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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/27/2003AGENDA MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD May 27, 2003 6:00 P.M. Maplewood Room - Maplewood City Hall 1830 County Road B East 2. 3. 4. 5. 10. Call to Order Roll Call Approval of Agenda Approval of the May 13, 2003 Minutes Unfinished Business: Van Dyke Village Townhomes - West Side of Van Dyke Street, North of County Road B Design Review: St. Paul Regional Water Services - McCarron's Plant Visitor Presentations: None Scheduled Board Presentations Staff Presentations: Community Design Review Board Representation for the June 9, 2003 City Council Meeting Adjourn II. III. IV. MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD 1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA CONFERENCE ROOM A TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2003 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Ledvina called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Matt Ledvina Craig Jorgenson Diana Longrie-Kline Linda Olson Ananth Shankar Present Absent Present Present Present Staff Present: Shann Finwall, Associate Planner Lisa Kroll, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Board member Longrie-Kline moved to approve the agenda. Board member Olson seconded. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the CDRB minutes for May 13, 2003. Board member Shankar moved approval of the minutes of May 13, 2003. Board member Olson seconded. Ayes-Ledvina, Longrie-Kline, Olson, Shankar The motion passed. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Ayes---Ledvina, Olson, Shankar Abstention - Longrie-Kline Ms. Finwall said Mr. Bruce Mogren is proposing to build a 20-unit town house development on the vacant city-owned property on the west side of Van Dyke Street, north of County Road B. This development, called Van Dyke Village, would be primarily for work force housing for Iow to moderate-income families. There would be on-site management to help monitor and run the property. Van Dyke Village Townhomes - West Side of Van Dyke Street, North of County Road B Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 Ms. Finwall said the proposal would have two, four-unit buildings, two, six-unit townhouse buildings and a 24-foot by 24-foot maintenance/caretaker building. Each town house would have an attached garage and a patio area. There also would be 30 open parking spaces. Ms. Finwall said the applicant is requesting that the community design review board approve the building, site and landscape plans. On April 28, 2003, the city council approved a CUP for a PUD for 20 town house units on this site. Chairperson Ledvina clarified that the caretaker building would not be for occupancy and that it was only a garage? Mr. Mogren said correct. Chairperson Ledvina asked staff if it was their understanding that the cedar fence was going to extend the entire length of the west side of the site? Ms. Finwall said yes, that was what she understands from the applicant's letter. Chairperson Ledvina asked what the rational was to require screening on the east side of the development by Van Dyke Street? Ms. Finwall said the intent would be to soften the view of the town houses from Van Dyke Street. She said maybe the correct word is to "enhance" the landscaping instead of "screening". Board member Shankar asked staff how the vehicles would tum around in the development? Ms. Finwall said the vehicle turn around would be done in the driveways or parking areas. Board member Olson asked staff if the Fire Marshal approved of that? Ms. Finwall said yes, the Fire Marshal approved this plan. Chairperson Ledvina asked staff if the original proposal was for 24 units? Ms. Finwall said the original proposal was for 24 units and it was approved by the city council for 20 units. Board member Shankar asked what the reason was for having six parking stalls so close to Van Dyke Street and the rest of the parking stalls on the west side? He asked if it was because some parking stalls are for visitors and some parking is for the residents? Ms. Finwall deferred that question to the applicant. Board member Shankar said he is concerned about the parking stall next to Van Dyke Street. He asked if there was concern expressed regarding the traffic there for the people driving into those parking stalls verses someone driving into the development from the street. Community Design Review Board 3 Minutes 5-27-2003 Ms. Finwall said that's a good observation. City code requires that there be a 15-foot setback from the right-of-way for this type of parking stall. It is clear that there would be more room available for parking on the west side of the proposal. Chairperson Ledvina asked staff if the city had required additional parking for this type of development? It seems there is an excessive amount of parking stalls 20 units. Ms. Finwall said the city ordinance states there shall be 2 parking stalls per unit. There is one parking stall inside the garage and one parking stall in front of the garage. So technically there would be no additional guest parking stalls required, however, it's always a good idea to include extra parking stalls for guests. Board member Olson said she recalls parking was an issue the last time the CDRB heard this proposal. She's pleased that this new proposal provides ample parking. She remembered the neighbors had requested no parking be allowed on Van Dyke Street. Chairperson Ledvina asked the applicant to address the board. Mr. Bruce Mogren, 1801 Gervais Avenue, Maplewood, Mogren Development Company, addressed the board. Mr. Mogren said they propose to use vinyl siding instead of steel siding. He said there will be a fair amount of children in this development and he felt that steel siding would dent easier than vinyl siding. He said vinyl siding is relatively easy to replace if a problem occurs with the siding. He proposes to attach the fence on the west side of the site to the currently existing fences behind Bleachers Bar and Doherty's Auto Body Shop. Mr. Mogren said he knows kids would gain access through that area if the fencing were left open. Chairperson Ledvina asked how staff felt about the fencing issue? Ms. Finwall said it would be important to screen the commercial buildings to the residential area in some manner, whether it's with a fence or with landscaping. Chairperson Ledvina had a question about the site plan. He asked Mr. Mogren if there had been discussion regarding moving the four unit and six unit buildings so they are facing each other? Mr. Mogren said the reason the buildings are laid out the way they are is because of the soil conditions on the property. Mr. Mogren said the costs for this project keep increasing and any changes that are made are costly. In fact, they may decide to eliminate putting the patios in that were originally proposed. Mr. Mogren said they will not be installing sliding patio doors off the back of the units instead they will install a single french door. Because there will be kids living in these units who will be going in and out often the doors get abused and having a single door will help from a maintenance standpoint. Board member Olson said she thinks it's a good idea to have a single door. It may be better for safety for the residents bordering up to Emma's Place. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 4 Mr. Mogren said he proposes to use the type of door that is half glass and half covered door. Regarding the lighting issue in the tot lot or not, the question is, are the children going to be playing outside in the tot lot after dark or is the idea for the children to play outside until dark and then go inside? His concern is if lighting is used-the tot lot may be a place for the teenagers to hang out. Board member Longrie-Kline said her experience with teenagers is they like to go places where it is dark so no one can see the trouble they are up to. Mr. Mogren said if the teenagers wanted someplace dark to hang out they could go another 50 feet into the woods. Board member Olson said just remember the tot lot is pretty close to the rear of Doherty's Auto Body Shop. Ms. Finwall said she doesn't have strong opinions either way regarding the lighting issue. However, it may be nice to have some Iow-lying patio lights in the tot lot. In her opinion not installing lighting could be an attractive nuisance as well. Mr. Mogren said he would be meeting with both Bruce Anderson and Johnny Johnson and they will come up with a lighting plan for the tot lot. Chairperson Ledvina said maybe the police department could shed insight iinto security issues they come in contact with and share them with staff regarding whether or not it is necessary for lighting to be installed at the tot lot or not. Board member Shankar asked if the cedar railing on the front porches would be painted white or remain natural? Mr. Mogren said he hadn't really thought about that. Board member Olson said the cedar will require maintenance if it is painted white. Cedar tends to look weathered and becomes a silvery-gray color if it remains natural. Board member Shankar said due to the weathering process when you stain cedar the wood turns several different colors. Mr. Mogren said that can be discussed, however, he would like to use a product that requires the least amount of maintenance. Board member Longrie-Kline said when they went on the tour to the Ryland townhomes in Apple Valley the builder used a maintenance free aluminum railing that was black. She thought that was a very nice product and maybe it would be a good alternative to cedar railings. Board member Shankar said he would still recommend that the applicant use the brick wainscoting on the front elevations. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 5 Chairperson Ledvina said he would agree with board member Shankar that the brick wainscoting would accentuate the architecture. Community design review board members discussed the brick wainscoting options and which elevations the wainscoting would best be placed. Board member Shankar moved to approve the project plans date-stamped May 13, 2003, for Van Dyke Village town houses on Van Dyke Street, north of County Road B. The city bases this approval on the findings required by the code. The developer or contractor shall do the following: (changes are underlined and deletions have been stricken through). Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issues a building permit for this project. 2. Complete the following before the city issues a building permit: Have the city engineer approve the final construction and engineering plans. These plans shall include grading, drainage, sidewalk, utility, driveway, parking lot and erosion control plans. These plans shall meet the following conditions: (1) The erosion control plan shall be consistent with the city code. (2) The grading plan shall: (a) Include building, floor elevation, water elevation and contour information. These shall include the normal water elevation and 100-year high water elevation. (b) Include contour information for the land that the construction will disturb. (c) Show sedimentation basins or ponds as required by the watershed board or by the city engineer. (d) Show all proposed slopes steeper than 3:1 on the proposed construction plans. The city engineer shall approve the plans, specifications and management practices for any slopes steeper than 3:1. This shall include covering these slopes with wood-fiber blankets and seeding them with a "no mow" vegetation rather than using sod or grass. (e) Show all retaining walls on the plans. Any retaining walls more than four feet tall require a building permit from the city. (0 Show as little disturbance and tree removal as possible on the north, west and south sides of the site (near the businesses and the daycare center). Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 (3) The tree plan shall: (a) Be approved by the city engineer before site grading or tree removal. (b) Show where the developer will remove, save or replace large trees. This plan shall include an inventory of all existing large trees on the site. In addition, this plan shall show the planting of at least 15 replacement trees on the site. (c) Show no tree removal beyond the approved grading and tree limits. (d) Be consistent with the approved grading and landscape plans. (4) The design of the rainwater gardens shall be subject to the approval of the city engineer. The developer shall be responsible for getting any needed off-site grading or drainage easements and for recording all necessary easements. (5) All the parking areas and driveways shall have continuous concrete curb and gutter. (6) The driveways shall meet the following standards: 24-foot width--no parking on either side and 28-foot width--parking on one side. The developer or contractor shall post the driveways with no parking signs to meet the above-listed standards. (7) The developer shall disturb as little as possible of the area along the north west and south property lines near the daycare center and businesses and the applicant shall change the grading plan for this part of the site as recommended by the city engineer. Submit an in-ground lawn-irrigation plan to staff showing the location of sprinkler heads. c. Submit a certificate of survey for all new construction. d. Submit a revised landscape plan for city approval showing: (1) As much of the existing vegetation (including the trees) remaining along the northern, westerly and southerly property lines as possible. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 (2) The manicured or mowed areas from the natural areas. This shall include planting (instead of sodding) the disturbed areas around the rainwater gardens with native grasses and native flowering plants. The native grasses and flowering plants shall be those needing little or no maintenance. This is to reduce maintenance costs and to reduce the temptation of mowers to encroach into the gardens. Specifically, the developer shall have the natural areas seeded with an upland mixture and lowland mixtures as appropriate. (3) Foundation plantings near and around the buildings and additional landscaping screening (with trees and other materials) between the proposed buildings and Van Dyke Street. (4) The in-ground lawn-irrigation system. e. Get the necessary approvals and permits from the watershed district. Submit a revised site lighting plan for city approval. This plan shall show how the lighting on the buildings would add to the site lighting, and the plan should have additional lighting near the tot lot and driveways, where they intersect the public street, so the driveways are adequately lit. This plan also shall show details about the proposed light fixtures to ensure they are a design that hides the bulb and lens from view to avoid nuisances. The light fixtures must have concealed lenses and bulbs to properly shield glare from the adjacent street right-of-ways and from adjacent residential properties. g. The developer shall record the following with Ramsey County: 10-foot-wide drainage and utility easements for the areas along the east and west propedy lines and five-foot-wide drainage and utility easements for the areas along the north and south property lines. (2) The documentation to combine the properties into one property for tax and identification purposes. Have the Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) approve the proposed utility plans. The fire chief shall approve the access to the back (north and south side) of the buildings for fireflghting needs. jo Submit plans for city staff approval for any outdoor trash or recycling containers and enclosures. If the developer wants to build such facilities, the enclosure shall have materials that are' compatible with the buildings, and they shall have gates that are 100 percent opaque. ko A letter of credit or cash escrow for all required exterior improvements. The amount shall be 150 percent of the cost of the work. Community Design Review Minutes 5-27-2003 I. Board Submit for city approval revised building plans and elevations that include brick wainscoting to be installed from the ground grade to the bottom of the windows on the following locations of all townhouse buildings: entire east elevations and in front of bedroom #2 in all unit-A style townhouses (end units) starting from the porch railings to the end of the building. In addition, the revised plans should show an alternate porch railing material than the proposed natural cedar (i.e., cedar painted white to match the window trim or white Submit for city staff approval building elevations and plans for the maintenance/caretaker building. This building shall have materials and colors consistent with the main buildings on the site. The developer shall close on the purchase of the property with the city before the city will issue a grading or a building permit for the project. 3. Complete the following before occupying the buildings: a. Replace property irons that are removed because of this construction. b. Restore and sod damaged boulevards. Install reflectorized stop signs at each exit, a handicap-parking sign for each handicap-parking space and an address on each building. In addition, the applicant shall install "no parking" signs within the site, as required by staff. Paint any rooftop mechanical equipment to match the uppermost part of the building. Screen all roof-mounted equipment visible from streets or adjacent property. (code requirement) Construct trash dumpster and recycling enclosures as city code requires for any dumpsters or storage containers that the owner or building manager would keep outside the building. Any such enclosures must match the materials and colors of the building. Install and taper the concrete sidewalk along Van Dyke Street to match the driveways. Install and maintain all required landscaping and an in-ground sprinkler system for all landscaped areas (code requirement). Install continuous concrete curb and gutter along all interior driveways and around all open parking stalls. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 Install on-site lighting for security and visibility that follows the approved site lighting plan. All exterior lighting shall follow the approved lighting plan that shows the light spread and fixture design. The light fixtures must have concealed lenses and bulbs to properly shield glare from the adjacent street right-of-ways and the nearby homes and residential properties. Install a six-foot-high solid screening fence "- "~;*:"""' '""'~ .... """ ..................... ~,,, ,u along the entire south property line and on a portion of the west ~nd north property line starting fi'om the tree line (i.e., preserved trees} to the north property line. Install additional landscaping along the north property line ..~ ,k......, .... k..... +k ...... ,..,...... ,,....,.. ,..., ..,, ..... +..,,, ...... ,k.., ..... k ...... ~.,.... ,~.,. k,..; ...... These additional materials are to ensure there is at least a six-foot-tall, 80 percent opaque screen on these sides of the site. The location, design and materials of the fence or the additional landscaping shall be subject to city staff approval. k. The developer or contractor shall: (1) Complete all grading for the site drainage, complete all public improvements and meet all city requirements. (2) Place temporary orange safety fencing and signs at the grading limits. (3) Remove any debris or junk from the site. 4. If any required work is not done, the city may allow temporary occupancy if: The city determines that the work is not essential to the public health, safety or welfare. The above-required letter of credit or cash escrow is held by the city for all required exterior improvements. The owner or contractor shall complete any unfinished landscaping by June 1 if the building is occupied in the fall or winter, or within six weeks of occupancy if the building is occupied in the spring or summer. The city receives an agreement that will allow the city to complete any unfinished work. 5. This approval does not include the signs. All work shall follow the approved plans. The director of community development may approve minor changes. Board member Olson seconded. Ayes - Ledvina, Longrie-Kline, Olson, Shankar The motion passed. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 ]0 VI. DESIGN REVIEW a. St. Paul Regional Water Services - McCarrons Plant Ms. Finwall said the (SPRWS) Saint Paul Regional Water Services is proposing to make changes and additions (listed in the staff report) to their facilities at the McCarrons Water Treatment Plant at 1900 Rice Street. They include a new two-story, 36,000-square-foot office building, a one-story, 11,230-square-foot warehouse/meter shop, and a one-story, 17,350- square-foot vehicle storage and maintenance building. Chairperson Ledvina said there seems to be a lot of parking associated with this proposal. He asked if a review of the structures verses the parking required was done? Ms. Finwall said she didn't write this staff report, but she could do a calculation of the necessary parking spaces. The city code states there shall be one parking space per 200- square feet and this is a 36,000-square-foot office building. Chairperson Ledvina said that equals 180 parking spaces and staff has indicated 240 parking spaces in the staff report which is in excess of 60 parking spaces, maybe that can be addressed with the applicant. Chairperson Ledvina asked the applicants to address the board. Mr. David Wagner, Project Manager, (SPRWS) St. Paul Regional Water Services, 400 Commerce Building, Eight - 4th Street East, St. Paul, addressed the board. This project is intended to bring all the facilities together in one location. Their goal was to try to locate buildings so everyone can work together in one location. The other goal was to build the buildings as cost effectively as possible because of budget constraints. The other issue is that security is a huge concern. Regarding the parking issue that chairperson Ledvina brought up, because of budget constraints they are watching costs carefully. They would like to be able to pave certain areas but currently there is no money. With security being a big issue, the parking spaces that are currently available will be eliminated and with the new buildings the large area will be for employee parking. Board member Olson asked if SPRWS planned to reopen the connection to Rice Street or will it remain blocked off? Mr. Wagner said they would like to reopen the connection with Rice Street but that depends on the budget. The small bridge on the spur line track is not wide enough for two-way traffic. When the bridge gets rebuilt there will be two-way traffic and a new entrance, right now going into the facility it will be a one-way street. Mr. Jim Butler, Associate Vice President, (HGA) Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc., 701 Washington Avenue North, Minneapolis, addressed the board. Mr. Butler showed the board some picture boards of the project and pointed to the additions and changes. He said this site is a real challenge because it slopes 30 feet in certain areas. Therefore, they have terraced the project to a lower and upper yard. He showed the traffic flow in and out of the facility and said that most of the traffic would be coming off of Roselawn Avenue as it does currently. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 ]! Mr. Butler said the existing structures are white stucco and were built in the 1920's. The projects will continue to be white stucco and will have dark blue metal panels. The dark blue metal panels represent the entra-nces to the buildings and the color blue represents water. The window mullions and rooftop screen are clear anodized aluminum. Chairperson Ledvina asked if the windows are tinted? Mr. Butler said no, the windows are clear which tends to give a blue cast. Board member Olson asked if the graphic elements on the dark blue metal panels of the' building signify the function of the building? Mr. Butler said yes the graphic elements are letters such as the "G" on the building stands for garage, the "E" on the building stands for employees, and the "W" on the building stands for warehouse etc. Chairperson Ledvina asked Mr. Butler what the height of the garage and maintenance building would be? Mr. Butler said the height of the maintenance and garage building would be 24 feet at the highest portion. Board member Olson moved to approve the plans (date-stamped April 24, 2003), for the proposed office building, meter shop and vehicle maintenance buildings (with the associated parking and landscaping) at the St. Paul Regional Water Services McCarrons Water Treatment Plan at 1900 Rice Street North. This approval does not include the future cold vehicle storage building shown on the plans along the west side of the site. The city bases this approval on findings required by the code. The property owner or contractor shall do the following: 1. Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issued a permit for this project. Provide the following for city staff approval before the city issues a grading or building permit: ao Building material and color samples of the plaster, metal panels, roofs, tdm, and garage doors. b. A revised landscape/screening plan that shows the following: The spruce trees proposed for the south and east sides of the parking lot and the property revised from 6 feet in height to 8 feet in height. (2) The planting of more coniferous trees along the south and east sides of the proposed parking lot to help screen the parking lot from the houses to the south and east. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 (3) Landscaping details for the stream buffer area and for the proposed rainwater gardens. If the basin area will only be seeded, the area must be vegetated with native grasses and forbes. The mix design must be approved by the city before the contractor does the seeding. (4) An in-ground irrigation system (including sprinkler heads) for the areas that would have sod. The city does not require irrigation for areas with native grasses or for the rainwater gardens. Detailed grading, drainage, paving, utility and erosion control plan for approval by the Assistant City Engineer. These plans shall meet all the requirements of the Assistant City Engineer. A detailed photometric plan for all proposed outdoor lighting showing the location, style, height and design of the proposed light fixtures. All freestanding lights shall not be taller than 25 feet, and the illumination from any outdoor light must not exceed 0.4-foot candles at all property lines. Plans for any trash-dumpster enclosures. The gates for such enclosures shall be 100 percent opaque, and the materials and colors of the enclosure shall be compatible with those of the new buildings. These plans shall be subject to staff approval. Proof of recording of a 40-foot-wide stream protection buffer easement along the west property line. This easement shall be prepared by a land surveyor, shall describe the boundary of the buffer and shall prohibit any building, mowing, cutting, filling or dumping within the buffer. The applicant shall record this easement before the city issues a building permit. A letter of credit or cash escrow for all required extedor improvements. The amount shall be 150 percent of the cost of the work. 3. Complete and install all required exterior improvements, including the approved landscaping and any dumpster enclosures before occupying the buildings. 4. If any required work is not done, the city may allow temporary occupancy if: The city determines that the work is not essential to the public health, safety or welfare. 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. All work shall follow the approved plans. The director of community development may approve minor changes. Community Design Review Board Minutes 5-27-2003 VII. VIII. IX. ]3 Board member Longrie-Kline seconded. Ayes - Ledvina, Longrie-Kline, Olson, Shankar The motion passed. This item goes to the planning commission on June 2, 2003, and to the city council on June 23, 2003. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS No visitors present. BOARD PRESENTATIONS None. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Ms. Finwall stated the following: a. No CDRB representation is needed for the June 9, 2003, city council meeting. b. The city council will be holding a workshop on June 23, 2003, to discuss the Maxfield Market Study for the Hillcrest and Gladstone neighborhood. Either a notice or a packet of information will be sent out. c. Ms. Finwall reminded the board that the annual tour will be held on June 30, 2003, with more information to follow. d. Board member Craig Jorgenson has resigned from the board and he will be sending a letter of his official resignation this week to staff. After his letter is received staff will be advertising for an opening to the CDRB. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjoumed at 7:30 p.m.