Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/04/2010

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Prelirnina y Site Plan Review -Residence at The COR October 28, 2010 Page 2 of 9 Lot Coverage/Floor Area Ratio (FAR):. The preliminary plat indicates that the proposed lot will be 132,107 square feet in size (3.03 acres). The proposed building footprint is 67,375 square feet and an overall square footage of final build -out (four [4] stories) of 254,534 square feet of gross floor area. 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 1.92. Please add the F.A.R. calculation as a note on the plans. Setbacks: The TC-1 District requires a minimum front yard setback of 0 feet and a maximum front yard setback of 5 feet measured from the right of way line. At least 60% of the building should comply with the front yard setback requirement. The Design Guidelines encouragerecessed space for outdoor dining and other street level activities, including recessed entries. The proposed building provides for recessed spaces along the street that help assist with street level presence and vision clearance triangles. However, it appears the setbacks are being measured from the `build to line' (edge of sidewalk). Part of this reason is due to the fact the City requires additional sidewalk to be placed on private property (encumbered by a sidewalk easement). It seems reasonable to consider measuring setbacks to the build -to line since this area is technically public reahn. The City will be considering an ordinance amendment for an alternative setback to measure from the edge of sidewalk in certain circumstances. Any approval of this site plan will be contingent upon approval of this ordnance amendment. Sidewalks must be constructed to a total width of ten (10) feet along Sunwood Drive, measured from the inside edge of the existing planter beds. In addition, a sidewalk with a minimum six foot (6') boulevard width must be constructed along Civic Center Drive. Any portion of the sidewalk on private property must be encumbered by a sidewalk easement. Any zero lot -line setback between structures is subject to Minnesota State Building Code, most notably areas of penetration between structures. 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 more that 25%of the street frontage should be used for surface parking. The proposed parking plan utilizes on -street parking, surface lot parking, and the Municipal Parking Ramp. • Generally, buildings should be located at the street right-of-way; with no more than 60% of the building beyond the nraximurn setback Encourage recessed entries and windows to create street level interest. The generally meets setbacks, subject to the comments above. • Promote multiple stories in this sub -district but occasional single story buildings are acceptable; continuous rooflines and single story buildings should not dominate any street frontage and should be a rrzinimwn of 18 feet to the roofline. The proposed building is a four story building. The architectural elevations indicate a design consistentwith the goals of the design guidelines and do not contain continuous rooflines. 70