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04-23-07 PC Agenda AGENDA Planning Commission Regular Meeting Golden Valley City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road Council Chambers Monday, April 23, 2007 7pm 1. Approval of Minutes April 9, 2007 Regular Planning Commission Meeting 2. Informal Public Hearing - Conditional Use Permit - First Student, Inc. - CUP No. 115 Applicant: First Student, Inc. Address: 9105 10th Avenue North Purpose: To allow the applicant to operate a school bus terminal with a repair facility located in the Industrial zoning district 3. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings 4. Other Business 5. Adjournment This documentis available in alternate formats upon a 72-hourreQuest. Please.call 763-593-8006 (TIY; 763-593-3968) to make a request. . Examples of alternate formats may include large print, electronic, Braille, audiocassette, etc. . Regular Meeting of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 9, 2007 A regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Conference Room, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota, on Monday, April 9, 2007. Chair Keysser called the meeting to order at 7 pm. Those present were Planning Commissioners Cera, Eck, Keysser, Kluch Schmidgall and Waldhauser. Also present was Director of Planning a Mark Grimes and Administrative Assistant Lisa Wittman. 2. nanimously to approve the eeting minutes with the 1. Approval of Minutes February 12, 2007 Joint Planning Commission/City C Waldhauser referred to the third paragraph on page 3 asked regarding highway signs. MOVED by McCarty, seconded by Cera and mo February 12, 2007 Joint Planning Commis . above noted clarification. . February 12, 2007 Regular n Meeting MOVED by Eck, second the February 12, 2007 Re noted corrections. r and motion carried unanimously to approve ommission meeting minutes with, the above tiple Family Dwelling Ordinances ing Commission that they held a public hearing on the ily Dwelling ordinances in February of 2006. He stated that ce re iewed the ordinances and they are ready to hold a public '. meeting in May to officially adopt them. He said that since it has e t e Planning Commission has seen these proposed ordinances he be reviewed one more time. He discussed some of the proposed changes ces including impervious surface requirements. Keysser referred to the impervious surface requirements in the Single Family zoning district and asked how the proposed new requirements would affect existing properties. Grimes explained that existing properties would be "grandfathered in" and that it is his understanding that a homeowner can maintain their property as it has always been, but that zoning code requirements are enforced when property is expanded or replaced. . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 9, 2007 Page 2 . Keysser asked if a homeowner were to tear out an existing driveway and replace it with a new driveway if the impervious surface requirements would be effect. Grimes said in the case of commercial properties the owner would be allowed to maintain their parking lot but if they dig out the existing parking lot all the way down to the dirt or disturb a certain percentage of the parking lot then they are required to follow the impervious surface requirements. Grimes said he would talk to the City Attorney about possible wording for the impervious surface requirements in the Single Family zoning district. Kluchka referred to Subdivision 10(8) regarding height requirements in R-2 ordinance and stated that the words "whichever is less" are not that to have e single uired to ding some requirements for Eck referred to Subdivision 11 (C) in the proposed new R-2 zoni in the proposed new R-2 zoning district it states that each d at least a one stall garage. He said he thought there could family homes are also allowed in the new R-2 zoning district have a two stall garage. Grimes agreed and said that additional language to the R-2 zoning district to a single family homes located in the R-2 zoning di . Waldhauser asked how the percentages 0 various zoning districts were obtained. ordinances correspond with the minim s surface area in the percentages listed in the ents. Waldhauser referred to the prop, Subdivision 11 regarding the fr be 25 feet, not 35 feet. district ordinance and noted that quirement for parking structures should Cera noted that the propo courts but then ther e re impervious surface ity b ses encourage swimming pools and tennis ns regarding swimming pools,and tennis courts in the Id be a definition for "top plate". Grimes said according to the rm "top plate" is understandable. inks the definition for "rain garden" is grammatically incorrect and 3. sion Regarding Infill Housing Report Keysser stated that the Commission's report on Infill Housing is being discussed at the April 11 ,2007 City Council/Manager meeting and invited the Commissioners to attend. . Grimes compared Golden Valley's definition of height with the City of Edina's definition of height. He explained that the City of Edina measures height from the average proposed ground elevation adjoining the building at the front building line. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 9, 2007 Page 3 . Cera said he was concerned about people artificially building up the property in order to build a taller house. He suggested measuring height from the street level or from the average of the two homes on either side of house. Grimes said he thought the City's grading and erosion control permitting process would prevent people from "building up" their properties before they construct a home. Waldhauser said she didn't think someone mounding up dirt on their property before they build a house would allow them to build a bigger house. Grimes referred to the proposed impervio credits that could be given to people wh have the Planning Interns do some res surfaces. think that Valley's he likes the red at the top of the Kluchka said he doesn't like the idea of measuring the height of a hom building line. Keysser said the DNR method of measuring height makes the Eck suggested measuring the height of a house at the curb would work because each lot is graded differently. Grimes st existing definition of height works and suggested kee . DNR definition but he would like the height of flat r entire roof structure (parapet). . ents and discussed types of es. He added that he would ssible credits for using pervious 4. , r Land Use Plan Map Grimes stated that there' Commission and Open S This meeting is to' ss process. He asked t areas or "hot s " that the City is Grimes e . comm 'oint Planning Commission/Environmental ecr tion Commission meeting at 6 pm on April 23. e City is at in the Comprehensive Plan update ommissioners to drive around the City and identify ~........ could have the potential for change. Keysser added ring~oing another corridor study in the Douglas Drive area. ity has applied for a grant for "bikeable" and "walkable" at the Douglas Drive area as a part of that grant. d like the Commissioners to identify the areas within the next couple n he will have the Planning Interns incorporate them onto one map. 5. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings . McCarty stated that he attended the March 27, 2007 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. He stated that the Board granted a variance from the City's height regulations to the property located at 1430 June Avenue South. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 9, 2007 Page 4 . 6. Other Business Election of Officers MOVED by Waldhauser, seconded by McCarty and motion carried unanimously to retain the same slate of officers; Keysser as Chair, Waldhauser as Vice Chair and Eck as Secretary . 7. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm. . . . . . lIey Planning 763-593-8095 I 763-593-8109 (fax) Date: April 20, 2007 To: Golden Valley Planning Commission From: Mark W. Grimes, Director of Planning and Development Subject: Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to Allow First Student, Inc. to Operate A School Bus Terminal (with repair garage) at 9105 10th Ave. N. (Former Emission Testing Site)-First Student, Inc., Applicant Background First Student, represented by Todd Bauman, has requested a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in order to allow the operation of a school bus terminal with repair facility at 9105 10th Ave. N. This property is currently owned by Lejeune Investment. Lejeune owns a number of auto dealerships, including the Audi dealership in Golden Valley. Over the past several years, Lejeune has occasionally used this property for the temporary storage of new vehicles prior to moving the cars to the dealer lots. Lejeune no longer believes they need this site so they have put it on the market. Prior to the ownership by Lejeune, System Control owned the property. They built the existing building on the site and contracted with the State of Minnesota to do the vehicle emission testing program. This test program lasted several years and was eliminated by the State. System Control was granted a CUP in 1991 to operate the testing station. The CUP was required because the drive-through uses and auto repair shops within the Industrial zoning district require a CUP. This 6.1 acre site is located within one of the larger areas of the City that is zoned Industrial. This area of the City is also guided on the Comprehensive Plan map for industrial uses. Staff does not anticipate that the guiding of this property would change as part of the updated comprehensive plan. The uses in this area are typical for industrial areas including storage, manufacturing, office, and distribution uses. Most notably is the existing bus terminal and repair garage adjacent to the subject property that was recently purchased from First Student by the Hopkins School district. This large bus terminal has been in Golden Valley for the past 30 years and was originally operated by the Medicine Lake Lines. It is my understanding that the Hopkins School District purchased this property from First Student. Hopkins Schools will allow the school bus company that they contract with to operate from this facility. First Student wants to remain in the area so they are proposing to by the 9105 10th Ave. N. site. . Description of Proposed Use First Student has submitted two narratives that describe both the operation of the site and the parking of for the site. They are attached to this memo. As indicated on the attached site plan, the proposal is to store a total of 76 buses on the site. The plan indicates that most of the buses will be of the standard school bus size (8ft. by 38 ft.) with a few of the smaller 8 ft. by 20 ft. buses. They plan to have 5~9 full time employees on the site (mechanics and office workers). The bus drivers will park their cars in the spaces vacated by the buses or they will be shuttled from various locations. Mr. Bauman of First Student has stated that this type of parking arrangement has been done at the other First Student bus lots. This eliminates the need for paving additional parking area to provide parking for the driver's cars. The buses will leave the site beginning as early as 5:30 am and they will return in the late afternoon or early evening. Occasionally, some buses will return later after a special school event. The plan is to have an 8 ft. fence around the entire site. Some of the existing fence will be used. A gate will also be placed at the driveway entrance for security purposes. The site has been reviewed by the Fire Department and Public Works Department. They believe that the site will function as shown on the site plan. The perimeter curbing on the site will remain. However, some of the interior curb will be removed and paved over as indicated on the new site plan. Since less than % acre will be disturbed by the proposed changes to the parking lot, First Student will not have to meet the current standards of the Bassett Creek Water Management Commission. (When this site was first development by Systems Control, the adjacent ponds were created or expanded to meet the standards that existed at that time.) . Access to the site will be from the existing driveway to 10th Ave. This site provides good access to TH 169, Winnetka Ave., Boone Ave., TH 55, and '~394. This good access will allow the buses to disburse in all directions. The existing street system has more than adequate capacity to handle these 75 buses that will hit the streets over a 3 hour period in the morning and return to the site over a three hour period in the afternoon. Even with the buses leaving the Hopkins Schools site on Decatur Ave. at about the same time along with other traffic in the area, the street system will have adequate capacity and continue to function at an acceptable level of service. Fueling of the buses will be done by a tanker truck at night. This fueling will have to be done in a manner approved by the City's Fire Marshal. Repair of the buses will be done inside the existing building. New overhead doors will need to replace the existing overhead door so the buses can enter the building. CUP Findings As part of the evaluation of a CUP application, the Planning Commission must make finding on ten factors as outlined in Section 11.80. The staff findings on the factors are as follows: 1. Demonstrated Need of Proposed Use: First Student has indicated to staff that there is a need to serve public and private schools in this area with school bus service. First Student currently operates nine school bus facilities throughout the metro area in order to serve these schools. . 2. Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan of the City: A school bus terminal and repair facility is consistent with the industrial guiding for this area of the city. . . . 3. Effect on Property Values in the Area: The staff does not believe there will be a significant effect on adjoining property values due to this use. There has been a similar use operating in this area for the past 30 years. 4. Effect on Any Anticipated Traffic Generation upon Current Traffic Flow and Congestion in the Area: The City staff has considered the amount of traffic that will be generated from this facility and the effect it will have on the surrounding street system. The staff believes that there is adequate capacity in the system and that buses will disburse from this site in several directions. In the morning, buses will leave the site over a three hour period and return over a two or three hour period. When the emission testing station was in full operation in the mid-1990's, traffic flow in the area was not adversely affected by the use. The emission testing station generated far more trips than this proposed bus facility. 5. Effect on Increase in Population: The proposed use will not increase population in the area because it is a business use and does not increase the number of housing units in the City. 6. Increase in Noise Level in the Area: There will be a noise increase on this site due to the operation the buses. However, the nearest residential area is about 500 ft. to the south and over 1500 ft. from the north or east. There is already a larger bus operation in the area that is about the same distance from a residential area. Staff is unaware of any complaints about noise from that bus facility. 7. Any Odor, Dust, Smoke, Gas or Vibration Caused by the Use: In this case, there may be some additional odors due to the bus operation. However, there is a significant distance between this site and any residential areas. Also, staff is unaware of any complaints regarding smell from the adjoining bus operation during the past 30 years of operation. Because of the location away from any residential area, this appears to be a good location for this type of use. 8. Any Increase in Flies of other Vermin: No increase is anticipated. 9. Visual Appearance of any Proposed Structure of Use: The building on the site will remain the same with the exception of new overheard doors. However, the building is located about 300 ft. from 10th Ave. so it is not easily seen by those driving by the site. The site will have 75 buses parked on it. This bus storage is acceptable in an industrial area. The site will be cleaned up by First Student. At the current time, there is some junk and litter on the site. First Student has told me that the site will be well maintained and any litter and junk will be removed. 10.Any other Issues that may have an Impact on the Health, Safety and Welfare of the General Public: No major effects have been identified by staff. Recommendation Staff recommends approval of the CUP to .allow First Student to operate a bus terminal with repair at 9105 10th Ave. N. This area of the City is well suited for such a use due to its access to the City, County and State road and street system. Also, it is far away from residential uses so the impact would be minimal on residents. The City has experience with the adjoining bus terminal and it has operated successfully over 30 years with few problems. With good management, the staff anticipates that the bus terminal would operate well at this location. Because of its location in the middle of an industrial area, there is no need to restrict the hours of operation. . Staff recommends the following conditions: 1. The site plan prepared for First Student by Genesis Architecture and dated 4/19/07 shall become a part of this CUP approval. 2. There shall be no employee parking on a public street. 3. All fencing must conform to City fence codes and requirements. 4. The memo from Ed Anderson, Deputy Fire Marshal, to Mark Grimes, dated April 2, 2007 shall become a part of this approval. Fueling of buses by gas trucks must be done in accordance with the City's fire code. 5. The litter and junk from the site shall be cleaned up prior to start of any bus operation or repair on site. 6. All other applicable City and State requirements shall be met prior to the start of any bus operation or repair. 7. Failure to comply with any of the terms of this permit shall be grounds for revocation. Attachments Location Map (1 page) Site Survey (1 page) Parking Plan (1 page) Applicant's Narrative (1 page) Memo from Ed Anderson, Deputy Fire Marshal, dated April 2, 2007 (1 page) Site Photos (17 pages) Site Plan (1 oversized sheet) . . z 5 ei ! li2 i ftI " , a ~ \ i 2: lit ~ q I I #t e I/: 1 I 900 9105 10TH AVE N z fS ... >- i ~ lit ~ '? , I, :Ji o ~ ~ .. \1\", ; ~ % i I I .... ',$ 00ll $50 11& 640 (;20 H26 931.0 9300 9UO 9400 (1) .' .' ..... . GQLt'lfN VAI..lJfi'i' lU> M..,,,,,,,,,,",,,,";"'w<'lMS .,C"',''1I'''<<:,\.OOl.'lGlS~ ~r1I . ~ 905U I 28 9000 8000 93S 821l 83$ g ~ ;Il:I ~ :It 150 73'0 701 8000 - 1lOOil 600 ..." ~.... ....,. ..I ~ TlWCTION NOTE - CONTRACTOR REQUIRED TO SWEEP ADJACENT STREET(Sl OAIL Y OR MORE FREQUENT\. Y IF DIRECTED TO DO SO BY THE CITY. THE CITY OF GOLDEN VALLEY Will SWEEP THE STREETS WITH COSTS BillED TO THE CONTRACTOR SEED ALL DISTURBED AREAS.. "pReVllle-'- IF THE CONTRACTOR DOES NOT DO THE STREET SWEEPING ; AN!?.~PJ.l'. -oEW1'ElfMNDOT SECTION AS REQUIRED.' ._._._.-~-:-r -'~876.2, MIX 1500, APPLY 0 RATE -'-'-'-'-'-'-V'-E'-N'U-E'-'-'-N'- SIR'" i OF 50t/ACRE. HAND SPA SEED 10 TH A . ! AND P CH - . - . r- 90 SPECIF\QA.TIO .' - . .. - I PLAN F . SlEET. . EXISTING POND El = 890 ~o1. ~~~' GO C1.\O~ __-'-=__ --1- , , -, -- .. ' ... -. ...... .................::::.:::::::::-----:.:_--- '~--............ ........_--~ ,:~=='---=--:~---I/..:::=::.~~:~\'\.. ----___:---~--:..:----=;q3 ::::-::::-~:::Vf"--;.:~-;)(/ C_:.---....., EXISTING POND ------.:::?-==~;.-"" i !I --..................... . ",,' , ----.....- --...- . . '" <.. / / \''':'' 264.35 "'-, -', J _~_~':> L._._. I ._._., ' ----------------------- 874 ..:.:I- - -' - . - . - . - '7;: . - , - . - , . ~IT~ N88'39'32'W .. ----------------...... ill !,--~\ . ! -s... "'- r- ,/ SITE GRADING/LAYOUT PLAN @ SCALE: 1"=30'-0" IJIB tHB ENGINEERS & ARCHITECTS DULUTH MINNEAPOLIS 250 Third Avenue N.. llImeapolis, MIl 55401 TEL 612/338-2029 . FAX 612/338-2088 DRAWING INDEX L 1 - SITE SURVEYIEROSION CONTROL SITE PLAN L2.. SITE DETAILS L3.. TREE PRESERVATION PLAN PLANTING PLAN PEflMlTTIfG .RE-SSUE BCWMC PEIlIITTING ISSUE BCWMC I'IlOITl8IG_ClTYOF_VAllEY ClENT REVEW NO _ t HEREBY CERTIFY that this plan. speCIfIca- tion 01 report was prepared by me Of under my direct supervision and that I am a duly Regis.tered Profusionallaoo$e8fJe Arctitect _1iIe~..ol~.SlaIeol_'ta DArt REa NO. IBERE8Y CERTFY tlllt "" ~... spec;l;ca- tlOl\ or report was prepared by RIle or Ul'llfer My direct supe1'vlsioa and that I am a duly R$gistered ProfessiOft8l Engineer under tb& IIIW5 of the Stat. of I6ulesola. DATE 1ilIQ,1I). 2I89t -- LEJEUNE INVESTMENTS, INCORPORA TED ORAWING 1lTUo SITE PLAN 9105 10TH AVENUE NORTH DRAWN BY. FDP ClIECt<EDBI\ GOF DATe....._ fI.e. 1CAIlPIl0J\ PIlO.ECT NO: SCAlE: AS OOTED DBAWINllNO: L1 . FIRST STUDENT GOLDEN VALLEY PARKING PLAN FOR 9105 10th AVE NORTH Plans for parking bus driver's personal vehicles are based on the driver utilizing the spot where their bus was parked prior to departure from the bus yard. After the driver performs a pre-trip, which takes about 5- 6 minutes using our Zonar electronic device, the driver then parks hislher vehicle in the spot formerly occupied by the bus. Departure times are staggered which will mean little or no congestion from the time the driver arrives, does the electronic pretrip, and parks their car in the appropriate spot. This procedure is currently being successfully utilized in First Student's Burnsville location. Staff and mechanic parking will require a total of 9 spaces and are shown on the site map, near the trash enclosure and on the south curb. . Additionally, 20..25 drivers are shuttled into our location on a daily basis. Shuttle drivers pick up other drivers at their respective homes and drive them into work, which obviously does not require any personal vehicle parking. Another factor involves a process called a park-out. Currently, 30-35 drivers park their bus at home after completing morning routes. When it is time to take students home the driver starts from home instead of returning to the bus yard first. Morning routes start departing the bus yard as early as 5:45 AM and continue on until 7:15 AM. By arranging the buses that depart first in the same area, additional employee parking will be open as later departing drivers arrive at work. For example, the twelve buses parked in the North West corner of the parking lot could be the first out, would be designated as park-out buses, and would free up that entire space to be used for driver parking for the entire day. . The shuttle buses (4 or 5 buses), referred to above, are rarely at the location since the driver has to park at home in order to get everyone into work on time. Those buses are not shown on the site map for that reason. . . . SITE USAGE NARRATIVE This site will be used to store, service, and dispatch school buses for the Minneapolis School District, Wide Area Transportation Services (WATS), Minnehaha Academy, Benilde-St. Margaret, Talmud Torah, and several other private and charter schools. We will store and run about 60 buses at this location. We are estimating that 80 bus drivers and 5 full-time staff will be employed here. The operational hours will be 5:30 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday, September through June each school year. Charter buses will be dispatched during evening and weekend hours, but will be limited to a maximum of 200/0 of the total fleet. This is exactly the type of operation that we have been running at 835 Decatur Avenue in Golden Valley since 1978, though significantly down-sized. Our former site on Decatur Avenue is immediately adjacent to the proposed property site at 9105 10th Avenue North. I t 1 i ! t , , i t f- , t I i i [ . . . Public ~H~y Memorandum Fire Department 763-593-8055 I 763-512-2497 (fax) To: Mark Grimes, Director of Planning & Zoning From: Ed Anderson, Deputy Fire Marshal Subject: Conditional Use Permit for 9105 10th Avenue North Date: 04/02/07 The Golden Valley Fire Department has reviewed the proposed application and site plan for the conditional use permit located at 9105 10th Avenue North. Listed below are the fire department's concerns and comments: 1. The fire hydrant located on site shall be inspected and tested in accordance with the MN State Fire Code and other recognized fire code standards. Provide to the fire department the documentation of such test results on the fire hydrant. 2. The current fire alarm system and the fire suppression system located in the existing building shall be inspected and tested annually by a Minnesota licensed contractor. The test results of the above systems shall be submitted to the Golden Valley Fire Department. 3. The existing building has a fire department rapid entry lock box located on the west side of the building. New keys for the building will be required to be inserted into the lock box. 4. "No Parking Fire Lane" signs and stationary posts will need to be installed in accordance with the Golden Valley City Ordinance. The location of the "No Parking Fire Lane" signs will be mounted in the fire apparatus access road. 5. Access roads in excess of 150' in length shall be provided in an approved area for turning around fire apparatus. The turn around provision for the fire apparatus shall be in accordance with the MN State Fire Code. If you have any questions, please contact me at 763-593-8065. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ".e, .'..... " ," :.. JE"}':' ::~ ')y/ -,,' . ".... j: -~~- . ., ...~."'. "-,- "'-",,-, "" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .