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07-25-94 PC Minutes~~ MINUTES OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY PLANNING COMMISSION 1 July 25, 1994 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 McAleese at 7:.00 PM. Those present were Commissioners Groger, Johnson (arrived 7:13), Kapsner, Lewis, McAleese, Pentel and Prazak. Also present were Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development, and Mary Dold, Secretary. I. Approval of Minutes - July 11,.1994 MOVED by Pentel, seconded by Lewis and motion carried unanimously to approve the July 11, 1994 minutes aS submitted. II. Informal Public Hearing - Conditional Use Permit Applicant: United Professional Companies, Inc. Address: 345 Pennsylvania Avenue South, Golden Valley, Minnesota 1 1 Request: To use the property as corporate offices and allow for an institutional "closed door" pharmacy and space for the storage of medical records and medical products Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development reviewed his report with the Planning Commission commenting that he had talked with the City Attorney regard- ing the proposed use of this property. Mr. Grimes talked about the access onto the property and that there was adequate parking on the site. Mr. Grimes continued talking about the delivery of products to the building and out-going deliveries, the times and how many trips. He also discussed the security system and said that Mr. Kolmer, Executive Director of Operations, had said that there has been no problems at the 7445 Glenwood Avenue building and the State Board of Pharmacy requires the pharmacy area have a separate security set-up from the main building area. Mr. Grimes also talked with Chief of Public Safety, Dean Mooney,'about the security for the building and Chief Mooney dial not see any problems. Mr. Grimes reviewed his findings on the ten factors found in Section 11.80, Subd. 2(G). Mr. Jeffrey Kolmer, Executive Director of Operations for United Professional Companies, Inc. talked about their current site and how the company has grown. He also talked about the proposed site and how it would fit their needs. Commissioner Pentel asked Mr. Kolmer if the company would restrict employees from parking on the street. Mr. Kolmer commented that this should not be a problem. -6 , Minutes of the. Golden Valley Planning Commission July 25, 1994 Page Two Commissioner Kapsner asked.Mr. Kolmer about the routes of the delivery trucks and encouraged Mr. Kolmer to have the delivery trucks use Laurel Avenue. Mr. Kolmer talked about the possible ways to arrive at the site. Chair McAleese opened the informal public hearing. Gregg Corwin, 210 Nevada Ave. So., expressed his concerns of drugs being stored on the site, additional-traffic, exterior change to the building and expansion to the building. Barbara Crolley, 310 Pennsylvania Ave. So., expressed her concerns regarding the parking situation for the school, street parking and the possible addition to the building. She also asked if Pennsylvania Avenue South could be restricted from certain truck use if traffic became heavy. Chair McAleese commented that this would be an issue for the City Council to address. Mr. Kolmer commented that there would be drugs on-site but the State requires separate security set-up from the main building area. He reviewed the process for maintaining control of the distribution and disposal of drugs. Mark Grimes addressed the issue of the school parking situation saying that there is an informal arrangement with the school on a month-to-month basis to use the lower parking lot and that the school does not have enough parking spaces on their property. If street parking becomes a problem, staff can recom- mend to have "no parking" signs placed on the appropriate streets in that area. Mark Abraham, 480 Quebec Avenue So., is concerned with property values and noise and asked about the zoning of the property. Dabia Katz, 7521 Ridgeway Road, expressed concerns with traffic and property values decreasing. Mark Grimes talked about the original zoning which was "Open Development" prior to the 60's and is now zoned Business and Professional Office. Chair McAleese asked if this kind of proposed traffic is generated in other B&PO districts. Mr. Grimes commented that there are a lot of deliveries in B&PO's and any user will create traffic. Mr. Kolmer talked about the traffic and flow, when employees arrive and depart, and what kind of organizations would be picking up and delivering products. Chair McAleese asked Mark Grimes about the property values in the area. Mr. Grimes commented that staff did not foresee any measurable drop in property values. .Pearl Berdass, 170 Oregon Ave. So., expressed her concern of the 24-hour a day use of the bui lding. She also questioned whether deliveries or an entrance could be made Jon Liss, 235 from Laurel Avenue. Nevada Avenue So., expressed his concerns abou t employees coming and going for lunch -- added traffic, the blind intersection on Pennsylvania, deterioration of the neighborhood, security of the building and deliveries. 5~ Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission July 25, 1994 Page Three Rhoda Jaffe, 420 Pennsylvania Ave. So., is concerned with the traffic speed on Pennsylvania, cars running all-night during the winter (as has been the case when Mark Hurd was in business). She asked who would be watching out for the neighborhood if noticeable changes take place. Chair McAleese commented that the best'"watch" group are. the neighbors them- selves. He also said that the Conditional Use Permit can have conditions for control. Mr. Kolmer addressed the questions regarding the work shifts and times of delivery. Commissioner Groger asked about lighting in the parking areas and if there are plans to improve the present lighting. Mr. Kolmer commented that the only outside lighting is on the upper lot and there may need to be some improvement in the lighting of parking areas. Mark Grimes stated that any lighting plan would be reviewed by the Inspections Department and lighting can be directed away from residential areas. Commissioner Groger would like to see a condition concerning the lighting for the parking areas in the permit. Chair McAleese closed the informal public hearing. Commissioner Johnson asked if the City had received complaints when Mark .Hurd operated the building. Mark Grimes commented that he had not heard of any complaints. Commissioner Kapsner commented that he feels that the few people working the late shift should not cause a problem to the neighborhood and that a Conditional Use Permit is a good mechanism that would work as an advantage to the neigh- borhood. Mr. Kapsner felt this would be a good use for the site. Commissioner Pentel commented that the building fits well with the use but is concerned with the parking areas. Ms. Pentel commented that a Conditional Use Permit gives the City more control of over what happens on a piece of property. Chair McAleese and Commissioner Praaak, Lewis, Johnson and Groger concurred that this request would be a good fit for the building. MOVED by Groger, seconded by Kapsner and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council approval. of the request by United Professional Companies, Inc. to allow the property at 345 Pennsylvania Avenue South be used as corporate offices, an institutional "closed door" pharmacy and space for the storage of medical records and medical products subject to the following conditions: 1. The upper parking area be restricted to visitor parking and loading and unloading for the pharmacy. Signs indicating this should be posted. 2. Any lighting plan for the parking area shall be reviewed by the Director of Inspections to insure that the direction, intensity, and hours of lighting are compatible with the neighborhood. 3. All employees will park on-site -- no street parking will be allowed. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission July 25, 1994 Page Four 4. All other applicable City and State requirements shall be met. 5. Failure to comply with one or more of the above conditions shall be grounds for revocation of the Conditional Use Permit. III. Informal Public Hearing - Amendment to the Light Industrial Zoning District -- Section 11.35 Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development gave a brief summary of his report commenting that the initial request to have temporary retail sales in the Light Industrial District was initiated by the Prudential Group. Mr. Grimes said that Prudential owns the building at 5740 Wayzata Blvd., which has been vacant for sometime. Prudential has an interested party who would like to buy the building and do temporary retail sales as outlined in the proposed amended Section of the City Code pertaining to the Light Industrial District. Mr. Grimes also commented that this change to the City Code for "Temporary Retai l Sales" would entail the entire Light Industrial District. Chair McAleese asked how many temporary retail sales permits have been issued and if a sale didn't go well, would another permit be issued? Mr. Grimes stated that not many permits have been issued (one in 1994 and three in 1993) and there haven't been any permits issued where a second request was in question. Chair hcAleese stated that the request for "Temporary Retail Sales" in the Light. Industrial District seems to be very straight forward. MOVED by Lewis, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council approval to amend certain provisions of the Zoning Chapter pertaining to "Temporary Retail Sales" in the Light Industrial District. IV. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and .Redevelopment Authority, City Council and Board of Zoning Appeals Mark Grimes briefed the Commission on the following meetings: the BZA and HRA meetings of July 12th and the City Council meeting of July 1.9th. V. Other Business No other business was presented. VI. Adjournment Chair McAleese adjourned the meeting at 9 PM. ~,e,4 1~ ~.i.....;:r ~~ ~C~. Lewi s, Secretary ~~