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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/03/20041. Call to Order MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION Monday, May 3, 2004, 7:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers 1830 County Road B East 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes a. April 19, 2004 Public Hearings a. Mounds Park Academy Expansion (2051 Larpenteur Avenue) 1. Land Use Plan Change (R-1 to $ (school)) 2. Conditional Use Permit Revision New Business a. Chesapeake Properties Retail Center (Maplewood Movies I Site - 3091 White Bear Avenue) 1. Planned Unit Development 2. Preliminary Plat 7. Unfinished Business None 8. Visitor Presentations 9. Commission Presentations a. April 26 Council Meeting: Mr. Desai b. May 10 Council Meeting: Mr. Mueller c. May 24 Council Meeting: Mr. Bartol 10. Staff Presentations 11. Adjournment MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD PLANNING COMMISSION 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA MONDAY, MAY 3, 2004 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. I1. ROLL CALL Chairperson Lorraine Fischer Commissioner Jeff Bartol Vice-Chairperson Tushar Desai Commissioner Mary Dierich Commissioner Paul Mueller Commissioner Gary Pearson Commissioner Dale Trippler Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Staff Present: Ken Roberts, Planner Shann Finwall, Planner Erin Laberee, City Engineer Chuck Vermeersch, City Engineer Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Trippler moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Desai seconded. Ayes- Bartol, Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the planning commission minutes for April 19, 2004. Commissioner Bartol moved to approve the planning commission minutes for April 19, 2004. Commissioner Mueller seconded. Ayes- Bartol, Desai, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Abstentions - Dierich, Trippler V. PUBLIC HEARING a. Mounds Park Academy Expansion (2051 Larpenteur Avenue) Mr. Roberts said Mr. David Aune, representing Mounds Park Academy, is proposing several changes for Mounds Park Academy at 2051 Larpenteur Avenue. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -2- Mr. Roberts said the first request is for a land use plan change for two residential properties on Larpenteur Avenue and the second request is for a CUP revision. Commissioner Trippler said he is concerned about having an outlet on the westerly side of the property. It seemed to him the people that live on Ruth Street would be very upset. The parking lot is 125 feet away from residential. Vehicles turning out onto Larpenteur Avenue means it will be impossible for people to get out onto Ruth Street. He was surprised by the county's response on page 35 of the staff report. They recommended that the primary entrance to the school be on the east and the primary exit should be on the west. Mr. Roberts said the western driveway is designed with one entrance lane and two exit lanes. The two exit lanes will have a left out or a right out option as well as a right in. Commissioner Trippler asked if he understood that staff doesn't think there will be any problems getting in and out of Ruth Street? Mr. Roberts said there may be a period of time where it will be congested in the morning and afternoon. Chairperson Fischer asked if fire and safety personnel had a problem closing the west exit to the parking lot to Price Street? Mr. Roberts said no as long as emergency personnel could get in and out of Beebe Road they were okay with the plan. Commissioner Pearson asked if it made any sense to vacate the easement on Price Avenue and closing off the fence line? Mr. Roberts said there is at least one home that has a driveway on the right-of-way and they are still using the right-of-way. Commissioner Trippler said a resident wrote in their letter on pages 38 and 39 of the staff report that they have lived there a long time and in one of the previous additions some additional trees were supposed to be planted by their property line. He knows there have been cases in the past that developments were supposed to plant additional landscaping and they did not. He asked if staff checked into the resident's complaint to see if indeed those trees were supposed to be planted? Mr. Roberts said he checked the plans and everything that was supposed to be planted was planted. He checked the city records to see if anything had been missing but it looked like everything had been planted. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -3- Commissioner Dierich said is concerned with the way the driveway on the western side enters onto the site. It is very close to the property line and she would like to ensure there is a significant amount of coniferous trees planted along the driveway. When she had her kids at Hill Murray her concern was that the left hand turn coming out of the parking lot in the afternoon is almost impossible to make and it stops traffic both ways. A lot of the kids come screeching out of the parking lot to make the turn just like at Hill Murray. She thinks the traffic should be routed differently. It doesn't make a lot of sense to have both of the entrances so close together and she is surprised the county approved it. Commissioner Desai asked for clarification regarding the six-foot high fence that exits behind the homeowners of Ruth Street and the MPA boundaries. He asked if that was a good enough requirement for fencing or should there be better fencing? When he was visiting the site he asked the neighbors how the fencing was working out and they said they hear a lot of noise in their homes and the traffic drives in and out. With this road being so close to their homes it will be even louder in their homes than it is today. Mr. Roberts said the code for fencing and screening is primarily for light and the screening of headlights and is not intended as a noise barrier. You would have to have a 20-foot tall wall to accomplish anything as a noise barrier. The fence is primarily to protect the residential homes from headlight glare and the fence was never intended for noise protection. The intention is for the school to extend the fence down the new west property line and there would be new landscaping between the new driveway and the new fence. On page 9 of the staff report, item 10 under the CDRB conditions, staff has added a condition to add more evergreen trees in that area. Commissioner Trippler said on page 3 of the staff report it says MPA believes there will be approximately 200 students who would be driving out of a population of 790 students. However, when he does the math he comes up with 8 extra parking spots. It doesn't seem near enough parking spaces for the school. MPA says there will be 343 parking spaces total and 335 of those parking spaces will be needed everyday and if the school has any type of activities simultaneously the school will be short parking spaces. He asked if staff talked to Mounds Park Academy about adding more parking spaces? Mr. Roberts said staff did not speak with MPA about adding additional parking spaces. The 200 student parking spaces are the maximum MPA could expect the students to use. He said the school may have a permit process for a certain number of students to drive each year. Commissioner Mueller asked if he was correct that you can't get from the southwest parking area to the east entrance unless you circle all the way around, and is there any reason for that? Mr. Roberts said that is really for loading and unloading and keeping those cars moving through the site. It is really to separate the two functions. Commissioner Mueller asked staff if the new grassy area was just for aesthetics? Mr. Roberts said as far as he knew the grassy area is just for aesthetics. Commissioner Mueller asked if some of the grassy area could be used for the driveway or some way to access the area? He wondered if everything could be moved over between Beebe and farther away from Ruth Street? Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -4- Mr. Roberts said he did not know. Commissioner Mueller asked if there was a school speed zone on Larpenteur Avenue? Mr. Roberts said he didn't notice a sign. Commissioner Dierich asked if there was a way to slide the parking lot over to the left or to the west and still have the separate function but have the driveways parallel? Mr. Roberts said it may be possible to rework the site but he isn't sure anybody has looked at that option. Commissioner Dierich said she wondered if the school had thought that plan through or not. It seemed more reasonable to move everything farther away from the homes on Ruth Street. Mr. Roberts said the commission should consider if it is better for a car to drive by as it goes in and out of the driveway or to have a car park and slamming the car doors closer to their property. You have to be careful which option you pick. Commissioner Dierich said that's true but it should be left up to the neighbors to decide that option. Commissioner Mueller said getting in and out of schools is difficult. However, he has gone to some schools where there have been four way stops. People don't like them but they do help with slowing people down. He asked if that option had ever been considered? Mr. Roberts said he spoke with Dan Soler with Ramsey County about that and he said no. He said Larpenteur Avenue is to move traffic across the county between White Bear Avenue and McKnight Road and he would not foresee a traffic light or a stop sign there because it wouldn't be warranted. Chairperson Fischer asked about the 5-foot utility easement mentioned in the resident's comments on page 12 of the staff report. Mr. Roberts said staff read that comment and wasn't sure what the resident was commenting about. His assumption was generally there are drainage and utility easements on both sides of the line that are 5 feet wide. That means there is 5 feet to each property owner. Depending on which side of the property they are on there could be an easement on the school's property and an easement on the neighbor's property that she was concerned about. Commissioner Desai asked if the existing pond was classified as a pond or a wetland? Mr. Roberts said at one time the pond was classified as a class 5 wetland and then it was dug out at one point and made into a man made pond so it didn't qualify as a wetland. Mr. Chuck Vermeersch, Maplewood City Engineer, said the wetland delineation report said the pond had been excavated in the early 1900's but that was as specific as the report got. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -5- Commissioner Desai said on page 12 of the staff report in comment number 2, it stated the pond was spring fed. Mr. Vermeersch said if the pond was spring fed pond he wasn't aware of it. Mr. Roberts said that wouldn't necessarily qualify the pond as a wetland either. It depends on soil conditions and vegetation. He will clarify that with the Watershed District because they didn't give a clear enough answer regarding that. Commissioner Desai asked who would be responsible for maintaining and cleaning the pond out? Mr. Roberts said the pond would be private and would have to be maintained by the school. Commissioner Desai asked if the city has any say in making sure the school cleans out the pond or was there any recourse if the school didn't maintain or clean the pond out? Mr. Roberts said the city could tell the school there is debris in the pond that they need to take care but it would be on the school's dollar. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to address the commission. Mr. Michael Downs, Director at Mounds Park Academy, 2051 Larpenteur Avenue, Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said this plan began with thoughts of how the school wanted to improve the classroom experience for its students. The two main concerns for the drive and parking have been safety and traffic flow. The school also acknowledges the traffic has been problematic for the school, parents and neighbors. Mounds Park Academy is a K-12 school and grades 9-12 have about 260 students with drivers in grades 10 to 12. Commissioner Mueller asked why he felt this plan was going to work better than the way the parking lot is laid out now? Mr. Downs said one issue they have now is the bus pick up point. The kids have to cross the carpool lane to get to the buses, which is a safety concern. Because there is only one entrance to the campus there tends to be a jam up of cars waiting to enter. What they have tried to do with the new design is to create a much longer pick up lane, which winds along the building so they can have more cars sitting and waiting. They will have space for six buses, which allow students to get on the buses without crossing the traffic lane. In addition to that, once all the students have been picked up the cars can get back out onto Larpenteur Avenue because there will be double exits. They also believe parents will use the option of driving into the new west entrance, park their car and walk into school to get their kids which means fewer cars will get in the drive up line. Commissioner Mueller said the plan says MPA will have 343 parking spaces but the school will be using 335 of those spaces daily, he asked how the school proposed parents would park and go into the school to get their children if there aren't enough parking spaces? Mr. Downs said there has been a lot of discussion about the parking spaces. He knows the school will have a net increase of 80 parking spaces when the final plan is done. He said this is an increase proportionally to the student drivers the school would be adding. He said where parking is tight now it will be less tight in the future. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -6- Commissioner Desai asked why the school was going to turn the existing parking lot space into a grassy area and why are they turning the grassy area with large trees into a parking lot? Mr. Downs said the parking lot will be turned into a grassy area. It will be used as instructional space and as a large play area for the K-6 grade students. It's not just a green space to enhance the visibility of the campus. The other reason for setting the parking lot where the current green space is has to do with grading issues, which could be addressed by the architect. Commissioner Trippler asked on an average day how may people visit the school and park that are not students or staff? Mr. Downs said 20-40 people could visit the school on any given day depending on the activity that may occur in the middle of the day. Commissioner Trippler asked where they proposed those people to park? Mr. Downs said when visitors come to the school they are able to find parking spaces in the lot. The overall plan is to increase the net amount of parking greater than the amount of drivers they anticipate adding. The school may still have situations where parking is not sufficient. He said he takes very seriously the comments made by staff whether to schedule two consecutive activities at one time because of the lack of parking. Commissioner Trippler said if the school knew how many staff members and students they would have why is the school only increasing their parking by 8 parking spaces? Mr. Downs said when an activity takes place after school and in the evening the same staff and students are not using the same parking spaces up. The maximum number of students they anticipate driving to school is 200. During the day the custodial staff helps direct traffic and help the buses clear out of the parking area, which moves traffic along. Commissioner Trippler asked how many vehicles would be exiting the school on a typical day? Mr. Downs said he is guessing a few hundred. Commissioner Trippler said the residents who live at 1686 to 1708 Ruth Street have a backyard facing 2025 Larpenteur Avenue their backyard will be a thoroughfare for buses and cars twice a day which will dramatically change their living situation. He didn't see how the school was going to shelter the noise for those residents in the plans? Mr. Downs said it's not shown on the plan but there is a fairly significant grade difference from the street level to the top of the fence, which is about 11 feet different. He said the original plan was to be 20 feet away from the west property line but now they are going to be about 30 feet away. The separation between the curb of the exit drive and the property line will include screening of evergreen trees, which will help buffer a noise barrier and visual break. Commissioner Pearson asked if the parking spaces would be 91/~ feet or 9 feet wide? Mr. Roberts believed the parking spaces would be 9 feet wide. Commissioner Dierich asked how deep the lots are along Ruth Street? Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -7- Mr. Roberts said the lots along Ruth Street are about 140-150 feet deep. The lots are standard suburban size lots. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody else wanted to speak on this item? Mr. David Aune, Business Manager at Mounds Park Academy, 2051 Larpenteur Avenue, Maplewood, addressed the commission. Mr. Aune shared some prepared comments with the commission. In August 2002 he became the newest member of the team at Mounds Park Academy but he was not new to MPA. He attended school at this building when it was Hill High School. He came on board just in time to see the installation of the new lockers to replace the lockers he himself used 35 years ago. A good portion of the main part of the building is 45 years ago and is in dire need of improvement, which this project will help the school do. Approximately 85% of the students either drive or are driven to and from school each day. The remaining students use the bus system so there is 4-6 buses used each day to school and home from school each day. The proposed grounds improvement and expansion will allow the school to have a better traffic management system and control the daily flow which should alleviate any backups on Larpenteur Avenue during the morning drop off and afternoon pickup times. There was a concern by one of the staff why there wasn't a left turn into the parking lot. Part of the reason the school doesn't want to do that is because any sort of delay is going to delay traffic coming in from Larpenteur Avenue, which starts to backup traffic. MPA wants to create a smooth drive through with two lanes coming into the campus property. The proposed additional green space will be created when they turn the existing bus turn around area into green space which will give the 450 plus K-8 students more room to enjoy their outdoor time and give them much needed daily physical exercise. The proposed building expansion will allow the school to make improvements, which will include additional classrooms and athletic facilities to better meet the current needs of the students and allow for growth. In reviewing the staff report and in conversations with some of the neighbors he has become aware of the feedback both for and against the proposal as well as comments from previous building projects and the lack of MPA following through with some items. He and Mike Downs are both new to the school and as part of MPA they are committed to being good neighbors and are willing and open to working with the neighbors for the best outcome for everybody. MPA considers themselves a part of the neighborhood not an island onto themselves. It is their intention to be sensitive to their concerns as well as uphold and respect the image that comes with being a part of the community. He is personally a part of the extended neighborhood growing up less than a mile south of the neighborhood and currently lives less than a 1 mile east of the school. They are very excited about the future of the school and believe that these improvements will be an enhancement to both the school and the local area. Thank you for allowing MPA to share the project with the city this evening. Commissioner Dierich asked if the school would be willing to rework these parking lot plans and bring back a different alignment to the commission? The commission could offer some suggestions as to how the plan could be better aligned. Mr. Aune said MPA would consider any suggestions from the commission as to how to improve the plan. MPA thought the drive and parking lot would be the easy part of the plan and after hours and hours of fine-tuning this plan they thought this was the best plan, however they are willing to work with the city. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -8- Commissioner Dierich said she doesn't doubt MPA has worked long and hard on this plan but many times when many different sets of eyes look at something somebody may see something you didn't think about or consider. She would like to know that the city has the option of prolonging the decision and reworking the plan if necessary and that it is amenable to MPA. Mr. Aune said the first phase of the plan is important which they plan on doing this summer leading up to the next phase, which includes the building additions. If the city has to delay this, MPA would ask how long the delay would be because MPA needs to move the process along quickly in order to stay on track. Commissioner Dierich asked staff if two weeks would be long enough for the applicant to rework the plan and bring it back to the commission? Mr. Roberts said for the architect to redesign the plan it would require new civil engineering plans, new grading plans and new drainage calculations. In order for it to come back to the next planning commission meeting he would need the new plan in the next two days. Commissioner Dierich said depending on how flexible the applicant is depends on how she plans to vote on this item. Commissioner Mueller said there is pavement on the east and they plan on changing it to green space. On the west they also plan on changing the green space into pavement. He asked if there was a reason MPA couldn't work with the existing pavement and existing green space. Mr. Aune said that plan would separate the green space from the school. The idea of having the green space was so that the kids have space to play and if you separate the green space from the school you are causing a safety issue moving the children a distance from the school and playground area. Commissioner Desai asked if you could direct traffic so half of the traffic enters and or exits onto Beebe Road and the other half exits and or enters onto Larpenteur Avenue? Mr. Aune said the school believes the traffic would split naturally where the cars would use both entrances and exits. Commissioner Desai said if the traffic flow would happen naturally than why isn't it happening already? Mr. Aune said with the new plan if there was an event in the field house it would be natural for people to enter and exit onto Beebe Road. The goal for picking students up is to get to the nearest curb in front of the school where your student will enter or exit the school. Commissioner Desai asked if there was a traffic study with traffic statistics done before this proposal was done? Mr. Aune said he wasn't sure if a traffic study had been done. The school feels if they provide parking closer to Beebe Road that will alleviate traffic coming and going onto Larpenteur Avenue. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -9- Commissioner Desai asked if the school had a parking permit process to ensure that only people at Mounds Park Academy were using the parking lot? Mr. Downs said no they do not have a parking permit process and so far have not had a need for one. Commissioner Desai asked if the school had non-students and non-employees parking in their lot the school would not know? Mr. Aune said that is correct. Commissioner Dierich asked if she heard correctly that 85% of the students do not take the bus? Mr. Aune said correct. Commissioner Dierich said realistically there would not be 400 vehicle trips a day in and out of the campus it would be closer to 800 vehicle trips a day plus the employee vehicles. That is a higher vehicle count than what is in the report. If you have kids that have siblings riding in the same car plus the 135 staff vehicles it would be closer to 500 to 600 vehicle trips a day. Mr. Aune said that sounded close. Commissioner Mueller asked if there was a way to put more parking north of the property or was there a serious enough grading problem that made that not possible? Mr. Randy Pete, Architect with Pope Associates, 1255 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul, addressed the commission. Mr. Pete said there is a 50-foot drop off there. He held a display board up to illustrate and discuss the flow of parking throughout the campus property and the completion of the second Phase. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody else wanted to address the commission regarding this item? Ms. Peggy Hackseth, resident at 2040 Larpenteur Avenue, St. Paul, addressed the commission. She has lived across the street from the school for 23 years. This school has become a real heartache for them regarding traffic and people not showing respect. She does not see the entrance and exits working for the school as shown on the plans. Right now the school has a lot of lighting and removing the trees on the two residential properties that were sold to MPA is going to cause problems for her. Their bedrooms front Larpenteur Avenue. Recently MPA had a program at the school Thursday through Saturday night and people didn't leave until 11:00 p.m. The lights at MPA's parking lot shine into her home. The traffic is awful. The school only has 4 to 6 buses for all of these students. In the morning she has to leave her house before school starts or she has to leave her house after school has begun. In the late afternoon she has to either rearrange her schedule to come home before school lets out or way after school lets out. There are times she can't get to her home or get out of her driveway because of the traffic problems at MPA. Larpenteur Avenue is the main thoroughfare and there are traffic problems and during school the months that school is in session the traffic is horrendous. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -10- Ms. Hackseth said when kids are walking home from school either from Presentation or Hayden Heights School, she fears for them because nobody pays attention to the passing zones. The school made things a little better lining the cars up but when the cars come out it's a mess. In the wintertime the snowplows plow at 2:00 a.m. and the plows scrape the parking lot over and over and over again backwards and forwards. Saturday mornings at 6:30 a.m. Waiter's trash company comes and picks up the garbage dumpsters at MPA and it goes bang, bang, bang. The security light on the school comes on occasionally and is so bright when the light comes on that she can read a book in her living room. She is concerned about MPA removing those beautiful trees. Her issues are traffic, lighting, snowplowing and garbage. She believes it will be a very difficult exit where Ruth comes out. She doesn't want all of the traffic to come out onto Larpenteur Avenue either. She said this is where she lives and pays taxes. She lives here 24 hours a day and the school operates in this location but they don't live there 24 hours a day. She is also concerned about the proposed preschool in this location. On top of the school traffic there will be additional traffic from people dropping kids off and picking the kids up at preschool. Ms. Hackseth said thank you for listening to her. Commissioner Mueller said he heard Ms. Hackseth state the lights from Mounds Park Academy's parking lot shine into her home but he asked if the parking lot was relocated would the lights still affect her? Ms. Hackseth said yes because of the direction the parking spaces are lined up lights would still shine into her house. Commissioner Mueller asked what Ms. Hackseth would propose the school to do about the issues? The school exists and other than closing the school, the problems are going to be there. Ms. Hackseth said adding more busing would alleviate the traffic problem but because of the high cost she knows that won't happen. The other option could be rerouting the traffic on the property out Beebe Road, which is the other entrance/exit on the property. Beebe Road is available but very few people use that road because they prefer to use Larpenteur Avenue. She said she still has an issue with the lighting and the shining of the lights into her house. She understands the question the commission is asking regarding how to alleviate the problems that exist and understands the school is not going away or closing. She doesn't know if the problems will ever go away but the problems can be less if things are changed. In the past 23 years that she has lived there the problems have gone from okay to horrendous. She wished the commission could sit and watch the problems that occur in the morning and in the afternoon. The traffic flow has to flow differently because it is a constant problem. She also said the issue of lights shining into her house will still be a problem unless the direction of the parking spaces is rearranged. Commissioner Bartol said he agrees with Commissioner Mueller that the school is not going away, the plowing of snow won't stop, and lights at the school are not going away. He believes the architects are attempting to improve the traffic situation on the site. If the commission approved this plan and they move forward he asked if this plan would help with the traffic flow in and out of the site? It seems to him that this new plan is an improvement over the current situation. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -11- Ms. Hackseth said it's an improvement but it won't solve the problem of cars going out onto Larpenteur Avenue because no matter what, the majority of the people will use Larpenteur Avenue. The lights will be more of a problem for her when the parking is moved and the brick wall towards the street is going to be removed. Commissioner Mueller asked if he understood correctly that first is the pond, then landscaping and then the parking lot? Mr. Roberts said the landscaping plan shows a double row of spruce trees, which will screen the ponding area and the parking lot from Larpenteur Avenue. Ms. Hackseth said she also has a problem with the pond not being kept clean. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody else wanted to speak regarding this item? Ms. Jeanne Ewald, resident at 1744 Ruth Street, Maplewood, addressed the commission. Ms. Ewald said she sent in a long e-mail, which is in the staff report. She has a traffic study that was dated April 21, 1992, which was done before the Price Street exit was blocked off. As neighbors they asked for the street to be blocked off and the previous resident that spoke got the worst end of the deal and she got the best end of the deal because of the traffic route that had to change. The figures on the report show the west drive had 304 cars, the east drive had 210 cars, and Price Street had 1034 cars over a period of time from 2:00 p.m. April 14th until 2:00 p.m. April 15, 1992. Keeping in mind that the District Center was occupied at that time, the enrollment was less and there were less student drivers at that time. Her concern is moving that driveway 800 feet from her property line because she sits on the edge of the pond. Her home sits on the end of the property where the students do their car burnouts. The high school students avoid the speed bumps by going through the parking lot, which means the plan needs to be reworked. It's just not fair for the residents who live there. There are cars parking up over the curb to within a short distance from the fence. They don't park in the parking spaces because it's closer to the entrance of the building to park up on the curb. She would like to see a better buffer between that lane of traffic and the resident's homes besides just a fence. Granted the residents that live on Larpenteur Avenue sit 11 feet above. Because her house sits that far above the parking lot when she stands outside she can look over the fence. So to her the fence is not a worthwhile buffer. The pond is also a concern of hers. Everything has gone from the parking lot into the pond. The pond will take a few years to be cleaned up and back in good condition. Her child does patrolling at Presentation School and when she picks her up at 3:10 p.m. she cannot drive on Larpenteur Avenue and she has take the back streets because she cannot turn on Ruth Street at 3:20 p.m. There is no speed zone for school in that location. Last year when the school district would not bus her children because of budget cuts her daughter walked home from school on Larpenteur Avenue and it's really dangerous. There are many kids that bike to and from school and it is a fast and busy road. The lights at the school have been a problem and are still a problem. She wonders what kind of lighting is going to happen with this new addition and parking lot. She urges the commission to really look at this plan. She knows this is a timing issue but if the plan has to be delayed to make this a better plan it is better to change things now rather than later when the plan is done. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -12- Commissioner Mueller said it looks like the new parking lot plan has only 80 parking spaces compared to the parking lot on the fence side that has 125 spots. To him the parking issue is an issue the school needs to police. He didn't believe that was something the city needed to take care of. He thought if speed bumps were put on the parking lot maybe that would help slow some of the traffic down and eliminate any possible squealing of tires. He said it sounds like MPA is trying to alleviate the traffic problem and doing their best to direct traffic out both directions. Ms. Ewald said when the Ruth Street entrance/exit was closed it took two years for people to stop dropping off and picking kids up at that location. It takes time to change patterns. Snowplowing was restricted to certain hours by the city when the conditional use permit was approved. That has not been enforced. She has called the school regarding the snowplowing problems in the past and this year she finally gave up. That condition was put in the CUP for a reason because it is very annoying to hear snowplows at that time of night or morning. The bedrooms are on the back of the homes and the noise is incredible. It starts out having the snowplows going back and forth and back and forth and is very loud. The restrictions were made for a reason and the restriction stated no noise between 11:00 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. The neighbors decided they could live with noise at 5:30 a.m. as long as the school was plowed and ready for the kids to come to school. The noise is happening at 2:30 a.m. and the noise can't continue. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody else wanted to speak regarding this item to address the commission. Mr. Steve Schell, resident at 1694 Ruth Street, Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said he believes he is about the only person that is "for" this plan. The traffic is incredible and isn't going to get much better. If you want to see really bad traffic you should see Hill Murray's traffic problem. He said people could be parking on Larpenteur Avenue like they do at Hill Murray but we don't want that to happen. The plan shows pine trees proposed along the front of the pond, which would block the headlights in the parking lot. There will be two lanes of traffic in and out, which would move traffic along quicker. The trees in the two residential lots out front are junk trees and he looks at dead trees every time he looks out his window. He has been looking at an unkept abandoned house for two or three years now. This plan is an improvement. He and his three neighbors are "in favor" of the plan. They say "clean it up and fix it up" and Waiter's trash hauling has got to go because at 5:00 a.m. the garbage company picks up trash and slams the containers down. Commissioner Trippler said his main concern is there would be a straight shot out onto Larpenteur Avenue that will be within 50-60 feet of the resident's homes. He asked Mr. Schell if that would be a problem for him? Mr. Schell said he has lived there for 19 years and he's never heard a squealing tire but he's almost been hit thousands of times driving by Hill Murray. Mounds Park Academy drivers don't drive like maniacs. Commissioner Trippler said he isn't saying the people drive like maniacs but he is saying there will be a lot of cars driving through the parking lot and he is looking out for the residents in the area. Mr. Schell said he would assume there would be speed bumps in the parking lot. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -13- Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody else wanted to address the commission regarding this item? Mr. Walter Hackseth, resident 2040 Larpenteur Avenue, Maplewood, addressed the commission. He said he doesn't agree with the comments made by the last resident. When an athletic event lets out the kids squeal their tires when they are in the parking lot. He said there was a no left turn sign on the St. Paul side of Larpenteur Avenue when the kids had to walk to school for Hayden Heights school the children walk to school on Larpenteur Avenue. Mr. Hackseth said there is no sidewalk and there are kids walking on the road. When people are trying to take a left turn from Larpenteur Avenue into Mounds Park Academy it can be a safety issue for children walking on the street and a backup problem when the cars have to wait to turn into the drive aisle into the parking lot. The school needs to use more buses for transportation this would take more cars off the road. The residents had a meeting with the school a few weeks ago and complained about the bright lights and about Waiter's trash hauling. Waiter's trash haulers come at 5:30 a.m. and floor their trucks all the way to the driveway. They asked MPA to talk to Waiter's trash haulers but they never did. They complained about the one bright light in front of the school and asked if they could have it shut off which they never did. He said MPA has no credibility. Staff said cleaning up the pond on the property is MPA's financially responsibility. He said it smells and is full of garbage and no money is being spent to improve the condition of the pond. Now more ponds are being added to the site and MPA won't take care of those ponds either. He asked why the parking lot couldn't be in the back of the property instead of in the front. The school would look better without a parking lot in the front. In his opinion there is no reason why they couldn't add more fill for a parking lot in the back. He disagrees that half of the traffic will filter out onto Beebe Road. Saturday night MPA had a program, which didn't let out until 11:00 p.m. He counted 175 cars exiting onto Larpenteur Avenue. Phase I of the plan will be the parking lot and therefore nobody can access Beebe Road. Commissioner Mueller asked what authority the city has regarding trash, lighting, traffic, parking, and speed bumps? What area can the commission police and what area will the city police'?. Mr. Roberts said those conditions could be recommended as conditions of the conditional use permit. For example, the hours snowplowing and trash hauling could occur could be listed. There could be a sign posted to indicate where cars can and cannot park rather than no sign and then cars park on the curb or grassy area. The problem is trying to enforce the parking situation and policing the snowplow and trash-hauling problem. The city can't send the police out to enforce those issues. It would be the responsibility of MPA. If MPA doesn't take care of the problems the city can enforce that the problems be taken care of. Chairperson Fischer asked what the procedure would be for trash hauling and snowplowing problems? Mr. Roberts said if staff could not resolve it to the city's satisfaction MPA could be brought before the city council to discuss the problems if those were things listed as conditions of the CUP. Chairperson Fischer asked if the residents did not get the problems resolved could they call into the planners at the city and they would take it from there? Mr. Roberts said yes. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -14- Commissioner Bartol asked why there wasn't a posted school zone speed limit sign on Larpenteur Avenue? The residents seem to have a lot of safety concerns with Larpenteur Avenue with the children walking. Mr. Roberts said he was not sure and would have to clarify that with Ramsey County. Commissioner Dierich said she has a number of issues. The timing of MPA's application is not the commission's issue. If MPA wanted to get this project completed this summer they should have had their engineers working on this project last fall in order to get the permit this spring. It is unfortunate MPA just got their plans but the commission has asked people to put their projects on hold in the past. If the city doesn't know whether the pond is spring fed or not, the city should send their people out to find out. If it's a wetland then the city needs to look at the wetland mitigation rules. She won't be voting vote yes on this proposal unless there was an "in" only on Larpenteur. There is 150 feet between Ruth Street and the Larpenteur Avenue entrance. The commission has gone through this with other developments with entrances too close to another street. She would vote for the entire west entrance to be eliminated and to have the traffic coming in on Larpenteur Avenue and exiting on Beebe Road. The parking lot should be done in one phase. There is a serious discrepancy in the traffic totals between the staff report and what the residents are saying. By simple calculation the traffic is higher than what is in the staff report and the issue needs to be addressed. The wasted space should be address by this traffic flow pattern. There is a lot of asphalt in the lot for absolutely no reason. If you have a one way in from Larpenteur Avenue you should direct the traffic all the way along the school and out onto Beebe Road. The cars can park along the school and let the kids out and have a second lane of traffic along the lane of traffic that is parked going straight out onto Beebe Road and into the parking lots. That would alleviate the traffic driving along next to the neighbors and having that big area right in front with the turn around which is no use for anything at all other than slowing traffic down. Then you eliminate the problems on Larpenteur Avenue with cars turning onto Larpenteur Avenue and you can get cars onto Beebe Road and out to Holloway without much of a problem. She asked permission to have the vote split into two separate votes. Commissioner Mueller said if you send all the traffic onto Beebe Road all those residents are going to be complaining to the commission just like the residents that spoke tonight have about the traffic problem. Commissioner Dierich said if you leave the plan the way it is you would have people leaving the parking lot and also have people trying to make a left turn into the parking lot tying up both directions of traffic. But if you have a one way in and direct the traffic out onto Beebe Road it would keep the flow of traffic in and out. The neighbors are correct that the traffic is backed up both directions on Larpenteur Avenue for several blocks. The same problem occurs at Hill Murray and they have about 400 more students than MPA does. Ideally she would like to see a right in only into the parking lot at MPA but she does not think you could do that. Commissioner Mueller said if you direct traffic out onto Beebe Road the people will still take a left or a right hand turn onto Larpenteur Avenue. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -15- Chairperson Fischer said she thinks Commissioner Dierich was saying the people could go north on Beebe Road and then take a right onto Holloway depending on if they are going east or west. The senior housing on Beebe Road was given a parking variance so visitors could park on the street. There is also parking on both sides of the street when school events occur. There are no sidewalks on Beebe Road, which is now a UTC bus route. Commissioner Dierich said she is trying to think of the fastest way to get people in and out of the parking lot at MPA with 85% of the people in cars. She realizes that Beebe Road is a residential area and the residents would not be happy with the additional traffic. However, it isn't safe to have two entrances so close to Ruth Street, Chairperson Fischer said another option might be to have the students take a right onto Beebe Road and turn into the MPA parking lot from the back area where the new parking lot will be added and enter the school from the back end and exit onto Larpenteur Avenue. Commissioner Bartol said he's not sure how you can force people to turn into Beebe Road instead of entering on Larpenteur Avenue? People will find the most efficient way to enter and exit and that will be the way they go. If you take away entrances and exits you start to create congestion. He believes the proposed plan, although not perfect, is superior to what currently exists. Commissioner Trippler said he has a problem with having the west entrance where it is located. He thinks it's not an efficient use of resources to take a blacktop area and turn it to green space and take green space and turn it to blacktop. He was envisioning having a loop in the parking lot for buses and parents to drop off and pick up children that might encompass 50% of the front area including the parking lot that currently exists and a 1/4 of what they are proposing to develop as a parking lot with parking lot in the middle of a loop. That may address the need for grade school children to have a play area and still not have to cross through the parking lot. He doesn't like the configuration the way it is. Having the entrances and exits so close to Ruth Street is going to cause problems. Exiting and entering on the west side adjacent to peoples backyards is going to provide a noise problem that people will not be happy with once the project is done. Commissioner Pearson said even though some of the lighting on the building at MPA went in under a different zoning standard or requirement could the commission require that all lighting on the building and in the parking lot meet current requirements for remaining on the property as part of the CUP? Mr. Roberts said unless there is a direct glare onto an adjoining property that would be difficult. He has a condition in the staff report on page 10 regarding the lighting plan. The new lighting is covered under the new ordinance and the CDRB will review that at their May 11th meeting. Chairperson Fischer asked when a plan is changed doesn't the city have the ability to require something that doesn't meet the present code to be brought up to code such as the lighting that is spilling over? Mr. Roberts said he would guess that MPA would be willing to cooperate if it would help their cause. Planning Commission -16- Minutes of 05-03-04 Commissioner Pearson said regarding the resident that spoke about a particular light that shined into her home that was very offensive to her, it would be nice if the school was sensitive to the homeowners request. Commissioner Bartol said the school is proposing to add more ponding area than parking area. The proposal is better than what they currently have in place today. The ponds compensate for the integrity and the sanctity of the existing ponds. Commissioner Pearson said the Watershed District reviewed this plan and they didn't have a problem with the plan. Commissioner Pearson moved to adopt the resolution on page 40 of the staff report. This resolution changes the land use plan designation from R-1 (single dwellings) to S (school) for the properties at 2025 2027 Larpenteur Avenue. This change is for the expansion of Mounds Park Academy at 2051 Larpenteur Avenue. The city is making this change because: 1. It would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan including: a. Provide for orderly development. b. Minimize conflicts between land uses. c. Whenever possible, changes in types of land use should occur so that similar uses front on the same street or at borders separated by major man-made or natural barriers. d. Transitions between distinctly differing types of land uses should not create a negative economic, social or physical impact on adjoining developments. e. The city coordinates land use changes with the character or each neighborhood. f. Protect neighborhoods from encroachment or intrusion of incompatible land uses by adequate buffering and separation. 2. This area would eliminate the planned residential area that was on a minor arterial street and was between a residential area and the existing school. 3. This site is proper for and consistent with the city's policies for a school. This includes: a. It is on a minor arterial street and is near a collector street. b. Minimizing any adverse effects on surrounding properties because there would be no traffic from this development on existing residential streets. 4. It would be consistent with the proposed land use. Commissioner Mueller seconded. The motion passed. Ayes - Bartol, Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -17- Commissioner Pearson moved to adopt the resolution on pages 41-43. This resolution approves a revision for the conditional use permit for Mounds Park Academy at 2051 Larpenteur Avenue. Maplewood bases this permit revision on the findings required by the code and it is subject to the following conditions: (the additions are underlined and the deletions are crossed out): 1. All construction must comply with the site plan, date-stamped April 8, 2004. ,",'cvcmbcr 17, 2000. The city council may approve major changes. The director of community development may approve minor changes. Such changes shall include: a. Revising the grading and site plans to show the contractor minimizing the loss or removal of natural vegetation and to meet all the conditions of the city engineer. 2. The city council shall review this permit revision one year from the date of approval, based on the procedure in the city code. 3. The school shall turn the tennis court lights off by 9:00 p.m. Only the school shall use the tennis court lights. 4. The school shall only use the area between the tennis courts and pond and the west lot line as a track or route for running during fall and spring cross-country meets. 5. The school shall not allow any snowplowinq or trash removal between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. 6. The city council requires that the school remove keep the westerly access at Price Avenue 7. The wooden screening fence shall be kept in good repair. 8. The school, the fire marshal and the city building official shall agree on a plan for the school to make the required life safety and building improvements to the existing building. This plan shall include the installation of: a. The required fire protection (sprinkler) systems. b. An early warning fire protection system (smoke detection and monitoring). c. Additional emergency lights and exit signs (if necessary). d. The necessary changes to meet the handicapped accessibility code requirements. e. A proper address on the building. f. Any other changes the fire marshal or the building official deem necessary. 9. 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. 10. Have the city enqineer approve final construction and enqineerinq plans. These plans shall meet all the conditions and changes that the engineer noted in the memo dated April 26, 2004. Planning Commission -18- Minutes of 05-03-04 11. The city council shall review this permit revision in one year. Commissioner Mueller asked to add some friendly amendments. They include: a. The school shall not allow any snowplowing or trash removal between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. (maybe inserted in old number 5.) Commissioner Pearson said he would agree to the trash hauling amendment but not the snowplowing. b. The school shall maintain all ponding areas in relationship to garbage and unkept grounds. (put it under the old number 5.) c. There shall be no parking in the undesignated parking areas and shall be designated as to w-a way zones. Commissioner Bartol seconded. The motion passed. Ayes - Bartol, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Nays- Desai, Dierich, Trippler This item goes to the city council on May 24, 2004. VI. NEW BUSINESS Chesapeake Properties Retail Center (Maplewood I Movie Site - 3091 White Bear Avenue) Ms. Finwall said Chesapeake Companies has purchased the Maplewood Movie I theater site located at 3091 White Bear Avenue. Chesapeake Companies proposes to demolish the theater and redevelop the 4.98-acre site with four new restaurant/retail buildings including TGI Fridays, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jared Jewelers, and a future multi-tenant retail center. The proposed name for the center is Chesapeake Retail Center. Chesapeake Companies is requesting that the city approve the request to develop the Chesapeake Retail Center for a preliminary plat to divide the site into four lots and a planned unit development (PUD). Commissioner Pearson asked if the 8-foot parking spaces are they the same length as the 9-foot parking spaces? Ms. Finwall said the 8-foot parking spaces have reduced lengths, which is allowable in the city's code when adjacent to landscaping or a sidewalk area. Commissioner Pearson asked what the aisle width between the parking spaces would be? Ms. Finwall said the aisle width would be maintained with 24-foot widths. Commissioner Mueller asked how many parking spaces were at the old movie theater site? Ms. Finwall said the applicant could answer that. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -19- Commissioner Trippler asked for clarification regarding page 5 of the staff report under Signs it states "within this zoning district, the city's sign code allows each business with two street frontages, such as the Chesapeake Retail Center, to have five signs". He said staff stated this signage is excessive and he asked for clarification on those statements. Ms. Finwall said the CDRB will be looking at this at their next meeting May 11,2004, and they will be taking a closer look at the sign requirements for this proposal. Commissioner Trippler said he did not see any sidewalks in the plans and he asked if there were plans for sidewalks? Ms. Finwall said sidewalks are shown on the site plan along County Road D. The applicant has proposed a 5-foot wide sidewalk however, after the engineering department reviewed the plans they recommended the sidewalk be widened to 8-foot wide because it is on a future sidewalk extension. They also are proposing a 5-foot wide sidewalk along the mall Ring Road and they are working with Simon Companies, the owner of Maplewood Mall on installing the sidewalk right-of- way. Commissioner Pearson asked when BP did their pipeline survey were they able to determine the depth of the line? Ms. Finwall said she hopes the applicant has more information on the results of the pipeline survey this evening. Commissioner Trippler asked why the city is concerned where the sanitary sewer is going? Ms. Laberee, Maplewood City Engineer, said currently the sanitary sewer service for the Maplewood Theater is going to the ring road and the applicant is proposing to redirect the sewer to County Road D. She said the city would like to keep the sanitary sewer going to the ring road. The city did not want to open up County Road D for the construction of the sewer service because of the high volume of traffic on that road. Chairperson Fischer asked the applicant to address the commission. Mr. Jeffrey Wurst, Development Manager, Chesapeake Companies, 11100 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 766, Minnetonka, addressed the commission. The existing theater site has a total of 377 parking spaces verses a proposed parking space count of 342 and a city requirement of 315. BP has completed their survey of the pipeline and has identified both locations on the property. Relative to building D, which is the Jared Jewelry store, they are currently at a setback from the pipeline as proposed at 82.8 feet. With an additional movement of the building to the south if it were 10 feet that would reduce the setback to 72.8 feet however, they don't believe a shift of 10 feet is required. They have taken a closer look at the Arby's site and believe with a five-foot building shift to the south they are able to accommodate a driveway. He wanted it made clear they are not proposing an excessive amount of signage and he understands that the sign proposal would be reviewed at the CDRB meeting. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -20- Mr. Wurst said regarding the sanitary sewer line they have been working with the engineering department. They are faced with tying into the existing sewer line or tying in with new uses to a very complex private system run by Simon Properties. Secondly they cross two properties to the south. The sewer line doesn't tie directly into the ring road but rather it travels south across the Wedding Day Jewelers property and Acapulco Restaurant. He also said that as of this date Chesapeake Companies has not gotten permission from the owner of the Acapulco Restaurant to enter into a written easement agreement thereby providing access from the south. He said there are still some issues to discuss with the engineering department but they wanted the commission to know they are working on it. Commissioner Bartol asked if Chesapeake Companies has an agreement with Arby's as far as a shared entrance? Mr. Wurst said no they have not. The plan for Arby's looks very official but it is very preliminary. This is a very complex situation as Arby's is part of a franchise, there is also the property owner of Arby's and there are lenders behind both of these entities as well. They are committed to trying to get this to happen, however, there are many obstacles to cover before this driveway can happen. Commissioner Bartol asked if the driveway proposal fell through would they see that as a problem and would they attempt to make changes so they would have an entrance directly off of White Bear Avenue? Mr. Wurst said there are no plans to do that at this point. The idea of including a shared driveway with Arby's was an after thought, which was also prompted with discussions with city staff. They are satisfied that the existing locations off the ring road could adequately serve the development without a direct access off of White Bear Avenue. Commissioner Trippler asked what the rationale was to request a variance on the width of the parking spaces to go from 9~ feet to 9 feet? Mr. Wurst said they wanted to make sure there would be adequate parking for all the retail tenants. One of the items that supports that is the neighboring property owner to the south had written in a letter a concern of what the parking requirement would be for this location and that they would not be able to sustain overflow parking. Chesapeake Companies doesn't think they have that problem they think what they have proposed will adequately serve the sites that are at this location. The number of parking spots proposed were not based on the minimum city requirement but what the tenants needs are for this location. Basically Chesapeake Companies has to provide enough parking spaces for the tenants to be interested in staying at this location. Commissioner Desai said he really likes the proposed plan and thinks these tenants would be a nice addition to the area. However, he is concerned about the traffic levels especially during the holidays when County Road D and White Bear Avenue are clogged up around the mall. He asked if there had been any type of traffic study done in the area? Mr. Wurst said no there hadn't been any type of traffic study done that he was aware of. In relation to the mall area they believe these tenants will be a very small traffic generator and should not cause any more traffic delay in the area. He believes people will stop at these restaurants on their way to the Maplewood Mall. Planning Commission -21- Minutes of 05-03-04 Commissioner Mueller asked compared to the movie theater would that generate more or less traffic in the area? Mr. Wurst said he was not sure how to answer that. He said if parking space was a good gauge the movie theater site has 377 parking spaces and they have proposed 317 parking spaces for the new space. Commissioner Dierich asked if they had a multi-tenant proposed for the multi-tenant area yet? Mr. Wurst said they haven't made an attempt to market the building at this time. He estimates 1/3 of the tenant space would occupy a "fast casual" restaurant similar to a Chipotle restaurant otherwise the rest of the tenant space is unknown at time. Chairperson Fischer asked if anybody else wanted to address the commission regarding this item? Nobody came forward. Commissioner Trippler said he likes the overall plan and concept. He said there are about five different variances that have to be granted in order for this proposal to pass. He doesn't like granting variances when it doesn't seem necessary. With a little bit of tweaking and helping the applicant out with understanding the city's ordinances most of these variances could have been avoided. He would like to see staff try to avoid these types of variances in the future. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve Chesapeake Companies' preliminary plat for the Chesapeake Retail Center at 3091 White Bear Avenue date stamped March 30, 2004. Approval is subject to the following conditions: a. Have the city engineer approve final construction and engineering plans. These plans shall comply with all requirements as specified in the city engineering department's April 26, 2004, engineering plan review. b. Revise the plat to show: 1)The dedication of 10 feet of additional right-of-way along White Bear Avenue. 2)The dedication of 17 feet of additional right-of-way along County Road D. c. Prior to final plat approval, the following must be submitted for city staff approval: 1) Easement agreement that governs and provides for legal cross easements for parking, access, and utilities between all lots within the project. 2) Easement agreement for the installation and maintenance of a freestanding sign on Lot 1 to benefit Lot 2. 3) Owners association agreement specifying responsibilities for insurance, taxes and maintenance of all commonly owned property and facilities (including snow plowing). Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -22- d. Record all easement and owners association agreements with the final plat. Commissioner Pearson moved to approve the resolution on pages 34 through 36. This resolution approves a conditional use permit for a planned unit development for the development of four restaurant/retail buildings at 3091 White Bear Avenue (Chesapeake Retail Center). Approval is subject to the following conditions: ao Have the city engineer approve final construction and engineering plans. These plans shall comply with all requirements as specified in the city engineering department's April 26, 2004, engineering plan review as well as the following: 1)A westward extension of the retaining wall south of Building D (Jared Jewelers). The retaining wall height must be sufficient to create a prevailing ground slope away from Building D, thereby deflecting a potential flow from a pipeline leak. b. Prior to issuance of a grading or building permit, the developer must complete the following: 1)Obtain a demolition permit for the removal of the existing Maplewood Movie I Theatre building. 2)Submit a revised site plan showing Building C (TGI Fridays) and Building D (Jared Jewelers) shifted approximately ten feet to the south in order to accommodate a future driveway located to the north of Building C which may be installed onto White Bear Avenue. 3) Pending continued cooperation with the adjacent property owner, submit a revised site plan showing the location of a driveway and pedestrian cross-access on the south side of the property, to accommodate entrance and egress to and from the southerly property (3065 White Bear Avenue). 4)Submit a revised site plan showing the extension of the sidewalk in front of Building A (future retail/restaurant) onto the County Road D trail. 5) Submit a revised site plan showing a pedestrian access extending from the White Bear Avenue sidewalk. 6)Obtain the required Ramsey/Washington Metro Watershed District permits. 7)Submit payment for all required Park Access Charges (PAC fees) as specified in the Park Director's April 14, 2004, correspondence to Chesapeake Companies. 8)Submit an easement agreement that governs and provides for legal cross easements for parking, access, and utilities between all lots within the project. 9) Submit an easement agreement for the installation and maintenance of a freestanding sign on Lot 1 to benefit Lot 2. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -23- 10) Submit an owners association agreement specifying responsibilities for insurance, taxes and maintenance of all commonly owned property and facilities (including snow plowing). c. All 8-foot-wide parking spaces must be signed as either "employees" or"compact" car parking only. Pending the community design review board recommendation and city council approval, each building is allowed one freestanding sign, 25 feet in height and 100 square feet in area, except for the multi-tenant building which would be allowed a freestanding sign up to 150 square feet in area. All freestanding signs must maintain a 10-foot setback to a right-of-way. Each building is allowed three wall signs to be attached to a separate elevations, except for the multi-tenant building which could have two wall signs for each tenant. Wall sign size is limited to 20 percent of the gross wall area on which the sign is attached. All construction shall follow the plans date stamped March 30, 2004, with revisions as noted in this approval. The city council may approve major changes to the plans. The Director of Community Development may approve minor changes to the plans, including a change to the site plan for the proposed future driveway access onto White Bear Avenue, pending Ramsey County engineer and city engineer approval. f. The proposed construction must be substantially started within one year of city council approval or the permit shall end. The city council may extend this deadline for one year. g. The city council shall review this permit in one year. Commissioner Mueller seconded. Ayes- Bartol, Desai, Dierich, Fischer, Mueller, Pearson, Trippler The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on May 24, 2004. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VIII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS None. IX. COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS a. Mr. Desai was the planning commission representative at the April 26, 2004, city council meeting. Items discussed were the Land Use Plan and Zoning Map changes for the DQ Grill and Chill off West of 1760 Beam Avenue, which was denied and the Alley Vacation East of English Street, which passed. Planning Commission Minutes of 05-03-04 -24- b. Mr. Mueller will be the planning commission representative at the May 10, 2004, city council meeting. Items to discuss include the Kennard Street right-of-way vacation north of Sextant Avenue, Conditional Use Permits for Peltier at 1236 Kohlman Avenue, and Toenjes Hills Estates on McMenemy Street. c. Mr. Bartol will be the planning commission representative at the May 24, 2004, city council meeting. Items to discuss include Mounds Park Academy Expansion at 2051 Larpenteur Avenue, for a Land Use Plan Change and CUP, and Chesapeake Properties Retail Center 3091 White Bear Avenue for a PUD and Preliminary Plat. X. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Mr. Roberts said it is that time of year to start planning the annual tour and he asked planning commissioners to think about what they would like to see. Xl. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:06 p.m.