1k. Site Plan Reivew for Assemblies of God to be located in upper level of Bloomberg's Dinner Theatre building lk
ICITY O F P.C. DATE: Oct. 18 , 1989
447 C.C. DATE: Nov. 13 , 1989
CHANHASSEN CASE NO: 89-7 Site Plan
1 Prepared by: Krauss/v
STAFF REPORT
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I PROPOSAL: Site Plan Review for Assemblies of God Church
Meeting Hall
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0 LOCATION: Frontier Building - 525 West 78th Street
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APPLICANT: Bloomberg Companies Reverend Don Finger
P .O. Box 100 Assemblies of God Church
I Chanhassen, MN 55317 111502 Bender Court
Chaska , MN 55318
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PRESENT ZONING: CBD, Central Business District
IACREAGE: N/A
DENSITY: N/A
IADJACENT ZONING
AND LAND USE: N- commercial
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S- commercial
E- commercial
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0 W- commercial
1 W WATER AND SEWER: Available
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PHYSICAL CHARAC. : Fully developed site.
1 2000 LAND USE PLAN: Commercial
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Roadway Improvements Existing
PLANNING TRANSPORTATION CHANHASSEN
ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE DOWNTOWN
Proposed
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.8Z;,'EsT:6ZGNV,T."`"Ews R
THRESHER SOUARE TH
700 IRO ST EDEVELOPMEN1'5
O Future By MINNEAPOLIS,Mk 55415
FIGURE 6 Others PLAN
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FEBRUARY 1987
. II
Assemblies of God Church II Site Plan Review
October 18, 1989
Page 2
II
PROPOSAL/COMMENT
The applicants are requesting site plan approval to locate a I
church, meeting room and office on the second floor of the
Frontier Building. This area is located above the area that is II occupied by Millie' s Deli and Merlin' s Hardware Store. This
space is currently designed for office use.
It is anticipated that the church use would be temporary. As the
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congregation grows, they would ultimately seek more permenant
quarters. Initial projections are for between 50 and 75 people
during the first year with further increases possible.
I
No external site modifications are being proposed. Parking would
occur in the existing lots that serve the retail area. Signage II would be limited to whatever is allocated to existing tenants .
There are several issues associated with this proposal that the
Planning Commision should be aware of . The first is that
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churches, as such, are not specifically a permitted use in the
Central Business District. Churches are specifically allowed in
other districts in the ordinance and frankly, staff is not cer-
tain as to whether this was intentional or an omission. However,
we do note that clubs and lodges are a permitted use in the CBD
District and the type of church occupancy being proposed could be II construed to be similar to this type of occupancy. We also note
that "cultural" facilities are allowed as a permitted use in the
CBD District. The ordinance does not provide a definition for
cultural facilities. We believe that it would not be unreaso- ,
nable to classify religious institutions operating out of a non-
traditional setting, as cultural facilities in the absence of a
firm definition. We note that the church will not be operating
from a free-standing structure nor will the proposed site be
modified to give the external appearance of a typical church.
This factor is significant since the ordinance defines a "church"
as a "building or edifice consecrated to religious worship . . . " . II The Central Business District is the only one that lists cultural
facilities as a permitted use.
The second issue concerns the change in occupancy from office 1
space to a meeting place. There are building code compliance
questions that are currently being discussed with city staff. We
Ibelieve that with appropriate modifications this building could
suitably be adapted to allow the church safely use the site.
From a site planning standpoint, our issues relate more to the
availability of parking since there are no external modifications
to the property that are anticipated. The building owner and II
applicant have indicated that there is a desire to use the site
when other businesses in the Dinner Theatre are not in operation II requiring peak parking demand. We believe this is essential and
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II .
Assemblies of God Church
' Site Plan Review
October 18, 1989
Page 3
that as long as the Dinner Theatre is not in operation and/or the
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commercial establishments are experiencing business peak business
I hours that the parking demands that we would attribute to such a
use could be satisfied with existing on site parking. Churches
are required to provide one stall for each 3 seats in the main
I meeting area. Based upon a range of 50-75 people parking
requirements would range from 15-25 stalls. If such a use is to
be approved by the city, we would recommend that the church and
I the building owner commit to only having services at defined
times that meet these criteria. We would further recommend that
the building owner be required to commit in writing to construct
additional parking in accordance with approved plans at the south
I side of the building should the need become apparent due to the
church occupancy.
I Staff believes that the site plan ordinance gives the City the
authority to deal with this situation in a positive manner. The
ordinance allows the City to require a site plan approval even in
the absence of significant new construction, whenever the inten-
sity of use of a site is increased. We believe this is
demonstrated by the following:
II 1. The church occupancy requires building improvements over and
above those required for normal office space to satisfy
building code.
II2. The church occupancy results in a greater demand for parking
then office space.
I Since the proposal and means of dealing with it are unusual,
staff placed a memo regarding it in the City Council ' s
Administrative Packet. If Council members had concerns regarding
I the handling of the request they were asked to contact staff.
The only comment we received was from one Council member who
thought the concept of the church was acceptable but that the
I formal site plan approval may be unnecessary and could possibly
encourage other similar requests. Staff has reviewed the
question and believes that approving the site plan will not
result in a precedent for having full service churches in tradi-
I tional settings operating out of the CBD District. There is a
strong line that may be drawn between the type of occupancy being
requested and a traditional church.
IBased upon the foregoing, staff is recommending that the site
plan be approved subject to appropriate stipulations outlined
above. We note that the application has been made in the name of
I the building owner and that he has agreed in writing to construct
additional parking at the rear of the building if needed to meet
the needs of the church.
I
II
Assemblies of God Church
Site Plan Review
October 18, 1989
Page 4
The Planning Commission reviewed the request at their October 18,
1989, meeting. They supported the request but revised the
stiupulations relating to maximum occupancy and parking require-
ments.
They recommended that the church be limited to a specific
area of the building with maximum occupancy established by the
Building Code. This would allow the church greater flexibility
in scheduling services and programs. As with the original propo-
sal, the building owner would be required to construct additional
stalls of the need arises. Staff supports these revisions and
the conditions of approval have been suitably amended.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Site Plan #89-7 be approved without '
variances subject to the following:
1. A Certificate of Occupancy is required. All improvements '
required by the Building Department shall be completed
before taking occupancy.
2 . The church is limited to the space outlined on the attached
floor plan. Maximum occupant load has been set at 80 persons
by the Building Department. Any expansion of this use into
other areas of the building will require additional site plan
approval.
3 . Signage shall be consistent with normal tenant provisions. A
city sign permit is required.
4. If parking demand exceeds the availability of spaces in the '
front lot, the building owner shall be responsible for
constructing additional spaces at the rear of the building.
Plasn for the expansion are to be approved by City Staff.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Floor plan of church.
2. Memo from Paul Krauss dated September 13, 1989.
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CITY OF
CHANHASSEN
690 COULTER DRIVE • P.O. BOX 147 • CHANHASSEN, MINNESOTA 55317
(612) 937-1900 -utiun by City Administrator
:1'int5e� /
MEMORANDUM
•
TO: Don Ashworth, City Manager _
FROM: Paul Krauss, Director of Planning
so`url`y.°7
DATE: September 13 , 1989 q .141At
SUBJ: Proposed Location of Assemblies of God Church in the '
Chanhassen Dinner Theatre Shopping Center
Staff has received inquiries about the potential location of an ,
Assemblies of God Church in the shopping center attached to the
Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. If approved, the church would be
located on the second floor in a new area above the hardware '
store and Millie' s Deli. This space was originally intended to
be dedicated to office use but has not been occupied as such. In
an attached letter Don Finger, who would be the minister, indi-
cated
that the location of his church on this property would be a
temporary use until such time as the congregation outgrew the
space. At this point, the congregation does not exist but it is
hoped that over time it would grow to 50 to 75 people in the
first year. Additional growth potential was indicated in an
earlier phone conversation. It was indicated that the church is
negotiating a short term 18 month lease with a possible extension
for 12 months to follow.
There are several issues associated with this proposal that the
City Council should be aware of. The first is that churches, as
such, are not specifically a permitted use in the Central
pusiness District. Churches are specifically allowed in other
districts in the ordinance and frankly, staff is not certain as
to whether this was intentional or an omission. However, we do
note that clubs and lodges are a permitted use in the CBD
District and a church occupancy could be construed to be similar
to this type of occupancy. We also note that "cultural" facili-
ties are allowed as a permitted use in the CBD District. The
ordinance does not provide a definition for cultural facilities.
We believe that it would not be unreasonable to classify reli-
gious institutions operating out of a non-traditional setting, as
cultural facilities in the absence of a firm definition. We note
that the church will not be operating from a free-standing struc-
ture nor will the proposed site be modified to give the external
r
c
Mr. Don Ashworth
September 13, 1989
Page 2
appearance of a typical church. This factor is significant since
the ordinance defines a "church" as a "building or edifice con-
secrated to religious worship . . . " . The Central Business
District is the only one that lists cultural facilities as a per-
mitted use.
The second issue concerns the change in occupancy from office
space to potentially a religious institution. There are building
code compliance questions that are currently being discussed with
' city staff. We believe that with appropriate modifications that
this building could suitably be adapted to allow the church
safely use the site. From a site planning standpoint, our issues
' relate more to the availability of parking since there are no
external modifications to the property that are anticipated. The
building owner and applicant have indicated that there is a
' desire to use the site when other businesses in the Dinner
Theatre are not in operation requiring peak parking demand. We
believe this is appropriate and that as long as the Dinner
Theatre is not in operation and/or the commercial establishments
' are experiencing business peak business hours that the parking
demands that we would attribute to such a use could be satisfied
with existing on site parking. If such a use is to be approved
' by the city, we would recommend that the church and the building
owner commit to only having services at defined times that meet
these criteria. We would further recommend that the building
owner be required to commit in writing to construct additional
parking in accordance with approved plans at the south side of
the building should the need become apparent due to the church
occupancy.
' If the Council is comfortable with the definition of the church
as a cultural facility and with the stipulations outlined above,
staff would recommend that it be processed as site plan review.
We believe this is warranted since in our opinion this would
represent a change in the leaseable space of a multiple tenant
building where the change has the potential to intensify the use
' over and above the office occupancy that had been anticipated.
The use of the site plan review procedure would also allow the
city to require firm commitments to satisfy the stipulations of
' approval . Unless staff is informed that the City Council is
uncomfortable with this proposal, it is our intention to proceed
in the manner outlined.
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