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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/24/2001AGENDA MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD July 24, 2001 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: 4. Approval of Agenda 5. Unfinished Business July 10, 2001 a. 3M Leadership Development Institute Remodel- 600 Carlton Street 6. Design Review a. Comfort Bus - 1870 Rice Street/ 7. Visitor Presentations 8. Board Presentations 9. Staff Presentations a. CDRB representation needed for the August 27 city council meeting. Reminder: Linda is scheduled for August 13 city council meeting. 10. Adjourn p:com-dvpt\cdrb, agd I1. III. IV. MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA JULY 24, 2001 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Ledvina called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. ROLL CALL Matt Ledvina Tim Johnson Craig Jorgenson Linda Olson Ananth Shankar Staff Present: Recording Secretary: APPROVAL OF MINUTES July 10, 2001 Present Present Present until 7:00 p.m. Present Absent Tom Ekstrand, Assistant Community Development Director Lisa Kroll Board member Johnson moved approval of the minutes of June 25, 2001. Board member Olson seconded. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ayes ---Ledvina, Johnson, Olson Abstention -- Jorgenson Secretary Ekstrand said that there were no changes to the agenda. Board member Jorgenson moved approval of the agenda. Board member Johnson seconded. The motion passed. Ayes -All UNFINISHED BUSINESS Chairperson Ledvina discussed the 3M Leadership Development institute Remodel- 600 Carlton Street. Community Design Review Board Minutes 7-24-2001 2 Secretary Ekstrand presented the staff report. John Olfelt, of 3M Company, is proposing to make exterior building and landscaping improvements to 3M Company's Leadership Development Institute located at 600 Carlton Street. Mr. Olfelt is proposing to do the following: Refurbish the building exterior by covering the existing pre-cast concrete exterior with brick, metal panels and a standing-seam roof. The applicant is proposing to apply this new exterior on the north, west and east sides. The applicant would wrap the new exterior treatment around onto the south elevation about 10 feet from the east and west elevations. The majority of the south elevation would remain as is (pre-cast concrete panels) but would be painted to match the proposed metal panels. The applicant is not proposing a full re-treatment of the south elevation since trees hide this side of the building. 2. Add landscaping on the front (west) and back (east) of the building. Secretary Ekstrand stated that the applicant had proposed to replace the parking lot lights in the east parking lot with shorter poles. It is staff's understanding now, however, that Mr. Olfelt may wish to withdraw this part of his proposal. Secretary Ekstrand explained that lighting changes are not a requirement. There have not been any complaints about the existing lights. Staff sees no reason to require any lighting changes. Secretary Ekstrand stated that the exterior building changes and landscaping improvements are positive changes and that staff is recommending approval of the plans. Mr. John Olfelt representing 3M introduced himself. The board told Mr. Olfelt that they generally like the proposed changes to the building and landscaping. Chairperson Ledvina questioned, though, why the dock was not proposed to be refurbished as was the main building. The dock would stick out like a sore thumb after the majority of the building is improved with the proposed brick and other decorative elements. Mr. Olfelt stated that they felt the dock was not a significant part of the building. The board expressed their concern that they did feel it was significant enough to justify brick on the west and south elevations to make the proposed building enhancements more complete. Board member Olson questioned the applicant about why the lighting changes were dropped. Mr. Olfelt explained that their electrician originally thought it would be beneficial to lower the light pole heights in the back parking lot but not to change the design of the fixtures and poles. Mr. Olfelt said that their proposal was somewhat arbitrary in that respect. He would prefer to postpone this element of the project to a later time so they can come up with a more attractive lighting design. Community Design Review Board Minutes 7-24-2001 Board member Jorgenson moved to approve the 3M Leadership Development Institute Remodeling project at 600 Carlton Street, based on the findings required by the code. Board member Olson seconds the motion. The motion passed. Ayes - All VI. DESIGN REVIEW a. Comfort Bus Company- 1870 Rice Street Secretary Ekstrand gave the staff presentation. He stated that Mr. Lee Rossow of the Comfort Bus Company is proposing to move their Little Canada bus terminal to the Amusement City site at 1870 Rice Street. They propose to operate their school bus business from this location. They would remove all existing construction from this site and build a two-story office building, a shop, and a fueling dock. The proposed office building would be a 10,000-square-foot, two story pre-cast concrete building with an EIFS cornice, metal fascia and trim and a flat roof. The applicant, Mr. Rossow, brought a sample of the pre-cast concrete for the members to see. The proposed shop and dispatch building would be a 20,500 square foot two-story pre-cast concrete building with several bays for the washing, repair and service of busses. The fuel dock would have fuel dispensers beneath a new canopy that would serve up to 10 busses. Secretary Ekstrand discussed the site-related elements with the board. The proposed parking would comply with the city ordinance. The requirement in the report for a site- lighting, photometric plan is not necessary since there is no adjacent residential property. There is a class-five wetland in the southwest corner of the site, the area proposed for future development. The applicant should be aware of this when it comes to proposing to develop that part of the property. Staff also discussed Assistant City Engineer Chris Cavett's comments about drainage, curbing and the need to replace a segment of the sanitary sewer which runs through the site. This sewer replacement should be accomplished during the applicant's construction. Chairperson Ledvina asked the applicant to come forward. Mr. Lee Rossow of the Comfort Bus Company introduced himself. Chairperson Ledvina asked Mr. Rossow about the monitoring well, which is shown on the grading plan. Mr. Rossow replied that his civil engineer did discuss the well and it was thought that the well was not monitored anymore. He stated that the Betz family doesn't monitor the well and he didn't believe an outside agency was monitoring it either. He stated that they really had no plans of doing anything about the well. Mr. Rossow said that his civil engineer checked with the MPCA and explained what was happening with the site. There were not any questions raised about the well. Board member Olson asked if there were any plans to remove the well. Mr. Rossow replied no. Community Design Review Board Minutes 7-24-2001 4 Chairperson Ledvina said that it is Mr. Rossow's property and that he is responsible for the well as it relates to the site and likely paying ongoing permit fees for that well. A suggestion was made by Chairperson Ledvina that if the well is no longer being used, it should be abandoned appropriately in accordance with the MPC^. Board member Olson agreed that she strongly recommends Mr. Rossow check further into that with the MPC^ and have it capped with a concrete cap. Mr. Rossow agreed to do that. Chairperson Ledvina asked Mr. Rossow why his plans for the office and shop buildings are not the same in terms of the treatment of the windows and the roof elements. He is not maintaining any continuity in the design. What would be the rational for that. Mr. Rossow said he looks at the shop area as a tool. It is abused, and with moving heavy machinery around they wanted something real rugged. They were going for curb appeal for the main office building. On the site plan, there is a small area that is south of the office building. That area is going to be a play yard for the children that are brought to work with the employees each day. There will be shade trees planted, a sandbox, and some small riding toys for the kids to play on. When the shade trees are grown up, the visibility of the shop area will be very minimal. Hopefully the appearance that people will recognize will be the office building on Rice Street. More time and effort was made for the appearance of the office building than the shop. Board member Olson asked Mr. Rossow if he proposed any decorative elements on the outside of the shop building at all. Could you match the trim on the top and around the windows. They had talked to the Spancrete people about a simplistic set of lines along the top of the shop that are not included in the plans because there would be no extra charge in the plans if they decided to do that design element. Mr. Rossow would not be opposed to that. It is very expensive to do the coving. Mr. Rossow stated he tried to apply the wish lists of all the employees but the list was extensive. Board member Ledvina asked Mr. Rossow if he has any proposed plans for trim or contrasting color. Mr. Rossow said the second floor is for the dispatch and it is necessary to have a panoramic view to see if a bus has left or if it is on time. The design view is for the dispatchers. It is nice for the drivers to see what is going on. Some windows will be able to be opened for fresh air. Board member Johnson asked Mr. Rossow if the balconies on the buildings are functional. Mr. Rossow stated that they are planning on putting sliding glass doors on them and are intended for decoration. The plan is to put flowers or ferns and what they called balcony art. Community Design Review Board Minutes 7-24-2001 Mr. Rossow said that they are very concerned about drippings from the busses. Chemicals are very expensive and their busses have all passed the inspections and have minimal points deducted for problems. Concerns were brought up because of the holding pond and run off of chemicals that may contaminate the pond. Chairperson Ledvina asked about leasing plans for the office. Do they plan on leasing any space. Mr. Rossow replied that they designed the building for future growth and their needs are for about half of the space. As of now they have no renters or plans to rent space at this time. However, he would not be opposed to future revenue for the space. Board member asked Mr. Rossow if he is closing his other facilities and moving all of his operations to the new facility. Mr. Rossow replied that he has 3 buildings in an industrial park in Little Canada and 2 of the 3 buildings will move to the new location on Rice Street. The third building will remain which is their special projects area where they do wheel chair lift installations, body work etc. Board member Jorgenson asked about snow removal. Mr. Rossow stated that they have left a significant area to pile the snow up at the South end of the parking lot out of the bus path. They have left ample room around the parking lot to remove the snow properly while busses are out. Board member Olson asked if there were any plans for a sidewalk and Mr. Rossow replied no, that was not in their plans and that there are no sidewalks on that side of Rice Street and there would be nothing to attach it to. Board member Jorgenson left the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Board member Johnson asked Mr. Rossow about his proposed canopy for the fueling area. There was a packet handed out by Secretary Ekstrand with photos of the proposed canopy that will look similar to the photo taken in South St. Paul. The difference is that Comfort Bus Company's canopy will be done in shades of earth tones and will have 6 legs instead of the 3 that are in the photo. Chairperson Ledvina stated he looks at the fuel canopy as being the less desirable area of the site in terms of appearance. Chairperson Ledvina asked if there is any possibility of moving the canopy eastward or perhaps behind the east elevation of the main building. Mr. Rossow replied that what they tried to do with the design is to make it nice for the dispatchers to see the fueling operation as it goes. They have a panic button in the dispatch office where they can shut down the whole system if a bus were be to catch fire for example. It is important for them to see the fueling in their visual area. Community Design Review Board Minutes 7-24-2001 Board member Olson asked Mr. Rossow if Comfort Bus Company has a sign. Mr. Rossow stated that they have not designed a sign but would like an electronic sign with time and temperature and are going to rough in a feed for an electronic sign but as of now they have no plans for a sign. At their current location they do not have a sign. Chairperson Ledvina asked Mr. Rossow if he had issues with the plans for landscaping. He replied that his wife loves planting, designing and retaining walls. He assured the members that it will look very nice. Mr. Rossow said that his other site in Little Canada is landscaped very nicely, especially compared to the other surrounding neighbors. Our intentions are to really make it a show place. It is our one shot before we are out of the business and our sons take over the business and we would like to see it be a real nice addition to the school bus community and your city. Board member Olson asked Mr. Rossow if he plans to submit an improved plan. He replied yes. Chairperson Ledvina asked for comments from Board members regarding the plans for the Comfort Bus Company. Board member Olson stated she thinks it sounds really good and was reluctant at first to see another big series of industrial vehicles all parked on that corner. She stated that she felt that the applicant Mr. Rossow had made a real effort to make this friendly and accessible and feels that her questions have been met. Chairperson Ledvina felt it is a good proposal and is looking forward to this site being developed. He has some very strong reservations about the differences in the design of the two buildings and the treatment. "The two buildings are quite close together and the shop building will be very visible from Rice Street. I know the applicant has said there are busses all around, but this is a 24-foot building. The design of the office building is fine and I appreciate the elements that have been incorporated, the arched windows, the cornice to the top of the building and feel that those same elements should be incorporated into the shop building. I don't believe that it would be that difficult of a scenario. I realize that this is somebody else's money, but we are talking about a development that will be a pretty significant site. Something has to be done to make these buildings more compatible and look more similar. I am just not comfortable with this." Board member Olson stated to Mr. Rossow that he had mentioned that his architect had said there were some trim options available. Mr. Rossow replied that he is a little uncomfortable with the coving on the top of the shop area but could certainly add a strip that resembles an outline along the top of the building so it gives it a little contrast. There is not an economic issue for the pre-cast panels because there would be no extra charge for that. It would look very similar could match the colors it just would not have the coving sticking out. The building is 160 feet long and 110 feet wide so it's a lot of EIFS for kind of a back lot of what we are trying to do. We could do a top line to match the line of the balcony, which is no problem to add. Community Design Review Board Minutes 7-24-2001 Board member Olson said that she seconds the opinion of Chairperson Ledvina. She would really like to see some extra trim and it will be visible and it will stand out and will look like very unrelated items. Mr. Rossow said he would certainly try to incorporate this into the drawings. Chairperson Ledvina and Board member Olson asked if the arched windows could be incorporated into the dispatch area perhaps. Mr. Rossow said it would be more difficult but would entertain the idea. Mr. Ekstrand asked if we are talking about the enhancements to the west wall and the south elevations. Chairperson Ledvina would like to see some kind of relief on the expanse of all the walls. A comparison was made between Menards and Gander Mountain and the size of the walls and dimensions. Board member Olson asked if there was time for a counter proposal. Mr. Rossow stated that the time line is that Amusement City is closing on August 20th and they wanted to be moving into the building 1 year from August. I don't think that is going to be quite met because the construction company is backed up about 60 days now. If we can't make winter construction we probably can't make moving in by August of next year and that was our goal. Board member Olson asked if Mr. Rossow could meet with his architect and get some ideas and get back to Secretary Ekstrand to keep this on track as far as a time line goes. Chairperson Ledvina is personally not comfortable with just letting it go with some recommendations with staff. He would like to see how this is going to play out and what the applicant can do. The applicant now has a better sense of our concerns with this building. There are a lot of things that can be done to improve these elevations. I would expect that the applicant could follow through with that. I personally think it should be revised and come back to us at the next meeting. Chairperson Ledvina brought up two more items. One: the north elevation to break up the expanse of that area, to do some landscaping or use of boulders or benches to soften the look of that area. Two: get more specific plans for the canopy area and to be as creative as possible. Looking for different materials to make the structure out of. Chairperson Ledvina said that the members like what you are doing with the property and the plans and they like your taste. You just need to go a little bit further to finish the plans. Mr. Rossow is worried about coming back to the committee with new plans and possibly is tabled again delaying the building further. Community Design Review Board Minutes 7-24-2001 Chairperson Ledvina said "we want to work with you Mr. Rossow, not against you. We want to make you proud and the City of Maplewood. This building will be here 50 plus years and have very long lasting implications." Chairperson Ledvina said that the applicant should be prepared to come back to the next meeting August 14th with a new proposal. The proposal should include revisions for the design of the outside of the shop building, more specific plans for the canopy, the supports, treatments and colors, and revised landscaping plans incorporating staffs recommendations. Mr. Rossow agreed to do the revisions and will return Tuesday, August the 14th. Board member Olson moved to table this plan until revised plans are presented. Board member Johnson motioned to second the motion. AyewAII VII. Visitor Presentations No visitors present. VIII. Board Presentations There was nothing to present. IX. Staff Presentations Board member Olson is available for representation on August 13, 2001. Chairperson Ledvina volunteered for August 27, 2001 Secretary Ekstrand mentioned an application is coming up for the old Beau's bar and restaurant on Minnehaha Avenue and McKnight Road is proposed for improvements and expansion. Secretary Ekstrand did a staff review for a new restaurant and gave handouts to the members regarding the old Hardees restaurant on White Bear Avenue and County Road D. The building is proposed to be remodeled as an Italian restaurant called Fazoli's. Please look at the handouts and give me a call if you have any questions or concerns. Basically they are going to put a tower on it to give the restaurant a prominent entrance. Secretary Ekstrand introduced the new Recording Secretary Lisa Kroll to the members. She will be taking minutes for the CDRB meeting and the Planning Commission meetings. Secretary Ekstrand brought up the city tour and asked the members if any of them intended to go Monday, July 30th. If they are planning on going they should meet in the front of the building at 5:30 p.m. Community Design Review Board Minutes 7-24-2001 Secretary Ekstrand reminded members that September 11, 2001 is primary election night and there will be no CDRB meeting that evening. It will have to be rescheduled or cancelled. We'll discuss this more later. Secretary Ekstrand mentioned that the Board is looking to fill Board member Tim Johnson's position and they are looking for applicants. The opening will be printed in the Maplewood Review newspaper tomorrow. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.