PC MinutesChanhassen Planning Commission – June 20, 2017
Findings of Fact and Decision. All voted in favor, except for Commissioners Weick and
Madsen who opposed, and the motion carried with a vote of 5 to 2.
Aller: So the motion carries.
Aanenson: This item does go to the Planning Commission on July, City Council excuse me. City
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Council on July 10.
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Aller: And it will go to City Council on July 10. At this point it is 10:00. Our by-laws state that
we will go til 10:30 except for longer hearings so let’s take a 5 minute recess to let individuals
clear the room a little bit and we’ll come back and hit item 3. We are in recess.
(The Planning Commission took a 5 minute recess at this point in the meeting.)
Aller: Thank you. We’ll go ahead and continue with tonight’s Planning Commission meeting
and we have our last public hearing of the night and it’s item 3 on the agenda.
PUBLIC HEARING:
VENUE/ALDI – UNITED PROPERTIES: REQUEST FOR A SITE PLAN REVIEW
FOR A 134 UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING AND A 19,000 SQUARE FOOT RETAIL
BUILDING (ALDI) WITH VARIANCES AND A REGISTERED LAND SURVEY FOR
PROPERTY ZONED CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (CBD) LOCATED ON THREE
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PARCELS SOUTH OF WEST 78 STREET BETWEEN CHANHASSEN DINNER
THEATERS AND HIGH TIMBER LOUNGE. APPLICANT/OWNER: CHANHASSEN
FRONTIER LLC.
Generous: Thank you Chairman Aller, commissioners. Pleasure to finally be up here today.
Last week I was on vacation so it’s a little different. This is a site plan review and a registered
land survey that’s going to be recommended for this development. There is a variance included
in this. It’s because of the existing driveway on the north side of the property. It’s tied into the
properties both to the east and the west and the design is going to remain the same and so they
don’t meet the new standards for our parking lot but they would be keeping what they have in
place but technically because they are changing the use of the property we had to notice this as a
variance. The applicant is Chanhassen Frontier, LLC. This is the public hearing with the
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Planning Commission. This item goes to the City Council on July 10. The property’s located
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at 525 West 78 Street. It’s to the west of the Chanhassen Dinner Theater and east of the hotel
building and the High Timber Lounge. It’s an existing retail building with some businesses or
office units on the second floor of the development. I should note that as part of this we received
4 emails and I provided copies for the Planning Commission. These will become part of the
public records. The project consists of 3 parcels. They’re not, only one of them is platted. The
others are metes and bounds. Or 2 of them are parts of plats and one is a metes and bounds
description. This property is located in the heart of downtown. There are multiple businesses in
the area and has easy accessibility to other commercial areas as well as residential and
government uses. To the southwest of this building is the park and ride site for Southwest
Transit. The development would have easy pedestrian access to this. Primarily access to the
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property is from West 78 Street. It has a shared access with the Chanhassen Dinner Theater on
the east side, northeast side and then another access with the hotel on the west at the intersection.
It also has access via Market Street from the south. So which has both access to Market Street
and Great Plains Boulevard. The request before you is a site plan review for 134 units, 6 story
apartment building and the one story, 19,000 square foot retail building which is to be leased by
Aldi with a variance for the existing drive aisles on the north side of the property. It’s also a
request for a land survey, registered land use creating 2 parcels out of the existing 3 parcels that
are on the site. Normally we would handle this administratively but registered land surveys are
required to go through the hearing process that we have for subdivisions. We are actually
reducing the number of lots that are out there with this development. The building is stepped
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back from West 78 Street. It’s 145 feet to the front of the apartment building. The commercial
portion of the building is a one story, 16 foot tall building. The apartment buildings have 5
stories on the north side and then they’re stepped back to the 6 story which would be on the
south side. The property is guided for commercial land use. It’s zoned central business district.
Within the central business district retail uses and multi-family dwellings are permitted uses.
The central business district does not have any maximum hard surface coverage. However as
part of this project they are going to be providing improvements to the City’s surface water
management to treat the stormwater that is coming off the site. No maximum site coverage and
also there’s no minimum setback requirements for any of the uses within the CBD. This is our
most permissive district if it will. It permits both commercial and residential uses and it has no
restrictions on building height, building site coverage, any of that. Pedestrian access is being
enhanced as part of this proposed development. The site plan variance again maintains the drive
aisle widths along this north property, parking lot area and the parking lot stalls along on the very
north. These are supposed to be 18 feet and it’s 17 foot deep stalls. A 26 foot aisle. This is a 25
foot aisle that’s existing in place. But then it jumps over to 18 ½ feet as you go farther south and
then this portion would comply with city ordinances. It does tie in with the parking lot to the
hotel and then access into the Dinner Theater site. Again the residential component consists of
134 units. A six story building. The commercial component is a 19,000 square foot retail
building. Okay building materials are shown on page 5 of the staff report. The commercial
building has a first story is a tan colored brick. Tan colored brick with the faux cement board,
wood material and then it has also the white metal panels that are on the lower right corner of the
view on your screen. They’re proposing to have architectural graphics on the building to help
provide additional interest to the east of the entrance and then also on the west side adjacent to
the parking lot. And here you can see this is the faux wood material. The lower level and
around the side in the back is where the tan brick materials are and then this is one of the
architectural panels as well as on the west elevation. Here you can see the loading dock actually
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faces West 78 Street but it drops down approximately 4 feet. There’s a 10 foot elevation drop
between the north side of the property and the south side. Underneath the commercial building
will be the parking area for the residences and then the registered land survey is to create the lot
area for the commercial building on top of the residential garages and so it’s both a 3
dimensional description that will be developed as part of that. However we need to wait until we
get the final building in place so they can actually survey and come up with the description for
that exact location. It’s basically where the commercial building will be and so that’s why we’re
giving it preliminary approval now. When they get the final description in there then council
will approve the final registered land survey and we’ll have that recorded at Carver County. The
residential part of the building consists of multiple building materials, projections and recesses
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within it. There’s a lot of articulation. It uses all the brick types. The two different brick types
that we have and all the other building material samples that are included as part of this
application. The bottom portion of this shows that the architectural graphics that they’re
proposing in the full window areas adjacent to the loading ramp area. One condition that we
have is that they not be individual items that may be sold within the building but rather like a
field of wheat for instead of having loaves of bread or whatever so we’ll work with them as they
come forward. Again the south elevation is the tallest part of the building. This is part of the, on
the top floor they have a community room with a patio area for the residents of the apartment
building. The mid-point of this roof is at 77 feet. We hear people are concerned about the height
of this building. This roof line is about, approximately 72 feet and then when you drop down to
the 5 story building you’re at 59 feet. For reference the Children’s Learning Adventure has a 50
foot tall elevation on it’s south side so if people want to get relative growth in that. The lower
level also has, this is the parking garage entrance. They are proposing on the east side that they
also have an overhead door to assist the residents when they move in. You’ll see as they go
forward that they have this entry for the residential with the elevator shafts behind it. On this
end is where they’re going to have the new overhead door. Underground parking. This is on the
lower level. It’s 10 feet below the level, the first floor level. Their ground floor level which is
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ground floor on West 78 Street has their common space and their offices. Their main entrance
is located in the northeast portion of the building. I should note that parking for the retail portion
of this development is the parking lot on the north side of the building. The residential would be
the south. Some of the site constraints for this are that they have cross access and cross parking
agreements with adjacent properties. For this development our review looked at only the parking
on site to meet the minimum standards that are required. They do comply with all the
requirements in the zoning ordinance for that. Within the entire development there are 134 units
of which 11 are studio units, 48 are one bedroom, 9 are one bedroom plus a den, 62 units are two
bedrooms and 4 units are 3 bedrooms and a den. The first through the fourth floors of this
building all have the same layout. Footprints and then on the top, the sixth, fifth floor, sixth floor
has, is only on the south side of the building so it overlooks both the commercial component and
then the 5 stories of the east wing of the residential component. As part of their development
they are proposing that this roof area be a green roof so it provides stormwater mitigation on the
property. As part of this they will be tearing out all the parking lot areas on the south side and
providing new landscaping areas. They are looking at potentially modifying their landscaping
here subject to approval with the neighbors to shift a privacy fence down. Landscaping complies
with city ordinance. Site utilities, I did do this. They are providing an underground stormwater
management system. Sewer and water services available to the site so they will connect to city
services. And storm water improvement is primarily this underground system plus the use of the
green roof so that will provide their additional treatment. They are working on a grant
application through the Metropolitan Council to see if we can assist with that installation. There
was some concern with continuing the truck access to the Dinner Theater to the east. The
applicant has provided a couple drawings to show that they believe that it can be done. However
there’s one condition, engineering condition number 3 that says they work with the City and the
neighboring property to verify that that can be done. The registered land survey again will
create 2 parcels out of the 3 that are on site. The one parcel will be for the commercial building.
Again it will be described in 3 dimensions because the site drops down and it will be on the roof
if you will of the underground parking area and the rest of the property will be the balance of the
site. I should point out that on page 9 of the staff report there were some traffic analysis
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numbers. There was a, we believe a math error as part of that. We think you should, we should
have added the two numbers together and come up with the total which is, what was that? Like
277 total trips. Because you’d add the trips to the grocery and the trips for the apartment. The
apartments are adding very few trips during the peak hours. They should be accommodated
under the City’s existing street system. We are looking at some potential improvements or
consolidation of access on the south side on Market Street with the property to the west because
we have 2 entrances and exits right next to each other and so the engineering and the applicant
will work to see if we can correct that. Staff is recommending approval of the site plan. I should
note that you have to add, there’s a phrase subject to conditions of approval in the staff report so
variance with the existing drive aisle widths subject to the conditions of approval. Approval of
the registered land survey to create the two lots. One for the commercial site and the other for
the apartment building and adoption of Findings of Fact and Recommendation and I did note
today in the Findings of Fact that the developer is Chanhassen Frontier, LLC. Not the holding
company that is in there so if you’d just make that correction. Note that correction and then we
will correct it all before we go to City Council. With that I’d be happy to answer any questions.
Aller: Anyone want to jump in?
Tietz: I just had a question for Bob.
Aller: Commissioner Tietz.
Tietz: On the shared parking arrangement. The shared parking on the south side there’s a lot of
current theater parking I assume at certain times of the week or day or night. On the north side I
would assume that sometimes there’s overflow, well now with the new parking garage there’s
probably not as much as there used to be for the Dinner Theater but that’s all been taken into
account? And it’s understood that it would be adequate for both.
Aanenson: Yep, and that’s a great question. So when we did Southwest Transit we actually
hired a consultant to look at the parking in that overall plan because at that time we knew there
was a potential for redevelopment in this area so there’s a large pivot table with each use on there
and then looking at peak demand so it uses 3 different models. Our zoning ordinance. Best
practices from the traffic institute and then ULI and they model all those so when a use comes
we adjust that model but yes, the parking does work. That was one of the first things that we
discussed as this project went forward how that would work.
Tietz: Okay.
Aanenson: So a lot of it again is the peak demand offsetting with the Southwest Transit. Night
time use Dinner Theater and yeah.
Tietz: Okay, thanks.
Aller: Am I understanding correctly though that on it’s own the underground parking and the
parking that’s available to it this would past mustard with our present parking zoning.
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Generous: That’s correct. It meets the minimum standards of 362. Not including they have
cross access agreements that they can use also.
Aller: Right so then they have additional cross access which allows for additional parking and,
okay. It appears from the staff report that it meets all the requirements presently as far as
lighting and location and placement so setbacks, all those things that we typically would look at
on a project and are looking at, it meets those requirements.
Generous: That’s correct Mr. Chairman and the only variance is for the existing parking lot
configuration. Otherwise it complies with our ordinances.
Aller: Commissioner Madsen.
Madsen: Could you go over how the grocery semi truck delivery will navigate through that area
and get to the loading dock and then leave. I think there’s a page.
Generous: Yeah it’s in, Commissioner Madsen it’s in our report but they come in off of Market
Street and they’ll pull up this alley way if you will between the Cinema and the building and then
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just back into the parking stall. Then they would be able to leave out to West 78 Street.
Madsen: So it has to depart, it has to drive in front of the entrance to the grocery store and the
entrance to the apartment building to depart?
Generous: Yes. Or it could go west too and then out that driveway. But it has to go north.
Madsen: Okay I just didn’t know if there’s any safety concerns with, because that’s the parking
area for the retail and I guess I don’t know when the semi trucks deliver the groceries.
Aanenson: I guess it’d be similar to like Lakewinds, how they operate on their’s. It cuts through
the parking lot to load in.
Madsen: Okay.
Aanenson: Yeah, similar to that.
Madsen: So they’re able to maneuver through there? Okay, thank you.
Aller: Okay, any additional questions? Commissioner Randall.
Randall: I know you probably brought it up but what’s the height of the parking ramp in
comparison to the 6 floor? I guess is there, if we were looking at those two is it going to be
comparable to that or is this going to be the Chanhassen skyscraper or?
Aanenson: You’re talking about the Southwest parking ramp.
Randall: Yes, correct.
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Aller: Right.
Randall: The one that’s right near it.
Generous: Yeah that’s a 3 story.
Aanenson: It has potential for one more story.
Generous: It’s the, I know more about the hotel. That’s a 3 story building and it has a 20 foot
roof. Gabled roof on there so it would slightly taller. The back part would be slightly taller than
that.
Randall: Okay.
Aller: Anything from this side? Alright. We’ll hear from the applicant. If the applicant could
step forward and state your name and address and representational capacity and tell us about
your project please.
Rick McKelvey: Will do. Good evening Mr. Chair, fellow commissioners. My name is Rick
McKelvey with United Properties. We’re located at 651 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. With me here tonight is Kim Bretheim from LHB Architects, John Adam from
Silverstone Realty, Andrew Shaw from Aldi Incorporated and Nick Anderson from ISG, Aldi’s
architect and design team so should I be able to, or be unable to answer any detailed questions
there’s plenty of people that can help support me but I know it’s a cliché but I will keep it brief
tonight. Not because it’s almost 10:30 but.
Aller: Take your time.
Rick McKelvey: Thanks to Bob’s thorough report and Kate and Sharmeen who proceeded Bob
in working on this project. Staff has been really exceptional to work with. You know I’ve been
personally working on this particular development with the landowner before we acquired the
property from them for the better part of 2 years. We have market studies. Our local realty
experts. Our in-house market analysis folks and there is zero doubt in my mind that downtown
Chanhassen is short of a high quality housing option. A new housing option. I stop short of
saying a luxury housing option. It will certainly have granite counter tops, pendent lights, fans in
the restrooms, balconies. It will be a very, very nice place to live and Aldi provides a grocery
offering that’s also not here in the marketplace. You know a high quality product at a value
price. They have some different nuances to shopping at Aldi. You return your cart at the front
of the store if you want your coin back. You bring your own bags if you so choose. There’s
some things that are a little bit different but we think it’s going to appeal to a broad customer
base and frankly is just something that’s unserved in this marketplace. The design overall when
we started focusing on design rather than just form you know we were challenged here in city
hall with making this building feel like Chanhassen. I think the term might have been
Chanhasseny and we were challenged by that. I as the developer stood on the site and looked
around at the Dinner Theater and the Country Inn and Suites, the parking Southwest Metro ramp.
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There’s a lot of different architectural influences happening around the perimeter of this site but
thanks to our design team they looked well beyond what I was looking at and they looked at the
library next door. They looked at the historic church on the east side of town. They looked at
the wood of the Dinner Theater which is nicely weathered by now and they really incorporated a
lot of the elements, the brick and the faux wood material into this building that I think gives it a
soft placement in downtown Chan from appearance, aesthetic standpoint but also has the bit of a
contemporary element with the lighter metal panels up at the roof line. So we think it turned out
great. Aldi has been exceptional to work with. You know their prototypical store, a free
standing store on a 2 ½ acre parcel so that they again see the hole in the market here I believe for
their use and they’ve really worked with our design team to come up with a store design that
compliments the look that we were aiming for so. I’ll leave it at that and open it up for any
questions that you have. Thank you.
Aller: Questions at this point?
Tietz: I just have one.
Aller: Commissioner Tietz.
Tietz: I noticed in the document that since LHB has done such a great job and as noted for their
green roofs and their green architecture, I’m surprised that Aldi with their being the German
group with high expectations has nixed the idea of a green roof on top of the Aldi.
Rick McKelvey: Well the green roof comes with it’s own set of challenges obviously well
beyond cost. Maintenance. This is on the north side of the building. It’s shadowed from the
south and east by the apartment building. A green roof we were questioning the viability and
frankly the maintenance and upkeep and really the appeal of that roof to the residents that were
looking out their balconies or bedroom windows onto the roof and we believe that a ballasted
rock roof as opposed to a green roof will have just as much appeal and frankly will be less
maintenance and less problem than a green roof and we intend to pick a ballast that will
compliment the building, whether it’s a river rock or a gray type of granite we’re yet to identify
the ballast specifically.
Tietz: Okay, thanks. Good explanation.
Aller: Why so tall? I’m sure you’ve heard that around the neighborhood.
Rick McKelvey: Because one of our goals was to maximize the density of the site that’s
common in downtown markets that we work in now. This is virtually maximizing the density
which as we all know is limited by parking. We think it, even though it is slightly taller than our
neighbors we kept the tallest element to the south, the lower used street in Market Street and we
think it fits well. It provides 250 plus residents right into downtown to shop and eat and walk
and hopefully liven up the place a bit.
Aller: Additional questions at this time? Alright seeing none, thank you sir.
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Rick McKelvey: Thank you.
Aller: Would any of the other individuals that you’ve come like to add anything to the
presentation before I open the public hearing? Seeing none we’ll open up the public hearing so
an individual that’s present can come forward. State your name and address for the record and
your position please.
Patrick Haney: Patrick Haney. I’m at 30 Sandy Hook Road. Also a member of the board for the
Colonial Grove Homeowners Association up there and so I’ve talked to a few folks within the
community. I can’t say that I represent everybody there and everybody’s opinion but the general
feedback I’ve received is two fold. One, they welcome the density. They do like the idea of
redevelopment of downtown. Downtown Chanhassen really can’t compete right now with
downtown Excelsior. Downtown Wayzata. Downtown Edina. I’d say Eden Prairie but they
don’t have a downtown. So the density is welcomed. There are two things that we feel or that is
pretty consistent across the board that was missed and is not done correctly on this. One, and I
don’t think we have a standard as a city for this, is that if you go to some of those cities I’ve
referenced there’s store fronts. You know you walk right up to the store. The buildings aren’t
set back and I understand the idea of well let’s keep it consistent parking lots. It’s more
accessible for the grocery store but that’s something that a majority of the folks I’ve spoken with
don’t appreciate as far as this development goes. Second is the Aldi and the grocery store
concept itself. We already have about what is it 5 grocery stores downtown with Target, Lunds
and Byerlys, Cub, Lakewood, am I missing one? So the idea of additional grocery store there
doesn’t really jive with the current assets we have in our portfolio. The better concept that a lot
of folks would appreciate is more restaurants. More downtown retailers. Something where folks
can actually feel like that’s what you’re competing against as a city. If you go to the other cities
where people are spending their money when they’re going out and they want to go walk around,
they want that idea of being able to go to those shops and those restaurants. So I think we
missed the mark there. Some folks frankly aren’t appreciative of Aldi. I’m not going to say that
one way or the other of me personally. I haven’t been in an Aldi. My wife has. She didn’t
really like it so there is some contest, some folks that aren’t appreciative of that particular brand
of grocery store downtown in addition to the fact that we already have 5 grocery stores so I
would like to say that I think the overall concept is great. I like the idea of the architectural
components of trying to blend the old with the new but I would say that at this point in time I’d
recommend that you reject this particular site plan and then reconsider what it is that our
competition as a city has. What is it that the residents are leaving Chanhassen to go to other
cities to get? I think part of that is having those store fronts. Having the restaurants and having a
more walkable community and I just, I think we’re missing the mark on this and it’s not that I
would suggest that we don’t have a development here that’s 6 stories tall. I think that we should
have that. I know that other folks that are going to comment are probably going to disagree with
me but I think that the Aldi itself and the location of the building on the site plan are both misses
so I’ll take a step back and let other folks comment.
Aller: Thank you.
Dr. Pamela McGrann: Hi. I’m Dr. Pamela McGrann. I live at 6540 Fox Path in Chanhassen.
I’m speaking for 102 people that weighed in on next door regarding this development and as it
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stands there was not a single person in favor. Not one. Everybody however agrees that the site
needs to be redeveloped. Everybody agrees with the concept of high density apartments.
Everybody agrees with that. What they don’t agree with is 6 stories on one side and in fact 7
stories on the back side. They also wonder if in fact this development, it’s supposed to be market
value rates but all of the apartments on the south side will be seeing and hearing the train as it
goes through and then at least a third of the apartments will be looking on the roof of Aldi. I
don’t know about you but I wouldn’t choose to be spending a ton of money for that view. I also
wanted to mention that I think the calculations regarding the parking are fanciful. If you think
that 134 unit apartment complex with potentially 250 projects folks living there is only going to
generate 49.6 trips in the morning and 58.96 trips in the evening, I just think that’s just not likely
to be true. I’m guessing that folks are calculating in that some large portion of these people will
use the Southwest Transit but what if they don’t? Then there’s not enough room for these people
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to be getting, it’s going to be adding a ton of cars in and out on 78 Street and Market Boulevard
so I see that as an issue. The second was that I think that deliveries will be a problem at this site.
I don’t see how a semi will be able to safely deliver goods and get out of the tight spacing in
there. They’re already asking for a variance to make the spacing, if I understand it correctly
between rows of parked cars narrower than what is usually allowed. Perhaps I’m wrong but
that’s the way I read it. The next thing I wanted to mention is that, and again this is my second
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time before you. I did come here on January 9 and I would point out that Byerly’s is within
2,000 feet. Less than half a mile of this new apartment building. The Target front door 2,200
feet. Cub Foods 1,200 feet. Lakewinds 2,000 feet. I told you in January and I’m saying again
tonight the food business is highly competitive. They operate on a one percent profit margin and
so we would add a fifth grocery store in downtown Chanhassen when we have 4. There are
people out there who are Aldi lovers. Fine. There’s an Aldi 5 miles down the road in Eden
Prairie. I think that the retail space could be better utilized and I have to say I’m a little bit tired
of hearing, oh but the developer will go away if we don’t accede to their desires and yeah you
can figure that I’m a little angry about this because I am. Because I don’t feel that anybody
listened to me last time I was here so I’m making myself heard and I’m speaking for 102 people
that weighed in just in the last 4 days online and so I guess what I’m saying is everybody
supports the development. Absolutely. High density development. Absolutely. Retail.
Absolutely. But 6 stories in the front and 7 stories in the back not so much. Is there enough
parking in this very tight and unusual parcel? I think not. So with that said I guess I’m done but
again I just want to reiterate I’m not just speaking for myself and this is not about not in my back
yard. This is about saying that we have a chance to redevelop a really important parcel and I
hope that people on the Planning Commission will actually listen and say huh, let’s try to get this
right and let’s listen to 102 people that weighed in. Thank you.
Aller: Thank you.
Breanna Boudreau-Landis: Breanna Boudreau-Landis. I live at 960 Saddlebrook Curve and I
apologize. I’m getting over a cold so I brought my water up with me. I’m kind of croaky.
Aller: That’s fine. Welcome.
Breanna Boudreau-Landis: But I live within walking distance of this development so my family
and I come down here a lot into the downtown area. I also do take the Southwest Transit but into
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downtown so I’m familiar with this whole area and I just had several questions and also some
concerns about the documents that were posted online here. My biggest concern was about use
of parking on the site. According to the parking data provided in the north lot for the Aldi it
looks like there’s 92 stalls and required for retail is 94 so even though there’s parking on the
back of the building I don’t think anyone coming to the Aldi is going to actually be parking at
the rear and walking up the grade change to get, to do their grocery shopping so I think we’re
short 2 stalls right there. Overall it looks like the parking meets count however we’re 2 short in
the front. It also says an additional 39 parking stalls are available in front of the Country Inn and
Suites that's a shared. One thing that’s not taken into consideration and correct me if I’m wrong
is the employee parking on site. Is that separated out? That’s not included correct.
Aanenson: It’s included in there.
Breanna Boudreau-Landis: Oh it is included.
Aanenson: It’s not separated out.
Breanna Boudreau-Landis: Got it. So 14 employees on site, I’m assuming that’s at one time
because that would probably require for 19,000 building to be more than that. I think it’s too
many people for the parking allotted. The other concern that I have are snow removal. Where’s
the snow going? Is that going to be taking up parking spots? As well as there’s no cart corral
and I know that with Aldi you pay your quarter and get your cart. You bring your cart back, you
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get your quarter back but in the middle of winter if I’m parking out on 78 I might leave my cart
you know or the desire might be to leave your carts so then again you’re going to have not only
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carts in parking, taking up parking stalls but you’re going to have an eyesore along 78. Excuse
me. So I have concerns about that as well. Something else that was mentioned is the loading.
It’s really unusual to have a retail building with their dock in the front and I think that’s a
concern. Usually it’s in the back and it’s shaded. I noticed that on the documents there was a
screen for trash but there’s no screen for loading for the trucks so a couple questions I had were
when do the deliveries occur. For this type of building it’s probably once or twice a day I would
say. I’m assuming they’re not going to be at night due to the fact that the residents live on the
site as well as the Country Inn and Suites is right next door so if it’s not going to be at night it’s
going to be during the day. And on the truck turning radius document which was in the packet
that was online, truck circulation plan C-2.13. I doubt a 68 foot trailer is going to be able to
make that turn especially if cars are parked in those parking stalls. There was a comment from
the council about deliveries being taken and trucks pulling out during the middle of the day when
that parking lot is full or when there’s people walking around there and I agree I think that’s a
definite concern so if the deliveries are only during the day to not upset the residents and the
Country Inn and Suites, when does that occur? I’ve actually walked through that alley way
because I sometimes walk to the park and ride and take the bus in. It’s super narrow. I don’t
think you could get even 2 cars going inbetween there and I don’t know how a semi would do
that honestly. A couple other comments that I had. For the views here you can see the truck
dock door. So a lot of times for retailers the truck will pull in. The cab will actually leave and
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leave the truck there so I believe from that view from 78 it’s going to be an eyesore to see a
truck there. I also would love to see more glazing looking into the building instead of the
architectural graphics. What I also call lifestyle graphics. Those tend to get old. They tend to
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get dated and they don’t get switched out from the retailer as much so I would like to see some
glass or glazing and especially what’s depicted here on the front elevation which is a
strawberries. That gets old. I’d love to see glass there if we’re going to continue forward. To
move forward with this. Another comment that I had was there is a detail about the monument
sign. I don’t know if you guys had looked at that in one of the perspective views that was
provided, which is a pretty nice view. This one A-7. This actually wouldn’t look like that
because the proposed monument sign, according to the other documents would be here and it’s a
10 foot tall sign. 10 foot tall monument sign or am I getting, or maybe it’s 10. 8 by 10. Maybe
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it’s 10 wide which is huge. On 78 there’s one lane of traffic going one way. One lane of traffic
going the other way. You don’t need a 10 by 8 foot giant monument sign when literally feet
away there’s an Aldi sign right there so I think that’s a definite eyesore as well which is
something that this can be addressed and this is site plan review at this point. So I just have a lot
of concerns about the Aldi on site. I’m totally on board with the apartment buildings. I think it’s
a great, you know especially taking the light rail, or taking the bus into downtown. I see a lot of
commuters. I think it’d be great for commuters to live there. You know if I didn’t have a family
and I was younger and coming into the city I would love to live there. I think the Aldi is where
this plan is lacking. Another comment or mention that there are grocery, tons of grocers nearby.
The Byerly’s, Cub Foods, the Lakewinds, and also Target so there’s a lot of groceries. I just
think this is a repetitive thing. And then I have concerns about the parking and the congestion. I
have children at Chanhassen Elementary which is Laredo which dead ends, well it doesn’t dead
end but it is the entrance into the Country Inn and Suites there and 3:00 in the afternoon when
school’s letting out there are buses and kids and tons of people driving at that intersection
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between 78 and Laredo which is the entrance on the west side of the building. I just think it’s
going to be super congested there so I’d love for this Planning Commission to push back on the
proposed retail instead of doing Aldi. Someone mentioned the smaller tenants. I totally agree
with that. It’s more of a community feel. That’s my comment. Thanks.
Aller: Thank you.
Michelle Smith: I’m Michelle Smith, 7487 Saratoga Circle, Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Aller: Welcome.
Michelle Smith: I come representing about 100 people from my neighborhood in our email
group that again a lot of them had no idea that this was happening until they saw a proposed sign
in the parking lot and I just feel like coming up here now having a public hearing, we’re not
going to be heard because the city planners have already spent all this time and done all these
things without ever consulting the people who live here. I’ve lived where I live for 30 years and
I would love for my downtown to be redeveloped. I would love to have an art fair in the middle
or be like Excelsior or Edina. Make it a real place to come. A destination. The Dinner Theater
is a destination. Aldi is not a destination and like everyone has said we don’t need more grocery
stores. Excelsior’s not that far away. Kowalski’s is there. Kowalski’s is in Eden Prairie.
There’s no need for another grocery store. I think to have some apartments there is great. I think
going to the extreme that you could possibly go is not in the best interest of how the downtown
will look or grow. It’s traffic, as everyone has said. I’ve had to deal with the Chanhassen
Elementary school buses. Chapel Hill. There’s not room. The fire department is on my block
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right outside. There’s not room. Where are people going to go? If a fire truck has to go down
there and I don’t believe that the parking is correct or the use of how much traffic is going to be
there. And they didn’t even do a study for on a weekend so I just think this isn’t the right vision.
The right plan to come into our downtown and I hope that all of us who have stayed here and
who have been rallying to get input are heard. Otherwise why have a public hearing after it’s
already been through everything because we’ve already done so much and worked so hard with
the developer to get here. I don’t think that’s the right way to do it and I don’t think the fact that
they meet our ordinances and our zoning is criteria that they should be there. I got an email from
the Mayor telling me that if they meet our criteria and our zoning ordinance we cannot deny
them to be in our city. I call bullshit on that.
Aller: Thank you.
Scott Mayer: We’re going to make this an all nighter. I’ve been on the road since 5:00 this
morning so…
Aller: I need your name and address please.
Scott Mayer: What’s that?
Aller: I need your name and address for the record.
Scott Mayer: My name is Scott Mayer. I live on 7506 Erie Avenue.
Aller: Thank you Mr. Mayer.
Scott Mayer: I think as I’ve heard people talk this has been relatively new to me as well. Just in
the last few weeks it’s come to my attention and I visited with several dozen people at different
social gatherings that we’ve had and really reflect everything that people are saying right here.
There just seems to be a lot of confusion around what the vision is for downtown you know and
as Bob said in his opening statement this is the heart of downtown that we’re talking about. So
I’m just going to read what I wrote down here and basically it just is what is the vision for
downtown Chanhassen and how does this fit in? Other towns in the area like Wayzata, Excelsior
and Victoria have adopted a more upper scale combination of retail, restaurants and housing.
Chan seems to be adopting a different approach with grocery stores, liquor stores and fast food.
I don’t disagree with redeveloping downtown. I think that would be a great idea. Along with
what other people say here I just don’t think that this fits in with what my vision would be for
continuing to live here for the next 10 or 15 years. So now we’re adding a multi-story, and this
was probably the single biggest confusion in talking to people is what does market rent mean
because it seems that a lot of people have interpreted that is assisted or low income or some other
type of subsidized rent but then I hear granite counter tops and pendulum lights and I think I
know people have talked to Todd and some other people and there doesn’t seem to, no one seems
to be able to give anyone a clear answer on what that means so I would like some clarification on
what that means. But anyway now we’re adding a multi-story market rent residential with a low
cost I guess fifth grocery story in a one square mile area and you know I just have to ask how
does this add value in local spending options for residents of Chanhassen. The, as I’ve said I’ve
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talked with several dozen residents. There were several meetings tonight. Several hundred of
them were next door at the watershed meeting so there would have probably been a lot more
people here tonight if there wasn’t some conflict with that but I do think once this is explained to
people and the word kind of gets out on what’s happening here that you know you could see
several hundred or several thousand people really wanting to find out just what’s the plan. I
mean is it going to be piece meal? Apartment building. Aldi’s and then the next plan or are we
actually going to have a downtown that you know is well thought out and has some type of
vision to it. The parking thing is interesting too because I’m assuming that the development
where the Potbelly is at met the City’s parking requirement. That place is a disaster. You know
you can’t get in or out of it. You can’t turn around once you’re in there. Now they’ve got signs
up for each business so there’s only 3 parking stalls for each business that is there so I hope
whatever parking study was done you know takes into account these additional trips. You know
135 people have to go to work and they have to come home so you know I would think that’s
more than 48 trips right there. You know I think the size of the building is, I mean we’re talking
about a building that’s 25 feet taller than the peak of the hotel there. That’s more than slightly
taller. You know you’re talking a 30 percent increase over the tallest building that we’ve got
downtown right now. And yeah, I think that’s all I have. I just would like to see more structure
around what’s the long term vision? How does this fit into it? Why are we seeming to go a
different direction than a lot of the other communities in the area and is that really, you know I
moved to this town 15 years ago with my family because it had a downtown and I actually live 5
blocks from downtown for that reason and this in my mind kind of forever changes what
downtown Chanhassen is going to be and I just think we need to spend some time thinking about
if that’s what we really want. There’ll be another developer and there’ll be another project. It’s
just like some of these previous projects that there’s been a lot more questions about. There’s
been multiple developers in those projects over the years so hope you guys consider that. Thank
you.
Aller: Thank you.
Jeff Gustafson: Jeff Gustafson, 212 Lakeview Road East in Chanhassen. A number of years
back when I was in college I went to a meeting where the tag line was you know $75,000 dollars
starting salary and you know you get a company car and you get 30 days vacation and I walk in
and there’s food products on the table and I go oh what the heck is this? I was pretty intrigued at
the time. The reason I showed up I think should be pretty obvious coming right out of college
and it was a sales pitch for Aldi. And so learned a lot about the company and I think they’re
very innovative in the marketing that they do and I myself have frequented not the one in
Ridgedale. I’m sorry Richfield when I used to live there. Also in Eden Prairie because it’s
actually not too far down the road. I’m a conscientious shopper in a lot of ways but I think the
question of have I ever worked for Aldi or did I ever decide to work for Aldi at that point in time
and the answer is never. And I think something else that I’ve never done is said hey, boy I really
want to go and hang out by that grocery store or I really want to go spend time and energy and
get lunch at the grocery store. You know maybe I’ve seen some millennials do that at Whole
Foods and maybe I’ve done that in the past but I don’t see the value in redeveloping downtown
into another drive there and then turn around and drive away and leave everybody kind of in the
dust. I think the points that were made earlier as it relates to the vibrant city, the vibrant
downtown, the place where people want to come and spend time and go to a show at the Dinner
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Theater or take a walk down to the next restaurant or have a cocktail at happy hour or whatever
isn’t accomplished through a 19,000 square foot retail space, and you can take Aldi out of the
mix. You can insert any other retail or discount or otherwise. You know you can insert K-Mart,
Target, whatever, it doesn’t have the same pull in there that I would expect for the future of
downtown Chanhassen so I would consider, I would urge the members here to consider kind of
what type of message that sends to future generations who are looking to make Chanhassen
home as I have. Thank you.
Aller: Thank you. I think we’ve heard from everybody that’s coming so we’ll go ahead and
close the public hearing on this and open it up for further questions and discussion and would
staff like to address any of the issues that were presented?
Aanenson: Address some of the comments.
Aller: And then I’d love to hear the market rent since.
Aanenson: Sure. Again when the City met with the developer they did explore doing other store
fronts and whether or not that was apply able. We did approve another grocery store in that we
actually did approve Trader Joe’s. That went through the Planning Commission and City
Council. I don’t believe there was as much you know consternation about that so that was a fifth
grocery store. Unfortunately they had a no compete clause and so that’s where Total Wine sits.
Another vendor in that area had a no compete clause so we did approve another grocery store.
I’m not weighing in on whether or not Aldi’s is good or not. Commercial’s a permitted use in
that zoning district so we, our job is to measure does it meet the requirements. A couple things
that are going on. Parking at Potbelly and that center. Parking standards have been changed
because it was interpreted as a center and we’ve changed that when it’s fast food restaurants.
More than one in a center so that has been modified and I agree with that comment. Just a
couple other things before I get into vision for the downtown. You know some of the signs,
screen things, I’ll leave it up to the Planning Commission to see how they want to vote on that.
So how the apartments came about is, we had the Urban Land Institute come out here with the
City Council. I’m not sure if the Planning Commission was involved in that to just do a focus
group and look at what do we need to do. What are our strengths and what are the weaknesses in
the city and these are the think tank people and one of the recommendations that they made to
make sure that we’ve got a strong downtown is we need more housing in the downtown area and
that would be you know rental housing. People that would feed into the jobs so we had been
looking for that and with the Southwest Transit this was a potential redevelopment site. I’ve
heard comments that somebody went and lured them. That doesn’t happen. Somebody says that
there’s a market for this. We’re in a right suited. It matched up with the feedback we were
getting from other professionals that this would be a good use downtown so that starts the
process. Nobody went after, called up United Properties and said come to town. We called up
Aldi’s. That doesn’t happen that way. They look for the zoning and the sites that fit. As far as a
vision for downtown the council at their last City Council meeting did approve a contract. We
have a kick off meeting tomorrow on that. Some of that’s to infill. As you know we do have,
which you looked at tonight, Avienda which also has a grocer in it and so they’re trying to pick
up some of that southern traffic. Southwest traffic that’s coming through the city. More of a
regional draw but we do want to connect the downtown. We want to make sure we have a strong
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core. I’m editorializing now but I grew up in Excelsior. This is not, I’ve been here 25 years.
This is not the same footprint downtown as Excelsior’s downtown. Besides the lake and the
square blocks that they have. It’s a different set up. They also have parking congestions and
they’re struggling with some of their designs down there too. In Wayzata they really pumped up
the volume there but that was very controversial when they redid the redevelopment of that mall
there. They spent probably 4 years trying to get that project put together but we are working to
have a, one of the things that the ULI Group says is we’re enviable that we do have a downtown
and we want to keep it walkable. We’re working on some of those connectors. We did that on
our tour. We talked about some where some of the weak links are. How do we take advantage
of Southwest? We talked about they have the opportunity to put a second level. I mean
additional level. A fourth level on that parking ramp and we hope in the future that can take
advantage. We’ve talked about the back side of this property behind here that that’s the potential
for additional parking ramp but these are all ideas that we’ll be engaging the community to talk
about what helps strengthen the downtown as we look at potential impacts that would have from
the Avienda proposal so understand all the comments that were given. Again how we are as a
staff, a project comes forward and we measure it to say does it meet. Didn’t recruit them. They
came forward. We said does it meet the City’s ordinance. What are their goals? What is the
City’s goals so talking about pushing it to the street we’ve had those discussions. They’ve been
given that it’s very difficult when you’ve got existing cross access agreements. This is a very
complicated and to distinguish those is very complicated and I think there was a lot of
negotiation just working out the cross access easements in the rear of the property but that’s what
makes all this development work is how they’re sharing all that as a whole, and it’s not
uncommon. We have that on Villages on the Pond. When St. Hubert’s Church came in, that was
the main driver of that whole project and the reason that’s successful out there is because they
also have cross access agreements and it works through there. Through that site too so we do
have experience in that sort of situation. As we will when we look at Avienda when certain sites
come in and there’s peak hours, they have apartments in the middle of that one too and those are
6 stories and they’ve got some internal parking but they also are going to take advantage of cross
access so I think we’ve got that but certainly we are working towards putting together strengths
and weakness of the downtown. Things we want to encourage or you know if we need to make
some improvements to drive this but redevelopment is complex and so to do, there’s no
stormwater in this area right now and so this project’s improving a lot of those systems. There’s
some overhead electricity in the area that they’re working to removing, fixing some of those
situations so there’s a lot of improvements that come with it too. It’s change. Again I’ve been
here 25 years. There’s been a lot of change. I know when we did the Goddard School there was
a lot of concern about that going next to the historic St. Hubert’s building too so we believe, I’ll
give Sharmeen and the architect a lot of credit because they worked really hard to get this
building to look the way it does. I think it’s a very nice looking building with the materials that
were included in it. It does meet the standards and so as far as some of the other concerns
regarding what you think about some of the material samples I’ll let the Planning Commission
comment on that but that’s what I kind of gleaned from that.
Aller: Great, thank you. And would the applicant like to hit any of the points that were made at
all as far as a response but I in addition for the deliveries. The market rate.
Aanenson: Market rate.
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Rick McKelvey: Yes I can certainly address market rate. It’s probably an overused term as I
was sitting there thinking about it because it’s somewhat nebulous. It’s really dependent on the
specific market that you’re focused on and it’s quite the opposite of the low income or subsidized
housing project. It’s really the highest rent that a residential tenant in a given market can pay the
highest average rent and that we really work in the maximum amenity package that can support
that average rent so if you were in Uptown Minneapolis where there’s really strong demand,
most new developments have swimming pools. I mean hot tubs and really an exceptional
amenity package. In downtown Chanhassen it’s not quite that level but we have two community
rooms. One on the roof level on the sixth floor. One down at street level. We have a theater.
We have a large storage, interior storage complex in addition to the units of course. A fitness
room so we have a really high level, I’d say above average amenity package here because there
is a strong rental demand and high rental price on average so I said in my opening comments I’ll
stop short of calling it a luxury apartment because that probably takes people to a whole other
dimension but it’s a very, very high quality housing product that we intend to deliver here. And
in terms of deliveries we have truck diagrams. Movement diagrams just as you’ve seen with the
Dinner Theater that depict the Aldi deliveries and I won’t speak for Aldi but I would expect a
majority of their deliveries are in the morning hours and it’s very common, I’ve been involved
with several projects, high density projects that have deliveries in locations that comingle with
pedestrians and parking areas. It’s deliveries is really an unavoidable challenge and in this
particular case that was the best layout and the best truck movement that we could identify.
Aller: And then if you could address the screening of the delivery area.
Rick McKelvey: Well there is a wall along the west side of that delivery dock. It’s probably
slightly cut off from this rendering but there is a wall, and I believe there’s a fence on top of it as
well so the screening from this north elevation is obviously not feasible due to the truck
movement but there is a screen wall along the west edge of the dock lane. There you can see it
there so the truck will not be fully screened. You’ll see the top half of the cab if you will as the
truck backs down into the dock area so that could certainly be increased in height with some type
of a mesh, metal mesh screen or something.
Aanenson: Yeah we’ve been working with the architects trying to figure out how to work better
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at screening that. Whether it’s from West 78 streetscape or additional height on that wall.
Aller: Thank you. Any other questions while we’ve got him up? Anyone? Thank you.
Rick McKelvey: Thank you.
Aller: I closed the hearing didn’t I? Okay, just making sure. It’s getting late.
Weick: Yes it is.
Aller: Okay so discussion.
Randall: I guess I can start.
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Aller: Commissioner Randall.
Randall: I understand the residents concerns about it. The amount of grocery stores and I think
that’s a challenge that we always have dealing with if someone wants to come in and develop
this they’ve done the market research on it. I get it’s going to be another grocery store in town
but if they think they can make a go at it they can make a go at it. The other thing, the other
positive side that I see of it though is this will help spur redevelopment of the downtown. What
were the estimates? 250 people living in this apartment building. There’ll be food places that
come. There’ll be things that come down with that kind of level of people that they know that
are living downtown. You’ve got a captive audience right there so we all know that there’s aged
areas in our town that can also be redeveloped also downtown so that’s just what I have to say.
Undestad: Well I’ll comment there too. I think it is, this is the first major or the big project for
redevelopment in downtown Chanhassen and I think with the number of units and the size of the
project I don’t think it’s, it is a big project and it’s redevelopment obviously but as Mark said I
think it keeps going that this is the first phase. The first redevelopment. Adding all these people.
Adding you know, I don’t know about the grocery store but again it’s their call. I mean if they
want to make a run at it but as far as the apartment and things and the redevelopment, I think
overall it’s a pretty good project myself. Right now it is a great time to be building this type of
product out here and obviously you want success. Again you need to do it when the timing is
right and more people, more development so I like it.
Weick: I’d echo what Kate said. You know there were cities that were referenced. I don’t
disagree that a redevelopment of Chanhassen wouldn’t be interesting but the cities Edina,
Wayzata, Excelsior, I’ll even throw in Chaska, they just aren’t built the same way Chanhassen is.
It just isn’t and without a wreck and redo of our quote downtown area, to push buildings closer
to the road and to do things completely differently across the board. I don’t know how we
balance development with that desire to want to be those places. It’s not and so I think we have
a responsibility to try and balance that and bring in growth where we believe there’s a very big
need which would be for the apartments and those people and I firmly agree with you guys that if
you build it they will come. You know we are limited in the type of restaurants that we have in
Chanhassen. I mean the best we ever have hoped for is fast casual. If there’s more people and
the type of, hopefully the type of people that we’re bringing into this area it will open up the door
for other types of development in downtown that I think people in Chanhassen would appreciate.
So that’s my opinion on it.
Aller: Any other questions, comments? I’ll entertain a motion of some sort from anyone who
would like to make it.
Yusuf: I’ll make the motion.
Aller: Commissioner Yusuf.
Yusuf: The Chanhassen Planning Commission recommends that City Council approve Site Plan
review for 134 unit, six story apartment building and a one story 19,000 square foot retail
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building with a variance for the drive aisle widths, and a Registered Land Survey creating two
parcels out of three, and adoption of the Findings of Fact and Recommendation.
Aller: I have a motion.
Yusuf: Oh subject to the conditions of the approval. Right? Thank you Bob.
Aller: I have a completed motion. Do I have a second?
Weick: Second.
Aller: Having a motion and a second, any further discussion? I would just encourage the City
Council to review the comments that have been made tonight as we pass forward the information
that we’ve obtained through the public hearing which is the purpose of the public hearing and
look at those issues anew and take them to heart, as we do and with that I’ll go ahead and take a
vote.
Yusuf moved, Weick seconded that the Chanhassen Planning Commission recommends the
City Council approve a Registered Land Survey creating two parcels out of three; the Site
Plan Review with a variance for the existing drive aisle widths, plans prepared by ISG,
dated May 19, 2017, and subject to the following conditions and adoption of the Findings of
Fact and Recommendation:
Building Official
1. Accessibility must be provided in accordance with the “Minnesota Accessibility Code” (see
MN Rules 1341). Accessible parking must be adequate, dispersed and on located on the
shortest accessible route. Residential units are required to be accessible or adaptable in
accordance with Minnesota State Building Code Chapter 1341. Further information is
needed to determine these requirements.
2. Buildings are required to be protected with an automatic sprinkler system. For the purposes
of this requirement property lines do not constitute separate buildings.
3. The buildings are be required to be designed by an architect and engineers as determined by
the Building Official.
4. Demolition permits must be obtained before demolishing any structures on the site.
Application for such permits must include hazardous substances investigation and proposed
mitigation reports.
5. A geotechnical (soils evaluation) report must be submitted to the Inspections Division
before permits will be issued.
6. Walls and projections within 5 feet of property lines are required to be of one-hour fire-
resistive construction.
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7. Retaining walls over four feet high require a permit and must be designed by a professional
engineer.
8. Each lot must be provided with separate sewer and water services.
9. The developer and/or their agent shall meet with the Inspections Division as early as
possible to discuss plan review and permit procedures.
Engineering
1. The developer must obtain the necessary permissions for the off-site work required to
rebuild a portion of the existing retaining wall on the east side of the proposed building.
2. The developer shall consult with city staff to determine if modifications can be made to
the western entrance off of Market Street to eliminate the current “side by side” driveway
accesses.
3. The applicant shall work with city staff and the owner of the property to the east to
ensure that tractor trailer delivery trucks can access the Dinner Theater’s loading docks.
4. An encroachment agreement is required for the private storm sewer within the city’s 30
foot wide drainage and utility easement.
5. The applicant must obtain a permit from RPBCWD prior to grading the site.
6. The applicant shall include a cross section of the underground storm water system with
the next submittal.
7. A dewatering plan must be submitted prior to issuance of a building permit and shall
include a note that city staff shall be notified before dewatering occurs.
Environmental Resources
1. The applicant shall revise the landscape plan to show any existing trees to be preserved.
2. The applicant shall plant a minimum of 28 trees on the site.
Fire
1. Separate addresses for ALDI and Venue buildings are required.
Planning
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1. The applicant shall develop an alternate plan to provide residents of the apartment a view
of the camouflaged or alternative roof.
2. The applicant shall incorporate additional benches, bike rakes and possibly picnic/cafe
tables around the site.
3. Signage shall comply with the CBD sign regulations. A separate sign permit shall be
required for each sign.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Yusuf noted the verbatim and summary Minutes of the Planning
Commission meeting dated June 6, 2017 as presented.
COMMISSION PRESENTATIONS. None.
ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATIONS.
Aanenson: I guess we didn’t have any items that went forward. We tabled the, I’m giving the
City Council update.
Aller: The update.
Aanenson: Yep so the other thing as I mentioned before the City Council did approve the
contract to do the downtown study so we’ll be meeting to kind of kick that off and we’ll be
involved in a committee in that so that’s really looking at strengthening the core of that
downtown and looking at. We had presented to the council before there are sites that are in
redevelopment which we know, which we’ve seen some of that fast casual dining come in but
there’s some other parcels in place and whether we need to strengthen some of those
intersections. The road widths. We’ve looked at engineering’s already kind of put in place
potential upgrade of Market Boulevard so where we’ve got not enough turn movements where
people have to snake around so those improvements are in play. We talked about down by
Potbelly, looking at those but also just strength of other uses that could be in the downtown and
how those interplay so we’ll be, we’re going to try to do that in the next 3 to 4 months so we’ll
definitely have not only community engagement but the commission and the council engagement
on that too so I’ll be meeting with the consultant on that tomorrow and so I’ll definitely be
keeping you posted on that.
Aller: Great.
Aanenson: We’ve got, I just want to go through the upcoming agenda if I may.
Aller: Please.
Aanenson: You can have the fourth of July off. I hope you come here and celebrate though but
we won’t be in this room. We’ll be out front so. So I did have a subdivision that came in. I
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Chanhassen Planning Commission – June 20, 2017
think I may have mentioned that so Fawn Hill which actually connects the Bentz Farm to the
subdivision to the north. There’s a horse barn in there so that subdivision’s coming in and that
has how many lots Bob?
Generous: 10 lots.
Aanenson: 10 lots so it’s a piece that’s missing up there so we’ll also get some additional
dedication on Galpin which is a potential road upgrade too. And then the rest of the meeting we
intend on going through the Comprehensive Plan. I know Alyson’s been working feverishly on
the water and sewer plans and then also we’ll be having the park and trail draft plan should be
done too and water resources will not be on. That person is not here yet on board but then
housing and land use we’ll also have some discussion on too so for that but I think I want to see
if Alyson wants to make an announcement.
thth
Fauske: The July 20 meeting will be, is that right? 18, thank you, will be my last meeting. I
have accepted a position at a private consulting firm and will be starting in August so it has been
a pleasure to work with the Planning Commission. You’re a fantastic commission. You give
great feedback. You really make sure that staff is doing their job and I think you do a good job
of listening to residents and it’s been a pleasure to work with you all. Thank you.
Weick: Well congratulations.
Aller: Congratulations.
Aanenson: One last meeting.
Fauske: And it was the date specifically was to be at that last meeting so.
Randall: Are you going to be up at the podium now? Coming in.
Fauske: No. This particular firm has municipal clients and so they will not do private
development work in client cities for, to avoid conflict of interest.
Aanenson: That’s all I have Chairman.
Aller: Great. Well I’ll entertain a motion to adjourn. It is one of our latest meetings in a while.
Yusuf moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was not debatable. All voted in favor
and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 7 to 0. The Planning Commission
meeting was adjourned at 11:20 p.m.
Submitted by Kate Aanenson
Community Development Director
Prepared by Nann Opheim
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