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COSTCO WHOLE::.SAU::, INC., CASt: 1676 Page 3 of streets, and quality landscaping, will attract other viable uses to the area. 10. This phenomenon is somewhat akin to what happened when we struggled to place a Target store in the Southdale area. The store was successful and attracted a considerable amount of appropriate and compatible addi tional devzlopment to the area to the south of Southdale over a period of several years. 11. An important contribution on the part of the Costco proposal will be the completion of Prior Avenue arid Mount Ridge Road. These improvements will be made in accordance with City specifications, including full curb and gutter from' County Road C to the north extremity of the CasteD propert)'. This represents a significant contribution to, the beginning of the process of opening up the properties to the northwest and east. 12. The traffic generated by this facility will likely substantially increase the volume of traffic on County Road C. In our opinion that traffic will not in and of itself overload the street system. However, as other business opportunities develop along County Road C, improvements to Its capacity will be required. You will note in the site plan that the access to the Costco devr:lopment will be via Prior Avenue and Mount Ridge Road only. Thus, there will be no direct driveways onto County Road C. We anticipate that, ultirnCitely, County Road C will be fully divided with median strips from Interstate 35W to Snelling Avenue (and beyond at both ends) providing for left turn movements principally at public street access points. The Engineering Staff of the City concurs that the accens proposed for the Costco' site is appropriate and desirable. 13. The property is proposed to be rezoned from 1-1 to 8-4. The B-4 district is a new district that was designed specifically for the higher intensity uses proposed in the tax increment districts several years ago. A significant feuture of this district is that a special UDe permit Is required for site plan approval and 3 percent of the parking area ntWlt be landncaped. Thene are the same standards that have been successfully utilized in the 8-18 District where most of the restaurants are located immediately west of RClsedale. 14. Therefore, we suggest that the iB-4 District proposed is the most appropriate and restrictive district adaptable to this site and this area of the City for the use proposf~cI. A team of real estate market research people and city plannin9 consultants has been hired by the City to review five areas of the Ci~y, one of which includes the area of the property in question. Though we were not involved in that process and had no knowledge of it being done, we met in our offices with representatives of those companies to inform them of our opinions regarding future land use, circulation roots, market potential, and other ideas that we thought might be helpful to the studies. A preliminary report regarding the Costco proposal has been submitted to the City by these consultants as of a.bout the middle of the month. The results of that initial study have not been made available to us, though the Manager notes that it will be available prior to the Planning Commission meeting.