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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Adjustments and Appeals - 04/08/1999 APPROVED MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS & APPEALS THURSDAY,APRIL 8, 1999 7:30 P.M. CITY CENTER Council Chamber 8080 Mitchell Road BOARD: Kathy Nelson, Chairperson; Cliff Dunham; William Ford;Louis Giglio; Ismail Ismail; Michael O'Leary and Mary Vasaly STAFF: Jean Johnson, Zoning Administrator Carol Pelzel, Recorder GUESTS: Scott Olson, Paragon Cable;Ben Hartberg, Alliant Engineering; Charles Schatz, DJR Architecture;David Luce, 15236 Boulder Pointe Road;Royal Prevost, 9662 Clark Circle; Mahomoud Yousefzadeh, 9652 Clark Circle and a Representative from TGP Properties, 9300 Hennepin Town Road CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Nelson called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Kathy Nelson, Cliff Dunham, Louis Giglio and Ismail Ismail Absent: William Ford, Mary Vasaly and Michael O'Leary I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion/Second: Dunham/Ismail, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried, 4-0. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of March 11, 1999 Motion/Second: Dunham/Giglio, to approve the March 11 minutes as presented. Motion carried 3-0-1 with Ismail abstaining because of absence from that meeting. Minutes Board of Adjustments &Appeals April 8, 1999 III: VARIANCES A. Request#99-06 by Paragon Cable/David Luce for 15180 Martin Drive to: • Construct an accessory building prior to principal building • Construct and use a non hard-surface driveway and parking stalls until the principal drive and parking lot are installed. Scott Olson, representative from Paragon Cable, explained the use of the proposed building and the process for providing cable service to the residents of Eden Prairie. This facility will be used as a distribution hub to service 10,000 to 20,000 users and with the growth in Eden Prairie, they have decided to deploy two distribution hubs in the City. In response to Ms. Nelson's question, Ms. Johnson explained that the proposed Paragon building will be a small building on the site with a principal building being constructed at a later time on the southern portion of the site. Mr. Olson stated that once the principal building is constructed, the driveway would be hard surfaced. Ben Hartberg, Project Manager, Alliant Engineering, Inc., explained that the proposed 880 square foot Paragon building would be the first structure on this 2.5 acre site. Paragon is leasing 11,700 square feet of this site for the proposed structure. Access to the leased Paragon Cable property will be from the existing southerly curb cut on Martin Drive and will travel north, parallel to the easterly property line. Mr. Hartberg explained that this access road will be used once per month for maintenance personnel and it would be a tremendous waste to pave nearly 450 lineal feet of 15-foot wide access road for such little use. Also, Mr. Hartberg stated the landlord is considering constructing a large industrial building in the future on the balance of the property and at that time Paragon Cable would have a paved access route as part of that larger development. Charles Schatz, Project Architect, DJR Architecture, Inc., presented a rendering of a similar building and described the materials to be used for the proposed building. This facility will have a flat roof with HVAC units located on the top of the roof which will be hidden. Canopies will be added on the doors for down lighting for security purposes and there will also be some shielded wall packs, again for security. Mr. Ismail asked if the landlord has seen the proposed plan to be sure that it would fit into any future plans he may have for the proposed principal building. Mr. Schatz explained that the landlord has reviewed the drawings of this building. Mr. Dunham pointed out that some grading will have to be done and he would like to see the entire area reseeded. Ms. Johnson presented her staff report explaining that this site is zoned industrial and does permit this type of use. The variance being requested is for an accessory building prior to the principal building. Ms. Johnson explained that with the demand for fiber 2 Minutes Board of Adjustments & Appeals April 8, 1999 optics, staff felt that the variance process would be the best way to go. Staff did receive a call from the industrial user to the east and their concern was one of dust. Ms. Johnson suggested that the Board add the condition that the entire site be seeded in the spring to control dust. Mr. Dunham pointed out that there were a couple of woodsheds existing on this property and he asked that they be removed. Following discussion, Ms. Nelson opened the public hearing. David Luce, 15236 Boulder Pointe Road, stated that he is the owner of the property being discussed. He explained that he is having some difficulty with this site and they will not be able to get it developed as quickly as they would like. With regard to the seeding of the site, he asked that City staff work with him in getting this accomplished. Mr. Giglio questioned what the site would look hike if Mr. Luce were not able to build the principal building. Mr. Luce responded that the Paragon building is an improvement to the site and ultimately is the best use for this particular portion of the site. Following further discussion, Ms.Nelson closed the public hearing. Mr. Dunham said he feels this is a good building for Eden Prairie to have. However, one of his concerns is the driveway and he suggested that they put some type of timeline on the repavement of the driveway should another building not be built on this site. Motion/Second: Dunham/Ismail, to approve Variance Request #99-06 to construct an accessory building prior to principal building and to construct and use a non hard- surface driveway and parking stalls until the principal drive and parking lot are installed with the following three conditions: 1) The entire site be seeded; 2) The existing wood structures be removed from the site; and 3) Pavement of the driveway surface be completed within two years. Vote was called on the motion with all members present voting aye. The motion carried, 4-0. " B. Request#99-07 by Paragon Cable for 9320 Hennepin Town Road to construct a Paragon Cable relay building with the following setbacks in the Rural District: • Front yard setback of 35 feet (Code requires 50 feet) • Side yard setbacks of 20 feet on one side/70 feet for both sides (Code requires 50 feet one side/150 feet total for both sides 3 Minutes Board of Adjustments &Appeals April 8, 1999 Ben Hartberg, Project Manager, Alliant Engineering, Inc., reviewed the variance request explaining that they are proposing a 1,590 square foot building at 9320 Hennepin Town Road. The property is currently zoned rural and rather than request a change in the zoning,they are asking for setbacks that would match the existing office development to the north of this site. The proposed building will house the Paragon fiber optic substation equipment. The building is designed with rock face block at the base with a brick veneer finish. Building materials have been selected to match closely the existing architectural office north of the Paragon property. Mass plantings of evergreen trees and large deciduous shrubs will flank all sides of the proposed building. Charles Schatz, Project Architect, DJR Architecture, Inc., explained that there has been a revision to the original application. At the request of City staff they are putting a gabled roof on the proposed building similar to the one that the office building next door has so that this building will have more of a residential feeling. This will also result in the cooling units being placed adjacent to the building in fenced in areas. Ms. Johnson presented her staff report explaining that the zoning on this site is still rural. Staff has worked with the applicant to develop architecture that is compatible to the office building and to the residential character located behind the proposed project. The proposed pitched roof will meet stars concerns. Notices have been sent to the surrounding area and they did not receive any calls. Staff would recommend that approval be based on the plan submitted this evening with the pitched roof. Following discussion, Ms. Nelson opened the public hearing. Mr. Royal Prevost, 9662 Clark Circle, requested clarification on the location of the HVAC units. Mr. Schatz responded that the HVAC units would be located behind the building. Because of the landscaping as a buffer and the fence, which is a solid dense fence, the surrounding neighbors should not hear the air conditioning units. Mr. Provost expressed concern with noise and traffic. Ms. Nelson explained that the applicant has stated that there will be one truck per month entering this facility. Mr. Mahomoud Yousefzadeh, 9652 Clark Circle, explained that his house is located directly behind the proposed building and he is also concerned about noise and traffic. Mr. Yousefzadeh questioned the lighting on the building. Mr. Schatz responded that there would be no lights on the west side of the building. Mr. Yousefzadeh asked if this is a permanent building and what would happen if in a few years the cable company decides they do not need this facility any more. Ms. Johnson explained that in the future this building could be enlarged for another use or removed with a new proposed building. Any changes would have to go through a three-month review process which at that time Mr. Yousefzadeh could address any of his concerns. Mr. Yousefzadeh said he feels the proposed facility does not fit into the neighborhood and he would prefer to see a smaller office building. 4 Minutes Board of Adjustments & Appeals April 8, 1999 A representative from TGP Properties, 9300 Hennepin Town Road, explained that their office building is located directly to the north. They are concerned that this development is not in keeping with the small professional office type building. They feel it is an accessory building that would be better located further to the south. The representative said he feels the design being used on Martin Drive would better fit on this site and the air conditioning units would be better located on top of the building. Ms. Nelson asked if the applicant had considered any other sites further to the south. Scott Olson, representative from Paragon Cable, said they did and were unable to come up with any alternatives. Mr. Dunham pointed out that the 35-foot setback to the front is so that the facility will be located further away from the residential buildings. Mr. Giglio explained that this proposed building will have no traffic and an office building would create more noise. Mr. Ismail said he is concerned about the noise from the three air conditioning units. Mr. Schatz explained that in full capacity, only two units would be running at any one time. The third unit will run only if one unit is down. Because of the distance and the additional landscaping, the residential properties will not be able to hear these units. Ms. Johnson explained that should the neighbors have a problem with noise, they may contact the City to attempt to resolve the noise problem. Ms. Nelson asked if the site would be maintained. Mr. Olson responded that all of their facilities are maintained by a lawn service. Ms. Nelson said she does not feel that the noise from the HVAC units should be a concern. There would be no more noise created from this structure than from an office building. Also, a condition of approval should be that no lights be placed on the side of the building facing the residential properties. Following further discussion, Ms.Nelson closed the public hearing. Motion/Second: Giglio/Dunham, to approve Variance Request #99-07, allowing construction of a Paragon building with the following setbacks in the Rural District: Front yard setback of 35 feet and side yard setbacks of 20 feet on one side/70 feet for both sides with the following two conditions: 1) The roof be a pitched roof as presented this evening, and 2) No lights be placed on the residential side of the building. The motion carried, 4-0. IV. OLD BUSINESS Staff updated the Board regarding Mr. Ryan's legal counsel's opinion that a self-created hardship cannot be the sole reason for denying a variance. Staff will give further updates to the Board. 5 Minutes Board of Adjustments &Appeals April 8, 1999 V. NEW BUSINESS Ms. Johnson reported that at the next meeting of the Board of Adjustments and Appeals, the Board would be considering an item regarding construction of a home on Bryant Lake that will require a shore land variance. VI. ADJOURNMENT Motion/Second: Gigho/Nelson, to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. Motion carried, 4-0. 6