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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-08-14 Special WS "It -iPVEN HILLS Approved: October 27, 2014 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION SEPTEMBER 8,2014 5:30 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Grant called to order the special City Council work session at 5:33 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant; Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, and Ed Werner Absent: Councilmember Dave McClung (excused) Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers; Public Works Director Terry Maurer; Community Development Director Jill Hutmacher; City Planner Ryan Streff; Associate Planner Matthew Bachler; and City Clerk Amy Dietl 1. AGENDA ITEMS A. Discussion with Commercial Developers Regarding TCAAP Zoning Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that City staff, County staff, and financial consultants have been meeting with commercial and residential developers to gather feedback on land values, absorption rates, and the draft zoning document. Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers & Associates, has prepared a presentation summarizing commercial developer feedback. Kent Carlson, Anderson Companies, and Jason Sell, Cushman & Wakefield, are available to answer questions. Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers & Associates, reviewed the TCAAP zoning map with the Council. She provided the Council with definitions for the various zoning districts as observed by industry standards. Kent Carlson, Anderson Companies, stated that he believed that warehouse distribution on the TCAAP site would have constraints given the infrastructure and access issues to and from the site. He discussed the types of industrial uses he could foresee on the property, such as medical tech or medical manufacturing. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 2 Mayor Grant questioned how the City would go about getting high quality, sustainable jobs on TCAAP. Todd Hanson, Cushman & Wakefield, stated this would be driven by the market and economics. He believed that the TCAAP site is a unique blank slate, and it is like no other site in the metro area. He hoped that it would appeal to precision manufacturing and medical, along with research and development firms. Mr. Carlson encouraged the City to differentiate itself from the competition through setbacks, berming, landscaping, building design, trails and other amenities to attract high end corporations. Mr. Hanson recommended that the flex and office space be merged together to offer greater flexibility to future developers. It was his opinion that long-term health would require flexibility and innovation, while allowing for growth. Discussion ensued regarding spec development verses build to suit development, the height of light industrial buildings, the quality of tip up panels, the size and scale of light industrial properties, along with loading dock areas and potential screening options. Community Development Director Hutmacher summarized the comments provided this evening. B. Grading and Spine Road Design Review Public Works Director Maurer stated that the Kimley Horn Infrastructure Team was present to discuss the grading plan and spine road portions of the TCAAP infrastructure project. He noted that Jon Horn, Project Manager, and Tom Lincoln, Task Leader for Land Development, were present to answer questions. Jon Horn, Kimley-Horn, discussed the proposed design and location for the spine road in detail with the Council. He described how utilities would be brought along each side of the spine road. The alignment of the creek and surrounding drainage was also reviewed. Councilmember Holden questioned why the spine road location was being altered. City Administrator Klaers stated that the original placement on the land use map was an educated guess and that the consultants are now reevaluating the best alignment based on available information on such site elements as the access point at H and the location of wetlands. Public Works Director Maurer provided comment on how the new alignment would impact the properties surrounding the spine road. Councilmember Holden suggested that the spine road be designed for 35 miles per hour traffic. Public Works Director Mauer stated that the road would be engineered for 40 miles per hour traffic but the posted speed would be determined by the State after a speed study. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 3 Mayor Grant adjourned the City Council work session meeting at 6:52 p.m. Mayor Grant reconvened the City Council Work Session meeting at 8:11 p.m. B. PC 14-023 Concept Review — 4200 Round Lake Road — Roberts Management Group City Planner Streff stated that the property being discussed tonight is situated at the northeast corner of the I-35W and 1-694 interchange with access from Round Lake Road and Gateway Boulevard. This property is commonly referred to as the Traverse Business Center site. City Planner Streff indicated that the applicant is proposing two (2) light industrial buildings at this site. Building 1 is proposed at 200,140 square feet and building 2 is proposed at 25,600 square feet for a total of 225,740 square feet. It is the applicant's vision that the larger of the two buildings would function as a multi-tenant structure with an average of 20% office and the remainder of the space would be used for manufacturing, production, retail sales and service, warehousing and other similar uses. The smaller of the two buildings would function in a very similar manner to the other building; however, this structure would be geared towards smaller production tenants with less office presence. It is the applicant's hope that the great visibility and interstate access will appeal to potential tenants. City Planner Streff stated as proposed, the buildings would be constructed with tip-up concrete panels with decorative accents that incorporate brick and metal to help offset the large facades of the structures. The applicant is also proposing to use a large amount of glass on the front of the buildings to further enhance the attractiveness of both buildings. The front facade of building 1 is positioned to face I-35W/1-694 and building 2 has its front oriented towards Gateway Boulevard. In order to provide functional space that will serve the needs of both large and small tenants, building 1 is proposed with twenty-five (25) foot to thirty (30) foot sidewalls and building 2 with twenty(20) foot to twenty-five(25) foot sidewalls. City Planner Streff explained that surface parking would be provided on the site as depicted on the site plan that has been submitted by the applicant. The plan shows that the parking needs for this development can be accommodated onsite. Preliminary figures show that 364 parking spaces are required and 382 spaces have been provided. Access to the site has been provided off of Gateway Boulevard in three locations, two of which have been designed to serve both passenger vehicles and semi-truck traffic. City Planner Streff commented that the City Council approved the Traverse Business Center Planned Unit Development (PUD) in July of 2007. This particular PUD called for three(3)phases of development. Phase I consisted of a 203,400 square foot six (6) story office building. Phase II added an additional 261,600 square foot office building with eight (8) stories. The remaining phase III consisted of a 30,000 square foot office building. Phase I and II have both Master PUD approval and Final PUD approval. Phase III only has a Master PUD approval at this time. As stated in the current PUD Permit, building permits for Phase I and Phase JI were required to be obtained on or before July 30, 2014,to keep the PUD from expiring. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 4 City Planner Streff reported that the PUD for this property has since expired as the timeline for the construction of this development ment did not met the conditions stated within the PUD. In cases where a PUD approval expires, the property defaults to the underlining zoning district and in this case, back to GB Gateway Business District and standards set forth for this district within the Zoning Ordinance. City Planner Streff indicated that the property located at 4200 Round Lake Road is located within the GB Gateway Business District where manufacturing/processing and office uses are permitted and where retail and warehousing uses are permitted as accessory uses only. Within this district, office uses are permitted to occupy between 25 percent and 50 percent of the total floor area. Retail uses in this district can occupy no more than 15 percent of the total floor area of the building in which they are located. Warehousing is prohibited in this district when the use occupies more than 75 percent of the structure. The project as proposed would be required to use the Planned Unit Development(PUD)process as flexibility is being request. Nick Roberts, Roberts Management Group, thanked the Council for reviewing his concept plan. He explained that the current owner does not have any prospects for a large office user, and for this reason,he believed the site could be used to attract high quality businesses to the City. Councilmember Holden did not understand the proposed location of the building on the site. She questioned if the site would be used for distribution. Mr. Roberts stated that one of the benefits of the site is its exposure to 1-694 and I-35W. However, there are site complications with the wetland which will force the building to be pushed back. He described the proposed layout of the building and noted that it would be 20% office and 80% production/manufacturing uses. He reiterated that the space would not be used as a distribution center. Councilmember Holmes did not believe that the site would be used for distribution. Mayor Grant discussed the great access to the site as well as the proposed building. He wanted to see some substantial, quality building materials used on the building. Mr. Roberts understood that the City wanted to have a high quality building that would last long- term. He reported that the design would be timeless and something he could be proud of. Councilmember Holmes questioned the timeline for the proposed office/production building. Mr. Roberts anticipated that the timeline was further out than the other project (1235 Red Fox Road)that he is proposing. He described the climate of the office rental market in the metro area. Councilmember Holden supported the building. Councilmember Holmes asked if the City should be concerned with filling this space given the fact that additional office space would be opening up on TCAAP. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 5 Mr. Roberts stated that the ratio he was proposing for office/production space would provide him enough flexibility to meet the needs of the market. He provided comment on his potential development and construction timeline. He reported that he may not construct the building for another eight years. He asked if the 20% office was an agreeable ratio for the City. Councilmember Holmes supported this ratio. Councilmember Holden questioned how this ratio would affect the different buildings. She hoped to see some office space in the small building and at least 20% of the space used for office in the large building. Mr. Roberts did not object to have 20% office space in the larger building and allowing for more flexibility in the smaller building. City Administrator Klaers clarified that the concept approval from the Council was favorable at this time. However, eight years from now,the Council may have a different opinion. Mr. Roberts understood this to be the case. However, he stated that he would not build a 200,000 square foot building until there was a market demand for the space. City Administrator Klaers discussed the cost for the Round Lake Road improvement project. C. PC 14-029 Concept Review— 1235 Red Fox Road—Roberts Management Group City Planner Streff stated that the Roberts Management Group has requested that the City Council review the proposed development concept for the property at 1235 Red Fox Road and provide feedback on the plan. City Planner Streff noted that the property at 1235 Red Fox Road is approximately eight acres in size and is situated at the southeast corner of the Highway 51 and Interstate 694 interchange. The property has frontage along Red Fox Road and can also be accessed from the western terminus of Northwoods Drive. Roberts Management Group has provided two preliminary site plans depicting how they propose to develop the property. The plans are substantially the same, with only minor differences between the two in terms of parking lot layout and the footprint area of one of the proposed buildings. City Planner Streff explained that the Roberts Management Group is proposing to construct two multi-tenant light industrial buildings on the property. Building 1 would have a footprint of between 50,000 and 52,500 square feet and Building 2 would be approximately 45,000 square feet in size for a total of 95,000 to 97,500 square feet of structure coverage on the lot. The two proposed buildings would be similar in design and use. The applicant expects that on average 20 percent of each tenant space will be used for office purposes with the remaining space being used for a variety of activities, such as manufacturing, production, warehousing, and retail sales/services. Given the visibility of the property from Interstate 694 and Highway 51, Roberts Management Group believes the project could attract some commercial showroom and retail tenants as well. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 6 Building 1 would have a northwest orientation facing the I-694/Hwy 51 interchange, and Building 2 would be oriented to face east towards the Northwoods Office Building and Red Fox Road. City Planner Streff noted that parking would be provided on surface parking lots. The preliminary figures show that between 148 and 152 parking stalls would be required depending on the proposed footprint area of Building 1. Both site plans accommodate more than the required amount of parking for the proposed development. Option 1 would provide 229 stalls and Option 2 would include 187 stalls. City Planner Streff stated that the property at 1235 Red Fox Road is located in the I-Flex Zoning District. The purpose of this district among other things is to attract new development that is compatible with existing development in the district in terms of use, performance, character, quality and appearance of buildings and sites. Currently, this district is primarily comprised of a mix of office and light industrial buildings. Examples of businesses in the I-Flex District include li Smiths Medical, IntriCon, and International Paper. City Planner Streff explained that office and manufacturing uses are permitted as principal uses in the district, retail sales and services are allowed as an accessory use, and warehousing is permitted as a conditional use. Warehousing is allowed by Conditional Use Permit only if the use occupies no more than 50 percent of the gross floor area of the building in which it is located. City Planner Streff noted that proposals for new construction in the I-Flex District are required to use the Planned Unit Development or the Conditional Use Permit process. In this case, Roberts Management Group would be required to apply for a PUD in order to allow for two principal buildings on the property. In addition, a Conditional Use Permit application would be processed concurrently to allow for warehousing uses in the proposed buildings. Mayor Grant asked if the developer had any comments. Mr. Roberts asked if the warehouse portion of the building could be made an accessory use instead of a conditional use. City Planner Streff explained that this would require a zoning change or code amendment. Councilmember Holden was not in favor of making a zoning change or a code amendment. She had concerns with the proposed development as the City has a great deal of office space in close proximity. She feared how traffic would be impacted along Northwoods Drive. Mr. Roberts discussed how the dock areas were shared between the two buildings, noting the truck traffic would flow to Red Fox Road. It was his hope to keep truck traffic to the west and away from Northwoods Drive. Mayor Grant recommended that the dock area be screened along the property line. He wanted to see a high quality building constructed on all sides as it would be viewed from the adjacent office buildings. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 7 Mayor Grant recommended that the dock area be screened along the property line. He wanted to see a high quality building constructed on all sides as it would be viewed from the adjacent office buildings. Councilmember Holmes questioned if City Code was clear enough when addressing a potential distribution center. Councilmember Holden read the current City Code regarding warehousing and manufacturing. Councilmember Holmeswas in favor of the City Attorney reviewing this language to provide further clarity. Community Development Director Hutmacher explained that it would be difficult for the City to monitor office/warehousing percentages, especially in buildings that have turnover. Councilmember Holmes recommended that the dock areas be more heavily screened. Councilmember Holden stated that the Council would have to decide if additional warehouses would be allowed before recommendations are made on the screening. Mayor Grant summarized the comments noting that the Council did not object to the plan except for the warehouse/manufacturing percentage needing further discussion and concerns being raised about traffic and circulation within and around the site. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES City Administrator Klaers explained that the Council would need to hold a special work session to further discuss the budget. He reported that the proposed maximum tax levy would have to be approved by the Council on September 29tH Councilmember Holmes suggested that the budget discussion be held at the work session on September 22nd or at the September 29th Council meeting. The Council agreed to hold the budget discussion on September 291h ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the special City Council work session at 9:25 p.m. kai1� Amy Dietl David Grant City Clerk Mayor It, ­-ARPEN.HILLS Request for Special City Council Work Session A special meeting may be called by the Mayor or by any two Councilmembers. Topics for meeting: A. Spine Road and Grading Design Review B. Final Discussion Chapters 1-5 C. Traverse Business Center PUD Amendment–Concept Review–Roberts Mgmt Group D. Grey Fox PUD Amendment–Concept Review–Roberts Management Group Requested Date: 09/08/14 Requested time: 5:30 PM Open meeting X Closed meeting Signature of person(s) making request: hm4i� 08/26/14 Mayor or Councilmember Date Councilmember Date -This section to be completed by City staff- Date received: g / "Zl' / i`'i Date meeting to be held: 09/08/14 Time of meeting: 5:30 PM Location: City Hall All necessary posting and notices have been completed. & M I — - .ems g / '11-� / Iy Signature of Cit Jerk Date City of Arden Hills * 1245 West Highway 96 + Arden Hills,MN 55112-5743 Phone 651-792-7800 * Fax 651-634-5137 * www.cityofardenhills.org