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01-10-95 BZA Minutes 1366 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS January 10, 1995 I The ,regular meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals washe.Jd Tuesday, January 10, 1995 in the Golden Valley Council Chambers, City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota. The meeting was called to order by Chair Sell at 7:nO PM. The following Board Members were present: Chair Mike Sell, Herb Polachek, Mahlon Swedberg, and Robert Schaffer; absent was Emilie Johnson. Also present was Mark Grimes, Staff Liaison. I. Approyal of Minutes - Qecember 13, 1994 MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to approve the November 9, 1994 minutes with the following correction: Chair Sell asked Mark Grimes about the policy on surveys rather than Member Swedberg. II. The Minutes for the Petition is as follows: SW Corner of Golden Valley Road and Rhode Island Avenue (95-1-1) United StatesPost~l Service Request: Waiver of Section 11.30, Subd. 7(A) which states that in the case of premises abutting a public street, front yard setbacks shall be at least 35 feet. Variance request is for 25 feet off the required 35 feet on Rhode Island Avenue to a distance of 10 feet for street setback; and I Waiver of Section 11.30, Subd. 7(B)(3) which states that in the case of premises abutting a Commercial District the required rear yard setback shall be 20 feet in depth. Variance request is for 15 feet off the required 20 feet to a distance of 5 feet whi ch is 1 ocatedat the southerly part of the property. Purpose: To make the lot legally non-conforming so a post office build- ing and parking may be constructed on the lot. The petition was in order and surrounding property owners were notified of the request for the variances. Mr. Steve Hustad, from the USPS Office in Kansas City was present to answer questions from BZA Members. Mary jean Kroll, United Properties, owner of the Northrup King building, was in attendance but asked no questions. Staff Liaison Mark Grimes provided a staff report. He indicated that the property is currently owned by the Golden Valley Housing and Redevel- opment Authority (HRA) and that the HRA has agreed to sell it to the USPS for the construction of a new Golden Valley branch post office. The existing post office on Winnetka Avenue is owned by the City (it was purchased as part of the I I I I :1367 Minutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals January 10, 1995 Page Two Winnetka Avenue project). The City has notified the USPS that its lease will not be renewed after January, 1986. Staff Liaison Grimes explained that set- back variances are requested along both Rhode Island Avenue and the south prop- erty line in order to accommodate the proposed' post office building. The approximate three (3) acre lot is a difficult site due to topography (the lot falls off about seven feet from north to south), required access points from Golden Valley Road and Rhode Island Avenue, and the need to have a compact post office site that allows for the redevelopment of the remainder of the block for other uses. Member Swedberg was concerned about the reduction of setback along.Rhode Island Avenue. (The required setback is 35 feet and the proposed setback is 10 feet.) He is concerned about the future precedent this may set. Member Polachek asked Mr. Hustad about future expansion plans for the building. Mr. Hustad said that the USPS is requiring that all sites allow for future expansion in order to minimize future costs. He said the future expansion may not take the entire expansion area as shown on the site plan. Expansion is not anticipated in the near future. Mr. Hustad did indicate that this is a small site and less than requested by the USPS. It is acceptable to the USPS because the HRA has agreed to allow some off-site parking if there is future expansion. There was discussion by the Board Members about expanding the setback area along Rhode Island by moving the parking on the site. Mr. Hustad said that the proposed parking for employees and customers must be kept as shown on the site --'plan. Moving parking on the site would not be acceptable due to the layout of the building. Member Swedberg asked about the type of post office it will be. Mr. Hustad said that there are two similar post offices now under construction in Oakdale and Coon Rapids. The retail portion of the post office is a new concept that is more customer friendly. Chair Sell indicated that he likes the amount of green area shown on the plan at the Golden Valley Road/Rhode Island Avenue corner. He believes that this is an important entry into Golden Valley which should be well landscaped. He feels that Northrup King has done a good job with the landscaping in a small area at the corner of TH. 55 and Rhode Island Avenue. He also said he would like to see the USPS landscape the west side of the new post office building as well. Member Shaffer was concerned about appearance of the area behind the post office due to the grade change. With the grade change and the need for a retaining wall along the south side of the property, there would be at least a 20 foot wall along the south property line (retaining wall plus the wall of the post office). If another building was built to the south of this building, a drive- way between the post office building and the proposed building could appear like a "canyon". Member Shaffer felt that the architect of the building and City should pay special attention to this design issue for Area C. Member Shaffer also suggested that the post office building be built as far north as possible on the lot in order to increase the setback along the south property line. Mr. Hustad said the USPS will move the building to the north as far as possible to decrease the required variance. If this is not possible, however, the south setback would be no less than five (5) feet. jL~4i~inutes of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals January 10, 1995 Page Three MOVED by Swedberg, seconded by Shaffer and motion carried unanimously to approve I. the petition for waiver of Section 11.30, Subd. 7(A) for 25 feet off the required 35 feet on Rhode Island Avenue to a distance of 10 feet for street setback and waiver of Section 11.30, Subd. 7(B)(3) for 15 feet off the required 20 feet to a distance of 5 feet which is located at the southerly part of the property. The motion also includes the following reasons for the variance: Minimize the effects of a seven foot drop in grade from the NE corner of the lot to the SE corner of the lot. Avoid having to interfere with fiber optic and other utility lines in the easement under vacated Country Club Drive. Allow for a better flow of traffic and access to the post office by better placement of the curb cuts on Golden Valley Road and Rhode Island Avenue. III. Other Business Member Swedberg gave a brief report on the Community Standards Task Force. IV. Adjournment Chair Sell adjourned the meeting at 7:50. I 'rn~ Mi ke Se 11, Cha i r ~L- I Mark Grimes, Staff Liaison 1