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Planning Commission - 09/13/2021APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 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, William Gooding, Robert Taylor CITY STAFF: Julie Klima, City Planner; Matt Bourne, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources; Rod Rue, City Engineer; 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 Absent was commission member Markos. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: DeSanctis moved, seconded by Higgins to approve the agenda. MOTION CARRIED 8-0. IV. MINUTES MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by Farr to approve the minutes of August 9, 2021 amended to correct the language (provided by Klima) on page four in Item VA regarding preferred and allowed materials, and to change the word “idea” to “ideal” in the phrase “less than ideal, but this project...” MOTION CARRIED 8-0. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. VARIANCE ALLINA HEALTH (BOA 2021-03) Request for: • Wall sign area of 150.7 square feet. City Code maximum is 50 square feet • Cumulative building wall sign area of 200.7 square feet. City Code maximum is 50 square feet. Andrea Berg, Project Manager at Allina Health, 800 E 28th Street (Abbott Northwestern Hospital) displayed a PowerPoint and detailed the application. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 13, 2021 Page 2 Allina Health was a not-for-profit health care system offering beginning to end- of-life care that wished to bring appropriate care to Eden Prairie. Novel concepts would be tried. The goal was to host the first clinic day on January 11, 2022. The space would include 20 examination rooms, a TeleHealth room, a pacemaker room, a vascular procedure room, and vascular ultrasound room, a stress testing room, an echo room, an ultrasound room, a lab, and a CT scanner space with five patient bays. Services would include internal medicine/primary care, general cardiology, prevention, electrophysiology, advanced heart failure, valve and structural heart, vascular medicine and surgery, advanced cardiovascular imaging, patient education courses, lab, echo, stress testing, ultrasound, blood pressure monitoring, halter/event monitors, vascular ultrasound, pacemaker device checks, and continuous glucose monitoring. The applicant requested a variance with two parts: a 150.7-square-foot wall sign (Code was 50 feet) and 200.7-square-foot signage (Code was 50 feet) to serve an older population who frequently use cardiology services. Also, the signage seemed to align with similar Health Partners signage in the neighborhood. The landlord (Flagship Corporate Center) was supportive of this design. Mette asked what percentage of the building Allina Health would take up. Berg replied Allina Health would take up approximately one-eighth of the building. Klima presented the staff report. The variance would increase the individual and the cumulative wall sign area. The site was zoned and guided office, and this design did meet several criteria: it was in harmony with the purpose; this was a unique circumstance because of the distance from Prairie Center Drive due to the original PUD, which allowed parking along the frontage to screen it from Purgatory Creek; and the building was allowed to be built at 60 feet in height rather than the 30 feet which was Code. The LRT piers along Prairie Center Drive could impact the sightlines of prospective customers. Other office-zoned buildings existed in the site but they were much smaller and closer to the roadway. Neighboring signage was similar to what was being proposed. Staff recommended approval. DeSanctis asked if the sign would be illuminated throughout the night or only through business hours. Nathan Wendt, Facilities Project Manager, replied the sign would be illuminated throughout the night but Allina could set timers. Mette asked Klima what the commercial maximum signage dimensions were. Klima replied there was a maximum of 300 square feet. Farr asked Klima if there would be a complication due to the applicant being tenant versus being the owner. Klima replied Allina would be one of several tenants within the site. The variance request for the monument sign had clients to be determined. This variance, if approved, would remain in effect for the life of the property, even if the tenants changed. Farr asked if there was an overall limit PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 13, 2021 Page 3 being decided tonight should future clients, as opposed to a property owner/landlord, also wished a similar sign. Klima replied Allina could swap out the text for the new content. Another tenant could come to staff with a similar proposal and pursue the same process, but the landlord had not asked for a maximum sign limit tonight, and staff was not recommending that. Farr asked if the commission was obligated by these circumstances to entertain future requests. Klima replied the commission could do that but she had not seen that done. Typically, an applicant requested an overall PUD sign plan for the entire building or site. Staff fielded many signage questions during office hours, but very few culminated in a variance requests from multiple clients. That conversation would probably occur with the owner in the case of multiple requests. DeSanctis concurred with Farr about setting a precedent; there was a dermatology and a diagnostic clinic nearby that could wish a similar sign. He asked how much surface area there would be with multiple medical clinics requesting similar signage. Brianna Nord Parrish, of Allina Health and an Eden Prairie resident, spoke in support of the project. MOTION: Higgins moved, seconded by Taylor to close the public hearing. Motion carried 8-0. Mette stated a vote of approval allowed the property to have this sign; another tenant would have to come through the same process. The total volume of signage was a private matter between the landlord and the client(s). She urged the commission members to keep in mind the landlord would first be consulted and the maximum volume would be 300 square feet whatever the circumstances. She found this request to be fair. She agreed it would be better to have a plan for two equal size areas or four equal size areas, et cetera, but that was not the purview of the commission at this time. Kirk agreed; this decision was up to the owner and he found this to be a reasonable request. If the commission was indeed setting a precedent, future applicants could come through the existing process as this client did. He admitted some bias as a patient of Minneapolis Heath Institute and wished to bring that level of care into Eden Prairie. He found this design not unreasonable for the scope of the building. He supported the variance. Gooding concurred with Mette and Kirk that the plan was reasonable and in scale for the building and did not see a precedent set. Farr echoed these comments in that the sign was in scale with the building. He supported good signage where it was appropriate. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES September 13, 2021 Page 4 DeSanctis stated he was leaning in favor of the project due to the reputation of the applicant and the services it would provide. He was satisfied that the two existing multifamily buildings would see negligible impact. Taylor agreed this was a realistic request. The night lighting design proposed a cool (as opposed to bright) color scheme and would not be a big issue. Higgins concurred with the concerns expressed. She stated the City could expect to see that particular area of the road system become increasingly congested, at present due to construction, but also in general in the future. It would be difficult to find without this signage due to the setback and the complication of the site. DeSanctis noted residents would inevitably have to adapt to the increased noise and traffic impacting the outer-ring suburbs. MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by DeSanctis to approve Variance Request BOA 2021-03 based on information outlined in the staff report dated September 13, 2021 and the findings in the final order numbered 2021-03 . Motion carried 8-0. PLANNERS’ REPORT MEMBERS’ REPORTS VI. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Kirk moved, seconded by Mette to adjourn. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.