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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission - 09/08/1997 AGENDA EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION wonday, September 8, 1997 7:00 p.m. COMMISSION MEMBERS: Beverly Alexander,Kenneth E. Clinton,Randy Foote,Bill Habicht, Ismail Ismail, Douglas Sandstad, Mary Jane Wissner STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Jessica Lind STAFF MEMBER: Scott A. Kipp, Senior Planner I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE --ROLL CALL II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA III. MINUTES IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS A Continued Public Hearing A. BEST BUY CAMPUS CONCEPT PLAN - 1997 by Best Buy. Request for PUD Concept • Amendment on 47.45 acres. Location: 7575 Flying Cloud Drive. B. VILLAS AT PURGATORY CREEK by Hartford Capital. Request for Rezoning from Rural to R1-13.5 on 9.8 acres and Preliminary Plat of 9.8 acres into 15 lots. Location: Sunnybrook Road. V. PUBLIC MEETING VI. MEMBERS' REPORTS VII. CONTINUING BUSINESS VIII. NEW BUSINESS IX. PLANNERS' REPORTS X. ADJOURNMENT • APPROVED MINUTES CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1997 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: Beverly Alexander, Kenneth E. Clinton, Randy Foote, Bill Habicht, Ismail Ismail, Douglas Sandstad,Mary Jane Wissner STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Jessica Lind STAFF LIAISON: Scott Kipp, Senior Planner; Al Gray, City Engineer; Elinda Bahley, Recording Secretary MEMBERS ABSENT: Kenneth E. Clinton,Jessica Lind I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE-ROLL CALL . Acting Chair Foote called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Ismail moved, seconded by Alexander, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Wissner noted on page 9, fourth paragraph,the first sentence should read...Wissner commented that there were more funeral homes than were needed... She also noted on page 10, change the first sentence to... Wissner stated she felt legally there is nothing that can be addressed, but would support the project in order to move it through the process. Foote said page 9,seventh paragraph,a second sentence should be added to read..He said because of the building's uniqueness,it would be difficult to be used for any other purpose. MOTION: Ismail moved, seconded by Wissner, to approve the minutes of the August 25, 1997 Eden Prairie Planning Commission meeting as amended. Motion carried 5-0-1 with one abstention by Habicht. i PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS Foote explained to the audience typically the Commission receives their packet of plans for the Planning Commission meeting on Friday night so they have the weekend to review it thoroughly and possibly visit the site. That didn't happen this weekend, and the Commission did not receive the packet until some time today at which point in time many of the Commissioners did not have a chance to review the two projects. After brief discussion about whether or not to continue the process,the Commission decided to have a public hearing and hear comments but would not vote until they had a chance to visit the site and review the information thoroughly. Continued Public Hearing A. BEST BUY CAMPUS CONCEPT PLAN- 1997 by Best Buy. Request for PUD Concept Amendment on 47.45 acres. Location: 7575 Flying Cloud Drive. Dave Clark, architect, representing Best Buy, reviewed the changes made to the • concept plan as a result of direction from the Commission at the last meeting. The revision to the wetland alteration has been reduced from 4.93 acres to 2.66 acres. The future building size has been reduced from 100,000 square feet to 90,000 square feet and the building has gone from a 2-story to a 3-story structure. He reviewed the different options on the concept plan which staff asked them to look at and explained why some were not feasible. The recreational area is a corporate amenity which has an ongoing softball league utilizing the field three or four nights a week. Best Buy would rather not loose that if at all possible. They are trying to create a balance where they can maintain the baseball field, fill less wetland, spread the parking around the site and, if necessary, reduce the potential for the future building from 100,000 to 90,000 square feet. The use of structured parking was not economically feasible for Best Buy. He referred to a letter from the City of Eden Prairie about their review of the wetland area noting this wetland area has been classified as a Type 4 wetland which has moderate functional value due to diversity of vegetation. The Type 2 wetland is low functional due to a combination of canary grass;however,vegetation diversity was located. Not to contradict the City consultant, but this particular wetland has no through water and is not part of an established Watershed area. The only water that exists on the site is what falls on the site from precipitation. • 2 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 They were asked to look at parking stall size of 8'6" as opposed to 9' stalls which would save about 80 cars of parking on the site. However, staff was reluctant to do this because there has not been a case in Eden Prairie where 8'6" stalls have actually been constructed. The mall has 8'6" stalls on its documents as proof-of-parking but they're actually striped at 9. They are following staffs recommendation of 9' stalls. There has also been discussion with Southwest Metro Transit and the I-494 Corridor Commission about looking at ways to reduce the number of cars actually driving to the site. Best Buy has been encouraged to be more progressive in those ways. They have designated someone on staff to be a coordinator with Southwest Metro Transit looking at options of ride share and car pooling. There is also talk about doing a full analysis of the employees as to their home location and the routes they would take so they can try to determine if there is a ride share possibility that people just don't realize exists. Kipp said based on the staff recommendations at the last meeting, the Planning Commission continued the project asking for Best Buy to look at alternative ways to reducing the wetland alteration which included developing all available upland areas. • A majority of the Commissioners were concerned with the issue of wetland impacts versus maintaining the ballfield. There were some comments as to what would be considered an appropriate amount of alteration and the statement made was roughly 2 to 2.5 acres. Staff has met with Best Buy a couple of times and have reviewed the plan based on the reduction of wetland encroachment to 2.66 acres,building size down to 90,000 square feet from 100,000 square feet,raising the building height from 2-story to 3- story,and providing underground parking on the future building site. The baseball field and tennis court still remains. Best Buy feels that the use of structured parking was not feasible with this proposal. By leaving the baseball field and other developable areas in exchange for the number of wetland fill, staff believed this was not creating a proper solution. There are ways wetland encroachment can still be further reduced while providing additional parking on site and maintaining existing green space on site. He referred the Commission to the graphic attached to the staff report which showed how the baseball field could be maintained,providing parking within the tennis court area and some additional parking on the future building pad site. In addition, this would reduce the total wetland encroachment including NURP ponds to 1.4 acres. Staff feels this would be a fair compromise in terms of judging the qualities of the wetland and the laws about trying to preserve the wetland areas. If the Planning • Commission is comfortable with Best Buy's revised plan,then the option would be 3 • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 to recommend approval. If the Planning Commission feels further revisions should take place to reduce the wetland encroachment, option#2 would be to recommend continuance of this item for Best Buy to continue to reduce wetland encroachment including development of additional upland areas. Staff recommended option#2. The public hearing was opened. Wissner asked why the proposed number of parking stalls is so much greater than what's required by Code. Clark said the Code is four spaces per thousand for a building of that size. Best Buy currently has 1,300 employees in the building which equates to about 175 square feet per person per vehicle as opposed to 250 square feet that the Code recommends. Based on their experience,they can not build a building right now without at least five cars per thousand in office space. The four per thousand may be adequate in small professional buildings but not for a single user like Best Buy. Habicht commented at the last meeting Best Buy addressed some concerns about the timing issue and he asked where they are at this point. Clark said the problem is if • they are to get approval to do the wetland alteration this fall,the fill must be brought in to surcharge that site. The site must be surcharged for six months to create usable base for the parking lot. They would have to bring in excess materials to place on the site for the winter so they can build next spring. Eden Prairie has an ordinance that does not allow the site to be opened for borrow of dirt past October 15. If this was continued for two weeks and they get on the City Council agenda immediately,not next month,they would still have the October 7 date to work with. Foote asked if Best Buy has seen attachment A of the latest Staff Report. Clark replied staff faxed it to him on Friday afternoon. Staff proposed eliminating the roadway they have crossing the wetland area. It's important to Best Buy to segregate truck traffic to the loading dock area away from the main entrance because there would be many people walking with their backs to the incoming traffic up that driveway. It's not a good idea to bring semi-trailers in through the middle of the parking lot with 1100 people walking through the front. Ismail commented he was comfortable with the project and for the sake of timing, recommended they go forward with it. Habicht commented it's important to provide Best Buy with some direction because of the timing factor. He was comfortable with the project because Best Buy has continued along the lines of minimizing the wetland impact. He also agreed that • having truck access on the north side was important as not to have trucks driving 4 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 where pedestrians are walking. Sandstad said he did not have a chance to look at the property but commented the wetland alteration was not enough. He appreciated Best Buy moving in the right direction but believed they could do a better job to reduce the wetland impact. Foote agreed with Sandstad and apologized to Best Buy in advance for this delay. He was not comfortable with the wetland fill and believed they could reduce the wetland fill even further. He did support the 8'6"parking stalls for the fact that it may deter people from driving to work. He found it very difficult to fill wetlands for parking and encouraged Best Buy to work with staff and see what they can do to decrease the wetland alteration. Wissner stated attachment A could possibly work out and would not take away the baseball field. It does take away the tennis courts but leaves the green of the ballfield. She said they are getting closer and encouraged them to work with staff. MOTION 1: Wissner moved,seconded by Alexander,to continue the public hearing for two weeks. Motion carried 6-0. B. VILLAS AT PURGATORY CREEK by Hartford Capital. Request for Rezoning from Rural to R1-13.5 on 9.8 acres and Preliminary Plat of 9.8 acres into 15 lots. Location: Sunnybrook Road. Bill Griffith, 1500 Norwest Financial Center, representing Hartford Capital Corporation, reviewed the site plan and grading plan for this proposal noting it is consistent with what's been approved in the area. They proposed a conservation easement to cover all the wetland areas and all the significant environmental features. The developer has proposed to make a voluntary dedication of outlot A which is 2.7 acres. This would retain all the significant features including Purgatory Creek and the green space would be covered under the conservation easement. There is a shore land setback of 100 feet from the top of the creek bed and also a 50 foot shore impact zone from the top of the creek where no development can occur. The storm water holding pond and water quality pond was moved and modified in discussion with staff to insure it was completely out of the shore impact zone. The project contains 15 single family home sites on 9.8 acres of land. The home sites are a minimum of 13,500 square feet of lot size with an average closer to 18,000 square feet. The project was designed to be built without variances. The land use is for low density residential and that would be unchanged. This allows for up to density • of 2.5 units per acre and this project is at 1.53 units per acre. Tree loss is at 33.8 5 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 percent which is average for single family developments. He reviewed comparison charts of this project with other projects in the area noting the overall project was consistent with what's already been approved in the area. Trip generation will result in 140 to 150 trips per day and the roadway system in place can handle that. There is a 100 foot setback to the south of the project which is an important environmental feature and will not be disturbed. It serves as a dual purpose. It protects the water quality of the creek by creating a large natural barrier and it also creates a green strip between the creek and the area to the south. Therefore, all residential areas to the south and future generations will have a dedicated outlot creating a barrier and buffer to future development. Kipp reviewed the staff report with the Commission. He noted this project was very comparable to the other projects that have been approved along Sunnybrook Road. The project does comply with the shore land ordinance,lot size, setbacks, and shore land impact zone. They are proposing to dedicate the outlot and provide a conservation easement over the portion of the sensitive site. They will be conforming with the Purgatory Creek Conservation area that was established back in 1975. The dedication of the outlot can be considered a tradeoff for the rear portion of lots 3,4,7, and 8 in the conservation area. Tree loss is consistent with the projects in the area. Staff recommended approval. Sandstad expressed concern about a large maple tree and suggested moving the roadway to accommodate that tree. Perry Ryan,architect,indicated that would result in a major modification and explained why it was not feasible. The public hearing was opened. Robert Claus, 12491 Sunnybrook Road,noted his home is right in front of lot 2. He has lived there for over five years and his grandmother lived there for over 20 years. He was concerned about the area behind this project because there is lots of nature out there and is a natural pathway for deer, fox and ducks. He suggested eliminating lot 5, block 1, because then the street could be moved up with the houses and it would save some of the flood plain fill. He recommended moving the house proposed behind his home up to the street, making it consistent with the rest of the development and it would save a lot of trees back there. This would give the homes bigger lots with better views and increasing the value of the homes. The flood plain is being needlessly filled in. He expressed concern if the culvert proposed in the comer of his lot would eliminate • any drainage problems. He knows for a fact that a culvert sometimes freezes up and 6 • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 the water right now comes to the edge of his property. He was concerned about snow removal because the proposed driveway is only 8-10 feet away from his lot line. He has a septic tank in the back and was concerned about problems with the City and whether he would be responsible to hook up with City utilities. He was also concerned that the staff report stated the conservation area is a "no build zone" and the next page said the dedication of the outlot can be considered a tradeoff for the rear portion of lots 3,4,7, and 8 in the conservation area. Kipp explained the Purgatory Creek study provided a framework for preserving a corridor along the creek and to minimize impacts beyond that. It's not a mandated line but a guide to work from. He added that no structures are proposed within the conservancy area, only the rear portion of those lots. Lee Smith, 12500 Sunnybrook Road, commented the back of every lot is in the back of the flood plain and was opposed to building houses in the flood plain. She was also concerned about the culvert working effectively to eliminate drainage concerns. She asked how far apart are these houses were proposed. Kipp replied R1-13.5 zoning district permits homes to be as close as 10 feet on one side for a total of 25 feet for both sides. Libby Hargrove, 12640 Sunnybrook Road,noted she has lived across the street for 37 years. She said their road has a uniqueness and that's why it has not been developed until now. This parcel of land seems to conform in fit and provide a reasonable nice development to look at. She supported the project. A resident from 9248 Hearthstead Lane commented he is a new homeowner and bought his home in August. He referred to comments made that Sunnybrook Woods had a tree loss of 40 percent. He explained this was a substantial loss of trees but they were all dead or dying trees. The developer did replant 80 to 90 new trees to accommodate the loss. He has driven by the property in question and saw the beautiful 36 inch maple and commented they don't have trees in that area because of developments like this. He was also concerned about the wildlife that use the old apple orchard and the old grove of trees. This will be a loss of viable useful trees in that area. Even if the project is approved and requires replanting of trees,it will be 2 to 4 year old trees replacing 20 to 50 year old trees. He was concerned about how future homeowners will know it's a conservation area and the rules surrounding it. He also expressed concern about whether the City would be responsible if a child drowns or suffers an injury in the side of the creek donated to the City. He said as a taxpayer, he didn't want to be responsible for anyone's injury because the property was donated. He asked what the price range of • the homes are anticipated to be. Mr. Brandt, developer,replied between $325,000 7 • PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 and$450,00 to $475,000 which is similar to other homes in the area. Kipp explained the conservation easement is a legal instrument that defines what can and can not be done in the area. The property owners own the land but the City has the easement rights over that conservation area. They would need to obtain a permit from the City to do anything in there. The Parks Department recommendation is to put posts at each side of the property line at the conservation line. The posts will be 2 inch square and will have a decal on them defining the conservation area. It will be tastefully done and will be about two or three feet above the ground. There are ramifications if someone did go in and alter the area and the City can take legal action on those types of infractions. Gerry Wersal, 12645 Sunnybrook Road, supported the project but was not happy about the 36 inch maple tree being removed. He has a lot of compassion for the wetland area probably more than anything involved in the development. He said he was delighted to see that Mr.Ryan and Mr.Brandt have stayed within the guidelines for the wetlands and the shore land impact zone. He also has compassion for Mr. Claus, but the fact remains that the site is buildable and it's buildable according to • what the City has set up in the past with no variances. Kipp addressed some of Mr. Claus'concerns noting the Engineering Department has spoken with Mr. Claus about the culvert and how it works. It will be looked at thoroughly at the Engineering Department to make sure it works well. Regarding the lot up to the roadway,the density of this project is consistent with the projects around there. Shifting that house up to the street would certainly involve a large widening of that property in order to make that work and could result in additional tree loss. Based on the consistency of the project with other projects in the area, staff has not asked for that to take place. The project is meeting code for wetland preservation and shoreland code. Al Gray,City Engineer,commented the septic tank is probably at a point where it may continue to operate in good condition for a number of years but may have some operating problems in the future. If the septic begins to deteriorate and show some signs of improper functioning,rather than major repair,they would require connection to city sewer. Sandstad commented the project does not seem to have any major problems but did not feel comfortable commenting or voting until visiting the site. Alexander concurred with Sandstad. She did encourage the developer to consider doing something with lot#5 which may enable them to save the 36 inch maple tree. 8 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 Wissner asked if it was feasible to go out to the tree and reconfirm the condition of the tree. Kipp said they can look at it and see if it's feasible. Alexander was concerned about where the driveways are for lots 1, 2, 3, and 4. Griffith said the proposed plan for driveways on lots 1, 2, and 3 go out on Sunnybrook Road and lot 4 will access the internal road. Alexander said the driveways are going out on Sunnybrook Road and asked if that will create traffic problems. Griffith said no. It has not been identified as a concern in the planning process. Foote said he doesn't see any big problems other than lot 2 where the house goes way back. He would like to see the property before voting on it. He supported a continuation. Ismail supported a continuance for two weeks. MOTION 1: Alexander moved, seconded by Ismail,to continue the public hearing for two weeks. Motion carried 6-0. V. PUBLIC MEETING None. VI. MEMBERS' REPORTS None. VII. CONTINUING BUSINESS None. VIII. NEW BUSINESS None. IX. PLANNER'S REPORT Kipp noted the only items on the next agenda will be the continued public hearings for Best Buy and Villas at Purgatory Creek. There are no other items scheduled for the next meeting. 9 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 8, 1997 X. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Ismail moved, seconded by Wissner,to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m. • 10