Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/27/2024

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On the interior of the courtyard, along the areas adjacent to the first floor parking garage, rows of attached individual "tuck under" garages are shown with standing seam metal roofs. Access and Parking Vehicular access to the site will be from two driveways off 145th Avenue on the north side of the site. The 166-space surface parking lot is in the courtyard of the building. A total of 92 enclosed garage spaces are provided on the east and west legs of the building. Adjacent to the parking lot are 33 "tuck under" single -stall garages. Along the north side of the site, a detached garage building with fourteen individual garage stalls is proposed. In all 305 spaces are proposed. The requirement for the residential portion of the building is 1.5 spaces per unit (200 spaces) and one space per 200 square feet of retail space (69 spaces). The site does have approximately 36 spaces more than City Code requires and the applicant has stated that his residential properties tend to have a greater parking need. Customers driving to the retail spaces will not likely use the parking lot. There is ample on -street parking on the streets adjacent to the storefronts. It is strongly recommended that the building management create a policy that employees of businesses park in the parking lot to keep on -street parking convenient to the customers. Pedestrian Connections Sidewalks will be constructed along all four surrounding roadways. Adjacent to Sunwood Drive, the sidewalk will have small planter boxes mirroring the ones across the street in front of City Hall. Along Center Street, a ten foot sidewalk behind the curb is shown according the the COR Framework. This same type of sidewalk is shown adjacent to the retail space along Sapphire Street. The remainder of Sapphire Street and 145th Avenue will have a traditional sidewalk with a boulevard. Bike racks are shown in two locations along Sunwood Drive. All retail spaces and the front door of the apartments can be accessed directly from Sunwood Drive. Landscaping From the EPB's June 17 agenda, it was noted that there is a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, with the evergreens being located internal to the site. The Landscape Plan includes boulevard trees along Sapphire Street, Center Street, and 145th Avenue, and 'single' planting beds along Sunwood Drive (this matches what is across the street in front of the Ramsey Municipal Center). Most of Staffs review comments focus on the boulevards and sidewalks. Comments regarding the sidewalk and streetscape have since been revised. Irrigation is proposed for the site. Staff has requested that the irrigation system be extended to provide coverage of the boulevard plantings along Sapphire Street and 145th Avenue, as well as the planting beds along Sunwood Drive. This will be very beneficial for the plants during hot and dry stretches throughout the growing season. Lighting The applicant provided a lighting plan with photometrics. The light levels shown across the parking lot are generally adequate and meet City Code. All lights must be downcast and shielded. The cut sheet provided for the wall-mouted lights indicates that the desired light can be angled in various positions. These lights will need to be downcast to meet Code and prevent glare. There are street lights along Sunwood Drive and Center Street --taller ones at intersections with the shorter ones along the block. It is recommended that two additional shorter light poles be installed along Sapphire Street in the vicinity of the retail storefront with the same 70-foot spacing in order to cary the street scape and retail feel around the comer from Sunwood Drive. Storm Water Management Storm water in the COR is handled through a regional storm water basin instead of on site. The applicant will need to have the Lower Rum River Watershed approval due to the size of the project. The applicant will contribute an equal amount of constructing on -site basins towards the costs of the regional basin. Outdoor Amenities The site also features a covered patio, pickleball court, and two dog parks. These amenities are locted in the northwestern portion of the courtyard adjacent to the pool and community space. These spaces will be enclosed by vinyl -coated chain -link fences.