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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978 09-27 Planning Commission Meeting Miinutes RegularAGENDA Edina Community Development and Planning Commission Wednesday, September 27, 1978, at 7:30 p.m. Edina City Hall Council Chambers I. Approval of the September 6, 1978, Minutes. II. Old Business: Z-78-10 Rauenhorst Corporation. R-1 Single Family District and to PID - Planned Industrial District. S-78-14 Edina Office Center. Generally located at the north- west quadrant of West 76th Street and France Avenue South. Z-78-12 Oasis Petro Energy Corporation. Generally located at West 69th Street, Southdale Center. Registered Land Survey No.,629, Lot H. Southdale Gas Station Plan Review. III. New Business: LD -78-9 Lot Division. Lot 7, Block 1, Parkwood Knolls 13th and Addition. LD -78-10 Lot Division. Lot 6, Block 1, Parkwood Knolls 13th Addition. S-78-8 Lyon Replat of Mendelssohn. Generally located south of Belmore Lane and John Street. IV. Next meeting date V. Adjournment. MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE EDINA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING COMMISSION HELD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1978, AT 7:30 P.M. EDINA CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS Members Present: Bill Lewis, Chairman, James Bentley, Leonard Fernelius, Samuel Hughes, Del Johnson, Gordon V. Johnson, Helen McClelland, Mary McDonald, David Runyan. Members Absent: Richard Seaberg Staff Present: Gordon Hughes, Director of Planning; Francis Hoffman, Director of Public Works and Engineering; Harold Sand, Assistant Planner; Judy Teichert, Secretary. I. Approval of the September 6, 1978, Minutes. Mr. Gordon Johnson moved the minutes of the September 6, 1978, Community Development and Planning Commission meeting be held over one month upon staff request. Mr. Samuel Hughes seconded the motion. All voted aye, and the motion carried. II. Old Business: Z-78-10 Rauenhorst Corporation. R-1 Single Family District and to PID - Planned Industrial District. S-78-14 Edina Office Center. Generally located at the north- west quadrant of West 76th Street and France Avenue. Mr. Gordon Hughes recalled that this item was continued from the previous meeting at the request of the proponents. An overall development plan proposing a four building office complex containing a total of 420,000 square feet of floor area was proposed for the site which Mr. Gordon Hughes explained to the Commission was zoned Planned Industrial District (PID) and platted into eight lots. He continued that the only portion not zoned PID was the northerly lot on the site. The plan, which proposed a four building office complex rather than the development of the eight or nine lots as platted, was to have been developed in phases with the most northerly office building to be constructed first, Mr. Hughes said. Mr. Gordon Hughes stated that recently the proponents had submitted a revised plan for the site which proposed a 225,000 square foot building at the southeasterly extreme of the site, and two 100,000 square foot office buildings were proposed for future development, in addition to a 20,000 square foot building proposed for the westerly extreme of the site. Mr. Gordon Hughes explained that another change proposed would be that the roadway off Parklawn and 76th Street would be a public street through the property up to 76th Street; whereas before all private roads were proposed. He also noted concern about the difficult access back on to France Avenue and Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 2 the possibility of cars cutting through the parking lot and going around the building to get out to France Avenue. From the staff viewpoint, he stated the concept being proposed was a desirable one, that being the clustering of the development rights on the property. Staff felt that with this proposal they could get a much better grasp on traffic control.in that area, besides it offering a much better building from the architectural design standpoint. How- ever, the new proposal also threw some new wrinkles in the project as far as the public road and the development of the site were concerned, causing staff to ask for additional time to research the new plan. Mr. Gordon Hughes indicated preliminary discussions had been held with the City of Bloomington who had indicated their interest in diverting the frontage road from I-494. Of greater concern to the staff than the problem of access of the building was the future development of the property lying east of France Avenue. Mr. Hughes said staff felt it was undesirable to have the buildings fronting on France Avenue, and it was desirable to have the roadway bring . traffic out at a controlled intersection with France Avenue. He restated that there were a number of unanswered questions, and staff requested a month to review the proposal in more detail. He also encouraged the Commission to con- sider the plans that had been presented by Rauenhorst and give suggestions for their consideration. Mr. Hughes introduced Mr. Robert Worthington, representa- tive for the proponents, and Mr. Arnold Ullevig of BRW to answer the Commission's questions. Mr. Gordon Johnson stated that the first plan had 500,000 square feet of gross rental space. He proceeded to ask what was the maximum gross rental space Rauenhorst would be entitled to on the property they have. He also observed that on virtually every one of the plans it appeared that as one drove down France Avenue all one would see was parking lots. Mr. Gordon Hughes responded that the plan shown was not one being proposed by Rauenhorst. Rather, they were showing a site plan that il- lustrated what they could conceivably request building permits for that would be legal and allowable under the present zoning and platting of the property. He noted that Rauenhorst proposed to construct about 420,000 square feet of floor area, clustering and going up four stories rather than three. Mr. Gordon Johnson stated that even the drawing displayed reflected his observation that there was much more parking than building on France Avenue, and he felt that half way from the Crosstown Highway to I-494 there would be nothing but parking lots. Mr. David Runyan asked the staff why they were hesitant about the interior public road. Mr. Gordon Hughes replied that part of the problem was that people may use it as a shortcut on France Avenue. He further stated that some benefit ought to be gained from a public road through the site from the standpoint of traffic circulation for the entire area. Also, Mr. Hughes was not sure the configuration of the intersection would lend itself to the public road. Furthermore, he said when looking at a public road through the site, then staff would have to consider strongly the possibility of connecting it through to France Avenue, and there were some definite disadvantages to carrying that public road through to France Avenue. Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 3 Mr. David Runyan observed that the road running in the present location, provided it was worked out at the ends, would allow for moving the buildings up on the France Avenue side to eliminate any access off of France Avenue, allowing all the buildings to be accessed from the west side and essen- tially hide a lot of parking behind the buildings. He continued, however, that this arrangement would create a problem at the corner of 76th Street and France Avenue because all the traffic would be dumped out there. He questioned why all of the buildings were not accessed off the service drive. Mr. Gordon Hughes answered that the original thought when the project was proposed was that a right turn out -right turn in would be pro- vided for the project on the south end of the site which seemed very logical at first to avoid the left turn problem on France Avenue. However, when staff con- sidered it more closely, they noted there was already a median cut on France Avenue. They felt with the development east of France Avenue there would be some real problems avoiding the controlled intersection at the median cut any- way. Therefore, they felt it adviseable to eliminate the right turn in -right turn out and make a full access point at the median cut. Mr. Hughes further noted that the staff was in the process of talking with the City of Bloomington about the realignment of frontage roads. Mr. Len Fernelius asked what had been developed on the pro- perty northwest of the site. Mr. Gordon Hughes replied it was primarily office warehouse developments. Mr. Del Johnson asked why the building designed in the lower portion of the site was so small in relation to the other buildings. Mr. Bob Worthington, director of planning for Rauenhorst, introduced Mr. Bill Token, Vice President of the Real Estate Division; Mr. Dave Strand, project manager for the overall plan; and Mr. Arnold Ullevig of BRW. Mr. Worthington explained that the Commission was examining only the concept plan, and only the portion that dealt with the first building in particular. He stated that the property was platted as a part of the over- all Normandale Industrial Park, the park which Rauenhorst has owned for the past twelve to fifteen years. He said the segment of property in question had never been developed, even though all the other property had undergone development in the sense of office or office warehouse types of use. Mr. Worthington con- tinued that the particular piece of property came into focus when the proponents appeared before the Planning Commission last fall with a proposal to cluster a series of three restaurants within a small restaurant neighborhood in the north- west corner of 76th Street and France Avenue. At that time, Mr. Worthington continued, the Commission had some strong concerns over setting a precedent for introducing commercial busi- nesses in this location; therefore, the proposal was denied. He stated that while during these discussions Rauenhorst had indicated that they intended to develop the property in accordance with the existing zoning of the property as well as policies outlined in the Southeast Edina Comprehensive Plan and DMJM Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 4 report. Mr. Worthington indicated the reason for the change was the fact that they were under negotiation with a prime tenant who wanted to locate their international headquarters on the site, National Car Rental Company. The reason France Avenue had not been accessed, Mr. Worthington admitted, was out of sensi- tivity to traffic congestion on France Avenue, and he felt that even though what- ever they put in the quadrant would add somewhat to the traffic congestion, if Rauenhorst worked carefully with the Staff, they could responsibly plan for gen- erated traffic and congestion could be minimized. Mr. Worthington said that by attempting to cluster the plan, Rauenhorst felt they were creating a higher level image for the area of development rather than six to eight independent, unrelated buildings. He encouraged the Commission to look upon the development as creating a positive precedent and grant them approval. Then Mr. Worthington introduced Mr. Arnold Ullevig of BRW to summarize findings relative to the particular site. Mr. Ullevig opened by distributing to the Commission a memo- randum. He emphasized that the main purpose of the analysis was to answer the three primary objections that the Commission had brought out: l) To look at the proposed concept plan 445,000 square foot development compared with what the current zoning would allow. 2) To look at the operations of the proposed concept and related it to the rest of the street system in the area and 3) To determine what the impact of that traffic generation may be on the surrounding street sys- tems. To the first concern Mr. Ullevig responded that the office site could be developed up to 500,000 square feet. In comparing that with the proposed 425,000 square feet, he pointed out that the proposed plan would generate ap- proximately eleven percent less or 650 to 700 per day fewer trips than what could occur under current zoning development. To the final concerns, Mr. Ullevig briefly reviewed the options Mr. Worthington had set forth. Mr. David Runyan asked Mr. Worthington if he was talking about not replatting. Mr. Worthington replied -that instead they were making subdivision plans to subdivide the existing plat into four major lots, one of which would be the setting for the National Car Rental Headquarters building. Mr. James Bentley asked if the parking lot that would run along the .first building would include that parking directly west of the building. Mr. Bob Worthington answered affirmatively. Mr. Bill Lewis inquired why the building designed in the lower portion of the site was so small in relation to the other buildings. Mr. Worth- ington said the building was put in to utilize the small parcel of land that was remaining after the National Car Rental building was planned. Ms. Helen McClelland wondered if in going from three stories to four stories, any of the 2,500 cars were going to be parked underneath the buildings. Mr. Worthington replied no cars would be parked under the buildings. Mr. David Runyan asked if Rauenhorst still had ownership of the rest of the property at Normandale Industrial Park. Mr. Worthington answered they did retain ownership. ,Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 5 Mr. Gordon Hughes stated that staff was comfortable with only one point of access at the north end of the site on 76th Street for the first phase of the development. He added that staff had felt access problems could have been worked out for the remainder of the site, but now that the first phase was shifted from the north part of the site to the south part of the site, more access problems had been added. Therefore, Mr. Hughes felt staff could not recommend approval of the plans as submitted at that time, but requested addi- tional time to work out some of the transportation details. Mr. Del Johnson asked how long it would realistically take to answer the questions about development across France and the access road. Mr. Gordon Hughes answered that staff could prepare recommendations in one month. Mr. Sam Hughes stated that he had no problem with the concept itself, just with the transportation problems. Mr. David Runyan observed that he felt there were really two problems, one with the road in the back and the other with access off of France Avenue. Chairman Lewis asked Mr. Worthington if the proponents would be willing to postpone a decision for one month to try to work these problems out. Mr. Worthington replied that Rauenhorst would like to get in the ground to do some preliminary grading work yet this fall, although they did not want to create such an accelerated program that the Commission's concerns would not be answered. Mr. Gordon Johnson asked what would prevent them from doing any preliminary grading. Mr. Gordon Hughes explained that grading would have to be done as part of a building permit. He also explained that his reason for the postponement request was to meet with the City of Bloomington, Hennepin County, and the State Highway Department to work out traffic problems. With that, Mr. Hughes proposed the next Commission meeting date be moved from November first to October 25th, one week earlier than scheduled to meet Rauen- horst's schedule but still have enough time to meet and get problems somewhat ironed out. Mr. Worthington requested that they be allowed to do some preliminary grading work at their own risk. Mr. Runyan asked if they had a bad soil problem there. Mr. Worthington replied there was some soil correction work to be done. Mr. Sam Hughes moved the Commission postpone the matter until the questions had been solidified by Gordon Hughes and could be presented at the October 25, 1978 meeting. Chairman Lewis asked Mr. Sam Hughes to ammend his motion to show that the Commission approved the concept, but would not give final; project approval until the traffic problems were worked out. Mr. Sam Hughes then ammended his motion by moving the Com- mission grant preliminary concept approval with postponement of a final de- cision on the matter until the October 25, 1978 meeting. Mr. Gordon Johnson seconded the ammended motion. Upon roll the following voted: Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 6 Ayes: Bill Lewis, James Bentley, Leonard Fernelius, Sam Hughes, Del Johnson, Gordon Johnson, Mary McDonald, David Runyan Nays: Helen McClelland The motion carried. Z-78-12 Oasis Petro Energy Corporation. Generally located at West 69th Street, Southdale Center. Registered Land Survey No. 629, Lot H. Southdale Gas Station Plan Review. Mr. Gordon Hughes asked the Commission to recall that this item was continued from the September 6, 1978 Community Development and Planning Commission meeting to allow the proponents to prepare revised site plans for the Southdale gas station located on West 69th Street at the Southdale Center. He informed the Commission that revised plans had been submitted for a self- service gas station that answered many of the concerns that had been brought up previously. Mr. Gordon Hughes reminded the Commission that some of the major concerns were that of the double entrances to the site, exits from the site, parking, and adequate landscaping plans. Mr. Gordon Hughes explained that the new plans did propose to eliminate the egress point from the station and limit improper exiting through the gas station, eliminate parking, and provide abetter access configuration to the development. The staff felt quite happy that the new plans answered most of the questions that arose at the previous meeting. Staff recommended approval be granted with two conditions: First, in order to facilitate the plan several large trees would have to be removed; therefore, staff suggested approval be conditioned upon the submission of suitable land- scape plans for the site. Secondly, staff also requested as a condition that a sidewalk easement be dedicated along the north side of 69th Street along the entire length of the Southdale Center. The easement, Mr. Gordon Hughes explained, was necessary because the boulevard was only one foot wide in this location. Mr. Gordon Hughes introduced the proponent, Mr. Parker Anderson of Los Angeles, California, to answer the Commission's questions. Mr. Gordon Johnson asked a question regarding the design of the plan wondering if a problem would be created as the traffic must make a left hand turn to exit on 69th Street with a relatively blind corner. Mr. Parker Anderson answered that that particular problem had been discussed with the staff, and the resolution they reached was the proposal which would minimize exit and entrance to the area. Mr. Anderson clarified that the corner would not be blinded by vegetation as a low level 24 inch juniper tree was proposed for the corner. Mr. David Runyan commented he also questioned the corner on 69th Street but at present the plan seemed the best they could hope for. Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 7 Mr. Gordon Hughes stated one option would be to have an island constructed with a turn lane. Mr. Hughes continued that the proponents were removing quite a few large sized trees, and staff wanted to see larger sized trees put back into the landscape plan. Mr. Gordon Johnson asked if two exits would be prohibited. Mr. Gordon Hughes replied that they could be looked into in the redesign. Chairman Lewis asked why grass could not be planted rather than trees or shrubs. Mr. Parker Anderson replied the staff had suggested trees and shrubs over grass. Chairman Lewis felt grass would help ease the blind corner. Ms. Helen McClelland felt if a straight road was installed more cars would attempt to enter the wrong way to reach the cashier. Mr. Fran Hoffman, Director of Public Works and Engineering, com- mented that the reason staff did not suggest a straight-out exit was for that very reason that cars may enter the wrong way. The major point, he stated, was that there would not be two directions to exit. He cited that there were too many people taking the opportunity to go the wrong way by the Southdale Center already. Mr. Hoffmanexplainedstaff was striving to reduce the exit to one conflict point and avoid wrong way traffic. Mr. Parker Anderson noted a point of disagreement with the staff was over a large tree that Oasis wanted to remove and replace with low shrubs about 31� feet tall. He also noted that they have moved the canopy farther north into the site to give a 20 foot setback from West 69th Street so there would be adequate room to install a sidewalk in the future. Mr. Anderson raised a question on the sidewalk dedication stating that Oasis was a leasee of Dayton Hudson Properties which was a leasee of Equitable Life Assurance, and Oasis felt that the decision as far as the proposed sidewalk was concerned should be approached to Equitable. Mr. Anderson said that Oasis would provide the room for a sidewalk but they did not feel it was in their power as a leasee to grant a sidewalk easement. Mr. Gordon Hughes clarified that in the case of a rezoning or plan amendment the owner of the property is the applicant, and the city accepts applications only from the owner or agents for the owner. Therefore, there should be no conflict in requiring the sidewalk dedication. Mr. Gordon Hughes indicated that the staff was concerned that it was extremely important to obtain the ease- ment at that time. Mr. Len Fernelius agreed with Mr. Gordon Hughes that the side- walk easement should be part of the stipulation in the recommendation. Mr. Fernelius moved the Commission grant approval of the proposal subject to the condition that the sidewalk easement also be granted and a landscaping plan acceptable to the Planning Department be submitted for the property. Ms. Helen McClelland seconded the motion. All voted aye; the motion carried. Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 8 III. New Business: LD -78-9 Lot Division. and 13 Addition. LD -78-10 Lot Division. 13th Addition. Lot 7, Block 1, Parkwood Knolls Lot 6, Block 1, Parkwood Knolls Mr. Gordon Hughes recommended to the Commission that both lot divisions be continued until the October 25, 1978 meeting as no surveys or legal descriptions had been received from the proponents. Ms. Mary McDonald moved that the matter be continued to the October 25, 1978 Planning Commission meeting. Mr. Del Johnson seconded the motion. All voted aye; the motion carried; the lot divisions were continued. S-78-8 Lyon Replat of Mendelssohn. Generally located south of Belmore Lane and John Street. Mr. Gordon Hughes informed the Commission that the property, approximately 40,000 square feet in size, fronts on Belmore Lane and backs up to John Street. Mr. Hughes explained that in order to maintain an acceptable lot width and setback from Belmore Lane one runs into substandard lot width that is about 6631 feet, which is about 8h or 9 feet less than the acceptable size. Mr. Hughes voiced staff concern that if for some reason the private easements were repealed or disappeared, the proponent would end up with a house fronting on John Street but gaining access from Belmore Lane. He was also concerned about a rather large setback of the existing dwelling on the lot which is about 50 feet rather than the normal 30 feet. Finally, he was concerned that two rather unusually shaped lots were created by the subdivision which would cause the proposed house to be somewhat closer to the existing house than would otherwise be provided on a cul-de-sac. Therefore, he pointed out staff had some problems recommending approval of the subdivision. Addi- tionally, he reminded the Commission that there are numerous other lots like the subject lot in the City, and this proposal could set an undesirable pre- cedent for other existing large lots. Mr. Hughes then introduced Dr. Lyon, the proponent and Mr. Dick Curry to answer the Commission's questions. Mr. Curry stated he had received a letter from one of the area residents indicating Dr. Lyon could purchase a particular piece of land. Mr. Roy O'Connor, 408 John Street, stated Dr. Lyon had continually pointed to his home as access for the proposal, but Mr. O'Connor made it very clear that access had been refused and would continue to be refused across his property. Mr. David Runyan suggested dividing the property in the center horizontally. If it were done that way, he pointed out, two regular shaped Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 9 lots would be created with legal access easy to obtain. Mr. Gordon Hughes agreed with Mr. Runyan but added that dividing the lots in that fashion would create some problems in that it would not quite meet the 25 foot rear yard setback allowed. Mr. Gordon Johnson asked if about 16 feet would be required for a double driveway onto the John Street cul-de-sac. Mr. Hughes replied Dr. Lyon would not need that much for the normal conventional cul-de-sac about 30 feet is required. Mr. Dick Curry noted that he had a letter from Mr. Steven E. Wirth, 409 John Street, dated September 26, 1978, that verified that he and Mr. Curry had met and agreed an easement would be granted over the corner of Mr. Worth's homestead property. Mr. Gordon Johnson felt that until Dr. Lyon returned with a purchase agreement for the splinter of land, the Commission should not take any action. Dr. Lyon replied he would be happy with that arrangement. Ms. Helen McClelland said she would like to ensure an east to west division because of problems with the 50 foot setback because she felt the additional house should not just be crammed in, disturbing the beauty of the neighborhood. Mr. Robert A. Schroer, 6301 Belmore Lane whose home was immediately west of the subject property, stated his concern that a detrimental condition could develop on the back portion of the lot. He was also concerned that because Dr. Lyon already had a driveway cut in between his present house and driveway, that a new owner could possibly take access from both directions. Mr. David Runyan disagreed with Mr. Hughes saying that drawing out an imaginary line on a piece of paper was not the same as a line running across a piece of property. Mr. Runyan did not feel it was necessary to buy land all the way back to the corner. Mr. Gordon Johnson answered that if one of the owners ever wanted to construct a fence, however, the property line would be very crucial. Chairman Bill Lewis asked what the property south of Dr. Lyon's house contained. Mr. Hughes answered that it was vacant. Mr. Gordon Hughes suggested the Commission grant preliminary approval based on the con- dition that the property be acquired and with the understanding that by the time it reached City Council it would have to be firmed up. He explained his rational for the suggestion was that rather than cost Dr. Lyon and Mr. Curry additional delay in terms of the Commission, it could be passed on to the City Council with the understanding that the parcel would be obtained. Mrs. Roy O'Connor of 408 John Street stated she objected to trying to squeeze in two homes but had no objection to the plan proposed. Minutes of the 9-27-78 CD and PC Meeting Page 10 She felt, however, that it was unfair for Mr. Wirth to grant an easement when they had only lived in the neighborhood for three years and had their home up for sale. Chairman Lewis asked what the dimensions of the new lot would be. Mr. Gordon Hughes replied that the new lot would be approximately 90 feet by 200 feet. Mr. Gordon Johnson moved that the Commission take no action at all but postpone the matter until Dr. Lyon returns with a purchase agreement for additional land so the Commission would then know the config- uration of the lot. Ms. Helen McClelland seconded the motion. All voted aye; the motion carried, and the matter was postponed to the October 25, 1978 meeting. IV. Next Meeting Date: October 25, 1978, at 7:30 p.m. V. Adjournment. 9 p.m. Respectfully /submitted, Judy Teichert, Secretary