A-2. Venue/Aldi UpdateCITY OF C HANHASSE N
Chanhassen is Community for Life -Providing for Today and Planning for Tomorrow
MEMORANDUM
TO: Todd Gerhardt, City Manager
FROM: Kate Aanenson, AICP, Community Development Director
SUBJ: Venue Planning Case 2017-11
DATE: August 28, 2017]=,
BACKGROUND
As a part of the approval for the Venue, the City Council and Aldi asked the applicant to address
a few questions. The following are the questions and the developer's response.
RESPONSE
1. Location of the loading dock
We believe that the Aldi loading dock is appropriately located on the site. Due to the grade
change of the site from north to south it is not feasible to have the loading dock on the south
side. The south side is also the location of our primary residential entrance, which further
guides the retail loading where currently shown. It is very common for both retail and
residential loading areas to be located where regular automobile traffic as well as pedestrian
traffic may intersect. This is especially true in heavily developed areas, where a mix of uses
is desired. Many of our most recent developments from Bloomington, Duluth, as well as
Eagan have similar "front loading" designs and they all function well.
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PH 952.227.1100 • www.cl.chanhassen.mn.us • FX 952.227.1110
7700 MARKET BOULEVARD • PO BOX 147 • CHANHASSEN • MINNESOTA 55317
Todd Gerhardt
Venue 2017-11
August 28, 2017
Page 2of6
2. Parking
The parking on the site will meets city requirements and more than meets what we believe is
the market requirement for our proposed uses.
3. Height of the building
We believe that the building height is appropriate for the location. The varying exterior
materials and staggered building height will greatly reduce the visual mass of the
building. Given the buildable area constraints of the site we believe that the configuration of
the building as proposed is best suited for the location and uses. A "U" shaped residential
building in lieu of the proposed "L" shape that was suggested by Councilmember Campion
was analyzed very early on in our design process and deemed unviable. This is due to the
very small retail roof area that would result from this design, a resulting roof area that would
be congested with mechanical equipment and a roof area that would also result in a
cavernous feeling to those units located on the interior of the U shaped design. These interior
units would likely be unrentable, or at best at a much lower rental rate than the other more
open units within the building.
4. Widening of the alley
Attached is a depiction of our proposed alley with pedestrian sidewalk as well as a depiction
of the alley without a sidewalk. We are not in support of removing the sidewalk for the
purpose of achieving a wider drive lane. Eliminating the sidewalk will not only eliminate the
north -south pedestrian connection but doing so will very likely increase the rate of speed that
is driven and make the alley less safe than the current design. We believe that the safest drive
lane width for both number of and severity of crashes is 10-11 feet. Many urban areas,
including Minneapolis, are actively reducing drive lanes to 10 feet in width in order to add
sidewalks, bike lanes, and ultimately make the roadway safer for all users.
Staff's response to the alley widening:
There is a continuous sidewalk along the eastern side of the building. The location of this
sidewalk is proposed to continue with the Venue/Aldi development. On the western side,
there a partial sidewalk. This sidewalk provides existing access for the movie theater. It is a
partial sidewalk as it is encumbered by the trash enclosure, service door, as well as
landscaping. The High Timber Lounge has access to this alley, although it is not at the same
grade as the sidewalk, thus there is no continuous sidewalk on the western side. Currently the
existing alley provides a secondary access for vehicles and pedestrians.
Todd Gerhardt
Venue 2017-11
August 28, 2017
Page 3 of 6
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Chanhassen
Dinner Theatre
ISO ■ Striped Crossing
Sidewalk
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Market
MEN Street
Todd Gerhardt
Venue 2017-11
August 28, 2017
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Todd Gerhardt
Venue 2017-11
August 28, 2017
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Todd Gerhardt
Venue 2017-11
August 28, 2017
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