02-17-2004 Planning Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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#04.2f74 tioaibiy MariMplKC Ptbnun'13.2M4 Pati3or( Comp PUn Amendment The Comp Plan Amendment is subject to Met Council approval. Met Council procedures automatically subject the amendment to review and comment by adjoining municipalities, including Long Lake. I w ould encourage Planning Commissioners to again read die Comp Plan amendment comments included in the January 16 memo which address the basis for this minor change, and consider whether this change significantly alters the intent of the City in terms of commercial development along Highway 12 as indicated in CMP Pages 3B-37 thru 3B40 (Exhibit Fof that memo). Staff feels it jj merely a minor change, in that all of the properties between Willow Dn ve andOId Crystal Bay Road, save for this comer Outlot. will be developed for office uses as currently guided. Commercial Site PUn Review, Conformity lo Standards City Engineer Tom Kellogg and the City's planning consultant. Phil Carlson of DSU. Inc., have previously comment on the engineering and planning aspects of the proposed site plan, and many of their suggestions have been incorporated in revisions to the plan. Please direct your attention to Exhibits A-1 and A-2. the most current site plan versions provided for initial review at your February 11 work session Staff would make the following comments regarding the current site plan (Versions U and 15): 1. We are in receipt of a letter of request from John Hassicr of John Tcnrance Homes (developer of the residential portion of Stonebay) that the City dqI re-onent the storefronts and pnmary parking toward Kelley Parkway, as that will have negative impacts to the Stonebay residential developmenL Rather, they would prefer substantial landscaping facing Kelley Parkway, which is a strong element of the current site plans. 2. Staff has suggested that the Walgreen’s mam entry be shifted to the southwest side of the building, to perhaps create a focus toward the center of the site rather than the Willow/12 mteiscaion. The developer has indicated that Walgreens is adamant in orienting the entry to the signalized intersection. 'There are pro's and con ’s to a souihw cst orientation. Staffs goal w as to have the main vehicle ingress point lo the site not be at the back of buildings. However, the addition of substantia) landscaping, the re-positioningof interior driveway access locations, and the 4-sided high-quality design of the buildings should eliminate concerns that entry to the site is the 'ugly' side of the buildings. Addiuonally, it is clear that if Walgreens were to re-orient i w entry lo the southwest, it will require parking directly west of the building, which will cause significant traffic circulation issues directly at the Kelley Parkway access. As it is currently designed, incoming vehicles can proceed straight ahead between the Walgreens and retail building without conflicts with parking stalls, andean alternatively turn left to go to the bank, or straight and to the right lo the coffee shop drive-thru.