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04-28-97 PC Minutes279 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April. 28, 1997 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 Pentel at 7pm. Those present were Commissioners Groger, Johnson, Kapsner, McAleese, Pentel and Prazak; absent was Lewis.. Also present were Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Beth Knoblauch, City Planner. Approval of Minutes -April 14, 1997 Moved by McAleese, seconded by Groger and carried unanimously to approve -the April 14, 1997 minutes as submitted. II. Informal Public Hearing - Amendment to the Preliminary Design Plan for Valley Creek P.U.D. No. 71 Applicant: Valley Creek Development, L.L.C. Address: 8300, 8400, 8500 Olson Memorial Highway, Golden Valley, Minnesota Purpose: Review an amendment to the Preliminary Design Plan for Valley Creek P.U.D. No. 71. The approval of this P.U.D. would allow for the construction of three office buildings, totaling approximately 128,000 sq.ft. on 8.5 acres Director Mark Grimes gave a summary of his staff report. He told the commission that this site had been reviewed last year for a similar office use which had not gone forward. Grimes said that there is a new developer for the site who is proposing three buildings; two buildings would be approximately 40,000 sq.ft. and a third building. would have 48,000 sq.ft. All three buildings would be three stories in height and have underground parking. He said that the plan is to do a phase development. The first phase would house the North Memorial clinic. The next two buildings would then be built out. Grimes commented that the development will require that a pond be built on the west end of the site as per the new requirements of the Basset Creek Water Management Organization. He said that parking will exceed requirements of the zoning code. 2$Q Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 1997 Page Two Grimes said that he had done an analysis of changes from the old proposal to the one before the Planning Commission. One change is an .increase in the amount of land for the proposal. The increase is due to a piece of property along Highway 55 which has now been acquired by the HRA, and will be sold to the developer. Staff is recommending approval of the proposal noting that this project is a good use of the site and that there will be good access onto Wisconsin Avenue and Golden Valley Road. He also said that there would be sidewalks along Golden Valley Road and on Wisconsin Avenue to some point, to be determined. Commissioner Johnson asked if the previous developer had trouble with financing or finding tenants for the building. Grimes commented that they were having difficulty putting together a tenant package. Grimes also said that the present developer feels confident that he will be able to lease or sell the buildings. 1 Commissioner Kapsner asked if there was a timeframe for build-out of the buildings. Grimes reminded the Commission that all three buildings will be on one lot. The developer plans to construct the first building and then move on to the next. The developer is trying to get a timeframe together that would have all the buildings constructed in the next year or two, but suggested the question be addressed to the developer, who was present. Commission Johnson asked if this building would. be similar to the Health West building located at I-494 and Hwy. 55. Grimes said the developer is only looking at locating one clinic in this campus. The City may be concerned if more clinics were being proposed because of parking demand. Grimes said that the developer is looking at occupying about 10% of the building with. accessory type uses for employees, i.e. snack bar to serve the people who work there. Commissioner Groger asked if there was any above ground connection between the buildings. Grimes answered no. Groger then said that it sounds as though there may be an underground connection between the. buildings. Grimes said that the developer has talked about having one large parking area under the building, but this may end up costing too much and be dropped. Groger asked if the east building is built first, and then the economy goes sour, how much is the developer committed to the development and would they need to come back with any change to the buildings. Grimes commented that the proposal is one development plan and they want to build-out the entire site. If they would choose to build something different on the other two pads, they would have to amend the PUD. 281 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 1997 Page Three Commissioner Prazak commented that the building size has increased from the previous proposal and that there are mare parking stalls. He asked staff if there was less greenspace available due to these increases. Grimes agreed with Prazak's statement that the building size has increased and so has parking. He said that the developer would be maintaining the required 35 foot setback along Golden Valley Road and Wisconsin Avenue. City Planner Knoblauch told the commission that there was more underground parking on this site plan and the HRA did pick up additional land along Hwy. 55. Grimes said that the setback areas would be maintained and the developer will try to maintain as many trees along Hwy. 55 as possible. He also noted that berming would be present along Golden Valley Road across from the Mallard Creek Apartments. Commissioner Prazak asked how big the proposed pond would be on this site. Grimes said that the analysis for the size of the pond is still being studied and would be part of the General Plan of Development. Prazak asked if Bassett Creek runs adjacent to the property. Grimes said yes. Chair Pentel asked if the ponding would need to be constructed at the time that the first building is constructed and would the pond be for the runoff of three buildings instead of the one. Grimes said that all site improvements would be done upfront and the pond would handle runoff from the entire site. Michael Monn, Architect for Amcon, introduced himself and was open to any questions. Chair Pentel asked if there was a timetable for when the other two buildings would be built. Monn said that preliminary plans would be to start the first building in June and then build six months out for the second building and then another six months out for the third building. Monn said that all the site work will need to be done right away, other than parking. Pentel asked if the berming and improvements along the streets would be completed upfront. Monn said yes, the landscaping would be completed along Golden Valley Road and Wisconsin Avenue. Pentel asked how the remainder of the land, which included the two building pads would be maintained. Monn said that maintenance of the remaining site has not been discussed. The intention is to prepare the pads upfront and probably seed the remainder of the site while the first building is under construction. Pentel asked if all the buildings would have underground parking. Monn said yes, each building would have its own parking area, that one large lot under all three buildings would not be financially feasible. 1 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 1997 Page Four Commissioner Prazak asked Mr. Monn to characterize the profile of the building. Mr. Monn talked about the outside look and construction of the building. He said that the intent is to use as much of the grade as possible along the Hwy. 55 side (south). Commissioner Groger asked if there has been any thought about directing the parking lot light away from the Mallard Creek Apartments. Monn said absolutely, the lighting will be thrown down and inward. Chair Pentel asked if North Memorial would be a 24-hour operation. Monn said no, that it would function more like a neighborhood clinic and may have some evening hours. Pentel asked if the lot would be lit all night. Monn said that he believed that it would not, that there might be some kind of night lighting. Commissioner Kapsner asked what size market the developer was going after. Monn said they would market to whatever size market is interested; the buildings were intended to be multi-tenant. Planner Knoblauch asked if Monn could comment on any other perspective tenants. Monn said there were no solid agreements that he could speak to. Chair Pentel asked how solid waste would be handled. Monn said it would all be held inside the garage until taken away. Chair Pentel opened the informal public hearing. Nancy Miller, Representative for United Properties who owns Mallard Creek Apartments -- 3500 W. 80th Street, Bloomington, commented that her question to the lighting in parking lot was answered. She asked staff to address the height of the berm and to expound on the landscaping planned along Golden Valley Road. Grimes commented that the preliminary design plan shows that there will be berming along Golden Valley Road and Wisconsin Avenue. Staff would like to see the berm high enough to block car lights which would be approximately 3 feet. The berm may also have landscaping on it. Grimes reviewed the landscape plan. Ms. Miller stated that they may want to see a mix of coniferous and deciduous trees along Golden Valley Road. Grimes mentioned that the developer may want to look at placing additional landscaping on the Mallard Creek property. Ms. Miller asked if a traffic signal is planned for Golden Valley Road. Grimes commented that City staff review of the Wisconsin Avenue and Golden Valley Road intersection, did not warrant for the need of a traffic signal. 283 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28,1997 Page Five Chair Pentel closed the informal public hearing. Commissioner Prazak said that he was pleased overall with the .development and the additional underground parking, which makes sense in this climate. He believes that the building should fit into the character of the area. Commissioner Johnson is pleased with the design of the building and the parking area which faces Golden Valley Road. Commissioner Groger agreed with Johnson's comments and believes that this design is an improvement over the previous proposal. Chair Pentel commented that she also likes the design of the development and was glad to see the addition of berms on Golden Valley. Road and thanked Ms. Miller for attending as an interested property owner from across the street. Pentel thought the ponding, as seen on the site plan, .looks a bit sterile at this point and is hoping to see water-emergent plants and other plantings to help filter runoff prior to running into the pond. She also hopes to see some low growing plants to replace the number of trees that will need to be removed in this area. Chair Pentel asked staff about signage. Grimes commented that the developer will need to meet the sign code requirements of the City. He believes there will be a monument sign and directional signs to get in and out of the development. Commissioner McAleese agreed with previous comments made and was glad to see that the entire site is being developed instead of having multiple concepts. McAleese asked staff if the supporting uses, being purely incidental, should be added in the recommendation as a condition. Grimes said it should be stated in away that the supporting uses are an incidental use for those tenants within the office park. Prazak asked if a time limit should be placed on the supporting uses that correspondence with the hours of the businesses in the buildings. Grimes said that it has always been the City's intent to encourage uses that would provide support to the Valley Square area. McAleese also suggested that the plan that goes to the City Council show the curb cuts on the Mallard Greek property. Grimes agreed. MOVED by Prazak, seconded by Johnson and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council approval of the amended preliminary design plan for Valley Creek P.U.D. No. 71 with the condition that the accessory uses be 284 Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission April 28, 1997 Page Six limited in its hours of operation and to provide support for those businesses within the Valley Square area. III. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authoritx, C~ Council and Board of Zoning Aoaeals No reports were given. IV. Other Business A. Presentation by Fred Salsbury, Director of Public Works on the Golden Hills Redevelopment Area Fred Salsbury gave a brief summary of the traffic study report concerning the Golden Hills Redevelopment Area B. Reschedule Planning Commission Meeting on May 26 The Planning Commission members could not come up with an alternative- date for the week of May 26 that would work with the majority of the commission. V. Adjournment Chair Pentel adjourned the meeting ~` °•~''~-~ 1