Supporting Documentation Narrative 1-30-08
Supporting Documentation Narrative
for
Brighton Properties LLC Application
to the
City of Chanhassen, Minnesota
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January 30, 2008
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The Site
An 8.48 acre parcel located at the southwest comer of Lyman Blvd. and State Highway 101 in
Chanhassen, Minnesota. [SLEEVE 6, Supporting Documentation Exhibits (hereafter "Exhibits''), Sheets
2, 3 and 4J
ReQuested Actions
. Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Modification of the Comprehensive Plan land use
designation of the site from "Residential Low Density" to "Mixed Use." [See Exhibits,
Sheet 5 and 6J
. Planned Unit Development I Rezoning. A change of zone from A2 - Agricultural Estate,
to PUD - Planned Unit Development with an under-lying zone of BN - Neighborhood
Business District. [See Exhibits, Sheets 7 and 8J
. Concept Plan. Review of the site plan [SLEEVES 8 and 10-13, and Exhibits, Sheet 9J with a
variety of uses, including:
o Specific use
· Building 1 - Walgreen's Pharmacy: 14,820 s.f. structure with drive-through service
window, at the northeast comer of the site.
o Conceptual uses
· Buildings 2 & 4 - Restaurants: 1,925 s.f. coffee shop, or similar use, facing Lyman
and a 6,230 s.f. "sit-down" facility, respectively.
· Building 3 - Office I Retail: 6,000 s.f. building facing Lyman and the previously-
approved neighborhood commercial project to the north.
· Building 5 - Office I Retail: 5,400 s.f. structure.
o All uses will conform to the requirements of the "BN" Neighborhood Business District.
Brighton Properties LLC Application
Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008
Reason for Request
. The property north ofthe Site, across the recently-improved Lyman Blvd., is designated
"Mixed Use" in the current Comprehensive Plan and in the proposed 2030 Comprehensive
Plan Up-date. {See Exhibits, Sheet 5]
. The above-noted property has been zoned and approved for Neighborhood Business
through the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process. {See Exhibits, Sheets 6,7 and 8]
. The Site has a "face-to-face" relationship with the Neighborhood Business property across
the highway but is buffered from near-by residential development as follows:
o East Springfield Subdivision, which "backs" to both Lyman Blvd. and Highway 101,
is buffered by substantial berms, landscape and the new six-lane highway. {See
Exhibits, Sheet 4]
o West Three single-family dwellings are buffered from both, the Site and Lyman
Blvd., by topography, and mature trees and landscape. {See Exhibits, Sheets 4
and 13]
o South
· The Bluff Creek wetlands buffers-isolates, in reality {See Exhibits, Sheet ill-the
Site from existing or potential residential development to the south.
· On December 4,2007, a concept for a Mixed-Use office park and residential
project for the property south ofthe Site and the Bluff Creek Wetlands was
presented to the Planning Commission at the second Comprehensive Plan Up-date
Land Use hearing.
o That was in response to staffs recommendation to "re-guide" a portion of the
property to office use.
o While no application has been submitted for that proposal-and may not be for
some time-it is apparent that consideration will be given in the future for uses
other than Residential Low Density. {See Exhibits, Sheets 3, 4 and 13]
Given the above, Brighton asserts that the Site is no longer an appropriately-designated
"Residential Low Density" land use area, nor will it develop as "Agricultural Estate" as
currently zoned.
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Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008
Proiect Phasiol!
As detailed by the Proiect Phasing Plan [SLEEVE 9 and Exhibits, sheet 10J and in the Proiect
Phasing Information Table on the Conceptual Site Plan [SLEEVE 8 and Exhibits, sheet 9J, the
project is expected to be developed in accordance with the building numerical sequence, as
follows:
. Phase One: Building 1- Walgreen's Pharmacy. In addition to the building and its
directly-related drives and parking, Phase One improvements will include:
o Site grading
.
The overall site will be rough-graded, and retaining walls constructed, to the
extent of materials generated by site excavation required for the first phase.
Finish grading of the site, service drives, parking and landscape will be completed
for construction of the Walgreen's.
.
o Service drives will be constructed to link the existing, full-access drive at the northwest
corner ofthe site, parallel to Lyman Blvd. to the proposed Lyman RI/RO, thence south
to the up-graded RI/RO access on 101.
o Landscaping
· "Finish" landscape for the Lyman and Highway 101 frontages ofthe Walgreen's
site between the Lyman and Highway 101 RI/RO accesses will be completed in
accordance with the overall landscape plan submitted at the next, or Development
Stage of the process.
· The remainder of the site will be seeded to "hold" the site and to prevent erosion
until succeeding phases are constructed.
o Storm water
· Drainage generated from the Phase One building, drives and parking will be
detained, as required by City Code, in the first of a series of ponds to be constructed
as depicted in the Conceptual Site Plan.
. Phases Two - Five: Buildings 2 - 5
Construction ofthese buildings will occur with market demand and may differ from the
sequence proposed in the Project Phasing Plan and in the Project Phasing Information table.
Improvements with each subsequent building phase will include:
o Site Grading
· Finish grading and retaining walls will be completed for each building site as an
extension from all prior phase improvements.
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Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008
o Service Drives, parking and hardscape associated with each building.
o Landscaping
· Landscape will be extended from prior phases to implement the overall landscape
plan submitted with the first phase, Le., at the Development Stage of the process.
o Storm water ponds
· Site drainage from new roof-tops, drives and parking areas will be handled by
enlarging ponds from earlier phases or by constructing new facilities in accordance
with the Conceptual Site Plan.
Brighton Properties LLC Application
Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008
Neiehborhood Meetine/ Comments {SLEEVE 5J
Meeting
A neighborhood meeting was held in the Chanhassen Library on December 5, 2007, to allow
the near-by property owners to review and comment on the project proposal. Copies of the
meeting invitation, mailing list and sign-in sheets are provided in Sleeve 5. In addition to the
mailing to owners within 600 feet of the site, the invitation and mailing list was sent bye-mail
to Patty Mullen on November 27,2007, with the understanding that she would forward it to all
residents in Springfield Subdivision.
A total of fourteen (14) people attended, including:
. A representative of Kraus-Anderson, developer ofthe Neighborhood Business project
across Lyman Blvd., immediately north of the site.
. A representative of Southwest Metro Transit which is developing a Park-and-Ride facility
and other uses the NE comer ofthe Lyman /101 intersection.
. Three (3) owners representing two of the three properties west of the site, along Lyman
Blvd.
. Nine (9) owners representing eight (8) properties in Springfield Subdivision, east ofthe site
across the newly-improved, six-lane SH-lOl.
Neighborhood Comments
Brighton has received only three (3) written comments (bye-mail) from neighboring residents.
Those comments-per the attached messages and responses {Sleeve 5J-focus on buffering the
impacts of the proposed development. Specifically:
. Derek Benson (Springfield) message sent / received at 7:52 AM, November 29,2007
o Brighton responded at 2:56 PM, November 30, 2007
. Scot Joynt (Springfield) message sent / received at 8:16 AM, November 29,2007
o Brighton responded at 11:14 AM, November 30,2007
. Frank Whaley (west, on Lyman) sent / received at 9:52 AM, December 16, 2007
o Brighton responded at 10:30 AM, December 19, 2007
During the neighborhood meeting, the nine attendees from Springfield Subdivision expressed
opposition to any change of land use and zoning, declining to provide comments or suggestions
for either the site plan or project buffering.
Residents from two of the three homes west of the site, while not expressing support for the
proposal, did acknowledge that the site is unlikely to develop as residential.
Brighton Properties LLC Application
Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008
Mith!ation Actions
Brighton is committed to address the expressed concerns of area residents by the following:
. West
o Construct a heavily-landscaped area with retaining walls and berms, to the extent
possible, along the west property line to enhance the buffering that the current
topographic difference provides.
o Control lighting and signage to assure that no "spill" occurs beyond the site.
o Work with the residents for safer access to Lyman Blvd. with a "potential" cross-access
easement to the full access intersection at the northwest comer ofthe site; and for the
extension of utilities to the west property line to serve those residents.
. East
o In addition to the buffering provided by the existing Springfield berm and the new six-
lane Highway 101, Brighton will berm and heavily landscape the on-site setback (50-
foot minimum) and unimproved right-of-way (ranging from 30 feet to 50 feet) by
license agreement with MNDOT.
o The closest structure in the project-the Walgreen's Pharmacy-will be approximately
440 feet from the nearest Springfield residence, separated by berms and landscape
buffers on both sides ofthe new six-lane highway.
o Control lighting and signage to assure that no "spill" occurs beyond the site.
. South
o The Bluff Creek wetland provides a natural buffer for the property to the south. The
site was previously cleared to the wetland boundary. In concert with site development,
the shoreline and wetland setback within the "Primary Zone" will be re-vegetated to re-
establish the natural habitat.
. North
o Inasmuch as the "neighbor" across Lyman to the north will be commercial, and the
principal view for the on-site commercial uses will be from the intersection of Lyman
Blvd. and Highway 101 southbound, the landscaping design along the Lyman frontage
will be more "open", providing the required commercial visibility.
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Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008
Traffic Study [SLEEVE 7J
A traffic study for the proposed project was prepared by Westwood Professional Services, Inc.,
of Eden Prairie. The "Conclusions" {Page 11 of the report, Sleeve 7] ofthat report are as follows:
"The Brighton Development's site-generated traffic is about 4,440 gross trips per day. Net
new daily trips added to the roadway network total 2,610, with 1,040 allocated to/from
north of the site, 790 to/from the south, 260 to/from the east and 520 to/from the west. Site-
generated traffic is projected to be about 230 new trips in the A.M peak hour and about
140 new trips in the P.M. peak hour.
Capacity analysis was not part of the scope of this traffic study. However, the added
volumes to the County roads are relatively low and it is expected that the County roads will
easily be able to accommodate the additional traffic. "
Site Access
Currently, access to the site is provided by a full-access intersection with Lyman Blvd., located
at the northwest comer of the site {See Exhibits, Sheet 11], and a residential access from SH-101
approximately 350 feet south ofthe Lyman /101 intersection. The site plan depicts use ofthe
existing full access and proposes that the residential access on Highway 101 be up-graded to a
right-in / right-out, as agreed to, in principle, by MNDOT per the January 3,2008 e-mail
message from Victoria Nill, MNDOT Metro District Area Engineer, which follows:
-----Original Message-----
From: Victoria Nill [mailto:Victoria.Nill@dot.state.mn.us]
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2008 1:36 PM
To: Mike Wardle
Cc: Charles Cadenhead; Sheila Kauppi; William Goff
Subject: Re: Chanhassen follow-up
Mike,
We have reviewed the drawings provided and have the following guidance for
you:
Q1. will the centerline of the RI/RO be measured from the Lyman curb or
from the point of intersection? (The answer will determine how much guard
rail will be removed and site fill requirements)
A1. Measured from the end of the radius.
Q2. Please confirm the dimensions from the point of curb return on 101 for
the taper and for the right-in turn lane.
A2. In the event that the RI/RO location is set based on the existing curb
cut (approx. location of the RI/RO @ 190' from end of radius, I scaled it on
the plan I have) we could use a 1:10 taper (120') plus the 70' turn bay to
equal 190'. It is the consensus that starting the taper at the end of the
radius would be acceptable and then the radius for the RI would start at the
Brighton Properties LLC Application
Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008
end of the 190'. Since the speed limit is 40mph and there is a signal at
the intersection, likely the speed will be slower. These measurements were
based the pdf drawings. Moving as far as possible from the Lyman/101
intersection is recommended.
Q3. Please confirm that the right out will merge directly into the existing
south-bound lane.
A3. We most likely will not be requesting to add an acceleration lane.
I have to note that we most likely will not allow a RI/RO on Lyman Blvd, it
is located in the turn lane to SB TH 101.
Let me know if this answers your questions.
Victoria Nill, P.E.
Mn/DOT Metro District - Area Engineer
Carver and Western Scott Counties
1500 West County Road B2
Roseville, MN 55113
Office: 651-234-7723
Fax: 651-234-7709
Cell: 651-775-5273
e-mail: Victoria.Nill@dot.state.mn.us
In addition to those points of access, an additional right-in / right-out intersection is proposed
approximately 350 feet west ofthe LYman /101 intersection. This proposed access was
conceptually reviewed with Bill Weckman, Assistant Carver County Engineer, on December 5,
2007, for informational purposes, with neither commitment nor conclusion.
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Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008
Application Summary
Given. . .
. That the property across Lyman Blvd. to the north of The Site is designated "Mixed
Use" in the current Comprehensive Plan and in the proposed 2030 Comprehensive Plan
Up-date;
. That the above-noted property has been zoned and approved for Neighborhood
Business;
. That The Site has a "face-to-face" relationship with the Neighborhood Business
property but is buffered from near-by residential development:
o East Springfield Subdivision, which "backs" to both Lyman Blvd. and Highway
1 0 1, is buffered by substantial berms and landscape.
o West Three single-family dwellings are buffered from both, The Site and Lyman
Blvd., by topography, and mature trees and landscape.
o South The Bluff Creek wetlands buffers-isolates, in reality-The Site from
existing or potential residential development to the south.
. . . The Site is no longer an appropriately-designated "Residential Low Density" land use area,
nor will it develop as "Agricultural Estate" as currently zoned.
Application Request Re-stated
Brighton requests...
. Modification of The Site's Comprehensive Plan land use designation from "Residential
Low Density" to "Mixed Use" for consistency with the Neighborhood Business
property to the north, and acknowledgement of the parcel's isolation from other
residential uses in the vicinity;
. A change of zone from A2 - Agricultural Estate, to PUD - Planned Unit Development
with an under-lying zone of BN - Neighborhood Business District; and
. General Concept Plan review in accordance with Chanhassen Code Section 20-517.
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Chanhassen, MN
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January 30, 2008