Approval letter
April 12, 2023
Xcel Energy
c/o Chad Wollak
414 Nicollet Mall, Mezzanine
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Re: Xcel Service Center Planning Case #2023-01
PUD Rezoning, Site Plan Review and Wetland Alteration Permit
Dear Mr. Wollak,
This letter is to confirm that on April 10, 2023, the Chanhassen City Council approved Planning Case
#2023-01, Xcel Service Center, including rezoning to Planned Unit Development – Office Industrial Park,
PUD, site plan approval for five buildings, a communication tower and screened outdoor storage, and a
wetland alteration permit, subject to the following conditions:
Site Plan:
Building:
1. Building plans must be prepared and signed by design professionals licensed in the State of
Minnesota.
2. Building plans must provide sufficient information to verify that proposed buildings meet all
requirements of the Minnesota State Building Code, additional comments or requirements may be
required after plan review.
3. Occupied buildings are required to have automatic fire extinguishing systems. Storage buildings
may be required to have automatic fire extinguishing systems, to be determined at plan review.
4. Structure proximity to property lines (and other buildings) will have an impact on the code
requirements for the proposed buildings, including but not limited to; allowable size, protected
openings and fire-resistive construction. These requirements will be addressed when complete
building and site plans are submitted.
5. Building plans must include a code analysis that contains the following information: Key Plan,
Occupancy group, Type of construction, Allowable height and area, Fire sprinklers, Separated or
non-separated, Fire resistive elements (Ext walls, Bearing walls - exterior or interior, Shaft,
Incidental use), Occupant load, Exits required (Common path, Travel distance), Minimum
plumbing fixture count.
6. Building permits must be obtained before beginning any construction. Each building on site will
be required to obtain separate building/plumbing/mechanical permits.
7. Retaining walls (if present) more than four feet high, measured from the bottom of the footing to
the top of the wall, must be designed by a professional engineer and a building permit must be
obtained prior to construction. Retaining walls (if present) under four feet in height require a
zoning permit.
8. A final grading plan and soils report must be submitted to the Inspections Division before
building permits will be issued.
Engineering
1. The developer shall enter into a site plan agreement with the city and provide necessary financial
security to guarantee compliance with the terms of site plan approval.
2. The developer shall supply trail easements for all existing trail improvements located on the
property. The trail easements shall be recorded prior to or concurrently with the site plan
agreement.
3. The developer shall supply public drainage and utility easements over all public utilities prior to
or concurrently with the site plan agreement.
4. All newly constructed water mains shall be public water mains, owned and maintained by the
city, after acceptance of the public improvements by the City Council.
5. All sanitary sewer and water main improvements on the site will be constructed in accordance
with the latest edition of the City of Chanhassen’s Standard Specifications and Detail Plates.
6. The developer and their Engineer shall work with city staff in amending the construction plans,
dated January 12, 2023, prepared by Zachary B. Moen, PE with Loucks., to fully satisfy
construction plan comments and concerns. Final construction plans will be subject to review and
approval by staff prior to recording of the site plan agreement.
7. It is the developer’s responsibility to ensure that permits are received from all other agencies with
jurisdiction over the project (i.e. Carver County, RPBCWD, Board of Water and Soil Resources,
MnDOT, US Army Corps of Engineers, etc.) prior to the commencement of construction
activities.
Fire
1. All buildings will need full fire suppression systems monitored by fire panel.
2. Each building should be addressed individually – if the site is to have one address then we need to
address the buildings as Building A, Building B, etc.
3. Will need to know what type of material being stored in outside storage areas and if they are to
have awnings, may require fire detection systems.
4. All gates will require Knox Key switches to open if electric, lock boxes with keys if manual.
5. All buildings require fire department lock boxes.
6. Will require multiple fire hydrants in select locations throughout the site.
7. Vehicle storage may require stand pipes depending on access.
8. Will need to obtain a list of any hazardous and flammable materials to be stored on site and
locations. Certain types and quantities of materials may require special fire detection and
suppression systems.
9. Fire Department policy requires door numbering/lettering on all larger buildings with multiple
access doors.
10. High piled storage and racking plans need to be approved by Fire and Building departments.
11. Each storage building (if over 2,000 sq ft) will require a fire suppression system, per MN Statute
1306, which the city has adopted.
Natural Resources
1. The applicant shall revise the landscape plan to increase quantities to meet minimum ordinance
requirements for bufferyard plantings.
2. The applicant shall increase the number of trees in areas where there is a need for further
screening (NW, NE and SW corners of property).
3. The applicant shall plant overstory trees south of the cold storage facility to aid in screening the
building.
4. The applicant shall include tree protection fencing to include trees along the western boundary
(mainly north of the trail portion that goes under the road, up to the trees that are protected that
are located where the two creeks meet – i.e. top of sheet L2.2). This should also include the area
where an outlet for the SW stormwater pond is located to be placed along the western boundary.
5. Plantings of tree species representative of the ‘Big Woods’ ecosystem (overstory and understory)
shall be located west, southwest and south of the NW stormwater pond. Plantings should be in
clusters, versus lined as individuals.
6. Plans will need to be amended to show that 3 boulevard trees are proposed to be removed (tree
#149 and 2 honeylocust trees just south of #149).
7. When within 20’ of the dripline of a tree to be saved, silt fences shall be replaced by mulch socks,
so no roots of trees to be preserved are cut from the installation of a typical silt fence. Note that
silt fences are not to be used as tree protection fencing.
8. Replace white spruce trees that are north of the southwest pond and south of a building with
Norway spruce or other evergreen that will be large enough to screen building. The proposed
variety (Black Hills, densata) is quite a bit shorter at maturity than the recommendation.
Parks:
1. A sidewalk connection shall be made from the main facility building to the trail on Coulter
Boulevard.
2. A trail easement shall be recorded over the existing trail in the southwest corner of the
development.
Planning:
1. The proposed signage will require a separate sign permit application.
2. A pedestrian sidewalk shall be provided along the easterly access from the parking area to
Coulter Boulevard.
3. The proposed commercial wireless telecommunication service tower shall be designed,
structurally, electrically, and in all respects, to accommodate both the applicant's antennas and
comparable antennas for at least one additional user.
4. The south storage building shall be designed and constructed to accommodate the future
installation of rooftop solar panels.
5. No access shall be provided to Highway 5.
Water Resources:
1. The applicant shall provide a copy of conditional approval from the RPBCWD as part of any
future construction plan submittals.
2. The applicant shall update the models (HydroCAD, MIDS and P8) per city and any watershed
district comments and submit updated computations and models in their native forms with the
final site plan and final construction plans.
3. The applicant shall provide storm sewer sizing calculations and a catch basin drainage area map
to confirm the private storm sewer is sized for a 10-year storm event. The storm sewer design
shall obtain approval by staff prior to recording of the site plan agreement.
4. The applicant shall provide additional details on the proposed water reuse and irrigation system
including an irrigation plan and computations showing the north pond can provide the required
storage in order to irrigate the intended area and obtain approval by staff prior to recording of the
site plan agreement.
5. The applicant shall enter into an Operations and Maintenance Agreement for any proposed
privately owned stormwater facilities prior to recording of the site plan agreement.
6. The applicant must work with staff to optimize the design, easements, and access agreements for
public infrastructure located on the site prior to recording of the site plan agreement.
Wetland Alteration Permit
1. The applicant shall provide a copy of the signed Army Corps of Engineers Permit prior to the
commencement of construction activities.
2. The applicant shall comply with all requirements of the approved WCA sequencing application
and provide proof of purchased credits prior to the commencement of construction activities.
3. The applicant shall pay the fees associated with the wetland alternation permit ($275) prior to the
commencement of construction activities.
4. The applicant shall work with staff to create an approved plan for reestablishing the wetland
buffer that will be disturbed prior to recording of the site plan agreement.
A site plan agreement will be drafted to be executed by the developer and returned to the city for
execution and recording. As part of the agreement, project security in the amount of $2,224,234.00 is
required for site landscaping, erosion control, storm water improvements, and public utilities.
The developer shall supply trail easements for all existing trail improvements located on the property. The
trail easements shall be recorded prior to or concurrently with the site plan agreement.
The applicant shall enter into an Operations and Maintenance Agreement for any proposed privately
owned stormwater facilities prior to recording of the site plan agreement.
The developer shall supply public drainage and utility easements over all public utilities prior to or
concurrently with the site plan agreement.
These items must be submitted to the city prior to recording the site plan agreement and prior to receiving
approval to proceed. A building permit must be applied for and issued prior to construction activity.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me at (952) 227-1131 or
bgenerous@ci.chanhassen.mn.us.
Sincerely,
Robert Generous, AICP
Senior Planner
ec:
Erik Henricksen, Project Engineer
Laurie Hokkanen, City Manager
Manuel Jordan, Environmental Resources
Eric Maass, Planning Director
Don Nutter, Fire Marshal
Joe Seidl, Water Resources Engineer
Eric Tessman, Building Official
Zach Moen, Loucks Inc.
Dan Lind, Hagen, Christensen & McIlwain Architects
Leigh Stokes, Xcel Project Manager