HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-02-16 NAC Planning ReportNorthwest Associated Consultants, Inc.
URBAN PI_ ANNING.DESIGN•MARKET RESEARCH
PLANNING REPORT
TO: Oak park Heights Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dan Licht/Scott Richards
DATE: 16 February 1995
RE: Oak Park Heights Menards Development Issues
FILE NO: 798.02 94.15
The following is a preliminary review and brief summary of significant issues surrounding the
proposed development of a Menards store within the proposed Brackey Addition in Oak Park
Heights. The conditional use permits, variances and site plan review for the Menards store will
be considered in a staff planning report for City Council action at a public hearing after the
issues of 58th Street and the Brackey Addition Final Plat and zoning have been resolved.
Attached for reference:
ISSUES
Exhibit A Brackey Preliminary Plat
Exhibit B Proposed Site Plan
Exhibit C Preliminary Grading Plan
Exhibit D Preliminary Utility Plan
ENCI 'TIRE 7A
7-m
FEB 1 7 1995 111j;
1. 58th Street. The development of this project is contingent upon the Oak Park Heights
City Council completing its final review and approval for the construction of 58th Street.
The construction of this street is necessary for the development of the Menards store in
order to provide access to the site.
2. Brackey Addition Final Plat. Development of the proposed Menards site is contingent
upon the final review and approval by the City Council of the Brackey Addition Final
Plat and approval of the rezoning of Lot 1, Block 1 to B-2, General Business District.
This approval is necessary to establish the lot and zoning on which the Menards store is
to be developed.
5775 Wayzata Blvd.- Suite 555 St. Louis Park, MN 55416 (612) 595-9636.Fax. 595-9837
3. Conditional Use Permit. As mentioned above, the proposed zoning for the Menards lot
is B -2, General Business District. Within this district, retail sales are a permitted use.
The developer is proposing an outdoor lumber yard area located at along the sides and
rear of the proposed building. Open and outdoor storage is allowed within the B -2
District as a conditional use. As part of the development approval, the .developer will
need to acquire a conditional use permit to allow the open and outdoor storage area. The
developer appears to have satisfied the conditions specified in the Zoning Ordinance for
a CUP for allowing open and outdoor storage in the B -2 district. These conditions
include, but are not limited to, providing necessary screening, surfacing storage area to
control dust and hooding and directing lighting to reduce glare. Screening and lighting
are discussed in greater detail below.
4. Fence Height. Section 401 .03 B.7. b. regulates the height of required fencing. The
Ordnance states that the height of a required fence may not exceed 8 feet or be less than
6 feet. For cases of grade separation between sides of the fence, the average height
between the two shall be util i7ed Berms utilized for required screening purposes are
limited to a maximum height of 3 feet. Plans submitted by the developer indicate a fence
for screening the outdoor storage yard at 14 feet high on the storage area side and 10 feet
high on the berm side of the fence. Along the rear of the property line this fence is
supplemented on the outside by a four foot high berm. The screening fence serves as a
pallet rack on the inside of the outdoor storage yard. Due to the overall height of the
fence /pallet racks and height of the berm along the rear property line, the developer will
need to acquire a variance from the fence requirements of the Zoning Ordinance.
5. Landscaping /Screening The developer has indicated proposed landscaping on the
submitted preliminary site plan. A preliminary review of site landscaping raises several
concerns. The primary concern associated with the proposed landscaping is the minimal
area devoted to landscaping. The developer is proposing a fifteen foot strip surrounding
the sides and rear of the outdoor storage lot. There are to be full grown Colorado Blue
Spruce and Balsam Pine trees planted in rows along the sides of the storage yard and in
a staggered fashion along the rear. The trees along the along the sides of the lot do not
offer optimum screening value due to being planted in a single row Staff recommends
the developer increase the number of trees and place trees in a staggered fashion along
the entire length of the west lot line and from the front building line to the rear lot line
along the east side of the building. Staff also recommends that the developer increase
the width of the planting strip as to better accommodate these trees.
The trees along the rear lot line and a portion of the sides are located on a earth berm.
This berm is 4 feet high with a slope of approximately 33 percent. This raises issue to
how the developer intends to maintain the area. Due to the close proximity of the trees,
it is unlikely the area would be easily maintained if planted with grass. This could result
in over growth of grass and weeds which would negatively impact any uses located
across proposed 58th Street. The use of a landscaping material, such as wood chips or
rock also presents problems due to the steep slope of the berm. Such material would
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most likely disperse down the slope with rainfall. Staff will require the developer to
revise the earth berm by extending its width to reduce the slope.
A third issue relates to the selection of plantings within the Northern States Power Co.
(NSP) easement. The trees indicated by the developer to be planted in this area include
Blue Spruce and Balsam Pine. As such, it is conceivable that these trees may some day
interfere with the high voltage electric transmission lines which pass over the site parking
lot. The City will require the developer revise the landscape plan to replace the tall
variety of trees with those which do not grow to heights that would interfere with the
existing power lines.
6. Preliminary Grading, Utility and Drainage Plans. The developer has submitted
preliminary grading, utility and drainage plans. These plans shall be subject to review
and approval of the City Engineer during the forthcoming site plan review process.
7. Lighting. The developer has submitted a preliminary site plan which illustrates the type
and location of all site lighting. As part of the site plan review process, the developer
should be required to submit a photometric plan, illustrating the areas illuminated by the
site lighting. The developer should also detail all measures to be utilized to guard against
glare from the site which may impact potential residential areas south of the proposed
58th Street.
8. Public Address System. To date, the developer has not indicated as to the use of a
public address system at the site. As part of the site plan review process, the developer
shall be required to indicate whether such a system is to be used, the type and location
of amplifiers, and measures employed to contain the noise within the site as not to
negatively impact adjacent uses.
9. Parking. The developer has submitted a preliminary site plan illustrating the on site
parking. According to Section 401 .03 E. 8 r of the Zoning Ordinance, the number of
spaces required for retail sales and service business with 50 percent or more of gross
Boor area devoted to storage or warehousing is calculated as 1 space per 200 square feet
of public sales area plus 1 space per employee per shift for storage warehousing areas.
According to plans submitted by the developer, the parking space requirements for the
proposed development is calculated as follows:
Area Square footags Area -10% Required spaces
Sales Area 101, 807 91,626 458
Storage /Warehousing n/a n/a 1 space/
employee
per shift
3
The plans submitted by the developer indicate a total of 405 parking spaces. The
developer has not indicated the maximum number of employees per shift, therefore staff
cannot complete this calculation. However, based solely upon the square footage
calculation, the developer will need to apply for a variance from the Zoning ordinance
parking requirements as part of the forthcoming development application.
10. Signage. According to Section 401 .03 I.4. d of the Zoning Ordinance, uses within the
B -2 district are allowed a total of two signs. Only one sign may be free standing and is
limited to 150 square feet or 15 of the area of the front building facade, whichever is
less. The height of the free standing sign shall not exceed 30 feet. In addition, only one
wall /canopy sign is allowed, with a maximum area of 150 square feet or 15 of the
front building facade, which ever is less.
According to plans submitted by the developer, the proposed project has one free
standing sign, located along 60th Street and one large and eight smaller wall signs on the
front of the store. The area of the building front facade is approximately 14,400 square
feet, 15 of which is 2,160 square feet. Thus, the sign areas shall be limited to 150
square feet per area. The submitted plans indicate the free standing sign is 30 feet high
and 200 square feet in area. The wall mounted signs have a total area of 507.5 square
feet and is broken down as follows
Signs Sq. Ft.
Menards 312.0
Welcome... 60.0
Millwork 18.5
Paint 10.0
Lumber 15.5
Carpet 14.5
Cabinets 19.5
Electrical 19.5
Plumbing 18.5
Hardware 19.5
TOTAL 507.5 Square feet
Due to the total signage area of both the freestanding and wall signs and the number of
wall signs proposed, the developer will need to request a variance from the City's sign
code of the Zoning Ordinance.
4
CONCLUSION
To reiterate, this preliminary review is a brief outline of issues surrounding the proposed
development of a Menards store within the proposed Brackey Addition. Our office anticipates
a more complete review of the developer's proposal at such time as a public hearing for the
conditional use perrnitivariance is scheduled by the City.
pc.
Mike Robertson
Mark Vierling
Joe Anderlik
Tim Erkkila
Gary Colby
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