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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/14/2006 . AGENDA CITY OF MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD Tuesday, November 14, 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: October 24, 2006 5. Unfinished Business: None Scheduled 6. Design Review: a. Crown Plaza Shopping Center - Walgreens: 1700 Rice Street 7. Visitor Presentations: 8. Board Presentations: 9. Staff Presentations: a. Representation at the November 27,2006, City Council Meeting -Items to be Discussed Include Public Hearing for Boca Chica Taco House Sign Variance 10. Adjourn MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD 1830 COUNTY ROAD BEAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2006 I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Olson called the meeting to order at 6:00 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 Present Present Present at 6:06 p.m. until 7:10 p.m. 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, Ledvina, Olson, Shankar The motion passed. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the CORB minutes for October 24, 2006 Chairperson Olson moved approval of the minutes of October 24, 2006. Board member Ledvina seconded. Ayes --- Hinzman, Ledvina, Olson, Shankar The motion passed. V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. VI. DESIGN REVIEW a. Crown Plaza Shopping Center - Walgreens: 1700 Rice Street Ms. Finwall said Anxon, Inc., has purchased the Crown Plaza Shopping Center at 1700 Rice Street. Anxon, representing Walgreens, proposes to remove the existing EdCo Foods retail store at the south end of the shopping center (adjacent Larpenteur Avenue) and replace the store with a 14,550 square foot Walgreens' retail store and drive through pharmacy. Community Oesign Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 2 City code requires major construction projects on an existing commercial building to be approved by the CORBo A major construction project is defined as any exterior work on a commercial or multi-family building or site which is over $200,000. The Walgreens proposal exceeds this amount and therefore must be approved by the CORBo The site plan shows the Walgreens' store constructed in the same location as the EdCo Foods tenant space, on the south side of the shopping center, adjacent Larpenteur Avenue. The Walgreens' store will be attached to the shopping center, it will be 1,950 square feet larger than the existing EdCo Foods space, and it will be located 34 feet from the Larpenteur Avenue right-of-way. City code requires at least a 30-foot setback for a commercial building to a right- of-way. The applicants propose to reconstruct an existing drive aisle located on the south side of the shopping center into a single drive-through pharmacy lane. The drive-through lane will be setback 17 feet from the Larpenteur Avenue right-of-way, which meets city code requirement of 15 feet. The applicants also propose to reconstruct a portion of the parking lot, utilizing the existing driveways onto Larpenteur Avenue. The reconstructed parking lot will be setback 20 feet from the Larpenteur Avenue right-of-way, which meets city code requirement of 15 feet. Within the reconstructed portion of the parking lot the applicants propose two 5-foot-wide curbed islands along the drive aisle in the new portion of the parking lot. City code requires 10- foot-wide landscape medians every three of four parking bays to improve aesthetics. Staff recommends that the proposed 5-foot-wide curbed islands be redesigned to be at least 10 feet in width and planted with ornamental trees and shrubs. There are no sidewalks on Larpenteur Avenue or Rice Street adjacent this property. Steve Kummer, engineer with the city, recommended in his engineering report that the applicant construct a sidewalk along the entire length of the property adjacent Larpenteur Avenue. Board member Schurke asked if any comments were received by the city regarding this proposal? Ms. Finwall said staff sent a notice to residents within 500 feet of this proposal regarding this meeting but no comments were received and there are no visitors in the audience to speak regarding this proposal. Board member Shankar asked where the limestone would be located on the building? Ms. Finwall pointed on the overhead showing the limestone located on the west elevation. Board member Schurke asked if staff had received a revised site plan reflecting the requirement for the applicant to install a sidewalk? Ms. Finwall said no we have not. Chairperson Olson asked the applicant to address the board. Community Design Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 3 Mr. Curt Moreno, Vice President, Anxon, Inc., 601 Marquette Avenue, Suite 100, Minneapolis, addressed the board. The limestone will be located on the west elevation on each pilaster and above the windows. It will also be located on the south elevation on the pilasters above the elevation of 13 feet. Board member Shankar asked if limestone had been used on any other Walgreens building in the twin cities? Mr. Moreno said this design is the new prototype for Walgreens and limestone was recently used on the new Walgreens at Randolph Avenue and Snelling Avenue. Board member Schurke said just to clarify this is a manufactured limestone. Chairperson Olson said this is a different building design from the Walgreens we have seen at Larpenteur and White Bear Avenue. Mr. Moreno said Walgreens changes their prototype over the years and have a northern and southern prototype. Some communities have stricter building material guidelines than other cities. He said they have a revised photometrics plan. He said now they plan to use add six lights throughout the center compared to the four lights they had originally planned. They will also have five wall mounted lights and lights on the canopies on the west side that illuminate the building. The window height is typically 7 to 13 feet. The pilaster bumps out 4 inches which is an architectural feature. The top of spandrel is 6 feet from the top of finished floor. Six feet is the height the shelving goes to. Board member Ledvina said the plans show a prefinished metal coping at the top of the wall. He asked if the applicant considered using a decorative cornice such as stone at the top of the wall? Mr. Moreno said the cornice has a three tiered step that is repeated. Board member Ledvina asked about the parapet wall? Mr. Moreno said it is the coping that matches the metal standing seam? Board member Shankar asked if it was green in color? Mr. Moreno said the coping is almond in color. The canopy is green. Board member Ledvina asked if the applicant had any problems with the engineering requirements regarding the storm water management? Mr. Moreno said he would ask that the civil engineer speak regarding that issue. Mr. Allen Catchpool, Civil Engineer, CEI Engineering Associates, addressed the board. He said he spoke with Steve Kummer in engineering and they went through the recommendations and they don't have any concerns. The sidewalk is represented on the plan but the revised site plan hasn't been submitted to staff yet. Community Oesign Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 4 Mr. Catchpool said the one area they do have an issue with is the sidewalk which is four feet off Larpenteur Avenue. In front of Burger King there is a six foot sidewalk are some transformers and pole signs which means they may have to jog the sidewalk closer to Larpenteur Avenue then the four feet. They are going to try to do some storage in the islands but the islands aren't really large enough. There is underground storage in the west parking lot and staff wants to see some sort of storage for the roof runoff in the east parking and also a pretreatment structure before the water drains in there to catch floatable debris such as sand and salt which would require maintenance. Board member Ledvina asked if the applicant felt the engineering requirements were reasonable? Mr. Catch pool said yes. Board member Schurke said given the proximity of this site to McCarron's Lake and to the St. Paul Water Utility, this would be a great opportunity to do some type of demonstration regarding the drainage. Even if it meant putting small signage in for the neighbors to see explaining what was done here. This is only a recommendation and is not a requirement. There is a story to tell here and he thinks the neighborhood would be interested in how the process works. Either Ramsey County or St. Paul Public Parks did a major restoration of the drainage going into McCarron's Lake about 6 years ago and it has become a real "feature" in terms of recreational use. Board member Ledvina said this is an excellent site plan in terms of storm water management. The applicant is doing some innovative practices in terms of managing storm water on the site. Board member Schurke said if you can reveal the story behind it then he would recommend that to the applicant. It's hard for people to know the history behind the underground storage. Chairperson Olson asked about the fence along the creek on the east side of the parkway? Mr. Bill Oillon, Anxon, Inc., addressed the board. He said they will be discussing alternatives regarding the fence, the dumpsters and the awnings and we have been working with staff on those items. Board member Shankar asked if the five-foot turning radius will be a problem for the customers? Mr. Catch pool said that was changed from a five-foot to a ten-foot turning radius. Chairperson Olson said she noticed the handicap parking is not next to the building, she asked if there would be a painted crosswalk for people to safely cross the parking lot to enter the building? Mr. Catchpool said yes and they are meeting the AOA requirements. Chairperson Olson asked if they had a problem with the recommendation to install the sidewalk? Community Oesign Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 5 The applicants nodded their head no. Board member Ledvina said the improvements have been made from the original elevations the board had been provided and in general the improvements are good. He is just wondering if they could provide more detailing on the south elevation. This building is very prominent on the corner and it will be closer to Larpenteur Avenue than the existing building and wondered if the detailing is sufficient enough? Board member Shankar said he was wondering if they could replicate the stepped coping detail on the south elevation just above the stone. Board member Schurke said his preference is for a clean line along the south elevation. Adding detail for the sake of trying to dress up the building is not necessarily the best aesthetic solution. He could see adding daylight windows on the south elevation. He said he understands the need for wall space to accommodate the stocking of shelves. Maybe within those areas you could do some transom windows below the limestone set into those openings which could break up the fa<;:ade and give it a more humane look. He is very pleased the applicant is doing something with this shopping center. Chairperson Olson said we are hearing different scenarios here. How practical would it be to expand the cornice molding along the entire perimeter of the building? Is it practical to put in some transom windows underneath the limestone between the pilasters on the south side? Mr. Moreno asked if they meant installing spandrel windows above the emergency exit door? Board member Schurke said he was suggesting a band of transom windows that would end up going across the wall horizontally and be proportional to the front windows. Mr. Moreno said you would be looking into a storage closet and corridor that doesn't have an acoustical ceiling. There is a hallway with employee lockers there with unfinished space. Chairperson Olson asked about extending the cornice or adding something more decorative other than the almond color metal band around the top of the building. Board members and the applicant discussed ideas back and forth regarding how to add more interest to the south elevation of the building exterior. Board member Schurke dismissed himself at 7:10p.m. Chairperson Olson said staff has recommended that the bright blue awnings on the current buildings be changed to match the green awnings for the Walgreens proposal, how do you feel about that? Mr. Oillon said they agree that would look better. They would prefer to use a green fabric as opposed to a green metal. Chairperson Olson asked how the board felt about that? The board agreed that would look nicer. Community Oesign Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 6 Chairperson Olson asked if they had a trash enclosure plan yet? Are you leaning towards replacing the existing fence or are you planning on a different product or material? Mr. Oillon said they haven't chosen a product yet for the trash enclosure. Because of the damage that may have been caused by the snow plow or by kids, they are looking at more of a permanent solution to the problems that have occurred to the trash enclosure and would work with staff regarding the final decision. Board member Shankar moved to approve the plans date-stamped October 3, 2006, and the November 13. 2006 buildinq elevation for the Walgreens' retail store and pharmacy within the Crown Plaza Shopping Center at 1700 Rice Street and the October 24, 2006, sign criteria for a comprehensive sign plan amendment for the Crown Plaza Shopping Center. Approval is based on the findings as specified in Section 2-290(b)(1 )(2)(3) of the city code (community design review board ordinance) and is subject to the applicant doing the following (additions are underlined and deletions are stricken): 1. Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issued a building permit for this project. 2. Prior to issuance of a grading or building permit, the applicant shall submit to staff for approval the following items: a. A revised grading and drainage plan which complies with the city's engineering review dated November 7, 2006, which includes, but is not limited to, the construction of a six-foot-wide sidewalk along the entire length of the property adjacent Larpenteur Avenue: a stormwater treatment svstem capable of removinq floatable debris and larqe-qrained particles as well as small qrained particles desiqned for 80 percent total suspended solid removal: and a storm water maintenance aqreement for the maintenance of storm water treatment structures and other best manaqement practices on the site. b. A revised site plan which shows the following: 1) A six-foot-wide sidewalk along the entire length of the property adjacent Larpenteur Avenue. 2) Ten-foot-wide landscape medians in the reconstructed portion of the parking lot. 3) Location and size of all existing and proposed dumpster enclosures. c. Revised elevations showing the following: 1) West (Front) Building Elevation: The top of the spandrel qlass frame shall line UP with the top of the entry door in the elevation.WindO'....s boginning four feot from ground grode. This can be accomplished by tho addition of true or false '....indo'lls. 2) South (Side) Building Elevation: Community Oesign Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 7 ill Reposition the smooth faced manufactured limestone facade sliqhtlv to the east so that the service door is centered within the center of the facade. Q2 Transom windows to match the front transom windows on the west elevation. Transom windows to be added in between in the brick area in between the three manufactured limestone pilasters./\ddition of smooth faced manufactured limestone, windows (beginning four feet from ground grade), and overhead canopies similar to the vwst elevation. 3) Crown Plaza Shopping Center - Auto Uses Front Elevation: Alternative canopy design and color to be compatible with Walgreens' green metal seam canopies for the front fa<;:ade of all Crown Plaza tenant spaces. 4) Oumpster Enclosure Elevation: Expansion of existing enclosures or the addition of new dumpster enclosures along the back side of the Crown Plaza building. The dumpster enclosures should be designed to screen all trash and recycling dumpsters on the site, should be 100 percent opaque, at least 6 feet in height, with a closeable gate, and should be constructed of materials which are compatible to the building. 5) Fence: Four-foot-high decorative fence to be located along the east property line (if existing fence is rebuilt and not repaired). d. Revised landscape plan which shows the following: 1) Location of the existing landscaping and the addition of at least 26 new trees and 74 new shrubs on the site, in addition to the landscaping proposed in the landscape plan submitted for the Walgreens' development (date stamped October 3, 2006). 2) Several shrubs and perennials to be located under the Crown Plaza freestanding sign located on the southwest corner of the site (intersection of Larpenteur Avenue and Rice Street). 3) At least one ornamental tree and several shrubs to be located within the redesigned landscape medians in the parking lot. 4) Size of trees must meet the following minimum requirements: deciduous trees - 2% inches in diameter, evergreen trees - 6 feet in height; ornamental trees -1% inches in diameter. 5) The location of underground irrigation for the new landscaping installed as part of the Walgreens' development along Larpenteur Avenue. e. Comprehensive sign plan for the center is approved as follows: Community Oesign Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 8 1) For consistency, all wall signs for the Crown Plaza tenants shall be individually-illuminated letters, except that the Florist sign may be a cabinet sign. Sign height shall not exceed 36 inches. Signs shall not extend closer than 36 inches to the sides of the tenant's store front. These signs shall be placed on the designated sign band. 2) Signage for the two automotive buildings shall comply with the same size and spacing criteria as noted in condition one. 3) Burger King signage shall comply with code (two signs for each street frontage ). 4) Signs are not allowed on the awnings. 5) Shopping center wall signs are allowed above the store tenant space on the north (above the windows), east west, and south elevations only. This language was not included in the comprehensive sign plan minutes but was approved as part of the site plan date stamped October 4, 1989. 6) Wall signs for the auto mall are allowed on the west side of the buildings only. This language was not included in the comprehensive sign plan minutes but was approved as part of the site plan date stamped October 4, 1989. 7) Two pylon signs are allowed for the Crown Plaza Shopping Center. The freestanding sign on the interior of the parking lot is allowed at 336 square feet in area, 39 feet in height. The sign on the southwest corner is allowed at 144 square feet in area, 24 feet high. This language was not included in the comprehensive sign plan minutes but was approved as part of the site plan date stamped October 4, 1989. ill Wall siqns for the Walqreens retail store and pharmacv located on the south side of the Crown Plaza Shoppinq Center is limited to the center of the smooth faced manufactured limestone facades on the west and south elevation. Wall siqns to meet Crown Plaza tenant siqn criteria as described above. The applicant must submit a revised tenant sign criteria which reflects these requirements. f. Revised lighting and photometrics plan which shows the following: 1) All existing and proposed exterior lights on the center. 2) Elevation of all proposed lights (including height of freestanding lights as measured from the ground grade to the top of the luminary). 3) Photometrics which reflects that the light illumination from the new lights does not exceed A-foot candles at all property lines. Community Design Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 9 g. A cash escrow or an irrevocable letter of credit for all required landscaping and dumpster enclosure improvements. The amount shall be 150 percent of the cost of the work. 3. The applicant or owner shall complete the following before certificate of occupancy is issued for the Walgreens' building: a. Complete the parking lot improvements. b. Complete the lighting improvements. c. Install all required landscaping and underground irrigation. d. Construct the required dumpster enclosures. e. Remove all containers from the Crown Plaza Shopping Center site. f. Repair or reconstruct the four-foot-high fence along the east property line. g. Construct the 6-foot-wide sidewalk along the entire length of the property adjacent Larpenteur Avenue. 4. If any required work is not done, the city may allow a certificate of occupancy if: a. The city determines that the work is not essential to the public health, safety or welfare. b. 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 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. 5. All work shall follow the approved plans. The director of community development may approve minor changes. Board member Ledvina seconded. Ayes - Hinzman, Ledvina, Olson, Shankar The motion passed. VII. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS No visitors present. Community Oesign Review Board Minutes 11-14-2006 10 VIII. BOARD PRESENTATIONS Ms. Finwall reported on the city council meeting of Monday, November 13, 2006. The city council held a public hearing regarding the electric franchise fee which was tabled until a later date. The city council also discussed the south Maplewood development moratorium for the area of the city south of Highwood Avenue. The St. Paul Tourist Cabin closing was discussed and the developer has negotiated with all the property owners except one. The city council directed the developer to negotiate with the property owner for a possible agreement and if they could not come to an agreement the city council will decide on a fair price at the next meeting. IX. STAFF PRESENTATIONS a. Board member Hinzman will be the CDRB representative at the November 27, 2006, city council meeting - the only item to discuss is the public hearing for Boca Chica Taco House Sign Variance. X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.