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Planning Commission - 12/14/2020APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020 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, Lisa Toomey, William Gooding CITY STAFF: Julie Klima, City Planner; Matt Bourne, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources; Rod Rue, City Engineer CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Chair Pieper called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – ROLL CALL II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Farr moved, seconded by Mette to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 9-0. III. MINUTES MOTION: Toomey moved, seconded by Kirk to approve the minutes of November 9, 2020. MOTION CARRIED 7-0 with two abstentions (DeSanctis and Markos). IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. TERREY PINE COFFEE Request for:  Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 0.511 acres  Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 0.511 acres  Zoning Change from Office to HWY-Commercial on 0.511 acres  Site Plan Review on 0.511 acres Mark Krogh of Java Companies presented a PowerPoint and explained the application. This would be a drive-through only coffee shop, the first of this kind from this tenant in the Twin Cities, built on the existing State Farm Office site, next to the Burger King on Highway 5. The site plan included 13 parking spaces, of which six or seven would be reserved for employees, and a curbside pickup/walk up window with an allotted six spaces. The walkup window would have a patio. The building would be 949 square feet. Access would be from PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES December 14, 2020 Page 2 Terrey Pine Court via an access easement across Burger King’s parking lot (which was the existing access). There would be 12 drive through stacking spaces rather than the typical eight or nine. The site plan also included use of a porous pavement in non-high traffic areas, and included a bike rack, sidewalks and a future pedestrian connection, and the patio with the walkup order window. The landscaping plan would conform to City guidelines. Sustainable features included an underground storm water management system, which allowed for more green space; native plants in a landscaping plan; a smart irrigation system; landscaping to shade parking areas and reduce urban heat islands; and exterior lighting that would exceed energy performance requirements. Krogh displayed the elevations showing the project would use 75 percent Class I materials. He commended the process of working with City staff. Farr asked for the conditions of the existing access agreement, specifically snow removal from the Burger King site and when the future pedestrian connection through the Burger King site would be made. Krogh replied this would be an easement and the coffee shop would have to plow. He deferred to Planning staff on the future agreement. DeSanctis asked what components of energy renewability were in this project. Krogh replied the tenant had a list which was in the staff memo. Mette asked for clarification whether the patio area was impervious. Krogh replied it was not impervious. Mette noted the civil plan was ambiguous and observed there was an opportunity to increase the impervious area. Krogh replied modifications had been made in the meantime to align with City staff requests. Mette asked if six or seven employee parking stalls was excessive, as it exceeded the requirement, whereas she knew of another drive-through coffee shop that had two or three employees at most working the shift. Krogh replied there would be six or seven employees working during peak hours. The other coffee shop concept referenced by Mette was smaller. DeSanctis asked if the applicant had considered drivers traveling east on Highway 5 during peak hours, making a right turn past the Speedway, which could be crowded at peak times, and then making a turn to the signaled Terrey Pine intersection, which could have significant traffic tie-ups as with the Starbucks in Chanhassen adjacent to Highway 5. Krogh replied this was considered, and the traffic study done led to the decision to have 12 stacking spaces. Farr noted the applicant would be taking down significant trees as a part of this project, and on the west side of the property between Burger King and this site was an old spruce that would be replaced. He requested the applicant save this tree. Krogh replied a tree study was done, but he would explore this and look at PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES December 14, 2020 Page 3 costs. However, site lines were crucial to the tenants. Farr replied this would likely save money. He also requested the dogwood screening, which would drop its leaves in autumn, be changed to a non-deciduous screening to last year-round. Krogh offered to explore that as well. Gooding noted the Burger King was empty, but the nearby Dairy Queen routinely backed up onto Terrey Pine Court, which might not happen during peak coffee shop hours, but this could be an issue, and would be one if the Burger King resumed operations. Krogh replied his firm had developed quite a few coffees shops, three last year. This drive through had almost double lanes and the most stacking he had ever done. It made sense to have more rather than less stacking and the tenant was thinking for the long term. Gooding replied he understood there was room to service the cars at the site but was concerned the intersection would be overwhelmed. Krogh replied the busiest time was in the morning, while the other businesses would not be as active, and he did not anticipate any problems. Kirk stated he had a similar concern. It seemed to him if there was excess stacking it would cause potential gridlock, preventing egress. The average rate in the morning would need to service one car per minute. This would not impact the public streets but could cause gridlock in the site. This was a question for him. Krogh replied the number of stacking spaces (12) and the number of cars to cause congestion (20) was a high number. Kirk cited a previous case where a restaurant promised to have enough parking and there was congestion. Krogh replied the staff in Operations did a deep drive and were confident in the traffic analysis. Klima presented the staff report. This was a threefold request, a rezoning from office to highway commercial, a PUD approval with waivers, and a site plan approval. The rezoning request was consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The project would exceed the impervious surface onsite, part of which was in the Shoreland District. Staff did work with the developer to reduce impervious surface onsite while maintaining usability of the site. Regarding the pedestrian connection back to the Burger King site, staff would work with Burger King in the future to finalize that connection to Eden Prairie Road. Another waiver was to reduce the drive aisle width from 25 to 24, which reduced the impervious surface area while still being functional. The final waiver was for landscape islands in the parking lot, two of which fell below the 160 square feet required. Staff would continue to work with the developer on the issues mentioned in the Commissioner’s comments. Staff recommended approval. DeSanctis asked if City planners considered the potential impact of this business on the Smith Coffee House in terms of loss of trade. Klima replied while the City wished to see all businesses succeed and thrive, particularly Smith, the use of a drive-through coffee shop was permitted by ordinance and there was no reason to deny the application from a use perspective. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES December 14, 2020 Page 4 Mette asked what the impervious surface percentage maximum would be if the site was not in the Shoreland District. Klima replied there was not a maximum impervious surface percentage outside of the Shoreland District. Mette asked if hypothetically any site outside the Shoreland District could have 100 percent impervious surface barring the landscaping code requirement. Klima replied there were several other requirements such as landscaping, setback, and stormwater management that functionally limited the percentage of impervious surfaces outside of the Shoreland District. Farr stated he was concerned about the pedestrian connection which could be a hazard for kids on bikes going to and from high school. Young adults took their bicycles to Eden Prairie High School and the coffee shop would be a popular attraction for them. He anticipated conflicts between bikes and cars and/or school buses in the Burger King lot and asked if there was any way to force a pedestrian connection now for increased safety. He also asked if staff had followed up on the legal rights to ensure this tenant followed through on plowing and maintaining the Burger King site, and where the liability fell if there was an accident on that site. He also asked what happened if Burger King decided to reconfigure its lot. Klima replied she would defer the pedestrian access question to Rod Rue. A private easement allowed access to this lot, and the City was not a part of that. However, a development agreement being drafted would have the City review that private easement since access was required. The specifics of who was responsible in a private easement was not a typical City concern but would come into play if the Burger King site was to be redeveloped in the future. Rue stated the only way the pedestrian access could be completed sooner would be for the City to take on the responsibility and incur the cost. In this case, the developer would pay the cost for improvements up to the Burger King site, and if Burger King developed its site it would be responsible for the connection to County Road 4. If the City took on the development of this pedestrian connection, it would have the escrow from this developer but no money from Burger King, and that would not be a cheap alternative. When the Burger King site was upgraded these questions of access, cost and liability would be addressed then. MOTION: Farr moved, seconded by Toomey to close the public hearing. MOTION CARRIED 9-0. Farr commended the project, but stated he still took issue with two items of landscaping: the loss of the tree and the deciduous screening. Mette agreed with Farr about the tree and assumed it was a sightline issue. The tree blocked their front door signage but if the applicant could take a look at the placement and move the sign to the north end of the back of the building that tree could be saved. The stacking was well designed and allowed for plenty of room. To her it looked like there could be another five back up and then five on Terry Pine Court, which allowed for plenty of traffic. The developers were not responsible for the stacking PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES December 14, 2020 Page 5 at the Dairy Queen site, but that allowed less than the 12 planned for here. Her biggest issue was with the impervious surface requirement. Understanding the requirements more now, she wished to see the developer increase the impervious surface amount, assuming the patio area was impervious. The number of parking stalls satisfied her. The sidewalk that would connect the trail to the trash enclosure was five foot seven inches which seemed very wide, and perhaps could be narrowed since the sidewalk around the building was only four feet wide. The location of the trash enclosure was within the parking and building 10-foot setback and could trigger a waiver. She suggested the applicant flip the trash enclosure to the north side and reduce the sidewalk area, if possible with the connection to the trail. The rear of the building facing Highway 5 had a back door to the mechanical room which was on the western side of the building, and she had not seen a detailed floor plan. Mette asked if that could be flipped across the horizontal so the rear door was on the east side, which would also reduce the amount of sidewalk. She approved of the waiver of the 24-foot drive aisle but preferred 25 feet, although this would not decrease the impervious area but would allow more spacing and ease among the stalls. Overall, she understood the applicant’s request for a waiver for the impervious surface area. Kirk stated for the most part he supported Farr’s comments. He agreed with the three waivers and found this a very positive usage. He continued to have a concern about traffic inside the site, but it did not rise to the level of a nay vote. He could, however, think of several negative precedents regarding other businesses and parking. DeSanctis stated he was concerned about congestion on Highway 5, particularly at peak times. The short turn from west and the left onto Terrey Pine concerned him more than the internal traffic on the site. He also questioned how 100 percent of the operated stores were covered by renewable energy and asked to see specifications on this. He also wanted to know how much solar would be employed in day-to-day operations. He also remained concerned about the possible impact on the Smith Coffee House but added perhaps this would be less of an issue after Covid-19. He was pleased that drive-throughs would minimize the spread of the virus. Overall he was in support of the project. Klima replied City staff would continue to work with developer to save the tree and improve screening in the landscaping plan. There was a coffee shop on Highway 62 which inspired a conversation at the City about stacking during its review process. In that case, failure in stacking would impact public right-of-way rather than on site. The trash enclosure did meet the site’s setback requirement. The City did not set a specific requirement for renewable energy, but the developer shared this tenant/industry standard as a part of its proposal. The property would be constructed to be solar-ready. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES December 14, 2020 Page 6 Farr urged Rue to address the traffic report findings at the intersections of Terrey Pine and Eden Prairie Road, and Highway 5 and Eden Prairie Road. Rue replied he was not sure those intersections were specifically studied but both would be able to support the additional traffic. There was also a flashing yellow arrow on Terrey Pine for making a left turn. Past back-ups at the Burger King did not encroach onto the public right-of-way, even during the noon rush. There was nothing the City could do to improve the situation but adjust the traffic signal timing at Terrey Pine and Highway 4. Discussion followed on traffic concerns at the Highway 4 and Highway 5 intersection. Rue stated any improvement there would be significant. Farr summarized the discussion that the intersection of Highways 5 and 4 was the most congested in Eden Prairie right now, but it could handle the additional traffic from this project. Pieper stated he agreed with saving the tree, changing the screening, and lowering the amount of impervious surface. He was also concerned about traffic but was reassured by the discussion. He also wanted to see the sidewalk extended for safety. Mette urged the developer and the tenant, being that the building did not have an indoor area for customers, to pay more attention to making the outdoor area a nicer area, perhaps allowing a three-season structure. She urged the developer to keep the space usable for as much of the year as possible and make the patio area functional. MOTION: Farr moved, seconded by Kirk to recommend approval of the Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 0.511 acres, the Planned Unit Development District Review with waivers on 0.511 acres, the Zoning Change from Office to HWY-Commercial on 0.511 acres and the Site Plan Review on 0.511 acres based on plans stamp dated December 8, 2020, and the staff report dated December 9, 2020. MOTION CARRIED 9-0. V. PLANNERS’ REPORT VI. MEMBERS’ REPORTS Toomey noted that this was her last meeting as a Commissioner. She commended the Commission for their work and the value that they bring to the City process. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Toomey moved, seconded by Kirk to adjourn. MOTION CARRIED 9-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.