CCP 06-25-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

The conclusions state that the 96/W. Round Lake Road intersection will operate at acceptable levels with the implementation of both the Chesapeake and Arden Towers projects. There would also be less than desirable operations at the 96/I- 35W ramps and it was suggested that signalization should be reviewed for these areas. Biko suggested that improvements be made to the 96/I-35W bridge and improvements be made at the 96/10 intersection. Both of these areas are under review with Ramsey County and the State although they may not be scheduled for quite some time. e) Parking By the Zoning Ordinance, the parking requirement for an office development is 1 parking space for every 250 square feet. There is 265,514 square feet of office space, requiring 1,062 parking spaces which is satisfied by the proposal. The parking area includes surface parking and two, two level parking ramps. There must be a 50 foot landscape setback from all public streets and 20 feet from other property lines to surface parking areas. The parking ramps are not considered to be principal structures so they are subject to the accessory structure or parking setback requirements, since the Zoning Ordinance is unclear on this issue. The parking setbacks are more stringent and, therefore, the ramps are evaluated accordingly. The setbacks are not met when measured from the proposed street at 21 feet when 50 is required. f) Site Access There is currently a 66'wide utility easement that runs east to west across the middle of this property. This easement can not be built upon by a structure so a road is being proposed over it. The City would need to maintain access to this easement and it should be,therefore, a public street with a right of way of no less than 60', as required for local streets. The proposed street is a width of 24 feet. The only public street that could serve this site, Gateway Boulevard, does not connect to the west property line of this property. There is currently an unimproved road serving the tower site, for maintenance of the tower. Staff is unaware if the applicant has an easement agreement with other property owners to access the site as no easement is shown on the submitted plans. The improved portion of the road stops on the west side of the pond for Apache. The land between existing Gateway Boulevard and the applicant's property was previously owned by Morris Communications and just recently acquired by Chesapeake Companies. Therefore, this site does not currently have a connection to a public street, as is required for development. g) Public Safety The proposal discusses the construction of a 750 foot antenna tower(although 700 feet is shown in the plans). Due to the fact that the current antenna has been found unsafe, the applicant needs to build another tower, although zoning prohibits it. The Building Official has stated that numerous additional antennas have been added to the tower without building permits or staff approval, creating this unsafe condition. 4