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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Adjustments and Appeals - 02/09/1996 APPROVED MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS THURSDAY,FEBRUARY 8, 1996 7:30 P.M., CITY CENTER CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 8080 Mitchell Road BOARD OF APPEALS MEMBERS: Arthur Weeks, (Chair); Cliff Dunham, Delavan Dye,Matthew Hansen, Corrine Lynch,Kathy Nelson,Mary Vasaly STAFF PRESENT: Scott Kipp,Planner Marie Wagner,Recording Secretary . CALL TO ORDER-ROLL CALL- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Weeks called the meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. Lynch arrived at 7:40 p.m. All other members were present. I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Vasaly moved Old Business be addressed ahead of variances. Dye seconded the motion and it carried 6-0-0. II. MINUTES OF JANUARY 11, 1996 MEETING MOTION: Dye moved that the Board approve the Minutes of the January 11, 1996 meeting. Dunham seconded the motion and it carried 6-0-0. IV. OLD BUSINESS Kipp stated Mr. Morgan appealed the Board's decision to deny his request for a variance. Kipp said Morgan submitted a letter for appeal to the City Council and a date of March 12, 1996 is scheduled to review the variance. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS&APPEALS February 8, 1996 Page 2 • III. VARIANCES A. Request#95-37 by Challenge Printingfobert Lothenbach for 7500 Golden Triangle Drive to permit construction of a building addition with a portion of the northeast corner 16.3 feet from a side lot line City Code requires a side yard setback of 20 feet in the I-2 Zoning District. Kipp stated this variance was a continuation from the last three months. He said Challenge Printing submitted a letter dated January 31 for a 60-day continuance allowing the completion of the requested engineering drawing and calculations in compliance with requirements by the Board. Weeks expressed concern over the three month continuance already granted. He stated the importance of the proponents understanding what is required of them. Kipp said he would send a letter to Challenge Printing stating what the Board requires for the next meeting, scheduled for April, 1996. • Lynch arrived at 7:40 p.m. The Board gave Lynch an update on Variance#95-37. MOTION: Dye moved for a 60-day continuance for Variance #95-37. Seconded by Nelson and the motion carried 7-0-0. B. Request#96-02 by Independent School District#272 for Eden Prairie High School at 17185 Valley View Road for Shoreland Ordinance variances for (a) building height to 50 feet Code permits 25 foot maximum and. (bl impervious surface of 43.7 percent Code allows 25 percent maximum. Also, a variance for zero lot line setback for parking, Code requires a 10 foot setback Weeks explained the order of the Variance presentation process to those in attendance. Mr. Steven Thompson from Cuningham Hamilton Quiter Architects spoke on behalf of Independent School District#272. Thompson apologized for missing the last meeting and stated his absence was due to his unfamiliarity with the process. Thompson indicated he has met with the City Council and Parks and Recreation. • Weeks mentioned his recollection of a similar request several years ago and asked BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS&APPEALS February 8, 1996 Page 3 Thompson for an explanation of the last request and its relation to the current request. Thompson stated the current addition to the high school is smaller with some addition to the parking lot. He said some similarities include the addition of three stories, which is primarily classroom space and extensive remodeling. Thompson said the ordinance for 25 feet precedes the original building. Thompson stated an effort is being made to create a situation that would not overrun the site; a compact plan. Thompson displayed the Plan to the Board. The schools access currently takes place at the intersection of Valley View Road and Hames Way. The proposed expansion plan includes construction of a new four lane divided access off of Eden Prairie Road at Edenwood Drive. Thompson stated the current addition would be lower than the prior addition. He indicated there would be an incorporation of mechanical spaces into the lower level of the building. Thompson said the main site change is the addition of an intersection with County Road 4 allowing a separation of on-site traffic from other traffic. He said bus traffic would enter from County Road 4 from the east, allowing student traffic to remain off of Valley View Road. Thompson also said • the main entry would be the student entry. Thompson said parking for visitors and staff, as well as, students is insufficient. He said the high school staff will attempt to draw students to off-site study programs hoping to reduce the parking problem. Dunham expressed concern regarding multiple public accesses into the building, especially pertaining to public security. Thompson stated it is an open campus and this issue is a school district administrative problem. He also said the District is working with staff and administration on this issue;trying to change it dramatically. Thompson said he has worked with the City Staff and the Community Liaison with the District regarding ways to control movement at off times. Thompson indicated the objective of the plan is to provide enough parking to accommodate the increase of population in the building. He also said the initial plan was different but found to not accommodate the school's needs. He said the current plan was scaled back from the original plan. Thompson said the school site is picking up some drainage from the community center site. He also said he believes the two sites cannot be viewed separately. Thompson mentioned there would be improved storm water drainage collection along County Road 4 and suggested providing for a 100 year storm event by having a single pond area. He said new storm requirements require more pond 1 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS&APPEALS February 8, 1996 Page 4 area which could be accomplished by setting up a series of chamber ponds. Nelson asked if the area where the staff parking lot would be is included in the site plan. Thompson said the intention is to create an off hours parking lot for the community center. He said much of the plan relates to the high school as well as the community center. Thompson said there has been much consideration concerning special events such as football. He said currently problems could arise if an athlete is seriously injured and emergency vehicles were inhibited from getting into the site. Thompson also said, with off hours parking there could be,at the staffs discretion, an alternative route for emergency vehicles. Lynch asked if any thought had been given to leasing paved parking space from the church located to the west of the high school. Thompson said he has looked at all options and believes this would not be a cost effective approach. Thompson said he is not interested in creating confrontational issues with neighbors, as well as, this approach would mean having to tunnel under the entry drive, expanding the project significantly. Lynch noted the pond was a marshy area and asked what kind of depth Thompson was anticipating. Thompson responded there would be various depths. He said they would have to create significant depth in portions of the pond. He also said the pond would be incorporated with a number of teaching events at the school. Thompson spoke of developing teaching stations around the pond and creating two stories of biology labs around the pond area. Lynch asked if there would be a bridge across the pond. Thompson said there would be more of a dike area. Thompson indicated there was a possibility of having an active run of water from the upper elevation of the pond to the lower, similar to a waterfall, but not a waterfall. Thompson said this would be in alignment with requirements by the City and Watershed District,however,they could not go to Watershed District until the process is complete. Dunham asked what the intended depth was. Thompson said they are trying to reduce the amount of sediment. He suggested allowing some sediment to build up, allow storm water into the pond and have a pump that would extract some of the sediment. Vasaly asked if DNR approval was required. Thompson replied no due to the fact that the pond was made with the building. Vasaly questioned whether there was a DNR regulation regarding a lower percentage of impervious surface due to the lake. Kipp stated the DNR allows review of the variance based on their ordinances. Kipp also said the Board's decision would be forwarded to the DNR. Hansen asked what occurs when the pond becomes full of sediment. Thompson said the flow of sediment could be headed off by sump manholes. He also said BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS&APPEALS February 8, 1996 Page 5 • most of the sediment would accumulate during the first year due to construction on the site. Hansen asked if the City has a plan for cleaning out this type of system. Kipp said the City has equipment which effectively accomplishs this,but did not know if the City handles the School District's catch basins. Hansen asked if there would be curbs and gutters. Thompson responded yes. Hansen expressed concern for the water quality of Round Lake with the fertilized run off from the school property. He stated if the city regularly pumps out the cash basins it would probably help the situation. Lynette Pollari of Cuningham Hamilton Quiter said one thing they have done is exercise caution about not creating large areas. They have planned smaller areas set apart by turf, which cuts down pollution. They have also met with the landscape architect and are working with site irrigation. He said they are working to make the pond into an ecological outdoor classroom. Weeks asked where the property line was between the community center and the high school. Thompson displayed a picture to the Board. He said the variable lot line has been the north lot line. He also said it was about a 75 foot shift to incorporate the new addition. Thompson said there would be another request to shift the lot line again in the future. Thompson said he believes this is not an important lot line. Weeks mentioned there were four items up for vote during the last school referendum. Thompson said the activity center failed. Weeks asked if there was any incorporation of the activity center in the new plan. Thompson showed the Board where the activity center could be added to the building. Hansen asked if the site was too full. Thompson said it is full now but he believes the City will look back in future years and be thankful for not building an additional high school. Thompson said he believes the current plan will work well for the City and the Community Center. Kipp mentioned the height requested is consistent with the standard set by the Board in 1993. He said the impervious surface is required for expansion to take place. Kipp stated,if parking was expanded,the community center would benefit tremendously. He mentioned there are benefits to having a secondary parking lot. Kipp informed the Board that their approval of the variance would be subject to City Council approval. Weeks asked Kipp what the terms were for the variance granted in 1993. Kipp said he believed the last variance granted was based on City Council approval for 50 foot height variance. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS&APPEALS February 8, 1996 Page 6 Hansen said a parking ramp would cut down the impervious surface. Thompson responded saying this had come up at another meeting and informed the Board this was a costly approach, as well as increasing the issues regarding security. Weeks opened the public hearing. Weeks closed the public hearing. Hansen said he believes there isn't much choice in the matter since there is only one high school. Nelson commented she was impressed with the efforts made regarding ecology. She stated the variance was a logical request. MOTION: Nelson moved to approve Variance Request# 96-02 for a building height to 50 feet, impervious surface of 43.7%, and a variance for a zero lot line setback for parking; with the hardship being to provide a workable school environment which will enhance the City's services, and meet the future educational demands of the City's residents. Nelson said there were no attachments since the variance has been approved by the City Council. Dye seconded the motion. Hansen amended the motion stating that the school district secure a plan for . cleaning out the sump manholes on a regular basis. Dunham said the city is obligated to clean out the sump manholes,therefore it was not necessary to make this stipulation. Hansen responded he would like the stipulation added because Kipp is not sure the City does this. Thompson said the school must rely on keeping the water pure in the pond since it will be an active part of the curriculum. Thompson believes the school district would have no problems with this stipulation. Dunham withdrew his objection. The amended motion was accepted by Nelson and Dye, and the motion carried 7-0-0. Weeks informed Thompson of a time limit of one year to implement the variance. C. Request#96 04 by Kindercare Learning Centers for Kindercare near the intersection of Baker Road and Old Shady Oak Road to permit a lot size of 1.65 acres in the Neighborhood Commercial Zoning District City Code requires a 2 acre minimum. Eric Johnson of RLK Associates in Minnetonka represented Kindercare. Johnson stated property was originally developed in 1988 and 1989 as Chase Point with a proposed daycare center, a gas station,restaurant and two office buildings. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS&APPEALS February 8, 1996 Page 7 The roadway that services this site is Chase Point Road. Johnson said the site is interesting regarding the amount of the grade change. Johnson said the proposal was to have a Kindercare site behind the Super America. Due to steep grades on the western portion of the site, a narrow piece is usable property. Johnson went on to say what limits the western side is the existence of a private access easement to the Loosen property. The site was rough graded in 1989 and two or three lots were anticipated. Kindercare is requesting a variance for a 1.6 acre lot as opposed to two acres, based on existing tree line to the west and the steep grades through portions of the site. Lynch asked Johnson why Kindercare could not have a two acre minimum lot. Johnson stated there would have to be some different agreements made by Kindercare and future owners of the other property. Lynch asked Johnson if the property would not be useable to anyone due to the steep grade and the trees. Johnson responded yes; certain portions are unobtainable for Kindercare because of the grade. Lynch suggested Kindercare could obtain the property,though unusable, allowing for a bigger site. Vasaly said it would be possible to draw a straight line and the request for a variance would be unnecessary. Johnson stated that Kindercare was going with • the design of less than two acre sites as was done previously. Kipp said the lot line is sharing the private drive. He said if Kindercare extended across, it would have to have a cross access agreement for the road. Lynch asked what the hardship was. Vasaly asked if it was a decision to buy less land. Lynch suggested combining the lot with a closer piece of property, eliminating the need for a variance. Nelson agreed stating it would insure that someone would take care of the smaller piece of property. Johnson said originally there was a plan in 1989 for a potential third user. Kipp said the previous daycare and Super America were approved at the time of the original development. He also said the platting of this lot at 1.65 acres would leave the 1.35 acre site available, leaving 1.4 acres of wooded area. Kipp said permitting the variance would allow the remaining parcel to have available space to complete the project. Kipp said Kindercare is meeting all setback requirements and this is the only variance request with the project. Kipp stated at the time of the original approval, the steep sloped area would require major alteration because of the grade. He said it also puts into question the possibility of a fifth building. Weeks asked if the line were run all the way across,would it put them over the • two acres. Kipp responded yes and said when the original two sites were built, a conceptual view of the five sites was given. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS&APPEALS February 8, 1996 Page 8 Dunham expressed concern for the health of the children regarding fluorocarbons in the air coming from the gas station. Kipp said it would be difficult to deny a request based on this premise and stated that many day care centers are built next to gas stations. Dunham stated it might be true that many day care centers are built near gas stations but perhaps alternatives should be considered. Dunham said this issue hinders his decision to approve the variance. Nelson asked why the lots were platted smaller than what the city requires. Kipp stated the Council believed it was an appropriate use of the property. Kipp also said the Council reviews a plan in terms of being consistent with the original plan. Kipp said the Kindercare site is larger and,if the site was extended,it could put in doubt the ability of building the fifth lot. Weeks asked what the tax base difference would be for 1.65 acres as opposed to 2 acres. Kipp stated probably not much of a difference. MOTION: Vasaly moved to deny Variance Request#96-04 due to no hardship. Lynch seconded and the motion passed 7-0-0. Johnson asked the Board, if there were an appeal, should it be presented as a two plus acre lot. Weeks told Johnson he would not be obligated to go any more than 2.0 acres. Weeks said if Johnson could come up with a plat with 2.0 acres, he could present it. Kipp added that a modification to two acres would be consistent with what the Council originally approved, and would not require starting the public hearing process over. IV. OLD BUSINESS None. V. NEW BUSINESS Kipp said the next meeting was scheduled for March 14, 1996. He stated Data Metalcraft is a concrete block building with a dirt parking lot which does not meet code. Data Metalcraft plans an addition of 1/3 more square feet added onto the building. Kipp said nine percent of the building would have plain concrete block and everything else would meet code. He also said another item would be the Roger's Homestead development for a sixteen lot subdivision with Shoreland lot size and lot frontage variances. Kipp also said the April meeting will address the Lakeview Office Building which was built with burnished block. They are requesting to be consistent with that. Cub Foods is tentatively also scheduled for April but Kipp said he hasn't heard BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS&APPEALS February 8, 1996 Page 9 from them. Kipp suggested the Board check their calendars to ensure a quorum can be maintained for the March meeting. Dunham requested the Board offer appreciation to Weeks for his dedication to the Board, since his term is expiring. VI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Vasaly moved the Board adjourn. Seconded by Dunham and the motion carried 7-0-0. Meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. •