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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL MINUTES 03171998 ' Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIIIIIII 100863 Box: 19 Folder: PL MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1998 Document: PLMINUTES 03171998 1 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 3 MARCH 17, 1998 4 I. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 5 The meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chair Bergstrom at 6 7:01 P.M. 7 II. ROLL CALL. 8 Commissioners present: Chair Bergstrom; Commissioners Gondorchin, Horst, Kaczor, and 9 Thompson. 10 Commissioners absent: Delmonico and Makowske. 11 Also present: Kim Moore-Sykes, Management Assistant. 12 III. APPROVAL OF MARCH 17, 1998 PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA. 13 Motion by Commissioner Thompson, seconded by Chair Bergstrom, to approve the Planning 14 Commission Agenda for March 17, 1998 with the following change: 15 Delete Item V. Designation of Planning Commission Representative to the City Council (as there 16 are no Public Hearings on the Agenda). q1Motion carried unanimously. 19 IV. APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 17, 1998 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING 20 MINUTES. 21 Motion by Chair Bergstrom, seconded by Commissioner Gondorchin, to approve the February 22 17, 1998 Planning Commission Meeting minutes with the following change: 23 Page 9, Line 8: Replace "Kahan" with "Kahn". 24 25 Motion carried unanimously. 26 VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS -None. 27 VII. NEW BUSINESS. 28 1. Concept Review. 29 A. Rezone or Variance Request for Town/Country Building by Krause/Anderson. 30 Ms. Moore-Sykes reported she had received a phone call from Bill Warner of Krause/Anderson 31 requesting an opportunity to come before the Planning Commission to present a concept review 32 of relocating Robodyne, a company that is located in St. Anthony, into the Town/Country 33 building. This would require a rezoning of the site. Currently Robodyne exists in a large industrial area of the City and they are looking to relocate to a larger building. She noted a letter from Joseph Alvite, President and CEO of Robodyne. Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 • Page 2 1 Bill Warner, Krause/Anderson, reported his company owns the Town/Country building located 2 on County Road 88. He was present this evening to discuss the possibility of a rezoning or 3 acquiring a variance from Commercial to Light Industrial for the abovementioned property. 4 Krause/Anderson's interest is based on securing Robodyne as a tenant for that property. 5 Robodyne has been located in St. Anthony for eight years and has made three moves within the 6 community for expansion of the site. The company has two locations, one in Rugby,North 7 Dakota and one in St. Anthony, and employs 54 employees, 33 employees in St. Anthony. The 8 salaries provided range from $14.00 per hour to $70,000 annually. The Krause/Anderson 9 Company and Ownership Group has toured the facility and found it to be a "clean" user and 10 Robodyne has been a good neighbor in the community for the past eight years. 11 Mr. Warner reported Mr. Alvite currently has 10,000 square feet of space and is interested in a 12 building where the business can anchor and continue to grow for a long period of time. He has 13 agreed to lease the Town/Country building for five years with an option to purchase at the end of 14 that time for$1 million. Krause/Anderson would spend $150,000 on structural improvements 15 including replacing the roof and removing the asbestos floor tiling, prior to Robodyne taking 16 occupancy. Robodyne would invest $300,000 into the building of office area and area for the 17 component work. Mr. Warner noted this site would be used for instrument testing and research,. 18 CAD operation, computer design, and office and sales work. The truck traffic will be minimal and will occur during standard business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. 21 Mr. Warner reported Krause/Anderson had explored quite a few options for this site. He 22 distributed a 19,000 square foot retail conceptual drawing. He had originally felt that based on 23 the demographics, opinion of the community, loss of the grocery store, and the traffic patterns, 24 there was a potential for retail development on this site. But, in order for retail to be successful 25 in this location, a 4,000 square foot gas and convenience-type anchor was needed. All of the 26 major gas operations in the Twin Cities and Hudson, Wisconsin were contacted and none were 27 interested. 28 Mr. Warner reported that the cost formula was performed and it was determined that a base rent 29 of$16 to $18 per square foot would be required for the gas/convenience area and a base rent of 30 $13 to $15 in the remaining 15,000 square feet of retail. The overhead would be $4 per square 31 foot. This would result in a return of ownership to the investor of 12.25%. Retail tenants were 32 then pursued. The only positive response was from a Subway store for 1,200 square feet. Other 33 retailers were not pursued do to the lack of an anchor. Krause/Anderson spent an excess of 34 $5,000 and several months exploring the retail option but was unable to get it off the ground. 35 Mr. Warner reported there have been a number of inquiries in regard to the site including an 36 indoor and outdoor rental storage facility and a mortuary/funeral home. He stated he would 7 prefer to see Robodyne relocated to this site. Mr. Alvite is adamant to locate on this site or he will relocate outside of St. Anthony. He does not want to leave because he likes the community, 39 his business is established here, and it works well for his family, but he has to stay with the pace Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 • Page 3 1 of his company's growth. Robodyne has grown by 300% and anticipates to double that number 2 again within the next five years. Their number one client is Motorola and they have thirteen 3 national clients. Mr. Warner explained that Mr. Alvite was not able to be present this evening as 4 he is out of the country. 5 Mr. Warner acknowledged that the City would like to keep the property in a retail use but his 6 attempts at securing tenants has failed. He suggested that this site could be rezoned to Light 7 Industrial for a trial period of five years and after that period Robodyne could come back before 8 the Commission to request an extension or adoption. Robodyne would lease the space for$3.50 9 per square foot with a real estate tax of$1.28 per square foot. They would hire their own snow - 10 removal and upkeep of the building. This would result in a gross square foot rate of under$5.00. 11 Chair Bergstrom expressed appreciation for all the work Mr. Warner had done. He noted that the 12 City was reluctant to convert this site to any use other than retail. Whether the City can balance 13 this with keeping a solid highly-technical company in the City is a difficult task. 14 Chair Bergstrom noted that the Planning Commission is interested in locating a nice restaurant in 15 the City. The Commission has asked the Council to consider split liquor in the City. He asked if 16 Mr. Warner had approached any restaurants that served liquor in regard to this site. 0 Mr. Warner stated that Krause/Anderson considers restaurants to be one of the highest risks due 18 to the tremendous turnover and investment required to bring the property on-line. The second 19 issue with this site is that it is 2.24 acres. It would cost$70,000 to demolish the building 20 resulting in a raw land cost of$7 to $12 per acre. A restaurant of this type generally only 21 requires 1 acre of land. It would be very challenging to get an investor to spend that type of 22 money for raw land on a 2.24 acre site. Also this type of user is not appropriate for an end cap 23 location on a shopping center. Mr. Warner stated that cost-wise this would be a very difficult 24 project to achieve for this site. 25 Chair Bergstrom asked what it would take to locate this type of restaurant in this location. 26 Mr. Warner explained it would require a retail facility or a strip center located in the rear of the 27 property with the end cap user switched from 4,000 to 6,000 square feet. 28 Mr. Warner stated he had also heard of the community storm water retention issue and that this 29 area may ultimately be used for placement of a retention pond. He reported he had contacted the 30 City Manager to offer to sell the property for placement of a retention pond but had been 31 informed that unless an area was acquired for placement of three ponds, the ponding would not 32 be effective overall. Chair Bergstrom noted that the City is in the process of requesting proposals for a land use planner to help the City develop a Master Plan for the Apache Plaza area and the south end of the 35 City which includes the St. Anthony Village Shopping Center. Planning Commission Regular.Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 • Page 4 1 Mr. Warner noted this would be an effective tool for the community but will take time to 2 complete and time is of an essence to Krause/Anderson and to Robodyne. He stated he felt that 3 Robodyne would fit well in this area and the community. They will update the building and will 4 be a good neighbor. 5 Commissioner Gondorchin stated he was disappointed that there were no plans available for 6 review this evening. He expressed that he did not want this body of land to become landlocked 7 when it could become part of an overall theme development as a result of the pending Land Use 8 Master Plan. He asked if Mr. Alvite was considering constructing a new building. -9 Mr. Warner stated Mr. Alvite had no interest in constructing a new building. He has been 10 offered a 51,000 square foot building at Bandana Square in Energy Park with tremendous 11 financing but the Town/Country building has a much better rate structure on a per square footage 12 basis. The Town/Country offer will allow Mr. Alvite to keep his finances in hand and invest 13 them in the building and then at the end of five years provide an opportunity to renew the lease 14 or purchase the building. 15 Commissioner Gondorchin questioned how much of the building Mr. Alvite would occupy. Mr. Warner stated Robodyne would utilize 20,000 to 25,000 square feet initially. He would be given 90 days to get the facility built out for his use. He would pay the utility costs upon 18 occupancy. He would pay the operating costs on the vacant area until he is ready to utilize the 19 space or finds another use for the space. Mr. Alvite believes he will require the additional space 20 within five years. 21 Commissioner Gondorchin asked if Mr. Alvite plans to lease out the vacant space and noted 22 there could be multiple tenants in this building. 23 Mr. Warner stated he did not know of another use which could utilize the remaining 6,000 square 24 feet. Robodyne is growing at an incredible rate and will require the space within a short period 25 of time. Mr. Warner apologized for not providing a preliminary plan. He stated he had only 26 learned of this meeting two days ago and would provide a plan at a future meeting. 27 Commissioner Gondorchin complimented Mr. Warner on a thorough and informative 28 presentation. He asked what conditions compelled Krause/Anderson to want to redevelop the 29 property in this manner. 30 Mr. Warner stated that last year Krause/Anderson sold three properties of the 60 shopping 31 centers that they own. They want to pick up another project to develop. Commissioner Gondorchin asked if a retail development at this site is attractive to 16 Krause/Anderson. Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 • Page 5 1 Mr. Warner stated a 12.25% return of ownership is attractive. With the Robodyne relocation this 2 site will produce $3.50 per square foot and after five years Krause/Anderson may no longer be 3 the owner of the building. A retail use would be better for Krause/Anderson and for the 4 community. Mr. Warner again noted he would have moved forward with the retail development 5 if he could have secured a 4,000 square foot gas/convenience user. He had been convinced that 6 he could find a user due to the traffic on Highway 88 but there was no reception from the 7 operators. They were concerned with the speed limit, the limited curb cuts, and that there are no 8 traffic lights. 9 Chair Bergstrom noted this site is located in a TIF District and asked if TIF funds would help a 10 retail development. 11 Mr. Warner stated TIF funds may help but with the price structure and the cost of raw land, it 12 would be a challenge to secure tenants. The retail cost per square foot would be $12 to $14 plus 13 an overhead cost. There are not a lot of businesses that can support that amount without a strong 14 exposure. 15 Commissioner Gondorchin asked the status of the office park near this site. Ms. Moore-Sykes stated the office park is in a PUD or condo situation and is almost to full capacity. 18 Commissioner Horst stated he would refrain from discussion on this proposal as he owned a 19 business in the St. Anthony Village Shopping Center. 20 Mr. Warner stated Krause/Anderson had identified potential tenants of a retail center as a 21 Subway and sandwich shop at$14 per square foot, a coffee shop at $13 per square foot, a Mr. 22 Movies or a video store or deli user at$13 per square foot, a sporting goods store at$12 per 23 square foot, and an end cap gas station of 4,000 square feet at $18 per square foot. The building 24 cost was estimated at $65 per square foot for 4,000 square feet of structure and $55 for 15,000 25 square foot of structure. The land cost was estimated at $800,000 and soft costs of$1/4 million. 26 This would result in a net 12.25% return of ownership on the property. This does not include the 27 common cost of$4 per square foot. This would result in a $17 to $22 gross square foot rental 28 rate. 29 Chair Bergstrom noted an earlier comment that the arrangement with Robodyne could be on a 30 temporary basis. 31 Mr. Warner stated he had advised Mr. Alvite that one possibility would be that he be granted a 32 conditional use permit for five years and within that time the City could determine if this was a 33 satisfactory arrangement. Mr. Warner encouraged Commissioners to tour the Robodyne facility & and see firsthand the incredible work which is being done there. Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 Page 6 1 Chair Bergstrom noted that the Land Use Master Plan will take time and that the City does not 2 know what will ultimately take place in the St. Anthony Shopping Center area. He stated he 3 would personally be in favor of a five year time period of approval to allow for completion of the 4 Master Plan. He was supportive of keeping the job opportunities in the City and retaining the tax 5 base. 6 Mr. Warner stated Robodyne would be a good neighbor and will improve the neighborhood. 7 There is a possibility that in five years the City will want to keep them in this location. Mr. 8 Alvite does ultimately want to own his own building. 9 Commissioner Gondorchin asked if Robodyne would outgrow the building within five years. 10 Mr. Warner stated he believed Robodyne could be located at this site for a long time. 11 Chair Bergstrom asked if this would be considered spot zoning. 12 Ms. Moore-Sykes stated this was her concern also. She will check with the City Attorney as to 13 the legalities involved. Commissioners Gondorchin, Kaczor, and Bergstrom asked Ms. Moore-Sykes to schedule a tour of the Robodyne facility. 16 Commissioner Kaczor asked when Robodyne would like to move into the Town/Country 17 building. 18 Mr. Warner stated Robodyne's lease expires in April but he was confident that they would be 19 able to work with the existing landlord. He noted it would also take 90 days to build out the 20 Town/Country building to facilitate Robodyne's needs. 21 Chair Bergstrom summarized that St. Anthony, as a City, is in the process of submitting an RFP 22 for a Master Plan for the south end of the City including St. Anthony Village Shopping Center. 23 Because of this,there is reluctance to lock up a piece of property in the middle of that area. The 24 City does however, want to act responsibly as a community to keep sound business within the 25 City and help to keep local people employed at a good livable wage. The Planning Commission 26 would be in favor of considering an option during the time that the Master Plan is being 27 prepared. Staff has been directed to check the legalities of zoning and use of a conditional use 28 permit. 29 2. Review RFP for Land Use Planner. 30 Ms. Moore-Sykes noted the proposed RFP and property profile included in the Commissioner's packet. The City Manager has asked her to submit the RFP to the Planning Commission for comments. Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 • Page 7 1 Commissioner Gondorchin asked if this included the trailer court area. 2 Ms. Moore-Sykes stated it did not. The owner of the trailer courts is not inclined to sell that 3 property. She reported the RFP will not be sent out April 15 as indicated. The City.Manager 4 would like the Council to review the RFP as well. 5 Commissioner Gondorchin asked what type of participation is anticipated. 6 Ms. Moore-Sykes stated she had spoken with the Economic Specialist of the City of New 7 Brighton and she had indicated that they had gone directly to the developers and asked for their 8 ideas. The City-of New-Brighton does have a Land Use Planner on staff. Ms. Moore-Sykes 9 noted her concern is that most engineering companies are involved in completion of 10 Comprehensive Plan Updates and may not be available for this project. 11 Chair Bergstrom suggested the City hire a temporary person to begin the land use project. 12 Commissioner Gondorchin suggested an intern from the University of Minnesota could provide 13 assistance. Ms. Moore-Sykes expressed concern that this would not provide the City with the professional end result product that they desire. 16 Chair Bergstrom asked how the RFP would be priced out. He suggested that the RFP include 17 specific deliverable items such as continued commercial retail, all residential, a combination of 18 residential and retail, or a theme development. 19 Commissioner Gondorchin suggested that Hennepin County be contacted in regard to the 20 possibility of a library or a regional administration center. He suggested the south area could 21 include a mixed use, including retail and residential development, in a theme atmosphere. The 22 area could include a nicely landscaped area and a gathering area. He stated he was concerned 23 with land locking the Town/Country site and was opposed to a piece meal development of the 24 south area. 25 Ms. Moore-Sykes stated she would contact St. Louis Park and inquire in regard to their 26 development of the Miracle Mile and also acquire information in regard to the Phalen Park 27 redevelopment and report back to the Planning Commission. 28 3. Discuss Point of Sale Ordinance. 29 Ms. Moore-Sykes reported the issue of a point of sale ordinance was a result of the recent goal 30 setting retreat. The City is interested in the maintenance and preservation of housing stock and the associated code enforcement. Included in the Commissioner's packet are point of sale ordinances from various surrounding Cities which have been provided by the League of 33 Minnesota Cities. She reported she had talked with Ernie Peterson of St. Louis Park which was Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 • Page 8 1 the first City to adopt such an ordinance. They are very pleased with the success and feel it has 2 helped maintain the housing stock in their community. 3 Commissioner Gondorchin expressed his approval of the concept and suggested that it be 4 implemented on a gradual scale. 5 Chair Bergstrom noted that his recollection of the charge which was given to the Planning 6 Commission was that the point of sale ordinance was a potential vehicle to implement to 7 maintain housing stock. He asked if there were other vehicles which would be as effective or 8 more effective or could be implemented along with this ordinance. 9 There was Commission consensus that stronger code enforcement was needed in the City. 10 Chair Bergstrom noted the point of sale ordinance was not a cure because houses in St. Anthony 11 do not sell that often. His vision of the ordinance was not long and complicated but rather would 12 specify who does what and when it was to be done and would point back to the requirements in 13 the housing codes. It would provide a valuable set of expectations to be done at a time when all 14 parties are motivated. He stated he would also like to see the City provide some type of low 15 interest loans to aid residents in making these types of improvements. He would also like an ii acknowledgment included that the City is interested in the preservation of the health and safety �j of the residents and in the protection of property values. 18 Ms. Moore-Sykes stated she would obtain the St. Louis Park point of sale ordinance and develop 19 a draft which mirrors her perception of what the City wants and bring it back to the 20 Commissioners for revision and input. She will submit it to the City Attorney and also solicit 21 input from department heads of Public Works, Fire, Police, etc. She asked that Commissioners 22 contact her with any suggestions or ideas after reviewing the information provided in their 23 packets. 24 VIII. OTHER BUSINESS -None. 25 IX. COMMENTS. 26 Commissioner Gondorchin suggested Staff submit an outline to the Bulletin and Focus 27 Newspapers asking residents to submit their development plan of what they envision for the 28 south side to the City. 29 Commissioner Gondorchin questioned the correct name of Apache Plaza and when the pylon 30 sign would be removed. 31 Ms. Moore-Sykes stated the shopping center will retain the name of Apache Plaza as that name 4 has wide recognition. Staff has been told that the sign will be removed and is still waiting. 33 Commissioner Gondorchin reported his attendance at a recent Parks Task Force meeting. At that Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 • Page 9 1 meeting a Park Plan was considered. They have also developed a recommendation that a Parks 2 Commission be established, along with the structure, responsibilities, and mission statement for 3 that Commission. They will be submitting the recommendation to the City Council. 4 Commissioner Kaczor reported his attendance together with the two new Councilmembers at a 5 Land Use Seminar. The seminar was very informative and he also enjoyed getting acquainted 6 with the new Councilmembers. 7 Commissioner Kaczor reported his attendance at his precinct caucus. The question asked most 8 frequently was when do residents get their money back from.the state. 9 Commissioner Kaczor reported this attendance at the Joint Work Session with the City Council. 10 He also attended the presentation by WSB in regard to the options for the City parks. 11 Commissioner Kaczor reported he will act as Chairman of Solicitations for VillageFest. Tom 12 Schamp is the Chair and Dennis Cavanaugh is the Council representative. The next meeting is 13 scheduled for Monday, March 30, 1998. 14 Commissioner Horst noted he had abstained from the discussion in regard to Town/Country because Robodyne is a good customer of Coast to Coast. He stated he felt strongly that the Town/Country should remain in a retail use. He also expressed concern in regard to spot zoning. 17 He suggested other locations for Robodyne could include a large vacant building in the industrial 18 park, the lower half of the Apache Medical Building, or the Medtronic site. There are a lot of 19 possibilities which could accomplish what Robodyne desires and retain the business in the City. 20 He stated it was worth City time and effort to investigate these possibilities. He suggested that if 21 the gas station was concerned because there was not a traffic light at the Town/Country location, 22 maybe one should be installed. TIF funds could be made available. He suggested there were 23 many opportunities to help a retail center locate at the Town/Country and Staff should work with 24 these possibilities. 25 Ms. Moore-Sykes noted a copy of the Water Management Plan. The Plan had been submitted to 26 the Metropolitan Council last November for their review. 27 Chair Bergstrom asked for an updated Planning Commission and terms list. He asked that it 28 include work phone and fax, e-mail and City Manager and Management Assistant direct dial 29 numbers. 30 Chair Bergstrom asked the Commissioners to contact him if they ever find they are unable to 31 attend a Council meeting when scheduled to be the Planning Commission Representative. 32 Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes March 17, 1998 • Page 10 1 X. ADJOURNMENT. 2 Motion by Commissioner Horst, seconded by Chair Bergstrom,to adjourn the meeting at 8:52 3 P.M. 4 Motion carried unanimously. 5 Respectfully submitted, 6 Lorri Kopischke 7 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.