HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/29/2004AGENDA
MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD
Tuosday, March ;~,~, 2004
6:00 P.M. ~
Council Chambers - Maplewood City Hall
1830 County Road B East
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Call to Order
Roll Call
Approval of Agenda
Approval of the January 27, 2004, Minutes
Design Review: Venberg Tire - North of 2999 Maplewood Drive
Visitor Presentations: None Scheduled
Board Presentations
Staff Presentations:
a. Hillcrest Neighborhood/Mixed-Use Zoning Update
b. Gladstone Neighborhood Update
c. Community Design Review Board Vacancy Update
d. Community Design Review Board Representation at the April 12, 2004,
City Council Meeting
Adjourn
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MINUTES OF THE MAPLEWOOD COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD
1830 COUNTY ROAD B EAST, MAPLEWOOD, MINNESOTA
MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2004 (rescheduled from 3-23-04)
CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Ledvina called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Chairperson Diana Longrie-Kline
Vice-Chairperson Ledvina
Board member Linda Olson
Board member Ananth Shankar
Staff Present:
Absent
Present
Present
Present
Tom Ekstrand, Senior Planner
Chris Cavett, Assistant City Engineer
Lisa Krol!, Recording Secretary
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Board member Olson moved to approve the agenda.
Board member Shankar seconded.
The motion passed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Approval of the CDRB minutes for January 27, 2004.
Ayes - Ledvina, Olson, Shankar
Chairperson Ledvina had a point of clarification on page 3, 9th paragraph, 2nd sentence.
Changing the word contain to generate.
Board member Olson moved approval of the minutes of January 27, 2004, as amended.
Board member Shankar seconded. Ayes ---Ledvina, Olson, Shankar
The motion passed.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
DESIGN REVIEW
a. Venburg Tire - North of 2999 Maplewood Drive
Mr. Ekstrand said Carol and Pat McFarlane, the owners of Venburg Tire, are proposing to
relocate their tire business across Highway 61 to the north side of Gulden's Roadhouse.
Community Design Review Board
Minutes 3-29-2004
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Mr. Ekstrand said Venburg Tire is moving their business because County Road D is being
realigned to run through the current Venburg Tire site.
Mr. Ekstrand said because the applicants' construction proposal would take away existing
parking spaces from Gulden's, they are proposing to relocate much of Gulden's front parking
lot to a new parking lot behind the restaurant. The owners of Gulden's, Brenda and Mike
Gingler, would install their own screening for the proposed parking lot. Mr. Ekstrand said the
applicant has provided building material samples for the board to review. Mr. Ekstrand handed
out a revised landscaping plan to board members.
Board member Shankar asked if the board was approving the entire site plan including the part
for Gulden's Roadhouse restaurant?
Mr. Ekstrand said yes. Staff is considering the plan conceptual at this point because staff
would like to see revised site plans showing the adjustments to the orientation of the parking
lot with the back lot line and the landscaping.
Chairperson Ledvina asked if Gulden's anticipated any improvements to their building?
Mr. Ekstrand said yes. They have mentioned they would like to make some exterior
enhancements to their building in the future; however, they do not have any plans at this time
to present to the board.
Chairperson Ledvina asked staff if Gulden's planned on building a new building in that location
or just revitalize their existing building?
Mr. Ekstrand said they would only be making exterior improvements to the building.
Chairperson Ledvina asked how the elevation change is measured?
Mr. Ekstrand said this is a difficult site because of the drop in the grade. In this case the
applicant's landscaper has been trying to consider the grade and plant things for proper
screening while taking into account the drop in grade.
Board member Shankar asked what the elevation difference was from County Road D to this
site?
Mr. Ekstrand said the architect knows the answer to that question and he can address that
when he has the opportunity to speak to the board.
Chairperson Ledvina asked the applicant to address the board.
Mr. Pat McFarlane, owner of Venburg Tire, 2990 Highway 61, Maplewood, addressed the
board. He said this project has been going on between the Ginglers, the owners of Gulden's
Roadhouse restaurant and Venburg Tire for over 2 years now.
Mr. McFarlane said this is an extremely difficult project because of the number of people that
are involved. He said they wanted to have a building somewhat similar to the other buildings
on the block.
Community Design Review Board
Minutes 3-29-2004
Mr. McFarlane said they drove around and looked at different building exteriors and found two
that they liked. One building was Comfort Bus on Rice Street in Maplewood and the other was
Specialty Engineering on Cope Avenue. Mr. McFarlane said because the customers at
Gulden's will walk out of the building and see the expanse of the south wall on the Venburg
Tire building they are concerned with how to treat the south wall with landscaping so it is
visually pleasing. They also need to ensure that what ever they plant there is salt resistant and
can be watered by a drip system. They have been working with the Gingler's and the
customers at Gulden's, customers at Venburg Tire and others to get their input regarding the
building exterior treatment and color scheme to make sure it is visually pleasing and to ensure
the building exterior will have longevity.
Board member Olson asked if Venburg Tire planned on having another color such as an
accent color on the building other than gray and white color on the exterior?
Mr. McFarlane said there would be a red accent stripe on the building exterior and they will
have red in their sign.
Board member Shankar asked why the spacing of the trees on the landscaping plan was
changed?
Mr. McFarlane said they spoke to customers who have asked Venburg Tire not to plant the
same kind of tree one after the other in a row. They recommended clumping trees together so
the trees don't appear so uniform one after another. He said they are still working on the
landscaping plan to be approved by the staff.
Chairperson Ledvina asked the applicant if they had considered using raised planters on the
south wall to give more height to the landscaping on the expansive wall?
Mr. McFarlane said no they had not but they have not ruled that idea out either.
Board member Shankar said the wall is 18 feet high and if a series of stepped planters are
used then that would reduce the expansiveness of the south wall.
Board member Olson asked if Gulden's overflow parking would go into Venburg Tire's parking
lot?
Mr. McFarlane said yes. He assumes that when Gulden's has banquets or receptions they will
have a need for overflow parking especially when they have additional employees working.
Chairperson Ledvina asked the architect to address the board.
Mr. Bob Burow, Architect with RB Architects, 750 South Plaza Drive, Mendota Heights,
addressed the board. While Mr. Burow stepped away from the microphone he discussed the
building exterior samples that were provided for the board to review.
Board member Shankar asked if the metal panel would be flat?
Mr. Burow said it would be a flat metal panel with a shadow effect above the windows.
Community Design Review Board
Minutes 3-29-2004
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Chairperson Ledvina said the city has seen rooftop mechanical units that detract from the
appearance of the building. He said the single-family homes on Duluth Street would see the
top of the Venburg Tire building as they look out and he asked how many stacks and units
would be seen on their roof?
Mr. Burow said there would be some small stacks, two rooftop units and some bathroom
exhaust venting.
Board member Shankar asked if there would be any wall pack lighting on the building?
Mr. Burow said there are some wall pack lights on the west, north and east elevations. They
are the cutoff design and should comply with the ordinances.
Chairperson Ledvina asked what material would be used on the garage doors?
Mr. Burow said the garage doors are going to be made of aluminum and will be a white pre-
finished-anodized.
Chairperson Ledvina asked what color the bollards would be?
Mr. Burow said that has not been determined yet but the bollards will probably be painted
either gray or black.
Chairperson Ledvina asked if they considered using a pitched roof on the design of this
building such as over the customer service/retail area?
Mr. Burow said at one time they had a plan with a pitched roof but because of cost the plan
was changed.
Chairperson Ledvina asked if a representative of Gulden's restaurant would like to address the
board?
Mr. Mike Gingler, owner of Gulden's Roadhouse restaurant, 2999 Highway 61, Maplewood,
addressed the board. Mr. Gingler said he and his wife Brenda have been the owners of
Gulden's Roadhouse restaurant for almost 14 years now and have upgraded the building
immensely.
Mr. Gingler said they are excited to get some capital in their building from the sale of the
property to Venburg Tire. He said they plan on building a canopy to the entrance of the
building, a canopy over the windows and a canopy over a walk way from the back of the
building. So the majority of the money made off the sale of the property is going towards
updating the parking lot and building. They would like the building to blend in with the other
buildings in the area so the whole area looks nicer. He thinks it's exciting to see two small
privately owned companies such as Gulden's and Venburg Tire stick it out and survive this
challenge.
Board member OIson asked staff if the site to the south in between LaMettry's and Gulden's
would stay open space?
Community Design Review Board
Minutes 3-29-2004
Mr. Ekstrand said yes for the most part it would. The land is within the shoreland boundary
area of Kohlman Lake. There is a conceptual plan for a townhome development to the west
and to the north of Gulden's and the new Venburg Tire property.
Board member Olson asked Mr. Cavett if he was concerned about the drainage from this site
and into the shoreland boundary area of Kohlman Lake?
Mr. Cavett said no, the city has been working with the applicant and our consulting engineer.
The consulting engineer is working with the County Road D realignment and the frontage road.
They have been working with the drainage design and this is part of a regional pond that has
been developed. These sites are going to have some localized treatment; otherwise it's going
to be managed into the city's system.
There was miscellaneous discussion between the board and the architect regarding how to
best handle the expanse of the south wall and the landscaping possibilities.
Chairperson Ledvina said in his opinion this building design could be improved. His overall
concern is the customer service area is not emphasized enough and could be enhanced by
having a pitched roof. This part of the building should also have brick all the way to the top of
the wall. The customer service portion of the building has a lower roof elevation than the rest
of the building and is de-emphasized. This area should have a higher roof elevation in
comparison to the rest of the building and this area should be the design focal point of the site.
Overall the building is visually not what he expected. The city has high expectations of how
this area is developed with the County Road D realignment and the future townhomes that will
be built and the design isn't as visually pleasing and deserves more attention to detail. He said
with all the building that will be happening in the Legacy Village area this building design
should standout more.
Board member Olson said she understands where the other board members are coming from.
She said when you look at this building it appears to be nothing more than a large rectangle.
However, she thinks the applicant did a good job with the selection of building materials.
Board member Shankar said to emphasize the customer service area that area of the building
either needs to project out two feet or setback two feet to show the separation.
Board member Olson and Chairperson Ledvina said they wouldn't like to see the customer
service area setback two feet because that would de-emphasize the area even more.
Board member Olson said she is concerned about the additional cost to the applicant if the
board asked him to expand the customer service area by two feet.
Mr. Burow said expanding the building two feet would add at least $20,000 to the cost of the
already $1.8 million dollar building.
Mr. McFarlane said the cost of this building is going up weekly. The cost of steel has gone up
50%. $20,000 is a lot to add to the budget for this building. He said if he would have been
able to afford to add two feet to the building design to begin with he would have done that
already, but he can't.
Community Design Review Board
Minutes 3-29-2004
He believes this building proposal is a nice looking building and is a much nicer building than
the Discount Tire building on White Bear Avenue, which has no character and isn't a very nice
looking building. His customers have told him he needs to build this building for the future.
Board member Shankar asked what the total square footage of the proposed building would
be?
Mr. Burow said the proposed building is 9,855 square feet.
Board member Shankar moved to approve the site plan date-stamped February 3, 2004, the
civil drawings date-stamped March 1,2004, the photometric plan date-stamped March 1,2004,
and the revised elevations date-stamped March 9, 2004, for Venburg Tire. Approval is subject
to the applicants complying with the following conditions: (Deleted conditions are stricken
and changes in the original conditions are in bold.)
Repeat this review in two years if the city has not issued a building permit for this
project.
Before getting a building permit, the applicants must comply with all the requirements of
the assistant city engineer's memo dated March 8, 2004.
Before getting a building permit, the applicants must submit a revised landscaping plan
addressing the following:
A planted screen on the west side of the site to provide screening that is at least
six feet tall and 80 percent opaque upon planting according to code.
There are no plantings on the highway side of the proposed parking lot. Staff
recommends some landscaping in this area to enhance the site, as is the typical
requirement.
The applicant shall submit a revised site plan for the south side of the
building for review by the city staff.
Increasing the number of trees on the south side of County Road D to
accomplish a spacing of 30 feet on center.
The applicants propose to irrigate the site to the base of the westerly slope. Staff
feels that this is acceptable as long as the applicants agree to water the seeded
slope by hoses and sprinklers.
· All sodded areas must have an in-ground lawn irrigation system.
Before getting a building permit, the applicants shall provide revised plans with the
following changes:
Community Design Review Board
Minutes 3-29-2004
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The addition of a sidewalk to connect the proposed sidewalk on the south side of
County Road D to the Venburg Tire parking lot.
Elimination of the open used-tire storage. There shall not be any open exterior
storage on the site.
Wall-pack lighting details to verify that the fixture type will not cause excessive
glare to the westerly neighbor.
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The applicant shall submit revised bu#ding elevations showing a different
banding scheme on the south side of the building showing the customer
service portion of the building projecting out a minimum of two feet to the
north and east side.
Revised building elevations that provide for the screening of rooftop mechanical
equipment as required by code.
Record the deeds with Ramsey County for the creation of this site. This recording also
includes the dedication of right-of-way to the city, the dedication of excess property to
the neighboring property owner west of the private roadway and the combination of the
remnant property with the Venburg Tire site in the northwest corner of the property.
o
Apply for all required permits from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the
Ramsey/Washington Metro Watershed District.
7. Comply with all requirements of the Maplewood Building Official and Fire Marshal.
8. 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 of
welfare.
The applicants submit an irrevocable letter of credit or cash escrow to cover the
cost of any unfinished required exterior improvements. The applicants 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.
All work shall follow the approved plans and these conditions.
community development may approve minor changes.
The director of
Chairperson Ledvina seconded.
Ayes - Shankar
Nay- Ledvina, Olson
The motion failed.
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Minutes 3-29-2004
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Board member Olson said she couldn't justify asking the applicant to add two feet to his
building to enhance the customer service area spending an additional $20,000 on his building.
Board member Shankar said he understands what Board member Olson is saying. He thinks
it is easier and less expensive to add the two feet now rather than possibly wanting to expand
the building down the road.
Board member Olson moved to approve the same motions that Board member Shankar made
eliminating the two-foot expansion request as shown below.
The applicant shah submit revised building elevations showing a different banding
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scheme on the south side of the bu .
Board member Shankar seconded.
Ayes - Olson, Shankar
Nay- Ledvina
Chairperson Ledvina said he understands the applicant has worked very hard to get to this
point with this building, however, he expected the customer service area to be more of a focal
point and believes more work could be done on the design of the building.
The motion passed.
Board member Olson moved to adopt the resolution on page 24 of the staff report approving a
sign setback variance for the proposed Venburg Tire freestanding sign on the excess right-of-
way. Approval is based on the following reasons:
The proposed sign placement would meet the spirit and intent of the code since
the sign would comply with the required 10-foot minimum setback from the actual
right-of-way.
Compliance with code would cause the applicants undue hardship since the 30
feet of excess right-of-way would require the applicants to place their sign further
back than would otherwise be allowed.
Board member Olson moved to approve the proposed conceptual changes to the Gulden's
Roadhouse site for a new rear parking lot, site lighting and landscaping. This approval also
includes a parking waiver to have 11 fewer parking spaces than code requires since Venburg
Tire will provide use of their parking lot for overflow parking. Approval of the conceptual
changes is subject to the owners of Gulden's doing the following before the city will issue a
grading and paving permit for the new parking lot:
Submit a revised landscape plan for staff approval providing for screening on the
west side of the proposed parking lot. This screening shall comply with city code
that requires a visual screen that is at least six feet tall and 80 percent opaque
upon installation. This landscape plan shall also include a turf establishment
plan for this area.
Community Design Review Board
Minutes 3-29-2004
VII.
VIII.
IX,
Board member Shankar seconded.
The motion passed.
Submit a detailed grading and drainage plan.
Submit a revised site plan showing compliance with the required 20-foot
minimum parking lot setback from the west lot line. The proposed parking lot
shall have continuous concrete curb and gutter.
Seal the well on the proposed Venburg Tire site according to State of Minnesota
Department of Health well-abandonment requirements.
Provide the city with documentation that Venburg Tire has approved a shared-
parking agreement to allow Gulden's use of their parking lot.
Ayes - Ledvina, Olson, Shankar
This item goes to the city council on April 12, 2004.
VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
No visitors present.
BOARD PRESENTATIONS
Chairperson Ledvina gave a brief description of the last city council meeting he attended.
Items discussed included Ohlson Landscaping, which was approved and the 2003 CDRB
Annual Report, which was approved.
STAFF PRESENTATIONS
a. Hillcrest Neighborhood/Mixed-Use Zoning Update
Mr. Ekstrand said the Mixed-Use Zoning Update for the Hillcrest neighborhood had
been approved by the city council on February 23, 2004.
b. Gladstone Neighborhood Update
Mr. Ekstrand gave a brief update on the Gladstone neighborhood meetings.
c. Community Design Review Board Vacancy Update
Mr. Ekstrand said currently there are four applicants for the opening on the CDRB and
the interviews will likely be held during the April 26, 2004, city council meeting.
d. Board member Olson will be the CDRB representative at the April 12, 2004, city
council meeting.
Community Design Review Board
Minutes 3-29-2004
x, ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
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