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.