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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission - 06/28/2021APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021 7:00 PM—CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Ann Higgins, Andrew Pieper, Ed Farr, Michael DeSanctis, Rachel Markos, Carole Mette, William Gooding, Robert Taylor CITY STAFF: Julie Klima, City Planner; Matt Bourne, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources; Rod Rue, City Engineer I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Chair Pieper called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – ROLL CALL Absent were commission members Taylor and Mette. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: DeSanctis moved, seconded by Higgins to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. IV. MINUTES MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by DeSanctis to approve the minutes of June 14, 2021. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. ASIAN PLAZA (2021-06) Request for: • Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 4.68 acres • Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 4.68 acres • Site Plan Review on 4.68 acres Jay Isenberg, consulting architect, presented a PowerPoint and detailed the application. This was an adaptive reuse of the former Gander Mountain site. Isenberg displayed the first-floor plan for the Asian grocery store, restaurant, and office/retail spaces. The second-floor plan included a mezzanine, a food court, two restaurants, and multiple small tenant retail/office spaces. He explained the PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES June 28, 2021 Page 2 parking plan and the sustainability features. The façade would be improved, and the pedestrian walkway, the lower-level entry, and the main entry would be striped for greater safety. Bike racks would be added and two EV stations would be provided, with the potential for four total. Landscaping would include converting an existing impervious island to a green parking island. There are currently 77 underground parking spaces and 217 surface parking stalls. There was also the potential for a rooftop solar array. The mezzanine addition and required parking triggered a traffic study. This study concluded the parking demand would be accommodated through the existing spaces and there would be no impact on the surrounding properties and/or roadways. Isenberg displayed the proposed colors and materials for the façade improvements. He contrasted this with a view of the current site. The proposed signage would have to go through the approval process at a later date. Farr asked if the improved vehicular circulation plan included signage to the underground parking. Isenberg replied the entire wayfinding signage piece was not included tonight, but the intention was to provide wayfinding signage, and the owners would run a shuttle service for employees. Farr asked for the parking calculations. Isenberg replied he thought it was included in the commission packets, and Klima agreed to provide that to the commission members. Klima presented the staff report. The applicant proposed to repurpose the former Gander Mountain property. The property would be used as a retail center with tenant spaces including retail, restaurants and offices. The applicant was requesting a PUD waiver to allow the current 294 parking stalls on site to serve the proposed use. In the event that the existing parking proves insufficient, the applicant had agreed to construct structured parking on site. Staff recommended that the Development Agreement include language that allowed the City the discretion to determine the timing and the amount of structured parking that is necessary to be constructed. Similar language has been included in the approvals for other properties in commercial and industrial zones. The applicant also proposed site improvements and a façade remodel. These included creating a pedestrian crossing area at the main entrance to the building and a pedestrian walkway through the parking lot to enhance pedestrian connectivity and safety. The pavilion was for illustrative purposes only and would not be constructed at this time. The proposed façade improvements met and exceeded City Code building material and architectural standards. Staff recommended approval of the application. DeSanctis asked if there was a long-term plan for the City to provide a shuttle service to allow people to park in the future transit station and shuttle over to this site. Klima replied there were no conversations about this potential at this time. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES June 28, 2021 Page 3 Pieper asked staff to explain the difference between what the Code required for parking versus what was being proposed. Klima replied the Gander site was retail use that received a waiver to reduce the required parking at the time the building was constructed. This reuse site proposed retail and restaurants, which complicated the parking calculation. The applicant was helpful in providing the numbers for a mixed-use site. Farr acknowledged there were different uses at this site and asked if staff was confident in the Alliant Engineering findings. Rue replied he had reviewed the report and it made reasonable sense in analyzing both the parking and the traffic demand. The multiple different uses in this area generated different traffic peaks, which combined did not exceed the 294 proposed parking stalls. The hypothetical weekday maximum demand was 280 vehicles, and the Saturday hypothetical peak was 292. Peak hours were 220 vehicles for a weekday and 226 for a Saturday. Maximums were variable, due to the proposed mixed use. Farr asked if the study included employees parking in the area. Klima replied it took into account 15-20 employees being shuttled in. Farr expressed concern about the number of parking stalls and stated a parking ramp should be a last resort. Klima replied if the City received complaints about parking or circulation staff would follow up on this with the property owner. Farr asked for and received confirmation that if the parking deck was required it would require stormwater management since the impervious surface would be increased, but that was not the case in this application. Kirk stated he had thought about this development and the topic of parking, he had this question: Would it impact the streets and parking flow? He found it would not; people would simply choose not to park here. This would therefore potentially impact the business, forcing the owner to make a change. DeSanctis noted there would be a nearby light rail station and asked how the City could link this with commercial services. Klima replied with the upcoming opening of the LRT there were potentials for pedestrian connections and the City had secured a grant from Hennepin County for pedestrian connections. There were also long-term plans for a future north-south roadway connection. Klima presented the staff report. MOTION: Gooding moved, seconded by DeSanctis to close the public hearing. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Markos agreed that a parking ramp should be a final resort and she appreciated the developer was willing to work with the City on parking. She commended the mixed-use idea and the grocery store. In all, she thought the developer had worked well with staff and agreed the parking was a business issue, outside the purview of the commission. Gooding stated it would be a mistake for a business PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES June 28, 2021 Page 4 to undercount its parking. He also commended the design. Higgins concurred, and added the development process included knowledge of the behavior of customers. Farr also commended the project as a regional draw, not just an amenity for the City of Eden Prairie. He thanked the developer for choosing Eden Prairie. The lower-level parking could have electronic sensors that display how many stalls were still available, and he suggested the developer incorporate those. Kirk stated he agreed with Markos’s summation and commended the project. DeSanctis praised the potential inclusion of a solar array. MOTION: Farr moved, seconded by Kirk to recommend approval of the Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 4.68 acres, Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 4.68 acres, and Site Plan Review on 4.68 acres, based on plans stamped dated June 15, 2021 and the staff report dated June 25, 2021. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. B. BURGER KING Request for: • Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 1.34 acres • Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 1.34 acres • Site Plan Review on 1.34 acres John Kaiser, with Cave Enterprises Operation LLC, presented a PowerPoint and detailed the application. He explained the previous operator of the site, which included nine restaurants, experienced financial distress and ceased to operate. He had been interested in this site for three years and the application had experienced delays. He explained Cave Enterprises Operation LLC was a franchisee of the Burger King restaurant brand that was based in Chicago and operated 10 Burger King restaurants in Minnesota. This was a private family-owned business since 1999. His team worked with the brand to develop its image and new prototype building design. This development would be one of the first built. He displayed renderings of the elevation and stated he had worked with staff on the site plan and building design. This represented a departure with an intent to expand the glass and bring natural light into the building, giving it a more contemporary feel. He also displayed the layout of the play structure. The use was similar to its previous use (Burger King). The floor plan would accommodate 66 seats and offer multiple-occupant restrooms and an ergonomic design. The site plan was a complete rethinking of the site rather than a remodel. Asphalt was reduced and the landscape plan adjusted. The stormwater would be handled by a bio-infiltration pond. He displayed the utilities plan and explained the sustainability features: base materials would be reused, impervious surfaces were reduced, vehicle parking stalls were reduced and bicycle parking provided, and a new building would be constructed to exceed the new energy code requirements. Native plants and pervious pavers would be included, along with a white PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES June 28, 2021 Page 5 reflective membrane roof system and high efficiency rooftop mechanical units and LED lighting. DeSanctis asked if he had consulted with the City Arborist regarding the choice of trees. The proposed Colorado Spruce were not native to the City and did not fare well here. Kaiser thanked DeSanctis and stated he would look into this. Bourne stated the landscape plan was reviewed by staff and Colorado Spruce were often used in this area, although the dry year had challenged them. Farr stated the neighboring Starbucks would utilize this site to ingress and egress and asked how this would be accommodated. Kaiser replied the new site plan and Starbucks’ traffic were compatible while creating a nice separation between the two properties. This development would provide an easement for their crosswalk and sidewalk. He anticipated no “morning rush” of traffic for the Burger King. DeSanctis asked if a summer convergence for visiting progressive businesses (Burger King, Starbucks, ice cream businesses) could create a parking queue as he had seen in Chanhassen and asked if a traffic analysis had been done. Rue replied none was done because this was a reuse, although the issue of combined uses was an important one. The double-lanes of drive-through at the Burger King should alleviate queueing length. Kaiser added breakfast was actually the slowest business part, whereas Starbucks experienced its peak traffic then. Traffic for this Burger King picked up after 11:00 a.m. Higgins stated this development would be a good resource for the residential housing down the road. Since the Burger King had been closed for some time, this active one would disburse some of the business. Klima presented the staff report. The applicant proposed to raze the site and build a new building and parking lot. There was currently 70 percent impervious surface and this property was in the Shoreland District, limiting it to 30 percent. The applicant aimed to reduce the impervious surface to 48 percent. The outdoor play area would be constructed on the north side and the stormwater infiltration pond on the east side. Building materials and architecture were in keeping with City Code. Three waivers were requested: 48 percent instead of 30 percent impervious surface area, ground sign setback from 20 to 16 feet, and a menu board sign size. Staff did not recommend approval of the waiver for the sign setback. The landscaping plan met City Code requirement as to the number of native plants but not the size requirement, and this needed to be increased. Otherwise, staff recommended approval. Farr asked if a playground extended customer stay time to the extent that parking stalls would become crowded, and Klima replied it would not. Playlands were included in multiple fast-food chains, and she was not familiar of different parking requirements associated to these. Farr stated there was no bypass lane in PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES June 28, 2021 Page 6 the drive-through. He asked if there was a City policy regarding a dead-end parking lot that didn’t allow drivers to make a three-point turn to exit the drive- through. Rue replied he was not quite sure how to answer; most had bypass lanes, but this development did not have one. There was, however, room to bypass the drive-through lanes, and once a driver was past the menu boards there was a bypass lane. Widening the outside lane could be a solution. Farr suggested a striped-off area to allow a driver to back into an unused parking stall to make a three-point turn egress. Farr also expressed concern that the menu board could turn into an LED billboard and asked if there was a prohibition against this. Klima replied the City was unable to regulate sign content due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. MOTION: Higgins moved, seconded by Markos to close the public hearing. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Markos stated she would like to see more plantings year-round for greater blocking, especially at the playground and the drive-through electronic menu boards. She recommended evergreen trees. She commended the reduction of impervious surfaces and the building design. She agreed this would disburse some of the business in the area with the opening of this site. She found this to be a great improvement versus what was there, despite her concerns about parking and the drive-throughs. Kirk concurred and commended the decrease in impervious surfaces and the infiltration pond. MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by DeSanctis to recommend approval of the Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 1.34 acres; Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 1.34 acres, and Site Plan Review on 1.34 acres based on plans stamp dated June 21, 2021 and the staff report dated June 21, 2021. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. PLANNERS’ REPORT MEMBERS’ REPORTS VI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Higgins moved, seconded by Gooding to adjourn. MOTION CARRIED 7- 0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:12 p.m.