05-06-15-PC - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

occupants of the surrounding land, in particular, and the community as a whole, in general, including but not limited to the following factors: 1. Existing and anticipated traffic and parking conditions; 2. Noise, glare, odors, vibration, smoke, dust, air pollution, heat, liquid or solid waste, and other nuisance characteristics; 3. Drainage; 4. Population density; 5. Visual and land use compatibility with uses and structures on surrounding land; 6. Adjoining land values; 7. Park dedications where applicable; and the 8. Orderly development of the neighborhood and the City within the general purpose and intent of this ordinance and the Comprehensive Development Plan for the City. Discussion Staff has two primary concerns about Holiday’s proposal for accent lighting at their service station. First, the lighting is intentionally designed to have a blue hue in order to further brand the site as a Holiday service station. Holiday has installed similar light fixtures on many of the canopies, buildings, and monument signs at their other locations in the metro region. The effect of the accent lighting would be to turn the length of the canopy and building roofline into architectural advertising for the business. The Planning Commission may wish to consider the precedent that could be set if the City approves this type of lighting fixture, which also has a commercial branding purpose. The second issue identified in the staff evaluation is the glare that would result from the accent lighting. Staff has discussed with the applicant the need to minimize the visual impact of the lighting through improved design. A different manufacturer would be used for the proposed accent lights than the LED lighting which is now installed on the monument sign on the property. However, staff believes that the lighting would still create glare that could have a negative impact for those travelling along Highway 96 and Round Lake Road, as well as for residents in the Arden Manor manufactured home park and residents on the east side of Round Lake. In the Recommendation section below, staff has included two conditions for the Planning Commission’s consideration if a motion to approve is made that would require the accent lighting and the existing LED lights on the monument sign to be dimmed during nighttime hours to reduce their visual impact. The Planned Unit Development process provides additional flexibility that an underlying zoning district would not otherwise allow. It is intended to overcome the limitations of zoning regulations and to achieve a higher quality project than would otherwise be possible. In considering whether to grant a PUD Amendment in this case, the Planning Commission should consider if the proposal forwards the goals of the City’s Comprehensive Plan and is in the best interest of the community. City of Arden Hills Planning Commission Meeting for May 6, 2015 P:\Planning\Planning Cases\2015\PC 15-008 - Holiday Station - PUD Amendment\Memos_15-008 Page 5 of 8