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12-27-99 PC Minutes . - . e . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 A regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held at the Golden Valley City Hall, Council Chambers, 7800 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, Minnesota, on Monday, December 27, 1999. The meeting was called to order by Chair Pentel at 7:00 p.m. Those present were Chair Pentel and Commissioners Eck, Groger, Hoffman, McAleese, Rasmussen and Shaffer. Also present were Mark Grimes, Director of Planning and Development and Mary Dold, Recording Secretary. I. Approval of Minutes -- December 13, 1999 The minutes of December 13, 1999 were not available for approval. II. Informal Public Hearing -- Rezoning of Properties from light Industrial to Commercial Applicant: Allianz Life USA/Duke-Weeks Address: Properties bounded by Golden Hills Drive to the north, Xenia Avenue to the east, 1-394 and 5760 & 5800 Wayzata Blvd., and adjacent parking lot, to the south and the Soo Line Railroad to the west Request: Rezone those parcels of land with a designation of Light Industrial (former MnDOT land which is now vacant, and the properties at 950 Xenia Avenue and 5740 Wayzata Blvd.) to the Commercial zoning district III. Informal Public Hearing -- Zoning of Street Right-of-Way to Commercial Applicant: City of Golden Valley Address: Existing Wayzata Blvd. that runs along the Soo Line Railroad to the east and the west property line of the former MnDOT property and the existing Breck ice Arena parking lot Request: Designate that portion of the existing Wayzata Blvd. Street right-of-way to the Commercial zoning district Director of Planning and Development Mark Grimes presented the reports on the rezoning of properties that are now zoned Light Industrial to Commercial and to designate the street right- of-way as commercial. Grimes reviewed the General Land Use Plan Map showing the proposed area to be rezoned. He showed a portion of the half-section map for this area noting the properties that are involved with the rezoning. Grimes told the commission that Allianz would like to construct a two-phase office development that would include a 10-story office building with an approximate 1,400 parking stall ramp and Grimes said the rezoning to commercial would make the new zoning consistent with the Land Use Plan Map. He said, generally speaking, we do not rezone street right-of-way. He added that the City Attorney believed that because the street right-of-way would be used as part of the proposed development, it should be zoned to what the property would be used for. Staff believes the commercial rezoning is appropriate because it permits office space and allows for more flexibility because this is a two-phase development. Grimes said that if the Allianz project is not approved, the City in the past has seen other uses for the site other than an office building. Grimes next talked about the Golden Hills Redevelopment Plan and said the subject property as part of the "Central Area". He reviewed the "Planned Characteristics" noting a mix of high _ and medium density office running along 1-394, with structured parking, so green space would not be compromised. Grimes told the commission that staff is recommending approval of the rezoning of properties from Light Industrial to Commercial and a zoning designation for the Wayzata Blvd. street right-of-way to the Commercial zoning district. Chair Pentel told the commission that it makes sense to review the rezoning and the street designation to commercial together. Grimes concurred. Commissioner McAleese asked about the land that runs along 1-394 in front of the proposed . development. Grimes said this land would be vacated and used as part of the development. He added that the City would hold an easement over a portion of this land due to utilities being maintained under the old street. Tom Loucks, Loucks Associates - 7200 Hemlock Lane, Maple Grove, and representing Allianz, agreed with staff recommendations on the rezoning to commercial and the street right-of-way e designation to commercial. He urged the commission to make a favorable recomme~dation. . ! Chair Pentel opened the informal public hearing. i I Ellis Gotlieb, 100 Quebec Avenue South, commented on portions of the Environmen,al Assessment Worksheet (EAW) that some issues along with the traffic management plan was to be addressed as part of the Planned Unit Development (PUD). He said the City has an agreement with St. Louis Park and asked how this development would tie in with the agreement. He also asked if the large projects in St. Louis Park were included in the traffic data analysis for this project. Linda Loomis, 6677 Olson Memorial Highway, asked why it takes so long to rezone property relative to the Comprehensive Plan. Chair Pentel closed the informal public hearing. . . e . - . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 3 Grimes said the traffic management plan would have to be addressed. He added that St. Louis Park has indicated there would be additional office space built south of 1-394 near Vernon Avenue, but at this point in time, there are no specific plans beyond that of the EAW. Grimes commented on the question of having rezoned this area sooner. He said that there are now a couple of parcels of land that are industrial in nature - Palm Beach Products and Baby N' Teen. He believes rezoning these two sites to commercial before there was a viable proposal for redevelopment of the sites could have hurt the City in that these properties do not have adequate parking. McAleese said the rezoning and establishing zoning for the street right of way seems very straightforward. He added that the rezoning was consistent with the Compo Plan and with other documents prepared for this area. He believes it would be the correct thing to do to rezone to commercial. MOVED by McAleese, seconded by Pentel and motion carried unanimously to recommend to the City Council approval to rezone the existing properties that are now light industrial to commercial and zone the Wayzata Blvd. street right-of-way, on the east side of the Soo Line Railroad to commercial. The zoning of the street right-of-way was conditioned on the General Plan of Development being approved by the City Council and the City vacating the street right- of-way. IV. Informal Public Hearing -- Preliminary Design Plan for Allianz Life USA Addition, Planned Unit Development (P.U.D.) No. 87 Applicant: Allianz Life USA/Duke Weeks Address: That area bounded by Golden Hills Drive to the north, Xenia Avenue to the east, 1-394 to the south and the Soo Line Railroad to the west Request: To allow for the construction of a two-phase office developme~t on the site. The first phase consists of a 10-story, 400,000 sq.ft. offic~ building, with a 6-level, 1400 stall-parking ramp, and additional surface iparking. The second phase is proposed to be a 200,000 sq.ft., 5-6 storY. building, with an addition to the parking ramp and additional surface pa~king to accommodate another 800 cars." Director of Planning and Development Mark Grimes reviewed the staff report saying that this is a request by Allianz Life USA/Duke-Weeks for a P.U.D., for the area bounded by Golden Hills Drive on the north, Xenia Avenue on the east, 1-394 on the south and the Soo Railroad on the west. History and Site Proposal. Grimes gave a brief history regarding Allianz's request to purchase the 12.7 acre site from the HRA in order to construct its headquarters. He told the commission that the proposal is for a two-phase development. The first phase would get under way sometime in spring or early summer and phase II is proposed to be completed in year 2008. He said an agreement does remain in place with Duke-Weeks that if the proposal before the Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 4 commission tonight would not go forward, Duke-Weeks would come before the commission and . council this summer with a smaller project. Grimes reminded the commission that on November 7, 1999 the City Council passed a negative declaration on an EAW for this proposal. He noted that one of the comments found in the EAW was that some citizen comments should be deferred until the time the P.U.D. is reviewed. Grimes told the commission this proposal qualified as a P.U.D. because 1) iUs located in a redevelopment area; 2) this proposal is a major development with a parking ramp and to be completed in two phases;. and 3) there would be at least two uses on the site at one time. He said the Breck Ice Arena would be in operation until its new building was completed. Grimes added that Palm Beach also could remain on the site while a portion of the Allianz site was being developed. Grimes gave the commission additional information on the proposed land noting that it was a rather flat area with poor soils. He said there were numerous environmental studies done on the site with few notable problems coming forth. He said a tree preservation plan would have to be reviewed and commented on by the City. Grimes next reviewed the site plan of the Allianz project. He also talked about the surrounding area and developments that had occurred in the past few years. Grimes said the 7 -acre Olympic Printing site to the north contains two older buildings. He said that Olympic Printing had shown some interest in selling, but at this time they would be staying on the site. He commented on the six-story office development northeast of the proposal that is being constructed by United Properties and would be completed within the next few months. Directly to the east is the Colonnade office building with a four-story ramp. Grimes said there is one vacant lot left on the land to the east which at one time was slated for a hotel. He said staff believes that some other use would probably be proposed for this vacant piece of land. To the east of the Colonnade and new United Properties building is residential, on Turner's Crossroad, which is approximately 700 feet from the proposed site. There are condos and apartments to the north of Laurel Avenue. In St. Louis Park is office, commercial and restaurants along 1-394. Pentel asked where the regional pond is located. Grimes noted on the site plan and said that the proposed site would drain into the pond. He added that this ponding is a more efficient and a more effective way to clean water and maintain runoff. Commissioner Hoffman asked the percentage of occupancy of the three office/warehouse buildings to the west and that of the Colonnade. Grimes said the Colonnade is 100% occupied and that the office/warehouse buildings are leased out. Hoffman asked about the height of the United Properties office building. Grimes said it was a six-story building. e . - Traffic. Grimes again referred to the site plan noting where the first phase building would be located. He talked aboLft the traffic in general which was a concern noted in the EAW. He said staff and the City Council believe the data analysis provided by Benshoof and Associates and reviewed by SEH is accurate and staff is recommending that the commission accept these findings when considering its recommendation for the P.U.O. Grimes said there is an estimated . 5,250 trips daily being projected from the office development, with 778 trips that would end at . e . - . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 5 the Allianz site in the AM peak hours and 752 trips in the PM peak hours. He added the analysis has indicated with certain improvements the additional trips, due to the Allianz project, can be handled by the existing street system. Staff will further evaluate suggested improvements as found in the consultants report and recommend construction as needed. Grimes said staff was disappointed that MnDOT had not commented on the EAW during the comment period, but they had received its comment two weeks after the comment period closed. He noted MnDOT is concerned about congestion at the 1-394/Xenia Avenue Interchange and suggested additional traffic analysis be done. As part of the Joint Task Force, St. Louis Park and Golden Valley would be doing additional analysis and it is anticipated that this work would be done in January. Staff will also be scheduling meetings with MnDOT to discuss the issues at the 1-394/Xenia Avenue interchange. He said that it is noted in the EAW that heavier traffic would occur regardless of the Allianz project. Grimes said the key element to mitigating traffic congestion in the area is the Traffic Management Plan. He said Allianz has committed to developing such a plan to help reduce peak hour traffic. Allianz has submitted some good ideas for traffic management but there needs to be a more detailed plan developed. Grimes said the Traffic Management Plan would need to be submitted to the Joint Task Force (Golden Valley and St. Louis Park) in mid-January for review. This Plan would become a part of the P.U.D. Permit. Grimes said he would like to see a preliminary Traffic Management Plan before the Preliminary Design Plan goes to the City Council in order to review Allianz's specific ideas and how it intends to reduce trips to the site. Grimes said in the EAW comments there were concerns regarding traffic filtering through the neighborhoods and how it might affect the quality of life. Grimes suggested that Mr. Glen VanWarmer from SEH address this topic. He added that there were 12 additional street intersections that were looked at to see what the affect from this proposed development would be on those intersections. Staff believes there are minor increases of 1 % to 4% in the neighborhoods. Grimes suggested that VanWarmer could talk about these numbers. Parkina. Grimes said Allianz has done a good job with developing its parking noting the one space for every 250 sq.ft. of office space. He added that the site plan shows green space where the phase II building is being proposed and this could remain green space until a time when the phase II development begins by providing "proof of parking". Grimes said Allianz has provided more parking with its Phase I building that what is required. Circulation. Grimes said one concern regarding circulation to the site is the entrance into the site off of Golden Hills Drive. He said that the original plan calls for an entrance approximately 150 feet from the intersection of Golden Hills Drive and Xenia Avenue. Staff believes that this is too close to the intersection without major traffic concerns. Allianz has agreed to move this entrance to the middle of the ramp. Grimes said that staff has requested that the proposed entrance on Golden Hills Drive become a pedestrian walkway that can also be used for emergency vehicles. It is hoped that this would encourage pedestrian access within and throughout the area. He added that the most western access into the site would serve the Breck Ice Arena and service area on the south side of the building along 1-394. Setbacks. Grimes said the project would meet all setbacks except on the south side. Setbacks along Golden Hills Drive, Xenia Avenue and 1-394 are 35 feet of required greenspace, and 20 feet along the west side of the building for building setback, with a requirement of 10 feet being Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 6 greenspace. He noted that parking would come within 20 feet of the setback along 1-394. The Holiday Inn Express and office/warehouse parking along 1-394 received variances to be within 5 feet of the front setback along 1-394. . Heiaht. Grimes said the proposed building would be 10-stories in height with a basement level and a heating and cooling tower on the top floor known as the penthouse. He said the parking ramp would be six stories in height. Grimes said the applicant was proposing a higher parking ramp in order to provide greater green space, adding that 40% of the entire site would be green space. Appearance of Buildina. Grimes said the applicant would be using first rate materials on the outside of the building. Staff does not believe that lighting will bea problem in that the closest residential property is approximately 700 feet to the east. Enaineerina Issues. Grimes noted City Engineer Jeff Oliver's memo and the areas of e concern. He told the commission that drainage would drain to the pond north of Laurel Avenue. Grimes told the commission that the Inspections Department and Deputy Fire Marshal have reviewed the plans and talked with Allianz personnel regarding public safety issues. He said that an Indirect Source Permit would need to be obtained which is given out by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The Indirect Source Permit is issued prior to construction and the purpose for the Permit is to make sure that the proposed development meets State air quality standards. Grimes said Allianz is in the process of applying for the Indirect Source Permit. Grimes said staff recommends approval of the Preliminary Design Plan and outlined conditions . as noted in the staff report. He added that the Traffic Management Plan is an important element of this project and would be submitted to the Joint Task Force. Commissioner Eck asked about bus access in and out of the site and if there was a bus stop. Grimes said that Allianz had planned for a bus stop on Golden Hills Drive. He said that in the evening the bus would be east bound stopping on Golden Hills Drive to pick up passengers. _ Buses that are north bound on Xenia would drop off its passengers on the east side bf Xenia Avenue. He added that there is a bus stop on the east side on Xenia Avenue in frontl of the new United Properties building. He said that staff would be willing to work with Metro Transit on the bus stop and thatAllianz intends to be a bus route user. \ Pentel commented on City Engineer Jeff Oliver's memo regarding moving the bus to~ more to the west. Grimes said this would help reduce conflict at the intersection, but still make it easy for people to take the bus. Commissioner Shaffer asked if the Breck Ice Arena does not get relocated to another site who has control to remove them from the existing property? Grimes said Breck School has an agreement with the Golden Valley Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) which states that they can only remain on the site for a specific time. He added that at this time he is uncertain whether the HRA would be a tenant of Allianz or if Breck were the tenant. Pentel referred to the Joint Powers Agreement noting Subdivision 9 concerning payment of a traffic management administrative fee of 1 Oct per gross floor area and half was to be paid at the . time of the request. She asked if the Joint Task Force had received such a payment. Pentel . - . e . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 7 also asked if this would be based on the 600,000 sq.ft. of Phase I and II development. Grimes said he did not believe that the fee had been paid and would need to review how to assess the fee, whether it be on the first phase building of 400,000 sq.ft. or at second phase build-out of 600,000 sq.ft. Pentel asked if there was a meeting scheduled with the Joint Task Force. Grimes said it had been difficult to coordinate the members of the Joint Task Force but believes a meeting would take place the first or second week in January. Hoffman asked Grimes why MnDOT responded to the EAW two weeks after the comment period deadline date. Grimes said all appropriate agencies were given the entire EAW packet and could not answer the question. Hoffman asked who would make up the Joint Task Force. Grimes commented the Task Force is already formed and reviewing the need for additional traffic analysis. He said there is a proposal from SRF to do additional traffic analysis in the area. Grimes added that the initial study was done in the late 1980's and the Task Force wanted to see those numbers updated, which should help MnDOT's concerns. Pentel asked if there have been any discussions regarding increasing the 1-394 right-of-way at Xenia in order to put in a carpool lane entrance. Grimes said this is going to be suggested to MnDOT when staff meets with them. Grimes said VanWarmer can provide additional information on this, and that staff has looked at this, and it may take additional right-of-way. Hoffman asked about cars filtering through the neighborhood. He questioned whether posted signs saying "no through traffic" would work. Grimes said that this would be difficult to enforce. Tom DeAngelo, Alliance Architecture, gave a design overview of the proposal showing a model of the proposed buildings and property. He talked about the phase II building creating a stepping up to the Colonnade. He said the property provides a generous green space along Xenia Avenue. There would be trees along all four sides of the site. DeAngelo commented that Allianz has been in business in Minnesota for the past 50 years and has outgrown its existing building. They have now designed a building to be used hals its headquarters. He added that Allianz has provided much green space because it wa~ts to be a long-term, single tenant on the site. DeAngelo said that the parking ramp to be cons~ructed with the phase I building would be approximately two-thirds of what is being proposed. vvnen the other one-third is constructed with the phase II development, the existing ramp woul~ stay in t. I opera Ion. \. DeAngelo talked about the proposed plan for a right-turn lane from Golden Hills Drive onto Xenia Avenue and a double turn lane going north on Xenia Avenue turning west onto Golden Hills Drive. He said these lanes have made the eastern entrance into the site on Golden Hills Drive problematic. The entrance on Xenia Avenue will be maintained and the problematic driveway on Golden Hills Drive would be moved more to the west. He said there would be two entrances on Golden Hills Drive. Eck questioned the route that potential guests would need to take in order to access the site coming from 1-394 and then north on Xenia. DeAngelo said that employees and guests would have to take the turn on Xenia westbound and go through the parking ramp. He added that there would be visitor parking stalls in the ramp and limited outdoor parking stalls for guests. Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 8 DeAngelo said there are proposed sidewalks around the entire site. He also said that there . would be lockers in the building for the employees so they could walk/jog around the parks in the neighborhood. He added that it is important to get employees to wherever the transit buses would be located, so there was a strong emphasis from the front entrance of Golden Hills Drive and Xenia Avenue. Pentel questioned the site plan showing local and regional trails. She commented that she is on the sidewalk committee and has not seen the trail over the railroad tracks into St. Louis Park. Grimes commented the trail over the railroad track might have come up when staff was reviewing the amendment to the Park Plan. He said in early meetings of discussion regarding the Park Plan and the update to the Comprehensive Plan there might have been comments made to the consultant that if the railroad tracks were ever vacated this could provide access into St. Louis Park. At this time the track is active. Pentel said the site plan shows a trail along the Olympic printing property connecting to a trail e along the ponding area north of Laurel Avenue. Grimes said that sidewalks and trails throughout the area have been a request by the Planning Commission and City Council. He added that the City is a community with 30,000 jobs and there are fair amounts of people that walk and jog. Groger questioned whether there would be U-turns at Xenia Avenue and Golden Hills Drive for those vehicles going northbound but would like to enter the development on Xenia. Grimes said there would be no U-turns at this intersection and would need to be posted at Xenia and Golden Hills Drive. . DeAngelo showed a proposed rendering of the elevations of the development and how it might present itself to the neighboring community. He commented that there was a strong emphasis on pedestrian connections between the ramp and the building. He said the exterior would be colored stone at the base and the upper portion of the office space would be a combination of granite and glass, but this is still being worked out. e Pentel said the master plan talks about a Phase-I building of 10 to 12 stories in height and referenced a penthouse area. DeAngelo said the current plans show a basement, with a ten- story building and a penthouse that would enclose the mechanicals. He added that the penthouse would not be a habited floor. Commissioner McAleese asked if the access to the building from the parking ramp would be on the first floor level. DeAngelo said it would and added that it would not be unlike the Colonnade's parking ramp. Employees and guests would park in the ramp and use the elevators and go down to grade and enter the building. McAleese commented that most people who park in the ramp would then not have to cross the street level driveway to enter the building. DeAngelo concurred. DeAngelo explained to the commission that the owner is bringing together employees from two different buildings - from Minneapolis and from the Hwy. 169/Hwy. 55 interchange. He added that both companies have had active traffic management plans. It is Allianz's intention to continue to support transit and flextime to mitigate peak hour traffic. . . e . - . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 9 Ed Fitzpatrick, Allianz Project Manager, said that 30% of the work force is on flextime of 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. He added that this is not a retail business, so they are not expecting large numbers of visitors coming in during the day. Fitzpatrick said that approximately 5% of its employees use public transportation, which does not include car-pooling. He added that he does not have information on car pooling at this time but would be working with the consultant on the Traffic Management Plan to present to the Joint Task Force. Pentel asked if the lunchroom was subsidized. Fitzpatrick said the new site would be 100% subsidized and at this time, approximately 85-90% of the employees use the lunchroom on site. Commissioner Hoffman asked if Allianz had a Transportation Coordinator. Fitzpatrick said that there is a Facilities Manger who works with the Metro Transitand the City of Minneapolis on traffic issues. He said they work with MnDOT during road construction time and have worked with local churches and the Walker/Guthrie to help mitigate traffic. He added that Allianz would have the same commitment to its Traffic Management Plan for this site. Fitzpatrick added that because this development would be a single-tenant use, it can address these concerns. He added that Allianz is working with Preferred One, which is located on Golden Hills Drive and Colorado, on a bus schedule that would work well for both facilities. Eck questioned bus ridership believing the 5% ridership mentioned would be less after the two companies join. Fitzpatrick believed that this would increase due to reverse transit. Buses would go downtown and deadhead and then come west utilizing Golden Hills Drive. He added that it does not cost extra to add a transit route. He said that buses coming from the west on 1- 394 could pick up additional ridership. Commissioner Groger asked how many employees are anticipated at Phase I. Fitzpatrick said 1100 to 1500 employees. Groger asked if Phase II did not become a reality, would this area remain green space until it was needed. Fitzpatrick said it would. He added that Allianz could look at another tenant for this area, but right now Allianz is not subletting any of the Phase I development. I I Hoffman said that VanWarmer's letter to City Engineer Jeff Oliver said that a true Traffic Management Plan would need to have a statistical breakdown and that Allianz has s~bmitted a good plan, which is a good start. He asked VanWarmer to elaborate on this comme~t. Glen VanWarmer, Traffic Engineer with SEH, said that Allianz's plan has a good start but ~oes not address specifics. Hoffman asked how someone makes a Traffic Management Plan !,work. VanWarmer said one needs to understand what the roadway capacity is and how employees arrive at the work place, whether it be by busing or car pooling, and by spreading out the travel time during peak hours. VanWarmer said the plan could consist of many elements - a wellness program where employees would come earlier or stay later to use the facilities and an in-house cafeteria, which cuts down on daily trips. Hoffman asked who was on the Joint Task Force. VanWarmer said there is a Joint Task Force between St. Louis Park and Golden Valley where the two cities have an agreement that the Task Force would review necessary Traffic Management Plans. Eck commented that as soon as the freeway ramps back up, traffic would filter through neighborhoods and asked if VanWarmer took the same view, and was this addressed in the Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 10 traffic study. VanWarmer said knowing where a design concept it might still be more convenient to sit in a small amount of congestion than to work your way through the neighborhood. . Commissioner Rasmussen asked VanWarmer where the traffic problem would occur for those employees leaving the Allianz site and where possible problems of traffic filtering through residential areas would be. She asked if the residents east or west of the subject property were more concerned about traffic. Van Warmer indicated that the concern of the residents is traffic on Xenia that would use Turner's Crossroad, and north pass the Arts High School and come out on Douglas Drive. He added that vehicles would probably go north on Xenia to Laurel Avenue and then north on Winnetka to access Hwy. 55 and New Hope or would access Xenia to Glenwood. Commissioner Shaffer said in the traffic analysis report, it said that some of the neighborhoods showed moderate percentage increases and asked Van Warmer to explain this in terms of vehicles. VanWarmer said that if he understood Benshoofs report, it was not percent increase e but the percent of total traffic that is distributed. He said. for example, the report showed 2% of traffic going west on Laurel and 1% north and what this means is that if there were 750 vehicles in PM peak hour that you would get about 2% of those 750 vehicles on Laurel Avenue in both directions. Shaffer asked what that meant in terms of cars backing up in lay person terms versus percentages. VanWarmer said to look at it as cars per minute. Pentel interjected that the commission had been given 1997 traffic counts of the City and referred to the count on Glenwood Avenue. VanWarmer said the traffic in question are from those employees coming out of the development in the A.M. and P.M. peak hours that know their routes in and out of the area. He said if there were 750 vehicle trips at peak hour accessing the site, and if 2% of those . trips are on Laurel. one would end up with one car coming or going every four minutes. VanWarmer did not believe this would be noticeable in the neighborhoods or on Xenia Avenue. He said if the percentage were 10% that would equal out to approximately 1 car every minutes and that would be noticeable. Shaffer asked about the concern that City Engineer Jeff Oliver pointed out in his memo to staff _ on the Phase I service court access to the south side of the building concerning turning radius for trucks. DeAngelo commented that the plans show phase I with Breck still on the site, but in reality the Breck Ice Arena would be demolished before the Phase I building was occupied. McAleese questioned the service access road along the south property line protruding into the setback area of 35 feet. DeAngelo commented that the service road was placed over the existing frontage road, so would simply use the same right-of-way. Grimes commented that the right-of-way is also being used for parking along the south side and added that the proposed road would protrude into the setback by 15 feet. He added that the applicant could show proof of parking along the south side until a time it would need to be utilized for parking. Chair Pentel opened the informal public hearing. Bob Provost. 1429 Tyrol Trail, said that he was in favor of the project and that he was representing himself as a resident. He said he was impressed with the design and proposed green space. Provost said he is familiar with the insurance business and this operation and believes it is a world class operation and delighted that they are interested in Golden Valley. He . . e . - . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 11 told the commission that he is familiar will an insurance company moving into a residential area in that he was a neighbor to Prudential on Hwy. 55 when it moved in. He and the neighbors organized and Prudential sat down with the neighborhood to work out solutions to lighting, parking and concerns about property values. He said Prudential was super sensitive to neighborhood concerns. Provost added that the neighborhood came to love Prudential and hated to see them go because they were such a good neighbor. Linda Loomis, 6677 Olson Memorial Highway, agreed with a lot of what Mr. Provost had to say. She said she believes the carbon dioxide levels were based on the traffic study that was done with the EAW. She does not believe this was the worse case scenario because the trip generations were already discounted for some mitigation measures, such as bus ridership and discounted for flex time used. Loomis said this development would bring traffic into the residential neighborhood and people are concerned with traffic in their neighborhoods. She asked what the capacity was for 1-394, and believes 1-394 is at its capacity level. Loomis commented on routes that people use to avoid having to get on 1-394 and believes people will use the frontage roads. She asked what percentage of Allianz's work force was clerical because as VanWarmer said it is more difficult for clerical personnel to use flextime. She questioned how much flexibility an employer can force their employees to do before they go someplace else. Mary Hepokoski, 6473 Westchester Circle, referred to the 1-394 Traffic Management Ordinance, specifically page three and how much office development should occur along the corridor. She questioned when one takes into consideration the recent and proposed development in the subject area how this coincides with the ordinance and also questioned whether residents should be concerned about traffic considering all the development in the area. Pentel said that when the square footage is calculated from the various buildings it is clear that at Xenia, the City has gone over the reserve capacity limit of 892,000 sq.ft., and she assumes this is why the Joint Powers Agreement has kicked in and there needs to be a traffic management plan. She said unfortunately it takes the last development that pushes the limit to require a traffic management plan. Pentel questioned revisiting the issue of what has been allocated for Louisiana Avenue. Grimes said that when we did this ten years ago we looked at this as the trip shed area because the primary use was car dealerships. He said it was thought that car dealerships wouldn't be around 10 years after the ordinance was written and suggested that it may now have to look at differently. Grimes said that Lupient has made a commitment for car dealerships in Golden Valley and cannot see this area on Louisiana being turned over to office/commercial space. Pentel said that in terms of what the Joint Powers Agreement goes on to say is that the reserve capacity should be reevaluated each year in order to determine its validity and if a reevaluation should indicate the original assumed reserved capacity was incorrect, the Joint Task Force would amend the numbers. Pentel asked if the numbers have been revisited in a meaningful way since the numbers were set. Grimes said they have not, but SRF has been hired to re-Iook at these numbers. Pentel asked if the Task Force would look at numbers beyond the Xenia Avenue interchange or will it affect the reserve capacity that was projected for Louisiana. Grimes said the Joint Task Force is also looking at the Louisiana Avenue interchange. He Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 12 added that St. Louis Park is not anticipating any redevelopment at Louisiana and the 10% . indicated in the agreement might be more than they thought. Grimes said St. Louis Park has been consistent in maintaining their residential zoning areas and redevelopment would only be along the strip area now located on 1-394. Grimes said the reserve capacity of 800,000 sq.ft. does not indicate how much redevelopment Golden Valley could have, basically it is saying when you reach that amount, traffic management plans must go into effect. McAleese said in talking about reserve capacity and traffic management plans, that since the original document was done there has been a lot of development in the area and traffic circulation has also changed. He questioned whether the reserve capacity numbers could drop as well as go up because employees could be using the Louisiana Avenue interchange versus using the Xenia Avenue interchange. Grimes said that is why the numbers will be reviewed in the traffic study to be done by SRF to see if there is a change and then maybe requiring traffic management plans with different levels of development. Linda Loomis, 6677 Olson Memorial Highway, commented that Xenia Avenue has a shared ramp with Hwy. 100 and MnDOT is proposing to add a third lane. When looking at metering who would get priority onto this freeway, those on Hwy. 100 or those on Xenia. She also questioned whether there was room to put a van or car-pool lane on Xenia in addition to the ramps that are already there. e Pentel closed the informal public hearing. Pentel also questioned adding a car pool lane at Xenia and 1-934. Grimes said there would be . discuss with MnDOT, and that it would take additional right-of-way to do this lane, so there is a viability issue. He added there is consideration for a car pool lane along 1-394 at Ridgedale, Hopkins Crossroad and Louisiana. Shaffer asked if additional right-of-way were taken at Xenia and Golden Hills Drive, would the applicant receive a variance. Grimes said that additional right-of-way would be considered a e taking and an automatic variance would be granted. He added that there should be ~n agreement with Allianz regarding the additional right-of-way and that MnDOT would need to agree with the taking. [ i 1 VanWarmer commented that in MnDOT's long-term planning, they are trying to instit~te ramp metering and by-pass lanes wherever they can on freeways. If we approached them iwith this ramp, they might want to note this with a dash line (future) on their plans, so there would be some concept introduced. He said on the other, currently there is a slope, but they would have the ability to build a retaining wall along the ramp that would allow for an additional lane. He said the biggest issue would be the railroad tracks crossing 1-394. Pentel commented that the City needs to be proactive on so this should be made a condition of the approval. VanWarmer added that if the businesses in the area worked together, the ramp may be something everyone is interested in pursuing. Pentel said in the EAW comments there were issues that came up that spoke to the quality of life in the area. She suggested the commission keep this in mind during their deliberations for this proposal. . . - . e . Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 13 Groger said that this was an excellent proposal for the use.of land and a definite improvement over what exists now. He noted the concerns that.residents may have regarding traffic through their neighborhoods, but looking at the projected traffic patterns does not believe there would be a significant impact upon quality of life, and if it did would be inclined to vote against the proposal. He noted that the projected traffic patterns and number of cars during peak hours through the area. He said on weekends and evenings there would be little traffic from the proposed development. He said he doesn't see a significant traffic impact to the east or west. Groger believes the layout is good, along with using a parking ramp that helps provide green space. He said he was concerned about access into the site. Groger agreed with McAleese's point of retaining green space along the south property line by providing proof of parking. He voted in favor of the proposal. Hoffman said he agrees with Groger concerning the proposal. He said there is an absolute need that the Traffic Management Plan be part of the PUD Permit. Eck commented that the traffic issue is a high visibility issue and that Allianz recognizes this and that they want to be a good neighbor. He believes that the traffic issues will be looked at carefully and supports the proposal. Rasmussen believes it is a great addition to the area and a good fit considering the use. She said she was less worried about traffic after reviewing the 1997 M.S.A.S. Traffic Volumes. She said there seems to be difficulty for Allianz accessing the site for its employees and that the headquarters has to be friendly to its employees. McAleese said that he likes and supports the overall plan. He liked the green space at the corner of Xenia Avenue and Golden Hills Drive. He told the commission that the proposal does qualify as a PUD and meets the code requirements to do so. He said he was distrustful of the traffic analysis and long-term experience has shown that numbers don't always work out the way the analysis says. McAleese added that the City can and should address traffic issues as they arise. He said he would like to see proof of parking instead of parking until a time when it is needed along the south property line. \ ! Pentel said the developer has planned a beautiful building and has discouraged traftiic. She said she would like to see a condition that states the reserve capacity at Louisiana b~ recalculated and a condition that there be a car pool lane at Xenia Avenue with the ~ity approaching MnDOT on this last condition. She believes the Joint Powers Agreement does not seem to slow down development and that each city is watching out for itself and the other City. Pentel believes there needs to be a study for the 1-394 corridor and the most logical people to take on this task would be the Metropolitan Council. She said it is difficult to look at this one project when other developments are occurring along 1-394 that affects the communities all along the corridor. Pentel said it looks like a nice proposal pushing the building envelope, although the applicant has provided a lot of green space. She said she would support the proposal with caveats. She agrees with providing proof of parking as green space along 1-394. Shaffer said he liked the proposal and said that it could bring new residents to the City. He said Golden Valley now supports 30,000+ jobs, but only 10% are residents. He agreed that traffic may be problem in the area, and employees may tend to avoid using Xenia during peak hours, McAleese commented on the height of the building and said he is bothered by the policy that the City will step down building heights from 1-394 going northward. Specifically, he could foresee a developer proposing an 8-story building for the Olympic Printing site as consistent with the Golden Hills Redevelopment Plan. He believes the commission can address this issue as part of its review of the Olympic Printing site. He also commented on Pentel's suggested condition of the Task Force recalculating the reserve capacity. He does not believe it should be added as a condition to this development. McAleese added a condition that there be no U- turns at Xenia and Golden Hills Drive. Pentel has reservations removing the condition of recalculating the reserve capacity, but agreed to do so. McAleese commented that he hopes the Council will take note of this issue. MOVED by Groger, seconded by McAleese and motion carried unanimously to recommend to _ the City Council approval of the Preliminary Design Plan for the Allianz Life USA Addition, P.U.D. No. 87 including the following staff recommendations: 1. The applicant provides proof .of parking along the south property line until a time when it is determined that parking is needed. 2. The City addresses with MnDOT the possibility of a car pool lane on Xenia Avenue. 3. There will be no U-turn at the intersection of Xenia Avenue and Golden Hills Drive. 4. The plans submitted with the "Preliminary PUD Submittal for the Allianz Life/Life USA . Corporate Campus Master Plan" dated Dec. 6, 1999 shall become a part of this approval. These plans include building elevations, area plan, site plans (Phase One and Two), topographic survey, grading, drainage and erosion control plan, utility plan and preliminary plat. Loucks and Associates, Inc. and Architectural Alliance prepared these plans and maps. These plans indicate the construction of 600,000-sq. ft. of office space builtin two .a phases. A six story-parking ramp with 2190 spaces is included in this approval. ~ 5. The memo dated Dec. 22, 1999 and prepared by City Engineer Jeff Oliver shall become a part of this approval. One of the recommendations is to move the eastern driveway from Golden Hills Drive into the site. The driveway must be moved to the west in order to reduce conflicts at the Xenia/Golden Hills Drive intersection. Other site improvements related to access and circulation are also addressed in this memo. 6. A traffic management plan must be developed and submitted to the Joint Task Force for review in January 2000. The plan shall outline specific techniques that will be taken by Allianz to reduce peak hour traffic. These must be measurable. The final traffic management plan will become a part of the PUD permit. 7. The PUD will allow for Breck Ice Arena to remain a temporary use on the site. After Breck abandons the site, Allianz will immediately tear down the ice arena and return it to open space and green area until it is used for the Phase Two building. The ice arena may stay on the site until no later than Aug. 2001. . . - Minutes of the Golden Valley Planning Commission December 27, 1999 Page 15 8. The PUD will allow for the Palm Beach building to stay on the site as a temporary use. When Palm Beach abandons the site, Allianz will immediately tear down the building and use it for the construction for the Phase One buildings. The Palm Beach building may stay on the site no later than Dec. 1,2000. 9. The memo from Deputy Fire Marshall Ed Anderson and dated Dec. 15, 1999 to Mark W. Grimes, Planning Director, shall become a part of this approval. 10. The landscape plan submitted with the preliminary design plan shall become a part of the approval. The plan was prepared by the Architectural Alliance and dated 12/6/99. The plan is subject to revision by the Building Board of Review. 11. All signs for the development shall meet the sign requirements for office buildings in the Commercial zoning district. 12. Allianz will work with Metro Transit on the location of bus stops and shelters on or adjacent to their property. 13. The City will not require that the surface parking areas west of the ramp (Phase One) and along the railroad tracks (in Phase Two) be constructed unless and need is shown. If additional parking is needed, Allianz will be required to construct the surface parking spaces shown on the plans. V. Reports on Meetings of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals and other Meetings . Eck reported on the second LaurellWinnetka meeting noting that they did not have any additional concerns as those mentioned in the first meeting. Some issues were traffic filtering through the streets north of Laurel and east of Winnetka; cul-de-sacs would isolate pockets of the neighborhood; and difficulty of crossing over Winnetka Avenue to Brookview Park. Grimes suggested mini-stop lights for pedestrians. . No other meetings were discussed. VI. Adjournment . Chair Pentel adjourned the meeting at 9:40 P.M.