Agenda - Planning Commission - 01/03/1995

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CASE REQUEST FOR SITE PLAN APPROVAL; ~CASE OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. I1 By: Zoning Administrator Sylvia Frolik Background:~ At the regular ~eeting in December, the Planning Commission tabled action on the request for site plan approval ~ expand Ramsey Elementary School. The ease was tabled to allow the applicants additional tim~, to meet with neighboring property owners to the south to negotiate a satisfactory buffer betweeri the ballfields and the neighboring homes and to consider ways to redesign the parent drop offlparking lot to make it more user friendly. The following i~ems are enclosed for your information: a) b) c) d) e) 0 Site location map Site Survey aiiginal Site Plan or Plan y Staff Review Letter dated ~l 1/29/94 Revised Site Plan Al.2 dated received on 12/29/94- Observations: School District No. 1 ] is requesting site plan approval to consnmct a 65,000 square foot addition to the Ramsey Elementary School located at 15000 Nowthen Blvd. N.W. The School District has acqun'ed the tw9 adjacent parcels to the south to accommodate the expansion. The expansion will also include some rework of the outdoor playground and ballfields. The 3 parcels irivolved in the development are zoned R-1 Rural Residential and B-2 Business, for which schools ,are. not a permitted use. A rezoning to R-3 Ui'ban Residential has been initiated to permit the expansion of the facility. The proposed e~pansion meets lot coverage, setback, and architectural requirements for the R-3 Residential District. ~- City sewer and Water will be extended to the site to serve the expanded facility. The expansion &,ill include the addition of a 100 space parking lot and extension of the bus drop off area. In accordance with the recommendations of the Anoka County Highway Department, the bus exit has bden redesigned to intersect Nowthen Blvd. at a right an,~le. In doing so, the applicants also r~edes~gned the ex~stmg bus enmance and parldng lot entrance on the north end of the property into ~'~ pair of entrances that intersect Nowthen Blvd. at right angles also. The modification oflthe north access from one point to a pair of access points is objectionable and should be revis~ back to one access point. In accordance v4th the recommendations of the Planning Commission, the applicant redesi~ed the new south paring lot to make it more user friendly as a parent drop off site and create more oopormnity for a;. deeper buffer area between the athletic fields and the neighbors to the south. It is S~a£fs opinion ~at the oriBnal design for the south parking lot ~s superior to the new design. Parents want to ~et as close as possible to the main en~, when dropping children off and with the new &silo-n, there is a po~on of the paridng lot that is closer to the main cnn3.' than the parent drop off s~ot. Staff iS~ of the o~inion that parents will pull into that parking area, pul! into z handizap spot to drop off ~eir chil3ren, back up, tam around and leave the area. In the revision, the parent