CCP 08-10-1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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wehrman bergly PLANNING MEMO TIO[15iates . TO: Arden Hills, Planning Commission FROM: Wehrman Bergly Associates, Inc. Drlyn W. Miller, Planner n. plaza bldg., sle. 220 SUBJECT: Case No. 87-27 5217 wayzata blvd. Amended site plan for parking expansion minneapolis, mn 55416 612 544 7576 APPLI CANT: Land 0' Lakes DATE: July 20, 1987 In order to satisfy an increasing parking demand at the Land 0' Lakes head- quarters, the applicant is proposing to increase the parking supply in the existing lot by 76 spaces. This will b~ accomplished by eliminating a central driveway in the parking lot and converting the driveway to parking spaces. Thi s convers i on wi 11 requi re the e 1 i mi nati on of several" i s 1 ands" in the cen- tral portion of the lot. COt~t'lENTS : 1. The existing central driveway is considered desirable, but not essential, for parking lot circulation. Its elimination would not affect site access or perimeter circulation. It will simply require cars in the parking lot to travel greater distances along parking aisles before reaching the per- imeter drive. 2. As stated previously, the proposed parking expansion will cause the elim- . ination of numerous "islands" in the parking lot. These islands, ranging in size from 10' X 15' to 18' X 28', contain mi ni ma 1 1 andscapi ng. Their original purpose, however, was to break up the relatively large parking lot. Since 1 frequently recommend the provision of landscaped islands to im- prove the appearance of parking lots, I am reluctant to recommend their removal. However, the smaller islands that will be eliminated have much less impact on the parking lot appearance than the large separator islands tha t wi 11 rema in. My observation of the site indicates that the aesthet- ics of the site would not be significantly damaged by the proposed change. If the Planning Commission is not receptive to elimination of the islands, it would be possible to retain the islands but stripe the driveway area for parking. This would result in approximately half the additional park- ing spaces proposed. However, Land 0' Lakes has stated that this approach would not provide enough spaces to meet their current parking need. 3. For your information, the loss of landscaped open space represented by the islands proposed to be eliminated would increase site coverage by approxi- mately 0.3%. . planning' landscape architecture