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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988 06-16 PCP Planning Commission Information Sheet Application No. 88004 Applicant: Steve and Debra Houghton Location: 2818 Mumford Road Request: Special Use Permit/Home Occupation The applicant requests special use permit approval to run a carpet cleaning business with one non-resident employee out of the home at 2818 Mumford Road. The property in question is zoned Rl and is bounded on the south by Mumford Road, and on the west, north, and east by single-family homes. A home occupation involving the employment on the premises of a nonresident is a special use under section 35-406 of the Zoning Ordinance (attached). The applicant has submitted a letter (attached) in which she briefly explains the proposed home occupation. In it she explains that the business office would be an approximate 15' x 20' area in the basement. The main use of the office area would be order taking via telephone. Customers would not come to the house. During daytime hours there would be a person in the office answering phones. The business is in operation Monday through Friday and occasionally Saturday. No signs are proposed. The only equipment to be used in the home would be the phone. Two or three vans will be parked in the driveway overnight. A fire extinguisher would be located in the basement office. The cleaning agents would be stored, for the most part, in the vans. A large supply will not be on hand at the house. It should be noted that the Zoning Ordinance currently limits to one the number of commercial vehicles that can be parked on residentially zoned property. This vehicle cannot exceed 25' in length and is to be used to go to and from work. The Council is now considering a limitation on parking commercial vehicles on residential property to ones that are leas than 12,000 lbs. gross weight. If the vehicles are licensed as commercial vehicles, only one can be kept on the property. The only aspect that puts this home occupation in the special use category is the presence of a nonresident employee in the home answering phones to take business orders. As long as this employee is instructed to park on the applicant's driveway and not on-street, we see no concern that would affect neighboring property owners. We have also attempted to make contact with the applicant to set up an inspection for building code compliance, but have been unable to reach the applicant. We would expect that an egress window from the basement may well be required. Altogether, the proposed home occupation appears to live within the restrictions of section 35-406 and approval of the special use permit is recommended, subject to at least the following conditions: 1. The special use permit is subject to all applicable codes, ordinances and regulations, and any violation thereof shall be grounds for revocation. 2. The special use permit is issued to the applicant and is nontransferable. 3. All parking associated with the home occupation shall be off- street on improved space provided by the applicant. 6-16-88 -1- Application No. 88004 continued 4. Special use permit approval acknowledges the employment on the premises of not more than one nonresident employee. 5. The premises shall be inspected and improved in accordance with the requirements set forth by the Building Official with respect to the home occupation office space prior to the issuance of the special use permit. 6. No more than one commercial vehicle, consistent with the limitations imposed by City Ordinances, may be kept on the property. 6-16-88 -2- Planning Commission Information Sheet Application No. 88005 Applicant: Bernard Herman Architects (for Milavetz & Associates) Location: 1915 57th Avenue North Request: Site and Building Plan Location/Zoning The applicant requests site and building plan approval to construct a solarium addition to the south side of the office building at 1915 57th Avenue North. The property in question is zoned C2 and is bounded on the north by 57th Avenue North, on the east by Superamerica service station, on the south by single-family homes, and on the west by a vacant C2 zoned lot (Warner Hardware is the next building to the west). (There is a vacant portion of the property to the east of the building which will most likely be subdivided off in the future). Office buildings are a permitted use in the C2 zone. Access/Parking The site is served by two accesses onto 57th Avenue North. From inside of curb to inside of curb, the accesses are 44' apart. This is substandard in the C2 zoning district. However, it is an existing condition and it appears there is no way of meeting the 50' separation requirement without destroying the parking layout on the site. We, therefore, recommend no change at this time. With the new addition and basement remodeling, there will be 4,021 sq. ft. of office space within the building which requires 20 parking stalls. The remaining area - 1,983 sq. ft. - is to be used for storage and mechanical rooms. At one space per 800 sq. ft. , this requires an additional 2.4 stalls. The site plan calls for 23 stalls total to meet both requirements. Landscaping Existing landscaping on the site is rather generous. There are 25 existing Ash and Locust trees (250 points), seven decorative trees (10.5 points) and seven coniferous trees (42 points). The total point value of the existing trees exceeds the point requirement for the entire site (12,5 points) , including the vacant area to the east. No additional landscaping has been proposed. Grading/Drainage/Utilities The site presently drains to the street (57th Avenue North) with no on-site storm sewer. Anew storm sewer is to be constructed in the 57th Avenue North right-of-way in conjunction with a road reconstruction project for Logan Avenue North to handle drainage on 57th Avenue North that affects Logan. The parking lot is bounded by B6 straight curb with no gutter. A slight modification is required at the southwest corner of the lot to provide for s sixth parking stall on the west side of the lot. Straight B6 curb should be used to replace the existing curb at that location. Building The solarium addition is to be a glass enclosure along the middle 44' 8" of the south wall. There is to be an open waiting room and a conference room at the upper floor level of the building. Stairs leading down to a central courtyard will descend from both ends of the solarium. New windows on the south side in the lower level of the building will be installed, providing daylight to a bookkeeping room in the lower level. The base of the waiting and conference areas is to be painted rock face block. The existing building is brick. 6-16-88 -1- Application No. 88005 continued The upper level (main floor) of the existing building is not fire sprinklered at this time, though the lower level is fire sprinklered. Fire sprinkling of both the upper level and the solarium addition will be required as part of the new construction project to bring the entire building into conformance with the City's fire code. Lighting/Trash There are two existing light poles near the front entrance to the building which provide illumination of the front parking lot. No additional outside lighting is proposed. There are no outside trash containers either and none are proposed. Recommendation Altogether, the plans appear to be in order and approval is recommended, subject to at least the following conditions: 1. Building plans are subject to review and approval by the Building Official with respect to applicable codes prior to the issuance of permits. 2. Grading, drainage, utility and berming plans are subject to review and approval by the City Engineer, prior to the issuance of permits. 3. A site performance agreement and supporting financial guarantee (in an amount to be determined by the City Manager) shall be submitted prior to the issuance of permits. 4. Any outside trash disposal facilities and rooftop mechanical equipment shall be appropriately screened from view. 5. The building is to be equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system to meet NFPA standards and shall be connected to a central monitoring device in accordance with Chapter 5 of the City Ordinances. 6. Plan approval is exclusive of all signery which is subject to Chapter 34 of the City Ordinances. 7. Straight B6 curb shall be provided around all parking and driving areas. 8. The owner of the property shall enter into easement agreements for utilities and drainage and for a trailway across the property prior to the issuance of permits. 6-16-88 -2- Planning Commission Information Sheet Application No. 88006 Applicant: Robert J. Regan Location: 4435 68th Avenue North Request: Site and Building Plan/Special Use Location/Zoning The applicant requests site and building plan and special use permit approval to construct a 50' x 172' addition to the school bus garage at 4435 68th Avenue North. The property in question is zoned C2 and is bounded on the north by 68th Avenue North, on the east by Pacific Pool and Patio and Iten Chevrolet, by I-694 on the south, and by the NSP service center on the west. A school bus garage is a special use in the C2 zoning district provided all storage, including vehicles and minor servicing and repair, shall be conducted wholly within an enclosed building and further provided that the use does not abut any residential zoning district. Access/Parking The site is served by a single access off 68th Avenue North. No additional accesses or changes to this access are planned. The site presently has 42 parking spaces south of the building, adjacent to the freeway. The proposed plan calls for additional blacktop south of an existing chain link fence in the middle of the site. This area will allow for 23 additional parking stalls for a total of 65 stalls, approximately one per bus capable of being stored in the garage. Landscaping The area of the entire site is 4.76 acres. However, the area occupied by the bus garage and its attendant parking and entrance drive is approximately 3.25 acres. Using the light industrial landscape point requirement, the site requires 225 points. Existing landscaping has a value of 147.5 points. The proposed plan calls for five (5) new Black Hills Spruce, four (4) new Marshall's Seedless Ash, and seven (7) Canada Red Cherries for a total of 80.5 additional points. This brings total landscaping into line with the landscape point system. Grading, Drainage, Utilities The only change to the site on balance is the addition of the blacktopped area north of the existing paved area north of the building. The applicant proposes to drain this area into an existing catch basin north of the building. This catch basin drains via storm sewer to a drainage swale along the west side of the site which, in turn, drains into the I-694 right-of-way. The existing culvert under the freeway is already undersized relative to the drainage pouring into it. If MN/DOT does not permit the additional drainage, the applicant will either have to pond water on the site or connect to City storm sewer in 68th Avenue North. Building The existing building exterior is brick and the proposed addition will also be brick to match. The north elevation will have eight 11 ' 4" high x 20' insulated overhead doors. The addition is 50' x 172' and covers four of five bays across the back of the building. The easterly most 40' bay containing the wash stall will not be covered. There is a lighted fuel island about 60' north of the proposed addition which will not be moved. There will be four wall mounted lights (250 watt high pressure sodium) on the north wall of the new addition. 6-16-88 -1- Application No. 88006 continued Other Items It should be noted that the northerly portion of this property, which is vacant, has been used periodically over the past two years for overflow car storage by auto dealerships in the area. This use has been acknowledged by City staff for temporary periods of time. However, the car storage operation has sometimes continued for months at a time. This is not an acceptable use of the property on a regular basis without the granting of a special use permit. The granting of a special use permit for such car storage would be contingent on the paving of the north portion of the lot up to the standards of the Zoning Ordinance, including the provision of curb and gutter and proper drainage facilities along with proper landscaping of the site. Recommendation Altogether, the plans appear to be in order for the proposed project and approval is recommended, subject to at least the following conditions: 1. Building plans are subject to review and approval by the Building Official with respect to applicable codes prior to the issuance of permits. 2. Grading, drainage, utility and berming plans are subject to review and approval by the City Engineer, prior to the issuance of permits. 3. A site performance agreement and supporting financial guarantee (in an amount to be determined by the City Manager) shall be submitted prior to the issuance of permits. 4. Any outside trash disposal facilities and rooftop mechanical equipment shall be appropriately screened from view. 5. The building is to be equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing system to meet NFPA standards and shall be connected to a central monitoring device in accordance with Chapter 5 of the City Ordinances. 6. An underground irrigation system shall be installed in all landscaped areas to facilitate site maintenance. 7. Plan approval is exclusive of all signery which is subject to Chapter 34 of the City Ordinances. 8. B612 curb and gutter shall be provided around all parking and driving areas. g. The plans shall be modified prior to consideration by the City Council to indicate a parking delineator (B612 curb and gutter) at the east end of the row of parking along the north side of the lot (in the newly paved area). 10. The special use permit is subject to all applicable codes, ordinances and regulations and any violation thereof shall be grounds for revocation. 6-16-88 -2- Application No. 88006 continued 11. Parking of cars on the north portion of the property by off-site auto dealerships is strictly prohibited unless and until a separate special use permit is granted for such use. 12. The conveyance of additional runoff from the expanded parking lot to the I-694 right-of-way is subject to approval by MRi/DOT. 6-16-88 -3- i Planning Commission Information Sheet Application No. 88007 Applicant: Robert Zappa Location: 6637 Humboldt Avenue North Request: Site and Building Plan i Location/Zoning The applicant requests site and building plan approval for a 12 unit apartment building at approximately 6637 Humboldt Avenue North. The property in question is zoned R5 and is bounded on the north by a collection of 4 four-plexes, on the east by Humboldt Avenue North, on the south by the Berean Evangelical Free Church and parsonage, and on the west by the Spec. 7 industrial building. The apartment building is to be three stories. Three-storey apartment buildings are permitted uses in the R5 zoning district. There is an existing two-storey four-plex already on the property. Under the Zoning Ordinance, two-storey apartment buildings are also permitted in the R5 zone, but at the R4 density of 12 units per acre (or 1 unit per 3,600 sq. ft. ). The existing four-plex, therefore, requires 14,400 sq. ft. of land area. This leaves 34,308 sq. ft. for the three-storey building. At 2,700 sq. ft. per unit (the R5 density), 12.7 additional units could be allowed. Therefore, 12 additional units can be built on the site. The proposed plans call for 11 three-bedroom units and one two-bedroom handicapped unit. This collection of units, however, is not permitted under Section 35-400 of the Zoning Ordinance. Footnote lc of that section requires 250 sq. ft. of additional land area for each unit with over two bedrooms and limits such units to 10% of the units in any multiple dwelling. This provision limits the number of three-bedroom units to only one of the 12 proposed. We have informed the developer of this problem and he has asked for a review by the Planning Commission, though no variance has yet been submitted. Staff would oppose a variance and recommend that the plans be tabled until revised plans are submitted without the excess number of three-bedroom units. Access/Parking The site gains access off Humboldt Avenue North via an existing 24' wide driveway along the south side of the site. The proposed building will be located where much of the existing parking is. The plan calls for 16 surface parking stalls, nine at 900 adjacent to the new building and seven parallel stalls along the south side of the lot. A 15' wide buffer strip along the south side of the property is provided as required adjacent to Rl zoned property. The plan also calls for 18 garage stalls in two buildings on the west end of the site. Between garage parking and surface parking, therefore, the parking requirement of two stalls per unit is met. Landscaping The landscape plan calls for the preservation of numerous trees on the site, especially a number of large existing Elms. The policy of the City has been to disregard Elms as meeting any landscape requirements. Since there will be a total of 16 dwelling units on the site, section 35-410 requires a minimum of three 6" diameter trees on the site. This requirement is met by three large existing Willows, two large existing Cottonwoods and a large existing Ash. The plan proposes six Black Hills Spruce, north of the proposed building in the setback area off the north lot line. Four Russian Olives are proposed in the open area west of the proposed building and east of the proposed seven-stall parking garage. 6-16-88 -1_ Application No. 88007 continued Potentillas and Globe and Pyramidal Arborvitae are proposed for foundation plantings along the south side of the new building. Four Junipers and two Pyramidal Arborvitae are scheduled in front of the existing building. The total point value of the non-Elm landscaping is 122.5 points. The site is required to have 102 points based on the landscape point system. Therefore, the proposed landscape plan is sufficient, provided that existing non-Elm trees are counted. Areas to be disturbed by construction are to be sodded. As to screening from the R1 property to the south, the applicant has indicated a desire to fence the property on the north, west, and south sides, but this fence is not shown on the plans. A chain link fence already exists around the church parsonage. Grading, Drainage, Utilities The grading plan calls for one new catch basin south of the easterly garage which will take drainage from the surface parking area and the paved area between the two proposed garages. Also, the lawn area west of the proposed apartment building and east of the easterly garage will drain over a flattened curb at the southeast corner of the easterly garage. The plan does not actually call for B612 curb and gutter, but the architect has indicated orally that curb and gutter is planned around all parking and driving areas. The plan also calls for a 2" water service (which will provide minimum pressure) and a 6" sanitary sewer service. The location of these services is very close to a row of large existing Elms which the landscape plan calls for preserving. The precise location of these service lines may, therefore, need to be revised somewhat northward. Building As mentioned earlier, the plans call for 11 three-bedroom units in the proposed apartment building. This is 10 more than permitted under the Zoning Ordinance and, without a variance, we cannot recommend approval of the plans as submitted. The proposed exterior treatment would be 8" wide horizontal exposure wood, with vertical ribbed exterior plywood above the third floor level. Each unit is to have either a patio (first floor) or deck (2nd and 3rd floors) with sliding glass doors. An exterior light is proposed in all of these deck/patio areas. The roof is a gable roof running north/south along the length of the building. The existing building has a brick front and 8" horizontal boned siding on the other three sides. It is presently being painted a light blue. It has a hip roof. The Commission may wish to discuss with the applicant the aesthetic compatibility of the two structures. It is certainly a valid question. Lighting/Trash In addition to exterior lights on the building, three sets of 75 watt flood lights are proposed on the garages, two sets on the larger 10 stall garage and one on the smaller seven stall garage. Also, a 200 watt incandescent lamp is proposed on a 10' high pole at the southwest corner of the new building. A dumpster with an enclosure is proposed at the southeast corner of the smaller, easterly garage. Conclusion Again, staff recommend tabling the application at this time because of the number of three-bedroom units in the proposed building. The Planning Commission may wish to discuss with the applicant the merits, if there are any, for a variance to allow more three-bedroom units. None occur to us at the writing of this report. (Note: Three-bedroom units require 250 sq. ft. of additional land under Section 35-400. Based on this requirement, only 8 units could be three-bedroom even if the 10% cap were lifted. 6-16-88 -2- CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held on the day of , 1988 at p.m. at the City Hall, 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway, to consider an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance regarding the parking requirements for places of public assembly. Auxiliary aids for handicapped persons are available upon request at least 96 hours in advance. Please contact the Personnel Coordinator at 561-5440 to make arrangements. ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 35 REGARDING THE PARKING REQUIREMENT FOR PLACES OF PUBLIC ASSEMBLY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 35 of the City Ordinances of the City of Brooklyn Center is hereby amended in the following manner: Section 35-704. MINIMUM PARKING SPACES REQUIRED. 4. Miscellaneous a. Places of public assembly such as churches, theatres, auditoriums (other than school auditoriums) mortuaries, stadiums, arenas, dance halls: One space for every three seats. Places of public assembly located in a retail shopping center complex shall have one space for every four seats. Section 2. This ordinance shall become effective after adoption and upon thirty (30) days following its legal publication. Adopted this day of , 1988. Mayor ATTEST: Clerk Date of Publication Effective Date (Brackets indicate matter to be deleted, underline indicates new matter). i 1 i