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Planning Commission - 11/18/2019APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019 7:00 PM—CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Charles Weber, Ann Higgins, Andrew Pieper, Ed Farr, Michael DeSanctis, Christopher Villarreal, Carole Mette CITY STAFF: Julie Klima, City Planner; Rod Rue, City Engineer; Matt Bourne, Parks and Natural Resources Manager; Kristin Harley, Recording Secretary I. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Chair Pieper called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – ROLL CALL Commission members Weber and Villarreal were absent. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Mette moved, seconded by DeSanctis to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. IV. MINUTES MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by Higgins to approve the minutes of October 14, 2019 as amended on page 4, Number V Item A from “Kirk commented that the design overall” to “Kirk commented that the design overall was good.” MOTION CARRIED 6-0. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS TARGET REMODEL (2019-19) Request for:  Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 10.6 acres  Planned Unit Development District Amendment with Waivers on 10.6 acres  Site Plan Review on 10.6 acres PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES November 18, 2019 Page 2 Ryan Hyllested of Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. presented a PowerPoint and explained the application. There is an interior shared wall on the east side of the building. Target proposed to update the signage and facade as a national rebranding effort. The application would revise the concrete masonry units (CMUs) and the percentage of materials previously approved. The red bull’s eye Target signs would be replaced with white bull’s eye signs. The façade, sconce lights, and surfaces would be updated as a “refresh and a modernization.” Hyllested explained the changes to the elevations as the bull’s eye is changed to a white motif. Parking lot islands with plantings at an average of every 20 spaces and a landscape plan was included. Full compliance would require Target to sacrifice parking stalls, so the average was proposed instead. He displayed elevation images before and after the proposed change. A (white bull’s eye) sign would be added to the south elevation. Hyllested displayed the location of the proposed planted parking islands. DeSanctis asked if this façade would resemble the new Super Target on Rockford Road in Plymouth. Hyllested replied he was not familiar with that store. DeSanctis asked if the sconce lighting would use solar source and when told no, he asked why solar was not considered. Hyllested responded that he thought it would be difficult given the shadowing in the area. It was not typical to use solar to light the exterior of a building. DeSanctis asked if these proposed changes would impact the R-value or the insulation values of the building. Hyllested assured him the changes were merely cosmetic and would not affect these qualities. Hyllested described for DeSanctis the native plants to go into the parking islands. Drip irrigation would be used in these. Mette asked for and received confirmation the red EFIS brick to be installed would go right over the existing façade. Farr asked if the south elevation, which had a tiered wall feature and where a new sign would be mounted, was a shared wall. Hyllested clarified the shared wall was actually the eastern wall, with the Eden Prairie Mall. Farr asked if the landscaping was planned to eventually screen the wall, and Hyllested replied it was; nothing would be removed, but some landscaping would be moved within the site. Farr asked that some shrubs be inserted where the trees were being removed, and Hyllested replied there were some shrubs already, having been planted between the trees. Farr urged Hyllested to continue the aesthetic rhythm of the foliage so it would not become unsightly. Klima gave the staff report. The applicant proposed façade updates and site improvements which would alter portions of the existing façade; it would be painted and refurbished, and new signs would be installed on all three exterior elevations. Since the applicant last went through the review process in 2000, the City has updated some Code requirements. In 2000 a waiver was granted to allow the 59 percentage of Class One materials on the building overall, and now the applicant was asking for 58 percent, a small change but one that required the PUD process. All existing parking islands would be landscaped, and an existing PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES November 18, 2019 Page 3 pedestrian connection would be improved. No parking stalls would be removed as part of this project; to comply strictly with Code would result in a loss of five stalls. As part of the PUD amendment, the applicant was seeking waivers for exterior building materials and signage. Conversations could be had as a part of future developments on the site to bring the parking lot more in compliance. Staff recommended approval. Mette remarked the definition of a sign and a sign area could become a question when such a recognizable background is changed. She added she did not have an issue with this change. Klima replied some communities did provide that level of specificity in their definitions of signs and signage. Eden Prairie’s ordinance mentioned any visual graphic text area that communicates, or identifies, or advertises but did not get as specific as other communities did. The red EFIS would not constitute signage, based on City regulations and past practices. Farr noted the applicant was changing the color of the entrance aluminum framing and wanted this to be durable and abrasion-resistant, and urged that some technical requirements be given to the applicant to ensure this frame would not peel or deteriorate in time. Klima offered to supply this information. MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by Farr to close the public hearing. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. Mette noted this design would look nicer and more modern. Kirk agreed this was a reasonable update very close to the original PUD, and added the parking improvements were welcome. DeSanctis commented this along with neighboring new designs complemented the Mall MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by Higgins to recommend approval for a Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 10.6 acres; Planned Unit Development Amendment with waivers on 10.6 acres and Site Plan Review on 10.6 acres based on Plans stamped dated November 7, 2019 and the staff report dated November 12, 2019. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. VI. PLANNERS’ REPORT VII. MEMBERS’ REPORTS VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Farr moved, seconded by Kirk to adjourn. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:23 p.m.