01-20-2009 Planning Commission Packet

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� FILE 09-3396 ' January 20, 2009 Page 3 of 5 Hardcover•* Hardcover Area in Zone Allowed Existing Proposed Zone Hardcover Hardcover hardcover 250- 500 68, 912 s.f. 20,673.6 s.f. 61,777 s.f. 63,857 s.f. � 30 % 89.65% 92.66% � *Estimated. Approximately equal small areas of the site are in the 75 to 250 zone and the 500 to 1,000 zone. Issues for Consideration Number of Parkin� Spaces The plan proposes two thirds of the parking spaces required by code. The deficiency is 53 spaces. The beauty salon in the basement of the 3465 Shoreline Drive building rents nine parking spaces. The owner can terminate agreement at any time but does not want to. This would increase the deficiency to 62 spaces. Staff comment: There has been the suggestion that zoning codes require too many parking spaces. Orono code requires one space for every I50 square feet but excludes storage, common and utility areas. Since this information is not available for the existing or proposed building, staff used one space for every 200 square feet of total building area, a commonly used industry standard. Wayzata's code requires one space for every 250 square feet as does St. Louis Park. This standard would reduce the deficiency to 34 spaces plus the nine used by the beauty salon. • A reduction in the number of required parking spaces is sometimes allowed if the parking area serves uses that have peak parking demands at different times. . The application did not � propose this. If there are not enough parking spaces, customers will park in the 3465 Shoreline Drive � parking lot, on Kelly Avenue and/or in the Lunds'parking lot. The pavement of Kelly Avenue is only 28 feet wide, not wide enough for on-street parking. There may congestion as drivers look for a parking space. Eventually businesses may move or close if the parking is inadequate. Parkin� lot setback The sidewalk along Shoreline Drive is adjacent to the roadway. The parking area would extend to the back edge of this sidewalk. Staff comment: Landscaping, especially adjacent to a sh°eet, is important to creating an attractive commercial area. Trees, in particular, have many environmental benefits. Not only do they provide shade,filter the air, and buffer noise, a recent innovation is to have to runoff from parking areas flow into landscaped areas planted with trees. The landscaping, especially the trees, absorbs the runoff. Access/Circulation The two existing accesses to Shoreline Drive and the Kelly Avenue access would be retained. Both parking areas would retain their connection to the parking areas for 3465 Shoreline Drive.