Laserfiche WebLink
ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL – FEBRUARY 23, 2015 14 <br /> <br />City Planner Streff stated that the City approved a redevelopment plan for the Arden Plaza retail <br />center in 2009 in Planning Case 09-011. The approved Master PUD included the demolition of an <br />existing office building, the subdivision of the parcel into four lots, and the construction of four <br />new buildings over three phases. A total of 97,035 square feet of retail and commercial building <br />space was approved for the Master PUD. Phase I of the PUD, which included the development of <br />a pharmacy in place of the office building at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and County <br />Road E, was also approved as part of this planning case. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff indicated that a subsequent PUD Amendment in 2011 (Planning Case 11- <br />016) included a revised plat that combined two of the lots in the northeast corner of the site into a <br />single lot for the development of the existing Walgreens Pharmacy. Phase I of the Master PUD <br />was largely completed in 2012, and included the construction of the Walgreens building, <br />modifications to parking and circulation within the retail center area, and the construction of <br />stormwater bio-filtration basins required for the proposed build-out of the site. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff explained that a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) was approved in Planning <br />Case 97-009 allowing Frattallone’s Hardware to install fencing on a portion of the retail center <br />parking lot for a seasonal garden sales area. A CUP was required because the Zoning Code does <br />not specifically allow or prohibit outdoor garden sales as a use. This seasonal sales area continues <br />to operate on the property, although the area was never fenced off as proposed and its footprint <br />has expanded beyond the original CUP approval. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff commented that the Master PUD and subsequent amendment, along with <br />associated plans and conditions of approval, remain valid. Neither Phase II nor Phase III of the <br />approved Master PUD is being reviewed as part of this amendment request. The buildings <br />included in these future phases would return to the Planning Commission and City Council for <br />review and approval prior to development. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff noted that the first component of the application is the Preliminary Plat to <br />subdivide Lot 3 within the existing Arden Plaza plat into three separate parcels. Frattallone’s <br />Hardware, which is a current tenant in the retail center, has approached Wellington Management <br />regarding the purchase of its store and the existing outdoor garden center. To accommodate this, a <br />new Lot 4 would be created comprised of the Frattallone’s portion of the building, the area <br />occupied by the seasonal sales area, and related parking and service areas. <br /> <br />City Planner Streff stated that the new Lot 3 would be comprised of the remaining retail center, <br />the primary parking area, access drives on County Road E and Lexington Avenue, and the <br />stormwater pond at the southeast corner of the site. The lot line between the retail building on Lot <br />3 and the Frattallone’s Hardware store on Lot 4 would be defined by a demising wall, which is a <br />common wall used by separate real estate entities erected upon a line dividing two parcels of land. <br />The City Building Official has been working with the property owner on the specifications of the <br />demising wall and building permits will be required prior to construction. Approval of the Final <br />Plat will be conditioned on the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for the proposed <br />remodeling work. The Final Plat will be brought back to the City Council for approval once the <br />Certificate of Occupancy has been issued. <br />