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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MARCH 16, 2015 2 City Planner Streff stated that the creation of the drive-thru will involve the reconfiguration of the parking lot in order to accommodate the drive-thru lane and the stacking of vehicles in this area. Eleven (11) parking spaces would be eliminated from the site to accommodate the stacking of approximately nine (9)vehicles in the drive-thru lane. City Planner Streff reported that in addition to the drive-thru window location on the outside fagade of the building, the plan also includes the installation of a menu board and speaker for placing customer orders. As depicted on the site plan, a new landscaping island would be installed along with additional landscaping within former parking stall areas not utilized by the driving lane. A new sidewalk connection and curbing would be provided along the southern portion of the drive-thru area. City Planner Streff reviewed the zoning code requirements associated with this proposal. Jerry Roper, Caribou Coffee Corporate, introduced himself to the Council and discussed the proposed drive-thru. He explained that the cities of Eagan and Apple Valley have been approached to add a drive-thru as well. He noted that he has spoken to the landlord and hoped that the City would be supportive. He believed that the shoe repair tenant might be relocating his business to another location within Shannon Square. He then discussed the plan for the Arden Hills site and reported that the food offerings at Caribou may be expanded. Paul Meyer, Paul Meyer Architects, explained that Caribou was pursuing a drive-thru at this location due to the fact that it has an end cap location. He commented that the drive-thru would offer a great convenience to its customers. Councilmember Holmes believed that the site was too small to accommodate a drive-thru. She questioned if there would be more room for vehicle stacking if the triangle portion of landscaping were removed. Mr. Roper stated that enlarging the drive-thru area would also mean the loss of additional parking, which may be a concern to the City. He reported that the proposed drive-thru was pretty typical compared to other locations. Mayor Grant questioned if there was enough stacking space available to allow for the timely delivery of orders. Mr. Roper believed that the proposed plan would allow for a five car stack and noted that this would allow for the timely delivery of orders. Planning Chair Thompson asked if the new food offerings would cause delays in order delivery. Mr. Roper did not anticipate that this would be a concern and noted that customers with large orders may be asked to pull ahead to allow for other orders to be filled. Once the large orders were ready, Caribou staff would walk them to the car. Mayor Grant believed that the plan was visually pleasing. He understood that drive-thrus were becoming increasingly popular and that the City may need to reevaluate its Code language.