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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970 07-30 PCP CITY OF BROOKMM, CENTER PLANHING COWYlISSION AGENDA STL*,IDY HEETI NG JULY 30, 1970 1 CALL TO ORDERt 7n30 2. ROLL CALL? 1. CMAIRMN'S EXPLANATION-. The Planning Commission is an advisory body. one of the Co7mmission ' s functions is to hold Public Hearings. In the matters concerned in these hearings, the cowaraission makes recoranendations to the City C.ouncil- The City Council makes all final decisions on these matters. C OLD BUSIVESS: Application NO a. Glad and Miller 70017 Now 'Irnown as Viewcon, Inc. See attached information Sheet • he Ti en Chevrolet 69022 Extension of Special Use Perinit See attached information sheet. Two Neighborhood Committee _he West Central and Southwest Neighborhood Committees have not yet fled reports stating that they have reviewed those sections of the Comprehensive Plan tha-111" apply to their neighbor hood. Also, these same commit.G-ees have not filed a walkway report. 5. DISCUSSION OF STUDIES A19Tj a. �-Ljrsjng Hories (See attached information Sheet and report) Ron Fleissner 70018 Ron Fleissner 70032 b. Automobile Dealership Sign Revieiw -- See attached staff report c. City counicilrL. .july' 27, declared a first reading on an Ordinance Amending Chapter 35 - "Requilring Undergro,und irrigation Sprinkler Systems Lra 1-1, C-1, CIA, C-2 Districts. ,,A i 7 planning Coy°m isslon A(Terkda Study Meeting - July 30, 1970 • d. Freevvay Development Zones Staff recommendation will be forthcoming at the August 27, 1970 Study Meeting 6. CORRSSPOWENCF AND FUTURE 14BETINGS a. Review of Planning Commission Agenda items -- August 6, 1970 Regular Meeting b. August 27, 1970 Study Meeting c. September 3, 1970 Regular Meeting 7. ADJOURNMENT r Pi hNNING COMMISSION INFORMATION SHEET Application No. 70017 (Revised) Applicant Viewcon, Inc. Description of Request7 Review changes in Glad and Miller site and building plans originally approved by Planning Commission on 1-8-70 and City Council. 5-25-70. Property: South of Lakeside Avenue and North and adjacent to "A H. 100. COMMENTS.- 1) The new applicant is requesting approval of an additional 23 apartment units for a total of 123 units vs., Glad and Miller' s 99 apartment units. 2 The apartment buildings have been lengthened easterly and the detached garage moved closer to the apartments for more convenient access. A second underground tunnel has been added for the convenience of the north • units. The apartment building will be converted from a walkup to a- building equipped with elevators, The basic setbacks on the original Glad and Miller site plan will be the same as well as the basic configu- ration of the entire complex. REC(*1MENDATION- The staff recommends approval providing that the City Council conditions of May 25, 1970 set forth for the Glad and Miller application be applied to this application. PLANNING COMISSION INFORMATION SHEET A pp;L.I.Cat ion No. 69022 Applicant: Joe Iten Description of Request.- Extend special use permit (69022) to allow placement of a mobile home. type trailer (10' x 471) as a sales office. Property 6701 Osseo Road BA CKC,ROUND 1) Section 35-322.3 (e) Special Uses -- The sale of motor vehicles at retail. POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED-. 1) The reauest is of a temporary nature until such time as t-he applicant can corranence and complete construction of an additional facility for heavy duty trucks. REC:C EWDATION% • The staff would recommend approval of the extension for the following reason-. 1) The applicant has submitted a letter of intent in regard to preliminary site buildi-ng and construct lon. schedules. (See attached letter) s • a lam. << s:nVi� City of E-ro k".17n Co.-,ter ±,.` . Aft is tra"?„..ve Office r 71U' OS800 Road .e-ookl din Center, Miz-,030>«a 55429 Attention.- Donald, C. Foss Doar . Hsu Regarding the special. tiae Parr.”t erranted to Itaen Chevrolet Co. by ` 3e City allowing tempom , use of a mobile home for a. truck Sales Office. Your office has larorme d us of the expiration of said permit and requested that we illform you in writing regarding ov,w intentions per- taining to the building of a parzaaent tm%!k sales office to alleviate the need of continued use of said trailer. I have enclosed copies of application and correspondence with the • Mevrolet Motor Division, concerning the granting to Iten Chevrolet Co. .of a new Leavy Duty Truck Frawhise. We have been ,given assurance from Chevrolet that in the very near future, regret likely at this years con- tract time (October 31, 1970) Iten Cb*vmlet Co. and one other Chevrolet d -vor will be given the -fin:jap emiaets oe.t4s tgpe in the State Of Mlz=tsota� I:4 1-�P*9=t ivO thst ve .for sure wo bay* this type of contract. bGf'01=* so we can old accordintly. /also, of course, as you s Va'A'd &%,%Mrs this hasn't t°. _a ' b*st year to obtain money to build vth, or the Ideal time as fnr tm the automb:ile dealer is conderned. Although we have already te4a a t 4 nec awry steps to build as soon as Xk),iaib'e, such a . dra�,*fiag up ;1w.js witij our arc��itects, applying for a Y ;r cVcl to build tr txi Che-vr lot and chl'okittg into the availibility of . . az�y. :fit is our ��an anticm that we ahould be able to complete these ns plans and build said building soLaeti.me during the next 12 to 18 months. Therefore, we ask that the City comider the granting of an ex- 1"OkL01on of thla special. use pert for a similar time period, thereby r ling possible for us to operate in the meantime. FUIOWing 701.x will give this request. every posaible consiciration, than X. you. Yours '=OLD-y. I C10 L �a $; A0Y 4ten Progi.d,ent 1O: Planning Commissioners and City Manager • FROM: Administrative Staff DATE; July 27, 1970 SUBJECT: New Hope Nursing Home On June 29, 1970, we visited the New Hope Nursing Home and discussed with the owner and operator, Mr. C. P. Thompson, problems associated with operating a nursing home. Mr. Thompson stated that New Hope requires that their nursing home have adequate drainage and that the parking lot be lighted and that the home itself meet the City's fire regulations. Other than that, the site and building plan approval generally had to meet the State standards and regulations. Mr. Thompson suggested that one parking space be provided for every 20 beds. He further suggested that there be no rooms with more than 2 beds and he stated that the only time a nursing home gets in trouble financially is with more than three beds per room. There are generally three types of care in a nursing home: • 1) Board and care 2) Intermittent Care 3) Skilled care and Medicare These three different classifications are all separate and should not be mixed at any time. Prices are a minimum of $360.00, $425.00, and $500.00 per month for permanent bed-ridden hospital care. The New Hope Nursing Home was completely air conditioned. Also there were sensory alarms on all exit doors. 71wo hundred seventy beds on nine acres. The nursing home itself is shaped in the form similar to a wagon wheels, concept whereby in the center, at the nurses station, nurses and nurses aides could look down each of the spokes consecutively to keep watch on any patients in the hallways. This concept provides maximum visibility with individual privacy. Mr. Thompson referred us to fir. Elmer Slagel, State Board of Health Licensing Department. He stated that plans have to be reviewed by the State first. -2- • Mr. Thompson commented that rubber backed carpet should not be installed as it is dangerous. Regarding carpet, Mr. Tbcimpson suggested that approved carpet should be provided in all the rooms, hallways and bedrooms included. He stated that carpet would generally be cleaner than the because carpets were regularly cleaned with a rug cleaning machine. Mr. Thompson stated that State regulations on ventilation were poor. We noted that New Hope Nursing Home had excellent ventilation, however. Other facts area 1) five different diets; 2) fire drills are constantly held with new employees; 3) electrical and plumbing plans had to be reviewed by the City; medical doctors often place or suggest specific nursing homes that elderly people should be placed in. Mr. Thompson commented that the Tri-Villa Nursing Homes in New Brighton and Robbinsdale all have three beds per roorti and they just can;1C. fill these rooms up. The average stay for elderly people is two to three years and the average age is 74. Sixty-five per cent of the elderly people are women and 35 per cent are men. For supervision, there should be a center where nurses can quickly look down each one of the various corridors. For individual dignity, there should be two beds per room. There should be sensing devices on all exit doors connected to the control deck. • ager, Don Po MEMO TO m a n ss Planning Commissioners and City FROM� Administrative Staff • DATE� July 17, 1970 SUBJECr.. Notes from meeting with State Department of Health officials regarding nursing homes. on July 1, 1970, jear, Murphey and inyself net with Mr. Elmer Slagel,, Assistant Director, and Mr. Ray Torell. of the Hospital Services Division, Minnesota Department of Health, regarding procedures for processing nursing home applications, During our discussion, State officials told us that the nursing and boarding care homes regulations relating to the State Fire Marshal, 1.959 Edition, and the regulations for the Construction, Equipment, Maintenance, operation and Licensing of nursing homes and boarding care homes, 1963 editio.-I, al-e also in the process of being revised to higher standards, These new regulations will res-trici the number of multiple bed roomis, presently only St. paul licenses nursing homes. Mr. Slaqel stated that it was his qpinion that when any city liceases nursing homes, they will not be licensed 6y the State also. Further, that city which licenses nursing homes must provide adequate professional staff. It seems that this could be contrued as a legal problem on state vs , city over licensing authority. State health officials mentioned ;-3 concern that possibly too many nursing homes were being built. They stressed the need for recreational activities program for elderly people. The State, in lieu of newly revised regulations, is following the 191`0 Life Safety code which requires sprinklers in all nursing horr-es. City officials were referred to Mr. flerb Meyers of Bloomington and Mr. Howard Kelly of Hennepin County welfare Services regarding nursing homes. The state of Minnesota -Lcollows the U,, S. Public Health Services regulations on ventilation which requires high efficiency filters. Mr. slagel specifically told us that there could be a joint review with City officials on nursing home site and building plans ., • -2- • fir.. Slagel and mr. Torell gave us one copy of a memorandum dated March 6, 1970, regarding licensing and certification for long term care facilities in Minnesota, and one copy of Volume 34, No. 120, of the Federal Register, Part 11, dated Tuesday, June 24, 1969, regarding institutional Services in. Intermediate Care Facilities Under the Jurisdiction of HEW, and also one copy of the General Standards of Construction and Equipment for Hospital and Medical Facilities, I.W4, Public Health Service, Health Services and Mental Health Administration. The following points will be considered when formulating standards for a nursing home: , 1) That City staff officials jointly review with the State any nursing home to be built in the City; 2) That the applicant desiring to build a nursing home in Brooklyn Center fill out an information sheet regarding the kinds of care that will be offered, types of food served, different kinds of recreational activities provided, the types of degree and treatment provided, whether or not the • patient is receiving financial assistance from the federal or state governments, number of registered professional nurses, doctors and other. -health oersonnel. • TO Planning Commissioners and City manager PROM., Administrative staff DATE.- July 22, 1970 SUBJECT.- Nursing Home Field Trip On July 22, 1970, members of the City Staff met with Mrs. C. Fitzsirzions, Acting Administrator of Trevilla Nursing Home, to discuss various aspects of nursing care, procedures, construction and philosophy. Trevilla is a new two level, 192 bed unit, staffed by 131 employees located in New Brighton near Interstate 35. The sL-t'-.e is located on 2.75 acres. The facility has been in operation for 18 months providing service for board and care, intermediate - nd skilled care patients. The following are some of the -.thoughts and opinions expressed by Mrs. Fitzsimmons: 1. There should be due consideration to providing a mixture: of one, two and three bed units. She emphasized that there should be about six to eight single bed units per 100 units to meet the needs of those patients requiring skilled or intensive care. :gin addition, when questioned, she felt that • three bed units were not particularly detrimental to the patient. She indicated that the majority of units at Trevilla contain three beds. However, she emphasized that no nursing home should have over 150 beds for efficient service and maximum economy of operation. 2. it was noted that the facility did not have air conditioning and Mrs. Fitzsimmons informed us at that time that they were in the process of having a central air conditioning unit installed. She noted that when the facility -;,aas originally constructed that it was recommended that central air conditioning not be installed because patients experience difficulty and discomfort. However, Mrs,. Fitzsimmons felt that this would only be a problem when the air conditioning units or ducts were placed directly in the rooms. Trevilla plans call for central air conditioninci of those open and common areas as hallways, dining areas, meeting rooms and recreational areas. It was her opinion that the patients could then control the temperature in the room by either opening their • doors when they felt too warm or closing them when they felt discomfort from the air conditioning. s • 3. When asked about the hub and spoke type control • method used by facilities such as the one in New hope, Mrs. Fitzsimmons stated that she felt this type of arrangement has some merit, however some problems may result in that one nurse may be required to care for and observe more patients than those located at traditional nurses station locations. She quite seriously stated that if a nurse simply sits at the nurses station, she is not doing her job anyway so she sees no real problem with the normal set up of stations as we normally observe in most facilities of this type. 4. It appeared to us that the site was somewhat crammed in that there appeared to be very little open space around the buildings above and beyond a parking lot which had 57 parking stalls. we noted this and Mrs. Fitzsimmons took us on a tour of the facility and pointed out that a great deal of their open space is contained in an inner court yards. The building, as it exists on the site, consists of four wings that are in a 11 W of M manor thus four inner court yards are created. They are fairly well landscaped, had • decorative lawn chairs and little fountains - matter of fact - it was very attractive. It is interesting to note that two of these court yards opened up toward the Interstate 35 which is just north of the building. . She noted that the hightway patrol often sets up speed traps in front of the nursing home and the patients get a great deal of pleasure watching the officers pick speed violators. it might be difficult to find a site where you could do that, however it does point out the fact that perhaps the patients at the facility do enjoy high activity areas. 5. Mrs. Fitzsimmons also eitpressed the notion that there is a need for more intergrated type of patients in nursing homes. She felt very strongly that above and beyond the normal type of elderly patients, there should be those patients that are mentally retarde-I of those who have psychological problems not considered dangerous. She noted that Trevilla is moving forward in this area and that they are taking on an additional 20 patients that have various :Farms of mental disorders. but she did note however, that these patients are aot • • the manic depressive or schizophrenic. However, she did recognize that there is a real problem of selling and educating the public on the need to handle mentally retarded or mentally ill patients in private nursing home facilities other than state institutions. S T A F F R E P 0 R T TO PLANNING CCM41SSION AM CITY MAMAGER JULY 27, 3.970 SUBJECT.- Planning Cot mission AppliCatiOns sub- mitt,ed by Ron Fleissner requesting subdivision (70030) , rezoning to R4 (70031) , special use permit for a nursing home in an R4 district (7001.8) , and site and building plans for a two story - 200 bed nursing home (700 32) CONTENTS: Page RACKGROUND A_iqALySjS OF APPLICATIONS 2 STAFF CQMWE"'­"_ BIBLIOGRAPHY MEMO Tce Planning commission and city xianager FROM.A B. E. Peterson, Administrative Assistant DATF,,- July 27, 1970 S' BJECT.a Planning Commission Applications submitted by Ron a l.ei.sasner requesting subdivision (70030) , rezoning to R4 (70031) . special use permit for a nursing home in an R4 district (70018) , and site and building plans for a two story 200 bed nursing home (70032) . BACKGROUND Reference is made to the May 7th and June 4th, 1970 Planning Commission minutes for the above applications. At its May 7, 1970, meeting, the Commission tabled Application No. 70018, requesting the special use permit, in order to allow the applicant time to repl.at the AEMAC Addition; to submit an application requesting rezoning; and to file site and building plans. on May 13, 1970, the applicant initiated applications for subdivision, rezoning and site and building plan approval. • Prior to the June 4th regular commission meeting, the staff, on Monday, may 25th, reviewed site plans showing landscaping and walkways and commented to the applicant, that these were deficient. Just prior to the June 4th meeting, the applicant presented the staff with revised site plans and at that time also presented building plans for a 200 bed-two story nursing hone. The staff noted that there were some improvements in sf�.te plans showing landscaping, but that there still could be con- siderable improvement made in this area. At the June 4, 1970, regular commission meeting, the commission and staff reviewed a series of applications submitted by Ron Pleissner on behalf of Cold Medallion Nursing Homes; said applications were for subdivision, rezoning, special use permit, and site and building plans for construction of a 200 bed- two story nursing home. At that time there was discussion among Planning commissions and the applicant concerning fixeproofin.g, safety, patient selection criteria, patient density per room, recreational activities, interior color schemes, privacy for patients, and potential traffic problems. The applications were tabled by, the Planning Commission in order to allow I- me to develop "standards" for nursing homes, • -2-- ANALYSIS OF APPLICATIONS Subject property is located East of the Weinsch Townhouse Project, North of 66th Avenue and West of 5th Street extended and said property is on a collector street as required by the ordinance. 1. Application No. 70030 submitted by Ron Fleissner requesting subdivision. The existing plat of the DEMAC Addition shows certain utility and drainage easements which should be shown on the proposed registered land survey. Special attention should be given to either vacating or retaining any existing easements. 2. Application No. 70031 requesting rezoning of part of R3 and C2 to R4. Nursing homes are not a permitted use or a special use in either an R3 or C2 zone. it is recommended that these parcels be rezoned to R4 - which allows nursing homes as a special use. 3. Application No. 70018, requesting a special use permit to operate a nursing care home in an R4 multiple family resident district. Section 35-315.3(a) reads as follows: "Nursing care homes, . . .boarding care homes and child care homes, provided that these institutions shall, where required by state law, or regulation, or by municipal ordinance, be licensed by the appropriate state or municipal. authority. " Reference is also made to "Minnesota Statutes and Regulations of the Minnesota State Board of Health for the Construction, Equipment, Maintenance, Operating and Licensing of Nursing Homes and Board Care Homes, 1963 Edition" . in this report, the staff did not consider the merits of the City licensing a nursing home. (State Board of Health regulations relating to fire marshal standards and maintenance, and operation, etc. , and licensing of nursing homes are presently being revised. On July 1, 1970, Jean Murphey and myself met with Mr. Elmer Slagel, State Board o f Health Official, who told us that their unpublished interm state regulations are the regulations followed. -3- • Section 35-220.2' "Standards for Special Use Permits" , and specifically, Section 35-220.3 "Conditions and Restrictions" for a special use permit, states the following: "The Planning Commission may recommend and the City Council may impose such conditions and restrictions upon the establishment, location, construction, maintenance and operation of the special use as deemed necessary for the protection of the public interest and to secure compliance with the requireements specified in this ordinance. In all cases in which special use permits are granted, City Council may require such evidence and guarantees as it may deem necessary as part of the conditions stipulated in connection therewith." r e 'Fe sj a f t_ en i i07 2rP-$ W th 'jn�!7-07;-(-]- y 0 a sp is u p m s.L p 4. Application No. 70032 requesting conceptual review of site and building plans., The preliminary site and building plans were drawn up on May 22, 14-970, and the landscape plans were reviewed by tAe staff on Monday, May 25, 1970, at which time the applicant was informed that these landscape plans were considered deficient. Prior to the June 4. 1970, meeting, the applicant submitted an improved landscape plan for preliminary review. Then at the June 4th regular Commission meeting, the applicant's architect, mr. Donald Nordblom, of the Johnson- Nordblom Architect firm, presented to the Commission preliminary aate and building plans of the proposed 200 bed-two story nursing home. The proposed 200 bed-two story nursing home would be placed upon 3.3 acres of land. As plans are presently d-.a-wn, there are 75 patient rooms for the two stories. rrhis breaks down as follows: The first floor has 20 patient rooms with 3 beds each and for the 2nd floor, there are 30 patient rooms with 3 beds each, thus for the first and second floors, there are a total of 50 patient rooms with 3 beds each, or a total of 150 beds. Also, on the first floor, there are 13 patient rooms with two beds each which equals a total of 26 beds, and for the second floor, there are a total of 1.2 patient. rooms with 2 beds each or 24 beds. The summary is as follows. • The applicant proposes 50 patient rooms with 3 beds each 150; and 25 patient rooms with 2 beds each - 50; with a total of 200 beds for 75 patient rooms. As a density factor, this works out to be about 66- 2/3 beds per acre or 25 patient rooms per acre, it should be kept in mind that patients in n a nursing homes do not have a great deal. of mobility, however, there should be built-in design and space amenities so that patients. regardless of health status should not feel L confined to a definite giver, area. As of present, a patient room. with 3 beds would have a total area of approximately 300 aquare feet per room or 100 squzire feet per bed. However, considering only usable floor space, when the closet., sink and aoilcts are excluded (2-49. 5 square and subtracting ou- the 3 beds, 21 square feet per bed) there is left a total, of 186. 5 scRiare Y:eet of usable open space or 52 square feet of usable OPE11 Space per patient to a room. Regardless of Patlent health status.. 52 square feet of usable floor, space per patient should be considered deificient. The State requiremerits are 70 square feet per bed of usable floor space with rooms for t-hree or more persons, A typical, two patient bedroom has 208 square feet of area of which 20 square feet sbould be deducted for closet and sink and 20 square feet for the bathroom; that , leaves 168 square feet of which the two • beOs or 42 square feet should also be deducted, thus leaving a total of 126 square feet of usable floor space available fcr 2 patients or 63 square feet per patient in a 2 patient room, St aLe requireineots are that there Le 60 square feet of usable f"Loor space for rooms with 2 beds each. Another serious deficiency of the proposed preliminary site and build"Sing plans is -the area of where the kitchen is located on the first floor. The placement of the kitchen would seem to interfere with the 7 patient rooms 0-2 bed rooms and 4 3 bed rooms) at the northwestern end of the building. Considering if the ap Dcant were ailloved 211-01 "'C"d z I -A A U %A L P I mean that for three meals a day, that well over 600 meals would be prepared in the kitchen area,, Thus, it would seem that this would be a bi9ft activity area and possibly inter-fere With the care and well being of patients of said area. In short,, it is the op-inion of the staff that the ki'tchen area, cold storage and delivery area is -much too close to the Pat lent rooms at the northwest part of the building. Another staff comment is that the nurses stations, even though located at each end of the central corridors on both floors, do not provide adequate visibility, and specifically, • quick access, to patient rooms. Fax example, on the first floor, the northwest nurses station seems to be a great distance from the patient rooms at the northwest end of the building. Specfici-ally, because between those patient rooms and the nursing stations, there is the kitchen and staraae area STAFF COMF'N_TS 1. it should be noted that there are differing points of view aulong nursing horse administrators regarding the number of beds per patient room for nursing homes. Further, it -is recognized that there are some limited State standards developed for a physical area but it seems that there should also be some design standards developed or built in to enbance the patient4s psychological environment. This would include, but not limited to, color coded patient rooms and drapes, color coded carpeting, large bay windows, etc. On June 29, 1970, the staff visited the New Hope Nursing Home where all patient rooms had no more than 2 beds per ro0m. The administrator, and owner, mir. Cc, P., Tihon peon,, commented to us, that the only time a nursing home gets in • trouble financially is with more than 3 beds per patient room. On july 22, 1970, the staff met with Ithe Acting Administrator, Mrs. Co ritzsimmons, of the Trevilla Nursing HOMP­ Mrs, Fitzsimutons, a registered nurse, felt that 3 beds per patient room should not be considered particularly detrimental to the patient. The staff is under the assumption that most Gold Medallion Nursing Home--, have a mixture of Patient x0oms with 4 bf-ds, 3 beds, 2 beds and in -some casec- , 1 bed, but in no case, is there a Gold Medallion Niursing Home strictly with 2 beds per patient room. In May , 1970, T'she City staff and P-lann-iJig co-itmissioners Schuller and r-,ogucki visited Crystal Lake Rest Rome in Robbinsdale, and a brand nex,q 2 story nursing home in Fridley, as well as the Maple 11anor Nursing Home in Stillwater, Minnesota. At the time of the visit, it was not noted how Tmany patient rooms or. beds per patient rooms there were in each of these institutions. Following that visit, the City staff received a "Market Study Of JqUrS4ng Care Centers in the a in Cities metropolitan. Area- " a study done exclusively for Go3d medallion Nursing Centers by tbe D, 11. Gusto son and Associates, a landscape architecture and Site planninq -Firm. Basically, this study was two-fold. _6_ To assemble data which could be used to determine several prime geographical areas for the location of nursing homes; and 2. To provide a guide selection_ within the generally selected areas which will contribute to the efficient and successful operation of a nursing home facility. This report recommended that the North Brooklyn Center area and the South Brooklyn Park area, (rated third) would be a good area to locate a nursing home because it was believed that there would be a high ratio of people over 60 years of age; and that the per cent of population over 60 was apt to increase in the next ten years and that hospital facilities were convenient and easily reached by a major freeway. It is interesting to note that in pzart 3 of their report, under site requirements, that they (Gustafson) suggested to the Gold Medallion Nursing Home staff that their site size ::or nursing homes should accommodate at least 1.00 beds and that any site selected should contain a minimum of 3 acres or approximately 125,000 square feet. Also, that future home expansion should be considered during site selection and planning. In the case of the instant application, the site is 3. 3 acres and the applicant is requesting 200 beds for 75 patient rooms. ?. on July 1, 1970, the City staff met with mr. Elmer Slagel, Assistant Director, Hospital Services Division, State Boars? of Health. fir. Slagel was not too certain whether or not a City could also license nursing home facilities (as stated previously, the question of the City licensing a nursing home facility in lieu of State licensing has not been examined) . However, he did state that the City of St. Paul does license nursing homes and because of this, the Statue does not. qtr. Slagel emphasized that the Hospital Services Division is currently upgrading all regulations as they pretain to nursing hordes. He further commented that one of the present State requirements is that a prospective nursing horse applicant must submit preliminary plans, and final working drawings and specifications for approval of the State Board of Health. The staff was informed by Mr. Slagel that at the time, when the applicant submits his preliminary plans and from thereafter, the City of Brooklyn Center could participate in a joint review of said plan. with State offacial.s. it • is the City staff' s understanding that the present applicant has not submitted any plans to the State for .review. The staff wishes to point out that if the applicant's plans are approved by the Planning commission and the City Council., -7- they still must be reviewed by the State Board of Health where said plans could be substantially altered because of State reconanendations. 3. Licensing iqurs-ing F-owes. On Tuesday, July 26, 1 talked with Dr. Paul Cox, Health OZ-ficer, City of St. Y,>aul, regarding licensing of nursing homes. Presently, St. Paul has 45 nursing ho-raes, all of which are licensed by the City as well as the State. Dr. Cox stated that the City can license nursing homes as well as the State. !A the case of St . Paul, the C-T-ty is presently drafting a new nursing home ordinance that will license as well. as promulgate rules and regulations regarding the operation and maintenance of nursing homes. it vi,)as his opinion that a nursing home ordinance should license as well as spell out regulations. A copy of St. Paul's draft nursing home ordinance is being forwarded to the staff. O Dr. Cox also conuriented that, in his opinion, the sl-.-ate regulations were the bare minimum and that it was always difficult to get regular and current state inspection. Nursing hontes, he said, need an awful lot of inspection to protect the welfare of the residents. He recommended mrs. margeret Christiansen, Public Health Nurse and Sanitarian, as the most qualified person to comment on nursing homes. She will be available after August 24th at which time we will contact her. In the near future the staff will be developing a nursing home ordinance that will license and contain riales, regulations and standards for the operation and main- tenance of nursing homes. Until that time, the Fleissner applications should stay tabled. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. "Market Study of lqursing Care Centers in the Tivin City Metropolitan Area" by D. H. Gustafson and Associates, Landscape Architecture and Site Planning Fixrm, dated May 23, 1970, to the Gold Medallion Nursing Centers, Inc. 2. Minnesota Statutes and Regulations of the Minnesota State Board of Health for the Construction, Equipment, Maintenance, Operation and Licensing of Nursing Homes and Boarding Care Homes, 1963 Edition. 3. Minnesota Regulations relating to State Fire Marshal Nursing and Board Care Homes, 1959 Edition. 4. Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection Association, 21st Edition, 1967 (latest edition) . 5" Institutional Services in Intermediate Care Facilities, Amount, Duration, and Scope of Medical Assistance and Standards for Payment for Skilled Nursing Home Care as written up in the Federal Register,, Volumne 34, 120, dated • Tuesday, June 24, 1969, Part 11, Washington,, D.C. , H.E.W. Social and Rehabilitation Service. 6. General Standards of Construction and Equipment for Hospital and Mi�dic_al Facilities, Hospital and Medical Facilities Series of the Hill-Burton Program Regulations as written by H.E.W. Public Health Service revised Februarys, 1969. 7. Brooklyn Center Sun, July 8, 1970, entitled "Nursing Homes,. B� C, Dilemma" by Nancy Fellger. a. "Which Nursing Home Best?" Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, June 28, 1970, 9. Memo from Mayor Philip Cohen to Bam Peterson, Subject: Nursing Home Standards, dated June 22, 1970. 10. Memo to Planning Commission and City Manager from Admin- 4strative Staff dated June 30, 1970, Subject- New Hope Nursing Rome • _11. Memo to Planning Commission and City Manager, D. G. Posy, dated July 17, 1970, from Administrative Staff; Svbject: Notes from Meeting with State Department of Health officials on July 1, 1970. 12. Mento to Planning Commission and City Manager from. Adminis- trative Staff dated July 22, 1970, Subject: Trevilla Nursing Home on-site visit, New Brighton. 13. Minnesota State Plan for Hospitals, Public Health Centers and Related Medical Facilities, 1970-71, 22nd Annual Revision. Minnesota Department of Health, Division WE Hospital Services, 717 Delaware Street, S.E. , Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440. • ii • MEMO TO< Planning Commission F ROM Tom Loucks, Administrative Assistant DATE: July 27, 1.970 SUBJECTr Sign Study At the meeting of July 2, 1970, the Planning Commission directed the staff to conduct a study in regard to signs at. automobile dealerships to aid them in acting upon a request, by Brookdale Ford to install a second freestanding sign which would be in violation of the existing Sign O.-dinance, The following are the results of the survey conducted by m North Star Dodge has one freestanding sign that exists on its site that is in compliance with the Sign ordinance; 2, Brook.dale Pontiac has two freestanding signs • existing on-site which are in compliance with the Sign Ordinance; 3. Velie Olds has one roof sign and one conforming directional sign. The roof sign does not conform with the ordinance. The sign was approved as part of the original site plan, and for the purposes cf this study should be classified as non-conforming; 4. Iten Chevrolet has two freestanding signs existing On-site. The national brand sign located on the southeast corner of the site was approved for hey;gbt and area variance on. May 24, 1965, by the City Council. The second freestanding sign existing on-site consists of a billboard located on the aorth- west portion of the lot. There is little question that both signs are non-conforming in that they exceed requirements as promulgated by the Sign ordinance. 51. Brookdale Chrysler-Plymouth has six freestanding signs 'Located on-site, one of which is a conforming national brand identification sign and three of which are non-conforming, previously approved, rotating signs. in addition, there are two conforming traffic directional signs located on this site; 6. Brook.dale Ford currently has five freestanding signs located on-site, two of which were approved by the City Council and three falling into the category of non-conforming. Given the fact that four of the six dealerships in the community are utilizing non-conforming signs, perhaps the Planning Commission should re-evaluate the Sign ordinance in terms of the reZ.lationsh-4 ps between automobile dealers and other uses in the C-2 district. The purpose of the ordinance is to "provide for necessary visual communication, to preserve and promote a pleasant phy:3ical environment, to protect private and public property, and to encourage safety upon the streets and highways within the Ci-,:y of Brooklyn Center, by regulating the type, number, structure,- size, location, height, lighting and the erection and maintenance of all. outdoor signs and sign structures within the City. " The Planning Commission would be well advised to examine if amending the ordinance would protect this statement of purpose, while at • the same time providing reasonable identification for automobile dealerships. The fact that four of six dealerships surveyed are thwart with non-conforming signs would seem to indicate that perhaps they are experiencing difficulty in utilizing effective signage for identification purposes. Dealerships in themselves are unique in that they do provide numerous services (maintenance, new car sales, and use cars) over large areas (average o: 5 acres of land) . it should be recognized Ua'C. an ordinance amendment, as opposed to a variance is appropriate in such instances when the inteAt of the ordinance is not being fulfilled. it is therefore recommended that an amendment to add Subsection (c.) to Chapter 34-140.3.A(.2) should read as follows-. (c) Automobile Sales and Service Those individual business establishro.ents having a gross floor area in excess of 24,000 square feet may have a second freestanding sign with a maximum sign area not to exceed 125 square feet and a maximum height not to exceed 24 feet above the first floor elevation of the principal building. r The staff recommends approval for the following reasons% 1n.. Automobile dealerships are unique in that they do offer a range of diversified services over a relatively large land area; 2„ The adding of an amendment to the ordinance would relieve a hardship now being experienced by some automotive dealers in the community. A +• t