Agenda - Council - 10/26/2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Final Plat Review - Ramsey Town Center 12 Addition Final Site Plan Review - Ramsey Medical Building October 26, 2010 Page2of Zoning: The site is zoned TC -1, a mixed -use core sub - district of The COR. This area is intended to provide a mix of residential, retail, service, professional, community service, recreational and similar uses on every block near, and within easy walking distance of the rail station. The proposed facility is a permitted use in this District. Lot Coverage/Floor Area Ratio (FAR): The subdivision plan indicates that the lot created from Outlot AA of the Ramsey Town Center Addition will be 102,174 square feet in size (2.35 acres). The proposed building footprint is 21,765 square feet and an overall square footage of final build -out (two [2] stories) of 43,530 square feet. The TC =1 District requires a minimum FAR of 0.75 and encourages the highest densities in the City and shared parking. The proposed site plan represents a gross FAR of 0.43. It is Staff's understanding that a portion of the parking lot proposed on Lot 1 will be converted to a vertical parking structure in order to maximize shared parking, as indicated on the proposed Master Plan for The COR. The proposed development of Lot 1 also includes areas of shared access as well. Staff finds it reasonable, subject to City Council approval, to exclude the areas of future structured, parking and shared access from the FAR calculation, resulting in an FAR of approximately 0.83, in conformance with City Code. In order for the City to exclude this from the calculations, these shared areas shall be encumbered by a separate, recordable easement with appropriate exhibits drafted by a real estate attorney. These easements are subject to review of the Zoning Administrator, City Engineer, and City Attorney. The proposed access easement is deficient in areas other than the northerly property line for shared access. Without those areas encumbered by a shared access easement, the proposed site plan is deficient in FAR. Other opportunities to meet the FAR requirement include reducing the lot size or creating a larger building. Setbacks: The TC -1 District requires a minimum front yard setback of 0 feet and a maximum front yard setback of 5 feet. At least 60% of the building should comply with the front yard setback requirement. The Design Guidelines encourage recessed space for outdoor dining and other street level activities, including recessed entries. The proposed building provides for recessed spaces at the corners of the structure that help assist with street level presence and vision clearance triangles and appears to generally meet setbacks. Remaining sheets must be revised to indicate compliance with applicable setbacks. Architectural Standards: The design standards for this site are subject to the provisions laid out in the Development Guidelines manual referenced in City Code for The COR. The Design Guidelines place a high emphasis on high - quality architecture, materials, and site design, particularly with regard to building placement, parking areas, and the pedestrian environment. Overall, the submittal meets or exceeds these requirements. Staff would like to call out the following specific items from the Guidelines: • Provide parking spaces to support the use through a mix of on- street and surface lots internal to the block. Encourage shared parking solutions. No nzore that 25%of the street frontage should be used for surface parking. The proposed parking plan utilizes on- street parking, surface lot parking, and shared parking with the remainder of development that will occur on the block. The master plan for the block reflects that buildings will line the circumference of the block and the surface parking will be generally provided on the interior of the block as well as structured parking. • Generally, buildings should be located at the street right -of -way; with no more than 60% of the building beyond the maximum setback. Encourage recessed entries and windows to create