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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION – APRIL 26, 2021 3 <br /> <br />Mr. Anderson reported he reviewed the site plan in further detail and commented on the <br />encroachment on the east side of the property. He stated he wants to work with the City to <br />enhance this corner of the property. He indicated he has been talking with Bank of America and a <br />national coffee/bakery group about collocating on this site. He commented further on the project <br />and requested feedback from the Council on how to proceed. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holden stated this was a tight site. She requested further information regarding <br />the drive through. <br /> <br />Mr. Anderson explained the bank was not requesting a drive through. He noted the drive through <br />would only serve the national coffee/bakery group on the northern half of the building. He <br />estimated the drive through would have stacking for 10 cars. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant reported Bank of America was a national bank chain that had four other sites in the <br />metro area. He discussed how the developer had maximized the amount of development on the <br />site, which was reflected in the reduced level of parking. He indicated he would have some <br />difficulty getting over this. He stated City Code required 196 stalls for this site and the developer <br />was proposing 138. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holden questioned how snow removal would be managed on this property. <br /> <br />Mr. Anderson stated no retail operation, especially national vendors, would move forward with a <br />project if they were not comfortable with the level of parking. He reported Aldi does not open <br />until 9:00 a.m. He was of the opinion the coffee shop would have an AM peak while Aldi would <br />have a PM peak, noting these uses complimented each other nicely. He discussed how snow <br />could be removed, trucked off and hauled away during the winter months. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holmes commented on how grocery stores were limiting their level of parking <br />to maximize the money made per square foot. She noted there was a concern in the metro area <br />with the reduced level of parking at grocery stores in the metro area. She explained that the coffee <br />shop would not just have an AM peak. She indicated Arden Hills was full of college students that <br />would take advantage of this and use all hours of the day. She feared that this site was too full and <br />did not adequately provide enough parking stalls or space for snow storage. She understood this <br />building had two frontages and questioned if there would be a sidewalk on Lexington Avenue and <br />Grey Fox Road. <br /> <br />Mr. Anderson reported there would be sidewalks along both frontages. <br /> <br />Councilmember Scott asked what Aldi required for parking. <br /> <br />Mr. Anderson explained Aldi generally requires 95 parking stalls. He indicated he had parking <br />studies from around the metro with peak time information and noted 95 stalls has been adequate. <br /> <br />Councilmember Scott inquired if the other two clients were comfortable with the proposed level <br />of parking. <br /> <br />Mr. Anderson stated to date the other two clients were comfortable with the proposed parking.