Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/28/2024

Home

Pedestrian access to the site will come from a newly -constructed shared -use trail along 161st Avenue NW. A new sidewalk will be built to connect the building's main entrance to this shared -use trail. Another sidewalk will run west to east, parallel to the building's south facade, to connect to PACT Charter School's parking lot to the west. Additional sidewalks will serve all secondary entrances to the building, as required by Minnesota State Building Code. Landscape Plan As noted in the Environmental Policy Board's (EPB) recommendation from March 18, a Tree Inventory and Preservation Plan was included with the submittal. Slightly over seventy percent (70%) of the existing DBH inches of significant trees will be preserved, exceeding the tree preservation standards (in fact, the plan includes removing some Siberian Elm, an invasive species, so the percentage of significant tree DBH inches preserved on site is likely slightly greater since the removal calculations include the DBH inches of Siberian Elm). As the church expands parking areas in the future, there will be additional tree losses, but additional plantings would be installed, at a minimum rate of one (1) tree for every ten (10) new parking stalls. The majority of tree removal will be done to account for stormwater ponding (exempt from removal calculations) and the building pad. A Landscape Plan was included with the submittal. Over 300 existing deciduous and evergreen trees are being preserved, and the Applicant is utilizing these to partially meet the landscape requirements. They are proposing to install seventeen (17) new trees, including a combination of overstory, ornamental, and evergreen trees. The plan also includes ninety-two (92) shrubs, including both evergreen and deciduous species. Staff has recommended relocating some of the proposed shrubs between the trees being installed along 161st Avenue, just to provide a bit more screening for the home(s) on the south side of this road. Ground cover will be a mixture of sod against the building and entrance, and various seed mixes (low maintenance turf and a stormwater mix). Utilities The building will be connected to municipal water and sanitary sewer. Storm Water Management Storm water will be managed northwest of the site in a shared basin with PACT Charter School. The stormwater plan will be reviewed by the Lower Rum River WMO. Final Plat The Subject Property was platted in 2022 as Outlot B, PACT Addition, as part of a land sale to PACT Charter School for their new school, located immediately to the west. The PACT Addition plat established Drainage and Utility Easements along all four sides of the Subject Property; these easements are 10 feet wide along the south (161st Avenue NW) and east (Variolite Street NW) sides of the property, and are 5 feet wide along the north and west sides of the property. Also in 2022, a Reciprocal Easement Agreement was recorded on the property, allowing cross -access, shared parking, and shared drainage between the PACT Charter School and the Subject Property. Another agreement was recorded in August 2023 to further establish a Stormwater Treatment and Ponding Maintenance Agreement between PACT, the Church of Saint Katharine Drexel, and the City. With the Final Plat, the Applicant proposed to plat one existing outlot into one buildable lot to accommodate a religious institutional use. Alternatives Alternative 1: Recommend approval of the Site Plan and Final Plat as recommended by Staff. Alternative 2: Recommend approval of the Site Plan and Final Plat with modifications based on discussion. Alternative 3: Recommend denial of the Site Plan and Final Plat based on supporting findings of fact. Funding Source: All costs associated with this request are the Applicant's responsibility. Recommendation: