CCP 07-26-1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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f(P ~ i~ f~ Tr UJ u ~ IfI~ ti .. , ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION - JULY 7, 1999 4 Mr. Kunkle stated that the approval of the east gate was a concern to Bethel College due to the . security issue. Having an area on campus, which is not controlled at night, is a strong concern of the College. Chair Erickson closed the public hearing at 7:47 p.m., as no one else wished to address the Planning Commission. Chair Erickson asked if there is a deceleration lane to exit into when approaching the east gate entrance. Ms. Randall stated that there is a deceleration lane approaching the east entrance. Chair Erickson requested confirmation that the Minnesota Department of Transportation had approved the proposal. Ms. Randall stated that MDOT approved a permit for the applicant to place the gate in the proposed location. Staff also sent information to MDOT, however, we have not received any comments. Chair Erickson asked if the service road only accesses campus properly. Ms. Randall stated that this was correct. Chair Erickson acknowledged that there is an approximate lO-foot drop along the east entrance road. He asked to what degree the alternative suggested by Mr. Kunkle would address staff's concerns. Ms. Randall stated that the alternative suggested by Mr. Kunkle would address the deficiency in road width issue and would allow two cars to pass easily between the service drive, the parking lot, and Bethel Drive. However, there would still be the issue of accessing the - entrance off ofthe State Highway, with the gate closer to Highway 51 than it is today. ,., Additionally, there would still be the issue of stacking cars during peak times where more than one car would block the service drive. With regard to the statistics included in the Staff memo of the amount of traffic on southbound Highway 51, Chair Erickson asked if these numbers were related to traffic traveling on Highway 51, or the number of cars entering and exiting the campus. Ms. Randall stated that the numbers were representing the amount of traffic traveling on Highway 51 and not the number entering and exiting the campus. Chair Erickson stated that he was not sure how critical the stacking issue is to the proposal. He asked if the new gate proposed at the east entrance would eliminate the control gate for the parking lot. Ms. Randall stated that the control gate would be eliminated. Chair Erickson asked Mr. Kunkle ifhe had any objections to the condition placed on the approval of Planning Case #95-18 that a second access point be provided at the southeast corner of the parking lot. Mr. Kunkle stated that, although this had not been part of the College's plan, he would not have any objections to this condition. Chair Erickson asked if the parking lot is used at night. Mr. Kunkle stated that the parking lot is used for residential student parking and is used at night. . Commissioner Nelson noted that the proposal was for one long 70-foot gate. He asked if the applicant had considered installing two shorter gates in order to create an "L" at the two roads.