PC Minutes 9-3-19CHANHASSEN PLANNING COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
Chairman Weick called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Steve Weick, Mark Randall, John Tietz, Michael McGonagill, and
Laura Skistad
MEMBERS ABSENT: Mark Undestad and Doug Reeder
STAFF PRESENT: Kate Aanenson, Community Development Director; Bob Generous, Senior
Planner; and George Bender, Assistant City Engineer
PUBLIC PRESENT:
Dan Zwiers Elko
Michael Baier Box 340, Chanhassen
Larry & Susan Nowlin 3713 South Cedar Drive
PUBLIC HEARING:
CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR SITE PLAN REVIEW WITH A VARIANCE FOR HARD
COVER FOR EXPANSION OF A RESTAURANT LOCATED AT 590 WEST 79TH
STREET.
Generous: Thank you Chairman and commissioners. As you stated Planning Case 2019-08 is a
site plan review with a variance. They are proposing to slightly expand an existing restaurant
site in the community. Normally we would have done this administratively but they’ve gone
over 10 percent of the allocated square footage and so it has to come through the public hearing
process. The applicant is Chanhassen Butcher LLC and the public hearing is tonight, September
3rd and it goes to City Council on September 9th so it’s a quick turn around. The property is
located at 590 West 79th Street. It’s just to the east of the Walgreen’s and south of the Tires Plus.
Across the street is city owned property and we’ll discuss that a little later as long, as well as
some stormwater facilities. Again this is a site plan review for expansion of a restaurant to add
two exterior seasonal patios. One with a partial roof cover and there’s a variance for hard cover.
The property is guided for commercial uses in the Comprehensive Plan. It’s zoned Highway and
Business Services District and restaurants are permitted use in the district. The site plan. I’ve
highlighted the two areas of the patio. This is the south patio. This is going to be their adults
only area and this would be open to anyone that comes to the restaurant. They’re proposing that
this area is be fenced in also. They’re making these of composite wood materials so low
maintenance requirements. Long life on it. They will be having a roof over 70 percent of the
southern patio area and that’s where additional hard cover is brought into the equation. As part
of our review the Fire Marshal required that they provided egress, sidewalk from the patio to the
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street system and then additionally staff had recommended that they provide this access from
West 79th Street into their building. Currently there is an access point on the end over here.
There’s a small stairway. The City Engineer felt it would be better to move that farther to the
east to accommodate anyone using that new crosswalk that will be developed on the corner.
Again this is a view of the, a schematic of the building. Here’s the new metal roof. It will be
standing seam black in color. They’ll have wood columns. They’re going to wrap those in cedar
and then they’ll have the composite decking. The surfaces allow water to percolate through them
so for the uncovered patio there’s no additional pervious surface and for the southern patio the
total size is 900 square feet, 670 square feet of that is in their, underneath the cover so it’s
counted in the hard cover. I should point out that as part of the variance request 56 percent of the
hard cover is due to the pedestrian circulation that the City is requiring them to install on the site.
There will be minimal grading for the sidewalk and this is an old plan. They don’t show the
connection but they’ll be some grading to bring the sidewalk to the west to connect in here. The
one condition that we have regarding the sidewalk is that we make it ADA compliant and so that
would mean that the steps would have to be removed and they’d have to revise the grading to
lengthen out that slope. I should note that the City is working with the property owner
concurrently or in parallel for a public parking lot on the south side of West 79th Street. This will
be a one way operation so they’ll enter from the west side and exit out on the east side. After,
this is the entrance to the Crosswoods Plaza development. There will be a sidewalk installed as
well as a little island for pedestrians in the middle of West 79th Street. In reviewing the site plan,
oh I should probably go back and point out. If you look at all these properties have cross access
and cross parking agreements so once you get in here you can actually drive internally without
going out onto West 79th Street and go over to the pharmacy. After 5:00 the restaurant has right
to use parking within the Walgreen’s site and historically it’s been the ones right on the
periphery but under the easement agreement it could be anything in here. There is a small
sidewalk section in here. This is the end of the sidewalk that’s being removed as part of this
project and this is the location of the public parking lot that will be available for all the properties
and development within the Crosswoods Plaza development. Finally staff is recommending
approval of the expansion of the 900 square foot patio on the south side of the building. The 677
square foot patio on the west side of the building and to permit an additional 946 square feet of
hard surface which will bring it up to 73.1 percent hard cover. Currently they have a variance to
allow 70 percent. Had this property been located north of the railroad tracks there would be no
variance requirements in this. This is an extension of our downtown area and so at the time it
was zoned Business Highway they were looking for low profile buildings and so they didn’t feel
that they would cover that much. However when you bring in a restaurant the parking standard
are increased so high that they tend to eat up all the hard cover with that. With that, and adoption
of the Findings of Fact and Recommendation. With that I’d be happy to answer any questions.
Weick: Thanks Bob. Appreciate it. Just go ahead and open it up to the commission to go ahead
and kind of take turns and ask questions. If you want to start Commissioner Tietz.
Tietz: I will. Thanks Steve. Regarding the deck is, it’s specified as decking material but it’s
called a patio so is that, it’s pervious?
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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Generous: It’s pervious yeah.
Tietz: It’s pervious.
Generous: So the slots between the boards and so.
Tietz: So that will drain and it will go under the ground.
Generous: Under the ground and the water.
Tietz: Okay. And on the parking, a couple questions on parking. The Walgreen’s on that side,
if you count just the sites that are highlighted in your red. In red in your diagram Bob, there are
87 parking so I’m not, one I’m not sure how they got to current of a 124 and proposed is 136.
Now does that assumes that it’s cross access parking agreement allows for that.
Generous: That’s correct.
Tietz: In the future when this takes off and we have a lot of people coming there the tire stores
stays open til 7:00. The drug store stays open til 10:00. How do you resolve conflicts of parking
in the future if there are more stalls required of the facility? And I’m also concerned, is the City
building the parking lot across the street or are they building it on city property?
Aanenson: They are building it on city property.
Tietz: They are?
Aanenson: They are, correct. And so that’s also going through the watershed district for
stormwater and all that too so correct.
Tietz: Okay, well just go back to the parking numbers. I just, it’s kind of confusing. The
numbers don’t seem to work out. And I don’t know what the occupancy of the building is
because those sheets were not included in the documentation.
Generous: They based it on the City’s requirement of 1 per 64 in the building square footage and
that includes their cooler and cooking area. The numbers they had, on site there were 87 spots
on the specific property.
Tietz: In that red.
Generous: Yeah in the red area which is their lot. And then they counted 24 of the spaces over,
off on the periphery of the Walgreen’s site. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there at 7:00 or
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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8:00 at night but I don’t, I’ve never seen any conflict there. But if it became an issue it’s
something that we would address with the property owner.
Tietz: Well it’s just you know it’s just those cross access agreements sometimes can get kind of
muddy and if there’s ever a conflict, it doesn’t appear that there would be but you know there’s
not too many people buying tires and having tires put on at 7:00 at night but happy hour starts at
5:00 I think doesn’t it so there’s, it’s just a concern with the cross access and if there ever is a
conflict how do we, or is it spelled out in that document? We didn’t have access to that
document.
Aanenson: In the cross access agreement?
Tietz: Yeah.
Aanenson: Yes it’s spelled out. I mean between the individual parties.
Tietz: For resolution of problems.
McGonagill: Yeah same question I had frankly.
Aanenson: Well it’s between the individual property owners so if they would have to resolve
that which Walgreen’s would assert their rights too. What the hours are and how many they’re
using, right.
Tietz: Okay.
McGonagill: Bob, thanks Commissioner Tietz because that was the very first same question. If
you can go with me Bob to, first off I want to start with the parking lot across the street because I
need to understand something on the 78th, the parking lot across the street that’s being built.
Okay, go to the diagram. Is there, when I look at that I can see where the fence is. They’re
putting the fence in along there right? Is that a sidewalk in there too?
Generous: No.
McGonagill: Okay, alright. So this comes to my question. If you now can go to the site plan of
the building, that one. My concern is this, I understand the fire department and they’re dumping
everybody out on the street. Right they’re dumping everybody out, right there.
Generous: Onto the sidewalk.
McGonagill: Onto that sidewalk. People are going to go across the street right there. What’s
going to prevent them from just walking off and then walking down the fence line? I mean I
realize that’s not what they’re supposed to do but you built this crosswalk and everything over
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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here on the left to try to put traffic flow there so people would not do that. But people line of
sight, I mean furthest distance between two points is a straight line and I’m really I think I know
exactly what’s going to happen. People are going to walk down the street. Either going to go,
and unfortunately they’re hitting the parking lot across the street right in the middle so they’ll go
this way. They’re going to go to the right or the left and work their way around that fence.
Aanenson: Yep a lot of time was spent looking at that issue with the applicants. The City did,
the City Engineer did work with SRF to give us a recommendation for the best crossing and we
did not want them to cross mid block nor did we want them to cross at the intersection because
people are committed so if they cross mid block they’re still not going to be able to get in.
There’s a fence there which is the reason why we put the fence there is to deter that so the fire
department, and it isn’t a building code issue. It’s a fire department issue to get people safely out
of the building to a surface. Again they would go back, can you go back to the parking lot. Go
back to the intersection where you’ve got a.
McGonagill: Yeah they’re going to come out basically where that car is.
Generous: It will be right here.
McGonagill: Right in there.
Aanenson: Correct. Have to go left or right because you can’t talk them in the box. Either go a
controlled intersection so part of everything that we discussed with this is, you know with the tax
increment district that’s, that we put in place with the Venue project is the improvement of
Market Boulevard so what we looked at that is kind of a short range this project is and as we
make those improvements on Market Boulevard this intersection would also be re-examined too
but there is a mid point crossing. Again if you could go back to the parking lot design. There is
a mid point crossing that shows a, there would be a base sidewalk similar to what’s at Galpin and
5.
McGonagill: Well I get when I first saw the design of this I was fine. Okay they’re going to
come off here. They go straight across. Straight line. They’ll go into the restaurant. Makes all
the sense in the world. But putting the sidewalk right in the middle you’ve negated that whole
approach of trying to force people to go in a certain direction. Do you follow what I’m saying?
Aanenson: Right but he other, we spent a lot of time discussing that too so if you’re going up
there is no access going up the driveway and you’re coming into the dumpster and some fire
hydrant equipment so currently right now the entrance is on the other side of the building.
McGonagill: Right it’s over on the left. You come around and you have to go around that.
Aanenson: Correct.
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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McGonagill: I understand that but the, with the fence and the parking that will make people do
that. I’m just saying when they come out of the restaurant or they come out of the play area
they’re going to be on that sidewalk and they’re going to head south and they’ll dump onto the
street. I mean that’s.
Aanenson: That’s a smaller percentage of the people that are going to go there too. Those 25
yeah. Right.
McGonagill: It only takes one to get hit so that’s my point. Kids coming out of there running,
you know they’re going to go straight. And so then they’ll go down the street. So I understand
what you’re trying to go and that was one of my concerns. I want to understand that’s what you
did or how it was designed so I understand the point. And I’m, it was kind of, I was surprised to
see that but I understand what the fire department did. Now I understand why it was there to
start with so makes sense. On the site, can you go back to the site plan again? That one. One of
the things that when I was reading the write up I was curious why you, why this was done. Up in
the upper left corner, and we talked about, you know we talk about coverage. We talk about
hard cover and we talk about trying to get water into the ground to control it you know and to
void that which makes sense and even though we’re over the percentage, why did you replace
the, the way I read it. Maybe I read it wrong. Why did you replace the rain garden with a tree?
To me rain gardens work great. I mean this rain garden in the upper left corner. That’s the one
I’m concentrating on because this water’s dumping off of this shed, that would be an ideal to me
a place for a rain garden. I have one in my yard and it does a great job of controlling my wet
area but when…knows this a lot better than I do that if rain garden’s work, why was that one,
why did you take it out?
Bender: I believe it was felt that the tree in and of itself would, the root system would be
absorbing water. There were no details provided on the rain garden from the applicant at all and
all it said was potential rain garden and it wasn’t felt that it was completely necessary.
McGonagill: I understand, okay. Obviously if they had, with a concern of hard cover to me one
of the best solutions of handling hard cover is rain gardens and retention areas which is really
what a rain garden is. And given, if I go back, go back to the photograph Bob if you would
please.
Generous: Of the aerial?
McGonagill: Of the aerial yeah. When I look at that area and going to me if you’re going to put
one it’d be a great spot for it. It’d be a great place to hold the water because the drainage kind of,
if I remember right runs this way doesn’t it? And you could at least keep it on the site. Let it
slow down and then move it’s way.
Bender: Hit a tile and go straight to the storm sewer.
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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McGonagill: Yeah and move it’s time. You know take it’s time to not overflow, particularly
since you have all this parking lot up to the north. That was my reaction to the question. That’s
really what I was wondering. Because it really was about that. I would like to see something in
there to kind of control it and I was also thinking that’s, you know if you had it is that a way you
could keep people from going across the street but you can’t the way it’s designed. You have to
go to the sidewalk so.
Bender: The applicant still can, you know when they come with their final plans and what not
still include one. That will be up to them.
McGonagill: Great. I think it’d be a great spot for it and be the right environmental thing to do.
Weick: Question. Will the, that parking lot be signed in any way? That’s across the street.
Aanenson: I don’t believe so.
Weick: In other words like.
Generous: One way.
Weick: They won’t say parking for.
Aanenson: No.
Weick: Because technically that parking is for anybody.
Aanenson: Correct.
Weick: So to assume that everybody that parks there is going to be going to the, the Butcher
restaurant isn’t, that’s not. They could be going to BW3. They could be going to Walgreen’s.
They could be going anywhere.
Aanenson: That’s correct.
Weick: Okay. Which then and my point to say that is then that sort of central walkway you
know might make more sense because it is servicing then the entire.
McGonagill: Central, which one Chairman?
Weick: The way they have it now.
McGonagill: Oh yeah.
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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Weick: Because not everybody’s going to be going there.
McGonagill: No and that’s a perfect place to put it. I mean that was a good design. It solved the
problem for parking. It was across the street and it forced everyone, my point was it forced
everyone to go through at least the most controlled access point you could. They put a median in
there for protection so they had done a lot to protect the residents and I think that’s great. I agree
with you. It’s just when they come out of the restaurant and swing around go south they’re
going to head to the parking lot and they’re not going to go around. They’re going to go straight.
Weick: Okay.
McGonagill: It kind of, to there’s a particular restaurant close to the lake in Excelsior that has
this situation and people go across the street all the time in every direction. That’s, I don’t want
to recreate that issue.
Weick: Sure, yeah.
Tietz: We did have some conversation at one of the last meetings too about, hopefully that could
be more of employee parking. Is that correct or is that not correct?
Aanenson: It’s intended how they want to use it, yeah.
Tietz: Yeah.
Aanenson: Again that was the purpose of the fence. You can get over there but there’s no
sidewalk on that side so you’re really encouraging someone if you want to make the crossing to
try to jump a fence or walk in the street that you would stay on the sidewalk. Because there’s a
fence so that was the intent of that.
Weick: Questions? None, okay. Thank you. At this time I’d like to have the applicant come
forward. If they would like and either answer any of the concerns you’ve heard so far or just
give us a general overview of the project that’d be great. Good evening.
Blaine Eggen: Good evening. So my name is Blaine Eggen. This is Tony. We’re excited to be
coming to Chanhassen if we can get this thing done. The name of the restaurant would be
Tequila Butcher. It’s going to be a, I don’t know if any of you have been to Whiskey Inferno in
Savage but it’s a lot of smoked meats but this one, Tony likes to do, Tony’s the main orchestrator
behind all this. So we’re continuing to smoke meats but we’re adding a Mexican flare to it.
Tony started in Eagan. If anybody’s been to Folsted House. The Grandson’s Eatery and Burgers
and Bottles is in Eagan on Lone Oak Road. That’s where he got his start and then went to
Farmington with Bourbon Butcher and then Whiskey Inferno was our last one that we just did.
Completed last year. We’ve had a lot of good success there and we’re excited to bring this to
Chanhassen, this concept. In this particular setting we chose to do the split patios to try and give
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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a family oriented one on the side where we’ve got the fenced in area. We were trying to
incorporate like a Bocce Ball type of situation but with the terrain and the area that we’re left
with it didn’t work out so we kind of just created this fenced in area for families to, if their kids
want to play in the grass and do some sorts of activities there, that they would have that where
it’s safe for them to do that. The back patio with the covered feature is a key thing for us. We
have it in Farmington and we have it in Savage. It’s one of our main themes that we have where
you’ve got a fireplace to sit at back there and it’s just a, that area is going to be more of a quiet
adult area for people to mingle and have cocktails and stuff. The inside project if you guys care,
it will be different from all the other places but, I don’t know do you want to add anything to the
inside?
Tony: Hi guys, good evening. We’re, I guess what Blaine’s trying to say is we’re beyond
excited to be in Chanhassen. We want to bring something unique to the community that’s not
already here. We always spend a lot of time looking at what’s competition doing and we try to
not head on compete with what’s going on but create something completely unique to the
community so that’s what he’s saying with the two patios. One that’s family friendly and one for
much needed night out with friends and date night where you don’t bring the kids and there’s not
kids throwing crayons on the floor so very cocktail focused and just something very unique to
Chanhassen so.
Blaine Eggen: And then as far as the working with planning, we had come to the table with,
with eliminating 4 parking stalls so that we wouldn’t have to do the variance and they suggested
obviously we didn’t want to do that but we thought that would be a solution because we need
parking is also a big key to this. And they suggested no, that we go for the variance and keep the
parking which is great with us. So that’s where that all came about. Other than that if you guys
have any questions.
Weick: Great, thank you very much and please don’t misinterpret us kind of getting into the
weeds on some of these things as not being excited about you guys coming to town because I’ve
been on this commission for a few years and we consistently hear that people want solutions like
this you know for dining and for relaxing and having a drink or whatever it is. So certainly it’s a
cool, I think it’s a great thing for Chanhassen, speaking on behalf of myself only but I don’t have
any specific questions about the site but certainly if anybody does of the applicant. No? Okay,
well thank you. Thanks for coming.
Blaine Eggen: Thank you.
Weick: At this time I would open it to, I don’t gavel that. I gavel it closed. I’ll open up the
public hearing portion of this. Anyone wishing to come forward and voice an opinion on this
project or what you’ve heard so far tonight please do so. And seeing nobody come forward I
will close the public hearing portion and open this item up for commissioner discussion and/or
motion.
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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Tietz: Probably not too much to say. I think it’s a great idea and a great solution for Chan. I
think it’s going to be good. I’m just always concerned about parking and I’m sorry but I am
concerned about parking and with the system that you have there with the cross, cross access
agreements for parking it just looks like, I don’t know what, how big is Houlihan’s across the
way? Sometimes that parking lot, I mea it’s over into Total Wine. It’s down by Bookoo. It’s all
over and it’s just my caution that hopefully we don’t run into some issues at certain times of the
evening but I think it’s great. I look forward to dining there so thanks.
McGonagill: Yeah I’ll reiterate what the commissioner said. It’s real excited about having it
there and I think it will be a great addition. Something that we’ve needed for a long time. My
concern goes, and it’s not the restaurant. It’s the parking just like you’ve talked. How you
access it and what it is. The cross agreements. They’re going to have to work that out. I do, I
can’t, you know my issue is with the sidewalk and having access in and where it’s going to
egress. I’d like to see some additional thought put into that some way. You know we have great
engineering staff and we have an applicant that wants to work with us to try to prevent people
from going across the street and walking down the street. That happens at another restaurant all
the time and people coming around those corners and people having a great time and you’re out
for a good time and you’re just walking. You don’t think about those things. So traffic flow or
pedestrian flow is a concern but it doesn’t take away from the value of the restaurant. I want to
make that clear.
Weick: Sure. Yeah.
McGonagill: And the hard cover I think they can, there’s ways to solve that that I’ve already
talked about so they can, but I would ask them to really consider that. But that’s really where all
my comments start and stop is the, is accessing the, I think we’ve done a great job with that
parking lot across the street trying to prevent people from going across the street except in one
spot. I want to see that discipline maintained someway.
Weick: Yeah. Because ultimately the parking affects the business right. I mean if there aren’t
enough spots for people to park then that ends up hurting the business so he’s not.
McGonagill: We want that.
Weick: Right yeah so we want.
McGonagill: We absolutely want that.
Weick: People to succeed and.
McGonagill: Yeah I think this will be a very busy place so it’s, I don’t know what the answer is
but I’m not the engineer. I just try to follow a want to be engineers.
Chanhassen Planning Commission – September 3, 2019
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Weick: There you go. And no issues with the actual variance which is the hard cover variance.
I mean we don’t.
McGonagill: Not for myself.
Weick: Okay.
Tietz: Are you ready for a motion?
Weick: I love it.
Tietz: I’ll make a motion. The Chanhassen Planning Commission recommends the City Council
approve the restaurant expansion to include two exterior patios of 900 and 677 square feet, for
the variance to permit the addition of 946 square feet of hard cover to permit 73 percent hard
cover subject to the conditions of the staff report and adopts the Findings of Fact and
Recommendation.
Weick: We have a valid motion from Commissioner Tietz. Do we have a second?
McGonagill: I’ll second it.
Weick: We have a second from Commissioner McGonagill. Any last comments before we
vote?
Tietz moved, McGonagill seconded that the Planning Commission recommends the City
Council approve Site Plan #2019-08 to permit the construction of two exterior patios with a
variance to permit an additional 946 square feet of hardcover for a total of 73 percent
hardcover, plans prepared by CNH Architects dated 8/22/19, and Westwood dated 8/20/19,
subject to the following conditions and adopts the Findings of Fact and Recommendation:
Building
1. Building plans must be prepared and signed by design professionals licensed in the State
of Minnesota.
2. Building plans must include a code analysis that contains the following information: Key
plan, Occupancy group, Type of construction, Allowable height and area, Fire sprinklers,
Separated or non-separated, Fire resistive elements (Ext. walls, Bearing walls - exterior
or interior, Shaft, Incidental use), Occupant load, Exits required (Common path, Travel
distance), Minimum plumbing fixture count.
3. Detailed occupancy related requirements will be addressed when complete building plans
are submitted.
Engineering
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1. All newly proposed pedestrian access routes shall be ADA compliant.
2. An Encroachment Agreement Application shall be filed for any structures places in
public drainage and utility easements.
3. Grading plans shall be updated to include erosion control Best Management Practices
upon submittal of building permits.
4. Site plan shall be updated upon submittal of building permits to include:
a. Legend
b. Engineering scale
c. Vicinity map
d. Existing utilities (and services)
e. Detail plates
f. Call 811 notes
Fire
1. Remodel of interior will require separate fire sprinkler, fire alarm, and kitchen hood
suppression system permits.
2. Sprinklers will possibly be required under exterior covered patio ceiling.
Planning
1. The applicant shall enter into a Site Plan Agreement with the City and provide the
necessary security to guarantee erosion control, site restoration and landscaping.
2. The applicant shall install an additional over-story tree to the southeast of the south deck.
All voted in favor and the motion carried unanimously with a vote of 5 to 0.
Weick: The variances unanimously 5-0. How was that to count? Thank you very much.
PUBLIC HEARING:
CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR AN INTERIM USE PERMIT FOR MINING
OPERATION AT 100 & 200 FLYING CLOUD DRIVE (MOON VALLEY GRAVEL
PIT).
Weick: Is this you again Bob?
Generous: This is me again.
Weick: Great.
Generous: Thank you Chairman, commissioners. Moon Valley, Planning 2019-09 is a public
hearing. This, the grading permit or the IUP for this project expires at the end of this month and
so they’re required to come in and renew it. As part of their, the application is Moon Valley
Aggregate Inc. They own the easterly parcel. Beatrice Zwiers Irrevocable Trust owns the
westerly parcel. The active portion of the mining operation is on the eastern portion of the site
so. This item is a public hearing tonight and is forwarded to City Council for September 23rd.