01-22-90 PC Minutes
MINUTES OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY
PLANNING COMMISSION
January 22, 1990
A regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held in the Sumac Room at the
Brookview Community Center, 8200 Wayzata Boulevard, Golden Valley, Minnesota.
The meeting was called to order by Chair Prazak at 8:25P.M.
Those present were Commissioners Prazak, Leppik, McCracken-Hunt, Russell,
Kapsner, Lewis and McAleese. Also present were Mark Grimes, Director of Plan-
ning and Development, Beth Knoblauch, City Planner and Mary K. Dold, Secretary.
I. Planning Commission/Park Board Meeting at 7:OOP.M.
Before the regular meeting of the Planning Commission, the. Commissioners met
with the Park Board and their architect to review the Master Plan for the
Brookview Park.
II. Planning Commission Meeting at 8:15P.M.
The Planning Commission meeting commenced at 8:25P.M.
III. Approval of Minutes - December 11,.1989
It was moved by Commissioner Lewis, seconded by Commissioner McCracken-Hunt and
carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the regular December 11,.1989,
Planning Commission Meeting.
IV. Informal Public Hearin -Consideration of an Amendment to P.U.D.
Golden Va ley Civic Center
APPLICANT: City of Golden Valley
ADDRESS: 7800 Golden Valley Road
REQUEST: Amendment to the Boundaries of Planned Unit Development
(P.U.D.) #56
Chair Prazak introduced this agenda item and asked staff for a brief summary of
the request.
Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development, stated that the purpose of
P.U.D. #56 was to established one legal description for all City owned property
on the block and to allow the placement of new buildings and landscaping on the
block. The City is proposing the sale of a portion of P.U.D. #56 to McDona1d's
Corporation to allow for the construction of a larger restaurant on Winnetka.
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Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission
January 22, 1990
Page 2
The change to P.U.D. #56 would reflect the new boundary after the property is
sold. to McDonald's with the City receiving the rear 40 ft. of the two lots now
owned by McDonald's. The west 210 ft. of the Miller Sales Building lot that is
owned by the City is eliminated from the P.U.D. because it will be part of the
new McDonald's P.U.D.
This change is consistent with the Civic Center Master Plan which indicates the
proposed McDonald's site as a redevelopment area and shows the pedestrian corri-
dor between the library and the City Hall.
Chair Prazak asked what.. is likely to happen with the Post Office site. Mr.
Grimes briefly discussed this topic stating that most likely the City would buy
this property. An option for the Post Office would be to leave the sorting at
the site on Winnetka and move the retail operation to another area in Golden
Valley. This would relieve some of the heavier traffic driving in and out of
the Post Office on Winnetka.
Chair Prazak opened the informal public hearing.
Dr. Ray Peterson, 621 Winnetka Ave. No., Golden Valley. Does approval of
McDonald's affect the widening of Winnetka and is this a done deal on the west
side by the Bies building?
Mark Grimes stated that McDonald's could go ahead without the widening of
Winnetka and should be done building before the roadway gets under way.
Winnetka Avenue is not a done deal. The City Council has to approve the roadway
plans for Winnetka Avenue and has the power to override a County project.
Chair Prazak asked when there may be a public hearing on this issue. M. Grimes
stated that. there may be a public hearing in March. The City is waiting for a
final commitment from Hennepin County before going before the City Council.
Dennis Johnson, 221 Paisley Lane, Golden Valley. I just want to call your
attention to the fact that there are close to 25 small business in that commer-
cial strip on the west side of Winnetka. Those strips were built in 1954 and
1960. McDonald's and the Post Office were built later and they are creating the
traffic problems. Thirty-four feet should come off the east side of Winnetka so
the small business won't be affected.
Mark Grimes stated that the County said that if they were going to submit funds
for this project, the widening must come from both sides.
John Viking, Photofast, 701 Winnetka Ave. No., Golden Valley. Possible tempo-
rary solution to traffic problem on Winnetka. Make Winnetka a one-way from 10th
to 55 and Rhode Island one-way up to Winnetka.
Chair Prazak commented that it was an interesting concept.
Chair Prazak closed the informal public hearing.
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Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission
January 22, 1990
Page 3
MOVED by McCracken-Hunt, seconded by McAleese and motion carried unanimously to
approve the Preliminary Design Plan for an amendment to P.U.D. #56 in order to
facilitate the sale of property to McDonald's Corporation and provide for pro-
. perty on which a pedestrian walkway will be built.
V. Informal Public Hearing -Preliminary Design Plan for P.U.D. #58,
McDonald s
APPLICANT: McDonald's
ADDRESS: 720 Winnetka Ave. No.
REQUEST:.. Demolition of Existing Facility and the Construction of a
New McDonald's With an Improved Site Design
Chair Prazak introduced this .agenda item and asked staff for a brief summary of
the request.
Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development presented this item. He
stated that McDonald's would like to update their building It would be placed
on parts of three lots that currently exist along Winnetka Avenue, McDonald's
remote parking lot just south of the Library, the old Miller Sales Building,.
which will have to be torn down and the existing McDonald's lot. As part of the
sale, McDonald's has agreed to sell a 17 ft. strip of property along Winnetka in
front of their existing store and remote parking lot for a widened Winnetka
` Avenue. They have also agreed to sell the City 40 ft. off the back of their
two properties in order to provide a walkway area through the middle of the
Civic Center Block. The City will retain 17 ft. off the front and 40 ft. off
the rear of the Miller Sales property for same roadway purposes.
McDonald's is allowed to apply for a P.U.D. for this new store because it is
located in a Redevelopment Area (Valley Square). Because this is a Redevel-
opment District, the strict adherence to the requirements of the Commercial
Zoning District would restrict the overall goal of upgrading the site, the Civic
Center Block and improving Winnetka Avenue.
McDonald's is improving the traffic access by moving their driveways farther
apart. There will be 89 parking spaces on the site. If we were to apply
our ordinance it would require 140 or 150 parking spaces. McDonald's has come
back to the City and stated that 89 parking spaces was more than adequate
because of the drive-thru business they do here. The Golden Valley ordinance
does not really reflect the drive-thru traffic, it looks at drive-in
restaurants. The staff found that in Culver City, California, the Zoning Code
specifically _ addresses the .parking ,situation for drive-thru .restaurants.
McDonald's is in the "ball park" for parking when compared to this ordinance.
Ray Schleck, proponent, representing McDonald's, stated that with the demolition
of existing facility would improve a horrendous situation and they are happy to
be part of the Civic Center Redevelopment Project. Mr. Schleck talked about the
improvement to_the store, parking and traffic because of the proposed new site.
More than 50% of business goes through the drive-thru. Mr. Schleck discussed
the Preliminary Design Plan submitted.
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Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission
January 22, 1990
Page 4
A discussion took place regarding the facade of the new building and the
landscaping. The building was very long and plain with two doors running along
Winnetka Avenue and this did not present a very aesthetic appearance. It was
recommended to McDonald's to move the building back so more landscaping can be
done along the Winnetka front of the building.
Chair Prazak opened the informal public hearing.
Laverna Dalman, 1001 Winnetka Ave. No. Has it ever been discussed to have an
entrance to McDonald's somewhere else other than Winnetka Avenue? Can a drive-
way come from Rhode Island.
Commissioner McCracken-Hunt said that McDonald's property does not front on
Rhode Island and they do not have access to the library exit in the rear of the
library building.
Commissioner Leppik stated that the library does not want to open up their
parking lot to thru traffic.
Commissioner McCracken-Hunt asked if there was a way to coordinate the aerial
lighting with lighting standards that are being developed for the Civic Center
Block, type of light fixture and the type of lights itself.
Mr. Grimes said that McDonald's would be contacting Damon Farber, who is the
Civic Center landscape architect and there would be some continuity in materials
and design.
Laverna Dalman, 1001 Winnetka Ave. No., asked how far the Winnetka widening was
going.
Mark Grimes said that the widening would go about 600 ft. north of 10th Avenue.
Additional right-of-way will have to be taken from the homes north of 10th
Avenue. However, less right-of-way is needed from the homes than the businesses
south of 10th Avenue.
The Chair closed the public hearing.
MOVED by Russell, seconded by Leppik and motion carried unanimously to approve
the Preliminary Design Plan for P.U.D. #58, McDonald's with the condition that a
minimum of four ft. be added to the landscaping on the Winnetka Avenue side of
the building. Also, there is a recommendation that other treatments be looked
at for the facade of the building.
VI. Memorandum from Commissioner McAleese Regarding Housing Task Force
Commission McAleese presented this topic. There was a short discussion by the
Commissioners on the Housing Task Force on what issues should be addressed.
VII. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City
Council, and Board of Zoning Appeals
No reports were presented.
Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission
January 22, 1990
Page 5
VIII. Other Business
There was a discussion on the widening of Winnetka Avenue, whereupon, a vote
was taken to have an informal public hearing at the February 26, 1990 meeting.
MOVED by McAleese, seconded by McCracken-Hunt and motion carried unanimously to
have an informal public hearing on February 26, 1990, 7:OOP.M. addressing the
Winnetka widening. It was recommended that someone from the Hennepin County
Highway Department attend the meeting to answer questions.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:25P.M.
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