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01-13-97 PC Agenda . AGENDA GOLDEN VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION Regular Meeting , Golden Valley City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road ... Council Chambers January 13, 1997 7pm I. Approval of Minutes -December 16, 1996 II. Informal Public H~aring: Conditional Use Permit Applicant: McDonald's Corporation Address: 9315 Medicine Lake Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota Purpose: To consider a request for a Conditional Use Permit which would allow for the Operation of a Class II Restaurant in the Commercial Zoning District . -- Short Recess -- ; III. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, and Board of Zoning Appeals i IV. Other Business V. Adjournment . PLANNING COMMISSION GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC INPUT . The Planning Commission is an advisory body, created to advise the City Council on land use. The Commission will recommend Council approval or denial of a land use proposal based upon the Commission's determination of whether the proposed use is permitted under the Zoning Code and the Comprehensive Plan, and whether the proposed use will, or will not, adversely affect the surrounding neighborhood. The Commission holds informal public hearings on land use proposals to enable you to learn, first-hand, what such proposals are, and to permit you to ask questions and offer comments. Your questions and comments become part of the record and will be used by the Council, along with the Commission's recommendation, in reaching its decision. With the completion of the informal public hearing(s) there will be a short recess before the commission continues with the remainder of the agenda. To aid in your understanding and to facilitate your comments and questions, the Commission will utilize the following procedure: 1. The Commission Chair will introduce the proposal and the recommendation from staff. Staff will give a brief summary of the applicant's request. Commission members may ask questions of staff. 2. The applicant will describe the proposal and answer any questions from the Commission. . 3. The Chair will open the public hearing, asking first for those who wish to speak to so indicate by raising their hands. The Chair may set a time limit for individual questionsftomments if a large number of persons have indicated a desire to speak. Spokespersons for groups will have a longer period of time for questionsfcomments. 4. Please give your full name and address clearly when recognized by the Chair. Remember, your questionsfcomments are for the record. 5. Direct your questionsfcomments to the Chair. the Chair will determine who will answer your questions. 6. No one will be given the opportunity to speak a second time until everyone has had the opportunity to speak initially. Please limit your second presentation to new information, not rebuttal. 7. At the close of the public hearing, the Commission will discuss the proposal and take appropriate action. . - -." . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 16, 1996 A regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Chambers, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota. The meeting was called to order by Chair Prazak at 6pm. . Those present were Commissioners Greger, Johnson, McAleese, Pentel and Prazak; absent were Kapsner and Lewis. Also present were Elizabeth Knoblauch, City Planner and Mary Dold, Recording Secretary; absent was Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development. I. Approval of Minutes - November 25, 1996 MOVED by Groger, seconded by Pentel and motion carried unanimously to approve the November 25, 1996 minutes as submitted. II. Informal Public Hearing - Conditional Use Permit (No. 70) Applicant: JLG. Inc. dba Line-X of Minneapolis and Welsh Companies Address: 6126-28 Olson Memorial Highway Purpose: To allow for the operation of applying polyurethane truck bed liners to existing vehicles in the Industrial Zoning District City Planner Beth Knoblauch gave a brief summary of her report to the commissioners commenting that Line-X, in its operation of applying polyurethane, will be using a non- hazardous material which dries immediately. She continued by explaining the operation of the business noting that there would be no more than three employees and the Line-X will only service four vehicles per day. City Planner Knoblauch noted that Welsh Companies had supplied the City with information on the businesses in the complexes, in order to determine the amount of parking spaces being used. She stated that there seems to be adequate parking available on the site. The applicant's information notes that Welsh Companies is only allotting four parking spaces for its business. City Code requires five spaces. City Planner Knoblauch said, that in her opinion, there should be adequate parking on the lot, and therefore will not required the applicant to pursue more parking for their business. City Planner Knoblauch reviewed the ten factors for consideration for a Conditional Use Permit. Staff is concerned with only one of the factors, that being the effect of any anticipated traffic generation upon current traffic flow and congestion in the area. Although there seems to be no problem with traffic and parking on the site at this time, staff believe that a condition may be appropriate limiting the number of vehicles allowed on-site for this business. Ms. Knoblauch commented that the last factor relative to "other concerns" regarding the use of storage and use of chemicals, and vehicle exhaust in the building, should be reviewed by Inspections and the storage of materials and spraying operation will need to meet the Minnesota Uniform Fire Code and Mechanical Code standards. . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 16, 1996 Page Two Staff made a favorable recommendation for approval of this business with the following conditions: 1. There shall be no painting, sanding welding, engine repair or general vehicle maintenance undertaken as part of this conditional use. 2. The premises shall contain not more than one application booth and an area for preparing vehicles to be sprayed, as shown on the attached floor plan which shall be considered part of the official permit. 3. There shall be no company vehicle used in conjunction with this conditional use unless such vehicle is also the normal mode of transportation for one of the company employees. 4. Where there is any questions as to whether the spraying operation, ventilation system, storage of chemicals, or other structural or mechanical details meet applicable codes, the applicant shall, at its own expense, produce a report on the questioned item, prepare by a qualified engineer or fire safety specialty organization acceptable to the Fire Chief and Building Official. 5. All other applicable local, state, and federal requirements shall be met. 6. Failure to comply with one or more of the above conditions shall be grounds for revocation of the conditional use permit. Chair Prazak questioned whether the venting was adequate for the process of spraying cars as was used with the previous business. City Planner Knoblauch said that the processes were similar. Chair Prazak also asked who was notified about tonight's meeting. He noted that no other tenants from the building were present at the meeting. Planning Secretary Mary Dold said that Welsh Companies was notified and that the hearing notice stipulates that if they rent any portion of their property it is up to them to notify their tenants. City Planner Knoblauch said that staff had not received any phone calls regarding the request. Jackie Gates, applicant, talked about the noise that would be generated from the compressor during spray time. She said that it takes approximately 15 minutes to spray one vehicle. Commissioner Pentel asked the applicant what preparation there is for spraying the polyurethane on a vehicle. Applicant Gates commented that the prep time takes approximately 1 hour, which includes making sure the bed area is clean and taping of the vehicle so the material doesn't adhere to other parts of the vehicle. She said that some light sanding may need to be done. . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 16, 1996 Page Three Commissioner Pentel asked staff about the use of washing vehicles in the building and what kind of controls would be in place in check the water filtering into the water system. Ms. Knoblauch told the commission that the Inspections Department feels that the drainage of water can be handled adequately on the site and Inspections will be inspecting the equipment on the site. Commission Pentel asked the applicant why the operation only handled four vehicles per day. The applicant replied that in order to do a good job, four vehicles are appropriate. She commented that some businesses can do five or six vehicles which is deemed excellent for one days work. Chair Prazak opened the informal public hearing; seeing and hearing no one, Chair Prazak closed the informal public hearing. MOVED by Johnson, seconded by Pentel and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council approval of the request for a conditional use permit for the operation of applying polyurethane truck bed liners to existing vehicles in the Industrial Zoning District subject to the conditions listed below. Commissioner Pentel questioned staff on whether staff's first condition above should be rewritten because the applicant is proposing to do some sanding. City Planner Knoblauch said that the condition could be reworded. 1. There shall be no painting, sanding, welding, engine repair or general vehicle maintenance undertaken as part of this conditional use except for what is necessary for the preparation of the process to apply polyurethane as a truck bed liner. 2. No customer vehicles shall be allowed to remain parked on the lot after business hours; vehicles may be parked inside the building overnight. 3. The premises shall contain not more than one application booth and an area for preparing vehicles to be sprayed, as shown on the attached floor plan which shall be considered part of the official permit. 4. There shall be no company vehicle used in conjunction with this conditional use unless such vehicle is also the normal mode of transportation for one of the company employees. 5. Where there is any questions as to whether the spraying operation, ventilation system, storage of chemicals, or other structural or mechanical details meet applicable codes, the applicant shall, at its own expense, produce a report on the questioned item, prepare by a qualified engineer or fire safety specialty organization acceptable to the Fire Chief and Building Official. 6. All other applicable local, state, and federal requirements shall be met. . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 16, 1996 Page Four 7. Failure to comply with one or more of the above conditions shall be grounds for revocation of the conditional use permit. III. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, and Board of Zoning Appeals No reports were given. IV. Other Business City Planner Knoblauch briefly reviewed proposed projects in the Golden Hills Redevelopment District and the Area A-1 site. She also informed the commission that Hidden Lakes is getting geared up to bring in their Preliminary Design Plan to amend PUD 45. Commissioner Pentel briefed the commission on a forum she attended on first ring suburbs. V. Adjournment Chair Prazak adjourned the meeting at 6:40pm. Jean Lewis, Secretary " ,> . . . MEMORANDUM Date: January 9, 1997 To: Golden Valley Planning Commission From: Mark W. Grimes, Director of Planning and Development Subject: Public Hearing -- Conditional Use Permit to allow for the Operation of a Class II Restaurant in the Commercial Zoning District -- 9315 Medicine Lake Road -- McDonald's Corporation, Applicant McDonald's Corporation, represented by Mr. Jerry Roper, have submitted a new conditional use permit application for their McDonald's site on Medicine Lake Road. The plan calls for the demolition of the existing restaurant and the construction of a 5,200 sq.ft. restaurant with a playland on the 1.9 acre site. The new restaurant will include a drive-through lane on the east side of the building. The Commission may recall that McDonald's was before the Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals and City Council in the summer of 1996 to build a 4,100 sq.ft. restaurant with a playland. The previous plan called for the existing restaurant to remain open during construction and a new building to be built to the east of the existing building. The plan required significant street setback variances and less parking than required by the Zoning Code. The Planning Commission recommended denial and the BZA denied the request for variances. The City Council denied the request for the CUP and the request to override the BZA decision on the variances at its September 6, 1996 meeting. It is staffs assessment that the Planning Commission, BZA and City Council felt that the requested variances, from standard design, were too great to accept. There were also concerns voiced by several of the residential neighbors to the south regarding the effect of the enlarged restaurant on parking and traffic in the area. I am enclosing copies of previous reports and minutes for your review. The revised design has eliminated the need for any setback variances for the new building. The building and parking areas meet the 35 foot setback requirement from all streets and the 10 foot sideyard setback requirement from the west or side property line. McDonald's is continuing to request variances for the number of parking spaces. The zoning code requires that a 5,200 sq.ft. Class II restaurant have 148 spaces or one space for each 35 sq.ft. of gross floor area. The new plan indicates 93 parking spaces or a deficit of 55 parking spaces from the requirement. 1 r / The plan also indicates that the proposed parking spaces will be 9' by 18' in size rather than the required 9' by 20' in size. I have spoken to Mr. Roper about the size of the parking spaces. He has indicated that the plan will be revised to increase the length of the parking spaces to 20 feet. It appears that this can be done because the drive aisles are wide enough so they can be reduced. If the length of the parking spaces could not be increased, a variance would be required. . The request is also unique because these variances are needed in order for the proposal to go forward. Variances from the requirements of the Zoning Code are not approved by the Planning Commission. These specific variance requests must be approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). Staff has discussed this matter with the City Attorney, regarding the best way to review CUP applications, that also require variances. The procedure that is recommended by the attorney and staff is that the proposed CUP application is first reviewed by the Planning Commission at an Informal Public Hearing. After the Commission makes a recommendation and prior to the City Council holding a public hearing on the matter, the request for variances would be reviewed by the BZA. The City Council would then have both the Planning Commission and BZA recommendation when their decision is made. If the BZA would recommend against the variance request, the City Council would hear McDonald's appeal for the variance at the same time the CUP application is considered. Because CUP's are ordinances, it takes four City Council votes to approve the CUP. The Planning Commission has the right to comment on variances proposed by McDonald's. If the Commission finds one or the other to be unacceptable, the Commission can use this as part of the grounds for a recommendation of denial for the proposal. This vote or concern would be passed on to the BZA for their review. . Description of Proposed Restaurant The site is currently designated on the Comprehensive Plan Map as Commercial and on the Zoning Map as Commercial. A Class II restaurant is consistent with the Commercial designation on the Comprehensive Plan Map. These types of restaurants are considered a conditional use in the Commercial Zoning District. The CUP is required in order to allow the City to give special consiCit:?iation to certain matters including but not limited to traffic, parking, access, landscaping and site layout. The surrounding properties to the west and east are zoned commercial and designated on the Comprehensive Plan for commercial uses. The property to the south of Hillsboro is the Medley Park Townhomes. This townhome area is designated on the Plan for Medium Density Housing and zoned PUD. North of the site is New Hope where the property is used for apartments. McDonald's is proposing to tear down its existing store at 9315 Medicine Lake Road and replace it with a larger store. The current store was built on this 1.9 acre site in the 1970's and is about 4,100 sq.ft in area. The proposed store, with an indoor . 2 . playland will be about 5,200 sq.ft. The proposed playland area itself is 1,400 sq.ft. in area. The current store requires about 90 parking spaces (one space for every 35 sq.ft. of gross floor area). I have counted about 78 on-site spaces or a deficiency of about 12 spaces from the code. It would appear that the existing parking is adequate because I have received no complaints on parking at this McDonald's. The drive- through facility works well at this location because of the adequate stacking distance. The store probably became deficient in parking space when the drive-through lane was added some years ago. I assume there was parking all along the east side of McDonald's prior to the drive-through window opening. The setback requirements are met by the current store, as validated by the current survey. Since the site has street frontage on three sides, the required setback is 35 feet on Medicine Lake Road and Hillsboro Street. The sideyard setback adjacent to the gas station/convenience store (zoned Commercial) and the radio tower building (zoned Radio) is 20 feet with the requirement that 1/2 be landscaped. The site has access drives from both Medicine Lake Road and Hillsboro. The site seems to function well from a traffic point of view. . The site is well landscaped with large trees and shrubs along Hillsboro. With the proposed plan, some of these trees and shrubs will have to be removed and replaced due to the proposed smaller street setback. Description of Proposed Restaurant As indicated on the proposed site plan, McDonald's plan to build a new 5,200 sq.ft. restaurant with a playland on this 1.9 acre site. It would also include a drive-through window. It is similar to two restaurants recently opened by McDonald's in Buffalo and Champlin (1 09th and Douglas). It is hoped that the new store would be more attractive to young families with children and increase traffic, especially on the weekends. McDonald's research shows that the playland facilities increase traffic at times when the restaurants are normally less busy. This 5,200 sq.ft. restaurant is about 1,100 sq.ft. larger than the one proposed for this site in the summer of 1996. The playland is the same size but the main part of the building is larger. Mr. Roper said that this is a new design for McDonald's which includes more space for storage due to their new "deluxe menu". The number of seats is the same for this restaurant as the 4,100 sq.ft. restaurant. The number of seats in the new restaurant will be 135 with about 55 of those seats will be in the new playland. The main dining area will have 80 seats compared to the total of 108 seats at the current restaurant. . 3 Because the building is larger, the Zoning Code requires more parking spaces for the proposed building than the existing building. The Code requires one space for every 35 sq.ft. of gross floor area or one space for every 3 seats whichever is greater. In this case, the floor space creates the greater number of required spaces. The 5,200 sq. ft. building requires 148 spaces. Only 93 are indicated on the site plan. The BZA will have to address this variance. . In order to better understand the parking requirements for this new type of restaurant, the City hired SRF Engineers to analyze the needed parking. This study was done for the application made by McDonald's in the summer of 1996 but it remains valid today because the new proposal is for the same type of restaurant. The parking study reveals that if a playland (similar to the ones at Champlin or Buffalo) were added to the existing 108 seat store, a total of 88 parking spaces would be needed to meet the peak demand. This proposed new restaurant has 93 spaces which exceeds the demand estimated by SRF Engineers. Even with the new restaurant of 5,200 sq.ft. vs. the previously proposed 4,1 CO sq.ft., the parking should work. As part of the CUP permit, staff will suggest that the,otal seating in the restaurant be limited to 135 spaces. Access to the site is shown on the site plan. They are proposing to have one access off Medicine Lake Road; this will be a two-way access. There will be two other one- way access dn'ies on Hillsboro Avenue. The north driveway on Hillsboro will be a one-way only in to the site. The south driveway will be a one-way only out of the site. This driveway is much farther to the north than the driveway proposed in the plan sub- mitted in the summer of 1996. . Both the external and internal circulation have been reviewed by the Engineering Department. It is the opinion of that Department that the site wlil function. If there are any problems relating to circulation, it will occur on the McDonald's property and have minimal effect on city or county roads. Because of the location of the drive-through window, there is more than adequate stacking on the site. This design should eliminate any stacking out onto public streets. This plan includes the relocation of the bus stop on Hillsboro at the cost of McDonald's. The stop will be moved about 120 feet to the south. The benefit of moving the bus stop farther south is a safer situation for drivers and passengers waiting for buses. With the previous proposal, town home owners to the south were concerned with traffic congestion. This revised plan will have the driveways intersecting on Hillsboro, north of all residential property. The south driveway on Hillsboro is about 60-80 feet south of the existing driveway into McDonald's. . 4 . McDonald's has proposed a landscaping plan for the site. This plan seems to be an improvement over the landscaping now on the site. The landscape plan must be approved by the Building Board of Review. The Board will require a "Landscape Bond" to guarantee that the plant materials are well established. Planning Commission Findings on CUP As with all CUP's, the Planning Commission shall make findings and recommend- ations on the 10 factors found in Section 11.80 of the Zoning Code. The following 10 items are addressed with staff comments: 1. Demonstrated Need for the Use: McDonald's currently exists on the site and does a good business. By providing the bigger store with the playland, additional customers will be served. The City has not generally taken a position about determining need and has preferred to let the market make that decision. 2. Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan: Drive-in type restaurants are consistent with the commercial designation found for this area. . 3. Effect on Property Values in the Area: Since there is already a store on the site, and the amount of traffic will not significantly increase during the peak period (lunch), this use will not significantly effect values. 4. Effect of any Anticipated Traffic Generation Upon Current Traffic Flow and Congestion in the Area: The parking study states that peak usage of this restaurant will not greatly increase due to the playland. The use of the restaurant will go up during evening hours and on weekends when there is greater capacity on the surrounding streets. The Engineering Department has reviewed the access points on both Medicine Lake Road and Hillsboro Avenue and finds that they will function adequately. The internal traffic pattern for the proposed McDonald's appears to work well and allows for adequate stacking of cars for the drive-through. It is hoped by McDonald's that the new drive-through process will speed traffic. Orders will be taken in person at the first window, payment at a second window and food presentation at a third window. 5. Effect on any Increase in Population: This use will not effect the population since no one will live at this location. 6. Increase in Noise Level: The proposed McDonald's will have the same or less noise because there will be no speaker for the drive-through lane. . 7. Any Odor. Dust. Smoke. Gas. or Vibration Caused by the Use: There should be no increase in any of these pollutants with the new restaurant. 5 8. Any Increase in Flies. Rats. or other Vermin on the Area Caused by the Use: There should be no increases in these pests due to the new restaurant. McDonald's does a good job handling its garbage. . 9. Visual Appearance of the Proposed Structure or Use: The proposed construction is different than the standard suburban McDonald's. The front of the store is the playland which is taller than the remainder of the restaurant. The playland has a glass front. I have heard many differing opinions about the look of the playland stores -- more negative than positive. Because of the size of the store, staff believes it is irnl''''''':mt to keep it as far from the street as possible to minimize the effect. aller playland space. This has been accomplished by maintaining the 35 foot front yard setback. 10. Other Concerns Regarding the Use: No other concerns have been identified by staff. Recommended Acti.Qn Staff is recommending approval of thE JP based on the site plan submitted by McDonald's, subject to approval of variances by the BZA or the City Council. McDonald's has done a good job revising the plan in order to come up with a design that respects the City's greenspace requirements. Staff believe that the request for a parking variance has merit based on the parking study that was done. The approval is based on the proposed site plan with 93 parking spaces and assuming that the restaurant has 135 seats. . MWG:mkd Attachments: Location Map Staff Memo to the Planning Commission dated August 6, 1996 SRF Engineering Report Planning Commission Minutes dated August 12, 1996 City Council Minutes from September 6, 1996 West Wood Site Plan (8x11) Site Plans (attached) . 6 -. ~ .. CITY OF GOLDEN VALLEY (7' -:.=::. Z667Z N89.5fJ11"E: ~. "'cr. ./ -1! /S. ------ <'-' ~ b'~.IO .. (\ ~O?,: . 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Grimes, Director of Planning and Development Subject: Informal Public Hearing -- Conditional Use Permit -- 9315 Medicine lake Road -- To allow a Class II Restaurant (drive-in, fast food) in the Commercial Zoning District -- McDonald's Corporation, Applicant McDonald's Corporation has applied for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in order to allow for the use of a Class II restaurant in the Commercial Zoning District. The applicant is proposing to demolish the existing store, and build a new 4,100 sq.ft. restaurant, which includes a drive-through lane, and a 1,400 sq.ft. indoor playland. The property is located at 9315 Medicine Lake Road; the site is 1.9 acres. The current Zoning Code allows Class II restaurants to operate only with a conditional use permit in the Commercial Zoning District. There is an existing McDonald's located on this site which is approximately 35 feet by 90 feet (about 3,150 sq.ft.). This store includes a drive-through lane on the east side of the store that was added some years after the store was originally opened in the mid-1970's. Because the existing store operates without a CUP, which is now required, it is considered a nonconforming use. . The site is currently designated on the Comprehensive Plan Map as Commercial and on the Zoning Map as Commercial. A Class II restaurant is consistent with the Commercial designation on the Comprehensive Plan Map. These types of restaurants are considered a conditional use in the Commercial Zoning District. The CUP is required in order to allow the City to give special consideration to certain matters including but not limited to traffic, parking, access, landscaping and site layout. The surrounding properties to the west and east are zoned commercial and designated on the Comprehensive Plan for commercial uses. The property to the south of Hillsboro is the Medley Park Townhomes. This town home area is designated on the Plan for Medium Density Housing and zoned PUD. North of the site is New Hope where the property is used for apartments. The request by McDonald's is unique for Golden Valley. McDonald's is requesting that the existing store with the drive-through lane remain open during construction of the new store. McDonald's believes that this can be done due to the location of the proposed new store on the site. As shown on the attached plans, the neW store is proposed to be located to the east of the old store. They believe that even the drive-through window can remain operational during construction. My . 1 . understanding is that the Crystal store, off Douglas Drive remained open while a new store was built on the same site. The request is also unique because there are two significant variances needed in order for this proposal to go forward. These variances are for both the number of parking spaces on-site and the setback of the parking area from the street. Variances; from the requirements of the Zoning Code are not approved by the Planning Commission. These specific variance requests must be approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). The staff has discussed this matter with the City Attorney regarding the best way to review CUP applications that also require variances. The procedure that is recommended by the attorney and staff is that the proposed CUP application is first reviewed by the Planning Commission at an Informal Public Hearing. After the Commission makes a recommendation and prior to the City Council holding a public hearing on the matter, the request for variances would be reviewed by the BZA. The City Council would then have both the Planning Commission and BZA recommendation when their decision is made. If the BZA would recommend against the variance request, the City Council would hear McDonald's appeal for the variance at the same time the CUP application is considered. Because CUP's are ordinances, it takes four City Council votes to approve the CUP. . The Planning Commission has the right to comment on both the parking and setback variances proposed by McDonald's. If the Commission finds one or the other to be unacceptable, the Commission can use this as part of the grounds for a recommendation of denial for the proposal. This vote or concern would be passed on to the BZA for their review. Description of Existing Restaurant McDon<;ild's is proposing to tear down its existing store at 9315 Medicine Lake Road and replace it with a larger store. The current store was built on this 1.9 acre site in the 1970's and is about 4,100 sq.ft in area. The proposed store with an indoor playland will be about 4,100 sq.ft. The proposed playland area itself is 1,400 sq.ft. in area. The current store requires about 90 parking spaces (one space for every 35 sq.ft. of gross floor area). I have counted about 78 on-site spaces or a deficiency of about 12 spaces from the code. It would appear that the existing parking is adequate because I have received little or no complaints on parking at this McDonald's. The drive-through facility works well at this location because of the adequate stacking distance. . The store probably became deficient in parking spaces when the drive-through lane was added some years ago. I assume there was parking all along the east side of McDonald's prior to the drive-through window opening. The setback requirements are met by the current stores as validated by the current survey. Since the site has street frontage on three sides, the required setback is 35 2 feet on Medicine Lake Road and Hillsboro Street. The sideyard setback adjacent to the gas station/convenience store (zoned Commercial) and the radio tower building (zoned Radio) is 20 feet with the requirement that 1/2 be landscaped. . The site has access drives from both Medicine Lake Road and Hillsboro. The site seems to function well from a traffic point of view. The site is well landscaped with large trees and shrubs along Hillsboro. With the proposed plan, some of these trees and shrubs will have to be removed and replaced due to the proposed smaller street setback. Description of Proposed McDonald's As indicated on the proposed site plan, McDon<::.c.. :. plans to build a new 4,100 sq.ft. restaurant on this site. It would include both a playland and drive-through window. McDonald's has recently built similar structures in Champlin (109th & Douglas Drive) and in Buffalo. The new store would be more atu'-ctive to young families with children, especially on the weekends. The 1,400 sq.ft. playlai' ':3 is added to increase traffic on the weekends and evenings when the restu _d ""nts are normally less busy. Because the building is larger, the Zoning Code requires more parking spaces for the proposed building than the existing building. The Code requires one space for every 35 sq.ft. of gross floor area or one space fc;,=very 3 seats which ever is greater. In this case, the floor space creates the greater number of required spaces. The number is 118 spaces. McDonald's is requesting a variance to allow only 112 spaces or dbout 6 fewer than allowed by the Code. . In order to better understand the parking requirements for this new type of restaurant, the City hired SRF Engineers, to analyze the needed parking. (The study was paid for by McDonald's.) The result of the study (attached) is that the peak time at this type of restaurant is a Friday at lunch time. At that peak time 88 spaces are needed. The Engineering staff has reviewed this report and find it to be acceptable and reasonably thOL:" out. Staff is also confident that the 112 spaces should be adequate because it IS aDOUt 25 spaces more than the peak period requirement. Access to the site with the new plan is to be provided off Medicine Lake Road and Hillsboro Avenue. The Medicine Lake Road access will be farther to the west than the existing access to the site. This is good because it is then further from the intersection with Hillsboro. Them:::re two access points from Hillsboro. The first will be a one-way access point into the site, about 80 feet south of Medicine Lake Road. Since this is a one-way in, staff believes this will function adequately and not cause problems on-site. Traffic entering from Hillsboro at this point will merge with the drive-through traffic and go around to the north side of the building to find parking west of the building. . 3 . . . The second access on Hillsboro is at the south end of the site. At the request of the City Engineering Department, this access was moved to this location to improve internal circulation and access to the site. With this driveway location, cars may enter from Hillsboro and get into the drive-through lane without conflicting with other traffic movements. There is some concern about this access drive at this curve and how it will effect traffic in this area. Although it is not ideal to have access on the curve, there is adequate site distance in both directions for those exiting onto Hillsboro. There may be a need to reduce the height of landscaping on Hillsboro in both directions to insure that the site distance is maintained. The driveway access to Medley Park Townhomes and the Gallant Townhomes is south and west of McDonald's driveway by about 80-100 feet. This appears to be adequate separation between driveways in order to minimize conflicts. If this plan is approved, the City may consider requiring that McDonald's plant evergreen-type trees on the south side of Hillsboro across from the south access point to help screen head lights from the Gallant Townhomes. These trees could be planted on City right-of-way or the townhome property. McDonald's is proposing to move the bus stop on Hillsboro to the south about 120 feet. This move would be paid for by McDonald's including any pavement or reconstruction. There is a benefit to the City to move this bus stop further from the intersection. McDonald's is proposing to significantly reduce the green area setback along Hillsboro. With the current store, the 35 foot green setback is met along Hillsboro. They are proposing to reduce the setback to 18 feet along most of Hillsboro in order that the drive-through lane may be built within 18 feet of the property line. This means that the new restaurant will be built 36 feet from Hillsboro Avenue and there is only 1/2 the required green space. The variance from the code for setback is requested in order to maximize parking spaces on-site. Also, McDonald's believes that the drive-through lane works best on the east side of the building because it eliminates customers crossing over the drive- through lane. All the customer parking is on the west side of the building. Staff is concerned about how keeping the current store open during construction determines the location of the new building. Staff have asked McDonald's to review the site plan to see what variances would be needed if the existing store was torn down right away. McDonald's prefers to keep the store open for economic reasons. Staff believes that the long term location of the store is most important. Staff believes that few, if any variances, would be needed if the current store was torn down first to make way for the larger store. 4 Planning Commission Findings on CUP . As with all CUP's, the Planning Commission shall make findings and recommendations on the 10 factors found in Section 11.80 of the Zoning Code. The following 10 items are addressed with staff comments: 1. Demonstrated Need for the Use: McDonald's currently exists on the site and does a good business. By providing the bigger store with the playland, additional customers will be served. The City has not generally taken a position about determining need and has preferred to let the market make that decision. 2. Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan: Drive-in type restaurants are consistent with the commercial designation found for this area. 3. Effect on Property Values in the Area: Since there is already a store on the site, and the amount of traffic will not significantly increase during the peak period (lunch), this use will not significantly effect values. 4. Effect of any Anticipated Traffic Generation Upon Current Traffic Flow and Congestion in the Area: The parking study states that peak usage of this restaurant will not greatly increase due to the playland. The use of the restaurant will go up during evening hours and on weekends when there is greater capacity on the surrounding streets. The Engineering Department has reviewed the access points on both Medicine Lake Road and Hillsboro Avenue and finds that they will function adequately with the note that the landscaping along Hillsboro Avenue should be kept low to allow for better visibility for drivers entering and exiting McDonald's. . The internal traffic pattern for the proposed McDonald's appears to work well and allows for adequate stacking of cars for the drive-through. It is hoped by McDonald's that the new drive-through process will speed traffic. Orders will be taken in person at the first window, payment at a second window and food presentation at a third window. 5. Effect on any Increase in Population: This use will not effect the population since no one wullive at this location. 6. Increase in Noise level: The proposed McDonald's will have the same or less noise because there will be no speaker for the drive-through lane. 7. Any Odor. Dust. Smoke. Ga$:.-,-~~":_Vibration Caused by the Use: There should be no increase in any Ui.ncse pollutants with the new restaurant. . 5 . . . 8. Any Increase in Flies. Rats. or other Vermin on the Area Caused by the Use: There should be no increases in these pests due to the new restaurant. McDonald's does a good job handling its garbage. 9. Visual Appearance of the Proposed Structure or Use: The proposed construction is different than the standard suburban McDonald's. The front of the store is the playland which is taller than the remainder of the restaurant. The playland has a glass front. I have heard many differing opinions about the look of the playland stores -- more negative than positive. Because of the size of the store, staff believes it is important to keep it as far from the street as possible to minimize the effect of the taller playland space. 10. Other Concerns Regarding the Use: No other concerns have been identified by staff. Recommended Action Staff is recommending that McDonald's revise their site plan to minimize or eliminate the requirement for a setback variance along Hillsboro Avenue. A revised plan may evaluate that a new store, meeting the needs of McDonald's, may be built that keeps the required green space in the area. Although staff can understand the concern by McDonald's about keeping a store open on the site during construction, it does not provide for the overall best plan for the City in the long run. Staff agrees that the number of parking spaces on the site could be reduced to 112 spaces based on the parking study. However, staff believes that this number should not be reduced any farther because of the success of the McDonald's chain and the potential of the playland. MWG:mkd 6 Consulting Group, I n c . Transportation · Civil · Structural · Environmental · Planning · Traffic. Landscape Architecture · Parking . July 29, 1996 Mr. Mark Grimes CITY OF GOLDEN VALLEY 7800 Golden Valley Road Golden Valley, Minnesota 55427-4588 RE: PARKING NEEDS STUDY FOR THE PROPOSED EXPANSION OF MEDICINE LAKE ROAD McDONALD'S RESTAURANT Dear Mr. Grimes: Attached for your review is the summary report presenting the results of the parking needs study related to the proposed expansion of the Medicine Lake Road McDonald's restaurant. Our parking study reveals that with the addition of the Playland, the number of parking spaces that will be required at the neak weekday of the peak month of the year at the Medicine Lake Road restaurant is 2::, spaces. The current site has 84 spaces and the . peak parking accumulation of 88 vehicles yields a parking supply deficit of 5 percent or four parking spaces. However, when using a typical design level of 85 percent of the peak, the typical demand would be 75 parking spaces. Use of typical design levels is reasonable because the peak accumulation represents the peak day in the peak month of the year and in many cases will only apply to a few days during the year. The attached report also includes the methodology we employed to determine the peak and average parking lot accumulations as well as the raw driveway counts collected by the McDonald's Corporation for clarification. If you have any questions. please contact us at (612) 475-0010. Sincerely, cJh;J. CfJ. April G. Mt;1apaz Transportation Engineer cc: Jerry Roper, McDonald's Corporation . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. One Carlson Parkway North, Suite 150, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55447-4443 Telephone (612) 475-0010 · Fax (612) 475-2429 An Equal Opportunity Employer . . . PARKING NEEDS STUDY FOR THE PROPOSED EXPANSION OF MEDICINE LAKE ROAD MCDONALD'S PREPARED FOR: THE CITY OF GOLDEN VALLEY PREPARED BY: SRF CONSULTING GROUP, INC. ONE CARLSON PARKWAY NORTH, SUITE 150 PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 (612) 475-0010, JULY 1996 OVERVIEW . The McDonald's Corporation is proposing to expand its Golden Valley restaurant on Medicine Lake Road with the addition of a Playland. The addition of the Playland may impact existing traffic patterns and parking demand in the restaurant's vicinity. The purpose of this study is to present the existing parking demand at the Golden Valley restaurant and estimate the parking demand that would result in the addition of a Playland. Figure 1 presents the location of the Golden Valley restaurant. . As part of this parking study, traffic data from the Champlin restaurant and sales data from the Champlin, Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake restaurants are used. Like the Golden Valley site, these restaurants are located in the northwestern area of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and therefore have similar customer demographics. In particular, the Champlin restaurant is used as the basis for comparison because a Playland has been added to it just this past February and its size is similar to the present Golden Valley restaurant. Table 1 present the general characteristics of both the Golden Valley and Champlin restaurants. TABLE 1 GENERAL RESTAURANT CHARACTERISTICS Golden Valley Champlin Location Northwest Twin Cities suburb Northwest Twin Cities suburb .............................................................................................. ......................................................................................... :::::::::::::::::::::::::f.r.~~::~!~~~!~~:::::::::::::::::::::::: ..:?!~E~..T.Y..p..~...................................................... .........................~~!:.~.:~!~.~~!!:!9.......................... Number of Parking Stalls 84 95 ..N.u.mber..ofSeats........................................ ........................................................................................ ........................................................................................ 108 124 ..................................................................................... .......................................................................................... .........................................................................u.........uu........ ..~.~.~~.!:E..~.U:~~~~!.~~..~!.~!~.~(.:?~~.!.......... 0.78 0.77 ..................................................................................................................... .............................................................................................. ..~!~y.~~!:'.~.....................................m.................... No Yes ...................................................................................................... :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~!:~r.~:~:y.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ..~~~~.Y.Y.~~~.~.~~..~~y................................... ...............................~~!~~~.~.y................................ . DA TA COLLECTION The following data were collected by the McDonald's Corporation and used to estimate the existing and future parking demand at the Golden Valley restaurant with the addition of the Playland. 1. Driveway counts were conducted for the Golden Valley and Champlin restaurants for the highest sales volume weekday and weekend day. The highest sales volume weekday and weekend day for the Golden Valley restaurant were Friday and Saturday, respectively. The highest sales volume day for the Champlin restaurant was Saturday and because of this, no driveway counts were collected at this location for a weekday. . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 1 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 July 29, 1996 m CoNSULTING en CD lNc. {?' . ~Q~b . . S" '{"e \.?J.....e ~e~. \~e. . vtQ~O 't-e.o.'\C Ie q "5'\.~ o \f\ Q '^ ":::. Z&6 u. ~ 'HI" ;i'711'1 . !~llf, __ _ . j' .~.u ~. ~ ~~ "'0";. ,: ~~ .of! :t. :'" ''i' ;.. ~.s: 11'. ." ;' ..... ,. N , ~~" I ': "c) H t l:!..- '''41 ~, ,~ S' --9 - · iT nn.,. a .., ,!....'R ~,' . ' ... >-= .. ~I .... '" '0- .t ~ ~ I- - 1 3= ... o~f~:--} IJU.71 .; 'j ~ (' '" 'v ~ I ;.. ~.. ~+ :r.: - Q , I' MEDLEY l "!. !v~~. .. ~ ~U~.I' + 2151-66 ~ ~ I . ~~, NO. I IH.48 McDONALD'S PARKING STUDY ...,. .. ~.. 'C' 0'1- ..d.-;;oqo., -", 1110$ ,. J." I .,-1 :J -' ~c '\ '. . . ~l . I " '~ "1' ... ( ,., '1 Scir6~':'..~..t ' :el .;.. '6, ~~ $!t'J: H'I !~;," .' '" !,' ... w~ I. 'ri~D ~ ~ 0 t llO; I " J::'l \; OUTLOT ~ ~., ---.; , .... ,~ '~ ~ , .Dr .. rr:'l .:. . ~ . ""." ....\ '1 I" ~ ","..:"u~.. ,ow .. _.. 111.1' pt. I :1 . . J- ~., '.1 . ... .JOti' " ;. . ~~4 '-'. ...j . ow \. _ ." .... '...Ja..... ~ =:. ~~". U P.U.D. ~., PA R K to ... ~ ! 17'." .:;~~,,-.... FIGURE MEDICINE LAKE ROAD RESTAURANT CITY OF GO 'N VALLEY 1 2. Driveway counts at these two restaurants distinguished between vehicles that parked and those that used the drive-through window. They also included volumes entering and exiting the parking lot, the number of occupants in each vehicle, and time of entry and exit. . 3. Driveway counts were performed from 11 :00 a.m. to 1 :00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Data were broken down into 10-minute intervals to determine at what time the peak accumulation at the restaurant parking lot occurred. The Golden Valley driveway counts were performed on Friday, April 19, 1996, and Saturday, April 20, 1996. The Champlin driveway counts were performed on Saturday, April 13, 1996. Appendix A presents the unadjusted driveway counts collected for this study. 4. Overall sales, number of customers and number of employees at the Golden Valley and Champlin restaurants were also coilected for the same days and time periods during which the driveway counts were performed. This information was summarized in half-hour intervals. As in the driveway counts, information on overall sales, number of customers and number of employees were for Friday, April 19, 1996, and Saturday, April 20, 1996 for the Golden Valley site; and Saturday, April 13, 1996, for the Champlin site. . 5. Total monthly sales volume for the Golden Valley and Champlin restaurants was provided, as well as three similar suburban restaurants with Playlands. These sites were Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake Park. This information covered the period from 12 months prior to the opening of the Champlin restaurant Playland (January 1995) to May 1996. 6. Weekly sales volume by day for th:. ....;Iden Valley, Champlin, Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake Park restaurants was collected. This information was for the four weeks in May 1996, commencing on Sunday, May 5,1996, and ending on Friday, May 31,1996. Additionally, the current number of parking stalls: :ne Golden Valley and Champlin restaurants were also determined using existing site plans. ANALYSIS Driveway Counts Driveway counts were conducted to determine ex.:::ng parking patter"'- ?t the Golden Valley and Champlin sites. Table 2 presents the adjusted number of Vt:: lrked in . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 3 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs StUdy July 29, 1996 . . . the Golden Valley and Champlin lots. Bold text are the peak 10-minute accumulation. The direct addition of vehicles entering and subtraction of vehicles exiting from the driveway counts at the beginning of each count period (11 :00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.) did not always yield the exact number of vehicles parked in the lot at the end of the count period. Therefore, driveway counts were adjusted to match the number of cars parked at the end of each count period (1 :00 p.m. in the morning and 7:00 p.m. in the evening). The highlighted cells are the peak 10-minute number of cars parked in the lot during each count period. Overall, the number of cars parked in the lot (peak accumulation) is higher in the morning from 11 :00 a.m. to 1 :00 p.m. than in the evening from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. On Friday, April 19, 1996, the number of cars parked in the Golden Valley site peaked at 12:40 p.m. with 35 vehicles. In the evening, the peak was at 5:10 p.m. with 14 vehicles, only 40 percent of the morning peak. The peak period also lasted longer in the morning than in the evening. In the morning, the peak period started at about noon and ended at the end of the count period at 1 :00 p.m. On the other hand, the evening peak period began at 5:00 p.m. and lasted only until 5:20 p.m. On Saturday, April 20, 1996, the Golden Valley restaurant demonstrated different parking trends from the day before. It appeared that around 11 :00 a.m. there was a peak that proceded to come down and then a second peak arose around noon. As in the previous day, the peak parking lot accumulation was around 12:30 p.m. with 30 vehicles, about 86 percent of the previous day's peak. In the evening, the restaurant exhibited very different parking behavior from the previous day. It had a steady number of cars parked throughout the count period, with a slight dip at around 6:30 p.m. On average, the parking lot accumulation was also about 75 percent greater than the preceding Friday evening. The peak lot accumulation was 17 vehicles and occured at 5:30 p.m. The driveway counts were also analyzed to determine the average auto occupancy rates of vehicles parking and using the drive through window at the two sites. Table 3 presents the auto occupancy rates at each driveway count location and count period. In general, the auto occupancy rate of vehicles using the drive through window is lower than that of vehicles parking in the restaurant lot. SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 4 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 TABLE 2 ADJUSTED NUMBER OF VEHICLES PARKED IN THE LOT End Time Golden Valley Golden Valley Champlin Friday Saturday Saturday April 19, 1996 April 20, 1996 April 13, 1996 ....~.~.:9.g..~:.~:........ 18 15 20 :~4;ig::.~'=:::~-=::~f'=:'::::::=.::~l=:::.=:ir=::= ....f:;.:.40.a:.rTi:......................22...................................1.2....................................33................ ....ff:.scfa:.rTi:......................23....................................8.....................................34................ ....f~Eoo.p:.rTi:......................30....................................g.....................................3if............... ....:;.~E1.0.p:.rTi:......................33...................................1.2....................................3S................ ....:;.2":20.p:.rTi:......................31....................................1.5....................................41................. ....1.2.:30.p:.rTi:......................32...................................1.:;....................................41................. ....1.2.:.4'O..p:.m.:......................34......................................21..... ............42................ ....1.2.:.~5;O..p:.rTi:...._..................35...n............_.................3.0...... <...............47................. ......{.OO..p.:iTi..........................30...................................29....................................41................. 5:00 p.m. 11 13 20 .....s:.fO'.p:iTi............................i"4...................................1.3....................................1.8................ .....S:20..p.:iTi...........................1.1....................................1.3...................................1.7................ .....s:"30..p.:iTi~..........................8.....................................1.7'....................................1.7................ .....S:40..p.:iTi~.........................6.....................................1.5.....................................1.8................ .....s:.SO..p:iTi~..........................9.....................................1.6.....................................1.8................ .....EFoo..p:iTi............................]"....................................1.3...................................21................. .....s:.:;O..p.:iTi~..........................]"....................................1.2....................................23................ .....S:20..p.:iTi~..........................4.....................................1.2...................................27................ .....s:"30..p:iTi............................s......................................9.....................................36................ .....S:40..p.:ii1............................s.....................................1.2....................................33................ .....s:.SO..p:iTi............................9.....................................1.6....................................33................ ::::f:g9.::p.:~~:.::::::::::::::::::::::::::?:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::j:~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~~:::::::::::::::: . . For the Golden Valley site, the average auto occupancy rate in the morning period on Friday, April 19, 1996, was 1.63 persons per vehicle parking in the lot and 1.25 persons per vehicle using the the drive through window. In the evening period, the average auto occupancy rate of vehicles parking and vehicles using the drive through window was 1.73 persons per vehicle and 1.59 persons per vehicle, respectively. The evening period demonstrated a lower difference in occupancy rates between parking and drive through vehicles than in the morning (8 percent versus 23 percent). The maximum auto occupancy rate in the morning period was 1.93 persons per vehicle for vehicles that park and occurred at 12:40 p.m. The occupancy of vehicles that used the drive through window peaked at 11 :50 a.m. at 1.48 persons per vehicle. The maximum auto occupancy rate in the evening period was 2.50 persons per vehicle and 2.25 persons per vehicle for parking and drive through vehicles, respectively. . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 5 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 . . . TABLE 3 AVERAGE AUTO OCCUPANCY RATES Golden Valley Golden Valley Champlin Friday Saturday Saturday April 19, 1996 April 20, 1996 April 13, 1996 End Park Drive Park Drive Park Drive Time Through Through Through 11:00AM 1.00 1.33 1.50 1.43 2.69 1.00 .......1T"1.i5"AM....... ........f~i"3................"{27""...... ........1....15"3.................1.:.3.3........ ........2":0"8.................:(g.2....... .......1.1":"2i5"AKij....... ........1":"EH..............."1":48........ ......."f"is.................fff"...... .......2...0.S.................1.:.S5"...... .......1.1.jO".AKij....... ........fS.s..............."1":.3T....... ........{.33.................fs2........ ........1...715.................{.0.0....... .......1.1.:40".AM....... ........{"i1""............."1":.10........ ........{.sQ"................fs.f...... ........{.81.................f4.0....... .......1.1.:50".AM....... ........f15.g................"{.39....... .......2:.0.S................"{"4T....... ........2":1.0.................fs.s....... .......1.2.:0"0".PM....... ........f3.f................{j.1........ ........(8.3""...............1.:.s.3........ ........(7K.............."{.46....... .......1.2":"1.0".p.Kij....... ......."{.S.s.................1.:25........ ........1:.8"3................{.s.3........ ........2":so"................fs.o....... .......1.2":20".P.M....... ........fig.................1.:.1.5........ ........1.:.15"3.................fs.s........ ........2":29.................{.S.4....... .......1"2":30".P.Kij....... ........1.:.72................"1.:20........ ......."{.4.S.................{"14........ .......2:.2.Q"................{"s"3"...... .......1.~E40"..P.M....... ........1.:.9.3..............."1":29....... ........{.7"2"..............."{6.f...... ........2...0"8................"{.s6....... .......1.2.:50".PM....... ......."{.3.Q"..............."{2.1........ ........(g.s.................{"3S........ ........2...3"5""..............2:.0"7""..... ...............Average ........{.6"3"...............{iif....... ........:;jig................{.S(j"....... .......i~1y...............{.6i...... 5:00 PM 2.38 1.75 1.00 1.53 2.42 1.90 ........5:"1"0..pjij(...... ........{"4.0................"{4.5........ ........1...3.3................"{.SS........ ........2":31.................(7"S....... ........5:.2.0..pji,i(...... .......2:.04.................1.:43........ ........1...9.0................"{"44........ ........2.."30"................N"iA....... ........5:"30..pji,if........ .......2:.04.................1.:54........ .......2:.1.f..............{"33........ .......2:.6"0.................1:"40....... .........5:.4.0..Pji,if........ .......2:.0"7""..............2:25....... ........{.15.i...............{"4T....... ........2"..94................2:.0.0....... ........5:.S.0..PM......... ........1:"2.0.................1.:.73....... ........"NiA.................1":60........ ......."2"..5S................2:.4.2....... ........s:.Q"o..pji,if........ ......."{.S7...............T.78....... ........(0.0................2:.3.5........ .......2:.O"15.................3:-2.S....... ........S:.1.0..PM......... ........1.:.00................"{.73........ .......2:.0.0.................f"i1........ ........2":215.................fs.0....... ........s:.2"O..PM......... ........f2"s.................f.52........ ........N"iA................2:.00........ ........2":71.................1....S.S....... ........sj.O..PM......... .......2:.s.0.................1":7"1......... .......2:.4.S.................1:"s.S........ .......2...22.................(4.0....... ........S:"40..PM......... ........1:"92.................1.:47""..... ......."{.2.0.................f"40........ .......2...8Q"...............2:.0.S....... ........s:.S.O..PM......... ........fo.0...............T27""...... .......2...0.0.................{"ss........ ........2"..so................2:.S.3....... ...............Average ........{.73................1.:.S9........ ........{7"4................{.66........ ........:Di5................1.~.7"8....... On Saturday, April 20, 1996, the Golden Valley site exhibited only slightly higher auto occupancy rates in the morning period than the previous day for both parking and drive through vehicles. The morning period average was 1.69 and 1.50 persons per vehicle for parking and drive through vehicles, respectively. However, evening period auto occupancy rates were similar to the previous day's, averaging 1.74 and 1.66 persons per vehicle for parking and drive through vehicles, respectively. The peak auto SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 6 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 occupancy rate of parking vehicles was 2.06 persons per vehicle and occurred at 11 :50 a.m. The peak auto occupancy rate of drive-through vehicles was 1.85 persons vehicle nd occurred at 12:20 p.m. . . On Saturday, April 13, 1996, the Champlin site demonstrated a higher auto occupancy rate for parking vehicles than the Golden Valley site on Saturday, April 20, 1996. The average auto occupancy rate at the Champlin site was 2.17 persons per parking vehicle in the morning period and 2.45 persons per parking vehicle in the evening period. The Golden Valley rates for parking vehicles were only 78 percent of Champlin's morning and 71 percent of the evening rates for parking vc"c1es. Additionally, occupancy rates of parking vehicles both in the morning and evenin .'?riods were consistently near the 2.0 persons per vehicle range. On the other hand, l,. .amplin's auto occupancy rates of drive-through vehicles were not significantly different from Golden Valley's on both count days (1.62 and 1.78 persons per vehicle in the morning and evening periods, respectively). In the morning period, rates peaked at 11 :00 a.m. for parking vehicles at 2.69 persons per vehicle, and at 12:50 p.m. for drive-through vehicles at 2.07 persons per vehicle. In the evening period, occupancy rates peaked at 5:40 p.m. for parking vehicles at 2.94 persons per vehicle, and at 6:00 p.m. for drive-through vehicles at 3.25 persons per vehicle, the highest rate during all three count days. The percentage of single-occupant vehicles (SOV), which is determined from the driveway counts as well, also support the conclusion that the addition of a Playland attracts a different clientele, i.e., clients that park vehicles with higher occupancies. Table 4 presents the breakdown of vehicles entering the Golden Valley and Champlin sites by number of vehicle occupants. Figures in Table 4 are consistent with the auto occupancy rates shown in Table 3 in that drive-thrcugh vehicles are generally SOVs. . The highest percentage of SOVs was 78 percent and occured at the Golden Valley site on Friday morning, April 19, 1996. On the other hand, the lowest percentage of SOVs was 39 percent and occured at the Champlin site on Saturday evening, April 13, 1996. The highest percentage of SOVs parking was 54 oercent in Golden Valley on Friday, April 19, 1996, while the lowest was 11 perce'-,l in Champlin on Saturday, April 13, 1996. Additionally, Saturday morning of April 13, 1996, in Champlin exhibited a fairly equal distribution of SOVs and vehicles with two or more occupants. . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 7 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 . . . TABLE 4 ENTERING VEHICLE DISTRIBUTION BY NUMBER OF OCCUPANTS Golden Valley Golden Valley Champlin Number of Friday, April 19, 1996 Saturday, April 20, 1996 Saturday, April 13, 1996 Occupants Park Drive Through Park Drive Through Park Drive Through Morning 1 54% 78% 51% 63% 31% 54% 2 32% 20% 33% 27% 30% 34% 3 or more 14% ~ ~ 10% ~ .12% Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Evening 1 49% 54% 39% 52% 11% 39% 2 33% 35% 33% 33% 44% 48% 3 or more 1a% ~ 1a% ~ ~ .1J% Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Sales Figures The following information related to sales were obtained to adjust the driveway counts and estimate the current highest and average parking lot accumulation for the peak weekday and peak weekend day: Golden Valley and Champlin Sites · Sales figures for every half hour at the dates and times of the driveway counts. · Daily sales figures from May 5, 1996 to May 31, 1996 (four-week period) · Monthly sales figures from January 1995 to May 1996. Andover. Buffalo and Spring Lake Park Sites These locations have a Playland and were selected because they have similar customer demographics. · Daily sales figures from May 5, 1996 to May 31, 1996 (four-week period) · Monthly sales figures from January 1995 to May 1996. SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 8 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 Sales During Driveway Counts . Sales figures at the time driveway counts were performed were summarized on the half hour instead of every 10 minutes because this level of detail was considered sufficient in obtaining the ratio of Champlin (with Playland) to Golden Valley (without Playland) sales on the Saturdays that driveway counts were conducted. On Friday, the peak weekday, sales and number of customers at the Golden Valley site were highest from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. However, average sales per customer and . employee peaked from 11 :30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., consistent with the auto occupancy rates for these time periods. Evening sales were lower than the morning sales and therefore are not discussed here. Peak weekday driveway counts were not conducted at the Champlin site because the peak day in the week was Saturday. On Saturday, the peak weekend day, the Golden Valley site had significantly lower average sales per customer than the Champlin site. At their respective morning peak half hour, the Golden Valley site's average sales per customer was only 68 percent of the Champlin site. This difference was exhibited throughout the morning and evening periods. However, the average sales per employee were not significantly different from each other. The significant difference in sales per customer between the Golden Valley site and Champlin site point to the clientele in Champlin. The higher average sales per customer is consistent with the higher auto occupancy rates of vehicles in the Champlin site. It is assumed that the addition of the Playland to the Golden Valley site will most probably increase the average sales per customer at that site, as in the Champlin site, without necessarily increasing the parking needs. . Sales By Day of Week Weekly sales figures by day of week for four weeks commencing on May 5, 1996 and ending on May 31, 1996 were analyzed to determine differences in sales during the week. Sales figures for the Golden Valley, Champlin, Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake Park sites were obtained. Except for Golden Valley, all the restaurants mentioned above have a Playland. The Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake Park sites are also in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities metropolitan area and are considered to have similar customer demographics as the Golden Valley and Champlin sites. verage, daily sales peaked on Fridays and Saturdays in May. On an average "'.:'. ::.y, sites with a Playland had sales 95 percent of the average weekend day. At the Golden Valley site, which has no Playland, the average weekday sales were 122 percent of the average weekend day sales. Therefore, restaurants with Playlands have more consistent average sales figures throughout the week. . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 9 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 . Monthly Sales Monthly sales figures commencing on January 1, 1995 and ending on May 31, 1996 were analyzed to determine differences in sales through one year. Sales figures for the Golden Valley, Champlin, Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake Park sites were obtained. Except for Golden Valley, all the restaurants mentioned above have a Playland. The Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake Park sites are also in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities metropolitan area and are considered to have similar customer demographics as the Golden Valley and Champlin sites. The peak month at all five restaurants was in the month of May. Monthly sales were highest from May to August every year. There was no significant difference between the ratio of sales during the peak month to the average month for sites with and without a Playland. At the Golden Valley site, sales at the peak month were 120 percent of sales of the average month. At the Champlin, Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake Park sites, which have a Playland, sales at the peak month were 115 percent of sales at the average month. The ratio of average sales in April to average sales in May the peak was computed to account for monthly differences in parking demand. The resulting factor is used to adjust the April 1996 driveway counts at the Golden Valley and Champlin sites and . determine the peak parking lot accumulation at these two sites. The ratio of average sales in an average month to average sales in May was also computed. This factor was applied to the peak parking lot accumulation that was computed. The result is the average parking lot accumulation at the Golden Valley and Champlin sites. Table 5 presents the ratio of the peak sales to each month's and average monthly sales. For restaurants with Playlands, the peak month used was May although average October and September sales were higher; this was done because the Andover Playland opened in September 1995 and exhibited a marked increase in sales that fall and dominated the average sales for the months of October and November 1995 although the other restaurants' peak month was May. . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 10 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 TABLE 5 RATIO OF PEAK MONTH SALES TO MONTHLY SALES (Factor a) . Month All Restaurants Golden Valley With Play lands (Without Play land) ..................~.~D.~~!Y.................... 0.80 0.82 ....................................................... ......................................................... .................~~~~~.~.t:y................... 0.77 0.78 ................................................u...... ...................................................... March 0.91 0.91 ......................Ap.rjj....................... ........................................................ ...................................................... 0.88 0.89 :::::::::::::::::::::::~:~:y.::::::::::::::::::::::: ................................,...................... .......................................................... 1.00 1.00 ........................................................ ......................................................... June 0.94 0.99 ......................"J.uiy....................... ........................................................ ......................................................... 0;89 0.95 ...................Au.g.ust"................... .......................................................... .n................................................... 0.85 0.97 ...............Septem.ber............... ................................,...................... ........................................................ 1.04 0.91 ..................October.................. ................................,............... ........................................... 1.13 0.95 ........................................................ .................................................. .....-..................................... November 0.98 0.87 ..............."Becembe.r................ ......................................................... ....-..........-.......................................... 0.99 0.89 ........................................................ .......................................................... ........................................................ Average Month 0.91 0.90 Used Mayas peak month because In September 1995, the Andover Playland opened and exhibited a marked increase in sales in September and October 1995, dominating the average sales for these two months. METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS . To determine the existing (without the P!avland) and future (with the Playland) parking demand at the Golden Valley restaurant. ,":8 April 1996 driveway counts were adjusted. The following steps were employed to determine parking demand: Existing Parking Demand April 1996 driveway counts were adjusted by day of week and month .:.r the year. For the Golden Valley restaurant, the existing parking demand was further classified as the parking demand on the highest Friday and highest month of the year as well as parking demand on the average Friday and average month of the year. The first f1ctor adjusted the April 1996 driveway counts to the highest or average Friday (or Saturday, as in the case of the Champlin) using the daily sales figures for four weeks in May 1996 (Factor b, see Table 6). TABLE 6 RATIO OF PEAK DAY SALES TO AVERAGE DAY SALES (Factor b) Store Type Average Average Friday Saturday 1.08 1.11 1.03 1.13 With Playland Without Playland . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 11 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 . . . The second factor adjusted for the highest or average month in the period from January 1995 to May 1996 (Factor a, see Table 5). Table 7 presents the existing highest and average number of cars parked at both the Golden Valley and Champlin sites. The peak accumulation at each site and type of day (peak or average) are displayed in bold text. To obtain the average parking lot accumulation, the parking accumulation on the peak day of the peak month is divided by the factors presented in Table 6. The equation for estimating the existing peak parking accumulation is: Peak Parking Accumulation = Adjusted April 1996 Parking Lot Accumulation x Factor a X Factor b The adjusted April 1996 parking lot accumulation is presented in Table 2. The equation for estimating the parking accumulation on an average Friday in an average month is: Average Parking Accumulation = Peak Parking Accumulation I Factor b The Golden Valley restaurant currently has 84 parking stalls. On the peak Friday of the peak month, 45 of the 80 spaces (54 percent) are utilized at the peak 1 a-minute period in the morning, and 18 (21 percent) are used in the peak 1 a-minute period in the evening. On an average Friday, the peak parking lot accumulation is 35 vehicles in the morning and 14 vehicles in the evening. On the peak Saturday of the peak month, the peak lot accumulation is 43 vehicles in the morning and 24 vehicles in the evening. On an average Saturday, the peak accumulation is 31 vehicles in the morning and 17 vehicles in the evening. Therefore, at present, there is sufficient parking supply at the Golden Valley restaurant. The Champlin restaurant, which has a Playland, currently has 95 parking stalls. The site peaks on the peak Saturday of the peak month at 53 vehicles (56 percent of effective parking supply) in the morning and 41 vehicles (43 percent) in the evening. These percentages are slightly higher than the Golden Valley restaurant. Therefore, there is presently sufficient parking supply at the Champlin restaurant. SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 12 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 TABLE 7 EXISTING PEAK (MAY) AND AVERAGE LOT ACCUMULATION Golden Valley Champlin End Friday Saturday Saturday Time Peak Average Peak Average Peak Average 11:00AM 21 19 19 17, 25 23 .......1.1.:1.0.Aiiij....... ...........1.ff......................1Ef......... ...........16.......................1.4..........- .........30......................28.......... .......1.1.:20.Aiiij....... ...........24.......................22........... ...........1.5.......................1.4.......... ...........38......................"3s.......... .......1.1.:30.Aiiij....... ..........24.......................22........... ...........14.......................1.3.......... ..........40.......................37.......... .......1.1.:40.Aiiij....... ..........2S.......................2'3........... ...........1.5.......................1.4.......... ..........4.1"......................38.......... .......1.1':50.Aiiij....... ..........27......................24........... ...........1.0........................9........... ..........43......................"3"9.......... .......1.:Eoo.p.iiij....... ..........35.......................32........... ...........1.1"......................1.0.......... ..........48......................44.......... .......1.2':1.0.piiij....... ..........38.......................34........... ...........1.5.......................1.4.......... ..........4S.......................4.1........... .......1.:E20..P.iiij....... ...........3S.......................32........... ...........1.9.......................ff......... ..........S.1.......................4.7.......... .......1.2.:30.piiij....... ...........37.......................3.3........... ...........2'1"......................1.9..........:...... ....5.1".....................47.......... .......1.2':40.P.iiij....... ...........3.9......................"3.5........... ...........2.7......................24.......... ...........S3......................49.......... .......1.2':50..P.iiij....... ..........4cf.....................36........... ...........3.ii"....................34.......... ...........59.......................54.......... .........f.o.o..pjijf....... ..........35......................32........... ..........'3.7'.....................33.......... ...........s.1".....................47.......... 5:00 PM 13 12 16 14 25 23 ........S:.1.0..PM......... ...........16.......................14........... ...........1.6.......................1.4....... .............23.......................2.1"......... ........S:.2.0..PM......... ...........1.3.......................12........... ...........1'6.......................1.4..... ................2.1".......................1"9.......... .........S:.3.0..PM......... .........'..9.........................8............ ...........2'1'......................1.9.......... ..........2.1"......................1"9.......... ........S:.4.0..PM......... ............j.........................6............ ...........1"9.......................1.j.......... ..........23........................2'1"......... ........S:.S'O'.PM......... ...........1.0.........................9............ ...........2.0'......................1.8.......... ..........23.......................2.1"......... ........s:.OO..PM......... ............8.........................j............ ...........16.......................1.4.......... ..........2S......................24.......... ........S:.1.0..P.I\i,j'........ ............8.........................j............ ...........1.5.......................1.4.......... ..........29........................27.......... ........S:.2.0..P.M......... ............5.........................5............ ...........1.5.......................1.4.......... ..........34.......................3.1"......... ........S:.30..PM......... ............6.........................5............ ...........1'1"......................1.0.......... ..........45.......................4.1'......... ........S:40..PM......... ............6.........................5............ ...........1'S.......................1.4.......... ..........4.1".......................38.......... ........S:.5.0..P.M......... ...........10........................9............ ...........2.0.......................1.8.......... ..........4.1".......................38.......... ........7:.0.0..PM......... ............ir........................j............ ...........1.9....................."..1.j.......... ..........4.1"......................"38.......... . . ..................................... .........n......n..........~........................... .............................................................. ..............................H.......................... . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 13 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 . Parking Demand At Golden Valley Restaurant With Playland (Future) In addition to Factor a presented in Tables 5 and 6, the following factors were applied to the April 1996 driveway counts to determine the parking demand at the Golden Valley restaurant with the Playland. All of these factors are based on Saturday driveway counts and sales-related data. Ratio of Adjusted Parking Lot Accumulation in Champlin to Golden Valley (Factor c) This factor establishes the first relationship between driveway counts in the Champlin restaurant, which has a Playland, and the existing Golden Valley restaurant, which does not have a Playland. This factor is simply the ratio of the adjusted parking lot accumulation presented in Table 2 for Champlin to Golden Valley. Table 8 presents the average ratio in the morning and evening periods. TABLE 8 RATIO OF ADJUSTED PARKING LOT ACCUMULATION, CHAMPLIN TO GOLDEN VALLEY (Factor c) Time Period . Morning Evening Ratio (Champlin:Golden Valley) 2.53 1.87 Ratio of Number of Seats Champlin to Golden Valley (Factor d) This is the ratio of the number of seats in the Golden Valley restaurant (108 seats) to the number of seats in the Champlin restaurant (124 seats). The value of this ratio is 0.87 and is used to account for the difference in number of seats between the Champlin and Golden Valley restaurants. Future Parking Lot Accumulation Equation To estimate the parking lot accumulation at the Golden Valley restaurant with the Playland, Factors a, c and d were applied to the adjusted April 1996 parking lot accumulation (see Table 2) and is presented in the following equation: Future (With Playland) Parking Lot Accumulation = Adjusted April 1996 Parking Lot Accumulation x Factor a X Factor c x Factor d . The parking lot accumulation at the Golden Valley site with the Playland is determined for the peak Friday in the peak month, the average Friday in the average month as well SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 14 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 as the peak Saturday in the peak month and the average Saturday in the average month. Table 9 presents these figures. The parking lot accumulation on an average weekday or weekend day of an average month is determined by dividing the peak accumulations by Factor b (see Table 6). . The design parking lot accumulation is 85 percent of the peak parking accumulation and is used instead of the peak because the peak accumulation may only occur a few times a year. Designing for the peak may result in insufficiently used parking stalls. The highest parking lot accumulation at the Golden Valley restaurant with the Playland will occur at 12:50 p.m. on the peak Friday of the peak month. This accumulation is 88 vehicles. The current parking supply at the site is 84 vehicles. The peak parking accumulationof 88 vehicles yields a 5-percent-deficit (or approximately four parking spaces) in parking at the existing restaurant. However, when using a typical design level of 85 percent of the peak, the typical demand would be 75 parking spaces. The existing number of parking spaces is sufficient in meeting this demand and yields a lot usage of 89 percent. Use of typical design levels is reasonable because the peak accumulation represents the peak day in the peak month of the year and in many cases will only apply to a few days during the year. CONCLUSION . The addition of a Playland in the existing Golden Valley restaurant on Medicine Lake Road will increase the current peak parking lot accumulation on the peak Friday of the peak month of the year by approximately 120 percent from 40 to 88 vehicles. The peak accumulation of 88 vehicles yields a 5-percent-deficit in the existing number of parking stalls. This would require the McDonald's Corporation to provide at least four more parking stalls if the Playland is constructed. However, when using a typical design level of 85 percent of the peak, the typical demand would be 75 parking spaces. The existing number of parking spaces is sufficient in meeting this demand and yields a lot usage of 89 percent. Use of typical design levels is reasonable because the peak accumulation represents the peak day in the peak month of the year and in many cases will only apply to a few days during the year. . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 15 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 . . . TABLE 9 PARKING LOT ACCUMULATION AT THE GOLDEN VALLEY RESTAURANT WITH THE PLA YLAND Saturday End Peak Average Time Peak Average Design 25 23 11:00 AM 46 42 39 '::::::::::::::::~~::::::::::::::: ::::::::::~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::TFJ~::~~::: :::::::::::~:~:::::::::::~::::::::::~~::::::::::::::::::::::;~:::::::::::' '...............4.0-.............. ...........37...........................................1..f"3.0..AM... ...........5"3...........-..........48......................45...........' ,...............4.1................ .........."38...........................................ff.40..AM... ...........5.5.......................5.1.......................47..........., '...............4.3............... .........."39...........................................1.f.5.0-.AM... ...........S9......................53.......................50............ '...............4.8............... ..........44...........................................1.2:.0.0..PM... ...........77......................70......................65............ '................4.5............... ..........4.1............................................1.2:.1"0-.PM... ...........84.......................75.......................7"f........... ,................5.f........................47...........................................12:.2"0-.PM..............79......................70......................67...........' ,................5"f.............. ..........47...........................................1.2:"3.0-.PM... ...........8.1......................73......................69............ '................5.3............... ..........49...........................................1.2:.4.Q".PM... ...........8.6......................77.......................7"3............ '................59............... ..........S4..........................................12:.S.(j""p.llii"" ...........8.8......................79.......................7"5............ .................5.f.............. ..........47............................................1.:00..PM.... ...........77"......................70......................6.5..........., 25 23 5:00 PM 21 20 18 .................2.3............... ..........21............................................S.:.10..piiii.... ...........2"6......................2"3.......................22...........' ,................2.1............... ...........1.9............................................S:20..PM.... ...........2.1..........._..........20.......................18............ .................2"1............... ...........1.9............................................S:30..PM.... ...........1.5..........._...........1.3.......................f3...........' ,................2"3............... ..........2.1"...........................................s:4o..PM.... ...........1.f..........-...........1.0........................9............' .................2"3............... ..........2.1"...........................................s:5o..PM.... ...........1.6.......................15.......................14............ ,................26.........................24............................................i5":oo..PM...............1.3...........-...........1"1........................1.1............. ,...............29............... ..........27............................................S:.1.0..PM.... ...........1"3.......................f1........................f1"..........' '................34............... .........."3.1.............................................S:20..PM.... ............8.........................8.........................7............. '...............45............... ..........4.1"...........................................s:3o..PM.... ...........1"0........................8.........................9............. ................4.f.............. .........."38........... .................................S:40..PM.... ...........1.0-.......................8..........................9............' ,...............4.1................ ...........38............................................S:50..PM.... ...........1.6..........._...........1.5.......................14............ ,................4.1.........................."38............................................7:00..PM...............1"3..........._...........1..1"......................1..1".........., Friday ....n............................... ...nn...................h............................ SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 16 City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 . - ... '-' APPENDIX A 1996 UNADJUSTED DRIVEWAY COUNTS SRF Consulting Group, Inc. City of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 . . . . MCDONALD'S PARKINaTUDY 1996 Driveway Counts For the highest sales volume weekday and weekend day Day of Week: ~ Count Date: 1~ April 1996 MEDICINE LAKE ROAD. Peak Weekday Number of Cars Par1<ed at: 11:00a.m. 1a 1:00 p.m. ~ .11 I 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Number of: r Cars Entering & Partclng Cars CaIs Entering & Using Drive-Through Cars Persons In Car 1 2 3 Over 3 Total Exiting 1 2 3 OVer 3 Total Exltlng SUrl Time 11:00 AM 1 0 0 0 1 4 2 1 0 0 3 7 1I:fOAM 4 3 0 0 7 2 10 1 1 0 12 9 11:20 AM 4 2 1 0 7 9 7 3 1 0 11 16 11:30 AM 6 3 0 2 11 12 11 5 0 0 16 17 11;40 AM 6 4 2 0 12 14 18 2 0 0 20 19 11:50 AM 7 6 1 0 14 8 11 4 1 0 16 13 12:00 PM 9 4 0 0 13 12 11 5 0 0 16 16 12:10 PM 9 9 1 1 20 27 17 3 0 1 21 23 12:20 PM 9 6 2 2 19 22 22 4 0 0 26 20 12:30 PM 10 4 3 1 18 20 18 2 1 0 21 21 12:40 PM 6 5 2 2 15 17 12 5 0 0 17 18 12:50 PM 11 2 0 1 14 23 15 4 0 0 19 17 AM Total 82 48 12 9 151 170 154 39 4 1 198 196 5:00 PM 1 1 2 0 4 1 1 3 0 0 4 4 5:10 PM 3 2 0 0 5 10 9 4 1 0 14 14 5:20 PM 1 4 1 0 6 10 7 2 1 0 10 7 5:30 PM 1 4 1 0 6 9 8 2 2 0 12 12 5:40 PM 2 3 1 1 7 5 0 4 1 0 5 5 5:50 PM 4 1 0 0 5 8 4 5 1 0 10 10 6;00 PM 1 2 0 0 3 3 3 4 1 0 8 8 6:10 PM 6 0 0 0 6 11 6 5 2 0 13 12 6:2Q PM 3 1 0 0 4 4 . 7 4 0 1 12 12 6:30 PM 1 0 1 1 3 3 3 2 0 1 6 6 6:40 PM 3 1 2 0 6 2 6 2 0 1 9 9 6:50 PM 2 0 0 0 2 5 8 3 0 0 11 11 PM Total 28 19 8 2 57 71 62 40 9 3 114 110 SRF CoMufting Group, Inc. Page 1 014 Uf rt!'oVdo . GV./rfCD.XLS;Dliveway Coun/$ MCDONALD'S PARKING 5lUUY 1996 Driveway Counts For the highest sales volume weekday and weekend day MEDICINE LAKE ROAD - Peak Weekend Day Number of Cars Parked at: 11:00 a.m. 15 1:00 p.m. 2!! Day of Week: Saturd~ Count Date: 2QApril1996 U 15 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Number of: Cars Entering & Partclng Cars Cars Entering & " Drive-Through Cars P.~ons In Car 1 2 3 Over 3 Tol3l ExIting 1 2 , Over 3 Tol3l Exiting Start Time 11:00 AM 3 3 0 0 6 8 4 3 0 0 7 8 11:10AM 5 2 1 0 8 9 6 3 0 0 9 8 11 :'20 AM 2 0 1 0 3 4 8 1 0 0 9 9 11:30 AM 4 2 0 0 6 5 7 4 1 0 12 12 11:40 AM 3 3 0 0 6 10 6 3 1 0 10 10 11:5OAM 2 ., 2 " 8 6 1 1 0 8 8 12:00 PM 4 J 2 II 9 6 3 1 0 10 10 12:10 PM 4 3 2 0 9 c 6 4 2 1 13 12 12:20 PM 6 3 1 0 10 8 4 4 2 0 10 11 12:30 PM 8 4 0 1 13 9 6 1 0 0 7 8 12:40 PM 10 4 2 2 18 9 9 2 2 1 14 14 12:50 PM 4 5 3 0 12 13 5 3 0 0 8, 8 I - AM Total 55 36 14 3 108 93 73 32 10 2 11 118 5:00 PM 1 0 0 0 1 2 6 3 1 0 10 10 5:10PM 2 1 0 0 3 3 4 5 0 0 9 9 5:20 PM 3 0 2 0 5 2 5 4 0 0 9 7 5:30 PM 1 0 0 1 2 5 4 2 0 0 6 7 5:40 PM 3 4 0 0 7 9 6 1 1 0 8 8 5:50 PM 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 3 0 0 5 1 6:00 PM 1 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 2 1 5 9 6:10 PM 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 2 0 1 6 8 6:20 PM 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 5 1 3 14 6 6:30 PM 1 2 2 1 6 4 5 1 2 1 9 8 6:40 PM 4 1 0 0 5 2 3 2 0 0 5 5 6:50 PM 0 2 0 0 2 4 4 3 1 0 8 12 PM Total 16 11 4 2 33 42 49 31 ~. -. 8 6 u i 90 .." SRF Consuttlng Group. Inc. . Page 2014 . GV-MCD.XLS:DrivelVSY C<>cmts . . MCDONALD'S PARK1NaTUDY 1996 Driveway Counts For the highest sales volume weekday and weekend day DOUGLAS DRIVE - Peak Weekday Number of Cars Parked at: 11:00 a.m. NlA 1 :00 p.m. WA Day of Week: NOT COUNTED Count Date: SATURDAY IS WEEK PK 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. WA WA (PER JERRY ROPER, 19nI96) Number of: Cars Entering & Parking Cars Cars Entering & Using Drive-Through I Cats PelSons In Car 1 2 3 Over 3 Total Exmng 1 2 3 OVer 3 Total I Exiting Start Time 11:00 AM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:10 AM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:20 AM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:30 AM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:4OAM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:50 AM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12;00 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:10 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:20 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:30 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:40 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12:50 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AM Tota' 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5:00 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5:10 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5:20 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5:30 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5:40 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5:50 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6:00 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6:10PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6:20 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6:30 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6:40 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6:50 PM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 PM Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SRF Consulting GIOOP. Inc. PBge 3 of 4 07/29/96 . GV.MCD.XLS:Dtivelvsy Counts MCDONALD'S PARKING 5TUUY 1996 Driveway Counts For the highest sales volume weekday and weekend day Day of Week: Saturday Count Date: 04/1311996 DOUGLAS DRIVE - Peak Weekend Day Number of Cars Parked at: 11 :00 a.m. 2Q 1 :00 p.m. ~1 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 2Q ~ Number of: Cars Entering & Parldng Cars Cars Entering & Using Drive-Through Cars Persons In Car 1 2 3 Over 3 Total ExlUng 1 2 3 OVer 3 Total ExWng Start nme 11:00 AM 1 0 1 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 11:10AM 2 2 1 1 6 0 3 1 2 0 6 4 11:20 AM 1 2 1 0 4 2 3 1 1 0 5 2 11:30 AM 1 3 0 0 4 3 3 0 0 0 3 8 11:40 AM 3 5 1 0 9 7 3 2 0 0 5 5 11:50 AM 2 1 0 2 5 1 3 1 1 0 5 6 12:00 PM 3 3 1 0 7 9 7 6 0 0 13 10 12:10 PM 1 5 2 5 13 8 5 5 0 0 10 14 12:20 PM 3 0 0 4 7 6 8 2 1 1 12 8 12:30 PM 4 2 2 3 11 10 6 4 3 0 13 11 12:40 PM 4 5 1 3 13 8 4 5 0 0 9 15 12:50 PM 4 0 4 2 10 15 2 3 2 0 7 10 AM Total 29 28 14 22 93 69 48 30 10 1 89 95 5:00 PM 0 2 0 1 3 5 3 0 1 1 5 2 5:10 PM 0 3 1 0 4 5 1 3 0 0 4 6 5:20 PM 1 2 1 1 5 6 0 0 0 0 0 3 5:30 PM 0 4 0 0 4 3 3 2 0 0 5 2 5:40 PM 0 1 2 1 4 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 5:50 PM 0 5 3 1 9 6 0 2 0 1 3 6 6:00 PM 1 3 1 0 5 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 6:10 PM 1 3 1 1 6 2 2 3 0 0 5 2 6:20 PM 2 2 5 4 13 4 4 5 0 0 9 6 6:30 PM 2 3 2 1 B 11 3 2 0 0 5 3 6:40 PM 1 0 3 1 5 6 1 2 1 0 4 9 8:50 PM 0 3 1 1 5 5 0 1 1 0 2 6 PM Total 8 31 20 12 71 61 17 21 3 3 44 51 SRF Consulting Group, Inc. . Page 4 o( 4 . GV-MCD.XLS:Driveway Counls . -- ..-.. ------ .~ - -- . OVERVIEW The McDonald's Corporation is proposing to expand its Golden Valley restaurant on Medicine Lake Road with the addition of a Playland. The addition of the Playland may impact existing traffic patterns and parking demand. in the restaurant's vicinity. The purpose of this study is to present the existing parking demand at the Golden Valley restaurant and estimate the parking demand that would result in the addition of a Playland. Figure 1 presents the location of the Golden Valley restaurant. As part of this parking study, traffic data from the Champlin restaurant and sales data from the Champlin, Andover, Buffalo and Spring Lake restaurants are used. Like the Golden Valley site, these restaurants are located in the northwestern area of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, and therefore have similar customer demographics. In particular, the Champlin restaurant is used as the basis for comparison because a Playland has been added to it just this past February and its size is similar to the present Golden Valley restaurant. Table 1 present the general characteristics of both the Golden Valley and Champlin restaurants. . TABLE 1 GENERAL RESTAURANT CHARACTERISTICS Golden Valley Champlin location Northwest Twin Cities suburb Northwest Twin Cities suburb ::~!!?f.~IY.:p.~:::~~:::::::::=::==::::::::~~::~:::~::::::::. ::::::::::~::::::::::::fi~~:~1~~~~!~~:::=::::::=::::==::: ................................................................................. .........................Er.~!::~!.~!.!~!~9......................... .~~.~~.~.~.~t.~~r.~!.~fJ...~~~~.~...................... 84 95 .....................................108..................................... ..........................-.........................................-..-..... Number of Seats 124 ::E~:~~~~:~~::~~~~~~i:~~~I(~~~~f.::~::::: .................................................................................. ..........................................................................-.... 0.78 0.77 ...................................-............................................ .-.............................................................................. ..~~.~Y..!~~.~............................................................ No Yes .................................................................................. ..............................................................................-. ..~~~~.~~~.~~!.'..~..Q~y.................................... ...............................~.!~~r.~.~y................................ ...............................~~~':!~~~.y............................... DA T A COLLECTION The following data were collected by the McDonald's Corporation and used to estimate the existing and future parking demand at the Golden Valley restaurant with the addition of the Playland. 1. Driveway counts were conducted for the Golden Valley and Champlin restaurants for the highest sales volume weekday and weekend day. The highest sales volume weekday and weekend day for the Golden Valley restaurant were Friday and Saturday, respectively. The highest sales volume day for the Champlin restaurant was Saturday and because of this, no driveway counts were collected at this location for a weekday. . SRF Consulting Group, Inc. 1 Clty of Golden Valley McDonald's Parking Needs Study July 29, 1996 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission . August 12, 1996 A regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Cham~~, 7800 Golde~l~y Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota. Theme~ting was cal~ed to ~~~:~~ rc,( LeWl\led the m~5pm Chair Prazak amved at Those present VJere Chair Prazak'aQd Cgpnnissioners Groger, Johnson, apsner, Lewis, McAleese;~nt was Pentel. Also 'j5'reSent were City Planner, B' oblauch and PI~ning Secretary, Mary Dold. I. ~v" M1nq~ - Jun~ MOVE y Jol)nson, seconde~,Groger and motiorl'Gafned unanimously 0 approve the June 10, 1996 . inutes as submitted. II. Informal Public Hearing - Conditional Use Permit Applicant: McDonald's Corporation . Address: 9315 Medicine Lake Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota Request: To allow for the operation of a Class II Restaurant in the Commercial Zoning District Beth Knoblauch gave a summary of Director Mark Grimes report (absent from meeting) commenting on the applicant's request for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) so McDonald's can build and operate a new Class II Restaurant in the Commercial Zoning District. The existing restaurant is considered a legally nonconforming use because it has been in operation longer than the CUP requirements have been in the City Code. Ms. Knoblauch talked about the size of the proposed restaurant and McDonald's request to have their existing facility remain open while the new facility is under construction. City Planner Knoblauch told the Commission that the applicant will need to appear before the Board of Zoning Appeals concerning several variances due to the location and size of the restaurant. This meeting is scheduled for August 27. McDonald's request, along with the motion from the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals will go to the City Council at its meeting of September 3, 1996. Ms. Knoblauch talked about the visit staff made to a similar McDonald's in Champlin. Unfortunately this McDonald's did not have the same busy surroundings as the restaurant on Medicine Lake Road. This made it difficult to judge parking capacity and traffic patterns. The City Planner told the Commission that SRF Engineers performed a parking analysis and determined that peak time is Friday lunch, and 88 parking spaces were needed; the applicant is propOSing 112 which is 25 less than the code requires. Based on the SRF analysis, staff . . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 12, 1996 Page Two believes that the 112 parking spaces are adequate at this time. A request for a variance from Section 11.30, Subd. 6(E) will need to be addressed at a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. Ms. Knoblauch reviewed the access points into McDonald's noting that the Medicine Lake Road access would be moved more to the west, placing it farther from Hillsboro Avenue. The applicant is proposing a one-way access into the site on Hillsboro (closest to Medicine Lake Road) which they believe will help eliminate any traffic problems on the site. Because McDonald's is proposing this access, they are proposing to move the bus stop, at their expense, a little farther to the south, which will help alleviate problems at this corner. Staff would like to see this bus stop moved. Staff has concerns about the southern access into the site on Hillsboro due to site line distances. The Engineering Department believes that this southern access is workable. City Planner Knoblauch noted that some or all the plantings around this access may have to be removed and replaced; staff is suggesting the south side of the road which would provide buffering for the town homes but would not block lines of sight for drivers using the southerly access. City Planner Knoblauch reviewed the variances needed to address the setback violation on Hillsboro. Code requires 35 feet of landscape on the front setback; McDonald's is proposing 17 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 18 feet. McDonald's believe that the drive-through would work best on the east side requiring the setback variance. Staff believe that the entire building could be moved to the west side. A third variance, discussed by Ms. Knoblauch, but not addressed in the staff memo, is that part of the code that addresses a principal structure on one lot (Section 11.12). The City only allows one building on one lot. McDonald's is proposing to keep their existing facility open while the new building is under construction. This would be a violation of City Code and should be addressed by the Board of Zoning Appeals. Ms. Knoblauch reviewed the 10 findings and recommendations as written in the staff memo. Nothing of great distinction was noted in the findings. Staff recommendation requests McDonald's to submit a revised site plan showing a minimized or the elimination of a need for a setback variance. Commissioner Kapsner asked staff to comment on why there is a concern for one principal structure on one lot. City Planner Knoblauch commented that this concern comes from a number of sources, such as applicants squeezing another building on the site, or there may be a situation where there are two buildings on one lot and then the owner wants to sell one building off and wants each building to have its own lot. Chair Prazak asked if staff had received any previous requests of having a structure remain on the site while a new building was being built. City Planner Knoblauch commented that she was aware of this situation only in PUD's. Code specifically states there will be only one principle structure on a lot. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 12, 1996 Page Three . Commiss;;ner Lewis asked if the City Attorney had offered any options for McDonald's request of havinq "(he existing store remain open during the construction period. Ms. Knoblauch commented that they either tear down the building or get a variance, keeping in mind that state law says economic factors are not taken into consideration. Commissioner Greger stated that the Planning Commission is being put into a difficult situation concerning one building on a lot. If the applicant cannot get a building permit to begin, it is a moot point that is before the Planning Commission in recommending any approval. City Planner Knoblauch commented that Director Grimes expected to see a revised site plan showing only one building. However, the Planning Commission could still proceed with the current site plan by simply noting in its recommendation that it defers to the ruling of the BZA with regard to the "two buildings" issue. Jerry Roper, representing McDonald's, came forward requesting approval for a Conditional Use Permit and the submitted site plan. He said that he believes it will not be a problem for the City to grant the Conditional Use Permit because McDonald's has been in operation for such a long time on this site and the business should be grandfathered in. Mr. Roper commented that he believed staff had told him, when he was preparing his site plan, that meeting parking requirements was most important. Director Grimes had also asked McDonald's to reimburse the City for a parking study to determine the number of needed spaces, which McDonald's did. According to Mr. Roper, to achieve the most parking available on the site a setback variance would be needed along Hillsbore. He believes staff is now telling him that the setbacks are more important. Mr. Roper said that he had suggested a Planned Unit Development (PUD) because of the flexibility with what the ordinance requires. Staff instead requested that the applicant submit a parking study. . Mr. Roper also talked about the economic reasons for keeping the existing site open while the new facility would be under construction, citing that by remaining open, McDonald's will retain loyal customers and would decrease the loss of revenue due to the construction. Mr. Roper commented on the number of stores in the Minneapolis region and the years of experience in design layout of the McDonald's facilities. The designer was given as much free reign as possible. This person was to look at the site with minimal setbacks and design a site plan best for the site (plan submitted). Mr. Roper commented that he was unaware that City Code states there can only be one principal building on a lot. Mr. Roper commented that the existing facility would only stay open until the new building. is completed and ready for business, which he determined to be approximately two months. He stated there were ways of requiring McDonald's to conform to tearing down the building, such as submitted a "letter of credit" which says that if McDonald's does not tear the building down, the City has the authority to have it demolished and use the funds from the letter of credit. Mr. Roper commented that he was confused on which item was more important, setbacks or parking. McDonald's is trying to meet both requirements but is unable to come up with a conforming site plan. Mr. Roper also commented that either he gave Mr. Grimes the wrong square footage or Mr. Grimes took the wrong footage off the plan; the report indicated 4,100 sq.ft. but it is actually 4,800 sq.ft. which requires approximately 135 parking spaces. . . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 12, 1996 Page Four Mr. Roper talked about setbacks on the surrounding properties and believes that the gas station to the west and the townhomes to the southeast do not meet setback requirements. McDonald's will meet the setback on Medicine Lake Road and is proposing only to have the drive-through lane in the setback area along Hillsboro Avenue. He talked about if this were an interior lot, the setback would only be 20 feet and also asked the commission to consider the shape of the lot, which could be considered a hardship. Mr. Roper said that because the entrance/exit is be shifted more to the south, there will be a need for grading due to a 8 to 9 foot difference in elevation across the lot. McDonald's will need to put the building as far to the east, as possible, to make the grading work out. Chair Prazak asked Mr. Roper if parking consultant SRF had the correct square footage of the building when they prepared their report. Mr. Roper commented that they did; SRF was comparing this site to the McDonald's in Champlin which are approximately the same size of 4,800 sq.ft. Commissioner Lewis said that she feels that McDonald's has far exceeded optimum use of the site with a 20 percent increase with the proposed building. Mr. Roper commented that the additional square footage comes from the replacement of the existing basement area which will now be at ground level. Mr. Roper commented that the square footage is not changing, all square footage will now be on one level. Chair Prazak asked the applicant to review the colored site plan and show the commission and audience where there would be less green space. Mr. Roper pointed to an area along the eastern side of the lot (HilIsboro Avenue). He commented that the green space, at this time, is 35 feet and will be reduced to 18 feet. The edge of the proposed building will be at 36 feet from Hillsboro Avenue. Commissioner Johnson asked what the size comparison of the McDonald's on Winnetka Avenue to that of the Medicine Lake Road facility is. Mr. Roper said the Medicine Lake Road facility would be a little bit bigger with about 65 more seats because of the playland area. The total amount of seating for the Medicine Lake Road faCility will have around 135 seats. The building size will be about 800 sq.ft. larger than the McDonald's on Winnetka. Commissioner Johnson asked if the market area could support such a large restaurant. She compared the surrounding area of the McDonald's on Winnetka, with the businesses and busy road to bring in patrons to the surroundings on Medicine Lake Road. She asked if the existing building could just be remodeled or expanded. Mr. Roper said that it would be possible to build a playland onto the existing facility but that it was in dire need of remodeling, it is not efficient regarding layout. He commented that studies have been done which indicate that the proposed McDonald's can be supported by the families in the area. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 12, 1996 Page Five . Commissioner Kapsner commented that he believes that parking would be adequate on the site. He asked staff if McDonald's lost some land when the curve was put in on Hillsboro Avenue. City Planner Knoblauch commented that McDonald's was built after Hillsboro Avenue was put in. Commissioner Johnson asked the applicant if he could move the building over to gain some . setback without losing parking. Mr. Roper said that he had looked at that and could possibly gain another 4 feet by moving ':r!ing to the west. '- 4. nmissioner Lewis asked whc, _ .dditional square footage to the new building was being added. Chair Prazak commented that the building is being increased at both ends. Mr. Roper commented that the proposed building is approximately the same size as the existing building if the basement area is included; the additional square footage in the proposed building comes from the playland area. Commissioner Kapsner asked City Planner Knoblauch if a variance could be granted if there is a hardship situation. City Planner Knoblauch stated that the Board of Zoning Appeals addresses harc:;;:ns and requests from the applicant for variances. The Planning Commission can make a recommendation regarding the information presented on setbacks. . Mr. Roper asked staff and the commission what the process was to rezone a piece of property to a Planned Unit Development (PUD). City Planner K- :olauch commented that the proposed McDonald's does not quality. The Winnetka Avenue McDonald's is a PUD only because it is in an official Housing and Redevelopment District, which is not the case with the current proposal. Chair Prazak opened the informal public hearing. Dennis Rock, 2404 Hillsboro Avenue North, commented that the Galant Townhome Association is concerned with the proposed southern entrance because of the traffic coming off Medicine Lake Road and the high speed their cars are at when they take the curve and continue down Mendelssohn. He commented on the number of cars that come out of the Galant, Pheasant Glen and Medley Park t~vmhome area and that the school bus and sometimes city bus stops on the curve. The Assc2:ation's preference would be '.J see McDonald's leave the southerly driveway where it is currently situated. Chair Prazak asked if the driveway could be moved more toward Medicine Lake Road and vehicles use the existing easterly driveway which could be accomplished by putting the new store on the west side of the lot. Daniel Swain, 2420 Mendelssohn Lane, is concerned about the driveway at the southerly end with th'.'.:; dive in the road and would like to see the driveway in another location. He believes traffic entering the drive-through lane, at the southerly entrance, will back up onto Hillsboro Avenue. He also talked about the number of trucks that park toward the back of the lot now during the lunch. . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 12, 1996 Page Six Betty Dahlgren, 2410 Hillsboro Avenue North, talked about the number of children in the area and about a school bus stop that is located very near the proposed southerly entrance, which she believes would be dangerous. Knoblauch noted the letter that had been received from other adjacent residents, and was included in the agenda packets. Chair Prazak closed informal public hearing. Commissioner Kapsner asked Mr. Roper about how much of a free-hand the designer had to place this store on the site; and is there another feasible way to put this building on the lot by turning the building to the south. Mr. Roper commented that this is McDonald's optimal design. Chair Prazak asked Mr. Roper if McDonald's reason to shift the building to the east was so the existing facility could remain open. Mr. Roper commented that keeping the existing facility open was not the only reason. Mr. Roper talked about the access point off Medicine Lake Road and if the proposed facility was placed more westerly on the lot, the Medicine Lake Road access would have to be eliminated. . Commissioner Johnson asked about redesigning the building, commenting that if the southern entrance/exit was closed, the building placed more to the southwest and by adding the playland area on to the main building in a "r shape, more landscaped space could be accommodated on Hillsboro. Mr. Roper said that McDonald's had looked at that option but had to keep in mind setback space and optimal parking. Commissioner McAleese questioned an earlier comment by Mr. Roper concerning instructions that his architect should assume "minimal setback requirements". He continued by asking if minimal setbacks meant complying with the City's code or did it mean building the store that McDonald's wanted and worry about the setbacks later. Mr. Roper commented that the design presented was the most optimal and that if this was an interior lot the setback would be met; green space is usually not 35 feet and this is not the norm. He commented on other cities' zoning requirements being less stringent and had told the architect to try to live with Golden Valley's requirements. The design before the Commission is what the architect came up with. Commissioner McAleese voiced concerns about taking the applicant's word that the Medicine Lake Road access could not exist if the proposed building were turned 180 degrees. Mr. Roper said that McDonald's had to look at the elevations of the lot. Commissioner McAleese commented that he had no drawings before him that showed that the building in other locations would not work. He questioned whether this couldn't work if the main entrance was off Hillsboro. Mr. Roper commented that they looked at an option of using the primary road which was Medicine Lake. Commissioner McAleese said that he was not convinced that all options had been looked at. . Chair Prazak talked about moving the proposed building to the west and south which should allow for more stacking; the parking would be on the east. The existing facility would need to be torn down. Mr. Roper said that there would still be a problem with setbacks. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission . August 12, 1996 Page Seven . Commissioner McAleese asked the applicant whether, if a larger parking variance was granted, the building could be moved around by changing the location of the southern driveway. Mr. Roper suggested that a right out only from the south exit could help alleviate pressure on the site. This entrance/exit, on the south, could also be made an exit only. Chair Prazak said that the Commission is probably comfortable with the 112 parking spaces due to the report on the parking study, but still has concern about the green space on Hillsboro. Mr. Roper showed an original design with the southern exit located more to the north on Hillsboro. City Planner Knoblauch commented that the City's Engineering Department requested the southern exit be moved to a more southerly location. Commissioner McAleese concurs with the townhome residents that Hillsboro Avenue at the curve is a bad spot and potential trouble for traffic. He believed the City Engineer was considering only general engineering factors and not the specific land uses and bus or pedestrian traffic around the site. He commented that he would feel more comfortable if the driveway wasn't there at all, but understands McDonald's point of view because it works and allows the existing facility to remain open. Commissioner McAleese said he would like to see a plan with the building on the west side proving that it doesn't work regarding traffic flow. . Commissioner Kapsner asked about turning the proposed restaurant 180 degrees and leaving the playland on north end. Mr. Roper said that this scenario would be impossible because of the reverse drive-through. Chair Prazak cautioned the applicant to be prepared to get same questions at the City Council meeting. MOVED by Kapsner recommending approval of the site plan as submitted with the proposed two variances and adding the t - variance relating to two buildings on one lot. City Planner Knoblauch asked Commissioner Kapsner if he would suggest any conditions to be added. Director Grimes had included no staff recommendations in his memo, but he and Ms. Knoblauch had discussed a few suggestions, which she outlined for the commission. Member Groger asked the applicant whose property the bus stop was on. Staff noted that the question raised a good point. If it is on right-of-way land, then there is a need to add a condition to formalize who would pay for the off-site improvement of moving the bus stop. Commissioner Lewis said that she could not support this request because of the increased size of the proposed facility on the site. No second was received from Commissioner Kapsner's motion to recommend approval. . . . . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission August 12, 1996 Page Eight MOVED by Groger, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council to deny the request for the Conditional Use Permit to allow the use of a Class II restaurant at 9315 Medicine Lake Road. Reasons for denial are as follows: · Setback issue of less green space than required on Hillsboro Avenue · Concerns about the site plan; could the proposed facility be placed elsewhere on the site. · Concerns about the southerly access and the hazardous condition it may cause Chair Prazak asked City Planner Knoblauch what the procedure the City Council would take regarding the motion. City Planner Knoblauch stated that the City Council would still hear the request. If the City Council approves the CUP, they will be able to craft conditions from the issues that were discussed during the Planning Commission meeting plus the standard conditions. Commissioner Lewis felt that McDonald's is a good neighbor but has concerns about the southerly driveway. The Commissioners wanted to make it clear that they were not opposed to a McDonald's on this site. Commissioner McAleese commented that he was not concerned with having two buildings on this site but the City should look at the language of the ordinance. He suggested that McDonald's provide a construction bond to satisfy the needs of the City and the Developer. Commissioner Kapsner had questions on the issue of two buildings on one lot. He said it is important to send a message to council that there are some concerns about this site but feels they can be overcome. Commissioner Johnson commented that if the footage of the proposed facility were reduced, setbacks requirements could be met. Commissioner Lewis suggested that it may be appropriate for McDonald's to have an alternate site plan available for the City Council to review. III. Informal Public Hearing - Preliminary Plat Review - Valley Square 3rd Addition jty. olden Valley ~ That area-.bounded, y Bassett ek to the North, Wjnn~tka Avenue to the East, ~olden \hlley Road/Dri to the sbuth and Wisconsin./ Avenue to the West I k I. II Review and' p ove the Prelimina Pllfor Valley sqUar~rd Addition which will peUnentlY dedicate the Ight-of-Way for the realigned Golden Valley Road and to clear up miscellaneous other legal matters. ; \ 1.451 Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals August 27, 1996 Page Eight . 9315 Medicine Lake Road (96-8-32) McDonald's Corporation Request: Waiver of Section 11.30, Subd. 7(A) Front Yard Setback -- 17 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 18 feet for the landscaped green area on HilIsboro Avenue; and Waiver of Section 11.30, Subd. 6(E) Loading and Parking Requirements -- 25 parking spaces off the required 137 parking spaces to 112 parking spaces; and Waiver of Section 11.21 Principal Structure on One Lot -- to allow for the existing structure to remain on the lot during the construction of a new facility. Purpose: To allow for the construction of a new McDonald's Restaurant with a play land. Staff Liaison Mark Grimes commented on McDonald's proposal to construct a new restaurant with a playland; they are proposing to keep the existing restaurant open dl1,;::g construction. The old . McDonald's restaurant would be demolished shortly after the completion of the new restaurant. Staff Liaison Grimes reviewed the three waivers being requested by McDonald's as follows: The first waiver relates to the setback from a public street. City Code states that all portions of a lot, or parcel, abutting a public street shall be deemed to be front yards and a 35 foot front yard setback shall be maintained as a landscaped green area. McDonald's is requesting a variance of 17 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 18 feet for the landscaped area along Hillsboro Avenue. Staff believe that if the existing facility is torn down before any construction begins, it may be possible to build a new McDonald's that meets setback requirements. The second waiver relates to parking spaces. City Code states that there must be at least one (1) parking space for each 35 square feet of gross floor area, or one (1) parking space for each three seats based on maximum design capacity whichever is greater. In this case, the gross floor area calculation yields the larger number of 137 parking spaces. The City has had a parking study prepared, by SRF Consulting Engineers, to determine if the number of parking spaces proposed by McDonald's is adequate for the new 4,800 sq.ft. restaurant with a playland. SRF ':'ates that the new store will have a peak demand of 88 spaces. SRF estimates peak demana to be on a Friday, at lunch time. The plan indicates 112 parking spaces or about 25 more spaces than the peak. This should be more than adequate, although staff would not recommend going any lower. . j.i152 . . . Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals August 27, 1996 Page Nine The third waiver relates to the number of principal structures on one lot. City Code states that in all of the zoning districts, every principal structure shall be located on a separate lot and in no case shall there be more than one principal structure on a lot. The variance request is to allow the existing McDonald's restaurant to remain standing, and in operation, while the new building is being constructed on the same lot. Staff Liaison Grimes commented on the importance of maintaining the street setback. He had requested that McDonald's submit a revised site plan showing the new restaurant on the site by itself to reveal if setbacks could be maintained with only one building on the site. The revised plan had not been submitted for Planning Commission or BZA review. Staff also believe that it would be best to keep the playland, which has glass walls and is much taller than the other part of the building, as far from the street as possible because of the added height and bulk. Board Member Pentel, who reviewed the tape of the Planning Commission meeting of August 12, talked about McDonald's request for a Conditional Use Permit. The Planning Commission denied the request for a number of reasons including the location of the building on HilIsboro Avenue and the southern entrance/exit which was opposed by neighboring residents. The Planning Commission discussed with Jerry Roper, representative for McDonald's, different locations on the lot for the restaurant. The Planning Commission also looked at that if two buildings, being on one lot, were granted the variance should be temporary with a clear termination date for demolition of the existing restaurant, and a performance bond to ensure compliance. The BZA discussed the issues in great detail and asked Mr. Roper a number of questions. Mr. Roper stated that McDonald's wants to construct an improved restaurant, with a playland, because the existing facility it outdated. He also commented on stacking in the drive-through lane, saying there would be less stacking space available than is now available on the current site. A member of the Board asked where the restaurant! playland could be located if the existing restaurant were demolished before the construction of the proposed facility was started. Mr. Roper answered exactly where it is proposed because the parking is located on the west side of the lot and not the drive-through side. With this design, those choosing to enter the restaurant do not have to cross the drive-through lane. Mr. Roper said that this was the preferred design for all new restaurants for safety reasons. Staff Liaison Grimes commented that the current stacking on the site is excellent and the drive- through is wide and easily accessible for cars using the drive-through. He also said that there is more than adequate parking with wide aisles. The Board probed for alternatives and other options that would satisfy the needs of the City as well as creating a new and larger restaurant for McDonald's. A number of suggestions were proposed by the BZA. Member Shaffer suggested that anew restaurant be built immediately south of the existing building. This new building would include the kitchen and the seating area. After that building was completed, the old restaurant would be then be demolished and, in its place, the playland added to the new building. This would minimize or eliminate setback variances. The Commission also commented on the beautiful landscaping currently at the site, some of which would be eliminated in the new construction. 1.L1:53 Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals August 27, 1996 Page Ten . The Board suggested deferring a decision on McDonald's request until they had an opportunity to review other options. Mr. Roper preferred a denial which would enable McDonald's to appear before the City Council, with an appeal, at the same time the Conditional Use Permit would be heard. MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Shaffer, and motion carried unanimously to deny the above mentioned variance requests as proposed. IV. Other Business No othe~iness was presented. .'\. V. Adjournment Chair Polachek ad~rned the meeting at 10:05 PM. .~ Herb Polachek, Chair '" l Mark Grimes, Staff Liaison . . .,~_.~---.~. :....~.--- ~:.~:~ ~y~~~~\,- l~~l jf'~ Ill" " ;i. {"..ij- ~ :<:;~ 't'~~l \':. re:); I"~:':,!~ 1. -~.,:_ <,' . 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