06-14-2004 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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r *04*2974 Stoncbay Marketplace May 13.2004 Pages Vehicle Circulation . Sheldon Johnson, Orono ’s traffic consultant with Bonestroo and Associates, has reviewed the latest revisions and has indicated to staff that the layout is acceptable and that his prior recommendations regarding traffic circulation have been incorporated into the plans. The right-in, right-out access to Willow has been refined to meet turning radius standards, and should function adequately. He recommends, and staff concurs, that signage be installed warning drivers entering the Walgreens drive-thru from the west to yield to, and watch for, incoming vehicles at the right-in, right-out. Required Parking. Based on Orono codes the proposal requires a total of 173 parking stalls. The site plan has been revised to eliminate ‘proof of parking’ which yields a final parking proposal of 1 SO stalls. Staff has discussed parking numbers for this site at length with Sheldon Johnson who recommends that the 150 stall number be accepted. He suggests that our ordinance is excessive for retail uses; the extra parking required by our code serves no real purpose and results in excess hardcover and runoff. In terms of our past PC discussions, the 150 stall number exceeds by one stall the requirements we established for the site in terms of accepting Walgreens 60-stall need and the remaining retail at the City requirement of 1 stall per 150 s. f of net retail space. Even if a stall is lost to provide the suggested pedestrian connection from Walgreens to the Willow/1 2 comer, the parking needs will be met. Please review the applicant’s revised narrative in regards to the rationale for the parking numbers. Staff recommends approval of the parking plan as designed. Lot Coverage. Code Section 78-1403 limits lots of 0-1.99 acres in area to 15% lot coverage by structures: - Lot 1 (86,268s.forl.98acres)isproposcd with buildings totaling 13,930 s.f. or 16.1 “/©coverage. - Lot 2 (74,428 s.f.) Is proposed with buildings totaling 14,820 s.f. or 19.9% coverage. - Overall coverage of the 3.69 acre site is proposed at 17.9%, not including freestanding trash enclosures. Only a small number of developing or redeveloping commercial sites in Orono have been subject to the 15% lot coverage requirement. These include: Service 800 on Hwy 12 (0.96 acres, 26.1% lot coverage) - pre-existing site Culver’s in Navarre (1.52 acres, 20.2“/o lot coverage) - pre-existing site Snyder ’s in Navarre (1.9 acres, 14% lot coverage) - pre-existing site Wagner Rental in Navarre (1.2 acres, 12 % lot coverage) - pre-existing site The dental office on Kelley Parkway was a pre-existing 2.0 acre lot ard not subject to the lot coverage limit. It has about 18% lot coverage. Please review the applicant’s narrauve regarding lot coverage. Planning Commission should reach a conclusion whether the proposed overall lot coverage of 17.9% is acceptable. Note that hardships given for the Service 800 and Culver’s variances included consistency with surrounding