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1 Sign Variance 550 W. 79th StrCITY OF P.C. DATE: March 18, 03 ~ C.C. DATE: April 14, 03 REVIEW DEADLINE: 4, 15, 03 CASE: 03-4 Variance BY: A1-Jaff:v STAFF REPORT PROPOSAL: LOCATION: APPLICANT: Variance to allow a second wall mounted sign on a two tenant building with one street frontage for Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurant located in a Highway Business District. Lots 2 and 3, Block 1, Crossroads Plaza 3rd Addition. North of West 79th Street and East of Applebee's Restaurant and Tires Plus and South of Twin Cities & Western Railroad Buffalo Wild Wings 1600 Utica Avenue South Minneapolis, MN (952)593-9943 Property Owner: Infinity of Chanhassen, LLC 1865 West Wayzata Boulevard Long Lake, MN 55356 (952)473-2633 I.d PRESENT ZONING: BH, Highway Business District 2020 LAND USE PLAN: Commercial ACREAGE: 1.84 acres SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Variance to allow a second wall mounted sign on a two tenant building with one street frontage for Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurant located in a Highway Business District. Notice of this public heating has been mailed to all property owners within 500 feet. LEVEL OF CITY DISCRETION IN DECISION-MAKING: The City's discretion in approving or denying a variance is limited to whether or not the proposed project meets the standards in the Zoning Ordinance for a variance. The City has a relatively high level of discretion with a variance because the burden of proof is on the applicant to show that they meet the standards in the ordinance. State 5 Buffalo Wild Wings March 18, 2003 Page 2 BACKGROUND On October 14, 2002, the City Council approved Site Plan Review #02-8 as shown on the site plan dated August 30, 2002, revised October 8, 2002, for an 8,300 square foot building with a variance to allow a 67% hard surface coverage and reduction in parking, based on the findings of the staff report, and subject to conditions. The submittal did not include a sign plan. Staff added the following condition to address signs on the building: Signage criteria: a. bo c. e. The site shall be permitted one monument sign. Monument signage shall be subject to the monument standards in the sign ordinance. One wall mounted sign per occupant shall be permitted along the south elevation. The total sign display area shall not exceed 189 square feet. All signs require a separate permit. The signage will have consistency throughout the development and add an architectural accent to the building. Consistency in signage shall relate to color, size, materials, and heights. Back-lit individual letter signs are permitted. Only the name and logo of the business occupying the unit will be permitted on the sign. Applebee's and Tires Plus both have one sign only. Each applied for a variance to allow them a second sign and were denied. However, both buildings are single tenant buildings. APPLICABLE REGULATIONS One wall mounted sign shall be permitted per street frontage. Sec. 20-1253. Variances. States: The city council, upon the recommendation of the planning commission, may grant a variance from the requirements of this article where it is shown that by reason of topography or other conditions, strict compliance with the requirements of this article would cause a hardship; provided that a variance may be granted only if the variance does not adversely affect the spirit or intent of this article. Written application for a variance shall be filed with the planning department and shall be supplemented with reproducible copies of the proposed sign. The application shall be processed in conformance with the public heating requirements dictated for variances in section 20-29. No variance shall be granted by the city council unless it has received the affirmative vote of at least simple majority of the full city council. Buffalo Wild Wings March 18, 2003 Page 3 ANALYSIS The building is located north of West 79th Street and is currently under construction. It is proposed to be occupied by two restaurants (Buffalo Wild Wings and Chipotle). When staff began meeting with the developer of the building in 2002, we advised them to locate the building toward the street to hide the parking. The developer complied with this recommendation; however, entrances into the building are located facing the parking lot. The sign ordinance permits signage along building elevations with street frontage only. The applicant is requesting a variance to permit wall signage on the north elevation (facing the parking lot). The applicant is concerned that once in the parking lot of Crossroads Plaza, guests will not know which door serves each tenant. Since customer parking is located on the north side of the building and since building entrances are proposed on that side also, staff supports wall signage on the north side of the building. As an alternative to wall signage, window signage can provide the needed advertising; however, it is not as noticeable as wall mounted signs. The proposed sign along the north elevation has an area of 52.88 square feet. The logo is proposed to have an area of 23 square feet. The ordinance requires logos to occupy no more than 15% of the total sign area. The proposed logo occupies 43% of the total sign area. The sign along the south elevation has an area of 86.9 square feet. The logo is proposed to have an area of 19.6 feet. The proposed south elevation logo occupies 22.6% of the total sign area. The design of both logos must be revised to meet ordinance requirements. VARIANCE FINDINGS The city council, upon the recommendation of the planning commission, may grant a variance from the requirements of this article where it is shown that by reason of topography or other conditions, strict compliance with the requirements of this article would cause a hardship; provided that a variance may be granted only if the variance does not adversely affect the spirit or intent of this article. Finding: Permitting wall signage on the western elevation is reasonable and consistent with the findings required for granting the signage variances. The building orientation, with entrances and parking areas located on the north side of the building, necessitates the provision of signage on the north side of the building to provide reasonable advertising and directional opportunity. Granting of the variance will not adversely affect the spirit or intent of the sign ordinance. Buffalo Wild Wings March 18, 2003 Page 4 RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends the Planning Commission adopt the following motion: "The Planning Commission recommends approval of Variance #03-4 to allow a wall mounted sign on the north elevation, which has no street frontage, as shown on plans dated February 12, 2003 with the following condition: 1. The applicant shall reduce the area of the logo not to exceed 15% of the total sign area." Should the Planning Commission decide to deny the variance, staff recommends the following motion: "The Planning Commission recommends denial of Variance #03-4 to allow a wall mounted sign on the north elevation, which has no street frontage, based upon the following: o The applicant can utilize window signage to direct guests to the location of the entrance of the restaurant." ATTACHMENTS . Application and Narrative. Plans dated February 12, 2003. CITY OF CHANHASSEN 7700 MARKET BOULEVARD CHANHASSEN, MN 55317 (952) 227-1100 DEVELOPMENT REVIEW APPLICATION APPLICANT: ADDRESS: TELEPHONE (Day time) OWNER: C (..~.,,~'\v',~, ~r~ ~v. ADDRESS: I TELEPHONE: Comprehensive Plan Amendment Conditional Use Permit Interim Use Permit Non-conforming Use Permit Planned Unit Development* Rezoning Sign Permits Sign Plan Review Site Plan Review* Subdivision* __ Temporary Sales Permit Vacation of ROW/Easements Variance Wetland Alteration Permit Zoning Appeal Zoning Ordinance Amendment __ Notification Sign Escrow for Filing Fees/Attorney Cost** ($50 CUPISPRNACIVARNVAPIMetes and Bounds, $400 Minor SUB) TOTAL FEE $ ;Z ~"0. '~ o A list of all property owners within 500 feet of the boundaries of the property must be included with the application. ' Vi! ;', Building material samples must be submitted with site plan reviews. , ? ~.,..:;:' · ' - ~ *Twenty-six full size folded copies of the plans must be submitted, including an 8W' X 11" reduced copy of transparency for each plan sheet. ** Escrow will be required for other applications through the development contract NOTE - When multiple applications are processed, the appropriate fee shall be charged for each application. PROJECT NAME ~/;"b'~&. O \ V'/z. ~ LOCATION LEGAL DESCRIPTION ONe7. ~.~ ~) TOTAL ACREAGE WETLANDS PRESENT YES ~ NO PRESENT ZONING REQUESTED ZONING PRESENT LAND USE DESIGNATION REQUESTED LAND USE DESIGNATION REASON FOR THIS REQUEST Z:N ¢O, This application must be completed in full and be typewritten or clearly printed and must be accompanied by all information and plans required by applicable City Ordinance provisions. Before filing this application, you should confer with the Planning Department to determine the specific ordinance and procedural requirements applicable to your application. A determination of completeness of the application shall be made within ten business days of application submittal. A written notice of application deficiencies shall be mailed to the applicant within ten business days of application. This is to certify that I am making application for the described action by the City and that I am responsible for complying with all City requirements with regard to this request. This application should be processed in my name and I am the party whom the City should contact regarding any matter pertaining to this application. I have attached a copy of proof of ownership (either copy of Owner's Duplicate Certificate of Title, Abstract of Title or purchase agreement), or I am the authorized person to make this application and the fee owner has also signed this application. I will keep myself informed of the deadlines for submission of material and the progress of this application. I further understand that additional fees may be charged for consulting fees, feasibility studies, etc. with an estimate pdor to any authorization to proceed with the study. The documents and information I have submitted are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. The city hereby notifies the applicant that development review cannot be completed within 60 days due to public hearing requirements and agency review. Therefore, the city is notifying the applicant that the city requires an automatic 60 day extension for development review. Development review shall be completed within 120 days unless additional review e~ns/,ar-~approved by the applicant. Signature of Applicant ~" Date Signature of Fee Owner Date Application Received on Fee Paid Receipt No. The applicant should contact staff for a copy of the staff report which will be available on Friday prior to the meeting. If not contacted, a copy of the report will be mailed to the applicants address. 1600 Utica Avenue South, Suite 700 Minneapolis, MN 55416 Phone 952.593.9943 Fax 952.593.9787 www. buffalowildwings.com February 14, 2003 Ms. Sharmeen AI-Jaff Senior Planner City of Chanhassen 7700 Market Boulevard P.O. Box 147 Chanhassen, Minnesota 5531 RE: Proposed Buffalo Wild Wings at Crossroads Plaza, Chanhassen, Minnesota Dear Ms. AI-Jaff: We are writing to respectfully request a Variance under Section 20-1303 of the City of Chanhassen Code of Ordinances (BH - Highway and Business District) for one (1) additional wall business sign on non-street frontage. The proposed sign would be located on the north wall of the building, immediately adjacent to the entrance for the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. The proposed sign and its corresponding location are detailed on the attached rendering from Lawrence Sign dated February 12, 2003. After carefully reviewing the characteristics of the site, we believe that the circumstances are unique to the property and strict compliance with the code would create a hardship. The following outlines our findings: . Under previous review, the City required the developer to position the Crossroads Plaza building on the south end of the parcel with the parking lot on the north end, creating the need for the requested variation. The current code specifies that a wall business sign be permitted on street frontage for each business occupant. Because of the position of the building on the parcel, the parking lot and entrance for Buffalo Wild Wings is not visible from street frontage. We believe that the literal enforcement of the code causes hardship in the following ways: (a) the inability to designate the occupants of a multi-tenant building; (b) once in the parking lot of Crossroads Plaza, guests will not know which door serves each tenant; and, (c) Buffalo Wild Wings is situated farthest from the site entrance, which may create a loss of customers who inadvertently entered other retailers because of a lack of identification. , A similar multi-tenant building within the BH District is the Highway 6 Center located east of the subject property. The Giant Panda restaurant is a tenant in the center and occupies the end-cap space farthest from the site entrance, comparable to the Buffalo Wild Wings location at Crossroads Plaza. Giant Panda has two wall business signs, one on the west faczade and one on the south fa(;ade fronting Highway 5. We believe that this is a comparable circumstance to the proposed variation. , The nearest property owners within the BH District are Applebee's restaUrant and Tires Plus. Both businesses occupy a single-use building featuring their prototypical designs, with their respective sign and entrance clearly visible from street frontage on West 79th Street. By contrast, the Crossroads Plaza building is a multi-tenant facility with the only wall signs on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot and main entrance. We are excited about joining your community and anxious to proceed with our development. We look forward to your review of our application and your recommendation. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 952-278-9575. Director, Corpora'~:)an'~el Wa[sh te Re(al Es~ etat Enclosure CC: Sue Norstrom - Buffalo Wild Wings Scott Schmitt- Clearwater Development NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CHANHASSEN PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2003 AT 7:00 P.M. CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7700 MARKET BLVD. PROPOSAL: Variance for Wall Signage APPLICANT: Clearwater Development Group LOCATION: 550 West 79th Street NOTICE: You are invited to attend a public hearing about a proposal in your area. The applicant, Clearwater Development LLC, is requesting a variance for wall signage located at 550 West 79th Street, Buffalo Wild Wings. What Happens at the Meeting: The purpose of this public hearing is to inform you about the applicant's request and to obtain input from the neighborhood about this project. During the meeting, the Chair will lead the public hearing through the following steps: 1. Staff will give an overview of the proposed project. 2. The applicant will present plans on the project. 3. Comments are received from the public. 4. Public hearing is closed and the Commission discusses the project. Questions and Comments: If you want to see the plans before the meeting, please stop by City Hall during office hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you wish to talk to someone about this project, please contact Sharmeen at 227-1134. If you choose to submit written comments, it is helpful to have one copy to the department in advance of the meeting. Staff will provide copies to the Commission. Notice of this public.hearing has been published in the Chanhassen Villager on March 6, 2003. th Smooth Feed SheetsTM Use template for 5160® BLOOMBERG COMPANIES INC PO BOX 730 CHANHASSEN MN 55317 BAM PROPERTY HOLDINGS LLC 440 79TH ST W CHANHASSEN MN 55317 TOM-DON REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS C/O DONALD M GUILLETT 13679 DUNBAR WAY APPLE VALLEY MN 55124 CHANHASSEN PROPERTIES LLC 570 PAULY DRPO BOX 514 CHANHASSEN MN 55317 INFINITY OF CHANHASSEN LLC 1865 W WAYZATA BLVD LONG LAKE MN 55356 SILO I LLC 200 HWY 13 W BURNSVILLE MN 55337 INFINITY OF CHANHASSEN LLC 1865 W WAYZATA B.L. VD~._~_~ LONG LAKE. '~- MN 55356 WHEATSTONE RESTAURANT GROUP 250 EAST LAKE DR CHANHASSEN MN 55317 APPLE AMERICAN LP (APPLEBEE'S) C/O AVTAX INC 1025 WEST EVERETT RD LAKE FOREST IL 60045 VILLAGES ON THE PONDS ASSN INC 551 78TH ST W CHANHASSEN MN 55317 ROBERT DITTRICH 826 BROADWA-~OI~OX 755 NEW ULM MN 56073 HOLIDAY STATION STORES INC 4567 80TH ST W BLOOMINGTON MN 55437 79TH STREET CENTER PARTNERSHIP 684 EXCELSIOR BLVD EXCELSIOR MN 55331 MICHAEL E RAMSEY 6362 OXBOW BND CHANHASSEN MN 55317 79TH STREET CENTER PARTNERSHIP 684 EXCELSIOR BLVD--- EXCELSIOR MN 55331 CHANHASSEN INN 531 79TH STW CHANHASSEN MN 55317 B 4 D LLC 555 3RD AVE NW HUTCHINSON MN 55350 Laser 5160® EXHIBIT B Site Plan of Project EXIBTII~ BUILDING EXIBTING BUILDING PRiDI=C~uED 15UILDING e,.'~g~ ~.F. ,/ / / / "" '- -... CITY OF CHANHASSEN RECEIVED FEB 1 3 2003 CHANHASSEN PLANNING DEPT 51TE PLAN North