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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/17/20011. Call to Order MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday September 17, 2001, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes a. September 4, 2001 Unfinished Business None New Business a. Salvation Army Church Conditional Use Permit Revision (2080 Woodlynn Avenue) b. Sinclair Station Remodeling (2158 Rice Street) 1. Conditional Use Permit (Motor Fuel Station) 2. Conditional Use Permit (Canopy Enlargement) c. Maplewood Toyota Expansion (2783 and 2889 Maplewood Drive) 1. Conditional Use Permit Revision 2. Conditional Use Permit 7. Visitor Presentations Commission Presentations a. September 10 Council Meeting: Ms. Fischer b. September 24 Council Meeting: Mr. Pearson c. October 8 Council Meeting: Mr. Frost 9. Staff Presentations 10. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2001 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. I1. ROLL CALL Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Eric Ahlness Mary Dierich Lorraine Fischer Jack Frost Matt Ledvina Paul Mueller Gary Pearson William Rossbach Dale Trippler Present Present Present Absent Absent Present Present Present Absent III. IV. Staff Present: Ken Roberts, Associate Planner Shann Finwall, Associate Planner Recording Secretary: Lisa Kroll APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Pearson moved approval as amended. Commissioner Mueller seconded. Ayes -- All APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairperson Fischer noticed on page 1 of the September 4, 2001 minutes, that the commission had moved New Business ahead of Unfinished Business and that the minutes should have reflected the change accordingly. Commissioner Rossbach noticed on page 3 paragraph 7, the question does not correctly match the answer that followed by Ms. Finwall. It should read Commissioner Rossbach asked staff if there are any time constraints when farmers can work? Commissioner Ahlness moved approval of the minutes as amended. Commissioner Dierich seconded. Ayes - Ahlness, Dierich, Fischer, Rossbach Abstention - Mueller, Pearson Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -2- V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None VI. NEW BUSINESS a. Salvation Army Church Conditional Use Permit (2080 Woodlyn Avenue) The Salvation Army is proposing to expand their building in order to improve their adult day care services. The proposed addition is 3,457-square-feet and will house an activity room, beauty shop, laundry facility, office, and storm shelter. To construct this addition, the applicants are requesting a conditional use permit to expand the adult day care center within residentially zoned land and design approval. The adult day care center caters to older adults with various health problems. The addition will enable the center to increase services for the existing clients, but is not intended to create space for additional clients. The State of Minnesota and Ramsey County have licensed the center for up 50 adults, but the center has never had nor do they propose more than 38 adults. The hours of the adult day care center are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. There are currently four full-time and four part-time staff at the center. With the addition, three additional staff members will be hired. The one-story addition proposed is 3,457-square-feet and will be located on the southwest corner of the existing building. The addition will be setback 87 feet from the adjacent south residential properties and 73 feet from the Ariel Street right-of-way. The addition will match the exterior materials of the existing building including burnished masonry with glazed masonry. Commissioner Rossbach asked staff if any surveys were sent out to neighbors for their comments? Ms. Finwall stated a neighborhood survey was not sent out, although they will be notifying the neighbors of the public hearing for the city council meeting on October 8, 2001. Chairperson Fischer asked staff to correct the spelling on page 5 of Aerial Street to Ariel Street. Ms. Finwall replied thank you. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to come forward. The architect for the Salvation Army, Ken Nordby of NAI Architects came forward. Mr. Nordby said he would be happy to answer any questions regarding the building additions. Commissioner Rossbach stated he had a question for someone representing the Salvation Army. John Grambush representing the Salvation Army came forward. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -3- Commissioner Rossbach asked for clarification in a point in the staff report, it states that the building has the capacity for 50 adults but the plans are not to have more than 38 adults. He asked if that would be limiting the Salvation Army in the future? Mr. Grambush stated 11 years ago when the adult day care center began, they came up with an arbitrary figure of 50 adults and then were approved for that spacing. The Salvation Army operates right now with 38 adults and they don't propose additional clients. Commissioner Rossbach said his concern is that somebody might come back to the Salvation Army down the road and say even though it was said the total would be 38 adults you still have the capacity for 50 adults. He asked Mr. Grambush if he thought the number 38 should be thrown out of the equation and keep the capacity at 50? Mr. Grambush answered they are happy with the total of 38 adults. Commissioner Rossbach asked staff in the lighting portion of the report, it talks about a wall pack light that is proposed for security above the dumpster enclosure. A wall pack to him means that you have a light that is mounted on the wall and shines out from the wall. He asked if the normal lighting concerns reviewed here, or isn't this an issue for this particular site? Ms. Finwall said she has been told that the wall pack will be located on the west side of the building and will be for security reasons only. The city's lighting ordinance only pertains to glare and photometric requirements to residential properties. The shopping center is to the west, so the lighting code would not apply. In addition, the city's community design review board will review this for design conditions. Ms. Finwall also wanted to clarify that in the discussion of the original conditional use permit 11 years ago, it was indicated that the Salvation Army would have 38 adults. A limit, however, was never placed as a condition on the conditional use permit. Therefore, staff did not propose to place the 38 count as a condition on this conditional use permit either. Commissioner Rossbach said thank you. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the resolution on pages 13 and 14 approving a conditional use permit to expand Salvation Army's adult day care center at 2080 Woodlynn Avenue. Approval is based on the findings required by ordinance and subject to the following conditions: All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community development may approve minor changes. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of council approval or the permit shall become null and void. The council may extend this deadline for one year. Commissioner Rossbach seconded the motion. Ayes - All The motion is passed. Chairperson Fischer asked if this goes to the city council meeting on October 8, 20017 Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 Ms. Finwall stated that is correct and it also goes to the community design review board meeting on September 25, 2001. b. Sinclair Station Remodeling (2158 Rice Street) Sinclair Oil Corporation is proposing to remove their existing overhead fuel canopy and fuel islands at their station at 2158 Rice Street, this facility is located at the corner of Rice Street and County Road B. The Sinclair fuel station was constructed in 1966 prior to the city's requirement that conditional use permits need to be obtained for motor fuel stations within business commercial zoning districts. Because of the expansion of their facility, a conditional use permit for the motor fuel station is now required. The overhead canopies within the motor fuel stations are required to be setback at least 15 feet from the right-of-way. Sinclair's existing canopy is located 3~ feet from the Rice Street right-of- way. The existing canopy is old and is in need of repair. Sinclair Oil Corporation states that because of limited space between the existing building and the right-of-way, the proposed replacement canopy cannot meet the required 15-foot-setback either and is proposed with a 5¼- foot-setback. For this reason, a second conditional use permit is required for the expansion of this nonconforming canopy. The existing canopy is 37-feet-wide by 51-feet-deep, is approximately 14-feet-high, and covers 1,850-square-feet. The new canopy will be 54-feet-wide by 50-feet-deep, 19-feet-high and this canopy will be 2 feet higher than the building and will cover 2,700-square-feet in area. The six existing fuel pumps will be replaced with four new fuel pumps. The new fuel pumps will allow for payment at the pump. To the west of the fuel station across Rice Street, in Roseville, are residential homes. The city code states that no motor fuel stations within 350 feet of a residential lot line shall be operated between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. With the new type of fuel pumps that allow payment at the pump, many fuel stations have implemented 24-hour fuel pumping with pay-at-the-pump. For this reason, a condition should be placed on Sinclair's conditional use permit that the fuel station including pay-at-the-pump fueling is not allowed between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. There are three existing driveway accesses into the Sinclair station. Two of the driveways are on Rice Street and one is on County Road B. City code specifies that the driveways must be setback at least 30 feet from the intersecting right-of-ways. Sinclair's northerly driveway on Rice Street is only 18 feet from the intersecting right-of-ways. Dan Solar of the Ramsey County Public Works Department has reviewed Sinclair's proposal and states that the northern access on Rice Street is located very close to the signaled intersection and causes operational problems during peak hours. For this reason, Dan Solar as well as the city's engineer, Chuck Ahl, agree that the northern most access on Rice Street should be closed. Ms. Finwall has discussed this with the Sinclair representative and they agree to that condition. However, to accommodate incoming and outgoing traffic, the southerly driveway should be increased in width from 32 feet to 36 feet. The added 4 feet will ensure an entrance lane, a left-turn exit-lane, and a right exit. This condition was not originally stated in the staff report but Ms. Finwall would like to present this to the planning commission for inclusion. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -5- The parking requirements for a motor fuel station are at least four parking stalls plus one parking stall per fuel pump. On the site there is ample room for the four parking stalls required by code, but currently the parking stalls are not striped on the pavement. With the expansion of the station, at least four parking stalls should be striped on the pavement to include at least one handicap accessible parking stall. The site generally is clean and well maintained, however, three areas of concern should be addressed. There is a tall free-standing sign located on the northeast corner of the site, the paint on the pole of this sign is chipped and in need of repainting. There is also an existing trash enclosure that does not have a closable gate, which leaves the dumpster visible. The mechanical equipment located in the back of the building is unsightly and is visible from the street. These items are included as conditions to Sinclair's design review request and will be reviewed by the community design review board on September 25, 2001. Staff is recommending approval of the conditional use permit for the motor fuel station within the BC zoning district as well as the conditional use permit to expand the nonconforming canopy subject to the conditions as outlined in the staff report. Chairperson Fischer asked staff if they are requesting that commission members add a condition under the adoption of the resolution to include the width of the southerly driveway from 32 feet to 36 feet? Ms. Finwall stated that she brought that up for the commission members to review and that would be a condition for the community design review board to consider. Mr. Roberts said that looking at the conditions that are currently in the report, it looks like item 2. b. 1. talks about a revised site plan. That would be the place to discuss the condition about the driveway change and it will be an item for the community design review board. Commissioner Rossbach was curious why the engineers felt that the northerly driveway on Rice Street would be worth closing and the driveway on County Road B was not an issue? It seems to be just as close to the intersection. When he was at the Sinclair station he could not exit out of the driveway onto County Road B because vehicles were stopped at the stoplight and the driveway was blocked when he wanted to go left. He was wondering if there should be some discussion about either moving that driveway and or limiting it to right turns only? Ms. Finwall thanked commissioner Rossbach for his thoughts and comments. She would assume that the county, as well as the city engineer, proposed closing the northerly access on Rice Street because there are two accesses on Rice Street, as well as the fact that Rice Street is a busier street. However, staff could take a look at requiring the driveway be relocated further to the east to comply with the 30-foot-setback required for driveways adjacent intersecting roads. Mr. Roberts said that in addition to what Ms. Finwall has stated, most of the demolition and construction work is going to happen near Rice Street along the front of the store. There is not a proposed site change on the County Road B side. So, in fairness to the applicant, staff was not looking at making that change. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to come forward. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -6- Larry Feldsien, the owner of Sinclair Oil Corporation introduced himself. He commented that he agreed with the staff with respect to the driveway and the difficulty getting out. He added that if they move the driveway on County Road B further to the east, it would interfere with the flow of traffic through the site. Yes he agrees that a person could have a difficult time getting out onto County Road B, but the flow of traffic entering the site would have to make a series of sharp turning maneuvers to get over to the fuel pumps. Commissioner Rossbach said he had a problem getting out of the Sinclair station at 11:30 a.m. He would agree that it would make getting to the pumps more cumbersome, but the site vehicles are traveling at about 5 m.p.h, and the street traffic is traveling at about 45 m.p.h, on County Road B. His thought was it would be safer to be turning a few more times in the lot then if they would be turning directly across the intersection off of County Road B into the Sinclair station. Commissioner Rossbach also stated that if what the staff said is true, that they are trying to limit what Sinclair Oil Corporation has to do that is fine, then why don't you make it a right turn only exiting your site? Mr. Feldsien stated they could make it a right turn only, but he would like to suggest it be made for certain hours only. Commissioner Mueller asked Mr. Feldsien, if you started moving the driveway exit farther to the east, how close would you come to the Cub entrance? It is not shown on the map. Mr. Feldsien said if he remembered correctly, the lot line is about 220 feet long and the curb cut is approximately 22 feet from Rice Street so there is a considerable amount of room. Commissioner Mueller stated that the closer to the east you push the driveways together may cause people to pull out from Cub and Sinclair at the same time at a close distance. Also, if it is a right turn only, the people that want to get out onto Highway 36 will probably just pull out onto County Road B anyway. Commissioner Rossbach stated he would like to ask the community design review board to look at the other entrances and exits to the site. He would like it if staff would have the appropriate people, whether it be the police chief, or the city engineer, review that particular item before it goes to the community design review board so they have some information to work with. Commissioner Rossbach would recommend to the city council to adopt the resolution on pages 16 and 17 approving a conditional use permit to operate a motor fuel station within the business commercial, BC, zoning district, and to reconstruct a canopy with an existing nonconforming setback for the Sinclair fuel station located at 2158 Rice Street. Approval is based on the findings required by ordinance and subject to the following conditions: a. The fuel station's hours-of-operation, including pay-at-the-pump fueling, is limited to 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The applicant shall comply with all requirements of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regarding fuel tanks, fuel spillage, monitoring wells, any contaminated soil, etc. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -7- c. All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. community development may approve minor changes. The director of d. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of council approved or the permit shall become null and void. deadline for one year. e. The city council shall review this permit in one year. Commissioner Dierich seconded the motion. The motion is passed. The council may extend this Ayes - All Commissioner Rossbach would also recommend to the community design review board to review the driveway exit going to the north onto County Road B, with the concern that it is located close to the intersection, and to determine if that driveway should be moved further to the east or possibly have a right turn only traffic sign installed at that exit. Chairperson Fischer asked for a second motion to recommend to the community design review board to look at the driveway on County Road B with respect to its location to the intersection. Specifically, should it be moved further to the east or have a right turn only sign? Since there was no second, this motion died. There was no motion passed. Ms. Finwall said this goes to the city council on October 8, 2001. c. Maplewood Toyota Expansion (2873 and 2889 Maplewood Drive) Mr. Roberts stated that Steve McDaniels, the owner of Maplewood Toyota, is proposing two projects for Maplewood Toyota. The first project involves putting three additions onto the existing Maplewood Toyota building at 2873 Highway 61. The additions would be 3,040-square-feet of showroom space, 1,144-square-feet of service area, and 375-square-feet for an employee lounge. All of the additions would be one-story-tall and would match the existing building. The second proposal is to develop a new parking lot/display area across the street from the dealership on the northwest corner of Highway 61 and Beam Avenue. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -8- Mr. McDaniels is requesting the following: A conditional use permit (CUP) revision to expand a nonconforming use. Maplewood Toyota is a nonconforming use because they do not meet the current Shoreland Ordinance. They are in the Kohlman Lake shoreland area. The Shoreland Ordinance allows a maximum impervious surface of 40% of their site. Impervious surface is the area covered by the buildings and paving. Maplewood Toyota already exceeds 40% because they built in 1981 before the city adopted the Shoreland Ordinance. A conditional use permit for the storage of motor vehicles on a property in the M-1 (light manufacturing) zoning district. Mr. McDaniels is proposing to build a new vehicle sales/display lot for his dealership on the northwest corner of Highway 61 and Beam Avenue. The city code requires conditional use permit for the storage of motor vehicles in this location. Approval of project plans. This includes the proposed additions to the existing dealership and the plans for the new sales/display lot. The proposed additions would match the exterior materials and design of the existing showroom. Mr. Roberts stated that in 1979 the city council approved the original Maplewood Toyota building that was completed in 1981. In 1992 the city council granted Maplewood Toyota a CUP to enlarge their parking lot surface from 66% to 68.7%. In 1995 they approved plans for a 1,404- square-foot-addition on the north side of the building. Mr. Roberts said that the additions do not cause any problems for the city other than the 375- square-feet of impervious surface that would be lost with the addition of the employee lounge. However, the applicant stated they are proposing to add some green space on the south side of the building to make up for that. There are not detailed plans to show how that would work at this time. As far as the parking lot and storage on the north side, this use fits in with the neighborhood. Staff recommends that the city require Maplewood Toyota to combine the two parcels together for tax and identification purposes. This is to ensure that if any time in the future, the property, the house, and the NURP pond on the west side does not get split off from the parking lot parcel. This may cause a problem with the shoreland requirements. The proposal as it is now just meets the shoreland standards of having a maximum of 50% impervious surface when the whole site is looked at as a whole. Chairperson Fischer asked staff if item C. on page 5 is for the community design review board? Mr. Roberts answered that is correct. Commissioner Mueller asked staff if the existing driveway at 1241 Beam Avenue is being removed? Mr. Roberts said that is correct, they will construct a new driveway that will connect into the new parking lot. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -9- Commissioner Mueller asked if the house is being rented? He asked if the renters would have a problem with their driveway being used like this? Mr. Roberts said that in the past Mr. McDaniels has rented to an employee. The person that rents this house will have to be understanding of the conditions of the use of the driveway and its conditions. Commissioner Rossbach asked staff why the city didn't have a problem with residents being accessed through a commercial parking lot? Mr. Roberts answered that it was not ideal, but it will be under one ownership. He felt it was a better alternative than adding a second driveway for the house and adding more impervious surface on the site. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to come forward. Steve McDaniels, the owner of Maplewood Toyota introduced himself. Mr. McDaniels stated Maplewood Toyota is very particular about who they would rent that property to because of the driveway. Currently the renter is the gentleman who had the pumpkin patch on the corner of Beam Avenue and Highway 61. They have no problem with him having access to the parking lot. By taking out the driveway it helps them provide a buffer for the two neighbors affected including the pond and trees. Mr. McDaniels said he spoke with one of the neighbors recently and they went out and walked the property to see where everything would take place and the homeowner was fine with what is being proposed. He is going to write a letter to the council stating this. Commissioner Rossbach asked Mr. McDaniels what he will do when the ideal renter is gone? Mr. McDaniels said that they will make sure it is a responsible renter because they are going to be going through that property. Commissioner Rossbach asked Mr. McDaniels if he could tell everyone how you do that? He stated he rents and the best looking people can still destroy property. Mr. McDaniels commented that he rents too and he would agree with that statement. If the renter was not the pumpkin patch man then they would have an employee that needs a place to rent. Commissioner Rossbach asked if it is Mr. McDaniels long-term plans that the piece of property would remain residential and they would not come back in a few years trying to change that zoning from residential to commercial? Mr. McDaniels said he would not do that, he considered that part of the 50%. That is why he acquired both pieces of property, to make that corner palatable for Maplewood Toyota to use. It took a long time to get the property for a reasonable price. Commissioner Pearson stated he thinks this proposal does a lot to clear up that corner and relieve traffic problems. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -10- Commissioner Pearson would like to recommend that the city council adopt the resolution on pages 22 and 23. This resolution approves a conditional use permit to expand a nonconforming use and for revisions to Maplewood Toyota at 2873 Highway 61. Approval is based on the findings required by the code and subject to the following conditions: All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community development may approve minor changes. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of council approval or the permit shall end. The council may extend this deadline for one year. The city council shall review this permit in one year. Beam Avenue shall not be used for loading or unloading of vehicles. Commissioner Pearson would also like to recommend that the city council adopt the resolution on pages 24-25. This resolution approves a conditional use permit for a motor vehicle sales and display lot on the northwest corner of Beam Avenue and Highway 61. Approval is based on the findings required by the code and subject to the following conditions: 1. All construction shall follow the site plan approved by the city. The director of community development may approve minor changes. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of council approval or the permit shall end. The council may extend this deadline for one year. The city council shall review this permit in one year. Beam Avenue shall not be used for loading or unloading of vehicles Ayes - All 4. Commissioner Mueller seconded the motion. The motion is passed. Chairperson Fischer asked staff when does this go to city council? Mr. Roberts answered this will go to the community design review board September 25, and to the city council October 8, 2001. VII. VISITORS PRESENTATIONS None VIII. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -11- COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. September 10, 2001, Ms. Fischer was present at the city council meeting. Chairperson Fischer reported on the city council meeting. The consent agenda was the final plat approval for Emerald Townhouses on County Road D. Under public hearings Sobriety High School conditional use permit for 2055 White Bear Avenue passed. The proposed Walgreen's at the former Burger King location was tabled until September 24 for city council to have another look at it. City council gave the second reading to the farm residential district code amendment and the rezoning requirement going from a 4-to-1 vote to a 3-to-2 vote. They also gave a deer management update on the south end of Maplewood and other areas that may need deer control, including the Pig's Eye site and the Priory that may need deer eliminated. Mr. Pearson was scheduled to be present at the September 24, 2001, city council meeting. He is unable to attend that meeting so Mr. Rossbach volunteered to replace him. Mr. Pearson will be the representative at the October 8, 2001, city council meeting for Mr. Frost. IX. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Commissioner Mueller commented that he and his wife drove by the newly remodeled Menards and she commented how nice the building turned out with the landscaping and design. Commissioner Rossbach asked staff when do we ask for citizen comments? Ms. Finwall said that staff does neighborhood surveys when it is thought that citizen comments would be beneficial, this depends on the possible impact to the surrounding neighboring properties. Also, sometimes there are time constraints for processing an application that may make the comment process difficult. Commissioner Rossbach commented the reason he asked about citizen comments is that recently in the Maplewood in Motion, all the candidates that were running for various offices said they were running so that the city would pay more attention to the comments of the public. The public perception seems to be that the city doesn't pay enough attention to them. He believes that any time there is a residential area next to a commercial property, he considers it controversial and citizen comments should be asked for. Commissioner Rossbach also said he was curious why the members felt it was not worth while to have a safety issue reviewed by the city staff and community design review board. Commissioner Pearson answered he believed the cliental is pretty much developed at the Sinclair gas station on Rice Street and moving the driveway may make customers take other measures to get out of the parking lot. As a previous owner of gas stations he has experience with this. Commissioner Dierich stated that moving the driveway eight feet and incurring architectural design costs and another curb cut to come within ordinance did not make much sense to her. Commissioner Rossbach commented that if they were building new, the planning commission would not allow them to do this. Planning Commission Minutes of 09-17-01 -12- Commissioner Dierich said they came in under the old conditions and were not proposing any changes to that area. Commissioner Ahlness made a comment to Mr. Rossbach regarding the reason he did not make a second motion for the no right turn for the Sinclair station. He felt that most people do not follow the rule of no right turns during certain times of the day. When the sign says no right turn at all times, people break the rules. Commissioner Mueller said they may just want to take a look at the stop light pattern in that area to eliminate traffic congestion and problems on County Road B and Rice Street. Mr. Roberts stated that the other problem is that the Rice Street bridge is very narrow and this causes problems. He believes that bridge is due to be widened and that would help with the traffic problems. Chairperson Fischer asked staff if they should be looking at alley vacations for the annual report? Mr. Roberts asked the secretary Lisa Kroll to put that item in the notes. Mr. Roberts said at the next city council meeting on September 24, 2001, there will be an important item discussed. This is the Beaver Lake Town Home EAVV. The comments have been received, and roughly nine comments from neighbors and agencies came back. This goes to the council for a determination that an ElS is not necessary. The development itself will have to come back through the city council process and he is hopeful there will be a planning commission hearing on this subject. X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.