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Allina Health System: Preliminary Site Plan Review <br />March 26, 2010 <br />Page2of5 <br />Guidelines place a high emphasis on high -quality architecture, materials, and site design, particularly <br />with regard to building placement, parking areas, and the pedestrian environment. <br />Overall, the submittal meets or exceeds these requirements. Staff would like to call. out the following <br />specific items from the Guidelines: <br />• Provide parking spaces to support the use through a mix of on -street and surface lots <br />internal to the block. Encourage shared parking solutions. No more that 25% of the <br />street frontage should be used for surface parking. The proposed parking plan utilizes <br />on -street parking, surface lot parking, and shared parking (future) with the remainder of <br />development that will occur on the block. The Applicant has applied for a conditional <br />use permit to increase the maximum number of parking spaces by 25%. That request will <br />need to be approved before approval of the .final site plan. <br />• Generally, buildings should be located at the street right-of-way; with no more than 60% <br />of the building beyond the maximum setback Encourage recessed entries and windows to <br />create street level interest. The proposed building appears to conform to setbacks along <br />Ramsey Boulevard. In addition, the Applicant is proposing an architectural wall along <br />Sunwood Drive to increase street presence. <br />• Promote multiple stories in this sub -district but occasional single story buildings are <br />acceptable; continuous rooflines and single story buildings should not dominate any <br />street frontage and should be a minimum. of 18 feet to the roofline. The proposed <br />building is one level. A majority of the building is at least eighteen (18) feet tall. The <br />Design Guidelines state that occasional single -story buildings are acceptable so long as <br />single story buildings do not dominate any street frontage. It is Staff's opinion that <br />neither Sunwood Drive nor Ramsey Boulevard are currently dominated by single -story <br />buildings at this time. <br />• A diverse mix of materials is encouraged, applied in a variety of proportions, exposures, <br />and detailing, especially along all street frontages. The proposed building proposes a <br />variety of materials acceptable to the Town Center Zoning District. . <br />City Code calls out for a separate review of all Town Center plans by the RTC Technical Advisory <br />Committee, of which City Staff is a majority. Several of the TAC members are no longer available to <br />serve on the Committee; and so City Staff is incorporating the separate TAC review process into the <br />regular inter -department plan review process.. The same process was used for review of the Midwest <br />Medical Examiner's facility. <br />Building Height: The TC-3 District requires a minimum of 2 stories and a maximum of 4 stories for <br />all buildings within this district. However, the Town Center Guidelines for the. TC-3 District allow <br />for occasional one store buildings provided that the building is at least 18 feet tall. This building has <br />been designed to maximize height which will give the presence of a taller building while screening <br />rooftop utilities where possible. It is City Staffs opinion that the intent of the TC-3 District has been <br />met. <br />Waste Storage: The waste storage area is proposed to be a masonry enclosure at the west of the <br />building along the rear of the building. <br />25 <br />