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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-008 Inf Sheet 6300 Earle Brown Drive Application Filed on 3-29-07 City Council Action Should Be Taken By 5-28-07 (60 Days) Planning Commission Information Sheet Application No. 2007-008 Applicant: Seth Oliver (Brooklyn Hotel Partners, LLC) Location: 6300 Earle Brown Drive Request: Planned Unit Development Amendment The applicant, Brian Morse of SJA Architects representing Seth Oliver (Brooklyn Hotel Partners, LLC) is seeking a Planned Unit Development Amendment and development plan approval for the first phase of a two building hotel complex consisting of an eight story, 175 room hotel and 100 seat restaurant with an enclosed connection to the Earle Brown Heritage Center on a vacant 6.2 acre site addressed as 6300 Earle Brown Drive. The property in question is zoned PUD/CIA (Planned Unit Development/Service-Office, no height limit) and is located on the east side of the west leg of Earle Brown Drive adjacent to the Earle Brown Heritage Center. It is bounded on the west and north by Earle Brown Drive with a six story office building and I-94 right of way on the opposite side of the street; on the east by the Earle Brown Heritage Center which is zoned C-2 (Commerce); and on the south by a high rise office building (City-County Federal Credit Union) zoned CIA. A Planned Unit Development rezoning from CIA to PUD/CIA and development plan approval for a four and seven story, 250 room hotel with a 100 seat restaurant and a 32,000 sq. ft. water park including an enclosed walkway connection to the Earle Brown Heritage Center was approved for this same site by the City Council under City Council Resolution No. 2005-97 on June 27, 2005. Attached for the Commission’s review is a copy of the resolution containing various findings, considerations and conditions of approval for that proposal. Transient lodging and associated uses are permitted uses in the CIA zoning district. The site in question is also in the city’s CC (Central Commerce Overlay District) which lists allowable and prohibited uses in the Overlay district. Transient lodging, eating establishments including eating establishments offering live entertainment and recreation and amusement places are uses also allowed in the Overlay district. The applicant is no longer pursuing the hotel/water park proposal and is now seeking a PUD amendment to allow a two building hotel complex with one building containing 175 hotel rooms and a 100 seat restaurant and the second building with 75 rooms. The development plan approval comprehends the first phase only that being an eight story, 175 room hotel and restaurant including an enclosed connection to the Earle Brown Heritage Center. They are also seeking concept approval for the second phase, a future 75 room hotel. Final approval for the second phase will require an amendment to this proposed Planned Unit Development. As the Commission is aware, the PUD process involves a rezoning of land to the PUD designation followed by an alpha numeric designation of the underlying zoning district. This underlying zoning district provides the regulations governing uses and structures within the Planned Unit Development. The rules and regulations governing that district (in this case CIA) would apply to the development proposal unless the city were to determine that another standard or use would be appropriate given mitigating circumstances that are off set by the plans submitted by the developer. One of the purposes of the PUD district is to give the City Council the needed flexibility in addressing development and redevelopment problems. Regulations governing uses and structures may be modified by conditions ultimately imposed by the City Council on the development plans. The PUD process involves a rezoning of land, therefore, is subject to meeting the city’s Rezoning Evaluation Policy and Review Guidelines that are contained in Section 35-208 of the city’s zoning ordinance. Also, proposals must be consistent with Section 35-355 of the city’s zoning ordinance which addresses Planned Unit Developments. Attached for the Commission’s review are copies of Section 35-208 and 35-355 of the city’s zoning ordinance. As mentioned previously, the City Council adopted a resolution approving the overall PUD for this area of the city. That resolution contained the various findings and considerations necessary for approving the PUD. These findings and considerations were made given the applicant’s use and this amendment is to acknowledge the building details and location of an amended proposal within the PUD zoning district. Approval of this Planned Unit Development amendment should acknowledge compatibility with the Policies and Review Guidelines of the previously mentioned Section 35-208 and also the provisions of Section 35-355 of the zoning ordinance. It is believed that the proposed amendment submitted by the applicant is in keeping with the findings and considerations associated with the original approval. The proposed amendment can be considered consistent and compatible with surrounding land uses in this area. The development plan amendment being submitted will, like the original approval, seek modifications to ordinance standards to allow no 15 ft. green strip along the Earle Brown Drive street right of way. No other modifications from the underlying zoning requirements are being sought by the applicant with this Planned Unit Development. It is believed that the proposed use of the property will be, as shown in the site and building plan portion of this report, consistent and compatible with the immediate area surrounding the property as well as uses in the general vicinity. This proposed amendment appears to be a good use of the property in the context of overall development in this area and will be a good long range use and can be considered to be in the best interest of the community. SITE AND BUILDING PLAN PROPOSAL The proposed PUD amendment, as mentioned previously, is for a two building hotel complex with the first building being an eight story, 175 room hotel with a 100 seat restaurant having an enclosed connection to the Earle Brown Heritage Center. The second building would be a 75 room hotel (Phase II). Final approval for the second phase will require an amendment to this proposed Planned Unit Development. A modification to the CIA requirements being proposed by the applicant would be allowed to have no 15 ft. green strip along the Earle Brown Drive street right of way. This modification is proposed to make a more efficient use of the site which is slightly smaller than necessary to accommodate parking and landscaping requirements. The applicant has proposed to offset or mitigate the negative aspects of the lack of green strip by providing a 3 ½ to 4 ft. high decorative fence of masonry piers and coated polymer fencing similar to other screening/fencing material used where green strips in other Planned Unit Developments have been allowed to be less than 15 ft. This was also authorized under the original Planned Unit Development. It is believed that this treatment along with the landscape plan should provide an appropriate buffer to offset the lack of 15 ft. green strip in this area. ACCESS/PARKING Access to this site will be at five locations along Earle Brown Drive. Two of the access points are shared accesses, one with the City County Federal building to the south and the other to the Earle Brown Heritage Center to the east. Two of the non-shared accesses line up with the access drives across Earle Brown Drive serving the office building and the third is directly to the north of the hotel building with no close access on the opposite side of Earle Brown Drive. A total of 325 parking spaces are required for the two hotels, one of which contains a 100 seat restaurant. The zoning ordinance requires one parking space for every hotel room and one space for each employee on any one shift and one parking space for every two restaurant seats and every two employees in the restaurant operation. A total of at least 325 parking spaces would be required to accommodate the two phase development. The first phase, however, would have a parking requirement of 250 spaces. A total of 295 parking spaces are to be constructed under the first phase leaving only 45 parking spaces remaining for the 75 room second phase development. It is also planned that the second phase hotel site would be divided from this property through the platting process leaving, in that case, a deficiency on the first phase hotel site. These discrepancies must be addressed appropriately prior to recommending approval of this Planned Unit Development. It is anticipated that a formal cross parking agreement and parking dedication with the Earle Brown Heritage Center will be accomplished at the time the property is replatted. GRADING/DRAINAGE/UTILITIES The applicant has provided preliminary grading, drainage, utility and erosion control plans which are being reviewed by the Director of Public Works/City Engineer. His written comments with respect to this proposal will be attached with this information sheet. This site is approximately 6.2 acres in area and will be required to have a formal Watershed Management Commission review. Storm sewer will be provided throughout the site to collect storm water to be conveyed to an expanded pond on the site. This pond serves this site, the City County Federal building site and the Earle Brown Heritage Center. Sanitary sewer and water are available within Earle Brown Drive right of way and sewer and water connections are to be made to the building at various locations indicated on the utility plan. A traffic impact study for the then proposed hotel/water park was completed by Benshoff and Associates, Inc. at the time of the original Planned Unit Development. That study indicated that the existing facilities would be able to adequately accommodate the traffic generated by the proposed development. It is not anticipated that this project would generate a greater amount of traffic than the proposed hotel, restaurant and water park proposal and, therefore, existing facilities should be able to adequately accommodate the traffic generated by this amended proposal. B612 curb and gutter is required around all parking and driving areas to assist with drainage on the site. The City Engineer is requesting a dedication of a drainage and utility easement over all portions of the expanded storm water detention pond with the hotel property. LANDSCAPING The applicant has submitted a landscape plan in response to the landscape point system utilized by the Planning Commission to evaluate such plans. This 6.2 acre site requires 412 landscape points. The landscape plan provided shows a total of 453 landscape points divided between the two potential sites. The site proposed for the eight story Embassy Suites and restaurant contains 284 points while the future hotel site contains 169 points. The total plan calls for 13 Redmond Linden primarily in the island areas of the parking lot for the two buildings and also in the large island area by the front entrance to the building. Twenty coniferous trees such as Black Hills Spruce and Balsam Fir are provided in various locations around the two buildings. Sixty nine decorative trees including Japanese Tree Lilac, Columnar Crab Apple and Clump River Birch are also scattered throughout the site. The Columnar Crab Apple line the parking lot delineators to the west of the Embassy Suites Hotel and are located on the north side of the Embassy Suite and the north side of the proposed future hotel building. Japanese Tree Lilac are to the east of the Embassy Suites and the east of the new proposed hotel while the Clump River Birch are primarily located in island areas to the west of the buildings. Over 102 points for shrubs are provided including compact American Compact Vibernum, Mount Airy Fothergilla, Russian Cypress, Green Mound Alpine Currant, and Rose Pavement Foxi. As noted previously, a decorative fence of 3 ½ to 4 ft. in height made up of brick piers and coated polymer fence will be provided all along the north and west where the green strip is less than 15 ft. in width. This fence must be located within the property line and not wander into the public right of way. BUILDING The applicant has submitted building elevations of the proposed Embassy Suites, eight story building. The building exterior will be primarily brick of three colors in varying shades of brown. An EIFS wall system will be provided around the top portion of the building as well as around the first floor area containing the entrance, restaurant, lobby and pool areas. The entrance to the building will be on the south side with a canopy extending out over a temporary parking, pick up and drop off area. LIGHTING/TRASH The applicant has not submitted a lighting plan indicating foot candles for lighting proposed for the site. Section 35-712 of the City Ordinances requires that all exterior lighting be provided with lenses, reflectors or shades so as to concentrate illumination on the property. Illumination is not permitted at an intensity level greater than 10 foot candles measured at property lines abutting street right of way or non-residential property. No glare is allowed to emanate from or be visible beyond the boundaries of the illuminated premises. It is not anticipated that lighting should be a problem with respect to this plan. The applicant should, however, provide an appropriate lighting plan for review prior to the issuance of building permits for the project. No trash container area is shown on the site plan as well. There is a service road leading to the west side of the Embassy Suites building where it is assumed that trash pick up and deliveries to the site will be accomplished. The applicant should verify that trash will be contained wholly within the building and that there is no need for a screening enclosed area for trash. If this assumption is incorrect, the plan should be modified to show the location of an appropriate trash container. PROCEDURE As pointed out previously, this proposal is an amendment to the Planned Unit Development approval granted on June 27, 2005 for a then 250 room hotel, 100 seat restaurant, water park and connection to the Earle Brown Heritage Center. As a Planned Unit Development amendment, the proposal is required to follow the procedures followed for the original Planned Unit Development. This requires a public hearing, which has been scheduled. Notices of the Planning Commission’s consideration have been sent and notices also have been published in the Brooklyn Center Sun/Post. All in all, we believe the plan is consistent with the original development plan approval and should be authorized as an amendment to allow a two phase development of a eight story, 175 room hotel, 100 seat restaurant and physical connection to the Earle Brown Heritage Center under Phase I and Phase II for future development of a hotel site. Development of Phase II will require an amendment to the Planned Unit Development approval. There are matters to be resolved such as acceptable parking arrangement for the property and submission of a photometric plan. Approval of this application should acknowledge the findings, considerations and conditions that are comparable to those made at the time the City Council approved the original Planned Unit Development. A draft Planning Commission resolution is offered for the Commission’s consideration. This resolution outlines the Commission’s consideration of the matter and also recommended considerations for approval. 4-26-07 Page 1 Page 2