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01-24-00 PC Agenda AGENDA GOLDEN VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION Regular Meeting Golden Valley City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road Council Chambers Monday, January 24,2000 7:00 P.M. I. Approval of Minutes - January 10, 2000 II. Informal Public Hearing - Conditional Use Permit (No. 80-01) Applicant: General Mills Address: 1 General Mills Boulevard, Golden Valley, Minnesota Purpose: To allow the operation of a day care facility in the Industrial zoning district by Conditional Use. -- Short Recess -- III. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings IV. Other Business A. Discussion of 1-394 Corridor Study B. Discussion of the Olympic Printing Property V. Adjournment .. .. . e e Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 The regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Chamber, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota on January 10, 2000. The meeting was called to order by Chair Pentel at 7:00pm. Those present were Chair Pentel, Commissioners Groger, Hoffinan, McAleese, Shaffer, and Rasmussen; absent was Eck. Also present were Director of Planning and Development Mark Grimes and Recording Secretary, Heidi Reinke. (Note: Commissioner Eck attended the LaurellWinnetka Avenue Advisory Committee meeting and arrived prior to the discussion of attendance to the AP A Conference in New York.) I. Approval of Minutes - December 13, 1999 and December 27,1999 MOVED by Hoffman, seconded by McAleese and motion carried unanimously to approve the December 13, 1999 minutes as submitted. Commissioner Pentel indicated that there was an error on page 3 of the December 27th minutes. She did not second the motion to rezonethe property. Pentel stated that Shaffer seconded the motion. On page 10, the second sentence requires some rewording to make it more understandable. MOVED by McAleese, seconded by Shaffer and motion carried unanimously to approve the December 27, 1999 minutes with the above revisions. II. Informal Public Hearing - Amendment to the Comprehensive Plan's General Land Use Plan Map - Office to Schools and Religious Facilities Applicant: City of Golden Valley (Request made by Breck School) Address: Portion of Property located at 123 Ottawa Avenue North Golden Valley, MN Purpose: Amend the General Land Use Plan Map from "Office" to "Schools and Religious Facilities". Property is owned by Breck School and will continue to be used as soccer fields. Director of Planning and Development, Mark Gtimes, explained the .amendment to the City's General Land Use Plan.Map regarding Breck School's intentions for improvement to its site. He reviewed the City's amended General Land Use Plan Map. The map indicates that the proposed property has a designation of "Office". To the immediate southeast of the subject property is.the American Legion Chester Bird Post No. 523 that is also designated as "Office". The American Legion would retain its designation of "Office". Grimes continued to discuss the history of the site,. as noted in Planning Assistant Dold's memo of January 5, 2000. He said staffis recommending an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan from "Office" to "Schools and Religious Facilities" because the property is used by Breck School as soccer fields, and as part of the PUD, Breck would be platting the subject property as part of the main campus. .. ., Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 Page 2 Pentel asked how often the General Land Use Plan Map is updated and changed. Grimes answered that the map is updated at regular intervals. e III. Informal Public Hearing - Rezoning - Business and Professional Office to 1-1 Institutional (Churches and Schools) Applicant: Breck School Address: Portion of Property located at 123 Ottawa Avenue North, Golden Valley, MN Purpose: Rezone a portion of property from "Business and Professional Office" to "1-1 Institutional". Property is owned by Breck School and will continue to be used as soccer fields. Director of Planning and Development, Mark Grimes, next addressed the rezoning of the same property addressed above. He reviewed a portion of the zoning map that was colored in by staff. He said that Breck is requesting a rezoning of this portion of property from Business alld Professional Office to I-I Institutional (Churches and Schools). Grimes continued his review by stating the history of the property from Planning Assistant Dold's memo. The proposed portion of property to be rezoned from Business and Professional Office to 1-1 Institutional is approximately 7.11 acres in size. The entire Breck site is approximately 52 acres in size. The proposed property in 1971 had a zoning of "Open Development" as was the American Legion's to the southeast of the proposed property. In April of 1971, the Village Council rezoned the subject property to Business and Professional Office and at the same meeting rezoned the American _ Legion property to 1-3 Institutional. Deitrich. Company was the applicant for the rezoning of the . subject property, and the intention was to construct an office building on this site. Breck school representatives had no additional comments. Chair Pentel opened the informal public hearing; seeing and hearing no one, Chair Pentel closed the informal public hearing for both the amendment to the GeneralLand Use Plan Map and Rezoning. Groger stated that he was in favor of the rezoning, as the subject property is a good site for the school, and not for an office building. MOVED by Groger, seconded by McAleese and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council to amend the Comprehensive Plan's General Land Use Plan Map, from Office to Schools and Religious Facilities. MOVED by Groger, seconded by Hoffman and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council to approve the rezoning from Business and Professional Offic.e to 1-1 Institutional. IV. Informal Public Hearing - Preliminary Design Plan Review for the Breck Addition, Planned Unit Development (p.U.D.) No. 88 Applicant: Breck School Address: 123 Ottawa Avenue North, Golden Valley, MN e " Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 Page 3 e Purpose: Review of the Preliminary Design Plan - The applicant is proposing to construct an. attached field house onto the east side of the existing school, construct a small concession building adjacent to a revamped track.and field stadium, add new bleachers and additional parking to the site. Director Grimes began with reviewing the site plan for the P.D.D. He said Breck School, located at 123 Ottawa Avenue North, has applied for a Planned Dnit Development (P.D.D.) in order to expand and remodel its school. Breck School is a private school for grades K-12. There are 1160 students and about 215 faculty and staff. They have been in Golden Valley since 1980 when they purchased the former Golden Valley High School property from the Hopkins School District. Since that time, several improvements and additions have been made to the building and site. Grimes stated that the school is located east of Highway 100, west of Natchez Avenue North, south of the Soo Line tracks and north of Glenwood Ave. The main access to the site is from Ottawa Avenue North. There are secondary access points from the American Legion parking lot and from Natchez Avenue at the northeast comer of the site. The school encourages students, parents, faculty and staff to use Ottawa Avenue as the main access point. Grimes said Breck currently has about 225,000 square feet of building area on the site. This includes classrooms, gyms, dining facilities, offices, performing arts theater, and chapel. They also have a bus garage on the site where buses are stored andrepaired. This includes gas pumps to fuel the buses. e Grimes indicated that the site is approximately 52 acres in size. This acreage is located on several unplatted lots. In addition to the buildings, the site includes about 450 parking spaces, tennis courts, athletic fields, and other typical school facilities. Much of the site is below the 100-year flood elevation that makes any additions to the site difficult. As noted in the memo from the City Engineer Jeff Oliver, dated January 5, 2000, the City and Breck are now going through a process that would revise the flood plain elevation. This revision would increase the flood plain elevation and, therefore, allow for the field house expansion and the new football/soccer stadium. Grimes added that in late 1999, Breck began construction on an addition to the performing arts center at the southwest end of the building. There is also some minor building expansions being done along the north side of the building in conjunction with the arts center expansion. These building expansions did not require a change in the flood plain elevation. These improvements will add about 23,000 square feet to the overall building size. Grimes stated that in order for the additional development to occur on the Breck campus, the staff is recommending that a P.D.D. permit be issued. The size and complexity of the Breck campus make it a unique use in the City. Staff has determined that it does in fact support several different uses and buildings. Designation as a P.D.D. would bring greater certainty to the long-term land use expectations of the school, neighborhood, and City as well as protecting the neighborhood and City against future land owners who may not be as cooperative and conscientious as Breck. The P.D.D. process also makes sense in this case because of the need for a subdivision of the property (to consolidate the property into one lot) and the need for a comprehensive plan map and zoning map amendments that permit the entire site to be used for a school. e Grimes reviewed the changes to the site which includes revamping the track and football/soccer stadium at the south end of the site, a new track would be built along with new stands, a new concession building, a new field irrigation system, and new lighting. Breck willalso be moving its bus operation (garage, storage and fueling point) to another off-site location. . ~ Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 Page 4 Grimes addressed the issue of improved traffic circulation for both the school buses and parents picking up and dropping off children. This new pattern has been proposed du.e to the congestion that now occurs in front of the school (south side) with bus pick up and drop off and parent pick up and drop off. The plan is to take the buses around the north side of the building for pick up and drop off. One more loading and unloading point for the buses would be established on the north side. Buses enter and leave the site only from Ottawa Avenue. e Grimes said that the traffic circulation has been a concern for neighbors. Breck hires off-duty Golden Valley Police Officers to help control traffic in the morning and afternoon. The two officers help direct traffic and control access to Glenwood A venue at Ottawa. There have been some complaints about traffic on Natchez; however, these complaints have become fewer from those received at the beginning oftheschool year. Grimes indicated that a preservation plan and revised landscape plan would be required and reviewed by the Building Board of Review. Asindicated in the Oliver memo, there are two significant stands of trees on the site. The one stand, that is east of the water quality pond, provides screening of the campus from the east. Care will have to be taken to maintain this stand, especially during construction. The tree preservation plan will outline steps needed to preserve these trees. Grimes addressed the issue of parking. He said that the proposed site plan indicates that there would be 452 parking spaces. This does not include the 56 spaces that Breck leases from the Legion for student parking at the west end of the site. The newplan indicates the same amount of parking even with the new ponds and buildings. The same amount of parking is maintained because of the elimination of the bus operation along the north side of the building and more efficient design of parking. e Grimes indicated the code requirement for parking is one space for each three units of seating capacity for a school. In this case, the seating capacity of the school is considered the same as the enrollment. The enrollment for Breck (K-12) is 1160. Based on the enrollment, the parking requirement is 386. In my discussions with Breck, they believe that the 452 are more than adequate to handle the parking demand generated by staff, students and visitors. Only on rare occasion (such as graduation weekend) has there been inadequate parking. Grimes stated that the Board of Zoning Appeals has granted variances for the construction of buildings and driveway areas in the required 50 foot side yard setback area. These variances were granted along the north property line adjacent to the railroad tracks. There is a fence and tree and landscape cover along this property line. To the north of the fence is either single family housing or offices. In this case the Board of Zoning Appeals felt that the variances were justified and approved the request to allow construction on the north side of the school. Grimes added that City Engineer Jeff Oliver has written a memo discussing issues related to flood plains, wetlands, preliminary plat, easements, utilities, grading, drainage and erosion control, tree preservation, and landscaping. The recommendations in the memo will become a condition of approval for the Preliminary Design Plan. Grimes would like the following items to be considered part of the proposal: 1. Preliminary PUD Submittal dated December 20, 1999, including: site plan, utility plan, tree inventory, preliminary plat, topographic survey, floor plans, and building elevations. 2. Memo from Jeff Oliver dated January 5, 2000 3. Memo from Deputy Fire Marshall Ed Anderson dated January 5, 2000 e . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 Page 5 e 4. Breck continues to hire off-duty Golden Valley Police Officers to control traffic in the peak morning and afternoon periods 5. Breck School continues to closely monitor the use ofthe Natchez access to the campus. 6. A Landscape Plan and a Tree Preservation Plan will have to be submitted. 7. After June 2000, buses will no longer be stored on campus. The fuel tank will be removed by June 2000. Rasmussen inquired if the flood plain will have to be filled. Grimes responded that a change to the elevation would be made and would be impossible to fill. Bassett Creek will make changes and improvem.ents to the watershed. It would lower the flood plain elevation and allow more land to be used. Grimes said Breck School is working with the City and the necessary agencies regarding this issue. He added that building permits cannot be issued until the existing flood plain elevation has been amended. Dawn Wyzoreck, architect with the Cunningham Group, is the representative for Breck School. She stated that a neighborhood meeting was held last Monday evening and only nine people came to look at the project. She said overall, there was positive feedback from the meeting. One complaint was directed toward the traffic and speed on Natchez A venue. The only other complaint was from a neighbor on Ottawa A venue regarding students that use her driveway to turn around. e Wyzoreck stated that Breck is a good neighbor in Golden Valley. Breck snowplows before the city, which gives the neighbors a safe route to drive around the school. The facilities at Breck are open to the public, such as the fields and tennis courts. She also stated that with the improvements proposed for the school, the 1160 student capacity will not increase. This project will. only address improvements to the existing facilities. Some of the improvements include: the middle school dining room, practice facilities in the fieldhouse (additional basketball courts and walking track), and others. Wyzoreck said traffic during construction might be tight, but after the construction, traffic flow would be much improved. She said the area that is now used by the buses would be used by students once the buses are parked on. site. She added off-duty Police Officers would continue to monitor and direct traffic around the school. Breck wants to continue to maintain its good relationship with Golden Valley. Groger asked if Breck School would allow the field house to be used for outside parties and other organizations. John Thiel, Director of Athletics at Breck School, discussed the proposed uses ofthe fieldhouse. He said that Breck would rent out the fieldhouse for summer basketball camps, local AAU youth basketball tournaments, and would be open to usage by other local organizations. He stated that Breck wants to use the fieldhousefor community use only. Groger inquired about the amount of parking for the fieldhouse. Thiel responded that there are only 40 spaces, but new spaces would be created behind the fieldhouse where the existing bus parking is now located. There shouldn'tbe a problem with parking for the fieldhouse. e Hoffman asked if the fieldhouse would become the regular basketball facility. Thiel responded that the regular gymnasium would continue to be used for games. The fieldhouse would be used only for practice. The fieldhouse would contain four basketball courts, volleyball, badminton, tennis, and gymnastics. There will be no seating in the fieldhouse. He also stated that the entrance to the Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 Page 6 fieldhouse would be through the school. There would be no street entrance, which will help to eliminate dirt being tracked into the building. In addition, thefieldhouse would be passively cooled during the summer and lit by daylight during the school hours. e Chair Pentel opened the informal public hearing. Mark Hovelson, Bossardt Corporation and representative for Breck School, voiced his concern regarding the time frame for City approval and the construction period. He noted that in order for Breck to build on portions of land that are located in the flood elevation, several agencies would have to give approval. He asked the Planning Commission to be flexible with the approval schedule noting the timeframe for further application submittals that need to be reviewed by the City Council. He would the City to go forward as the Basset Creek Watershed Commission reviews the request. He added that he would like to see the construction completed by September 2000, but Basset Creek review is adding several months to the tight schedule. Pentel interjected that the Planning Commission does not have the control to make this sort of decision. Grimes added that the process is being reviewed as quickly as possible. He added that it would be impossible to issue a building permit until the approval process is completed. Grimes added that if Breck would go forward with construction, they could have a problem with obtaining flood msurance. Chair Pentel closed the informal public hearing. Pentel stated that the flood plain elevation issue is important and there are certain guidelines that need to be followed. McAleese said that this complex projecthas several problems that should be addressed before approving it as a P.D.D. Breck has several separate buildings, yet they are all attached. A P.D.D. is defined for 5 specific types of development: 1) Developments having two or more principal uses on a single parcel of land; 2) Developments having two or more principal structures on a single parcel of land; 3) & 4) deal with apartment projects; and 5) Developments having two or more principal use structures located on two or more lots either in single or multiple ownership, provided the combined area totals one or more acres and the plan submitted includes the area to which the planned unit will apply. McAleese said that unfortunately, this project does not exactly follow any of these rules for a P.D.D. He said the use of the site is a "School". There are several ancillary uses, but they all fall under the category of school uses. He added there are several structures on the property that are all connected; therefore, the structure can be defined as one main structure with several accessory structures, which again does not follow the definition for a P.D.D. e McAleese said he could not vote in favor of this project as a P.D.D., as it would set bad precedent for projects in the future. He does not want to lose the right to enforce the zoning code due to the habit of letting some of the rules slide on projects such as this one. Groger agreed with McAlt~ese on this subject. Pentel added that if the Planning Commission decided against the P.D.D., then the conditions added to this project might have to be redefined. McAleese agreed that there are advantages to the applicant if this was made a P.D.D.,but the city code must also be followed. He added that the City Council has the power to ignore the decision made by the Planning Commission, but the Commission must make its own decision about this project. . Everyone has the prerogative to interpret the code in different ways. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 Page 7 e Shaffer said that by following McAleese's logic, it proposal does not qualify as a P.U.D. He also agrees that setting a precedent is important, thus the decision regarding making this a P.U.D. is important. If Breck were to emphasize that the fieldhouse was a separate building, then it might fall into the category of two or more separate buildings on one site. All members ofthe commission repeatedly emphasized that this project does not necessarily follow the code definition of aP.UD. Thus, two votes on this project would be appropriate. MOVED by McAleese, seconded by Shaffer and motion carried 4-2 (one commissioner absent) to recommend to the City Council that the Breck Addition, P.U.D. No. 88 does not follow the City Code requirements as a P.U.D. MOVED by McAleese, seconded by Shaffer and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council, that if the City Council deems the Breck Addition, P.U.D. No. 88 meets the requirements ofa P.U.D. the following conditions be recommended as part of the approval: e 1. The Preliminary PUD Submittal dated December 20, 1999 shall become a part of this approval. This submittal includes a site plan, utility plan, tree inventory, preliminary plat, topographic survey, floor plans and building elevations. 2. The memo from Jeff Oliver, PE, City Engineer, to Mark W. Grimes, dated January 5,2000 shall become apart of this approval. The recommendations of his memo shall become a part of these recommendations. These recommendations include the provision that Breck not be permitted to apply for the General Plan of Development until the approval of the Conditional Letter of Map Revision by the Federal. Management Commission is issues; and that the wetland. impact and mitigation plan be approved by other agencies and the City. 3. The memo from Deputy Fire Marshall Ed Anderson to Mark Grimes dated January 4, 2000 becomes a part of this approval. 4. Breck continues to hire off-duty Police Officers/Law Enforcement Persons to control traffic in the peak morning and afternoon periods. 5. Breck School continues to closely monitor the use of the Natchez access to the campus. If the City determines that the use ofthe Natchez access is a problem, the City has the right to control it use. This could include the closing off ofthe access except for emergency vehicles. 6. As part of the General Plan, a Landscape Plan will have to be submitted. A Tree Preservation Plan shall also be submitted. 7. After June 2000, buses will no longer be stored on the campus. The fuel tank will be removed by June 2000. V. Informal Public Hearing - Conditional Use Permit (No. 88) Applicant: Helen DeAlwislBasset Creek Montessori School Address: 2580 Hillsboro Avenue, Golden Valley, MN (Sunny HollowShopping Center) e Request: To allow for the operation of a child care facility in the Commercial zoning district by Conditional Use. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 Page 8 Director Grimes stated that the owner of the Montessori School is the applicant of this Conditional _ Use Permit (No. 88). The Montessori School, currently located in Crystal, has to be relocated because _ of the highway. The applicants have come to an agreement with the owner of the shopping center to move into the existing Super America, which is moving across the street to a new site next month. Grimes said that the property is currently zoned "Commercial". The zoning of the property is consistent with the land use as it is designated as commercial. Within the Commercial zoning district (Section 11.30, Subd. 4[RD childcare is permitted by conditional use. The Montessori School would like to be considered under this use. Grimes said the Montessori School is proposing to use approximately 2,400 sq.ft. of the shopping center. He said there are no anticipated additions to the center that would change the site plan. Grimes said in reviewing the survey, only minor infractions occur regarding parking, green space and trash enclosure setbacks. Staffhas spoken with the owner of the center who anticipates the removal of the trash enclosure along Medicine Lake Road. The school would use the container located on the east side of the building. Staff believes that these small code infractions should be addressed at atime when the footprint of the building is changed or some other major event occurs on the property, such as a fenced-in play area. Grimes continued that the architect would be addressing improvements to meet the school's needs. He told the commission the School is intending to use the Medley Hills Park as its playground area. As noted in materials from the State, an outdoor play area must be within 2000 feet of walking distance and contain muscle equipment. Staff believes that Medley Hills Park meets these requirements. The applicant has indicated that the children will be walked to Medley Hills Park using either the back sidewalk and gravel area or the front sidewalk. The gravel walkway to the rear of the building ends in the parking lot. Staff suggests that the owner of the property and the school work together to somehow continue the path to the park entrance so the parking lot is not used as a walkway. Grimes _ added that some arrangement be made to maintain this trail in the winter, as it becomes slippery and _ dangerous with snow and ice. Grimes stated that the. 1 00 parking spaces on site was adequate to meet the needs of the center and the school. He said the Commercial zoning district does not address parking requirements for a school. He reviewed Super America's requirements for parking as one space for every 150 square feet of floor space, which equals 16 parking spaces. The school would have a staff of four with a maximum of 40 children. Grimes said if one looked at the Industrial zoning district the parking requirement for schools would be one parking space for every three units of seating. Because the children do not have a need forthe spaces, the existing spaces should be adequate. His anticipated that four parking spaces would need to be available for staff and three to four spaces available for drop-off and pick-up. Grimes said that this school has been successful in Crystal, and with the existing need for this type of school, he sees no problem with the proposed project. Staff recommends approval.under several conditions, including: 1) The site plan, prepared by The Foundation, dated December 30, 1999 becomes a part of this approval. Any change to the site plan after Council approval will require an amendment to the C.U.P. 2) The interior improvements shall meet all requirements of the building and fire code. 3) The enrollment of children on this site shall be limited to 40. 4) The Montessori School shall use Medley Hills Parkas its playground. If a playground is needed on the subject property, the applicant will need to amend its C.U.P. 5) The hours of operation shall be 6am to 6pm. 6) All other applicable local, state, and federal requirements shall be met. . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10, 2000 Page 9 e Groger voiced concern that the driveway in the rear of the shopping center is gravel and should be paved. If it becomes the access for the children to get to the playground, then a paveg_access may be less dangerous. He also suggested that it become part ofthe shopping center owner's long-term plans. The second option is for the children to walk on the sidewalk in front of the building instead of the gravel road. McAleese stated concern about operating a child care center so close to the busy intersection along Medicine Lake Road, which could potentially become a problem for parents picking up and dropping off children. Grimes said an adult would always accompany the children while they are outside, thus there should be no concern for the busy intersection. He also commented on the gravel access road, saying that if it is paved, people might begin using it as a driveway. He felt that the biggest issue is the distance to the play area, which is almost ~ mile. Pentel asked if there were any plans for creating a sideyard play area. Grimes added that some ofthe parking area could be used to create a play area, but parking is not an issue at this time. He said if it would be feasible to create a play area nearby, the C.U.P. would need to be amended. Robert Shaffer, Architect ofthe Foundation Architects, presented his design and ideas for the Montessori School. He referred to the floor plan and described the layout of the school. Shaffer stated that he visited the site to evaluate the parking situation. The school would require far less parking than the existing Super America. He added that currently there is approximately one car per minute coming and going to the site, whereas the school would have one car every four minutes coming and going from the site. e Pentel inquiredifthe 240 sq.ft.was adequate space for 40 students. Shaffer verified that this amount of square footage would be adequate. He added that several new additions would be made to the structure,. including a window for more light and an exit door to the south side. Rohan and Helen DeAlwis, Owners of the Bassett Creek Montessori School, 3333 Veracruz Avenue, discussed the Montessori School. The said the issue of walking to the park is a complicated problem. Using the sidewalk along the front of the building could be the best option, though other solutions would be welcomed. They said the children would bring theirlunch to school. The kitchen would house only a refrigerator and a microwave. Don Keefe, owner of the Sunny Hollow Shopping Center, told the commission that he bought the center in June. He said there are several items on his list of improvements, including the roof, facade, landscaping, sprinkling of the Montessori School area, and HV/AC. He mentioned that since there are many improvements to make, the paving of the gravel road might not be done for 1-2 years. He suggested that curb stops or ballast could be used to open up an area for the children to walk to the park. The stops would protect the sidewalk allowing the children to safely walk to the park. Groger suggested that by moving the handicap spaces it would also create more space. There are several alternatives to discuss. Keefe stated that at some point he would like to move the school closer to the south end of the shopping center (nearer the park). Grimes added that any space up to 2,400 square feet of the shopping center could be used for the school. The only regulation would be that the space be on the first level. e Chair Pentel opened the informal public hearing; hearing and seeing no one, Chair Pentel closed the informal public hearing. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10,2000 Page 10 McAleese said that he favors the proposal. He would like to seethe school moved to a more southern . location in the shopping center away from the congested intersection. He added that the proposal is acceptable with two conditions: 1) any portion of the shopping center on ground level, containing the appropriate space for the school, is acceptable; and 2) children shall not cross an active parking lot to access the Medley Hills Park play area. Grimes stated his Concern about maintaining the trail through the park during the wintertime. The trail is hazardous with ice and snow and should be maintained. Discussion with the City's Park and Recreation Department, concerning maintenance of the trail, should be considered. MOVED by McAleese, seconded by Hoffman and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council approval of the operation of a child care facility in the Commercial zoning district by Conditional Use with the following .conditions: L The attached interior site plan, prepared by The Foundation, dated DecemberJO, 1999 become a part ofthis approval. Any change to the site plan after Council approval will require an amendment to the CUP. The school may be moved to any first floor space in the center that provides adequate space for such a school- this move will not require an amendment to the Permit 2. The interior improvements shall meet all requirements of the building and fire code. 3. The enrollment of children on this site shall be limited to 40. 4. The Montessori School shall use Medley Hills Park as its playground. If a playground is needed on the subject property, the applicant will need to amend its CUP. 5. The hours of operation shall be 6:00A.M. to 6:00P.M. __ 6. The applicant shall provide, prior to the City's final building inspection, a plan that shows how the children will access Medley Hills Park without using the active parking lot. 7. The applicant and owner of the center work with the City to maintain a safe access year-round to Medley Hills Park to allow the children of the center to use the park. 8. Signage for Montessori School shall meet the requirements of the City's Sign Ordinance for the Commercial zoning district. 9. All other applicable local, state and federal requirements shall be met. 10. Failure to comply with one or more of the above conditions shall be grounds for revocation of the Conditional use Permit. IV. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings No reports were given. v. Other Business A. American Planning Association CAP A) National ConfereIlce - Attendance Pentel opened the discussion of attendance to the APA convention to be held in New York City. She . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission January 10,2000 Page 11 . suggested Eck be considered as a candidate for the conference. She stated that any member interested is welcome to attend the meeting. The Planning Commission has funds available to send one commission, but may send two, splitting the funds that are available. Eck said he was interested in attending. Grimes added that the decision should be made soon so that the member can sign up for his/her preferred workshops. VI. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 pm. Richard Groger, Secretary e . .", e MEMO R A NO U M DATE: TO: FROM: RE: e e January 20,2000 Golden VaHey Planning Commission Mary Dold, Planning Assistant Informal Public Hearing - Conditional Use PermifNo. 80-01 - To allow forthe operation of a day care facility in the Industrial Zoning District - 1 General Mills Boulevard - General Mills, Applicant Background General Mills has submitted an application for a Conditional Use Permit in order to operate a day care facility in an industrial zoning district. Its main campus site is located in such a district at 1 General Mills Boulevard. The property is bounded by Hwy. 169 on the west, Better Crocker Drive on the north, General Mills Blvd. on the east and 1-394 on the south. General Mills World Headquarters is located at this site. It includes approximately 400,000 sq.ft. of office space, serving 2,000 employees. Proposed Location/Operation of Child Care Facility The proposed day care center is located on the west side of the campus. It will be located on the first floor level and use approximately 4,000 Sq'ft' of the existing building. The facility will serve only General Mills employees and can be. accessed only by using a key-card. This on-site facility is being proposed for 36 infants, 6 weeks t016 months in age. The hours of operation will be from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. General Mills has indicated that the day care will be operated by a licensed child care provider-Children's Home Society of Minnesota. Parking In talking with various departments at the City, staff cannot recall a parking problem atGeneral Mills. Nocomplaintsregarding parking could be found in the City's file on. General Mills. Staff asked the Project Manager, Peter Smith, about parking for the day care facility. Mr. Smith told Director Mark Grimes that employees who would have infants at the center would either park where they usually park and walk through the building to access the center, or use the parking lot on the west side of the building to access the center. The employee would drop the child off and then park in the employee's main parking lot. The . Children's Home Society staff will also be parking in the employee's parking lot. .According to the Project Manager, the parking lot on the west side of the campus (see oversized plan) is for those persons who may have health concerns and for designated employees (such as being the United Way employee of the month). e Factors for Consideration In approving or denying any CUP, the City Code requires that findings be made on ten specified factors. Staff evaluation of those factors, as they relate to this proposed CUP, are as follows: 1. Demonstrated Need for the Use. The City's. basis for demonstrating need is that an applicant has identified a market for the proposed use or service. In this case, General Mills believes there is a need to offer day care to its employees. 2. Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed facility that will serve day care aged children is not inconsistent with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan or Zoning Code. Services that provide day care in the Industrial zoning district could be considered a complimentary use. Staff agrees that a day care facility, in the right setting in an Industrial zoning district, can be advantages to those it serves. 3. Effect on Property Values in the Area. The proposed use is not expected to have an impact on property values in the area. The exterior of the building will not change in appearance. The closest residential neighborhood (Brookview Condominiums) is to the north, across Betty Crocker Drive and on the north side of Bassett Creek. 4. Effect on any Anticipated Traffic Generation Upon Current Traffic Flow and Congestion in the Area. The proposed facility will generate very little additional traffic, if any. Because the proposed day care will serve only employees (parents) of General Mills, most parents are already coming to this work site. There may be a few employees coming from General Mills' other campuses, dropping off their children, and then leaving the site. 5. Effect on any Increase in Population. The proposed facility will not increase the population in the area. There will be staff personnel associated with the child care facility, but will not be. noticeable when discussing an increase of population in the area. 6. Increase in.Noise Level. It is staff's understanding that there will not be an outdoor play area because of the age of the children. Children will be strolled or walked on the paths on the General Mills property. Therefore, staff is not anticipating any additional increase in the noise level. Keeping in mind that this property abuts major roadways, a slight increase of children laughing or crying should be insignificant. 7. Any Odor, Dust, Smoke, Gas, or Vibrations Caused by Use. Staff is not anticipating this use to generate any odor, dust, smoke, gas, or vibrations. e 2 e 8. Any Increase .in Flies, Rats, or other Vermin on the Area Caused by the Use. Staff is not anticipating that the proposed. use will generate any increase in flies, rats, or other vermin on the area. 9. Visual Appearance of the Proposed Structure or Use. There is no anticipated change to the exterior of the building. There will be no signage associated with this day care, nor will there be any revision to parking lots. 1 O.Other Concerns Regarding the Use. Planning and Inspections staff are not anticipating any upcoming concerns regarding General Mills providing space for a day care facility. e Recommended.Action Staff recommends that the Planning Commission agree that the General Mills day care proposal be considered for.a Conditional Use Permit that would.allow for the operation ofa day care facility in the Industrial zoning district. Staff believes that a day care facility at this site would provide a needed service that could be used by a number of the 2,000 employees that work for General Mills. Planning staff has talked with the Inspections Department who has reviewed General Mills's plans for this facility. The Building Official does not anticipate any negative effect to the property or building due to this proposal. Staff is recommending the following conditions: 1. The attached site plan and floor plan prepared by General Mills,dated 1/6/99, shall become a part of this approval. 2. The interior improvements shall meet all requirements of the building and fire code. 3. The enrollment of the site shall be limited to 36 children, within the age group of 6 weeks to 16 months. 4. There shall be no more than 12 staff people on-site at one time. 5. The hours of operation shall be 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. 6. The day care facility shall serve only those employees of General Mills. 7. All other applicable local, sate and federal requirements shall be met. 8. Failure to comply with one or more of the above conditions shall be grounds for revocation of the Conditional Use Permit. Attachments: . Location Map . Portion of Zoning Map . Narrative Description from General Mills . Oversized Plans (2) e 3 J;,y~Li~- '::::k8Et=\ I !l"~~ ,1,ti~!,I,1 ~i~j},~!lli IHfi . .....\oIOUT.... ".iF " CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT '"-' GENERAL MILLS 1 General Mills Boulevard (.,.~.; ------~------------ e 6 I ..J tel: ~ in z ..J en 2 ~ w en ~ :; Ct: 0 .- 0 Ct: W IIJ ..J ..J Z Cl. ..J W 5 ~ w ~ .- ell 0 ~ Ct: (.!) en CIS .... W Ct: en ..J en w 0 .- :> I.LI I x z 0 ~ 0 en tel: g :> 0 Ct: ..J CD c.> I I I I I - e 1 E ~ :J ~ S E .. .. OJ( ";C 0 C) c 0 e z E 0 E >- .... N ..J E .. z . ~ >. 0 W Ct: ..J >. .. - w 0 8 0 .. ~ ~ in - .. .:. 0- I -& 0 ..J 0 ., . I ..J ..J < ., ~ .. ~ w < t= w ... 0 .. > ~ ..J ~ ~ -- w Z 0- ~ 0 w w ", .. 0 0 .... N . ..J .. I . :I z (i) en :> ::i ::i w w w ~ ::i 0- Ct: cCt: 0 ~ m--m ~ G 011 "(: · -. ... . 1/3/00 Conditional Use Permit Application Narrative - General Mills World Headquarters . This Conditional Use Permit Application requests approval to add an employee Child Care facility at General Mills World Headquarters. The site currently contains office facilities for General Mills World Headquarters. This includes approximately 400,000 square feet of general office space, serving approximately 2,000 employees. These employees perform the administrative tasks related to the operation of General Mills, including marketing, sales, fInancial management, and human resource management. The proposed Child Care facility will use approximately 4000 square feet of the existing space to provide on-site daycare for 36 infants, ages 6 weeksto 16 months. The facility will be open only to General Mills employees, during the hours of 6 AM to 6 PM, and will be operated by a licensed child care provider, Children's Home Society of Minnesota. This facility will be located completely within the existing buildings on the sitl::. It will not cause any changes to the exterior of the building, parking lots, or access roads. e .