Agenda - Public Works Committee - 04/19/2011

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Public Works Committee Date: 04/19/2011 By: Tim Gladhill Community Development Information Title: Consider Site Plan for Parking Lot Amendments for Ramsey Office Plaza Item #: 5. 1. Background: In 2005, the City approved the site plan for Ramsey Office Plaza, also known as the Ramsey Professional Center. The Applicant is requesting modifications to the parking lot to reconfigure existing parking spaces and add an access onto Sunwood Drive, a municipal state aid (MSA) street. Due to the fact that an additional access is being propsed on an MSA street, City Staff is forwarding the request to the Public Works Committee for review. Notification: Notification not required for site plan review. Observations: The scope of the Public Works Committee's review is a recommendation as to whether an access onto an MSA roadway is warranted. The site plan submittal is attached for the committee's review to understand internal circulation and access patterns and determine if the access onto Sunwood Drive is necessary and warranted. The full City Council will be considering the site plan review request at a future date to address parking and other site planning related review. The Committee should also use the site plan data to determine if there are other viable locations for the proposed access. The initial approval for the Ramsey Office Plaza in 2005 was for the first phase of a three phase office complex on the Subject Property. At that time, approval was not given for any access onto Sunwood Drive, as the access was being proposed on Sapphire Street. The access on Sapphire Street and certain parking spaces are actually on the adjacent parcel, with no official access directly on the Subject Property. By approving this location for the proposed access on Sunwood Drive, Staff recommends that any access onto Sunwood Drive be aligned with any future access to the block to the south. In addition, City Code encourages shared parking and accesses for adjacent uses, and thus, the City should review whether this access shall serve as a shared access to the remainder of the block. The City has required shared access easements for all other access points onto Sunwood Drive. The Development Manager has prepared a traffic circulation exhibit that illustrates potential traffic patterns and shared access for the block. Furthermore, Staff recommends minor modifications to the parking lot configuration to preserve a corridor aligned with the Sunwood Drive access to better address internal traffic circulation patterns for the Subject Property. Staff does note that the site plan indicates certain on -street parking in an area currently guided as '15 Minute Loading/Unloading Zone'. At this time, that parking restriction is proposed to remain, regardless of approval of this site plan. Finally, the City will require additional data to ensure that future Floor Area Ratio (FAR) will be able to be met in conjunction with maximum parking requirements for the Subject Property. Funding Source: All costs associated with the application are the responsibility of the Applicant.