Agenda - Council - 01/25/2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CC Regular Session Date: 01/25/2011 By: Chris Anderson Community Development Item #: 7. 2. Information Title: Request for Final Plat and Site Plan Review of Cross of Hope Addition Related to a Proposed Addition to the Existing Church Located at 5730 179th Lane NW; Case of Cross of Hope Lutheran Church Background: Cross of Hope Lutheran Church has applied for final plat and site plan review for Cross of Hope Addition relating to a proposed building expansion to the existing church. The applicant has also applied for an easement vacation that will be considered at a future meeting. January 25th represents the last opportunity for the City to review the Site Plan under MN Statute 15.99 (60 Day Rule). On November 8, 2010, the City invoked a sixty (60) day extension for the final plat, site plan, and easement vacation requests, giving the City until February 2, 2011 to make a decision on the final plat and site plan and February 12, 2011 to make a decision on the easement vacation request. The Applicant must approve of additional sixty (60) day extensions; should the applicant not grant an extension, the City will have to take action on the requests or they will be automatically approved. Due to the submittal date of the plans, the City was unable to schedule Public Hearings regarding vacation of easements and conveyance of property, which will be reviewed by the City Council separately in February. The City Council can take action on the Final Plat, Site Plan, and Conditional Use Permit this evening, contingent on said contingencies. Observations: Cross of Hope Lutheran Church owns two adjacent parcels, one with their existing building and the second that is vacant. The City owns a small strip of land between the church parcel and CR 27, which was deeded to the City by the Church in the early 1980s, for a future service road (that is no longer considered necessary). The final plat proposes to combine a portion of the vacant lot to the east and a portion of the City -owned parcel to the north with the parcel containing the existing church, creating one buildable lot and one outlot. The purpose of the proposed plat is to accommodate an addition to the existing church. It appears the City -owned parcel was conveyed during the site plan review process for the existing structure with the intention of roadway purposes as noted above. Rather than conveying as a permanent road easement, the area was conveyed as a separate parcel, and thus, must be conveyed through normal property transaction requirements. The proposed plat will result in one buildable lot totaling 6.56 acres and one outlot. The proposed plat would dedicate sixty (60) feet of public road right-of-way along County Road 27 (in lieu of the road easement and the land deeded to the City by the Church in the 1980s). The property is zoned R-1 Residential (Rural Developing) and religious institutions are a conditional use in this district. A conditional use permit application is being processed concurrently with this request. Although the property is zoned residential, due to the required conditional use permit, the request is being reviewed using the B-1 Business District standards, which is a better representation of the bulk standards for this use. The proposed addition, which totals 11,070 square feet, complies with all required setbacks and combined with the existing 9,360 square foot building is still well below the maximum permitted building coverage for the lot. The exterior finish of the existing building consists of wood lap siding. The exterior finish of the addition is proposed to match the existing siding in appearance but the material would consist of steel rather than wood. There is also an alternate option for a stone veneer finish at the main entrance should the church be able to raise enough funds for this finish. Staff is supportive of either finish but, since neither complies with the permitted exterior