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Draft Planning Commission Minutes Attachment E PLANNING FILE 08 -017 Request by Ficek Investment Company, LLC, owner of 621 Larpenteu r Avenue, for a rezoning, right -of -way vacation, and variance to Roseville City Code, Section 1005.01 (Parking Setbacks) to allow the redevelopment of the property as an assisted living facility with a parking area encroachment into the required setback and right -of -way Chair Bakeman opened the Public Hearing for Planning File 08-017. Associate Planner Bryan Lloyd noted that the mailed and published public hearing notice had included a request for a right -of -way Vacation, which had since been withdrawn; with this request now being only for rezoning and a Variance. Mr. Lloyd reviewed staff's analysis of the request to rezone the property from B -2 (Retail Business District) to B -3 (General Business District) to allow the redevelopment of the property into an assisted living facility, which use is currently prohibited in the B -2 District, but permitted in the B -3 District. The VARIANCE request would allow construction of a parking area that would encroach into the required setback from a side property line adjacent to a street right -of -way. Mr. Lloyd noted that the existing property currently had an older multi - tenant office building and a nonconforming parking area that encroaches far into the adjacent Dale Street right -of -way. Mr. Lloyd further noted that the sketch plan indicates a 33 -bed assisted living facility, which is a conditional use in a few residential districts and permitted in the proposed B -3 District; and are regulated by the Minnesota Department of Health and must be in compliance with their operating and licensing requirements. Mr. Lloyd advised Councilmembers that staff had been unable to locate original plat conditions at Ramsey County as to the Dale Street alignment. Mr. Lloyd further advised that staff had fielded email comments regarding sidewalk provisions to make up for any parking area removed, and suggested the Commission could include that as a condition of approval of the variance; however, noted that since the sidewalk currently had no connection point, staff didn't consider such a condition reasonable as part of the variance request. Further comments received by staff indicated concern over whether parking would be adequate to prevent overflow parking on Alta Vista Drive. Mr Lloyd explained that the developer is required to accommodate adequate parking on the specific site but that the Public works Department is open to entering into an encroachment agreement to allow additional parking in the broad Dale Street right -of -way if more parking becomes necessary. Mr. Lloyd noted that the City of Roseville didn't have specific parking requirements for assisted living facilities; but in their research, 17 spaces appeared to be consistent with other type uses in the City, as well as comparisons of cities metro- and nation -wide. Mr. Lloyd advised that addressing the concerns over perceived existing traffic problems in the area would be up to the Public works Department and/or Transportation Safety Committee recommendations to the City Council, following their review. Staff recommended APPROVAL of the request for REZONING of 621 Larpenteur Avenue from B -2 to B- 3, based on the comments and findings outlined in Sections 5 and 6; and VARIANCE to Roseville City Code, Section 1005.01 (Business Parking Setbacks) to allow the parking area to encroach into the required setback from the Dale Street right -of -way, subject to conditions detailed in Section 9 of the staff report dated June 4, 2008. Discussion included setback requirements; whether a Planned Unit Development (PUD) would be preferred for this application to allow for more City control of this and /or future development on site; current uses allowed in a B -2 and /or B -3 Zoning District; reduced zoning transparency if a PUD process was to be followed; concern with the limited number of on -site parking spaces; whether screening was required for the building from adjacent residential properties and applicable code requirements during the Building Permit application process; and clarification that staffs listing for uses allowed in B -2 and B -3 Districts was exhaustive of the uses that are treated differently between the two zoning districts but does not identify the many uses that are permitted and prohibited equally by the two districts. Applicant, David Ficek Mr. Ficek advised that he was the developer for and affiliated with Comforts of Home, who currently operated six (6) different locations: one (1) in VIII and five (5) in MN; and was seeking this, opining that it was a better use of the property from a tax basis and addressed a need for the surrounding community. Mr. Ficek further opined that, from his experience developing other assisted living facilities, on -site parking was adequate for staff and weekend visitors. Mr. Ficek expressed his willingness to work with staff on screening and other amenities sought by the City to ensure his compliance with code provisions and preferences. Page 1 of 5