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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/09/2006 AGENDA CITY OF MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD Tuesday, May 9, 2006 6:00 P.M. Council Chambers - Maplewood City Hall 1830 County Road BEast 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes: April 25, 2006 5. Unfinished Business: None Scheduled 6. Design Review: a. Comforts of Home Assisted Living Facility - 2300/2310 Hazelwood Street 7. Visitor Presentations: 8. Board Presentations: 9. Staff Presentations: a. CDRB Representation at the May 22, 2006, City Council Meeting - Items to Be Discussed Include Comforts of Home b. Draft Sign Code Update 10. Adjourn MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2006 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Olson called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Board member John Hinzman Vice-Chairperson Matt Ledvina Chairperson Linda Olson Board member Joel Schurke Board member Ananth Shankar Present until 6:40 p.m. Absent Present Present Present Staff Present: Shann Finwall, Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Board member Hinzman moved to approve the agenda. Board member Shankar seconded. Ayes - Hinzman, Olson, Schurke, Shankar The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the CDRB minutes for April 25, 2006 Chairperson Olson moved to table the approval of the minutes of April 25, 2006, until the next meeting. Board member Shankar seconded. Ayes --- Hinzman, Olson, Schurke, Shankar The motion passed. V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VI. DESIGN REVIEW a. Comforts of Home Assisted Living Facility - 2300/2310 Hazelwood Street Ms. Finwall said Mathew Frisbie of Frisbie Architects, Inc., representing Comforts of Home is proposing to redevelop two lots located on the southeast corner of Highway 36 and Hazelwood Street (2300 and 2310 Hazelwood Street). The two lots currently contain the vacant Auto Glass store and an electrical contractor's office. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 2 The proposed use on the 3.025 acre lot will be a 42-unit, two-story, assisted living facility. The facility will also include memory care, respite care, and a hospice facility with 24-hour, on-site homecare staff. The planning commission recommended approval of the comprehensive land use plan change and conditional use permit at their May 1, 2006, meeting. The community design review board should make a recommendation on the design elements of the project including architectural, site plan, landscaping, and lighting. Ms. Finwall distributed a revised grading and drainage plan to the CDRB that staff received on May 8, 2006. Chairperson Olson said she read there was neighborhood opposition to this proposal based on the potential traffic in the area which would require the city to upgrade Hazelwood Avenue. Staff said Hazelwood Avenue was to be upgraded in 2009, she asked if that road was already on the city's long range schedule for reconstnuction or was it added to the constnuction schedule because of this proposal? Ms. Finwall said Hazelwood Avenue was on the city's road constnuction calendar to be reconstructed in 2009 before this proposal came forward. Chairperson Olson asked if the sidewalk for Comforts of Home would be deferred until 2009 because of the road improvement project? Ms. Finwall said the city's engineering department felt it best to have the developer submit an escrow for the sidewalk rather than build it right away. If the city required the developer to install the sidewalk now the city may find out it did not meet the design standards and the sidewalk would have to be removed and replaced in 2009. Chairperson Olson asked if that was correct then the road assessments would not be charged to the homeowners until 2009? Ms. Finwall said that's correct as proposed in the city's capital improvement plan. Board member Shankar asked if there would be staff working in this facility such as dining staff? Ms. Finwall said there would be full time employees working at Comforts of Home. During the day there would be 5 to 6 employees and in the evening they would have about 3 employees. Board member Shankar asked if 25 parking stalls would be sufficient based on that count? Ms. Finwall said because none of the residents would have vehicles, the only parking that would be needed is for visitors and the employees. Comforts of Home said this type of parking has worked at their other locations and they are confident the parking would be sufficient for their needs at this site. The parking was discussed at length during the Planning Commission meeting on May 1, 2006. The parking reduction was included as part of the PUD which was reviewed and recommended for approval by the PC. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 3 Board member Shankar asked if the residents would be transported by a van? Where would the van park? Where would the van pick up the residents? He did not see a wide enough parking stall on the parking plan. Ms. Finwall said there is a drive aisle. In the event the transportation van picks the residents up they could park the van in front of the building. Board member Schurke asked staff about the recommendation to change the Colorado blue spruce plantings to Black hills spruce on the landscaping plan? He asked if Black hills spruce was native to Minnesota or what was the rationale for the change? Ms. Finwall said the experience in Maplewood has been that the Colorado blue spruce tree gets a fungus and doesn't last as long in Minnesota. Board member Schurke asked if the recommendation for the 6 to 8 foot high berm was primarily for noise mitigation from Highway 36? Ms. Finwall said the engineering department recommended the berm for noise mitigation, but it will also add a nice visual buffer from Highway 36 as well. Board member Schurke asked if the noise study or documentation had been done yet for this site? Ms. Finwall said .that information would be required prior to issuance of a building permit. That information could come after the fact as well. The developer would also be using building materials that are for noise reduction such as thicker walls, windows, and insulation. Board member Hinzman asked about the revised grading and drainage plan and if that satisfied the staff's concern about the additional berm height along Highway 36? It appears some areas of the berm are only 3 feet in height. Ms. Finwall said the revised grading and drainage plan was received by staff on Monday, May 8, 2006, and staff has not had the opportunity to have the engineering department review this. Staff would have to verify that. Chairperson Olson said she watched the broadcast of the Planning Commission meeting on Monday, May 1, 2006, and remembered there was quite a bit of discussion regarding the berm. She asked if that information was included in the packet? Ms. Finwall said the only thing that was included in the packet was the recommendation that the berm be 6 to 8 feet in height. Board member Schurke said that recommendation is shown in the staff report on page 10, item 2. b. Board member Schurke asked if Comforts of Home owns the island for Knuckle Head Lake? The applicant shook his head no that they do not own the island for Knuckle Head Lake. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 4 Chairperson Olson asked the applicant to address the board. Mr. Mathew Frisbie, Frisbie Architects, 215 North 2nd Street, Suite 204, River Falls, Wisconsin, addressed the board. Mr. Brian Winges, Owner of Comforts of Home, 2340 County Road J East, White Bear Township, addressed the board. Mr. Winges said Comforts of Home serves the needs of residents who need a lot of care. The residents would not be picked up and driven to a shopping center for example because these are people that need help with getting dressed, bathing, and sometimes assistance with eating. Family members may come and take their loved one to the doctor or out for the day, but that would be about it. The parking requirements are sufficient. Chairperson Olson asked if they would anticipate having gatherings such as a Mothers Day tea in the future? The reason she asked is because this would bring a lot of visitors and she wondered where those people would park. Mr. Winges said they do not hold large functions or parties at Comforts of Home facilities. The issue of gatherings and parking needs was addressed with the planning commission. They don't have the ability to have a large gathering here. The commons area is geared to a home- like setting: there is no large dining room or anything like that. People are welcome to visit their loved one anytime, Mothers Day, Christmas, or Thanksgiving but there is no large gatherings scheduled for people to come all on one day. This is a very acute population and it can be difficult to even get the residents mobile. Chairperson Olson asked how many employees there would be? Mr. Winges said they would have about 5 to 6 daytime employees and around 3 employees in the evening. They have what is called a universal employee where they do all the functions that are needed and move from one function to the other. They do not have a separate food staff, cleaning staff, and nursing staff. This allows them a sufficient number of employees that keep busy throughout the three shifts. Sometimes a manager stops in occasionally so that may be an additional car in the parking lot: otherwise the parking needs are very similar from location to location. Chairperson Olson said that doesn't sound like many employees to care for 42 residents: especially depending on their care needs and only having 3 staff members at night. Mr. Winges said those numbers are actually above the industry average. Some facilities only have 1 staff member for 60 residents. Chairperson Olson asked if the meals would be cooked on site or delivered to the facility? Mr. Winges said the meals would be cooked on site: they try to have home cooked style meals. Chairperson Olson asked where delivery vehicles would be making deliveries? Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 5 Mr. Mark Paschke, Frisbie Architects, addressed the board. He said the drop off area would be off of Hazelwood Avenue. There is a secondary exit directly off of the kitchen and that is where most of the deliveries would occur on site. There would be two food deliveries per week. There would also be a walk-in freezer and refrigerator which would allow for less food deliveries. Chairperson Olson asked if there would be a laundry pick up and delivery service? Mr. Winges said the laundry is done in-house for the residents by the employees so there would be no laundry deliveries. The cost of the laundry service is included in the monthly living expenses. Chairperson Olson said it sounds like there would be minimal delivery trucks coming to this facility. Mr. Winges said yes, that is correct and that is another reason the Comforts of Home have built in residential neighborhoods. They have always been concerned about traffic and things of that nature. They have designed the building with that in mind and that is the way the building is staffed. The laundry is done individually. Residents have their own sheets and their own clothes. The laundry is not all dumped together and washed together. It's done individually. Board member Shankar asked if there is an outdoor space in the back of the facility? Mr. Winges said yes. Board member Shankar said it appears there is a large grade drop there. He asked if they are concerned about that? Mr. Frisbee said there is a fence and guard rail system on both levels. Mr. Paschke said that is represented as A4 in the staff report and identifies the guard rail at both levels. Mr. Winges said the residents would go outside and sit down and enjoy the weather. They would not be outside walking or hiking so it is not a problem to have a gated sitting area. Mr. Paschke said there is a third outdoor space on the front of the building on the south side for the memory care patients. Chairperson Olson asked if there is a separate locked area for the Alzheimer's patients or will their individual units be secured? Mr. Winges said there is a separate eating and activity area for the Alzheimer's patients. Depending on the number of memory or Alzheimer's patients they do have the ability to lock certain areas of the building. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 6 Board member Hinzman said this is a great looking facility and this is going to be a nice addition to this site. On the southeast corner of the building is a 30-inch oak tree that is about 10 feet off the building site and is proposed to be eliminated. He asked if there would be a way to save that tree? Mr. Frisbee said he would have to look into that. They have adjusted the building to the south to meet other requirements but they will check into the proximity of the oak tree. If there is a way to shift the building to preserve the tree they will see what they can do. Chairperson Olson said in looking at the grading and erosion control plan she was wondering if they were proposing underground drainage from the rainwater garden into the wetland? Mr. Frisbee said typically with a rainwater garden it's for pretreatment of the storm water so they catch all the sediment and at some point there would be an overflow. They would then be allowed to overflow into the wetland area so they can take a look at that. Chairperson Olson asked if it would still be permeable? Mr. Frisbee said yes. Mr. Paschke said that would be addressed through the permit with the watershed district. They want the overflow spillway taken to the wetland basin to avoid any erosion of the hillside. Board member Hinzman said the 6 to 8 foot high berm appears to be very tight on the site plan. He asked what the thoughts were regarding the engineering recommendation for the 6 to 8 foot high berm? Mr. Paschke said they are working with the Maplewood City Engineer, Michael Thompson, regarding maximizing the berm where they can. With the addition of planting the trees, the steeper you get that berm the greater the risk you have of freezing your trees out. They are doing what they can to make that work. Board member Hinzman asked if they are cutting the site down much in this location? The reason he asked is if the site is lower than the benm could be lower. Mr. Frisbee said they are matching the elevations of Hazelwood Avenue so that blends in. Hazelwood Avenue is at 919 and slopes down to 918 at the parking lot and back up to 918.75 at the first floor of the building. The northeast corner of the property has a few higher spots for a higher berm. Board member Schurke said he agrees with the comments made by Board member Hinzman that this is a very nicely designed proposal, he was happy to see such quality building materials being used. He said it appears the floor plan is flipped on the elevations. Mr. Paschke said the color rendering presented tonight is a project under construction in White Bear Lake. This plan is a mirror of the project being built in White Bear Lake so it is reversed on the plan. Chairperson Olson asked if they had building samples to show the board? Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 7 Mr. Frisbee presented samples of some of the materials they would be using on this project while Mr. Paschke passed a colored board around to each of the board members representing their Hudson, Wisconsin building. Board member Schurke asked if the applicant was aware of the energy design assistance program for Xcel customers in Minnesota which they may qualify for. He said this program could save your facility a substantial amount of money. The utility rebates are based on the improvements on the buildings from an energy quality standpoint relative to a cash rebate from the utility. Perhaps the architect is already aware of this program. Mr. Frisbee said they have not been a part of that program for this proposal but he would have to take a closer look at this to see if this would qualify for it. Board member Schurke said the plans do not call out the R values for the building materials being used on this project and he asked about each of the R values. He said he noticed they are using CMU block construction. He asked if they had thought about using insulated concrete forms. That may be something to look into for the sound attenuation potential for that kind of product he said. Another product that gets sound attenuation is structural insulated panel systems. Knowing there are sound issues that are being driven for residential issues he would have concerns about the aesthetics regarding the berm along Highway 36. He would like to see more of this building from Highway 36 because of the nice design features. He asked if the owner thought how the building could be converted to another use if there is no longer a market for this type of use? Mr. Paschke said the structure would be completely non-combustible construction which is the most restricted construction available. It is fully sprinklered. This type of facility allows clientele to age in place and if the care becomes more acute at some point the owner could upgrade their license and go with more of a skilled nursing facility. As far as changing the building to another residential occupancy that would be tied to the PUD and that would have to be reviewed by the city. Structurally it's an 1-2 construction class. Fire resistant ratings and safety issues are of the utmost importance in this type of a facility, especially for residents that are unable to respond to emergency situations on their own. Mr. Winges said he works with developers who said this building could be converted to office condominiums. His understanding is that this building is adaptable, it would cost some money to change things, but it could be done. Mr. Winges said they have never had a problem with filling rooms at any of their buildings. Their buildings fill up in a matter of months and they are very confident with the demand for this type of facility. Board member Schurke said he applauds the quality standard that they reach for with Comforts of Home. This stands out above a lot of other types of facilities he has toured. He said his mother is in this age bracket but she does not require this type of facility yet but this outranks any other buildings he has seen quality wise. Mr. Winges thanked him for his comments. Chairperson Olson agreed with the comments regarding the quality of the design. This building is going to fill up fast because there is a need for this type of housing. She did not notice a space dedicated for large muscle activities. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 8 Mr. Winges said there is not a lot of exercise going on because of the type of resident they care for. They don't have a need for a large exercise area. They do have daily activities which are held in the common areas. Chairperson Olson asked if a large part of their clientele use wheelchairs or walkers? Mr. Winges said there are a fair number that do. The mobility problem is not something you would find in a typical assisted living home such as Presbyterian Homes, Alterra or Sunrise. They are taking the elderly residents that those types of facilities won't accept but are not ready or don't need to move to a nursing home. He would welcome the CDRB to visit their locations to see what type of residents they care for and what their facilities look like. The residents do get light exercise. Chairperson Olson asked if there would be elevators in this facility. Mr. Winges said yes. Mr. Frisbee showed a building sample board to the board and said they would use a 40-year architectural shingle, a Hardy cement plank siding painted with two colors along with white trim, reddish toned brick, and arts and crafts style lighting. Chairperson Olson said Alzheimer patients can be very clever and she asked if they anticipate residents trying to escape from the building? Mr. Winges said they have had a lot of experience with residents trying to escape the buildings. Comforts of Home has gotten pretty good at anticipating people trying to escape and keeping a close eye on those individuals. They do their best to design the building so that it's very difficult for the patients to get out. Staff does not have the man power to continually keep a resident from trying to leave the building. It's stated in the resident's lease that if they continue to leave the facility they will have to move to more of a lock down facility such as a nursing home. Board member Schurke asked if they could review the R values for the building materials they will be using for this facility. Mr. Paschke said the walls would have R-19 walls with 6-inch steel studs and 6-inches of batting insulation, 4-inch veneer occurs at the cultured stone base that comes up 40 inches and gives a backing to apply the stone veneer, the brick sits on top of that, the roof is R-40, he wasn't sure of the E-value for the window. Mr. Frisbee said they would use Eagle windows which are high quality windows. He would have to check on the E-value of the window. MnDOT would have certain requirements on the side of the building facing Highway 36. Board member Schurke asked how the facility would be heated? Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 9 Mr. Frisbee said there is a series of forced air units throughout the building, multiple zones, and a variety of smaller units rather than a larger package unit so they have more control over the buildings. The main floor has in-floor heat and forced air on the second floor and ventilation for the first floor. Board member Shankar asked if they would have one elevator as you would enter the building? Mr. Paschke said yes. Board member Shankar thought an elevator that is 3' X 6' is hardly enough room for a wheelchair to fit inside. Mr. Paschke said that is a gurney approved emergency sized elevator cab. Chairperson Olson asked what the emergency plan was for the residents in the second floor if there are no egress windows? Mr. Winges said typically he would have his operations person speak regarding the emergency plan but she was unable to attend the meeting tonight. The evacuation plan is run through the state since assisted living facilities are licensed through the State of Minnesota. They also coordinate things through the Fire Chief for emergencies as well. Board member Shankar asked if they would consider making the entire front curb handicapped zero curb rather than just a five foot section being zero curb? Mr. Frisbee said they could look at that with their civil engineer but when they get to a zero curb if the drainage for that area is not set correctly there can be ponding and icing but they could look into that. With a smaller curb cut they can control water and where it is directed a lot better. Board member Shankar said he brings the issue up because he is concerned about the resident's safety having a curb to step up or down from. He said it is safer to have a flat surface for them to walk up and off of. Mr. Frisbee said their Hudson, Wisconsin facility has four steps to enter the building so when there are deliveries at that location the people have to go up four steps to enter the building. At this facility he imagines delivery trucks would pull right up to the curb, take out their two wheeler and make the delivery. The curb actually protects the building from vehicles that would get too close to the building itself with zero curb. Board member Schurke said he didn't notice this before but the trash enclosure doorway faces the line of traffic. He asked if they could rotate it to the north and west and have it open to the south and east. This could also help save an additional parking space. Board member Paschke said perhaps the city would accept that in lieu of having the berm? Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 10 Board member Schurke said he would prefer not to see a continuous line of trees on the berm along Highway 36. The lesson he learned from a landscape architect was to plant things in an odd number and you never plant things in a straight line. Personally he thinks the Comforts of Home building is such a nice building design with quality building materials that it should be visible from Highway 36 and the landscaping berm should not be the detraction. He would prefer to have the building owner spend the money on building materials such as higher quality triple pane windows, wall systems and insulation to mitigate sound and give a better energy benefit rather than planting landscaping to use as a berm and help with freeway sound. This would also help reduce the energy cost as well. Basically if the recommendation for the berm is being driven for sound mitigation he would prefer building materials be used instead of requiring the berm. If the berm is being driven for another reason he would prefer to see the building from Highway 36 and others should be able to visually enjoy the building features. His landscape architect told him 75 feet of vegetation depth is needed to see a measurable drop in decibel level to make a difference. He lives close to the freeway and MnDOT recently put up the concrete barriers for safety. However, the freeway noise bounces off of the barriers and out to the neighboring homes making it louder than usual. He uses this as an example that certain things do not help with sound mitigation. Mr. Frisbee said on the north side of the building, directly off of Highway 36 there are no resident rooms that will open to that area so they are not going to be affected by the noise level. Board member Shankar said the finished floor elevation is 918 feet and Highway 36 is 928 feet so even if there is a 6 to 8 foot high berm you would still be 10 feet above it and see the grade along the building and see most of the building anyways. Mr. Winges said they have resident rooms along Highway 65 at their Blain location and they haven't had a complaint about the noise. His experience has been people enjoy living close to the freeway and looking out at the traffic. This building would be set back 140 feet from the property line too. Chairperson Olson said she feels this building has been very well thought out and designed and will be an asset to the community. She really likes the fact that this is a non-combustible building and she is impressed with the proposal. Board member Schurke said he isn't against the berm, he would just like to know that the berm is providing the qualities that the city is expecting of the berm from a sound buffering standpoint. If it is being required for sound reasons he would like the city to have proof that the berm is going to do what they would like the berm to do before the owner invests that kind of money in planting the 6 to 8 foot high berm. If the berm is for aesthetics he would prefer to see the building from Highway 36 rather than looking at the trees. Chairperson Olson said she doesn't think the berm is going to help mitigate sound. Board member Shankar said the building is handsome and he thinks the berm will help with some of the sound, he is not sure how much of the sound though. The berm adds an aesthetic value to the property so he views the berm as a positive thing for both sound and aesthetic value to the property. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 11 Ms. Finwall said staff received the revised grading plan on Monday, May 8, 2006, and staff hopes the revised plans are okay with the engineering staff. Since the noise complaint at the St. Paul Pioneer Press facility located across Highway 36, staff has become more educated on noise mitigation. The PVC fence was installed to help with the noise at that location and the neighbors state the noise is worse. A benm or landscaping is a much better noise buffer compared to any type of fence. A wood fence is a better noise buffer compared to a PVC fence. Staff feels the berm and landscaping will have some effect, staff is just not sure how much of an effect it will have, but aesthetically and for noise mitigation it's a good design feature. Board member Schurke said given the community concerns he would recommend that the owner hold an open house as soon as possible to invite the neighborhood into the facility when it is complete and have staff available to answer questions relating to how you operate the facility. Mr. Winges said the construction workers on site have pamphlets to hand out to people if requested and the workers can walk curious visitors around the site. Board member Shankar moved to approve the plans date stamped March 27, 2006, for the 42- unit, two-story, assisted living facility (Comforts of Home) to be located at the southeast corner of Highway 36 and Hazelwood Street (currently 2300/2310 Hazelwood Street). Approval is subject to the applicant doing the following: a. Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issued a building permit for this project. b. Prior to issuance of a grading or building permit, the applicant must submit to staff for approval the following items: 1) Revised grading and drainage plan which meets all requirements as spelled out in the April 25, 2006, engineer review, including the installation of a 6 to 8 foot high berm on the north and northwest side of the lot and the submittal of an escrow to cover the construction of a 6-foot wide sidewalk along the entire frontage of Hazelwood Street. 2) Revised landscape plan showing the following: a) The Colorado blue spruce should be changed to black hills spruce. b) The landscape plan should reflect the required 6 to 8 foot high berm. The berm should be planted with the black hills spruce on the sides and top. The trees should be planted 15 feet on center (approximately 20 to 25 trees). c) Plantings should be shown in the infiltration pond and rainwater garden. The plantings should include pre-approved native seed mixtures. d) The landscape area called out on the main floor plan in front of the entry canopies (sheet A2) should be reflected on the landscape plan. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 12 e) A planting bed should be included in the interior of the loop driveway (in between the driveway and the road). f) Two additional sugar maple trees should be planted along Hazelwood Street. g) All landscaping (excluding landscaping within the infiltration basin and rainwater garden) must be irrigated. The landscape plan must reflect the location of all required underground irrigation sprinkler heads. h) All disturbed areas must be re-established with turf. i) The applicant must take all means necessary to protect the large trees on the property during construction of the facility. 3) Revised lighting and photometries plan which shows that the height of the freestanding lights do not exceed 25 feet (measured from ground grade to the top of the lumen). 4) Watershed district approval. 5) Building material samples. 6) The owner shall combine the two properties into one lot for tax identification purposes before the city issues a building permit. 7) A cash escrow or an irrevocable letter of credit for all required exterior improvements. The amount shall be 150 percent of the cost of the work. c. The applicant shall complete the following before occupying the building: 1) Replace any property irons removed because of this construction. 2) Provide continuous concrete curb and gutter around the parking lot and driveways. 3) Install all required landscaping and an in-ground lawn irrigation system for all landscaped areas. 4) Install all required outdoor lighting. 5) Install wetland buffer signs which indicate that no mowing, cutting, or building is permitted within the 25-foot buffer. d. If any required work is not done, the city may allow temporary occupancy if: 1) The city determines that the work is not essential to the public health, safety or welfare. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 13 2) The above-required letter of credit or cash escrow is held by the City of Maplewood for all required exterior improvements. The owner or contractor shall complete any unfinished exterior improvements by June 1 of the following year if occupancy of the building is in the fall or winter or within six weeks of occupancy of the building if occupancy is in the spring or summer. e. Signs are not approved with this design review approval. All signs must be approved by the community design review board before installation. f. All work shall follow the approved plans. The director of community development may approve minor changes. Chairperson Olson seconded. Ayes - Olson, Shankar, Schurke The motion passed. This item goes to the city council on May 22, 2006 VII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS No visitors present. VIII. BOARD PRESENTATIONS a. Board member Shankar was scheduled to be the CDRB representative at the May 8, 2006, City Council meeting. Staff notified Board member Shankar he did not need to be present because there were no CDRB items to discuss. Ms. Finwall said the city council discussed an amendment to the Noise Ordinance to make it clearer, had the first reading of the accessory stnucture ordinance, and the vacation of an easement. The city council also scheduled a special meeting for June 5, 2006, to make a final decision on the Gladstone Redevelopment Plan. Chairperson Olson asked if staff could get the CDRB a copy of the Noise Ordinance. b. Board member Schurke recommended that city staff contact the Program Manager for the Energy Design Assistance Program for Xcel Energy to see how they could be proactive in providing applicants with information about energy conservation applications for future commercial applications. Architects don't always know these types of programs exist for owners. Board member Shankar said he would see more of an advantage to have someone like an Acoustical or Sound Engineer would come in to discuss noise mitigation with landscaping, berms, and fencing. Energy Design Assistance is valuable to some clients but he does not see with the types of applications the CDRB has been reviewing that a presentation from Xcel Energy would be applicable or beneficial. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-09-2006 14 Chairperson Olson said some large applications like 3M have their own energy auditor but that discussion or presentation by Xcel Energy may be applicable for some applicants. (An example would be the Second Harvest proposal and their refrigeration system the CDRB recently discussed.) She agrees with Board member Shankar regarding having a noise mitigation discussion or speaker. Board member Schurke recommended that the CDRB members compile a list of topic or discussion areas they would like to have presenters come in and speak to help the board understand future application needs. He would like to hear about storm water mitigation measures, noise mitigation, light pollution, design flexibility, designing a building and the site for safety, and energy conservation issues. IX. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Board member Shankar will be the CDRB representative at the May 22, 2006, city council meeting. Items to discuss include the Comforts of Home at 2300/2310 Hazelwood Street and the Sign Code interpretation and Electronic Reader Boards. b. Draft Sign Code Update Ms. Finwall said she gave a presentation on the Draft Sign Code update to the city council. It did not appear the city council had many changes to the draft sign code. She said she discussed code enforcement with the city council which the city council showed a lot of interest on. More information will follow. X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:48 p.m.