Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/25/2024

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southeast toward the parking lot. Additional secure entrances for residents will be located at the northwest corner of the building (facing the roundabout and aligning with the entrance to ALDI across the street), the southwest corner of the building (along Sunwood Drive), and the southeast corner of the building (to align with the pool house and sidewalk along Zeolite Street). Additional entrances to the retail space will come from both the west (along an outdoor patio fronting along Sunwood Drive) and east (along the parking lot). In addition to the pedestrian entrances to the building, there is a vehicular entrance along the east end of the building to access the sunken parking garage. It should be noted that this is the first instance of underground or sunken parking in the COR. Vehicular access to the lot will come from two driveways: a shared driveway with Home2Suites onto Sunwood Drive, located at the southwest corner of the lot, and a standalone driveway onto Zeolite Street at the southeast corner of the lot. In addition to the proposed mixed -use building, the Applicant is proposing a 580-square foot pool house with restrooms and equipment space for an outdoor pool and patio space situated along Zeolite Street between the parking garage entrance ramp and the southeast driveway onto Zeolite Street. There will be a privacy fence and a vegetation buffer between the pool deck and Zeolite Street which will serve as a visual buffer for both residents of the Norhart site and multi -modal traffic along Zeolite Street. The Applicant is also proposing a trash enclosure southeast of the proposed building, with the gates facing northward, away from Home2Suites and all adjacent streets. Both the pool house and the trash enclosure will be designed with similar building materials to the principal building. Minimum parking requirements for the 218 apartment units are 1.5 stalls per unit, which results in 327 required parking stalls. Additionally, retail shopping uses require one parking stall for each 200 square feet of floor space for retail uses under 20,000 square feet. While the retail tenant has not yet been determined, which also means the retail build -out of the space has not yet been designed, 25 parking stalls would be required for the full 5,000 square feet of retail space. This results in a total requirement of 352 parking stalls. 344 parking stalls are provided on -site (120 internal parking stalls for residents, and 224 external parking stalls to be shared by residents, employees, and retail customers). It is anticipated by both City Staff and the developer that some of the external parking stalls will be shared throughout the day, as is common in mixed -use developments. There will be on -street parking along Ramsey Parkway to accommodate any overflow of retail customers or visitors. Architecture and Building Elevations The building will have five stories above -ground, with an additional story of sunken parking that extends up to five feet above grade along portions of the building facade. More information on the building's height can be found under the "Variance" section of this staff report. The building facade will consist of curtain walls (glass with aluminum framing), white EIFS, black EIFS, Magic Pak air conditioners for each residential unit, and a "black Class I material." Since the Applicant is not anticipating to break ground on this project until Spring 2025, it was requested to approve two material options for the "black Class I material" to account for availability and pricing of materials at the time of construction. The two proposed options include Flextile Eco-Stone (which consists of inorganic material, clay, and ore) and Rear Ventilated Rainscreen (which consists of an aluminum composite material). The City's Building Inspection staff have reviewed all proposed materials, which all appear to comply with Minnesota Building Code. It should be noted that the Applicant has used these same materials on other projects in Oakdale and Cottage Grove. It should be noted that the COR Framework does not discuss Class -I and Class -II materials as the Zoning Code does for business districts. Instead, it discusses the "Use of high quality materials, suggesting a preference towards native materials and masonry elements, with respect for local techniques" (page 27). Furthermore, the metals and the Flextile would be considered Class -II materials for business buildings in Zoning. The proposed building materials are more contemporary in nature than discussed by the COR Framework. The Planning Commission has expressed openness to these designs. Signage The following signs are proposed to be installed on the building and site: Channel -letter signage for the future retail tenant on the ground floor, along the west, south, and east sides of the building, each measuring approximately 27.5 square feet in area. Channel -letter "Norhart" signage on the roof parapet along the south side of the building, measuring approximately 51 square feet in area.