7. McDonalds Restaurant: Site Plan and Variance.1
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CITY OF
CHANB SSEN
P.C. DATE: 11 -6 -96
C.C. DATE: 11 -25 -96
CASE: 90 -4 Site Plan
BY: Al- Jaff.v
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STAFF REPORT
PROPOSAL: Site Plan Review for a 2,031 square foot addition to the McDonald's
Restaurant Building and a hard surface coverage variance request of five
percent
LOCATION: South of Hwy. 5, north of Lake Drive East and Chanhassen Estates, west of
Emission Control Testing Station, and east of Dakota Avenue.
APPLICANT: McDonald's Corporation
1650 West 82nd Street, Suite 900
Minneapolis, MN 55431
Mr. Tom Drews
(612) 884 -4355
PRESENT ZONING: BH, Highway Business
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ACREAGE: 89,294 square feet
ADJACENT ZONING
AND LAND USE: N - Hwy. 5
S - RSF; Chan Estates and Lake Drive East
E - BH; Emission Control Station
W - Dakota Lane
SEWER AND WATER: Services are available to the site.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
2000 LAND USE:
AM BY U" A tiiint
Endorsed �
Modi`icd
Rejected
Date--------
Date Submitted to Comfttloign
Date Submitted t9 Gf until
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The site contains the existing McDonald's Restaurant.
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McDonald's Restaurant
November 6, 1996
Page 2
PROPOSAL /SUMMARY
The applicants are requesting site plan approval to expand the existing McDonald's Restaurant
located at the intersection of Dakota Avenue, Lake Drive East, and Highway 5. Plans call for an
expansion of approximately 2,031 square feet on the north and south side of the building to
accommodate a " Playplace" along the south end of the building, and an added drive- through
window and storage along the north. The addition will be constructed on existing hard surface
areas, with additional landscape islands being added. Therefore, the percentage of imperious
surface will be reduced.
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The restaurant was originally approved in 1982. At that time, the proposal generated significant
neighborhood opposition resulting in a lawsuit wherein the City's interpretation of the zoning
ordinance was questioned. The suit was ultimately won by the city and restaurant was built
under the old C -2 zoning. This district no longer exists. The site is presently zoned Highway
Business (BH) which lists fast food restaurants as a permitted use.
Staff has worked with the applicants to develop and refine the expansion plans. The site has two
grandfathered variances under current regulations. While these could not be eliminated due to
site constraints, attempts were made to minimize them. In addition, the continuation of these
variances are a trade -off in exchange for improved site design and green space.
The site plan is well designed and represents only a minor increase in the size of the building.
Internal circulation and site entrances remain largely unchanged. Materials on the proposed
addition will match materials used on the existing building consisting of brick and a metal roof.
The Playplace located along the south of the existing building is shown with a flat roof. This
addition is 19 feet tall. Adding a pitched element to the roof would add to the height of the
structure and may look out of proportion in relation to the existing roof line. Therefore, in this
instance, staff is of the opinion that a flat roof is acceptable. The addition to the north includes
storage, a cooler, refrigerator, and a drive- through booth. At the present time, a service door is
located to the north facing Highway 5. With the proposed addition, the applicant will relocate
the service door to the east which will result in an improved facade facing highway 5.
When improvements on Highway 5 and Dakota Lane took place, additional right -of -way was
acquired from McDonald's. This reduced the acreage of the site which ultimately created a
variance to the hard surface coverage. The ordinance requires a maximum of 65% hard - surface
coverage. Currently the site has a 70% impervious coverage. With the proposed expansion, the
applicants will be adding a total of 326 square feet of additional green space. Although it is a
negligible addition, it is still an improvement to the existing situation.
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McDonald's Restaurant
November 6, 1996
Page 3
Staff regards the project as well conceived. Based upon the foregoing, staff is recommending
approval of the site plan with conditions outlined in the staff report.
BACKGROUND
Plans for the restaurant were submitted to the City in 1982. Staff recommended approval of the
site plan under the C -2 zoning that was then in force. Local residents raised objections to the
request due to traffic, noise and related considerations. The Planning Commission recommended
denial on April 8, 1982, and on April 19th, the City Council failed to approve it on a 2 to 2 vote.
On April 30th, McDonald's initiated a suit against the City. On May 3rd, Councilman Geving,
who was not present at the City Council meeting, moved reconsideration of the item and on May
10th, the McDonald's proposal was approved. Area residents brought suit against the City on a
series of procedural grounds including inappropriate motions leading to project approval and
interpretation of the ordinance by the City. They requested monetary damages.
The case was taken up to the Minnesota Supreme Court who ultimately found the residents
position to be without merit and dismissed the case.
On April 23, 1990, the City Council approved a variance request to the 75 foot wetland setback
requirement to allow the restaurant to add truck parking stalls located on the east part of the site.
The paved parking area was constructed 65 feet from the edge of the wetland.
GENERAL SITE PLAN /ARCHITECTURE
is from Lake
The building is situated parallel to Lake Drive East and Hwy. 5. Access gained
Drive East. Existing parking is located to the east of the existing building. The nearest home is
located 200 feet away from the south edge of the most actively used portion of the site. The
building is located 87' from the north, 180' from the east, 44.59' from the south, and 29' from the
west property line.
Materials used on the expansion will be identical to those used on the existing building. The
main material is brick which will be used on the storage area on the north side of the building.
The south end of the building will consist of brick and glass with a flat metal roof. The
building's architecture meets the standards of the site plan ordinance requirements.
PARKING/INTERIOR CIRCULATION
'
The city's parking ordinance for restaurants requires 1 parking stall per 60 square feet of gross
area. The site will require 72 stalls. The applicant is providing 64 stalls, however, 8 of these
stalls have been striped to accommodate semi - trucks and could double up as 16 regular parking
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McDonald's Restaurant
' November 6, 1996
Page 4
stalls, which will satisfy the ordinance requirements. The overall seating within the restaurant
will not be increased.
As was mentioned in the proposal summary, the site contains a hard - surface coverage variance of
5 %. The ordinance allows a maximum of 65 %. This variance was created by MnDOT and the
City acquiring right -of -way to allow for the improvements on Highway 5 and Dakota Lane. The
applicants are proposing additional landscaping along the north and south of the building. Even
though it is a total of 326 square feet, we believe it is an improvement over the existing situation.
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SIGNAGE
The applicant has submitted a sign plan. Signage is proposed along the north and west elevations
of the building. The sign along the west elevation consists of a golden arch with an area of 9
square feet. The sign along the north elevation contains the wording (Playplace) and has an area
of 36 square feet. All other existing signs on the building will be removed. The ordinance states
that wall mounted signs may not exceed 90 square feet of display area, or 15% of the total area of
the building wall upon which the sign is mounted. The applicant must obtain a sign permit prior
to erecting the signs.
COMPLIANCE TABLE - IOP DISTRICT
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Building Height
Building Setback
Parking stalls
Parking Setback
Hard surface
Coverage
Lot Area
u
Ordinance
2 stories
N -25' E -25'
S -25' W -25'
72 stalls
N -25' E -10'
S -25' W -25'
65%
20,000 s.f.
McDonald's
1 story
N -87'E -180'
S- 44.59'W -29'
64 stalls * **
N- 10' *E -10'
S -10' *W -60'
70%**
89,294 s.f.
The parking setback variances are existing variances and have been intensified with the
improvements made on Dakota Lane and Highway 5.
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McDonald's Restaurant
November 6, 1996
Page 5
** The hard surface coverage is an existing variance that was created with the improvements
made on Highway 5 and Dakota Lane. Property was acquired from the applicants which
reduced the lot area/green space and created the variance. With this proposal, the
applicant is adding 326 square feet of landscaped area.
* ** The parking ordinance requires 72 parking spaces. The applicants are providing 64
spaces, however, 8 of those stalls are designed to accommodate trucks and trailers and
could double up as two car parking. This will allow for 72 stalls as required by
ordinance.
LANDSCAPING AND TREE REMOVAL
With the proposed building addition, one overstory tree and a number of shrubs are scheduled to '
be removed. According to the applicants' landscaping plan, 4 understory trees and 3 evergreens
will be planted along with a number of shrubs. While available green spaces are limited, the
applicant has attempted to incorporate as much landscaping as is feasible in the green areas near
the building. The selection of species appears suitable. The landscaping plan does not indicate
the type of ground cover to be used on the site and should be revised accordingly.
BUILDING OFFIC COMMENTS
The currently adopted building code requires, in most cases, that an accessible route be provided to
altered areas of a building. In this case, the addition of the play area may cause alterations in
building entrances to be made. The designers should meet with a plan reviewer from the
Inspections Division as early as possible to discuss accessibility requirements.
PLANNING COMMISSION UPDATE I
On November 6, 1996, the Planning Commission reviewed and approved this application with
conditions. There were two main issues discussed in depth at the meeting. The first dealt with the '
level of light transmitted from ' the Playplace to the neighbors to the south. The Planning
Commission recommended staff and the applicant investigate options to reduce light transmission
and exposure on the south side. We believe we have reached a workable solution. The applicant
will utilize an interior mechanical screening system along the south elevation. This screening
system will be activated and set in the "down" position no later than 30 minutes after sunset each
evening and will remain so until the beginning of the next business day.
The second issue dealt with additional year round screening/landscaping along the southern edge of
the property. One of the neighbors requested the landscaping be installed south of Lake Drive East.
Staff explained that the parcel referred to by the neighbor is in private ownership and will be
developed in the future. When development takes place, the City will require the developer to
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McDonald's Restaurant
' November 6, 1996
Page 6
provide this buffer. The Planning Commission recommended staff and the applicant work together
to increase the landscaping south of the building. At this time, the applicant for McDonald's
Restaurant is proposing to add 12 Junipers. The applicants had intended to stretch the planting all
along the southwest corner of the lot. However, staff instructed them to eliminate planting in the
sight triangle on the corner of Dakota Lane and Lake Drive East for safety reasons. A second
change to the landscape plan deals with planting materials along the east side of the building. The
applicant is proposing to plant perennial and flowering annual beds versus shrubs. This change is
acceptable.
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STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the following motion:
I. SITE PLAN REVIEW
"The City Council approves Site Plan Review #95 -12 as shown on the site plan dated received
November 20, 1996, subject to the following conditions:
The applicant provide the city with clarification on ground cover to be used in the
landscaped area to the rear of the building.
2. The applicant must obtain a sign permit prior to erecting any signage on site.
3. The applicant shall enter into a site plan agreement with the city and provide the
necessary financial securities as required.
4. Consult with Inspections Division plan reviewer about accessibility requirements for
existing building before permit application.
5. The applicant will utilize an interior mechanical screening system along the south
elevation. This screening system will be activated and set in the "down" position no
later than 30 minutes after sunset each evening and will remain so until the beginning
of the next business day."
1. Memo from Steve Kirchman dated October 28, 1996.
2. Letter from Tom Kotsonas dated November 6, 1996.
3. Planning Commission Minutes dated November 6, 1996.
4. Plans dated received November 20, 1996.
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CITY OF
CHANHASSEN
690 COULTER DRIVE • P.O. BOX 147 • CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317
(612) 937 -1900 • FAX (612) 937 -5739
MEMORANDUM
TO: Sharmin Al -Jaff, Planner II
FROM: Steve A. Kirchman, Building Official �-- ck'«
DATE: October 28, 1996
SUBJECT: 90 -4 SPR (McDonald's addition)
I was asked to review the site plan proposal stamped "C ITY of CHANHASSEN, RECEIVED, OCT 07
19 9 6 , C PLANNING DEPT for the above referenced project.
Background:
The original building was constructed in 1
Analysis:
F;
An addition was made to the south of the building in 1990.
accessible route be provided to altered
use alterations in building entrances to
spections Division as early as possible
The currently adopted building code.cequires, in most cases, th
areas of a building. In this caseJ,he addition of the play area n
be made. The designers shouWeet with a plan reviewer from
to discuss accessibility :xetiuirements.____
1. Consult with Inspection
buildings before permit
reviewer about accessibili
for existing
g:\safety\sakVnemos \plan\mcdnlds I
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MEMORANDUM
CITY OF
CHANHASSEN
690 COULTER DRIVE • P.O. BOX 147 • CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317
(612) 937 -1900 • FAX (612) 937 -5739
TO: Sharmin Al -Jaff, Planner II
FROM: Todd Hoffman, Park and Recreation Director
DATE: October 14, 1996
SUBJ: McDonald's Addition
The Park and Recreation Department submits zero considerations of approval for the
McDonald's addition.
Chanhassen may soon be home to an indoor playground . The investment of this level of capitol
in a play place is a testament to the "value" of recreation.
GApark \th \Mcdonald
-,
� November 1996
Tom Kotsonas
8001 Cheyenne ._q
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Sharmin,
Thank you for sharing your time to discuss with me the
coming Mc
Donald's expansion. As you are aware, probably more than
most others,
��
evervthing Cl anything which creates more traffic, noise,
lighting,
etc., along Lake Drive East, reduces the quality and privacy
of my
neighborhood.
In 'light` of this I am always interested in the short
and long term
outcome of neighboring commercial development. Obvious]y,
during
past 10-15 years, the increase of commerical �evelopment north
of Lake
Drive East has reduced the quality o+ life for the imme�iate
neighborhood. As each additional, large or small, piece of
commercial
N�
property is added, so has noise, air quality, etc., increased.
~~
THE SAD fact of all this is the deaf ear of those !n power
to hel� the
neighborhood. The typical response over the years is to
I n
N�
service to our plight, smile and then ccntinue on wi�h whatever
development is planned. Nothing has changed, except some
the "looks" of the various buildings/land. AN3, this occurs
concern with
only because
��
� few oeople have expressed concern over how these various
properties
wilI look from the highway, '\we want people to be impressed
with
Chanhassen's looks".
N�
If I sound a "bit" cynical, I am.
Normally before I or anyone e]se in the neighborhood is
aware of a
N�
proposed development, it (whatever it may be) is a "done deal.`'
I or
others may complain, bring forth concerns -- but in the end,
ncthing will
CHANGE, By the time an issue comes before the Planning Commissio�
or
N�
Citv Council, critical decisions have been made. What difference
few residents make can not turn out large n�mbers
of
people, no one cares. Example: it took nearly every resident
to have a
street and boulevard designed as wanted. In that issue, phone
calls,
��
Ietters, etc., were of no value. It took heated battles to
change what
the "Staff" wanted. ANYWAY, Mc Donald`s will get what it
wants,
5oodyear and the car wash will get what ever they want, Abra
will get
N�
what it wants, etc., etc. It may take them some time, and
a few
superficial changes but it will happen.
`bat'
How many on this or past Staffs, have really gone to
for the
��
bordering residents? Who has said n� to increased traffic,
noise, air
pollution and sight deterioration? Yes, you did get Gene
to turn off (on
an irregular basis) a window/privacy invading spot light.
These business
N�
people show their neighborhood concerns only as long as it
does not slow
down incoming dollars.
Again, THANKS for reading my babble! I could go on for pages!
!! !
REQUESTS:
1. Is it possibIe to have pyramidal arborvitae type trees
olaIted on the
qrass area between Mc Donald's south drive and the sidewalk.
It wouId
protect us to some extent from increased lighting, noise,
etc.
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2. Is it possible to have Colorado or a similar tvpe spruce trees pIanted
on the south side boulevard of Lake Drive East? The trees would be
N�strategically planted - extending from Dakota Avenus - eastward for
several hundred yards? Remember, everything that now exists was pIanted
I y the residents (mvself included, at a fair expense of time and money).
I have noticed, that over the years, most other boulevards have been
upgraded with the planting of trees. I would imagine that the owner of
this property would not be interested in spending ANY money on
~~improvements unless it brought a dollar return. Mason once said, "this
was my cheap neighborhood development."
��Qther:
1. The briq ht red, "CAR WASH" sign on t�e new Goodyear building looks
errible, and a REAL eye sore for us. Sort of a night]y rem�nder of "in
m�your face."
. Also, the car washes' exterior lights are rather a bright whj
��some reason, I am under the opinjon that exterior liohts were to
11/18/96 16:25 ^ p612 885 4769 i47CDONALD'S CORP. X002 1
MCDonaldis
McDonald's Corporation
1650 West 82nd Street
Suite 900
Bloomington, MN 55431 -9888
612/884 -4355
Fax: 612/885 -4755
November 18, 1996
CITY OF CHANHASSEN
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
690 COULTER DRIVE
CHANHASSEN, MN 55317
attn.: Sharmin Al -Jaff
Ms. Al -Jaff,
As a condition of the CHANHASSEN PLANNING COMMISSION, Wednesday,
November 6, 1996, McDonald's Corporation proposes that an interior mechanical
screening system will be installed on the South elevation of the proposed "Playland
Addition" facing Lake Drive East. This screening system will be activated and set in the
"down" position no later than 30 minutes after sunset each evening and will remain so
until the beginning of the next business day.
Respectfully,
T
Tom Drews, Project Manager
McDonald's Corporation
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CHANHASSEN PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
NOVEMBER 6,1996
Chairwoman Mancino called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Craig Peterson, Kevin Joyce, Bob Skubic, Ladd Conrad, Nancy
' Mancino, Jeff Farmakes, and Alison Blackowiak
STAFF PRESENT: Kate Aanenson, Planning Director; Sharmin Al -Jaff, Planner I; Dave
i Hempel, Assistant City Engineer; and Philip Elkin, Water Resource Coordinator
' PUBLIC HEARING:
SITE PLAN REVIEW AND A SETBACK AND HARD SURFACE COVERAGE
VARIANCE REQUEST FOR A 2,031 SQUARE FOOT ADDITION TO ADD A
' MCDONALD'S PLAYPLCE AND FREEZER(COOLER ADDITION ON PROPERTY
ZONED BH, HIGHWAY BUSINESS DISTRICT AND LOCATED AT 90 LAKE DRIVE
EAST, MCDONALD'S RESTAURANT.
' Public Present:
Mancino: Thank you. Any questions for staff at this point? Sharmin, I just had one which I
thought was a good suggestion from the resident in the area and that is, I just wanted to get your
feelings on this. It was making just a few alterations on the landscape on the south end of it
between Lake Drive East, McDonald's and the sidewalk and doing something kind of arborvitae
which would be year round buffering, which would be helpful for the people. The
neighborhoods who live on the south side of Lake Drive East. Is that something you considered
with the applicant or is that new news?
Al -Jaff: That is new.
Mancino: Then I'll wait and ask the applicant. Thank you. Any other questions?
Joyce: Sharmin, are you going to lose parking spaces with this thing?
Al -Jaff. We will lose 4 parking spaces.
Name
Address
Gene Borg
90 Lake Drive East
Tom Drews
1810 Hampshire Lane, Golden Valley
Mike Koenig
8005 Cheyenne Avenue
Tom Kotsonas
8001 Cheyenne Avenue
Sharmin Al -Jaff presented
the staff report on this item.
Mancino: Thank you. Any questions for staff at this point? Sharmin, I just had one which I
thought was a good suggestion from the resident in the area and that is, I just wanted to get your
feelings on this. It was making just a few alterations on the landscape on the south end of it
between Lake Drive East, McDonald's and the sidewalk and doing something kind of arborvitae
which would be year round buffering, which would be helpful for the people. The
neighborhoods who live on the south side of Lake Drive East. Is that something you considered
with the applicant or is that new news?
Al -Jaff: That is new.
Mancino: Then I'll wait and ask the applicant. Thank you. Any other questions?
Joyce: Sharmin, are you going to lose parking spaces with this thing?
Al -Jaff. We will lose 4 parking spaces.
Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
Joyce: And that still will be all right with the ordinance? r
Al -Jaffa Well it—how you would view the semi parking.
Joyce: I understand but I was just, that I understand. But is there still 64 parking, with the lost
4? Okay, I was counting them up and I didn't, that's fine. Okay, thank you. ,
Mancino: Okay, is the applicant here and do you wish to address the Planning Commission?
Gene Borg: Yes, I'm Gene Borg ... McDonald's and I would like to add this addition for a couple i
of reasons.
Mancino: Excuse me Gene, could you give your address please?
Gene Borg: Excuse me. 6897 Chaparral Lane, Chanhassen and—this addition, the cooler ,
freezer storage and dry space with the changing of packaging that we've had over the years. I'm
running out of storage space in my restaurant. We've switched deliveries down from once a
week down to every 5 days. I can't get them closer together than that and so I have trouble ,
therefore and to keep up with the health. The Health Department and things like that. I need
some more storage space there. As far as the playland goes, I need that to keep my business
viable. With the competition and everything that's coming into town, business has ... for about 3 '
%z years and I would like that to keep the business viable. Keep it going. Because ... 3% a year to
stay with inflation and things like that and the last three years I haven't done that. And I would
expect with the growth of the community, long term would have more food establishments in
town and I'm not going to go broke today or tomorrow but in 10 -15 years I might if I can't keep
everything going. Are there any questions?
Mancino: Do any commissioners have any questions?
Skubic: I have a question regarding the overall architecture. You're putting on an addition here '
and you're complimenting the existing architecture. Making it look alike. The original
architecture dates back to 1982. That's when the building was constructed.
Gene Borg: Well the original architecture probably dates back to the early 60's.
Skubic: Yeah. Which is the corporate architecture for the franchise. Things have changed some ,
along Highway 5. We have the Highway 5 corridor and we have some other standards in place
since this was constructed. It probably isn't realistic to redo the whole building but is there any
chance of updating the styling at all to something that is more consistent with what we're doing
in the town with some of the new construction?
Gene Borg's statement was not picked up on the tape. ,
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Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
Skubic: Well we have some, I think some pretty good looking architecture in town. Right down
the street on Market Boulevard for instance. There's a fast food place that was constructed
recently that is pretty stylish. Since you're in the process of doing some remodeling here and
some new construction, did you consider renovating the styling at all on the rest of the building?
Gene Borg: ...basically you're talking about I would guess, picking up the mansard which goes
all the way around the structure of the building as we speak today. New stores only put the
mansard on the... I just built a store in Young America. Opened a month and a half ago and that
mansard, it's half of the building. It's a square building, like the front of this one that you see.
It's more square and part of it has mansard on it. But that mansard is...
Skubic: Excuse me, where's the mansard?
Gene Borg: It's this piece that comes out here. And in order to square up the building and do
things like that, that virtually has to come off. As part of the construction of the overall building
now. In the new buildings it's not. The section of the mansard so we can keep a couple roof
beams and keep the McDonald's look for the long term. It's about this long. It's got two roof
beams in it and it's ... so at some point in time that could come off or be changed inexpensively.
But today it's not inexpensive.
Skubic: Yeah, that's kind of what I expected. Okay, thank you.
Mancino: Any other questions for Gene at this time? Alison.
Blackowiak: First of all I know that there is, what I would consider drive through parking.
Blackowiak: Are you going to be adding those anywhere?
Gene Borg: There's two stalls on the drive through side.
Gene Borg: They'll be parallel with a little bit, on the south side of the building. Not on the
south side but on the west side towards the south end there will be two parallel stalls.
Blackowiak: Okay, so are you going to be increasing the width of your drive lane there then to
accommodate those two stalls or do you have enough space right now?
Gene Borg: Well, I don't think there'd be enough space. Right now we've got the cars sitting in
the drive through lane with I don't know how many feet but... There's a passing lane... I believe
that there's plenty of room there. I don't know exactly what it is but...
Blackowiak: Okay. And then also there's a comment that there would be no increase in overall
seating. Other play spaces I've been to with my kids, there's always been seating in the play
space.
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Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
Gene Borg: We're going to put seating out there. What we're doing is, when I say the play
space. When I built this store I anticipated putting a playground on someday. When I
expanded ... so I built it so you could come back in the store with the seating. So the front part of
the ... cut in half and put up a, I call it a barrier wall so the noise doesn't go through. So the round ,
seating would be mixed in but there won't be an increase in seating but we will use existing
seating out...
Blackowiak: Okay. t
Mancino: Gene, I don't have small children. My children are grown so, what's the concept of ,.
the play place?
Gene Borg: The concept of the play place is to bring children in. The children will bring the '
parents in to eat, that's the concept. And they bring them in great numbers.
Joyce: They're tubes, aren't they that they crawl though? It's tubes they're called. ,
Gene Borg: It's like an indoor.
Mancino: It's like a Hobbit trail? ,
Gene Borg: I don't know what that is. It's an indoor play space where they have a little ball '
pit... There's a slide or two in there. Adults will have fun in there too.
Mancino: I was going to say, so I can come. And how many other McDonald's have this? I '
mean they're obviously up and running and they've been tested and test marketed, etc.
Gene Borg: I don't know exactly how many. I imagine there's about 25 around. Well hundreds ,
in the nation, yes. Hundreds in the nation but. But the closest one here now is in Eden Prairie
shopping center there's one and there's one in Young America that I just built. '
Conrad: Is there a new prototype, just sort of branching out. Is there a new McDonald's
prototype, or are you close? Is the look that your store right now has, is that pretty close to what
the current franchise design would be? Like in Young America. Is this the same look?
Gene Borg: It's similar without a mansard. I would guess what I would call a mansard is that ,
roof line. This roof line on the store was built probably 5 years ago or older. It goes all the way
around it. And the newer store is probably, depending on the location, is all the way around to a
third of the way around. I think the one ... the one in Young America is probably near half of one '
of those sides. So we're trying to keep that look of the McDonald's which people recognize. But
there's some of them that look entirely different also.
Mancino: Any other questions? Thank you Gene. Is there anyone else that is presenting for you ,
Gene?
Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
' Tom Drews: My name is Tom Drews. I'm with McDonald's. My address is 1810 Hampshire
Lane, Golden Valley. I'm the construction project manager and I'll be helping Gene build this
facility... Some of the questions I might be able to answer them more clearly for you. In regards
' to the roof line and the mansard roof and the roof beams, that's still currently a part of
McDonald's corporate... I just completed a building for a new McDonald's in the Minneapolis,
well western Wisconsin and Minneapolis region here and the mansard roofs and those roof
' beams, those lighted roof beams are still part of our corporate trade... There are some locations
based on city ordinances and stuff like that where we have modified them. The McDonald's that
Gene Borg currently operates in Chanhassen is very, very similar, it hasn't really changed a
whole lot from what we're building right now... The play place we've been really aggressively
building a lot of them. They're a great addition, not only to the business but they are a great
addition to the community. They allow small children to come in, especially with the winters we
' have here, it allows children to come in and they'll have a safe place and a warm place to play. I
have two younger children and my wife loves them. ...cold day, have a cup of coffee and read a
book and turn the kids loose. So it's nice to have them. The play system, things like there's a
Lego area where they can play with Lego's. They have slides...
Mancino: Is it about 1,200 square feet? Is that the size of the building?
Tom Drews: The play area, yeah. What Gene is going to be adding here is 24, 28 by 37 feet.
And the height is needed just because of the height you need for your, what we refer to as the
' toys. The slides and the crawl spaces and things like that. The toys. The addition is about 19
feet high, which is about 4 feet higher than the rest of the existing building. Just to get that
height for your toys. We have ... we're going to put up a glass wall that the interior, in the dining
' room. So a portion of the dining room seating will become effectively part of this playland area.
And the glass wall allows the parents to sit and they'll look through. They can monitor their kids
' that way. It also allows customers who don't have kids to sit in relatively peace. The play area
can get pretty noisy ... kids. It only takes two. So those are some of the issues. I'll be glad to
answer any other questions you might have.
' Mancino: My only other one would be safety issues. I mean do you have somebody on staff that
is in the area?
' Tom Drews: Yes. We keep someone in there at all times to monitor the children and to make
sure, for instance that they take their shoes off. There's a little cubby hole place where all the
' shoes are supposed to go. If they don't have socks, fine. They can purchase socks at the front
desk where we keep a supply of those. You have to wear socks in the play area. And it's things
like that. Just to make sure that spills get cleaned up properly. Things are being monitored for,
' watch parents so they don't just dump their kids off and leave them there for the day. We don't
allow that.
' Mancino: Is this daycare?
Tom Drews: No, no. We're not into that so, I mean we have signs all over. Parents have to be
there. They can't just walk in and spend the day there. We typically have some time limits. We
Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
tell people a half hour. Usually a half hour my kids are about ready to go. I've got a 5 and 3 year
old and after a half hour they're, okay.
Joyce: I do have a question. As far as the play area. Is that going to be, have a lot more light
emitting from it obviously than what you have presently there? Because it looks like it's all
glassed in windows.
Tom Drews: Yeah, that's why we refer to it as a glass box. It's well lit on the inside.
Joyce: What kind of window? Is it a direct see through window or are they tinted or?
Tom Drews: They're somewhat tinted but the light is strictly a down lighting system so you're
not going to have like side lights that are shining through the window on a horizontal fashion.
They're ceiling mounted and shining down. So you can see at nights but if you were to do some
photometric study or something like that, you're spill that would come out of the play land would
be fairly minimal. It'd be on the ground ... so you're not going to have light shining off into
someone's living room or something like that. There's no spot lights.
Joyce: Oh I understand there's no spot lights but right now you have basically a blank wall there,
if I remember correctly, right?
Tom Drews: Yeah.
Joyce: And now it seems to me you're going to have a big light bulb there. I mean if you've got
windows, all enclosed with lights and I think some of the neighbors, I think that's the main
concern. I don't see any noise problems here but I think that you have a big lighted area there
now that wasn't there before. Is that correct or incorrect?
Tom Drews: Yeah, it's lit.
Joyce: It's lit. And this is open until 11:00 -12:00 at night?
Tom Drews: The playland closes at, I think it was at 9:00 right?
Joyce: 9:00.
Tom Drews: 9:00 the building closes.
Joyce: Would that shut the lights down then at 9:00?
Tom Drews: Not completely... we want to clean it. Typically we would break the lighting
off ..and then after we close, they switch off about half the lights. So there's enough lighting in
there so people can get in there and clean but it's not nearly as bright as what it was ... with kids.
Joyce: Okay, thank you.
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Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
Tom Drews: Any other questions?
Conrad: There are other designs for this type of an addition, are there not?
Tom Drews: It's been somewhat of an evolution. This is kind of what we've arrived at. All the
new ones that I've been building are basically the same structure. Over the years, one of the first
ones that was built was somewhere on Nicollet Avenue. Just south of 494. To give you a little
history of the playland. The whole indoor playland concept for McDonald's really originated out
of here, out of the Minneapolis region. And it was picked up by other regions. So we've been
kind of on the forefront of trying to design a playland that works good. That's effective with the
kids ... and we've kind of stumbled and made some mistakes along the way but this is pretty
much ... what we call a glass box. That's similar to what you'll see in here. So yes, there's been
other designs but they're designs that have been part of the evolution.
Conrad: Yeah, I've seen others that seem far more integrated into the building. This seems like
a separate piece.
Tom Drews: And some part of that process has been cost. Trying to, you're building a
substantial addition to the front of your building, sometimes structurally and you have to make
some tremendous structural changes to the front of your building to support that. So part of it is
getting away from making, having to substantially rebuild the front end of your store to take on
the additional load so we've kind of evolved to like a separate unit that pretty much stands alone.
I don't know, does that help or does that?
Conrad: No, that's fine.
Mancino: Any other questions at this time? Thank you.
Peterson: You may want to speak to the issue of landscaping was brought up earlier tonight.
About the possibility of adding additional evergreens on the south side for buffering of residents
from the...
Tom Drews: I'm sorry, I didn't get that.
' Peterson: I said the additional, it was brought up earlier as far as the addition of evergreens or
arborvitaes that would be year round landscaping to protect the neighbors from the new addition.
As far as buffering with a little bit more. Is that a possibility or not?
' Gene Borg: ...got such a narrow spot out there for green space. We didn't put any trees or
anything out there because of the root systems on the tree ... hedge of maybe evergreen type of
' material. That'd be my.
Tom Drews: I guess we looked into it and we'll have to find something that is survivable.
' That's part of Gene's problems over the years is some of the planting materials just can't handle
7
Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996 '
the limited amount of moisture because of the space they're in or the salt or some of those I
factors. Until we find something compatible...
Gene Borg: I think we've got 4 feet. About 4 feet and the root system, to have something like ,
maybe that's around the stockade. It's like a bush but it grows tall but you could trim out, and
the root system there I think is better than like a tree type.
Tom Kotsonas: Arborvitaes come and they grow anywhere from 20 feet wide and also a type '
that grows 4 feet and they go up...
Gene Borg: Maybe that's what I'm talking about.
Tom Kotsonas: There are different types of pyramids. I
Gene Borg: Well we can work something out.
Mancino: Okay, good. Thank you. '
Skubic: The neighbors also suggested adding evergreens to the south side of the street. Of Lake ,
Drive East. There was a suggestion that evergreens be added to the south side of Lake Drive for
the same purpose but I suspect that there's probably the feeling there's more room there for trees.
Is that a legitimate? '
Gene Borg: South side, on the other private property?
from our property. '
Skubic: Across the street y
Gene Borg: Across the street on my property? '
Skubic: Right.
Gene Borg: Well it's somebody else's property.
Skubic: It would be somebody else's property so staff, is that a legitimate possibility? '
Al -Jaff: You're referring to the area right here. That is another parcel. A buildable parcel and '
the Planning Director and myself spoke about this earlier today. At the time when this site is
developed, that's when we would require the applicant, or whoever develops that site, we would
require them then to add landscaping to buffer the neighbors. ,
Skubic: That's a commercial site?
Al -Jaff: Correct. '
Mancino: But the underlying land owner would not be. I
8 1
Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
I Al -Jaff: No.
Skubic: Right.
Al -Jaff A private.
Joyce: They're soliciting right now. They have a big sign there looking for suitable
development.
Skubic: Okay, thank you.
Mancino: Okay, may I have a motion and a second to open this for a public hearing please.
Farmakes moved, Joyce seconded to open the public hearing. The public hearing was
' opened.
Mancino: This is open for a public hearing. Anyone wishing to address the Planning
' Commission at this time, please come up. State your name and address and please ask us any
questions, any comments that you have.
Mike Koenig: Hi. My name is Mike Koenig. My address is 8005 Cheyenne Avenue and one
question I have is, why does this have to be a glass box? I mean we talk always about how it's
going to look from Highway 5 but it really doesn't seem to matter how it looks to all the
neighbors that have to look at it continuously on the other side and the people on Highway 5 go
by. This will be attracting them into the business on that side and kind of try to cover it for us.
My thought is why can't ... if it was solid on that side, we're not going to see it. As far as putting
' some trees there. Sure, it looks nice when you drive by but it doesn't do the neighbors any good.
But as a resident in that area, it's getting to the point where it doesn't matter what we say, we've
' been through this with every one of these. We never get anything heard for our side but when
you're looking on Highway 5 side, you've got the nicest landscaping. They get the evergreens
because they don't want it to look like gasoline alley. Just make it look like gasoline alley in the
' back side, and it's getting to where our property values have fallen because of the noise, the
looks. I mean now there's another one possibly going in right behind us on a commercial spot, as
we heard tonight.
' Mancino: It's up for sale.
' Mike Koenig: Right. So you know, I really would like to see the City and the City Planning start
looking at the people who were there as residents and look at their concerns for once and say,
what can we do. Especially in the winter time when the trees drop their leaves, I mean they're
' like a palace sitting over there when you light them up. You walk out into your living room...
There's ways to work around it. I mean you don't need a glass box on all sides. The kids don't
care. They're going to be playing regardless. I don't know why you'd need to attract traffic.
You're not trying to pull them off that side of the street. So it'd be real nice to...
1
Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
Mancino: Thank you. Anyone else wishing to address the Planning Commission?
,
Tom Kotsonas: I'm Tom Kotsonas and I live at 8001 Cheyenne, directly behind McDonald's
and kind of to reiterate what Mike said. I envision sitting in my living room watching many
,
mothers and fathers drop off their children and play for hours and I'll get to watch them until
9:00 at night. Either that or I can pull the shades and my drapes, especially in the winter time
when I'm looking at 6 to 8 months of looking at a lighted, 19 foot box, with this type of lighting.
'
It's less than 75 yards from the nearest... I know there's nothing that can be done about it but
when I bought that house, maybe I wasn't too smart but none of that was there. It was woods and
fields. And to say someday that if that other piece of property gets developed, we'll put some
'
trees in there, that piece of property is almost, but not totally, but almost undevelopable... The
size of it is very prohibitive. So the suggestion I made as far as, I understand that Gene's not
,
going to be able to plant trees on that side. It's not his property. It's somebody else's but I do
know that the City has planted trees on boulevards in a number of places around the city of
Chanhassen. The City does own, or have rights to the first 15 -25 feet from the street, whatever.
,
And that type of development, it would take a long time but a pretty good sized blue spruce, or
some type of a spruce tree that's going to grow 25 to 30 feet high, would be a great improvement
over arborvitaes which we're talking about might be 6, 8 to 10 feet high and I can see why the
'
Council wouldn't want to build more... The main thing is, think about sitting in your living
room, or your kitchen, and looking at a playland from the time it gets dark at 5:00 or 5:30 now
until they close the lights down at 9:00 or 10:00.
,
Mancino: Tom, what do you see right now? I mean don't you have, and I'm not sure which
home is yours.
'
Tom Kotsonas: It's fairly dark right now over there so you see right now basically what I get in
the evening, the way the cars come out of there, I get all the headlights coming out.
'
Mancino: But you do have coniferous trees on your back property line?
'
Tom Kotsonas: Yes. I've been planting trees for the last 20 years back there. And they take a
long time to grow.
,
Mancino: Now do you have any buffering from your trees that you've planted so far, because
you've planted a whole hedge back there.
'
Tom Kotsonas: Right, about 3 or 4 deep of trees. But when, if that property ever gets developed,
many of those trees will probably go. They're not all on my property. I suppose, you know
they're trees so I figure nobody really cares as long as I planted trees down there that come out of
'
there.
Mancino: But I did just notice that they are coniferous trees so I was just wondering.
Tom Kotsonas: They're arborvitaes and spruce. I
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Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
' Mancino: ...going to be 100 feet away from the play area, whether that will really invade your
area much at all.
' Tom Kotsonas: I can see light from McDonald's and especially in the winter time. In the
summer time there are also some maple. A type of maple that, kind of a bush like type of maple
' that's common around here and those give me a fair amount of protection in the summer time.
But now I can sit and watch you drive down Highway 5 from my window, depending upon on
how fast ... and I can watch people come in and out of McDonald's. So if I get something the size
of this room, well lit like this, I get to watch it.
Mancino: Did the arborvitae help your, even though they're going to be just 6 or 8 feet tall, will
they knock the headlights for you.
Tom Kotsonas: Headlights would be, yes. Obviously the cars are what, 4 or 5 or 6 feet,
' depending upon whether it's a van or whatever. And those would help because that would block
that. The problem is of course there's a little green space. If you imagine that driveway where
they come out and the sidewalk that was built. It all retains, but there is something that an
' ordinary... I mean trees grow right next to houses. Obviously they must grow 4 to 6 feet deep, so
that would help, and some kind of tenting. Some kind of barrier. If they're going to get this
built, something on the south side to protect the 4 or 5 houses.
Joyce: Can I ask a silly question?
Mancino: Okay, you bet.
Joyce: How about a shade? Like a tinted shade. I've seen these before where you pull them
' down. I mean I don't know how big this would have to be but would that help at all? Is that
possible?
' Mancino: Kevin, why don't we bring that up during comments and we can ask Gene to come
back up and respond to that.
' Tom Kotsonas: Something that would keep, for those people. I'm not so worried about those
people looking ... but the fact that we're going to sit there, as long as I own that house, and I've
' been in Chanhassen since '72 so that's a long time and I plan to be here a long time. I think ... I'll
try to sell and move out. Take my loses and go, like Mike says. If you talk to realtors, those
houses in that area because of what's happened there, are a tough sell. We're going to get beat
up on prices and I guess a dollar is as important to us as it is to Gene as far as increasing his
profit. I think it's only fair, especially with the car wash and Goodyear and all the other stuff
that's come in. Thank you.
' Mancino: Thank you. Anyone else wishing to address the Planning Commission at this time?
The public hearing is still open. Seeing none, may I have a motion to close the public hearing
and a second please.
11
Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
Conrad moved, Farmakes seconded to close the public hearing. The public hearing was
closed.
Mancino: Comments from commissioners. Alison.
Blackowiak: Well I talked to some of the neighbors in the area and got a general feeling from
one neighbor that this would be an okay thing. She's got small children and would probably take
advantage of it. I talked to some other neighbors who were feeling, I think as Tom is feeling. A
bit cynical as he stated in his letter. That regardless of their feelings, their comments, that their
wishes are just not being heard or totally ignored. I don't want that to happen. I'm sure that
McDonald wants to have a good relationship with not only the community, but the neighbors
who are also their customers. In light of that I would hope that they could do something with
landscaping, as Mr. Kotsonas noted in his letter. I think some type of a pyramidal arborvitae
would be a good idea. Something in that vein. Not necessarily a hedge. To me a hedge says 3 to
4 feet. We need something with a little bit more height to try to screen the lights. Not only from
the drive through but from the play space. Secondly I would like to see some type of tinting on
the windows. If not a different type of window altogether. I know there are windows that can be
purchased that are, they're tinted to reduce glare. To keep sun, the damaging sun rays out, yet
letting the good rays in. I'm not quite sure what the difference is but there are different
components out there that could be used. I know that the glass play space is sort of a trademark
of McDonald's. I don't know if they would completely shy away from that but if that's not an
option, I would like to see a heavily tinted glass so that the light is not going to project out of the
building. It would just stay inside and I know that it can be done. I mean there are downtown
Minneapolis buildings all over that have glass that at night you can see a little bit of glow but it's
not the bright glaring light so I would hope that McDonald's could look into some type of a
heavily tinted glass to keep the light contained as much as possible with the new play space.
Mancino: Don't forget to add those in your recommendations. Jeff.
Farmakes: I think a revision of this sort, there was some mention about changing the facade of
the building. This isn't a large modification to the existing building. It's basically a fairly small
application of the structure. I don't think it'd be appropriate to ask the applicant to consider
changing the entire look of the building. The issue ... we all know that putting a commercial area
and that association of single family residences is a problem and will continue to be a problem.
And it was a mistake that was made decades ago. We're not going to solve it here. When an
applicant comes forward, their expectations and if they are in a commercial zone, is that they're
allowed to develop the zone as ordinance. It says they can. People in our single family zone are
allowed to develop as the ordinance say they can. The association is unusual that distance. The
way they're connected. We've seen this time and time again. That problem isn't going to be
solved. The neighbors, in a letter, it's hard felt. I understand it. But the problem occurs is that
on what basis do we either approve or deny these things. We can't just arbitrarily say well today
we're not going to approve this because we don't think it's a good idea. That's not ... that's not
how it's set up. Common sense however tells me that McDonald's has been a good neighbor in
Chanhassen. They've been here for quite a while and they're actively involved in the community
12
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Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
' and charity functions and so on. They're a good neighbor as a business. Gene lives here. The
issue of the windows is something I think the staff could look at tinting or non -lit awning or
something to modify the type of ambient light that comes out from the structure. I'm somewhat
' concerned too about the issue of our percentage of window advertising that allows to shine
through the window. An expanse of that size with a big window. I'm sure that the neighbors
probably don't want to see that either facing into their living room windows. The direction that
' that faces to the south is not a major read from anywhere so I don't think that probably is a major
problem of contention either. From an architectural standpoint, probably having some tinting
back on those windows might be a nice thing. It's probably not an award winner anywhere but it
' functions I guess. I think again, if it was a larger modification, I think it'd be a lot more critical
than that playing out. The issue, obviously you can plant trees to modify the ambient light. It
seems to me to be a reasonable direction to go and that's it.
' Mancino: Ladd.
Conrad: I have nothing new to add. It's certainly not a great design but I'm not going to make
an issue of it. I think the lighting issue is something that maybe we should solve. And whether it
be through tinted glass or through shades, like Kevin, there are shades that can drop real easily.
We still have to make it a, I think kids in there would certainly, the lightness is a real value so I
don't know that we'd want to make it a dark room but I think it can be solved. Especially for
night time viewing by the neighbors. I think shade on the south side, or tinted glass will solve it
from, along with the previous comments I heard. I think that's just fine.
' Mancino: Thank you. Bob.
Skubic: Well I have several kids and I sure certainly appreciate the play space at McDonald's
' and as I'm sure a lot of other people in Chanhassen that will utilize it. I've also waited in line at
the drive through quite a bit so I appreciate there will be another lane there. I agree with what the
commissioners said. I think it would be good to do something about the front to tone it down a
' little bit from light transmission. It is a much colder sight for the neighbors than what it was
previously and whatever can be done, should be done along there. That's all.
' Mancino: Thank you. Kevin.
Joyce: I guess I'm basically just echoing what the other commissioners have said. The one thing
' I noted though, there was definite concern from both Gene and the McDonald's representative
that there be a buffering inside the structure, with the glass between the diners and the play area.
And I guess if they're so concerned about what's happening inside there, obviously there should
be a buffering between the play area and the neighbors and I think that's only fair. And I
mentioned out of order that we should put a shade or something, some sort of tinting so I'd like
to see that in the recommendations for sure. That's it.
' Mancino: Craig.
Peterson: No further comments.
1 13
Planning Commission Meeting - November 6, 1996
Mancino: I don't really either. I would like to see the arborvitae dealt with and some sort of a
good buffering and the height, 6 or 7 feet. And please bring Jill into that discussion because I
think she can add and help McDonald's in what will survive the salt and the limited amount of
soil, because it may be that we may have to put in corrected soils in that area so that the trees can
get grounded there. Or rooted there I should say. And also I'd like to see staff, before this goes
to City Council, work with Gene about the lighting and how we can keep the lighting inside from
what everyone else has said. May I have a motion please?
Skubic: I'll make a motion that the Planning Commission recommend approval of Site Plan
Review #95 -12 as shown on the site plan dated received August 8, 1995 subject to the conditions
1 through 4 with a couple additions. Condition number 5 that staff and applicant work together
to increase the landscaping by adding arborvitums south of the building. And condition number
6, that the applicant and staff work together to investigate reducing light transmission and the
exposure on the south side to the neighbors.
Mancino: Is there a second?
Blackowiak: I second.
Mancino: Any discussion?
Skubic moved, Blackowiak seconded that the Planning Commission recommend approval
of Site Plan Review #95 -12 as shown on the site plan dated Received August 8, 1995 and
subject to the following conditions:
1. The applicant provide the city with clarification on ground cover to be used in the
landscaped area to the rear of the building.
2. The applicant just obtain a sign permit prior to erecting any signage on site.
3. The applicant shall enter into a site plan agreement with the city and provide the necessary
financial securities as required.
4. Consult with Inspections Division plan reviewer about accessibility requirements for
existing building before permit applicant.
5. Staff and applicant work together to increase the landscaping south of the building.
6. The applicant and staff work together to investigate reducing light transmission and
the exposure on the south side to the neighbors.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
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