Agenda - Council - 03/26/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Stantec March 8, 2013 Tim Gladhill, Development Services Manager Page 2 of 3 Reference: Workforce Housing in Ramsey COR room would be available for a second "L" shaped building at the southwest corner as illustrated on Development Plan 6.1. Additional efforts may still be needed to meet the 60% building frontage along Sapphire Street via a knee wall, however, this building pattern would allow for maximum use of the site as intended in the overall development plan. Building height maximum is five stories; proposed is five stories with the first story serving as enclosed at grade parking. The applicant will also be required to provide for a 6' wide boulevard and 10' sidewalk. Streetscaping will be required according the COR Design Framework. Minimum parking required is one space per unit with a maximum of two per unit. The applicant is proposing 36 enclosed spaces and 33 surface spaces totaling close to 1.5 spaces per unit. Parking shall be located at the rear or side of the site. With an "L" shape building this could be accomplished by locating the parking inside the "L". The preliminary site plan does locate the proposed surface parking at the rear of the site. As mentioned earlier a knee wall may be required to meet the required 60% building frontage. This knee wall may also be required to screen the parking lot along Sapphire Street. Other items of consideration: Building architecture is very important in the COR, especially in COR1 which is in the heart of the COR. Design requirements are based on the street type the site is located on as well as the sub -district. Sunwood Drive is classified as the destination street (the only one in the district). A destination street is defined as the location for shopping, entertainment, services, workplace and other primary amenities. As such, the proposed use, as an apartment building may not be the highest and best use of this particular site in COR1. Buildings in this sub -district are intended to play a major role in defining the overall character in the COR. Buildings are required to have four sided architecture and highlight unique architectural features while also contributing to the compatibility of other buildings immediately surrounding the site. Emphasis in this sub -district is on the design of the elevation(s) facing the streets. To meet these goals the applicant shall follow the building design guidelines for all buildings in The COR Design Framework. This requires specific elements including but not limited to: • Four sided architecture • Reinforce the street edge • Interesting mix of building styles, scales and massing One Team. Infinite Solutions. tg h:\projects\mwf\ramsey workforce housing review memo 3-11-13.docx