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HomeMy Public PortalAbout12-19-2016 POSTED IN CITY HALL December 15, 2016 PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA MONDAY , DECEMBER 19, 2016 7:00 P.M. CITY HALL (2052 County Road 24) 1. Call to Order 2. Public Comments on items not on the agenda 3. Planning Department Update 4. Public Hearing - Lunski, Inc. – Concept Plan Review for a 126 unit, three-story senior assisted/independent living facility and a one story commercial building to be located North of Hwy 55, South of Chippewa Rd, and west of Mohawk Drive. 5. Public Hearing - Woodridge Church – 1500 and 1542 Co. Rd 24 – Conditional Use Permit to expand existing building, Interim Use Permit to continue use existing residence, Lot Combination to combine two parcels, rezoning to Rural Public/Semi-Public and Site Plan Review for addition. 6. Adjourn NORTHWEST ASSOCIATED CONSULTANTS, INC. __________________________________________________________________ 4150 Olson Memorial Highway, Ste. 320, Golden Valley, MN 55422 Telephone: 763.957.1100 Website: www.nacplanning.com PLANNING REPORT TO: Medina Planning Commission FROM: Nate Sparks DATE: December 14, 2016 RE: Woodridge Church Applications CITY FILE: LR-16-191 Application Date: November 10, 2016 Review Deadline: January 9, 2017 BACKGROUND Woodridge Church has made applications to expand their church building to primarily add additional classroom space. Associated with this request is a lot combination and an interim use permit to allow for the single family house on the property to remain. As part of the lot combination, a portion of the property needs to be rezoned and reguided to be one consistent designation. Currently, the church has a sanctuary and fourteen classrooms with one of the classrooms sometimes being used as an office. The applicant would like to add classrooms on both levels and include more lobby space, restrooms, and storage. There is no proposed expansion of the sanctuary. There is also no proposed expansion of the parking lot. 2013 VARIANCE In 2013 the applicant received a variance related to future construction on the site. The variance allowed for the church to build up to 85,000 square feet of floor area of structures on the site, while the zoning district only allows for 40,000 square feet. The applicant also received a variance to allow up to 400 parking stalls on the property while the zoning district allows for 300. Also stated in the approving resolution is that any expansion of the church would require the applicant to combine the church and the house lot. PROJECT SITE The church site is located at 1500 County Road 24 and the house owned by the church is located at 1542 County Road 24. The property is on the north side of the road, west of Tamarack Drive. The property with the church on it is about 20 acres in size and the property with the house is about 8 acres. GENERAL PROJECT DESCRIPTION The applicant is seeking to add a 15,000 square foot addition on to the existing church building. The existing building is about 28,000 square feet currently. The primary purpose of the expansion is to add additional classrooms for school age attendees. The sanctuary is not proposed for expansion, at this time. On the upper level, there are currently six classrooms for preschoolers. One of the classrooms is used as an office, at times. The proposed addition would add lobby space, restrooms, storage space, and three classrooms. One of the existing classrooms would be split into two to allow for a hallway. According to the 2 applicant, it is likely that one of the classrooms would be made into permanent office space in the future. For now, the plan would result in eleven classrooms on the upper level. The classrooms range in size from 240 square feet to 756. On the lower level, there are currently five smaller classrooms and one large classroom. The proposal is to expand the larger classroom and then to add one larger classroom each for junior high and senior high students. The room for senior high students is about 1900 square feet in area and will be open above to the upper level. The junior high room will be about 1400 square feet in area. The large grade school room, which is about 3600 square feet will be expanded to about 5300 square feet. REZONING The parcel that contains the church is zoned Rural Public Semi-Public (RPS) and the parcel with the house is zoned Rural Residential. The church is guided Public Semi Public and the house parcel is guided Rural Residential. The applicant is seeking to have the two parcels combined necessitating the parcel with the house to be rezoned to be RPS. The rezoning could be deemed appropriate provided the lot combination and the CUP to allow for the expansion are approved. If the applications appear to be generally acceptable, a hearing on the related comprehensive plan amendment would need to occur. LOT COMBINATION As part of the 2013 variance, it was required that the lots be combined upon any future expansion. The applicant is now seeking this approval. The applicant is proposing to combine the lots via a metes and bounds description. Hennepin County is requesting an additional 7 feet of right-of-way for the southeastern portion of the site to ensure there is forty feet of right-of-way on the north side of the centerline of County Road 24 throughout the site. INTERIM USE PERMIT The applicant is seeking an interim use permit to allow for the house on the site to remain. In the RPS District it states that the “continuation of a residential use existing on the property prior to the religious institution being established” is permitted provided the “use shall be limited in term and be subject to Interim Use Permit approval.” The applicant is proposing to keep the house until the sanctuary and parking lot are expanded. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT / SITE PLAN REVIEW The use of the site as a religious institution requires a conditional use permit in the RPS District. Therefore, the expansion will need to meet the requirements of the ordinance for conditional uses, as depicted on the site plan. The RPS District has specific standards for religious institutions. Minimum Lot Size The site will be about 29 acres after the lot combination. The minimum lot size for a church is 10 acres. The minimum lot width is 500 feet and the parcel is proposed to be over 900 feet. The lot must have frontage, or be in close proximity to, an arterial roadway. County Road 24 has this classification in the City’s Transportation Plan. Septic System RPS District standards for churches state that the lot must contain at least 5 acres of suitable soils plus a primary and secondary septic site. The site has more than 5 acres of suitable soils. The site plan depicts the existing septic system for both the church and the house. A secondary site for the church must be included on the plan. The applicant is modifying the septic system to update it and to relocate some facilities. The City’s Building Official has reviewed the proposed modifications and has found it to be acceptable. 3 Site Conditions The ordinance prohibits exterior bells or loudspeakers. Play areas are required to be setback 100 feet from any property lines. There is a pre-existing play area that is about 35 feet from the property to the east. This is not being modified, at this time, and is largely screened by natural vegetation. Direct views of the parking lot from off-site are prohibited. The applicant has some screening on site and the topography assists in screening. However, the parking lot is not part of the modifications, at this time. Site Capacity The district caps the sanctuary seating capacity at 500 persons. The sanctuary is currently about 5000 square feet in area and has the capacity for 484 seats. No expansion of the sanctuary is proposed, at this time. The district states that the number of persons on-site at any given time shall not exceed two times the capacity of the sanctuary, with the exception of larger events no more than four times per year. The city may place further limitations on the number of persons on-site based on the number of parking stalls provided. Two times the capacity of the sanctuary would be 968 people. The church estimates that there are about 170 children at the 9:00 am service and 175 children at the 10:30 am service in addition to the people in the sanctuary. Wednesday evenings it is estimated there are 50 adults and 270 children on the property. In neither instance is it anticipated that the expansion will include more than twice the capacity of the sanctuary. Building Setbacks The RPS District requires front yard setbacks of 75 feet, rear yard setbacks of 100 feet, and side yard setbacks of 75 feet. The proposed structural addition is closest to the east property line at about 175 feet. It will not extend any further to the front. The front yard setback is currently 141 feet, which would be reduced to 134 feet with additional right-of-way dedication for Hennepin County. Building Design & Materials The RPS District states that the structure shall not exceed 40,000 square feet in area. The applicant received a variance in 2013 to allow for 80,000 square feet. The proposed addition would make the structure about 43,000 square feet. The structural height limitations are 35 feet. The proposed structural addition is about 25 feet in height from lowest grade. Primary exterior building materials in the RPS District are required to consist of brick, natural stone, stucco, Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS) or similar product, fiber cement lap siding, copper, glass, decorative concrete, split face (rock face) decorative block, and/or decorative pre-cast concrete panels. The proposed structure is primarily brick and EIFS with metal cap flashing and stone accents on all sides. Off-Street Parking In the City’s parking standards found in Section 828.51, parking is required for this use at: “one (1) space for each four seats or for each five (5) feet of pew length based upon maximum design capacity; plus additional parking for accessory uses and facilities as prescribed by this Ordinance.” The RPS District has additional standards stating that the maximum number of parking spaces for any use may not exceed 300. The variance granted in 2013, allowed for this property to have up to 400 parking spaces. Currently there are 296 parking stalls on the site. The sanctuary has 484 seats, which requires 121 spaces per the City’s parking ordinance. 4 In the City’s parking ordinance, schools are listed with a separate parking demand. Grade schools, elementary schools, middle school, and junior high schools are required to provide at least two (2) spaces for each classroom. High schools are required to provide at least one (1) space for each six (6) students plus one (1) space for each classroom. There are currently six classrooms on the lower level and seven on the upper level. One of the classrooms on the lower level is for both high school and non-high school students. The applicant states there are about 55 high school age students, which would create a demand for 11 parking stalls. Otherwise, the requirement is for two stalls per classroom, which is 13. Therefore, the current parking demand for the classrooms could be determined to be 24 stalls. Therefore, the total current required parking would be 145 stalls. The proposed addition and remodel would result in eleven classrooms on the upper level. The lower level will have eight classrooms. So, there would need to be 11 stalls for the 55 high school students and 2 stalls per room for the other students. This would result in a need for 47 stalls for the classrooms for a total of 168 required parking stalls for the church, which is less than the 296 provided and the 400 permitted by the 2013 variance. The applicant states that it is likely that 1 of these classrooms that is about 200 square feet in size will be converted to office in the future, which has a requirement of 1 space for 250 feet versus 2 per room for a classroom. This would not increase the net parking need. It should be noted that three of the classrooms are larger in size. The senior high room is about 1900 square feet in area, junior high room is about 1400 square feet, and the grade school room is about 5300 square feet. The other classrooms average about 420 square feet each. The parking calculation for the senior high students is based on the number of student, which is stated to be 55, plus one per classroom and the parking requirement for junior high and grade school students is 2 per classroom. If these larger classroom areas were divided up into 420 square foot areas, this would require about 37 more parking stalls, which is still less than the provided amount (205 total required and 296 provided) and would still be meeting ordinance requirements. Using the larger classrooms for assembly space would cause the facility to not have enough parking. Therefore, the use of these larger rooms will need to remain as primarily classroom or it will require an amendment to the conditional use permit. Landscaping & Lighting Landscaping has been provided with previous projects on this site. For this expansion, the applicant is proposing to remove three Black Hills spruce trees and replace them in a location between the building and the east property line. Additional decorative plantings are proposed between the parking lot and building. No additional exterior lighting is proposed. Grading & Drainage The City Engineer has reviewed the grading and drainage and has provided the attached comments. Some modifications to the plans are recommended. REQUEST REVIEW The primary application is the site plan review and conditional use permit. For consideration of a conditional use permit In granting a conditional use permit, the City should consider the effect of the proposed use upon the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of occupants or surrounding lands. Among other things, the City Council shall consider the following: 5 1. That the conditional use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted, nor substantially diminish and impair property values within the immediate vicinity. 2. That the establishment of the conditional use will not impede the normal and orderly development of surrounding vacant property for uses predominant in the area. 3. That adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and other necessary facilities have been or are being provided. 4. That adequate measures have been or will be taken to provide sufficient off-street parking and loading space to serve the proposed use. 5. That adequate measures have been or will be taken to prevent or control offensive odor, fumes, dust, noise and vibration, so that none of these will constitute a nuisance, and to control lighted signs and other lights in such a manner that no disturbance to neighboring properties will result. 6. The use, in the opinion of the City Council, is reasonably related to the overall needs of the City and to the existing land use. 7. The use is consistent with the purposes of the zoning code and the purposes of the zoning district in which the applicant intends to locate the proposed use. 8. The use is not in conflict with the policies plan of the City. 9. The use will not cause traffic hazard or congestion. 10. Existing businesses nearby will not be adversely affected by intrusion of noise, glare or general unsightliness. 11. The request conforms to the requirements for churches in the RPS District. If the Commission finds that the use generally conforms to the above criteria, reasonable conditions may be added to a recommendation to help ensure conformance. The lot combination may be deemed acceptable provided the parcel is conforming with the City’s Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan. The rezoning of the parcel involved with the lot combination may be approved provided that the rezoning is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the performance standards found in the Zoning Ordinance. Keeping the residence on the property requires an interim use permit. Interim uses may be allowed, if the following conditions are met: 1. The use conforms to the zoning regulations. 2. The date or event that will terminate the use can be identified with certainty. 3. Permission of the use will not impose additional costs on the public if it is necessary for the public to take the property in the future. 4. The user agrees to any conditions that the city council deems appropriate for permission of the use. The applicant is proposing to use a pending expansion of the sanctuary as the specific event for the termination of the interim use permit. If the application is generally acceptable to the Planning Commission, a hearing for the comprehensive plan amendment will be scheduled. STAFF RECOMMENDATION There are four separate actions related to this request: a lot combination, rezoning, interim use permit, and a conditional use permit. The conditional use permit and the review of the site plan are the primary considerations. The expansion of the use does cause concerns related to parking. However, it does appear that the parking requirements for this use are technically consistent with code requirements. Another concern is related to the septic system and the addition of new bathroom facilities. The City’s Building Official has 6 reviewed the septic plans and found them to be acceptable. Otherwise, the building location, materials, and other such considerations are complying with the zoning ordinance and previous variances. If the Commission finds that the CUP for the expansion is acceptable, then the lot combination, rezoning, and interim use permit could also be deemed acceptable. A hearing will need to be held regarding a comprehensive plan amendment associated with the rezoning. Staff would recommend that the Planning Commission forward a recommendation of approval with the following conditions: 1. All parking for the site shall be contained within areas intended for parking and not on any public streets, fire lanes, driveways, or yard areas. 2. The use of the new rooms shall be for accessory classrooms used in the manner described in the applicant’s narrative. Any change of use shall require an amendment to the conditional use permit. 3. The alternate septic site shall be placed on the site plan. 4. All comments from Hennepin County regarding the right-of-way dedication for the lot combination shall be met. 5. The interim use permit for the continuation of the use of the house shall be in effect until that time when the church expands the sanctuary. 6. 1542 County Road 24 shall be rezoned to RPS. 7. The rezoning is contingent upon the successful processing of a comprehensive plan amendment. 8. All comments from the City Engineer shall be met. 9. All comments from the City Attorney shall be met. 10. All comments from the Building Official shall be met. Attachments Aerial Photo Applicant’s Narrative Applicant’s Plan Set Engineer’s Comments dated 11.29.16 Building Official’s Comments dated 11.22.16 Hennepin County Comments dated 12.9.16 cc: Dusty Finke Ron Batty