Agenda - Planning Commission - 10/03/2002

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City Code does not establish a number of required parking stalls for a furniture store like Plants and Things. Applying the "retail shopping" of 1 parking stall per 200 square feet of retail floor space, as defined in City Code, does not provide an accurate measure of how many parking stalls are needed for a furniture store. Furniture stores functions much like an appliance or wholesale store; they do not demand the number of parking stalls a typical high intensive retail store requires. Staff researched other cities parking criteria for furniture stores and looked at the parking guidelines established by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. On an average, the r'atio of 1 parking stall per 500 square feet of floor space is used. Applying a ration of [ parking stall per 500 square feet, the proposed facility is subject to 99 parking stalls; the site plan is proposing to provide 159 parking stalls. Staff feels the proposed 159 parking stalls will provide sufficient parking area for the proposed facility. City Code specifies exterior wall finishes must consist of natural or prefabricated brick or stone or pre-cast concrete panels or some other material approved by City council. The new Plants and Things facility is proposing stucco for exterior wall finish; this complies with City Code. The site will derive access from Sunfish Lake Blvd. Anoka County submitted a letter stating they may need additional right-of-way in the. future to accommodate possible turn lanes. Anoka County Highway Department is not certain at this time how much additional right-of-way they will need to acquire, however the developer has been advised that the intersection of Sunfish Lake Blvd. and U.S. Highway #10 will most likely change in the near future. The site plan is proposing to also derive two accesses from U.S. Highway #10. Staff anticipates MnDot wilt require the two accesses on U.S. Highway # 10 to be closed and right-of-access be dedicated to the state. The site will be serviced by municipal sewer and water facilities. Recommendation: The Planning Commission should review the site plan and provide a recommendation to the City Council based on the criteria outlined in the Staff Review Letter dated September 27, 2002. Commission Action: Motion to recommend that the City Council approve/deny the proposed site plan for Plants and Things. Review Checklist: Community Development Director Principal Planner City Engineer City Administrator Parks & Utilities Supervisor PC: 10/03/02