02-20-96 BZA Minutes
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Minutes of a Special Meeting of the
Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals
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February 20, 1996
A special meeting of the Golden Valley Board of Zoning Appeals was held Tuesday, February
20, 1996, in theCouncil.Conference Room, City Hall, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley,
MN. This was a one-item agenda to attend to the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters building
which was laid over at the regular meeting held February 13, 1996. Chair Mahlon Swedberg
called the meeting to order at 6:15 PM.
Those present were: Chair Mahlon Swedberg, Members Paula Pentel, Herb Polachek, and
Robert Shaffer. Also present were Staff Liaison Mark Grimes, Fred Salsbury; Director of Public
Works and Recording Secretary Eve Lomaistro.
I. The Petition:
8100 Wayzata Blvd.. (96-2-6)
lVIinnesow Professional Fire Fighters
Request:
Waiver of Section 11.45, Subd. 5(A)(1) FrontYard Setback --
a)6 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 29 feet for the building
at its closest point to Wayzata Blvd.; and
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b) 5 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 30 feet for the building
at its closest point to Field Drive; and
c) .18 feet off the required 35 feet to a distance of 17 feet for the parking
lot along Field Drive; and
d) 35 feet off the required 35 feet for the 12 parking spaces in front of the
building of Wayzata Blvd.
Waiver of Section 11.45, Subd. 5(B)(1) Side and Rear Yard Setbacks --
18 feet .off the required 25 feet to a distance of 7 feet for the lack of
adequate landscaping on the north side of the building; and
Waiver of Section 11,45, Subd. 5 (B)(1) Rear Yard Setback --.8 feet off
the required 25 feet of landscaped area to a distance of 8 feet.
Purpose:
To make the building and parking areas legally non-conforming so a
conforming addition can be constructed on the northeast side.
The following people were in attendance: Craig Moleski of Moleski. Builders, contractor and
tenant; and Link Wilson and John Van Heel of Miller Hanson Westerbeck Berger, Inc.,
architects.
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Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals
February 20, 1996
Page Two
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This petition was carried over from the last regular meeting of February 13, 1996 to discuss two
items: 1) who owns the front strip of land, indicated on a survey to be MnDOT right-of-way, and
2) traffic flow along the frontage road and the nature of the City's responsibility for the strip in
front of the building.
It was determined that MnDOT is the permanent owner of the strip of land in front of 8100
Wayzata Boulevard. Parallel parking is now permitted along the north side of the street.
A revised plan was handed out showing ways to accommodate parking in front of the building
via indented parallel parking. The drawings also showed a sidewalk. The Board asked who
would build the sidewalk. Director of Public Works, Fred Salsbury stated that in most cases the
developer would build the sidewalk although it would belong to the city and be maintained by
the City.
Mr. Salsbury continued that the issues the City faces include drainage, plowing, street
sweeping, and general maintenance. He said that parking indentations such as the one
proposed mayor may not be a problem for the City. The question was asked if safety factors
would be improved by changing the parking configuration. Mr. Salsbury stated that he would
prefer to widen the street rather than contend with indented parking.
The Board discussed the parking issue at length and looked at a.number of options. It was
agreed that drive-in angle parking is not an option.
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The architects listed several reasons in favor of off-street parking in front of the building
including:
. without it pedestrians walk in the street
· street parking makes the driving lane more narrow to get in and out of cars
· reception entrance to the building is in front
· the City could rescind on street parking at will
· off street parking has been there since before the present owners purchased the
property
· the issue was researched in 1992 and the parking was okay at that time
· the owners feel that this renovation is a positive one and that the City would be
punishing them by removing off street parking in front of the building
· the owners could walk away from the improvements and keep parking as it is.
Member Pentel pointed out that the person who did the research should have known that the
building was non-conforming at that time and this is an opportunity to remove the dangerous
drive-in angle parking and increase the safety of visitors to the building.
The Board suggested parking on the green area in front of the building with one way traffic
entering on Hanley Road and exiting on Wayzata Boulevard. The owners' representatives
stated emphatically that this is not an acceptable option to them. The Board continued to
review alternatives.
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Minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals
February 20, 1996
Page Three
Widening the street would have to be done for the full width of the property facing Wayzata
Boulevard.. This would have to be done by the City at tax payer expense. The cost of
constructing an indented space for parking would be at applicant expense and would not be for
the full width of the property. Curb .parking without indented parking space would be unsafe,
considering the present narrow width of the street and the speed of cars driving by.
MOVED Polachek, seconded by Pentel and motion carried unanimously to approve the front
indented parking as indicated in plan #2 resulting in 5 regular parking spa,ces and one
handicapped space with the stipulation that the owner procure an eas.ement from the City. The
owner will also need a waiver from MnDOT for the handicapped space. Chair Swedberg and
link Wilson signed two copies of plan #2, one of which is attached. The other was given to Mr.
Wilson for the owner's records.
MOVED Shaffer, seconded by Pentel and motion carried unanimously to approve waivers of
Section 11.45, Subd. 5(1)(a, b, and 2) as proposed.
MOVED Polacheck, seconded by Pentel and motion carried unanimously to deny the request
for waiver of Section 11.45, Subd. 5(B)(1 )(c), which will require the owner to remove two
parking spaces from the rear parking lot and replace them with landscaping
III. Adjournment
Chair Swedberg adjourned the meeting at 7:15 PM.
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Mahlon Swedberg, Chair,
Mark Grimes, Staff Liaison
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