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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/21/1999 AGENDA MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD September 21, 1999 6:00 P.M. City Council Chambers Maplewood City Hall 1830 East County Road B 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes: July 27, 1999 4. Approval of Agenda 5. Unfinished Business 6. Design Review a. US West Monopole - Presentation Church, 1725 Kennard Street b. Kline Volvo - Highway 61, North of Lexus of Maplewood c. Resolution of Appreciation for Marie Robinson 7. Visitor Presentations 8. Board Presentations 9. Staff Presentations a. CDRB Volunteers for September 28 and October 11 City Council Meetings 10. Adjourn p:com-dvpt~cdrb.agd MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA SEPTEMBER 21, 1999 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Ledvina called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. I1. ROLL CALL Matt Ledvina Present Ananth Shankar Present Tim Johnson Present Jon LaCasse Present Craig Jorgenson Present III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES July 27, 19998 Boardmember Johnson moved approval of the minutes of July 27, 1999, as submitted. Boardmember Shankar seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was no motion for approval of the agenda. V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. VI. DESIGN REVIEW A. U.S. West Monopole--Presentation Church, 1725 Kennard Street Secretary Tom Ekstrand presented the staff report. Ken Nielsen was present representing U.S. West. He said they were replacing a 25-foot light standard in the parking lot. They chose this location because it is large parcel with mature vegetation and the church to block the view from the east. Mr. Nielsen said the correct size of the equipment box is four feet wide by 4 feet long by four feet tall. He said there will be a small cut into the hill so that the concrete pad under the equipment box could be placed level. The existing lights would be reattached to the pole at about 25 or 30 feet. Secretary Ekstrand suggested that Item 3 of the recommendations be changed. He said this is standard language and there will be no occupancy because this is a pole. Mr. Ekstrand did say the main concern is that the landscaping be installed so he recommended that this condition say, "If the landscaping is not installed by completion of the tower, the city shall require a cash escrow or an irrevocable letter of credit for the required work in the amount of 150 percent of the cost of the plantings." Community Design Review Board Minutes of 09-21-99 -2- Boardmember Ledvina observed that the proposed plantings would screen individuals that park in this area. He said the visual impact will be on cars using the driveway on the west side of where the tower is located. There was some discussion on whether this drive is one- way going down. Mr. Nielsen confirmed that this was a one way drive coming from Kennard Street. He commented that he had a difficult time seeing the existing 25-foot pole as he was driving on the west side of the property on Prosperity Road. Chairperson Ledvina felt the pole was not the issue. He was more concerned with the "site visual impact" as it related to the equipment box. Mr. Nielsen asked to have the second condition of the recommendations deleted. Secretary Ekstrand agreed because this project did not warrant a grading plan. Mr. Ledvina felt that his comment about the visual impact was "not necessarily valid" since he was accessing the site the wrong way. Boardmember Shankar moved the Community Design Review Board: Approve the site and design plans, date-stamped July 23, 1999 for a 73-foot-tall telecommunications monopole and equipment in the parking lot at 1725 Kennard Street. Approval is based on the findings required by code and subject to the applicant doing the following: 1. Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issued permits for this project. If any landscaping is not done by the time of completion of the tower, the city shall receive a cash escrow or an irrevocable letter of credit for the required work. The amount shall be 150% of the cost of the plantings. 3. All work shall follow the approved plants. The director of community development may approve minor changes. Boardmember Jorgenson seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. B. Kline Volvo--Highway 61, North of Lexus of Maplewood Secretary Tom Ekstrand summarized the staff report. Chairperson Ledvina asked if the board should act on the portion of the recommendation that referred to the wetland buffer variance. Secretary Ekstrand replied that this was optional since the planning commission considered that portion at its meeting. Chairperson Ledvina decided that the board would not act on Recommendation A or B. Secretary Ekstrand confirmed that the city engineer felt a couple areas of the site were not adequate for semi-trailer movement. Mr. Ekstrand complimented the architect on "doing the best he could with a difficult site." Chairperson Ledvina asked about the possibility of unloading vehicles off-site and bring them to this location. Mr. Ekstrand said a recurring problem with dealerships in Maplewood is that they unload on the right-of-way. Mr. Ledvina suggested that the dealer be allowed to unload transports off-site as long as it was not on public property. Community Design Review Board Minutes of 09-21-99 -3- Secretary Ekstrand said the city does not consider parking bays as parking spaces when determining the required number of spaces for a site. He confirmed that the plan demonstrated the 88 parking spaces necessary with one exception. Mr. Ekstrand said they could call one of the inventory stalls a parking space in order to meet the required number. He also said it may be necessary to use inventory parking spaces for a trash enclosure. Mr. Ledvina also questioned if the visible lathe for setback identification should be required only during construction. Mr. Ekstrand agreed with this. Jack Grotkin of R.J. Ryan Construction was present representing the applicant. Mr. Grotkin said, "after the planning commission meeting last night," they are now going to take the display area off the north end of the building which will allow the driveway to come straight in. They are also going to take 5-feet off the back of the east building line which is the service area. This will pull the building in and allow for approximately a 25-foot, two-way drive. He said they thought the circulation around the front might be a little tight on the southwest corner so that area will be pulled in a few feet as well. These changes will allow for better truck access. Mr. Grotkin said they would also consider eliminating the three parking stalls in the southwest corner to make truck maneuvering easier. It would then be necessary to designate three inventory stalls as parking stalls. Mr. Grotkin clarified that the display area being eliminated would be the outside area, not the showroom. Boardmember Shankar asked why the applicant had chosen to go with such a "conservative look on the elevations." Mr. Grotkin showed and described a design concept drawing from Volvo on how they would like to see the dealership look. Mr. Ekstrand said he anticipated that the fire chief would be satisfied with the revised plan since it incorporated changes that the chief wanted. He said staff did not recommend any changes to the plans based on the police department comments. Chairperson Ledvina had a concern that the plan did not show the trash enclosure. He felt that, because the site is so tight, the applicant should identify what his intentions are in this regard. Mr. Ekstrand said it would be okay to move the trash dumpster outside on trash day and then move it back when empty but it could not be moved out on a daily basis. Mr. Ekstrand said, even if the enclosure is outside, the code has a provision to allow the board to waive the screening requirement if the dumpster is hidden. Mr. Ledvina stated that was not being recommended in this case. Boardmember Shankar felt the wall to the right of the glass wall on the south elevation was quite prominent. He thought it needed something to break it up so that it did not look so massive. Mr. Grotkin offered that some scoring could be added. Mr. Shankar suggested that the shadow line for the glass portion could be continued to break up the wall. Mr. Grotkin felt a couple rows of single-score block might accomplish this. Mr. Shankar mentioned block below and EIFS on top. It was agreed that the cornice should be carried through as well. Mr. Grotkin said they would paint the block to match the EIFS so the building looks uniform. Boardmember Johnson moved the Community Design Review Board: Approve the civil drawings date-stamped August 27, 1999 and the site, landscaping and building elevations date-stamped September 20, 1999 for the proposed Kline Volvo automobile dealership north of 3000 N. Highway 61, based on the findings required by the code. Approval is subject to the following conditions: Community Design Review Board Minutes of 09-21-99 -4- 1. Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issued a building permit for this project. 2. Before getting a building permit, the applicant shall: ao Dedicate and record a 25-foot-wide wetland-buffer easement. This easement shall describe the boundary of the buffer and prohibit any building, mowing, cutting, filling or dumping within the buffer. Submit a revised landscape plan for the restoration of the 25-foot-wide wetland- protection buffer, subject to staff and watershed district approval. This plan must also show sod in all areas other than in the wetland buffer. The right-of-way shall also be sodded unless MnDOT requires something different. The right-of-way shall have an in-ground lawn irrigation system unless prohibited by MnDOT. c. Revise the site plan for staff approval showing the following revisions: (1) A right-turn-lane into the site, subject to MnDOT's approval. (2) A trash enclosure that matches the building in material. This enclosure shall not be place in required parking spaces. It must have a 100 percent opaque closeable gate. If the trash dumpster is kept inside the building, an outdoor enclosure is not required. d. Have the site and wetland buffer staked with survey irons and visible lathe for clear setback identification during construction. 3. The applicant shall complete the following before occupying the building: a. Replace any property irons removed because of this construction. b. Install a reflectorized stop sign at the exit and a handicap-parking sign for each handicap parking space. c. Construct a trash dumpster enclosure to meet code requirements. Install an in-ground lawn irrigation system for the parking lot islands and the sodded areas between the highway and the parking lot. Lawn irrigation in the right-of-way may be waived if MnDOT will not allow it. It is also waived in the wetland buffer area. e. Post signs designating at least 88 customer and employee parking spaces. Install signs at the edge of the wetland-protection buffer which prohibit any building, mowing, cutting, filling or dumping within the buffer. 4. If any required work is not done, the city may allow temporary occupancy if: a. The city determines that the work is not essential to the public health, safety or welfare. Community Design Review Board Minutes of 09-21-99 -5- The city receives a cash escrow or an irrevocable letter of credit for the required work. The amount shall be 200 percent of the cost of the unfinished work. Any unfinished landscaping shall be completed by June 1 if the building is occupied in the fall or winter or within six weeks if the building is occupied in the spring or summer. 5. This approval does not include the signs. Signage will be reviewed by staff through the sign permit process. 6. All work shall follow the approved plans. The director of community development may approve minor changes. 7. The window mullions shall be clear, anodized aluminum frames. The south elevation shall be revised per staff approval to show that portion of the southerly elevation from the windowed area back to the break in the building facade to be EIFS to align with the EIFS shown above the glass and block down below. The cornice shall also be continued across this fascia to the break in the elevation. Boardmember Jorgenson seconded. It was agreeable to both the motioner and seconder to indicate that the revised plans are date-stamped September 20, 1999. Ayes--all The motion passed. C. Resolution of Appreciation for Marie Robinson Chairperson Ledvina thanked Marie Robinson for the capable and wonderful service she provided to the community design review board for nine years. Boardmember Johnson moved adoption of the resolution of appreciation for Marie Robinson. Boardmember Shankar seconded. Ayes--all The motion passed. VII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS There were no visitor presentations. VIII. BOARD PRESENTATIONS Boardmember Shankar reported on the August 9 city council meeting. Boardmember Johnson reported on the AUgust 23 city council meeting. Community Design Review Board Minutes of 09-21-99 -6- IX. STAFF PRESENTATIONS A. CDRB volunteer for the September 28 council meeting will be Boardmember Ledvina. CDRB volunteer for the October 11 council meeting will be Boardmember Shankar. Secretary Ekstrand said that the city code allows staff to review applications with a value of under $150,000 that are considered minor construction, i.e. a small addition on a building. He then sends a brief memo to the board and the city council. If there is any disagreement, the decision may be appealed within fifteen days. Mr. Ekstrand is working on a code amendment to review the dollar limit. The proposal is to allow staff review on valuations under $200,000 on buildings that have previously been reviewed by the board. If the building is old and predates the CDRB, the dollar figure would be $20,000. Chairperson Ledvina welcomed the two new members of the board--Jon LaCasse and Craig Jorgenson. Secretary Ekstrand gave the new members various materials and offered to give some type of orientation for new and existing members. This will be discussed at a future meeting. The members discussed the annual city tour that was held in August. X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m.