CC Minutes 08-10-2015Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
LAMETTRY’S COLLISION, LOCATED ON THE WEST SIDE OF AUDUBON ROAD
AT MOTORPLEX COURT, APPLICANT/OWNER: RICK LAMETTRY: REQUEST
FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW MULTIPLE STRUCTURES ON A
SINGLE LOT AND TO PERMIT DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE BLUFF CREEK
OVERLAY DISTRICT.
Kate Aanenson: Thank you Mayor, members of the City Council. This item did appear before
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the Planning Commission on July 21. At that time the commission voted 7-0 to recommend
approval. They also looked at some revised site plans that were handed out that night so those
were so noted and are included in this packet. The subject site is located at 1650 and 1651
Motorplex Court. This is private property. It’s guided and zoned office industrial and its part of
the Bluff Creek Overlay District. The entire property is 23 acres. A lot of that acreage is
actually encumbered in the Bluff Creek Overlay District. Put the laser pointer on. It’s easier to,
so there’s the Bluff Creek Overlay District so these are the two properties that we are talking
about. As a part of this one of the things that we talked about to meet the new watershed district
rules would be that they’re dedicating this property here so that makes it in compliance with the
total maximum daily load requirements. In addition it meets the goals that we have for the
Overlay District and that would be dedication of that property so that would be an area that the
city wanted to do some improvements or enhancement in that area that we would do that. Just a
little bit of history on that. This area down in here was always a concern of some of the
neighbors down in there wondering if there would be uses down there so having that control
point or access to that property alleviates some of those concerns when there’s activity that could
potentially spill off from over here down there so that would be a part of this. The dedication of
that property. So there’s a little bit of history on the Motorplex itself. There was 12 buildings
that were approved which the original site plan including a club house, 11 storage buildings and
the property then that we’re talking about tonight would be these 2 buildings here. As the City
had always envisioned working with the applicant of the Auto Motorplex we saw that it’s
complimentary to the Auto Motorplex, kind of auto related type uses on those northerly portions.
I just want to add too, I did include in your packet some of the comments that we received from
some of the neighbors. Not too many of those showed up at the Planning Commission. We’ve
been addressing those separately. Bob Generous on the planning staff, Chief Johnson and Eric
Kittelson from the Carver County Sheriff’s Office has been working with them, Motorplex itself
to try to kind of work to resolve some of these issues regarding some of the parking as you saw
in the photos and parking on Audubon. In addition with those 2 buildings going in they’re losing
some of that parking space so we’re working on resolving those so I just want to make sure that
that’s being tracked separately from this application. So with the site plan itself the, which was
originally approved we again as we said envisioned a couple of buildings on that north side so
now they’re coming forward. Because it’s a single lot, as I said it’s all part of the wetlands one
piece and the two parcels are split by the private street, it does require a conditional use permit
for building within the overlay district and to have two structures on one lot. So the site plan
also is included as your action and that’s to review the site material itself. Again as I stated
earlier one of the biggest issues we had was kind of blending the storage units with the
maintenance part of the buildings so that was something that was actually kind of resolved at the
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Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
Planning Commission and I’ll go through that in a little bit more detail. So as I stated earlier the
conditional use for grouping two buildings on a single parcel is a conditional use permit and then
also prior to all subdivisions, site plans, alteration within the Bluff Creek Overlay District is also
a conditional use so there’s two actual conditional uses here. So the site plan itself, there’s two
buildings. One on the north and one of the south. Again same parcel. 18,290 square feet with 3
storage garages. Again that’s the big part of the operations down there is the storage of the
vehicles and then the building to the south will have 9 garages and 22,000 square feet. So this is
the architecture of the building. Now if you recall these are kind of when we worked through
these pre-fab buildings where they put architectural enhancements on the outside so looking at
those buildings we went through a lot of iterations with the architects trying to match the two,
kind of the more industrial look with the enhanced features of the storage bay units so kind of
came through a blend. Again the highly articulated views are the ones facing the road. They’ll
be coming off of that private street and those will be the enhanced views. On the back side those
would be internal views which wouldn’t be seen from the public. So this is the building on the
south side. The grading of the property is pretty straight forward. There are some retaining
walls on the site I wanted to point out and those would be on this side up here there is an 8 foot,
60 foot long retaining wall kind of wraps this. If you recall it’s challenging coming up from
Audubon. They drop down into the site and then on the south side there’s a retaining walls here
and those are two retaining walls. One 4 and 5 feet and 90 feet in length and then there’s another
retaining wall along this section too so again that’s to work the grades. We are looking at a trail
connecting the property going north. There’s a sidewalk along the other side of Audubon so that
would take you back up to the intersection and you could cross and go south onto Audubon.
Utilities, sewer and water is available to the site. Will be extended to both buildings. Here you
can see a little bit better the auto body and then with the storage units. Again the auto body and
then storage units wrapping around those so there are some minor tweaks to the building that’s
including landscaping. Just some minor modifications that we’re confident that they can meet all
those standards so again taking what we had originally envisioned and that’s kind of auto related
as complimentary to the uses going on there and then with the addition of providing some
additional storage units for the cars. So with that it does meet the city code. We put conditions
of approval in there. We will be doing a site plan agreement that we’ll have the applicant do.
Again there’s no private improvements on this. Obviously they’d have to get a building permit
and pay the sewer and water connection fees but with that we are recommending approval and
the conditional use subject to the findings in the staff report and I’d be happy to answer any
questions that you have.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Ms. Aanenson. Council members any questions for staff?
Councilwoman Tjornhom.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: Kate was this addition always in the plan?
Kate Aanenson: Yes. Yes it was. We always envisioned something auto related up in the top. I
think we didn’t want to see just all storage units up there. Something that would compliment
some of the uses down there where they can work on their cars and meet some of their needs
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Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
internally so again the, anything that would, activity wise the way the building’s oriented I think
it’s going to be well suited for the area.
Councilwoman Tjornhom: And no concerns with the traffic?
Kate Aanenson: No. I think if anything because of some of the events they have there it’s going
to eliminate some of that parking space and some of that access so we’re going to continue to
work on that. I think that’s really separate from those larger events that they’re having are
separate from the business activity that they’re having here because I think a lot of that will
probably be internal from some of the attendants that are already there.
Mayor Laufenburger: Any other questions? Councilwoman Ryan.
Councilwoman Ryan: Kate I just have a couple that just jumped off when I was reading through
some things. A gentleman wrote in and asked about you know keeping the same look as a horse
stable. What was, could you just, what was your response to that in terms of building materials?
Has it just changed over the years? Could you just explain that?
Kate Aanenson: Well if you look at the pitch of the roof, so they’re kind of like what we’ve
done in the park building which is like a Lester building and they’ve actually added on the
enhancements to get a more residential look. If you look at traditional storage units they’re
pretty much a flat roof. If you’ve ever looked at the one that’s on Highway 5 so when you
looked at the Autoplex and storing a car in there it became a bigger building with a bay window.
It seemed pretty sterile just to put it that way so at that time, because there were so many and the
staff really wanted to have a little bit more architectural design to them. Obviously the buildings
have a lot more value than a traditional storage unit so that was the intent to carry that out. So
when we got up to this phase up here, that comment reflected that we went through 3 or 4
different iterations and design. The first ones were not the best so I think we’ve really moved in
the right direction. We’ve had, this is like the third plus one of design so I think we’ve met the
concerns that the residents have regarding design because we concurred with that the first
drawings.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay great.
Kate Aanenson: And that’s what went out in the website so that’s what people are responding to.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay perfect. And then just in terms of there was a comment about the
commitment or that the lighting plans will comply with ordinances. Have you received all that
information?
Kate Aanenson: Yep, that’s one of the conditions of the plan. Again that’s kind of being that
good neighbor because you’re up higher there and there’s visual impact to those residents that
show below the Bluff Creek so we’ll make sure that our ordinance does require that they be
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Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
down lit and that there’s no spillover onto adjoining properties so we’ll make sure that they give
us the photometric plan on that.
Councilwoman Ryan: Great. And then another thing that I read was, it said that the proposal
exceeds over 1 acre of disturbance for erosion. So who oversees that? Is that something the City
manages?
Kate Aanenson: Yes. Yep as part of their approvals to go through the watershed district and the
like and so as a part of their site plan approval they’ll have to give all that documentation will
have to be shown that they’ve met that before they’ll be issued a permit to build.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay. Two more to go. Okay and then in terms of traffic it said that, or
my question is what role does City play in enforcing that the two businesses, there was a mention
about entering into some sort of a cross access agreement. Could you explain that please?
Kate Aanenson: Sure. This is a private street and let’s see if I can get the best on that. This is
the street that they come in off of. It’s all under one parcel. If they became separate owners then
you wouldn’t someone to block somebody else off. It’s all part of, there’s a HOA that manages
these buildings but we want to make sure that these are also have a right to use, continue to use
that street and Motorplex Court that comes down here so they will be accessing that.
Councilwoman Ryan: So in case it changed ownership it’s already in place.
Kate Aanenson: Correct. So it will run with the property.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay. And my last question, you mentioned about on the south side of
the property the vehicles backing out of unit 1 don’t have adequate space to turn around. Has
this been addressed?
Kate Aanenson: Yeah so we haven’t seen the changes there. Willing to accommodate so it’s
just right through here it’s tight so they’re working to resolve that one so that also will be, they’ll
have to give us revised plans before we sign off on that too.
Councilwoman Ryan: Okay great, thank you.
Kate Aanenson: You’re welcome.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Councilwoman Ryan. Any other questions or comments?
Councilman McDonald: Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Laufenburger: Councilman McDonald.
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Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
Councilman McDonald: Kate you had mentioned that they are going to give us what, access on
the southwest corner down there around Bluff Creek. What are we looking to do there with that
area? That area right there.
Kate Aanenson: So as you recall we have the Bluff Creek corridor plan and so our original
intention when we went through that, we had two choices. One is to try to get all that property,
purchase all that property but what the City Council chose to do is work on each project
individually to find out if there’s parcels that we could get through density transfer. We talked
about that on some projects. Or dedication so in this circumstance this is the last piece that we
could, it’s tied to the other as a part of that 23 acres so through dedication of that they’re meeting
some of their storm water management requirements. In addition it’s fulfilling some of those
goals of the Bluff Creek corridor as that starting up at Minnewashta going all the way down to
the Minnesota River that open corridor that we’ve talked about. In doing some enhancements
and vistas so in looking at this trail on the north side too you’ve got, you’re looking down
through this corridor here so it’s part of that so it does help with their requirements for storm
water.
Councilman McDonald: So we have any plans to put any trails down in there?
Kate Aanenson: I can ask Mr. Hoffman. I don’t believe so. It’s just an open space. There
might be some future improvements to, we’ve done some re-meandering of the creek in certain
areas to improve enhancements. Some additional capacity for storm water if that’s something
that they wanted to consider in the future.
Councilman McDonald: Okay thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Anybody else? Kate is this, is the Motorplex property, is it fully fenced
for security do you know? I think it is.
Kate Aanenson: I believe the majority of it is yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay so this, these two, these two buildings right on Audubon they will
not be inside the fence.
Kate Aanenson: Correct.
Mayor Laufenburger: They will be outside right?
Kate Aanenson: Yep.
Mayor Laufenburger: And both of these buildings are a part of the LaMettry Collision correct?
Kate Aanenson: (Yes).
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Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
Mayor Laufenburger: Okay. And did you mention that Motorplex Drive, is that a private street?
Kate Aanenson: That’s a private street.
Mayor Laufenburger: Private street, okay. Alright. Just a, is the applicant with us tonight?
Kate Aanenson: Yes.
Mayor Laufenburger: We’d like to give an opportunity for the applicant to address the council if
you’d like. Ask you to state your name and address please.
Richard LaMettry: Okay good evening Mayor and council people. My name is Richard
LaMettry. I’m the chief managing member of the LLC that owns the property. I’m here to
answer any questions you have. There really isn’t, pretty self explanatory so.
Mayor Laufenburger: Sure. Mr. LaMettry can you just tell us a little bit about your business?
You have a few of these LaMettry Collision’s around.
Richard LaMettry: This will be number 10.
Mayor Laufenburger: Number 10. How long have you been in business Mr. LaMettry?
Richard LaMettry: Since I was 18 years old.
Mayor Laufenburger: So a couple years huh?
Richard LaMettry: Probably I don’t know 19, well I started playing with cars in 1968.
Mayor Laufenburger: Good, good. Well I have personal experience with LaMettry Collision. I
think your business is a very reputable business. I’m sorry that I’ve had personal experience
with LaMettry but it’s been good and I know that you’re also a contributor to the community.
You do a lot of work through the Chanhassen Beyond the Yellow Ribbon committee preparing
automobiles for giving to families of service members so it’s important that we as a council
recognize that you’re not just coming into the community as a business but you’re here to
support this community and we thank you for that Mr. LaMettry.
Richard LaMettry: Thank you.
Mayor Laufenburger: Alright, thank you very much. Any other comments or questions or
motion?
Councilman McDonald: I’ll make a motion Mr. Mayor.
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Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. McDonald.
Councilman McDonald: The Chanhassen City Council approves the site plan and conditional
use permit subject to conditions in the staff report and adopts the Findings of Fact.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Mr. McDonald. Is there a second?
Councilman Campion: Second.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Mr. Campion. Any further discussion?
Councilman McDonald moved, Councilman Campion seconded that the City Council
approve the site plan and conditional use permit subject to the following conditions and
adopts the attached findings of fact and recommendation:
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
1.Access must be maintained for the property to the rear (Autobahn Motorplex). If not
currently in place, an access and maintenance agreement must be recorded.
2.That portion of the parcel located westerly and containing the Bluff Creek Overlay District
shall be dedicated to the city.
SITE PLAN
Building:
1.The buildings are required to have an automatic fire extinguishing system.
2.The buildings are required to have individual water and sewer connections.
3.Building plans must be prepared and signed by design professionals licensed in the State of
Minnesota.
4.Retaining walls over four feet high must be designed by a professional engineer and a permit
must be obtained prior to construction.
5.Detailed occupancy and accessibility-related requirements will be addressed when complete
building plans are submitted.
6.The owner and/or their representative shall meet with the Inspections Division as soon as
possible to discuss plan review and permit procedures.
Fire Marshal:
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Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
1.A three-foot clear space shall be maintained around all fire hydrants.
2.Additional fire hydrants will be required (one for each building). Contact the Chanhassen
Fire Marshal for exact locations.
Engineering:
1.Minor modifications to the grading plan are needed to clarify the proposed grades,
specifically:
a.The proposed 952 foot contour northwest of the entrance to Audubon Road closes in on
itself, and
b.The proposed 944 foot contour at the south site’s middle entrance.
2.The eastern retaining wall on the south site must not encroach into the adjacent drainage and
utility easement.
3.LaMettry’s and Auto Motorplex must enter into a cross-access agreement for the existing
private street. Staff recommends that this agreement address maintenance responsibilities
and costs.
4.On the south site, the drive aisle between the east of the building and the parallel parking
must be at least 22 feet wide.
5.On the south site, ensure that there is adequate space for vehicles backing out of Unit #1.
6.A building permit is required to extend the sewer and water services to each of the buildings;
a plumbing inspector shall inspect the connections.
Environmental Resources:
1.All transplanted trees shall be warranted for one year from the time the overall landscaping is
complete. Any trees that do not show 75% canopy at the end of warranty shall be replaced
with new trees.
2.Minimum bufferyard requirements must be met.
Planning:
1.The developer shall provide a sidewalk connection from Motorplex Court to Park Road.
2.The applicant shall prepare a lighting plan with photometrics prior to the issuance of a
building permit.
3.The applicant shall provide staff with a description of the sign locations for both buildings
and monument sign.
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Chanhassen City Council – August 10, 2015
4.The applicant’s architect shall work with staff to develop transitions between the different
materials and the architectural detailing of the buildings as shown on plans dated received
July 20, 2015 to make them compatible with the entire development.
Water Resources:
1.A standalone Surface Water Pollution Prevention Plan with all elements required in Parts III
and IV of the NPDES Construction permit shall be prepared and submitted to the city for
review and approval prior to any earth disturbing activities.
2.The city-developed maintenance agreement shall be revised accordingly, executed and
recorded against the property.
3.The applicant shall develop, or cause to be developed, an operations and maintenance manual
which shall specify anticipated inspection and maintenance, as well as schedule, necessary in
order to ensure there is not significant decreases in the practices’ efficacies. This operations
and maintenance manual shall be referenced in the maintenance agreement.
4.The applicant must demonstrate that the required 90% reduction in TSS will result from the
proposed storm water best management practices using P8, the MIDS calculator or another
approved methodology.
5.The applicant shall provide documentation that adequate pretreatment is provided for the
Cultec Recharger™ systems or that pretreatment is not required per the manufacturer’s
specifications.
6.Surface Water connection fees in the amount of $118,134.00 will be due with final approval
and prior to being issued a certificate of occupancy. In lieu of these fees, that portion of the
parcel located westerly and containing the Bluff Creek Overlay District may be given a
unique PID and dedicated to the city.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Mayor Laufenburger: Thank you Kate and thank you Mr. LaMettry. We wish you good
success.
Richard LaMettry: Thank you.
ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATIONS.
Mayor Laufenburger: Mr. Gerhardt, do you have anything to report now that you’re finally back
in town again?
Todd Gerhardt: Yeah. Nice to see Kerber Boulevard with first wear course going down and
later this week we should see all of Carver Beach with the first wear course going down also. I
also have the Carver County Leaders Group tomorrow at 7:30 at Carver County Courthouse and
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