage and
6 landscaping requirements established for the Gaughan proposal.
3 Proponents-
4 Paul Brewer, President of LaNel Financial Group, Inc.
5 Greg Bronk, Lang-Nelson Associates, analyst
6 Robert Pope of Pope Associates, Inc. , project architect
7 Mr. Brewer was the only proponent to speak. His presentation included
8 enlarged colored renderings of the site plan, as well as the preliminary
9 landscaping and utility plans for the project. He explained that the
10 elevation plans were being revised because the first plans had shown
11 only balcony areas and the developers have now decided to include some
12 units with extended, glassed in living room areas because their
13 experience with those features in a Coon Rapids project was that from
14 a marketing standpoint, they had proved to be very attractive. The
15 Finance President showed the colored drawings of the 110 unit Summit
16 Oaks apartment project in Coon Rapids, which he said was located on
17 Riesling Boulevard just off Coon Rapids Boulevard and opened 30 days
18 ago.
19 Mr.. Brewer provided the following information about the proposed
20 project:
21 Building Descriptions
*all three structures would be three story buildings which would be
43 feet high from grade to the highest peak;
24 *there would be 201 units in all with 96 in Building C, the market
25 rate rentals and 57 and 48 units in. Buildings A and B which would be
26 rented to seniors only;
27 *the acquisition of additional land on the east side of the project
28 would allow the developers to increase the unit size to as close as
29 possible to the size of the housing from which the seniors would be
30 moving;
31 *the buildings would take up 19.7% of the site.
32 Parking
33 *there would be a total of 406 parking spaces provided on the site.
34 Setbacks and Landscaping
35 *the setbacks in this proposal are much deeper than had been proposed
36 by the Gaughan Companies with at least 30 feet between the buildings
37 and the property lines all around the site;
0 3
1 *this would allow more green space to be developed around the
perimeter to offset the fact that there would have to be a certain
amount of pavement in the middle;
4 *every effort would be made to retain the existing trees on the
5 western and southern edges of the property next to the adjacent
6 residential areas.
7 Building Exteriors
8 *brick exteriors are required by the Redevelopers Agreement but wood
9 accents would be allowed to highlight the balcony or extended living
10 room areas.
11 Building Interiors
12 *each building will have a community room for the use of the
13 residents;
14 *internal trash collection and compactor systems would prevent any
15 trash outside the buildings;
16 *unit sizes will vary from the 850 square foot one bedroom units to
17 the 1 ,050 square foot two bedroom units. However, the building
18 configurations will allow a few 1,400 square foot bedroom units as they
19 did in the Summit Oaks project in Coon Rapids.
• Emergency Vehicle Access and Pedestrian Pathway to Shopping Areas
21 *these features are not shown on the site plans but the developers are
22 willing to provide both of them and will be including plans for each in
23 the Final Plan;
24 *consideration would also be given to providing walking paths around
25 the site perimeters as long as they wouldn't interfere too much with
26 the provision of a green buffer for the project.
27 Drainage
28 *would be accomplished through three ponding areas and an outdoor
29 swimming pool would be constructed in the middle of the site;
30 *the rainfall would be collected in the ponds and released into the
31 City's sewer system only when it could handle the overflow;
32 *engineering on this aspect had not been completed but as pointed out
33 by the City Manager, over 500 of the site would be landscaped as
34 compared to 100% pavement now;
35 *the swimming pool elevations would naturally be higher than the
36 ponds.
0 4
Mr. Brewer concluded his presentation by giving his company's background
• . in similar housing. He reported LaNel Financial and Lang-Nelson
Development have been in the apartment business in the Twin Cities for
20 years. They own and maintain 3 ,176 units in the metropolitan area,
with about 1,400 of these located in the northwest quadrant which
includes the St. Anthony area.
Neighbors' Concerns Addressed
Several residents of the "Stinson Triangle" neighborhood and from St.
Anthony were present to find out just what type of project was being
proposed this time.
Glen Gavic, 2605 Lowry Avenue N.E. (St. Anthony) , indicated on the site
plans the exact location of his home in relation to the project
property. He questioned how children from his neighborhood would be
kept away from the pond without fencing. Mr. Brewer assured him that
although no specific plans had been made at this time, the developers
certainly wouldn't want that pond to become public and security measures
would most likely be part of the Final Plan for the project.
Steve Kirstukas, 2315 Wilson Street N:E. , indicated he was afraid the
50 foot tree screen which now partially shields the adjacent residential
neighborhood from the view and noise of the commercial activities which
operates on the property now, would be taken down for this project.
He said he perceived that to have that happen would "severely downgrade
our neighborhood. " He was told there would be a 30 foot right-of-way
• as well as a 35 foot setback from the property line in that area. As
indicated earlier in the evening, that many of the existing trees would
be preserved and as shown on the Landscaping Plan, a row of 6 to 7
foot high evergreens and 2 or 3 foot high deciduous trees are proposed
to be planted in front of the existing trees. Mr. Brewer told Mr.
Kirstukas a further separation between the new buildings _ and the
residences in his area would be created by an earthen berm which would
be between 2 to 4 feet tall.
Possible Project Timetable Offered by City Manager
Because of the history of this project since it was first planned in
1981, Mr. Childs said he was reluctant to attempt to set a date when the
current proposal might become a reality. However, he proceeded to
suggest the following as a possible timetable:
*the planned closing date on the parked housing bonds for the project
is September 20th;
*as soon as the bonds are sold, the City will officially begin
discussing the acquisition of the shopping center property with Max
Saliterman and the triangular Town and Country Foods parcel with the
property owner, Kraus Anderson;
• 5
I *at the most, the acquisition will take 120 days after which
41 construction can start;
3 *construction time period would be between 18 and 22 months with the
4 entire project to be completed within that time;
5 *the developers will begin renting each building as it is completed.
6 The Commissioners were told that the next critical event would be in 37
7 days when (if) the bonds are sold and the acquisition process can be
8 started.
9 It appeared that the neighbors' concerns had been satisfactorily
10 addressed and when no one else requested to speak, the Chair closed the
11 hearing at 8:10 P.M.
12 Commission Recommendation
13 Motion by Madden, seconded by Brownell to recommend the City Council
14 approve the amendment to the Development Concept Plan and the Detail
15 Plan for Phase 3 of the Kenzie Terrace Redevelopment Project as proposed
16 by Lang-Nelson and in accordance with the Site Plan and Preliminary
17 Landscaping and Utility Plans developed by Pope Associates and printed
18 August 9, 1988 . This amendment will allow the construction of three
19 buildings of three stories each over underground parking on the site
20 currently occupied by the St. Anthony Village Shopping Center and an
21 unused triangular parcel of land on the west side of the Town and
Country Foods Store property. Said buildings will consist of two
apartment buildings for senior rental only, with Building B to contain
24 48 units and Building A, 57 units. The third structure, Building C,
25 will contain 96 high quality market rate rental units. The amendment
26 would also allow building heights of 43 feet from grade to highest peak
27 level, where 42 feet had previously been approved and the P.U.d.
28 Ordinance only allows 35 feet heights. The Planning Commission
29 recommends approval be also made subject to:
30 *provision of 206 underground and 153 surface parking spaces on the
31 site;
32 *ponding for aesthetic and storm drainage purposes as indicated on the
33 Site Plan;
34 *brick exteriors with wood accents around the balconies or extended
35 living room areas;
36 *a peak rather than flat roof design
37 *no vehicle access from Lowry Avenue;
38 *landscaping, vegetation, and bermed screening as shown in the
39 Preliminary Landscaping Plan;
® 6
1 *consideration of security for the ponding areas as well as a walking
path around the site perimeters;
3 *provision of a walkway to the shopping center areas;
4 *provision of access to the site for emergency vehicles.
5 Notion carried unanimously.
6 Commission Recommends New Restaurant Signage Proposal
7 At 8:15 P.M. the Chair read aloud the Notice of the Hearing on the
8 request from Thomas J. Aulwes, owner of TA's Family Restaurant, 2905
9 Kenzie Terrace, for a variance from the City Sign Ordinance regulations
10 to allow a second wall sign on the east wall of his restaurant. The
11 notice had been published in the August 3rd Bulletin and sent to all
12 property owners of record within 200 feet of the subject property. No
13 one present reported failure to receive the notice or objected to its
14 content.
15 Proposal
16 *to erect two signs of 56 square feet each, for a total of 112 square
17 feet of signage where the Ordinance would allow one sign of 100 square
18 feet;
19 *to remove the roof sign which has been grandfathered from past
iowners.
21 Staff Report
22 Childs reiterated information in his August 12th memorandum,
23 including his recommendation that the variance be granted because:
24 a. the restaurant has three street frontages and the City has
25 previously granted variances for second signs on corner lots;
26 b. the exchange of a smaller wall sign for the removal of the
27 controversial roof sign would remove some of the problems
28 caused by the non-conforming signage the previous restaurant
29 owner put up before the Commission could act on his request;
30 C. the applicant had already removed some of that signage from
31 the building but had waited for City approval to finish what
32 appears would be a more tasteful sign on the building;
33 d. staff knows of no connection between the applicant and either
34 of the previous owners;
35 e. no calls or letters opposing the variance have been received
36 at this time.
• 7
1 Proponent
Tom Rose, 4311-6th Street N.E. , Columbia Heights, speaking for Mr.
3 Aulwes who he indicated was unable to attend.
4 *indicated the applicant was proposing to erect two signs, one on the
5 front of the restaurant and the other on the east side which would be
6 more visible to prospective customers approaching St. Anthony from
7 Highway 88 or St. Anthony Boulevard;
8 *reported Mr. Aulwes had been in the restaurant business for the past
9 year and a half;
10 *said he owned a smaller restaurant in Columbia Heights (Tom's Cafe)
11 but expected the St. Anthony restaurant would be "his bread and butter"
12 and "a step up" from the other restaurant;
13 *confirmed that the applicant does intend to remove the roof sign
14 which is still on the building.
15 There was no one else present to speak either for or against the
16 variance and Chair Wagner closed the hearing at 8:24 P.M.
17 A short discussion of the test well the Army was digging east of the
18 property preceded the Commission's motion recommending approval.
19 Commissioner Hansen commented that he perceived the new signage would
20 be "a vast improvement over the previous signage on that building. "
0 Commission Recommendation
22 Motion by Werenicz, seconded by Hansen to recommend the City Council
23 grant the request from Thomas J. Aulwes for a variance from the sign
24 regulations of the City Code to allow two signs, 56 square feet each
25 ( 112 square feet total ) on the TA Family Restaurant at 2905 Kenzie
26 Terrace, where the City Sign Ordinance only allows one sign, 100 square
27 feet, for that building. As a condition for granting the variance, the
28 owner is required to remove the existing roof sign on the building as
29 he had stated would be done in his Petition for Sign variance.
30 In recommending the variance be granted, the Planning Commission finds
31 that:
32 1. all three conditions required by statute to be satisfied
33 affirmatively have been met with this proposal;
34 2. the fact that the restaurant is located on three streets
35 seems to justify the variance;
36 3. no opposition to the variance was expressed either to staff
37 prior to the hearing or during the hearing.
38 Motion carried unanimously.
0 8
The applicant's representative was advised that it would be beneficial
for either Mr. Aulwes or someone representing his interests to be
3 present at the Council's August 23rd consideration of his petition.
4 Commission Approves Permit for a Burger King Restaurant at Apache but
5 Has Concerns About Signage
6 At 8:27 P.M. the Chair read aloud the two Notices of Hearing for a
7 Conditional Use Permit and Sign Variance for the above restaurant which
8 had been published in the August 3 , 1988 Bulletin and sent to all
9 property owners within 350 feet of the Apache property line on Silver
10 Lake Road. No one present reported failure to receive the notices or
11 objected to their content.
12 Proposal:
13 *request from C. G. Rein Company, Apache owner, for the necessary
14 conditional use permit and sign variance to allow the construction of
15 a Burger King restaurant with a drive-up window in the same area as the
16 vacated Sports and Health Club building which would be torn down;
17 *three signs totaling 165.75 square feet are proposed for the building
18 where the City Sign Ordinance allows only one sign per business and
19 a total of 150 square feet of signage for this building:
20 1) A 4 foot X 4 foot (16 square feet) Burger King logo to
0 be mounted on the south side of the proposed building;
22 2 ) An 18 inch X 14 feet 6 inch (21.75 square feet) wall
23 sign on the east side of the building;
24 3 ) An 8 foot X 8 foot (128 square feet) monument type sign
25 which would be located adjacent to Silver Lake Road at
26 the north entrance to Apache Plaza.
27 Staff Report
28 *Childs reiterated the information he had given in his August
29 12th memorandum in the agenda packet, including his comments related
30 to the possible downgrading of the monument sign size to bring the
31 signage in closer conformance with the Sign Ordinance regulations and
32 the fact that the issue of hours of operation had been previously
33 handled by the City when restaurants were required to be closed from
34 1 :00 A.M. to 6:00 A.M. ;
35 *indicated the Commission could address that issue as well as issues
36 having to do with traffic, etc. when they made their recommendation
37 regarding that particular use;
38 *advised that the City Sign Ordinance does not allow free standing
39 signs without variance but the Apache management perceives the necessity
• 9
' t
I for street identification of this restaurant which would be constructed
0-
3
2 more than 400 feet back from Silver Lake Road;
*reported staff had received no calls or letters related to these
4 proposals but he had received a call from Jake Cadwallader of the
5 Cadwallader Realty Company across Silver Lake Road who asked for further
6 information about the proposals but did not register any objections to
7 the City granting the variances;
8 *reiterated that every foot taken from the outside dimensions of the
9 proposed monument sign would represent a substantial reduction of the
10 signage size;
it *informed the Chair that he had checked on the Hardee's Restaurant
12 signage and found the minutes of the meetings on the signage indicated
13 the restaurant had been granted a variance for a monument sign 55 square
14 feet on each side in lieu of the existing pylon roof sign which had also
15 required a variance, but the owner had decided to keep the roof sign
16 instead;
17 *said the request for a monument sign for the Midwest Federal building
18 just east of this building had been tabled and never resubmitted by the
19 applicants, who had been directed to come back with options for the
20 three signs they already had erected on the building after it was
21 reconstructed following the 1984 tornado.
22 Proponents-
Dennis Cavanaugh, President of the C. G. Rein Company and Bill Sikora,
24 Project Manager for the Rein Company.
25 14r. Sikora indicated the following about their request:
26 *the restaurant would basically be a replacement for the existing
27 building which is beyond repair and was poorly built 25 years ago with
28 little or no insulation;
29 *the existing structure would be torn down and the restaurant built
30 a little bit closer to Silver Lake Road but still about 450 feet from
31 the street;
32 *the visibility for this Burger King Restaurant would be very poor
33 compared to what those restaurants usually have;
34 *the view coming south on Silver Lake Road is obstructed by the gas
35 station and the Equinox Apartment building and also pretty well screened
36 for traffic going north;
37 *for this reason the Apache management was requesting a monument sign
38 on Silver Lake Road to indicate the restaurant's presence north of the
39 Apache complex.
0 10
i
1 The Rein representative indicated they were proposing to keep the
2 existing concrete island next to the one way street which would become
a drive-up lane for the service window. The trees which are planted
4 in the island would be retained. The area in front of the restaurant
5 and the existing parking lot would be landscaped as shown on the site
6 plans which had been included in the Commission's agenda packet. Mr.
7 Sikora indicated a row of three foot high amur maple "bushy screen"
8 would also be provided along the south side of the internal service
9 road to Silver Lake Road which runs next to the garages for the
10 apartment buildings. This screen would provide a buffer for the
11 apartments.
12 The existing parking lot in that same area has spaces for 2,800 cars and
13 Burger King would need 35 or 40 parking spaces and the Rein management
14 representative perceived they now had an opportunity for breaking up
15 this large parking area with landscaping which would also screen the
16 parking area from the Silver Lake Road view.
17 The monument sign depicted on the site plans would be an 8 X 8 foot
18 sign mounted on a 2 foot high concrete base which would be located on
19 the south side of the access road off Silver Lake Road.
20 Mr. Sikora indicated the Apache management anticipated 80% of the
21 traffic to this facility to be generated from the mall itself and the
22 rest of the customers to come off Silver Lake Road. He added that the
23 traffic generated from this facility would be "a drop in the bucket"
24 when compared to the cars and customers coming to the shopping center.
0 The Project Manager agreed with the Chair's perception that the existing
26 entrance to the one way road to the drive-up window would be a "tight
27 squeeze for vehicles approaching from Silver Lake Road" and indicated
28 he had already anticipated having to widen that entrance. He said
29 another possibility would be to widen the existing island to about 15
30 feet wide so cars would have a better opportunity to straighten out
31 before'entering the drive-up lane.
32 The Chair suggested the view of traffic entering the service road from
33 the restaurant might be obstructed by the trees. Mr. Sikora indicated
34 the planners had perceived it might be a good idea to screen the view
35 of the drive-up window and the existing refuse enclosure from the
36 service road but suggested the island might be extended further west
37 or that exit closed off completely.
38 Mr. Sikora reiterated the sign on Silver Lake Road was necessary to let
39 the 20% or so prospective customers who are not shopping at Apache know
40 the restaurant is there. He then pointed out that there is still
41 evidence at the base of the existing Apache pylon shopping center sign
42 that at one time Apache had monument signs.
43 When the Project Manager said Burger King signs come in many sizes,
44 Commissioner Brownell pointed out that if the sign were reduced to 6
45 feet X 6 feet, the total square footage would be 109.75 and a 7 foot
0 11
I square sign would be 150. 75. Mr. Sikora told him that if "push comes
2 to shove" Apache would prefer eliminating the 16 square foot logo on the
south entrance to the restaurant, which he perceived "was pretty useless
4 anyway. "
5 When Chair Wagner suggested Midwest Federal might have some concerns
6 about a monument sign in that location, Mr. Cavanaugh told him the sign
7 had not been discussed with the bank because the decision was only up
8 to the center.
9 Townhome Residents Across Silver Lake Road Indicate Their Concerns About
10 Restaurant
11 Eight of the residents from the townhomes across the street were present
12 to speak against the proposal .
13 Chester Krumm, commented that the quality of the five trees in that
14 island now would certainly prevent them from serving as a buffer for the
15 restaurant.
16 Leo Donahue said he lived right across from Midwest Federal and
17 corrected the designation of the service road as being 39th Avenue N.E. ,
18 which instead has a semaphore traffic control. When told the service
19 road was not a public street, Mr. Donahue said it was certainly used
20 by a lot of the public and he was concerned. with the amount of traffic
21 he expected to be generated by this new restaurant. He said he would
22 expect many "young people who play their radios real loud" to frequent
this facility during the nighttime hours when the older people in his
townhouse complex would be trying to sleep. He said the area already
25 has a Hardee's and a Zantigo restaurant as well as the oriental
26 restaurant in Apache and Bakers Square on Stinson and he questioned
27 whether another restaurant was needed. The complainant advised against
28 "sinking too many dollars into the facility if its success is going to
29 depend on customers from Apache Plaza. " Mr. Donahue reiterated his
30 concerns about the age of the customers who he perceived would be the
31 most likely restaurant customers. He said he understood thee had been
32 a lot of police protection required for the Burger King at 19th and
33 Central and was concerned his neighborhood would be experiencing the
34 same type of problems with this facility. Mrs. Donahue wondered why the
35 restaurant traffic couldn't be directed behind Apache instead of onto
36 Silver Lake Road or at least required to use the semaphore exit instead
37 of the service road.
38 Dale Siegrist indicated he wasn't certain who was responsible for
39 maintaining the service road next to the apartments which the Burger
40 King customers would be using, but indicated he had observed that
41 "watching the cars slipping, sliding, and rear ending on that incline
42 the past few winters had been a real circus" . He indicated he expected
43 the accidents which occurred on that road would be compounded unless the
44 street is sanded and better maintained if the restaurant goes in.
is 12
1 Arline Dick reported she had also seen many accidents on that service
2 road. She was also concerned that lighting from the restaurant
0 monument sign would be shining right into their townhome complex if the
4 restaurant is allowed to stay open late at night. The Chair told Mrs.
5 Dick all lighting on the restaurant sign would be directed north and
6 south and not in her direction. She was also reminded that the City
7 Ordinance .required the restaurant to be closed between 1:00 A.M. and
8 6 :00 A.M. Mrs. Dick indicated that she was "still opposed to the sign
9 on Silver Lake Road because none of the other businesses had them and
10 she could see no reason why "all of a sudden we have to have this one."
11 Marguerite Andreason, Gladys Johnson, and Bernice Pehlinv from the
12 townhouse complex were also present to oppose the proposal.
13 Mr. Sikora responded to these objections by indicating:
1.4 *the removal of some of the concrete from around the five trees in
15 the island would probably cause them to grow better;
16 *shrubbery in the island would probably be damaged by the snow plows;
17 *confirmed that the service road was not a public road and belonged
18 to Apache and said he could see where early in the morning before the
19 mall is open there might be problems on the sloped roadway;
20 1*however, said he was certain Apache would also be made painfully
21 aware of any accidents which occurred because the first place those
involved in an accident would go would be to the Apache office to
complain;
24 *perceived most drivers like himself would avoid making a left turn
25 into the northbound Silver Lake Road traffic from the service road;
26 *he agreed that a large shopping center like this one generated a lot
27 of traffic for residential streets but thought putting up a light at
28 that intersection would be possible but rather improbable because of
29 the cost;
30 *in relation to the lighting from the restaurant shining into the
31 townhome windows, he said that the lighting proposed for the sign on
32 the building was not the type which projected out and the neighbors
33 would probably have a hard time discerning the difference between the
34 restaurant lighting and the lighting which is already present in the
35 parking lot.
36 When Commissioner Hansen commented that he perceived the decision to
37 put the restaurant in that particular location must have been strictly
38 the Rein Company's and he questioned the statement that the center
39 couldn't put in a curb cut to service a building which would be closer
40 to Silver Lake Road.
13
1 Mr. Cavanaugh told him Midwest Federal has a restrictive covenant in
2 their agreement with Apache which prohibits putting another building
within 200 feet of their building. He also said a building closer to
4 Silver Lake Road would block the view of other mall tenants.
5 When no further input to the discussion was offered, the Chair closed
6 the hearing at 9:03 P.M.
7 Commissioners All in Favor of Granting Permit For the Restaurant, But
8 Split 3 to 2 Against the Sign Variance
9 The following comments preceded the Commission motions related to the
10 requested conditional use permit and the sign variance, which were
11 considered to be separate issues:
12 Hansen indicated he would have no problem with granting a conditional
13 use permit for the restaurant, perceiving traffic congestion was a
14 natural occurrence in shopping centers and reasonable actions on the
15 part of management can be taken to control traffic. He also said he
16 thought the existing drives would be able to take care of the addition-
17 al traffic generated by this facility, which would not be much different
18 from the business which was there before in terms of people coming and
19 going.
20 However, the Commissioner indicated he was opposed to the sign,
21 perceiving the distance between the restaurant and the street was .a
. 22 result of choice by the center management, who he thought had several
other options for locating the restaurant on their property. He also
said he didn't consider an 8 foot X 8 foot sign to be "small" as it had
25 been described in the petition for a sign variance. He conceded that
26 the restaurant might be hard to see from Silver Lake Road but pointed.
27 out that other large tenants in the mall suffered from the same lack of
28 identification which the City has always been reluctant to remedy by
29 allowing further signage. He indicated that he would hate to see
30 signs for Penneys, Warners, etc. all start to appear along Silver Lake
31 Road, which up to now the City has managed to keep residential appear-
32 ing.
33 The Commissioner answered the Chair's query about whether he would
34 consider voting for a smaller sign by saying he would not.
35 The Chair recalled a monument sign had been denied Zantigo's and
36 remembered that when the City had allowed Apache management to add a
37 sign for Herberger's below their center identification on the pylon
38 sign, the Council had warned that this would be the last sign of this
39 type which would be allowed at Apache. The general consensus was that
40 they had meant on the pylon sign.
41 Werenicz said he also favored granting the conditional use permit for
42 a Burger King restaurant because he had noted that most of the Burger
43 King facilities being constructed now were very nice buildings which are
44 tastefully done and from his observations of the manner in which they
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1 are operated, had concluded one at Apache would be an asset to the
�2 community. He disputed the information which had been offered regarding
03 the 19th and Central Burger King, saying he knew many of the Eastside
4 police and had yet to hear from any of them that this particular
5 restaurant was- a "major trouble spot" in spite of the fact that the
6 area is not the same as St. Anthony and the young people who frequent
7 that spot might not be the same as those who would be customers of the
8 Apache restaurant.
9 The Commissioner indicated he wasn't really opposed to the Burger King
10 sign being erected in the spot which had been proposed, although he
11 would like to see it a little bit smaller than 8 X 8. He agreed that
12 scaling the sign down to 6 X 6 would result in a substantial decrease
13 in the total signage for this facility at the same time it would serve
14 as an adequate identification for the restaurant.
15 Fadden commented that he thought a Burger King Restaurant would
16 "brighten up" that part of Apache which had been neglected since the
17 Sports and Health Club closed. He said he also thought the 450 foot
18 distance between the restaurant and the street was a justification for
19 allowing an identification sign on Silver Lake Road to let people know
20 the restaurant is back there. The Commissioner said he wouldn't
21 object to an 8 x 8 sign but would go along with a smaller one if the
22 applicants were agreeable to reducing the size.
23 Brownell indicated he would be in favor of granting a conditional us
24 permit for the restaurant but an 8 X 8 sign was a problem for him. He
said he was in favor of granting a variance for the signage on the
building and would not oppose a monument sign which would keep the
27 total signage within the 150 square feet the Ordinance allowed this
28 building. The Commissioner said he would like to see some other way
29 of directing the restaurant traffic away from the facility so cars
30 wouldn't be exiting directly onto the service road whether that meant
31 extending the island next to that roadway farther to the west or
32 shutting off that access completely and forcing the restaurant
33 customers to use the 39th Avenue driveway with the semaphore instead.
34 Hansen stated that he wasn't opposing the signage proposed for the
35 building itself, but perceived the residents across Silver Lake Road
36 were justified in their opposition to a sign next to that roadway. He
37 reminded the Commissioners that the City had allowed those townhomes
38 to be built in that location and reiterated that he was opposed to
39 establishing a precedent for more signage which would ruin the
40 appearance what is now "a very pleasant appearing street. "
41 The Commissioner disputed the assertion that the restaurant's location
42 mad it "unique" , saying its distance from Silver Lake Road had been the
43 choice of the Apache management and he didn't think they had proved any
44 "hardship" to justify a variance.
45 Chair Wagner said he had to agree that the shopping center management
46 had other options for locating the restaurant and with Commissioner
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1 Hansen's conclusion that the City "didn't need another free standing
2 sign on Silver Lake Road. " Although he would be opposed to a sign as
large as the one proposed by the applicants, he was forced to
4 acknowledge the City had already set the precedent for approving
5 lighted monument signs in that area, which made it difficult to deny
6 some sort of monument signage for the Burger King restaurant. The Chair
7 said he could probably vote for a 6 X 6 sign.
8 Commission Recommendations
9 Motion by Brownell, seconded by Werenicz to recommend the City Council
10 grant a conditional use permit to the C. G. Rein Company to construct
11 the free standing Burger King restaurant with a drive-up window
12 proposed in the site plans presented at the August 16, 1988 Planning
13 Commission hearing with that permit made subject to the conditions in
14 the City Zoning Ordinance for a "C" Commercial Zone and limited to the
15 hours of operation contained in the City Code. The Commission
16 recommends that the permit also be subject to modification of the site
17 plans to provide southbound access into the drive-up lane and to
18 prevent immediate access onto the north service road to extend the
19 existing island a minimum of 40 feet west without high landscaping, so
20 visibility of cars exiting the drive through land would be provided for
21 traffic on the service road.
22 Motion carried unanimously.
23 Motion by Werenicz, seconded by Madden to recommend the City Council
grant the request from C. G. Rein Company for a variance from the sign
regulations of the City Sign Ordinance to allow all the signage which
26 had been requested with the exception of the monument sign adjacent to
27 Silver Lake Road, which would be reduced to a 6 foot X 6 foot sign (72
28 square feet) which would bring the total signage for the three signs to
29 109.75 feet where the Ordinance would allow 150 square feet of signage
30 for one sign on that building. The monument sign would be internally
31 lit as indicated on the site plans for the building and could only be
32 lit during the hours of operation established for recreational
33 establishments. In recommending the variance be granted, the Planning
34 Commission finds that the fact that the proposed building would be
35 located 450 feet from Silver Lake Road creates a unique circumstance
36 which calls for identification by signage closer to the street.
37 Before the vote was taken, Commissioner Hansen suggested that enlarging
38 the signage on the building itself might provide adequate
39 identification without a street sign. He also wanted the record to show
40 that eight residents in that area had spoken against the monument sign
41 during the Commission hearing.
42 Voting on the motion:
43 Aye: Werenicz and Madden
44 Nay: Hansen, Brownell , and Wagner
16
1 Motion not carried .
Conformance of the Evergreen Townhouse Proposal to St Anthony's
3 Comprehensive Plan Affirmed by Motion
4 Mr. Childs informed the Commissioners that the City Attorneys felt that
5 the motion to approve the zoning for the Evergreen Tax Increment
6 Project had not clearly indicated that the plan was in conformance with
7 the City's Comprehensive Plan and had suggested another motion
8 reaffirming that conformance would be desirable.
9 Motion by Madden, seconded by Brownell to affirm that the Evergreen
10 Townhouse proposal was in conformance with the City's Comprehensive
11 Plan.
12 Motion carried unanimously.
13 Reservations to be Taken for Attendance at Planning Conference,
14 September 14-17th
15 Commissioners who were interested in attending any of the sessions of
16 the American Planning Association Upper Midwest Regional Conference at
17 the Holiday Downtown in Minneapolis were urged to let staff know in
18 time to make the necessary reservations. Mr. Childs indicated his
19 membership in the APA qualified them for attendance.
20 Childs Gives Update on Various City Projects
0 The Manager's report included:
22 *the carbon filtration plant enclosure; '
23 *indication that after spending a couple million dollars to prove what
24 everybody else knew all along, the Army appeared to be finally close
25 to accepting responsibility for contamination St. Anthony's water
26 supply;
27 *the 8 foot X 14 foot St. Anthony Village identification sign to be
28 erected in the City's entrance in Trillium Park and median changes the
29 Public Works is making in that area;
30 *personnel and responsibility changes in the front office staffing;
31 *the mural suggestion had been withdrawn by the St. Anthony Shopping
32 Center managers;
33 *an invitation to attend the Army's information meeting to be held
34 in the Council Chambers;
35 *start of Rapid Oil Station rebuilding project.
17
ADJOURNMENT
2 Motion by Hansen, seconded by Wagner to adjourn the meeting at 9:43 P.M.
3 Motion carried unanimously.
4 Respectfully submitted,
5 Helen Crowe, Secretary
6
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