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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-03 Planning Report ENCLOSURE 2 TPC3601 Thurston Avenue N, Suite 100 Anoka, MN 55303 Phone: 763.231.5840 Facsimile: 763.427.0520 TPC@ Planni ngCo.com PLANNING REPORT TO: Eric Johnson FROM: Scott Richards DATE: February 3, 2015 RE: Oak Park Heights—Xcel Energy/A.S. King Plant— Interim Use Permit Application for Temporary Office Trailers FILE NO: 236.02 — 15.01 BACKGROUND Thomas Zellmer, representing Xcel Energy, has made application for an Interim Use Permit to allow placement of temporary office trailers at the A.S. King Power Plant. The plant is located at 1103 King Plant Road and is adjacent to the St. Croix River. The trailers are to be used for a temporary increase in administrative and engineering personnel while the plant is shut down for maintenance. The trailers are to be placed on site from March to June 2015. The property is zoned I, Industrial District in which power plants and accessory structures are a permitted use. The King Plant is also in a River Impact District which requires a conditional use permit for permanent structures. In that the request is for temporary placement of the trailers, that application is treated as an interim use, not a conditional use. Attached for reference: Exhibit 1: Project Narrative Exhibit 2: Site Plan —Trailer Locations Exhibit 3: Trailer Floor Plan Exhibit 4: Picture of Trailer ISSUES ANALYSIS Project Description. The description of the need for the trailers is provided by Xcel in the project application as follows: Xcel Energy is requesting a permit for the use of temporary administrative trailers for use during the annual maintenance outage. The trailers will be used for a temporary increase in administrative and engineering personnel when the plant is shut down for maintenance. A quantity of six to nine trailers is proposed. Each trailer is approximately 60 feet long and 12 feet wide. Assuming nine trailers, the maximum temporary trailer space is 6,480 square feet. The permanent plant workforce is 110 employees with an additional 160 contract workers during the annual outage. This will be a smaller workforce compared to outages preformed in 2013 and 2014. Existing plant bathroom facilities and portable toilets will be used during the outage. The additional contract workers will use temporary gravel parking spaces. The outage begins March 21, 2015 and ends in early May. The trailers will be removed by June 30, 2015. Six trailers were placed on site with an Interim Use permit approved in December of 2012. The trailers were removed in July 2013 as per the conditions of approval. An interim use permit was granted in October 2013 to allow placement of temporary office trailers and a Conditional Use Permit was granted for the permanent instillation of two rail spurs. Again, the trailers were removed in conformance with the conditions of approval. Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan designates this area as industrial land use. The power plant and its accessory structures are recognized as industrial land uses consistent with the maps and policies of the plan. Zoning Ordinance. The site is zoned I, Industrial District in which power plants and accessory structures are a permitted use. The King Plant is also in the River Impact District which requires a conditional use permit for significant changes to the plant. The temporary use of the trailers is not considered a permanent or significant change to the plant site, thus will require an interim use. Section 401.32.0 lists temporary office and administrative structures as an interim use in the I District. Parking. The site currently has 117 permanent parking spaces on an existing blacktop surface. An additional parking area of 400 spaces on gravel outside of the fence will be used for the additional temporary personnel. The number of permanent plant employees is 110 with another 160 contract employees during the plant maintenance. Parking calculations for the plant are as follows: Existing Office Space: 18,400 square feet x .9 = 16,560 / 200 = 83 + 3 = 86 parking spaces Temporary Office Space: 2 6,480 square feet x .9 = 5,832 /200 = 29 + 3 = 32 parking spaces As per the Zoning Ordinance requirements, 118 parking spaces are required both for the existing and proposed office space. The combination of the 117 spaces on the blacktop and 400 spaces on the gravel will be more than adequate for the 270 people that will be employed at the plant during the maintenance. Lighting. No additional lighting has been proposed. Existing site lighting will be utilized in the areas where the trailers are to be placed. Any new lighting of the site will need to be in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance and subject to review and approval of City staff. Trash Handling. All trash and recycling for the trailers will be handled with the existing facilities on site. Restrooms. The nine trailers will not contain restroom facilities. The existing restroom facilities in adjacent buildings and portable toilets will be utilized. Grading and Drainage. There will be no grading or drainage issues with the proposal for the trailers. The trailers will be placed on existing gravel surfaces. Tree Preservation. There will be no trees removed for placement of the trailers. Setbacks. The trailers will be compliant with all lot line and shore land building setbacks of the Zoning Ordinance. Department of Natural Resources. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been notified of the request. The interim use and conditional use approval by the City is subject to any further review or comments by the DNR. Design Guidelines. In that the trailer structures are temporary, they are not subject to Design Guideline Review. Conditional Use Permit — River Impact District. The Planning Commission shall consider the conditional use permit criteria, found in Section 401.03.A.7 of the Zoning Ordinance, as part of its review. 1. Relationship to the specific policies and provisions of the municipal comprehensive plan. 2. The conformity with present and future land uses in the area. 3. The environmental issues and geographic area involved. 4. Whether the use will tend to or actually depreciate the area in which it is proposed. 5. The impact on character of the surrounding area. 6. The demonstrated need for such use. 7. Traffic generation by the use in relation to capabilities of streets serving the property. 8. The impact upon existing public services and facilities including parks, schools, streets, and utilities, and the City's service capacity. 9. The proposed use's conformity with all performance standards contained herein (i.e., parking, loading, noise, etc.). 3 Due to the location of the King Plant in an industrial area, and the minimal impact the trailer structures will have on the site, the project is consistent with the above criteria. The City Engineer should comment on any traffic concerns with having an additional 160 people utilizing the roadways adjacent to the plant. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Based upon the preceding review, City staff recommends approval of the an Interim Use Permit to allow placement of temporary office trailers at the A.S. King Plant subject to the following conditions: 1. The trailers shall be removed no later than June 30, 2015 unless an extension is granted by the City Council. 2. Any freestanding or building lighting shall be in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance and subject to review and approval of City staff. 3. Any changes to the grade or drainage associated with the trailer placement shall be subject to review and approval of the City Engineer and applicable watershed district if necessary. 4. The City Engineer shall comment on the traffic resulting from the increased personnel at the plant. Any traffic control measures required by the City Engineer will be implemented by Xcel Energy. 5. Xcel shall be required to comply with any permitting requirements of the City and any further review and comment by the DNR. Pc: Julie Hultman 4 EXHIBIT Xcel Energy is requesting a permit for the use of temporary administrative trailers for use during the annual maintenance outage. The trailers will be used for a temporary increase in administrative and engineering personnel while the plant is shut down for maintenance. A quantity of six to nine trailers is proposed. Each trailer is approx. 60' long x 12'wide. Assuming nine trailers,the maximum temporary trailer space is 6,480 square feet. The permanent plant workforce is 110 employees with an additional 160 contract workers during the annual outage. This will be a smaller workforce compared to outages performed in 2013 and 2014. Existing plant bathroom facilities and portable toilets will be used during the outage. The additional contract workers will use temporary gravel parking spaces. The outage begins March 21, 2015 and ends in early May. The trailers will be removed by June 30,2015. 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