2015.11.09 PC Meeting Packet
CRYSTAL PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA SUMMARY
Monday, November 9, 2015
7:00 p.m.
Crystal City Hall Council Chambers
4141 Douglas Dr N
A. CALL TO ORDER
B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
October 12, 2015 meeting *
C.PUBLIC HEARING
1. Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow an adjustment to the minimum number of
required parking spaces at 4700 Welcome Avenue North (Century Link property)*
D.GENERAL INFORMATION
1. City Council actions on previous Planning Commission items
2. Update from Council Liaison
3. Staff preview of likely agenda items for Monday, December 14, 2015 meeting
E. OPEN FORUM
F. ADJOURNMENT
* Items for which supporting materials will be included in the meeting packet
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CRYSTAL PLANNING COMMISSION
DETAILED AGENDA
Monday, November 9, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Council Chambers, Crystal City Hall
Commissioners, please call 763.531.1142 or
email dan.olson@crystalmn.gov if unable to attend
* Items for which supporting materials are included in the meeting packet
A. CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Crystal Planning Commission convened at ______ p.m. with
the following members present:
Commissioner (Ward 1) Commissioner (Ward 2) Commissioner (Ward 4)
Sears \[Secretary\] Selton Einfeldt-Brown
Commissioner (Ward 1) Commissioner (Ward 3) Commissioner (Ward 4)
Heigel \[Chair\] VonRueden Johnson \[Vice Chair\]
Commissioner (Ward 2) Commissioner (Ward 3) Commissioner (At-Large)
Erickson Buck Strand
B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES *
Moved by _______________ and seconded by _______________ to approve the
minutes of the October 12, 2015 regular meeting with the following exceptions:
Motion carried.
C.PUBLIC HEARING
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow an adjustment to the minimum number of
required parking spaces at 4700 Welcome Avenue North (Century Link property)
Staff presented the following:
The following were heard:
Page 2 of 2
Planning Commission discussion:
Moved by _______________ and seconded by _______________ to
recommend ______ to the City Council of Conditional Use Permit (2015-06) at
4700 Welcome Avenue North to allow an adjustment to the minimum number of
required parking spaces with the following conditions:
Motion carried.
D.GENERAL INFORMATION
1. City Council action on previous Planning Commission item: Conditional Use Permit
to allow outdoor sales and drive-through facilities at 5717 West Broadway Avenue
(2015-05)
2. Update from Council Liaison
3. Staff preview of likely agenda items for Monday, December 14, 2015 meeting
E. OPEN FORUM
F. ADJOURNMENT
Moved by _______ and seconded by _______ to adjourn.
Motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at _______________ p.m.
Unapproved Minutes of October 12, 2015 Planning Commission Meeting
Page 1 of 2
CRYSTAL PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
Monday, October 12, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Council Chambers, Crystal City Hall
A. CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Crystal Planning Commission convened at 7 p.m. with the
following members present:
X Commissioner (Ward 1) X Commissioner (Ward 2) X Commissioner (Ward 4)
Sears \[Secretary\] Selton Einfeldt-Brown
X Commissioner (Ward 1) X Commissioner (Ward 3) X Commissioner (Ward 4)
Heigel \[Chair\] VonRueden Johnson \[Vice Chair\]
X Commissioner (Ward 3)
Commissioner (Ward 2) Commissioner (At-Large)
Buck
Erickson (Absent) Strand (Absent)
Also attending were staff members Dan Olson and Gail Petschl, Council Liaison Jeff
Kolb and Mayor Jim Adams.
B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Moved by Commissioner Selton and seconded by Commissioner Buck to approve the
minutes of the June 8, 2015 regular meeting.
Motion carried.
C.PUBLIC HEARING
1. Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow drive-through facilities and outside sales
at 5717 West Broadway Avenue (former Thriftway grocery store site)
City Planner Dan Olson said that the owner planned to open a hardware store
and thrift store on the site and would need a CUP to allow outdoor sales and
drive-through facilities.
Mr. Olson said that the outdoor sales area for the hardware store would be
screened in and limited to 2,000 square feet based on the city zoning code. He
also stated that the owner is proposing two donation drop off areas for the thrift
store, one in front where the grocery pick-up area was formerly located and one
in the back of the building. A third drive-through facility would be located on the
south side of the building for pick-up of ordered food at a deli in the thrift store.
Staff recommended approval with the conditions listed in the staff report.
G:\\PLANNING\\Planning Commission\\2015\\10.12\\unapproved minutes.doc
Unapproved Minutes of October 12, 2015 Planning Commission Meeting
Page 2 of 2
Drew Kabanuk, property owner, spoke to the commission and said that they
located on the north side of the building and have two gates. He addressed
several issues the commissioners brought up, stating they want to minimize any
disruption to the neighborhood. He confirmed there will be camera surveillance
on the entire property, he was unsure at this point whether there will be a dividing
wall between the two businesses and he is in negotiations with the Salvation
Army to operate the thrift store. He also stated that they anticipate opening the
hardware store in 2-3 months.
Commissioner Von Rueden asked if the owner could expand the storage area,
Planner Olson stated that the owner would need to apply for two variances, one
to reduce the number of required parking spaces and one to expand the storage
area.
Moved by Commissioner Von Rueden and seconded by Commissioner Sears to
recommend approval to the City Council of Conditional Use Permit (2015-05) at
5717 West Broadway Avenue to allow drive-through facilities and outside sales
subject to the conditions as listed in the staff report.
Motion carried.
D.GENERAL INFORMATION
1. City Council actions on previous Planning Commission items: None
2. Staff preview of likely agenda items for Monday, November 9, 2015 meeting
Planner Olson said there was nothing at this point.
One of the commissioners asked about the status of the development of the Gaulke
property, Mr. Olson said only one building permit application has been received at
this point.
E. OPEN FORUM
No one spoke before the commission. Mr. Olson provided an update on light rail station
area planning.
F. ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Commissioner Buck and seconded by Commissioner Sears to adjourn.
Motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m.
G:\\PLANNING\\Planning Commission\\2015\\10.12\\unapproved minutes.doc
MEMORANDUM
DATE: November 3, 2015
TO: Planning Commission (November 9 meeting)
FROM: Dan Olson, City Planner
SUBJECT: Public Hearing: Application 2015-06 for a conditional use permit to allow an
adjustment to the minimum number of required parking spaces at 4700
Welcome Avenue North (Century Link property)
A.BACKGROUND
Burnell Olson of Adkins Association architects is proposing a conditional use permit
(CUP) on behalf of the property owner, Century Link, to allow an adjustment to the
minimum number of required parking spaces at 4700 Welcome Avenue North. The
property is zoned Light Industrial (I-1).
The existing approximately 34,000 square foot office building is located on a 5-acre
property, and is currently equipment, maintenance and storage
functions. This use is permitted in the I-1 zoning district without Planning Commission
or City Council review and approval. However, the applicant is proposing an
adjustment to the minimum number of required parking spaces. According to City
Code Section 515.17, Subd. 6, this adjustment requires the approval of a CUP. Notice
of the November 9 public hearing was published in the Sun Post on October 29 and
mailed to owners within 350 feet. No comments have been received to date.
Attachments:
A. 2012 site location map
B. Photos of existing property
C. Existing zoning map
D.
E. Property survey
F. Existing site plan
G. Proposed site plan
B.PROPOSED CONDITIONAL USE
Parking Area Earlier this year, the City requested that the property owner repair or
replace the parking lot at 4700 Welcome Avenue North due to its deteriorating condition.
To correct this situation, the applicant is proposing to remove the existing 100-space
parking lot and replace it with a new 25-space parking lot.
4700 WELCOME AVENUE NORTH - CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
PAGE 1 OF 3
The applicant has indicated that there are only three full-time employees and six part-
Therefore, they believe that 25 parking spaces would be sufficient for this building. The
following is a breakdown of uses within the building:
Existing and future office space 33,080 SF
Storage 800 SF
Based on this breakdown, the minimum required number of parking spaces for this
office building is 115. The only standard provided in the zoning code for approving a
reduction in the number of required parking spaces is that the applicant must
demonstrate that the proposed property use does not warrant the required minimum
number of spaces. The office use in this building is currently comprised mostly of
equipment space similar to a computer server room with minimal staffing. In addition,
few parking spaces are needed for the number of office employees and visitors to the
building. Based on this information, the approval of the reduction to the required
number of parking spaces is appropriate. However, if the uses within the building
change in the future, then the owner must check with city staff to determine whether
additional parking is needed. This should be a condition of approval of the CUP.
C.NOTABLE SITE PLAN ELEMENTS
1. New parking lot. The proposed new 25-space parking lot meets parking space and
aisle dimensions as required in City Code Section 515.17, Subd. 4 (g) (4). One
handicapped parking space is provided, as required by the State Building Code.
2. Exterior lighting. The applicant is proposing to add exterior lighting around the new
parking lot, and this lighting will mto deflect from the
residential area to the west.
3. Screening. The parking lot will be screened by vegetation from the residential
4. Landscaping. As shown on the proposed site plan, the applicant is proposing to add
shrubs and trees to the area around the new parking lot.
D.REQUESTED ACTION
The Planning Commission is being asked to make a recommendation to the City
Council to either deny or approve the CUP to adjust the minimum number of required
parking spaces, which should include findings of fact either for or against the proposal.
The Commission may reference the findings in Section B, above.
Staff recommends approval of the conditional use permit to adjust the minimum number
of required parking spaces to 25 spaces at 4700 Welcome Avenue North, subject to the
following conditions of approval:
1. The City shall be contacted prior to any proposed change of use within the existing
building so that staff may determine if additional parking is needed.
2. Shrubs and trees shall be added to the property as shown on the site plan.
4700 WELCOME AVENUE NORTH - CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
PAGE 2 OF 3
3. Exterior lighting shall be installed in the locations as shown on the site plan, and
shalladhere to City Code Section 515.13, Subd. 3 relating to spillover of lighting on
adjacent properties.
City Council action is anticipated on November 17, 2015.
4700 WELCOME AVENUE NORTH - CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
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October 27, 2015
Dan Olson
City of Crystal, Zoning and Planning Department
4141 Douglas Drive
Crystal, MN 55422
CenturyLink Parking Lot Project Narrative:
The existing parking lot for 100 vehicles is deteriorated and needs to be replaced. Staffing has been
reduced significantly since the current lot was built. There is currently about 6,795 square feet of usable
office space in the west portion of the building; 4,475 SF of vacant operators space, and 2,320 SF of
occupied CTL Real Estate space. The east portion contains a telecommunications equipment function.
The zoning requirement for parking based on the office would require about 22 spaces. The equipment
portion has up to 3 employees. A smaller lot of 24 standard parking spaces and 1 handicap space for a
total of 25 is proposed. There is a small additional aisle to allow delivery trucks to turn into and back up
to the building. The lot would be screened and landscaped, and have lighting as required by zoning
ordinances. There is an existing drainage pond area on the site that would be upgraded as required by
code and zoning by a civil engineer.
Wayne Capra
the ADKINS ASSOCIATION inc.
A R C H I T E C T S
901 Jefferson Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55102
651-224-1358 Office
612-987-7290 Mobile
mailto:WCapra@adkinsassoc.com
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CRYSTAL, MN55429
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