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<br />ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION - MARCH 7, 2001
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<br />ii) Building Size. The minimum building size in the G-B District is 20,000 square feet
<br />of ground floor area with 100 foot width and 130 foot depth. The Design
<br />Standards propose a minimum building size of not less than 6,000 square feet, 50
<br />foot width and 120 foot depth, The applicant has requested a 6,000 square foot
<br />building size due to the possibility of a smaller free standing structure (ex. a bank)
<br />as a potential user within a larger complex,
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<br />b) Bnilding & Parking Structure Setbacks. Accessory structures, by Zoning Ordinance,
<br />are not permitted in the front or side/comer yard, The Design Standards refer to parking
<br />ramps and decks as accessory structures. Therefore, they are subject to accessory
<br />structure standards, The applicant needs to have the flexibility to build parking
<br />ramps/decks within the front yard within ten feet of the right of way, The reduced setback
<br />is needed to allow intense and unified development of the central part ofthe site,
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<br />Ms, Chaput noted the comparison of the Zoning Ordinance requirements to the proposed Design
<br />Standards as detailed in her staff report, She then continued with her presentation as follows:
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<br />c) Building Height & Floor Area Ratio. The Gateway Business District language
<br />encourages multi-story structures, However, the maximum building height for the
<br />District is 35 feet by the Zoning Ordinance, The Design Standards state a height of a
<br />maximum of eight stories, The maximum floor area ratio (total floor area of buildings
<br />divided by total lot area) can not exceed 0.5 by Ordinance, According to Section 5 (M)
<br />#5, this can only be accomplished by a structure that does not exceed three floors and
<br />meets the minimum 35% landscape area, However, the maximum build-out plan shows a
<br />total square footage of 499,900 over 26.5 acres, totaling a FAR of 0.43 (less than the
<br />maximum, even with an eight story structure).
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<br />d) Landscaping, The proposed Design Standards refer to landscaped area within the
<br />developable portion ofthe site, not the total percentage of greenspace within the
<br />development (as shown in Exhibit E), The Zoning Ordinance requires that a minimum of
<br />35% of the total area of the parcels be landscaped, Within the developable portion ofthe
<br />site, 2,35 acres oflandscaping have been provided (or 9% of the developable area),
<br />However, the total site contains an additional 11,9 acres of permanent greenspace
<br />(wetlands and ponds), totaling 45% of the entire site area, In total, 54% of the entire site
<br />is considered landscaped area (14.25 acres), exceeding the minimum Zoning Ordinance
<br />requirement.
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<br />Ms, Chaput presented the landscape requirements from the Zoning Ordinance, in comparison to
<br />the requirements outlined in the Applicant's Design Standards, She advised that Appendix A
<br />also outlines minimum landscaping requirements relating to the square footage of the floors of a
<br />building and the building height, The maximum buildout plan identifies 499,900 square feet of
<br />building area, The area (499,900), divided by 320, requires 1,562 minimum total caliper inches
<br />for this plan, Appendix A also outlines required percentages of trees at various caliper inches
<br />according to the building height. For buildings over 5 stories in height, 30% must be 2.0" to 3,0",
<br />50% must be 3.5" to 4.0" and 20% must be 4,5" to 5,0",
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<br />Ms. Chaput advised that the applicant has stated that landscape standards and practices have
<br />changed significantly over the last decade which is why they are proposing differing Design
<br />Standards. One of the changes involves on-going recommendations from horticultural, forestry
<br />and nursery professionals to plant smaller overstory and understory trees due to significant local
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