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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 12-20-2017Approved Minutes 1 of 6 Meeting of December 6, 2017 Approved Minutes Planning Commission Meeting December 6, 2017 MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Marc Anderson, Commissioners Bryan Oakley, Jim Kovach, Julie Witt, Donovan Saba, David Witte and Kira Vanderlan MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Planning Manager Barb Thomson, Senior Planner Shawn Drill and Senior Engineering Technician Trevor Quast OTHERS PRESENT: Councilmember Ned Carroll 1. CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. PUBLIC FORUM 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION by Commissioner Saba, seconded by Commissioner Witte, to approve the December 6, 2017 Planning Commission Agenda. Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 15, 2017 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES B. NORTHWEST ISLAMIC COMMUNITY CENTER (2017078) Approve a site plan amendment and variance for a parking lot expansion at 3300 Plymouth Boulevard. C. EAGLE RIDGE PARTNERS (2017088) Approve a site plan amendment and variance for additional parking at 2800 Vicksburg Lane. MOTION by Commissioner Oakley, seconded by Commissioner Vanderlan, to approve the consent agenda. Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS Approved Minutes 2 of 6 Meeting of December 6, 2017 A. FIVE STAR DEVELOPMENT OF ALABAMA, INC. (2017087) Chair Anderson introduced the request by Five Star Development of Alabama, Inc. for a rezoning, site plan, conditional use permit and variance for a redevelopment at the southeast corner of County Roads 6 and 101 with a new CVS Pharmacy. Senior Planner Drill gave an overview of the staff report. Commissioner Oakley referenced the location of the pickup window and curb location and wondered if a vehicle pulled all the way to the north can make that turn without running over the curb. Senior Planner Drill stated that it would be a sharp turn, but it has been designed to allow for the turn. Commissioner Oakley referenced the screening between the townhomes and pickup window and asked if there would be anything in addition to the coniferous trees. Senior Planner Drill replied that there is an existing chain link fence on the lot line that would remain. He stated that there would not be a solid screen fence proposed, and instead the applicant is proposing a solid row of coniferous trees. Commissioner Witte asked for more information on the setback for the pick-up window. Senior Planner Drill replied that the setback requirement is 300 feet from the nearest residential lot line. He identified that line, and explained how the calculation was made. Commissioner Witte asked if the applicant has factored snow removal and plowing into the design. Senior Planner Drill stated that there are some spaces where snow could be pushed but noted that he would let the applicant provide additional details. Chair Anderson asked if the City conducted the traffic study. Senior Planner replied that the developer conducted the study, but confirmed that the ITE standards were used, which are the same standards the City would use. Chair Anderson asked for additional explanation on a line identified on the plans. Senior Planner Drill replied that it is a separate lot line, noting that the parcels will be required to be combined once the application moves forward. He confirmed that the two southern parcels would remain as part of the strip center. Chair Anderson stated that many of the Caribou Coffee patrons currently park in stalls that would be incorporated into the CVS site. Approved Minutes 3 of 6 Meeting of December 6, 2017 Senior Planner Drill noted that the entire site is owned by one entity and cross access easements will be required to allow vehicles to travel from site to site. He noted that while both sites can stand on their own for parking, with common ownership there is often shared parking occurring. Chair Anderson noted that the south parking area becomes crowded around the lunchtime hours and questioned if there is enough space. He stated that currently the north site, which would be part of the CVS parking lot, is often used for parking. He asked about the nature of an element in the southern area of the plan. Senior Planner Drill replied that it is a slight swale that would be used as an infiltration basin. Chair Anderson asked if the city would be willing to give up C-3 zoning. Senior Planner Drill stated that staff does not feel that there would be a noticeable impact on supply and demand for C-3 versus C-2. He stated that from staff’s perspective, this zoning change could be supported. Chair Anderson stated that the rezoning would eliminate the possibility of a gas station and noted that there are a number of nearby pharmacies. Planning Manager Thomson stated that if the C-3 zoning is maintained and the current owner is not planning to continue with the gas station, there may be uses that come forward that are not as neighborhood friendly, such as fast food. Chair Anderson asked if this use would turn into an insurance agency, or insurance sales, because of a recent purchase of Aetna by CVS. He asked if this would be more of a medical office building rather than a traditional CVS store. Senior Planner Drill stated that to the knowledge of staff, this would be a CVS pharmacy store with perhaps a minute clinic inside. Commissioner Saba referenced the swale with the three trees, noting that adding this swale will eliminate an area of parking, which is often used by customers of the adjacent Caribou Coffee. He stated there is not enough parking in front of Caribou and the workout facility and therefore parking will continue to spill over into this lot. Chair Anderson introduced Michael Culbreath, representing the applicant, who stated that this store is a small prototype. He stated that there are no plans to incorporate an insurance agency. He said he did not believe that this small prototype would even support a minute clinic and would simply be retail and pharmacy. He noted that CVS has a term “touching lives” and they do an extensive study on where the prescriptions are coming from to make it more convenient for filling those prescriptions. He stated that they have worked extensively with staff on the orientation of the building as well as the colors and materials for the building. He stated that they have also worked to add a sidewalk connection to the townhomes to make this fit into the neighborhood setting. Approved Minutes 4 of 6 Meeting of December 6, 2017 Chair Anderson introduced Vicki Van Dell, Loucks, representing the applicant, who stated that the pickup window turn was made as abrupt as possible to make as much room as possible for vehicles to turn. She described the path that vehicles would take and where crossing with other traffic would occur. Mr. Culbreath noted that the drive-thru traffic would be minimal but allows sick customers to pick up their medication without going in the store. He stated that they have worked extensively with staff to ensure that any concerns have been met. Ms. Van Dell provided additional details on the trees that would be used for screening, noting that an additional buffer would be provided over and above what currently exists. Mr. Culbreath stated there is slight contamination from the gas station use that CVS will be cleaning up with this development as well. Ms. Van Dell stated that currently there is very little green around the site and the snow storage is pushed around the site until it is hauled off-site. She stated that the snow for the CVS site can be pushed onto the greenspace and then hauled off as necessary. Commissioner Oakley referenced the recommendations proposed and asked if there are any concerns with increasing the window area. Mr. Culbreath stated that it would be challenging and noted that perhaps shadowboxes could be used. He stated that there cannot be a window in the pharmacy area for safety purposes. He stated that the goal is to adhere to the recommendations and work with staff to ensure that can be done. Chair Anderson asked if there would be an effect on what happens at this store with the purchase of Aetna by CVS. Mr. Culbreath noted that this is one of the smallest stores and therefore there would not be any additional activity at this location. He explained that the prescription volume is not directly corelated to traffic as one person could be picking up multiple prescriptions. Chair Anderson opened the public hearing. Chair Anderson introduced Howard Bergerud, representing the current landowner, who stated that his company is acquiring the gas station and strip center and will retain ownership of the center and are working with CVS to develop part of the gas station site. He stated that Caribou Coffee has ten stalls within their lease that can be signed for Caribou Coffee only. He stated that both parts of the center should be able to function nicely without increased parking needs. He stated that employees can park in the unused stalls in the back and therefore there would be sufficient parking available for the patrons of all the tenants in the center. Chair Anderson closed the public hearing. Chair Anderson asked to see the location for the employee parking in the back. Approved Minutes 5 of 6 Meeting of December 6, 2017 Senior Planner Drill identified the parking lot that exists behind the building. Commissioner Witte referenced the existing entrance island off County Road 6 and asked whether that is part of the plan or independent of this plan. Senior Planner Drill stated that will be completely unaffected by this plan and will remain the same. Commissioner Witte asked if there was discussion of installing a low fence along the east property line until the vegetation gets thicker to screen headlights from the townhomes. Senior Planner Drill stated that a previous plan showed a segment of a six-foot high fence but when the plan was revised, the fence was removed from the plan. He stated that the commission could add conditions they feel are important for proper screening. Mr. Culbreath stated that fencing is a maintenance issue and therefore they would prefer an earthen berm that would provide benefit and would not require long-term maintenance. Commissioner Oakley asked how many feet higher this site is than the site to the east. Ms. Van Dell provided information on elevations. Commissioner Oakley referenced the entrance from County Road 6 and stated that this plan appears to dramatically improve the movement on the site compared to the existing layout. Chair Anderson stated there has been a service station in this location since 1984 and services have been provided in the strip mall since 1988, asking if this is the time for a change. He reviewed the requests before the commission tonight. Commissioner Saba asked why an entrance in the northwest corner would not work. Senior Planner Drill replied that the original plan submitted showed an entrance in the northwest corner. He stated there were a number of concerns with that proposal. He referenced the basically blank walls along the two county roads, and further noted that given the pharmacy location within the building, there could not be windows along the pharmacy walls either. He stated that therefore, it made more sense to put the main door of the building toward the street. Commissioner Witte stated that it would have been possible to create a façade front on the street side and have the actual entrance on the other side of the building facing the townhomes. Senior Planner Drill noted that was talked about early on, but the conclusion was reached that moving the building further north would improve the circulation on the site. Chair Anderson applauded staff for their work on this matter and agreed that the landscaping would be more beneficial than a drive aisle around the entire building. Approved Minutes 6 of 6 Meeting of December 6, 2017 MOTION by Commissioner Witte, seconded by Commissioner Vanderlan, to approve the request by Five Star Development of Alabama, Inc. for a rezoning, site plan, conditional use permit and variance for a redevelopment at the southeast corner of County Roads 6 and 101 with a new CVS Pharmacy with the added conditions that the applicant revise the plans to: 1) create a focal point (architectural design feature) at the northwest corner of the building; 2) enlarge the windows to have a minimum vertical measurement of four feet on the north and south facades by extending the windows downward; 3) add windows (either vision glass, spandrel glass or display case glass) and related awnings in the east portion of the north façade facing County Road 6; and 4) show a two- to three-foot berm along the east property line to screen headlights from the adjacent townhome development. Vote. 7 Ayes. MOTION approved. 7. NEW BUSINESS 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Chair Anderson, with no objection, to adjourn the meeting at 8:01 P.M.