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. I .- I I I . I I '. I . I I . . I .e . ARDEN HIT.I.s CITY COUNCIL - JULY 25, 1994 UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS PLANNING CASE NO. 93-1SA - RYDER STUDENT TRANSPORTATlONIRECO. 1901 WEST COUNTY ROAD F - SUP 6 Fritsinger stated that this item is a request to operate a school bus terminal at the location of 1901 West County Road F. Recently the Council approved amendments to the Zoning Ordinances to allow consideration of this type of request. The applicant is now requesting a special use permit. Some of the improvements Ryder is attempting to address in the process is to asphalt the parking lot, landscape the east side of the building and remove additional of fuel tanks. Fritsinger stated that the site is approximately nine acres in size. There is an antenna tower near the freeway to the west of the residential area on the east with the school boundary to the south. A pond acts as a buffer to the eastern neighboring residential area. To the west is a significant elevation change which acts as a natural screen. The building itself sits approximately in the middle of the property. It is constructed primarily of metal with two overhead doors which enter from the south. The buses mainly serve the Moundsview School District. Additional service is also provided to Minnehaha Academy and St. Odelia. The number of buses has grown over the years, from 35 in 1960 to 170 vans and buses today. Business hours of operation are from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. There are two signs on the building and one in the northwest comer of the lot near the freeway, all of which meet City requirements for business signage. There are 370 parking spaces on site, which includes the 40 spaces in the tennina1 building. There are 175 employees working on the major shift. Fritsinger stated that the number one concern expressed by neighbors is bus traffic on County Road F traveling east. The applicant states that the majority of bus traffic leaving the site should be traveling west, and bus drivers will be so reminded. One resident at the Planning Commission meeting reported a number of accidents on County Road F, and staff contacted the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department who indicated that there is not a significant problem with accidents. Staff conducted an informal traffic count at the comer of County Road F and Old Snelling Avenue during the peak hours (6:35 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 2:40 p.m.). Over 90% of the traffic observed was general vehicle traffic on County Road F, which was backed up in places. The backed up traffic was caused by high volumes and not necessarily related to school buses. Fritsinger stated that residents also expressed concern about the amount of mud being tracked onto County Road F. The applicant has agreed to abandon the one side of the building where mud is a problem and asphalt the remainder of the lot so there will be no parking on unimproved surfaces. The current ordinance states that there will be no off-street parking within 20 feet of the road right-of-way. There are presently eight parking spaces within this right-of-way area on County Road F. The applicant has requested permission to continue using these parking spaces until the time of the County Road F reconstruction. If the City and County have not reached agreement on the reconstruction project within one year, the