Planning Commission - 10/08/2007 APPROVED MINUTES
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION
MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2007 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER
Council Chambers
8080 Mitchell Road
COMMISSION MEMBERS: John Kirk, Vicki Koenig, Jerry Pitzrick,
Frank Powell, Peter Rocheford,
Fred Seymour, Ray Stoelting, Jon Stoltz,
Kevin Schultz
STAFF MEMBERS: Stu Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources
Al Gray, City Engineer
Michael Franzen, City Planner
Scott Kipp, Senior Planner
Julie Krull, Recording Secretary
I. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE—ROLL CALL
Chair Stoelting called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Absent: Kirk.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION by Seymour, seconded by Schultz, to approve the agenda. Motion carried
8-0.
III. MINUTES
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
MOTION by Seymour, seconded by Stoltz, to approve the minutes. Motion carried
6-0. Koenig and Powell abstained.
IV. INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. PRESBYTERIAN HOMES EDEN PRAIRIE REDEVELOPMENT
Request for: Guide Plan Change from High Density Residential and Regional
Commercial to High Density Residential and Community Commercial on 21.3
acres; Planned Unit Development Concept Review on 21.3 acres; Planned Unit
Development District Review with waivers on 21.3 acres; Zoning District Change
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
October 8, 2007
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from RM-2.5, RM-6.5 and community Regional Service to RM-2.5 and
Community Commercial on 21.3 acres; Site Plan Review on 21.3 acres;
Preliminary Plat of 21.3 acres into five lots and road right-of-way.
John Mehrkens, representing Presbyterian Homes, presented the proposal. He
pointed out Presbyterian Homes has been around 52 years and is the 4"'largest
non-profit senior housing provider. Their mission is to provide a broad
continuum of care to older adults. They acquired the Castle Ridge/Broadmoor
site in 2003/2004 and would like to expand their service. The planning request is
a joint application of Presbyterian Homes and 605 Prairie Center Drive, LLC.
The City Staff encouraged this relationship. The overall Planned Unit
Development includes 707 housing units and 70,000 square feet of retail and
restaurant uses to be constructed in three phases between 2008 and 2012. Mr.
Mehrkens also pointed out they have several MCA plan consistencies, such as,
structured parking, mixed use of buildings, and ground floor retail with housing
on top.
Kirk Velett, architect for the project, talked about the housing aspect of this
project. The building masses consist of varied building heights, diverse roof
forms, horizontal and vertical articulation and sensitivity to surrounding site
edges. Mr. Velett utilized the overhead projector to illustrate the location of the
buildings.
Kathy Anderson, architect consortium, addressed the retail aspect of this project.
She stated CVS Pharmacy would be on the corner of this project with an area next
to it for a bank. She also utilized the overhead projector to illustrate the location
of the store fronts and the walking and sitting areas located by the store fronts.
Ms. Anderson pointed out there is a gathering plaza on a large enough scale to
accommodate an outdoor concert. There would also be a turn-around in the
complex.
Miles Lindberg, discussed the landscaping aspect of the project. He said lots 1-4
meet the landscaping requirements. He pointed there is a shortfall in lot 5.
Because of the shortfall, site enhancements have been included with this project.
Such as, green roof area, concrete paver areas, a water wall fountain, a pool and
fountain, a cascading fountain, bronze sculpture, and decorative pedestrian lights.
All of these enhancements total $1,064,000.
Kirk Velett, stated sustainable design includes such things as; green roofs,below
grade garage, rain gardens, porous parking surfaces, porous pavers, Xcel energy
review, recycling existing building materials where possible, and building
materials from sustainable sources. Mr. Velett stated the building materials
would consist of cultured stone instead of quarried stone. This stone provides
additional interest, is more "green" and is more durable, and maintenance free.
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October 8, 2007
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Mr. Mehrkens summarized by stating this project is a mixed use project that is
more unique to Eden Prairie. This project also adds neighborhood retail and
closely matches the goals described in the City MCA plan and other City
initiatives. Mr. Mehrkens pointed out they will be willing to work with Staff on
any issues they have in regards to this project.
Stoelting asked Kipp to address the staff report. Kipp said the Staff does not
recommend any land use changes but on page 10 of the staff report there are
recommendations to the project and because of those recommendations, Staff
recommends continuance of the project to comply with plan requests.
Stoelting opened the meeting up for public input.
Don Uram, of 13600 Carmody Drive, showed a power point presentation. He
stated he is not against the project but feels there are issues with the project. He
lives on the back side of Purgatory Creek. Mr. Uram showed pictures of mature
trees in the area currently covering the buildings. He also showed Flagship
Corporate Center, which is a 4-story complex that is still an imposing building.
He also showed a 10-story building from across the lake and it was still covered
by mature trees. Because of the potentially large tree loss on this property, they
will not be covering up the buildings in the area. He is concerned with the height
of the proposed buildings in the area and that they will not fit into the existing
area. He is also concerned with the amount of tree loss to the area.
Vernon Swing, engineer, representing Fountain Place, stated they are in support
of this project and have been working with City Staff and Presbyterian Homes to
resolve traffic issues. He feels this project will create traffic issues and that there
would be other site designs that could eliminate these issues. He utilized the
overhead projector to show where these would be located. The first issue to
change would be the drive aisle in the southeast corner of the site. They would
like to see this aisle realigned to the front of the building. Mr. Swing also pointed
out it is vital to maintain access to Prairie Center Drive. The third issue would be
inclusion of cross access to this site and lastly, a resolution needs to be reached
where both parties are happy with the construction of Castlemoor Drive. Semi-
trucks cannot utilize a circular route on Castlemoor Drive.
Steve Caruso, of 8500 Franlo Road,had some thoughts in regards to this
discussion. First thing is he asked what age group this housing will be catering
too. He pointed out this would be elderly and assisted living housing and said
there are already two facilities in this area. And with three facilities in this area
there would be a lot of ambulance traffic; which would create a lot of anxiety
amongst the residents. He also asked if there would be transportation for the
residents to Eden Prairie Center.
Stoelting summarized the issues as followed:
1. Concern with building height so close to the recreational areas.
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
October 8, 2007
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2. Tree loss.
3. Fountain Place and issues raised by them.
4. What age group will this site cater to?
5. Ambulance noise.
6. Transportation to Eden Prairie Center.
Mr. Mehrkens addressed the building height and said the intent was to make this a
high density use site. They wanted to embrace this by design. In going back to
the site plan, they are trying to be sensitive to the areas exposed by Purgatory
Creek by creating different levels to the building. In regards to the circular turn-
around, they have demonstrated trucks can turn around in the area,but they also
do not want a lot of truck traffic in that area. Columbine access is more
convenient for truck traffic. Mr. Mehrkens said the age group this site will cater
to is 55 and over. He pointed out 210 units are for independent living. In
addition, there are high level care units for those individuals needing assistance.
Stoelting asked Franzen to address this issue. Franzen said in a 2000 census, out
of approximately 55,000 people, approximately 5,000 were over the age of 55.
He stated the hosing units by type vary throughout the City and according to
records from 2006, 700 senior units were built from 1980 to present.
Stoltz asked Mr. Mehrkens if it was pure economics to have a building with
different levels from 9 stories to 13 stories. Mr. Mehrkens said density issue is an
economic need because of soil issues in the area. Stoltz asked, in regards to
porous parking surfaces, if this type of parking was for the whole area or just a
few spots. Mr. Mehrkens said the porous parking surface would be in just the
center section of the site. Because of the cost issues, they tried to sustain this in
this area.
Stoltz asked about the traffic circle and why they do not think it would be a
problem. Dan Parks, from Westwood Engineering, said when Fountain Place was
built, they had traffic access points to the west side, which could access out to
Hwy 212 or Columbine Road. The turn-around was designed not to have trucks
coming in and out of this point,but it would also be capable of handling the truck
traffic.
Stoltz asked about replacing trees with other upgrades and asked what the intent
with that was. Mr. Mehrkens said the tree loss of 3,000 calipers could not be
replaced; which constituted a dollar amount of$300,000 to $350,000. What they
did was to come up with approximately $1,000,000 of upgrades. Stoltz asked if
this had been done before. Franzen said this has been done before with Windsor
Plaza. This project proponent is trying to do sustainable things, such as water
flow quality and they are also trying to encourage public gathering places. They
are doing these upgrades because the landscaping has been maxed out in this area.
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
October 8, 2007
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Pitzrick asked, in regards to effis, if it was downgraded to 5% from 20% he would
like to see the amount of effis minimized on this project. Mr. Mehrkens said effis
is reduced to the first floor retail buildings; using it only in sign band areas where
it economically makes sense.
Pitzrick said he would like to see a pedestrian bridge over Prairie Center Drive.
Mr. Mehrkens said he would like to see that also. Pitzrick pointed out the
bridge will relieve congestion on Prairie Center Drive;he believes this needs to be
looked at more comprehensibly.
Stoelting asked Staff to address the topic of traffic improvements. Gray said the
potential for a walk way would have to include more need than just this project.
He stated there is a 50-50 probability that in 20 years this will transpire.
Pitzrick stated the parking lot in front of the retail area is very significant and he
would like to see this broken up a bit. Mr. Mehrkens said a lot of parking is
squeezed into other areas and the retailers need this parking in this area. He
pointed out it is pedestrian friendly in its convenience to store fronts. Pitzrick
suggested pushing the building back 10 feet to the west. Mr. Mehrkens said they
have moved the buildings around and feel this is the best location for this site,but
they will look at it again.
Pitzrick asked if they considered green roofs for the first story buildings. Mr.
Mehrkens said it was an economic issue and that he does realize people in the
high-rise will be looking at this,but his hopes are they will look out on the view
rather than down on the roof.
Pitzrick said in regards to flames burning in the round-about, it might be better
not to have gas burning in that area. He asked about the trash enclosures to the
south of the building and said they looked undesirable. Ms. Anderson said they
were made of the same design as the other buildings, so they would fit in better to
the area. Stoelting asked if all of the buildings had trash receptacles. Ms.
Anderson used the overhead projector to show where the trash receptacles would
be located.
Pitzrick commented he liked the design of the buildings and liked the project in
general.
Stoelting asked Mr. Mehrkens to talk about the three phases of the project. Mr.
Mehrkens said Phase 1 would be the building of CVS. Phase 2 would be the
senior housing and Phase 3 would be the all age housing.
Stoelting asked about underground parking and would there be one or two
entrances. Mr. Velett said in the senior building there would be two entries into
the garage because there are two floors. In the other building there are three
levels of underground parking. There is also parking on the main street level.
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
October 8, 2007
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Stoelting asked if there was a bus service to take residents over to Eden Prairie
Center. Mr. Mehrkens confirmed there would be a bus to take them over to the
Mall.
Stoelting asked how traffic was going to go through the CVS drive-thru. Mr.
Mehrkens said the best location for the drive-thru is in the back of the building.
He illustrated this using the overhead projector. Stoelting asked if there was a
challenge with vehicular movement in regards to the drive-thru. Mr. Mehrkens
said there should not be because of the center median and that traffic would be
turning to the left to get out of the pharmacy.
Koenig stated affordable housing is normally rental units and asked how
affordability can be maintained in this complex. Mr. Mehrkens said there is a tax
rebate given over time, which offsets the cost of operating this site.
Koenig said she has a problem with thirteen stories and does not like the location
of these buildings. She feels this will affect the quality of the recreational area.
She asked the Commission if they wanted to go with 13 stories. Schultz said he is
also concerned about building height. He asked Mr. Mehrkens if the units were
pre-sold. Mr. Mehrkens said there were not pre-sold. Stoelting asked Franzen
what the market area says about the height of buildings. Franzen said it is about
7-10 stories high in the market study. Stoelting stated this proposal is a little
higher than what was previously discussed and asked the project proponent if the
buildings could come down in height. Mr. Mehrkens said they could bring two
buildings down in height but the other would go up in height to compensate for
the difference.
Koenig said she likes this project and the City needs it, but she feels the buildings
are too high.
Pitzrick said if the buildings were cut down to half the size they would take up
more green space to accommodate for the loss of occupancy.
Stoelting asked if any of the other Commission members were uncomfortable
with the building heights. Powell said he thinks the building should be half of this
height and said it is out of character for the area.
Franzen stated that historically there has been resistance to large and tall buildings
at the time of public review, but after they were built the structures appeared to be
the right size and in the right location. He added that although the buildings are
taller than the MCA Study, there is a good reason for this. The taller buildings
allows room on the property to include items that the City has determined to be
important, such as public gathering spaces, sidewalks, fountains, public art, rain
gardens, pavers, affordability, etc. Franzen noted that the staff directed the
developer to have taller building, provided there are varying heights, a unique
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
October 8, 2007
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architecture and variety of building materials and that this would be a better plan
than one that met the guidelines precisely with each building at 10 stories.
Franzen added that Commission could ask for a plan that conforms to the MCA
study,but that would be 1200 units which would leave no room for commercial or
amenities.
Rocheford asked Kipp if the recommendation was to still continue this project.
Kipp said the project could move forward based on recommendations from the
Commission. Stoelting asked if it was approved, could it be contingent on
conditions on page 9 and 10 of the staff report. Kipp concurred.
Pitzrick commented the location of this project allows more access to the park.
MOTION by Rocheford, seconded by Seymour, to close the public hearing.
Motion carried 8-0.
MOTION by Pitzrick, seconded by Schultz, to recommend approval of the Guide
Plan Change from High Density Residential and Regional Commercial to High
Density Residential and Community Commercial on 21.3 acres; Planned Unit
Development Concept Review on 21.3 acres; Planned Unit District Review with
waivers on 21.3 acres; Zoning District Change from RM-2.5, RM-6.5 and
Commercial Regional Service to RM-2-5 and Community Commercial on 21.3
acres; Site Plan Review on 21.3 acres and Preliminary Plat of 21.3 acres into five
lots and road right-of-way based on plans stamped dated October 5, 2007, and the
staff report dated October 5, 2007.
Stoelting asked if there was any discussion to the motion. Pitzrick added to the
motion, "and coordination of round-about with neighboring property owner."
Motion carried 6-1, with 1 abstention.
VI. PUBLIC MEETNIGS
A. PRESBYTERIAN HOMES EDEN PRAIRIE REDEVELOPMENT EAW
Request for: Environmental Assessment Worksheet(EAW)
Kipp stated this document was prepared by a consultant under the direction of the
Regulatory Governmental Unit(RGU), which is the City of Eden Prairie. This
worksheet is used to access the impacts on the environment. Once this worksheet
is complete there is a 30-day period to receive written comments for the required
agencies or other interested parties. The review period began on September 24,
2007 and will expire on October 24, 2007. The Staff has determined the
document is accurate and complete in regards to answering the questions. The
potential impacts and mitigation plans are identified in the staff report. As of yet,
no commentary has been submitted.
EDEN PRAIRIE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
October 8, 2007
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Stoelting asked if there were any written or oral comments from the audience.
There were no comments from the public.
MOTION by Rocheford, seconded by Schultz, to accept the EAW documents as
accurate and complete, and the environmental impacts have been identified and
mitigated, and no further investigation of environmental impacts is needed.
Motion carried 8-0.
VII. PLANNERS' REPORT
Franzen stated the Active Community Planning homework assignment will be discussed
at the October 22, 2007 meeting.
Franzen stated the November 12, 2007 Planning Commission Meeting has been changed
to November 14, 2007.
VIII. MEMBERS' REPORT
Pitzrick stated he had a website in reference to the LEED Program if any of the
Commission Members were interested.
Powell discussed the LRT project and stated in meetings involving Minneapolis, the
biggest obstacle seemed to be funding.
IX. CONTINUING BUSINESS
X. NEW BUSINESS
XI. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Schultz, seconded by Rocheford, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried
8-0.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:31 p.m.